Welcome to EHFAR®

ehfar.com is the official destination for people who believe “EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON” and connect with the EHFAR® philosophy.

To live content with small means;
to seek elegance, rather than luxury;
and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable
and wealthy, not rich;
to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly;
to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages with an open heart;
to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely,
await occasions, hurry never.
In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden, and unconscious grow up
through the commonplace.
This is to be my symphony.
- William Henry Channing

“Only those who risk going far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
- T.S. Elliot

“The good that comes out of the bad things that happen to you is to help you become your best, most authentic self.”
- Mira Kirshenbaum

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman

“Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.”
- David O. McKay

I too thought this little article was worth the read.

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having “wealth” from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, “Purpose Driven Life ” author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:  People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. 

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.  We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.  Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something  good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness,” which is my problem, my issues, my pain.” But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.  It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor , care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do. That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Thanks Jimmy for forwarding this to me…

“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching forward.”
- Henry Ford (1863-1946), American Inventor and Businessman

If you truly want to be successful,
start thinking of yourself as successful.
The only thing that stands between you
and what you want from life,
is simply the will to try it
and the faith to believe that it is possible.
There is nothing on earth that you can’t have,
once you mentally accept the fact that you can have it.
The feeling must come first.
If you actually feel successful,
if you have a deep inner conviction
that you’ll always have all that you need, it will be so.
Whatever your mind can conceive and believe in,
your mind can help you achieve.
- Unknown

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there… to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who your are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be, but when you lock eyes with them, you know that every moment they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you at a time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, will power or heart.

Everything Happens For A Reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, Injury, Love, Lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. Safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless – the people you meet affect your life.

The successes and downfalls that you experience can create who you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whomever you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things.
Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen.

Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and (get it) LIVE it.
Author Unknown

“Out of every crisis comes the choice to be reborn… to choose the kind of change that will help us to grow and fulfill ourselves more completely.”
- Nena O’Neill, American Author

“Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.”
- Albert Einstein

A  T  T  I  T  U  D  E
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”
- Charles Swindoll

“When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.”
- Japanese Proverb

“We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.”
- Socrates, Ancient Greek Philosopher

“When in doubt, do what is right. It will please some, and astonish the rest.”
- Mark Twain

Faith Dares to go beyond what the eyes can see… “FOR WE LIVE BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT.”
(2 Corinthians 5:7)

I recently attended the “Jump Start Job Search� event at the University of Minnesota and was impressed by your attitude about life and your willingness to take it on. On your own terms and in your own way, you show a level of confidence, passion, hopefulness, and determination not seen in many people.

I believe you to be a person of integrity, drive and character. As a former United States Marine, I admire those traits and would like to help you, in whatever way I can, make your business prosper.

I do not have alot to offer but my support, education, and ideas. However, I believe that you have alot of potential and would like to be a part of your “network�.

“Thoughts have power; thoughts are energy. And you can make your world or break it by your thinking.”
- Susan Taylor, American Editor and Writer

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
- John Wooden, Successful College Basketball Coach

The people that really succeed in the world are the people who look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, they make them.
The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity in your life is where you are right now. Properly perceived, every situation becomes an opportunity for you.
Your destiny isn’t a matter of chance, It’s a matter of choice. It’s not something you wait for, but rather something you achieve with effort. Things won’t turn up in this world until you turn them up.
You develop opportunity by applying persistence to your possibilities. You’re surrounded by opportunity.
- Author Unknown

“No one can possibly know what is about to happen; it is happening each time, for the first time, for the only time.”
- James Baldwin

When your reasons to move forward outweigh your excuses for staying put, you will move forward.
When your thirst for success is more powerful than the desire to stay within your comfort zone, you will succeed.
When the reward is meaningful enough, you will act.
When you connect your deepest purpose with the goals you set, those goals will be achieved.
When you understand that there is a real and accessible pathway to the most magnificent dreams you can dream, you’ll get yourself on that path.
When you know without a doubt that every action has a consequence, you’ll focus all your actions in a positive and valuable direction.
When you love what you do, you’ll do it with grace and ease and excellence.
When you do what you love, you’ll provide a steady stream of unique and extraordinary gifts to life.
When you are completely clear about why, you’ll be able to figure out how.
When you let go of the need to need, you’ll fall into a massive sea of beautiful abundance.
When you are ready, life is here to fully live. Choose it, and now is when.

Thanks Jessie for forwarding this…

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like falling leaves.”
–John MuirThank You Robin!

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.
~ Helen Keller

Thanks Michelle S. for sharing…

To live content with small means;
to seek elegance, rather than luxury;
and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable
and wealthy, not rich;
to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly;
to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages with an open heart;
to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely,
await occasions, hurry never.
In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden, and unconscious grow up
through the commonplace.
This is to be my symphony.

written by Willian Henry Channing

Thanks Bev for sharing…