Growing Through Life: When Snorkeling Jello Just Doesn’T Cut It

By James Ray Ashurst Ph.D.

Many individuals have lost their sense of play, of fun, and of joy. The book offers many insights of ways to reinstate the good old days when life seemed to be simpler. The book is designed in ways that each individual can have an abundant life even in the midst of a hectic lifestyle. From ages twenty to older, this book presents growing in life with humor and thought-provoking insights.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781973603863

James Ray Ashurst Ph.D.

The author has lived in the Northeast Georgia Mountains for thirty-three years. After nine years as a teacher in Florida, he moved to Georgia where he became a school counselor for twenty-five years. He has also been a private clinical therapist for fifty years. His purpose in writing this book is to be a lifeline to those who make up his life and for those whom he has yet to meet.

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Copyright © 2017 James Ray Ashurst, Ph.D..

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New Scofield Reference Bible: Scofield, C I. The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments. Authorized Version, with a New System of Connected Topical References to All the Greater Themes of Scripture, with Annotations, Revised Marginal Renderings, Summaries, Definitions, Chronology, and Index ; to Which Are Added Helps at Hard Places, Explanations of Seeming Discrepancies, and a New System of Paragraphs. New York: Oxford University Press, 1945. Print

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-0387-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-0388-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-0386-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017915371

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/26/2017

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Life Is a Gift

Chapter 2 Every Age Has a Purpose

Chapter 3 The Fun of Play

Chapter 4 Pursuing One’s Passion

Chapter 5 Hitting the Target

Chapter 6 Where Does the Time Go?

Chapter 7 Traveling Down Memory Lane

Chapter 8 Tale-Telling

Chapter 9 Growing in Relationships

Chapter 10 The Pressures of Being Young

Chapter 11 The Roadblocks to Growing in Life

Chapter 12 Quirks in Life

Chapter 13 Past Mistakes Are Not Fatal

Chapter 14 A Man with No Equal

Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The phenomenal cover of this book was created by a genius of photography, Chris Hefferen. If you were drawn to the cover, the credit entirely belongs to him.

The talent of the interior photography is also awesome due to the professionalism of Nathan Burnett Photography, Charlie O’Neal, and Jeff Hosfeld.

Throughout the stages of writing this book, I was fortunate to have Carolyn Baker as a proofreader.

INTRODUCTION

The subtitle of the book, When Snorkeling through Jell-O Just Doesn’t Cut It, needs to be explained. When I was a youth minister at a church in Virginia, I had to get used to the bizarre antics of young people and to accept such behavior, because most of their playful acts were hilarious.

Their creativity and their imaginations had no boundaries, no absolutes.

On one particular occasion, one of the youth leaders made several bowls of Jell-O for the hungry kids. The youth decided to be creative with the Jell-O by racing to see which one could gulp down his or her Jell-O the quickest without the use of any utensils. The idea was that each participant had to bury one’s face in the bowl; at the vocal command of Start! the race was off and running.

Since I have a weak stomach for such things, I did not closely approach the actual event. From my standpoint, it looked as if they were actually snorkeling through the Jell-O using their nasal orifices, not their mouths.

The kids had a rip-roaring time with the Jell-O situation, because whatever stress they were experiencing in their lives was placed on their back burners for a brief moment in time.

We do not have the gift of omniscience to know the intensity of stress and pressure that a young person is experiencing. For those kids, doing something grotesque (in an adult’s opinion) overtly reduced their stress levels, and I gave full approval—as long as I could remain several feet away. Their overt action was a temporary solution to ease the stress. And by everyone’s reactions, it worked. Snorkeling through Jell-O and other crazy and/or fun activities (within reason) are at the moment temporary fixes. A lasting fix requires more. With regard to the youth program, we offered biblical studies, spiritual conferences, and a lot of love, support, and fun activities that are discussed within these pages.

The assumptions undergirding the contents and purpose of this book are as follows:

1. Growing through life can be an exciting adventure if we choose.

2. Whether a person is in his or her twenties, fifties, or eighties, positive growth actions are available.

3. Temporary fixes for happiness are just that—temporary, such as snorkeling through Jell-O at a party.

4. Permanent fixes require commitment, dedication, determination, and patience.

5. Many of us have lost our spirits of play, fun, and joy and have become saddened victims of life’s circumstances.

6. Our objective of enjoying life as we once did is within reach.

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You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stopped laughing.

—Michael Pritchard

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Enjoy life.

This is not a dress rehearsal.

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CHAPTER 1

Life Is a Gift

People don’t stop playing because they get old, but they get old because they stop playing.

—Anonymous

Dedicated to John and Julie Farber,

who make me feel special

whenever we are together.

Life is a gift given to us by our parents through the grace of God. The recognition and appreciation of life’s gifts may not fully come until one reaches a certain age or until one experiences and survives a life tragedy. When everything is wonderful in our daily lives, we just may not acknowledge emotionally or mentally the high quality of life at its very best. We can easily take the hours of our days for granted.

Why have we bought into the notion that growing older will be drudgery? Where did those tapes originate? Believing this can keep one from thoroughly enjoying the positive aspects of what lies ahead. Our hectic, chaotic lifestyles can subtly and sneakily wipe out our present gifts of fun and joy, resulting in an extreme case of depression and stress. Perhaps subtly we have equated growing older with illnesses, medications, stubbornness, and other negative characteristics. Yes, as we grow older we may need bodily overhauls, but in no way does that mean our engines are ready to quit. We simply are