I can't believe it! I never win anything! But I totally just got a call from a local spa saying that I'd won their giveaway for a free one-hour massage. Hallelujah!! Praise God! haha! He must know that I need stress management. :) Um, yes. Scripture does tell us that He knows what we need before we ask. I'm super blessed by that. :)
What a great week it's been! Thanksgiving was awesome. I got to see my wonderful family and be with my Mighty Man the whole time. And, of course, turkey leftovers are my favorite. My tummy just growled thinking about them. . . sitting there in my freezer. . . waiting to be devoured with dallops of mustard. . . Oh, joy. :) :)
Can you tell that phone call just made my day? I'm in such a great mood!
So many good things have happened lately, too. I had the blessing of a great phone interview with Les Norman of 810 Sports Radio and host of "Breakin' the Norm" this morning. (Thanks, Les!!) It was awesome! It's always a blessing to talk to guys who are out in the world, but who have a faith in Christ. He's got a tough spot as a Christian in secular sports radio. But I have no doubt that God is using him to make a difference there. If you ever get a chance to tune it, do it!
What's funny is that this whole idea of thankfulness has been recurring in my life and in my times with the Lord lately. It's like He's trying to tell me something. haha! :)
I don't know about you all, but I have a tendency to dwell on negatives a little too much. If I have a great day but one little thing sours it, I will ruminate on that one thing instead of seeing the bigger, greater picture. It's a bad habit, and a total hindrance to my ability to walk in the joy of the Lord.
One of our FCA staff girls out in Maine wrote a great devotion this week about that. She talked about the ability we have to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS even if for no other reason than that we are continually covered by His grace.
Shouldn't that be enough for us? It most definitely is, we just don't choose to see it that way. We (and by "we" I mean "I") tend to expect every day to be completley problem-free, and when that doesn't happen, we dwell on the little things that go wrong. All the while, God is blessing our socks off with His love, grace, mercy, power, forgiveness, and so much more! Daily blessings like total redemption from sin, unconditional love by the Creator of the Universe, constant care and protection from evil. . . What on earth do I have to complain about? Ever!
It isn't just Thanksgiving. It isn't just Christmas. This is a life lesson. I want to rejoice in the Lord. He asks us to do that continually, and I fully believe that when we really understand who He is and what He's done/is doing for us moment by moment, we will walk in that attitude of gratefulness. Lord, forgive me for focusing on what I view as "bad" in my life and for not trusting You and thanking You as I should. Help me to see life from Your point of view and through the lens of salvation in Christ.
If we really want to get into theology there really is no "bad" or "good" at all. It just is. Romans 8:28 says that in ALL things God is working for our good, so that means even what we think of as negative is actually something that can and should be positive according to His ultimate plan. Kind of mind-blowing, isn't it? Now, that's something to rejoice about. Even the most devastating of news can be sent to the Lord in praise if we truly trust Him. Not saying we can't be sad when things hurt or cause us anger/frustration/pain, but we don't have to dwell in it as the end of the world. We can trust Him with it to care for us and redeem it for His glory.
Okay, I'm a little nervous that He's going to test my mettle in this message. haha! Lord, have mercy! :) haha! Oh, well. You gotta practice what you preach, right? Faith in action. Walk the walk. All the cliches you can handle!
Anyway, I hope this has encouraged you a little today. No matter what you're going through, there is always a reason to be thankful when we trust in the Lord. His love, His grace, His salvation, His eternal home for us in Heaven (if we've trusted Christ as our Lord and Savior and engaged in a relationship with Him). All things that nothing here on earth can touch. No matter how "bad" the day gets.
Hugs to you all!
- Jill
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Motivation from the Mighty Man
I am so fantastically proud of my Mighty Man today! :) In an act of unbelievable strength and courage, he ran his first half marathon without walking a single step. It was a goal he'd had since the beginning of the year, and he completed it today on one of the most dispicable courses in the area and in the November cold. Way to go, Mighty Man. I'm so proud of such a strong warrior.
I can hear the "gag me's" now. haha! Don't care! I love him!! And not just because he ran today (my sport of choice), but because he did something he said he would do even though it was hard. That takes discipline and integrity.
It reminds me of another story he has from his childhood. He recalls jumping from a tall tree limp into a pond because he promised a girl he would. (Of course he was trying to impress her. He's quite the charmer.) :) But, he almost didn't. He was pretty confident on the ground, but when he got up to the limb itself and realized how high it was, he climbed right back down.
Eventually, he dad got wind of this, though, and instructed his son to be a man of his word. He had to make good on his promise. And so he did.
I'm sure the little Mighty Man was terrified, but his word was important. And I'm so thankful to his dad for teaching him that important lesson. It goes straight back to Scripture and the many times that God instructs us to keep our words. Over and over He tells us and others in the Bible to keep our vows and to, like the Mighty Man preached a week ago, let our "yes" be "yes" and our "no" be "no." That's in Matthew from the Sermon on the Mount.
But it's a sad reality that our world isn't very familiar with the concept of following through. We see it all the time. People just give up when things get hard. Especially in relationships, right? We've gotten so used to relationships breaking apart that we have started to believe that they're disposable.
My Momsy and I had this conversation a while ago. We have a similar fear of people abandoning us when emotions get flared. It's what we've seen. It's what we learned. People walk away when there's a fight.
And we are NOT the only ones who have this issue. Because it's true! This is how many relationships end up today. People just choose to leave instead of sticking together and working through tough patches.
But this is where we, as Christians, have a chance to show the world something different. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we CAN stick with a relationship no matter how hard it gets. It's the supernatural love and grace that He gives us. When we choose to accept it and give it to others, we can fight, argue, weep and wail and not have to worry about whether or not the relationship will end. If both parties are committed, through the Lord, to seeing it through, there's no abandoning. Even if it is absolutely horrible for days, weeks, months, whatever. There's a shared supernatural ability to stick with it until it's resolved.
Why? Because we understand the grace and love that we ourselves have been given through Christ and that we are shared holders of that same love and grace. Jesus died for us even though we were/are guilty, sin-stained and broken. But He loved us so much that He paid the price for us so that we could be forgiven, saved and free. And when we receive Him as our Lord, we become recipients of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to love like He did. Forgive like He did. And in that power, no relationship is doomed.
Today, I'm thanking God for the perseverance of my Mighty Man and for the hard-earned sweaty salt he earned that covered his face. It was tough, but he did it. He stayed with something that was challenging and made good on his commitment. And Jesus did the same thing. He stayed with it until He had been crucified and risen again so that God's Word could be fulfilled and His children restored.
Thank You, Jesus. May we all follow Your example of perseverance and commitment. May we learn to ditch the concept of abandonment and to walk forward in the freedom of Your love and be willing to share that with others. No matter how hard it gets.
Oh! And, yes, I did run too. haha! It was not one of my PRs. I will NOT mince words. I hate this course. But it wasn't bad at all. It was a great long run with 2,300 of my fellow runners who all experienced the same thing. And, lo and behold! I did get 2nd in my age group. I guess we all felt it a little today. :)
Enjoy your Sunday!
- Jill
I can hear the "gag me's" now. haha! Don't care! I love him!! And not just because he ran today (my sport of choice), but because he did something he said he would do even though it was hard. That takes discipline and integrity.
It reminds me of another story he has from his childhood. He recalls jumping from a tall tree limp into a pond because he promised a girl he would. (Of course he was trying to impress her. He's quite the charmer.) :) But, he almost didn't. He was pretty confident on the ground, but when he got up to the limb itself and realized how high it was, he climbed right back down.
Eventually, he dad got wind of this, though, and instructed his son to be a man of his word. He had to make good on his promise. And so he did.
I'm sure the little Mighty Man was terrified, but his word was important. And I'm so thankful to his dad for teaching him that important lesson. It goes straight back to Scripture and the many times that God instructs us to keep our words. Over and over He tells us and others in the Bible to keep our vows and to, like the Mighty Man preached a week ago, let our "yes" be "yes" and our "no" be "no." That's in Matthew from the Sermon on the Mount.
But it's a sad reality that our world isn't very familiar with the concept of following through. We see it all the time. People just give up when things get hard. Especially in relationships, right? We've gotten so used to relationships breaking apart that we have started to believe that they're disposable.
My Momsy and I had this conversation a while ago. We have a similar fear of people abandoning us when emotions get flared. It's what we've seen. It's what we learned. People walk away when there's a fight.
And we are NOT the only ones who have this issue. Because it's true! This is how many relationships end up today. People just choose to leave instead of sticking together and working through tough patches.
But this is where we, as Christians, have a chance to show the world something different. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we CAN stick with a relationship no matter how hard it gets. It's the supernatural love and grace that He gives us. When we choose to accept it and give it to others, we can fight, argue, weep and wail and not have to worry about whether or not the relationship will end. If both parties are committed, through the Lord, to seeing it through, there's no abandoning. Even if it is absolutely horrible for days, weeks, months, whatever. There's a shared supernatural ability to stick with it until it's resolved.
Why? Because we understand the grace and love that we ourselves have been given through Christ and that we are shared holders of that same love and grace. Jesus died for us even though we were/are guilty, sin-stained and broken. But He loved us so much that He paid the price for us so that we could be forgiven, saved and free. And when we receive Him as our Lord, we become recipients of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to love like He did. Forgive like He did. And in that power, no relationship is doomed.
Today, I'm thanking God for the perseverance of my Mighty Man and for the hard-earned sweaty salt he earned that covered his face. It was tough, but he did it. He stayed with something that was challenging and made good on his commitment. And Jesus did the same thing. He stayed with it until He had been crucified and risen again so that God's Word could be fulfilled and His children restored.
Thank You, Jesus. May we all follow Your example of perseverance and commitment. May we learn to ditch the concept of abandonment and to walk forward in the freedom of Your love and be willing to share that with others. No matter how hard it gets.
Oh! And, yes, I did run too. haha! It was not one of my PRs. I will NOT mince words. I hate this course. But it wasn't bad at all. It was a great long run with 2,300 of my fellow runners who all experienced the same thing. And, lo and behold! I did get 2nd in my age group. I guess we all felt it a little today. :)
Enjoy your Sunday!
- Jill
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