Good morning all-
Well today will probably be my last post until Spring Break is over. I will be with my family without cell phones and little Internet access. We are going on what probably will be our last family vacation together and I am so excited. I love being with my boys and watching them laugh. The time has gone so fast and soon I will be without them but these times have been some of the best in my life and I'm going to enjoy every moment before they leave me. It's a shame that they must go but then, God has a season for them too.
As I wrote the date today, I realized that it's March 15th, tomorrow my mother would have celebrated her 70th birthday. She was a very special lady and often, I think about her and wonder if she would think I got this parenting thing all right. I know I haven't gotten everything right but then again, who does? She taught me to think for myself, to be strong in adversity and to love people. She believed in being a force and has taught me to be one too. She persevered through many medical issues with a smile on her face and rarely did I ever see the facade crack. Only in those last couple of months, before she died, did I realize she wasn't that strong. She told me on numerous occasions leading up to her death that I was the strong one, I just didn't realize it yet. I'm not sure how strong I am. I know that I believe Jesus is my Savior and all strength comes from Him. I know that He has walked with me through numerous challenges and He continues to today. I know that without Him, I would be nothing. And if that makes me strong, then I am so grateful.
Strength doesn't come from muscle, it comes from endurance. Hunter had the opportunity to try out for a competitive basketball team yesterday and he made it. The coach is 26 years older than him but on the court he crushed Hunter's endurance but not his passion. As a matter of fact, Hunter's passion has come back with a flourish and he's excited about the opportunity. The coach told him that he doesn't need to be big, he needs to be resilient and run the court effortlessly. Interesting? When the world wants you to be a hulk, this coach wants you to run the race well.
That's like our journey with Jesus. I love the Christians that are so passionate but once challenged they fall on their faces without even a thought. The Christians that do the best are the ones that slowly and lovingly learn about Jesus, not necessarily the Bible but the ones that really run the race with endurance. That's a step by step conditioning of being in His presence, loving Him and always looking for where He wants you to be. That's not always easy but those that have endured have seen the hand of God, watched miracles and been part of our History. They set the stage for freedom for the African-American community, knocked down the walls of Berlin and made America free. They were the soldiers that prayed Psalm 91 while thousands died around them and they are the men and women today that love people! They found passion in Christ and as the passion seeped in they did something great with it and although we all can't be heroes, we can be warriors for Jesus.
So if we could develop ourselves, I would say we should develop our endurance for Jesus. We should condition our minds to look for Him, seek Him and pray to Him. We should read our Bibles and teach those younger than ourselves the meaning of God in His total authority. We should represent what love looks like and we should be humble and without pride. We need to be the kind of warriors that don't run out in a battle but our fueled by it.
I miss my mom terribly and often I find myself wanting to call her up and just spill my guts. She's not here anymore because Jesus took her and she is at rest in Him. Thank goodness that my race is not run to it's fullest capacity and when I call, He is near. I have spilled my guts to Him a million times in the last couple of weeks and He has given me strength to endure. I have found that although I thought I was invincible, I'm not. No surprise really but through my cries, He gave me strength and I know He is near. I am not a perfect person and I have many failings but like Paul, I want to run the race well. I want to have endurance until my final curtain and I want to know that I loved, I lived and I gave as much as my Savior did for me.
May God bless you my sisters and please pray for the lost. The battles are raging and there is much to do. Please take the time you need to prepare yourself for the long haul. Our prayer life will sustain us but our Bible feeds us. Get together with someone this week and make a difference in their life and yours and always, love one another.
Hebrews 10:36 NKJV:
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise;
Colossians 1:11 NKJV:
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy.
Matthew 24:13 NKJV:
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
My prayer today:
O, Lord, my prayer today is simple. I want to run the race with endurance. I am in training still, watching and waiting for my direction but until you provide it, help me to practice what I preach. Give me time to prepare with You and to be Your warrior here on earth. When challenges come, give us time so that we can seek You first before we lose ourselves. We need to be reminded of Your greatness in our weakness. I can't thank You enough for listening to my cries these last two weeks and for getting me back on track and writing this blog again. I missed sitting down and seeing what You had in store for Your people. Please bless the men and women that are committed to You and give them the food they need to endure and speak Your name. Help us be great lovers of You and of the words You have provided. Let us look back on our forefathers and see that what was once a great event was orchestrated by Your hand and let us have the faith of Abraham who believed in trusting in You. Your blood is our blood and although we don't deserve You; You are and will always be our Savior. Help us to run the race as Paul did with passion, perseverance and strength, not in himself, but in You. Forgive us of our sins and bring forth those things we need to change in order to be better soldiers in Your army. We love You Lord and we praise You for Your sacrifice and for running the race with more endurance than any of us have. In Jesus name, AMEN
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