Patient Endurance

Re posting this because I needed it today...
Hebrews 12:1 ' ... and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.' -- I LOVE this. Not only because I love to run and the analogy fits me well but I love that God directs us to stay the course with patience. Which to me means that there are going to be things that will distract, encumber, and discourage. But HE who is faithful will deliver me from that if I allow it. So amazed at God's love and and encouragement.
I choose today to be steady, not easily turned, not wavered but set on the course God has prepared for me. And I pursue his calling on my life. I pray for wisdom and blessings to rain on me and my family. I cast out fear, worry, doubt, sickness, strife and bitterness. I will dwell in His perfect love. And taking to heart that we are redeemed.

Deuteronomy 28

28 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

⁷ The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

⁸ The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

⁹ The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. ¹⁰ Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. ¹¹ The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

¹² The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. ¹³ The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Take hold of what God says is yours. Continue the race with patient endurance knowing that He protects, provides, gives wisdom and is eagerly awaiting the next chapter in your life.

Communicate.... less

One of my favorite memories of the early days of dating my hubs was the abundance of notes and letters I got from him. Not that I want to date myself, but this was a time before email, texting and fb were the common forms of communication.

Things I will always remember: how the letter always smelled like him, his beautiful penmanship, and how articulate he was.

A lot gets lost in technology. It feels like we live in an abbreviated world now. Everything has to come faster, and with less information or benefit. Texting during dinner (instead of quality family time), addiction to online games (instead of getting on the floor and playing with the kids), pintrest, facebook, instagram... --- this is my dirty laundry list, feel free to add :). It's what I call cyber reality. Where I convince myself that it's good mental stimulation and at the end of the day it sure has taken a lot of my time. Taking multi-tasking to it's greatest height and maybe one of my epic failures. Don't get me wrong, this form of communication and ability to gain knowledge is great, but in moderation and should be close to the bottom of the list of things you need to do today.

All this to say, take your time and communicate less with your smartphone, laptop, ipad, itouch, etc. Time is a gift.
- Read a book (to encourage you)
- Go on a date (to keep your relationship strong with your spouse) -- and if you can, with 1 phone for emergency calls from the babysitter only
- Read a book to your child (to build your family)
- Play football/games with your children (to build your family)
- Invest in others
   - Send a friend a 'thinking of you' card
   - Host play dates for your kids
   - Make a meal (or desert) for a friend

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

 

Don't forget the salt...

One of our weekend rituals is to make pancakes or waffles for breakfast. It's one of the things my family loves most. Well, on this particular day - I seemingly forgot one (what I thought to be probably insignificant) ingredient... SALT. My recipe only calls for 1/2 tsp of it - so after I started ladeling the batter I didn't think it would make a difference. Good grief, what a difference it made - my pancakes were aweful.  How could something so small and in such a small amount make such a big difference!
How often do we overlook our achievements and maybe even potential. Afterall, we're just a 'grain of salt' right? We are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). We were meant to change the world. Make no small plans. God has called us to live a life of blessing. To help sustain those who are weak, sooth those who need comfort, to encourage, to help bring to life those who don't know Christ. To BE the salt of the earth...

And just in case you didn't know... some interesting uses for salt:
- Relieve a bee sting/treat mosquito bite
- Ease throat pain
- Extinguish grease fires
- Clean sink drains, coffee pots, etc
- Brighten colors
- Set colors
- Remove stains
- Kill weeds

Every flower must grow through dirt...

I'm a results oriented person. I love working hard and seeing the 'fruit' of my labor. But sometimes, when I've been working on something for longer than anticipated,and I don't see (or feel) the results I become discouraged.

Thought for the day... Just because you can't see/feel it, doesn't mean that it's not there or on it's way. I believe God answers prayers right when we ask it. Sometimes we think the answers are slow in getting to us, but they eventually get to us - and in the right time.

Just like a flower, it starts out as a seed and is cultivated underground (sometimes even dormant for a season). But - there is life, there is a work going on within it - even though it isn't anything we can see. And in it's own perfect time, it blossoms.

So even though you may feel like you're not making any progress, have BIG faith. Learn to see things that don't exist. Stand firm on God's promises and not the circumstances that may be surrounding you.

Psalms 46:10 'Be still and know that I am God..'
Proverbs 3:5-6 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.'

Instead of being anxious, fill your thoughts with:

• His timing is always perfect
• He is faithful
• He is truth
• He is provision
• He forgives
• He restores
• He heals
• Jehovah Shammah: The Lord is there! He is already in my tomorrow
• His love NEVER fails