A New York family decided to leave the crowded city and head for the wide-open spaces. They bought a ranch out West, where they intended to raise cattle.
A month later as they were driving some visiting New York friends from the airport to the ranch, the friends asked if they had picked out a name for the place. “Well,” said the man, “I wanted to name it the Bar-J and my wife wanted to call it the Suzy-Q, but one of my sons liked the Flying-W and the other preferred the Lazy-Y. So in the end we compromised and called the place the Bar-J/Suzy-Q/Flying-W/Lazy-Y.”
As they arrived at the ranch the visitors looked around at the place. “Nice,” they said, “but where are all your cattle?” The rancher replied, “None of them survived the branding.”
Life can be better if you simplify. Life gets too full too quickly. Take time to decide what’s truly important. Prioritize, then eliminate those things that aren’t necessary or that keep you distracted from the most important things. And don’t forget the words of Jesus: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
Be Transformed 