Hebrews 12:1-2 In these verses from Hebrews, our life is compared to a race. I like how it says, “let us throw off…” To me, this implies that we have a choice. We can choose to carry around burdens every day (which weigh us down) and try to run the race on our own, or we can choose to take our burdens to God and focus on Him. God gives us free will. He doesn’t force us to love Him or follow Him. Instead, He allows us to make those decisions on our own. When we lay down our own plans and thoughts and focus on the plans and thoughts of God, He will help give us the strength and endurance we need to finish strong. Great athletes respect, listen to, and trust their coaches. They have faith that their coach is giving them instruction with their best interests in mind (to help them became a better player and reach their potential). God loves us so much that He sacrificed his only Son for us. He made this great sacrifice so that we could spend eternity with Him. Until that day, He desires to be our “Coach.” He wants to ease our burdens, give us guidance, and encourage us along the way. The enemy loves to place hurdles on our path to try to slow us down...hurdles such as lies, doubts, shame, and wanting us to compare ourselves with others. The enemy wants us to feel guilty when we stumble over hurdles, but God can take those same hurdles and use them to strengthen us. With each hurdle we overcome, we become stronger and better equipped to handle the next one (because the next one is just around the corner). God wants us to put our gifts to use and help us reach our full potential. He wants us to encourage and help other “teammates" along the way. He wants us to trust that He knows what is best and is in control. He want this for us because He loves us. As we are running this race called life, God promises to be with us every step of the way, but we have a daily choice as to what (or who) we focus on. We can overcome the hurdles when we stay focused on our Coach up ahead.
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Below is something I wrote awhile ago, but it still holds meaning to me today. I wrote it at a time that I was questioning God - I didn’t know why He was allowing certain things to happen. He reminded me that instead of focusing on what I don’t understand, I need to focus on what I know to be true. So, I opened up my Bible and these verses resonated with me - Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 46:4, Isaiah 49:16, Isaiah 55:9, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 46:1, John 1:5, and Romans 8:28. They inspired the following words…. Another day goes by And I’m left wondering why Things are happening the way that they are Sometimes life can be so hard Brokenness surrounds me And I’m finding it hard to believe That you can bring good out of this How can it be But this I know - you’re always faithful And this I know - your word is true And this I know - you’re always loving This I know - you’re my refuge We all have our scars Some can be seen from afar Some are hidden from view But healing can come through you You’ve engraved me on the palm of your hands On your promises I will stand Your ways are higher than mine Through the darkness your light will shine You will carry me, when I can’t see You will rescue me, when the water is deep You will sustain me, when I feel weak This I know - you’re always faithful And this I know - your word is true And this I know - you’re always loving This I know - you’re my refuge And I will trust in you Confession time: Winter is my least favorite season. I’m just not a fan of the cold and wondering for days on end where the sun went. However, as a teacher, two words that always bring me joy: SNOW DAY! Say those two words around any teacher and I’m sure you will see smiles. The one phone call I don’t mind getting at 5 a.m. - “School will be closed today due to inclement weather.” While I love teaching, doesn’t everyone love a day off? The best is when you know the night before and you can go to sleep without setting your alarm clock. I recently told my students, “Do you want to know a secret?” Of course they all shook their heads yes. They were listening so intently when I revealed this truth, “Did you know that teachers love snow days just as much as students?” The look of surprise on their faces made me laugh. As a kid, when we had snow days, I was so excited to get all bundled up and play outside in the snow with the kids in the neighborhood. As an adult, snow days are still amazing, but I would rather admire the snow from the comfort of my warm home…drinking a cup of coffee, reading a good book, or watching a movie. I may spend some time grading papers and working on lesson plans, but at least I can do that sitting on my comfortable couch. For all of you reading this who aren’t teachers, do you want to know a secret? Did you know that while teachers enjoy having a day off of school, we don’t take a day off thinking about our students? We wonder if they are safe. We wonder if they have enough food to eat. We wonder if they are staying warm. We wonder what they’re doing with their families on their day off. We wonder if they realize how much we care about them even when they are not at school. I didn’t go into teaching because of the possibility of snow days, but they sure are nice! A few months ago, I joined a Women’s Bible study at my church and we did a study by Jennie Allen called Restless. I didn’t really know anything about Jennie Allen, but from Week 1 of our study I immediately knew she was a gifted writer and teacher. Her passion for God was evident. Soon after our study ended, I came across this book: Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul. The title pulled me in immediately, and when I saw it was written by Jennie Allen I knew I had to read it. The book is all about how Jennie and her husband prayed a simple prayer, “God, we will do anything. Anything,” and the extraordinary events that took place afterwards. While I won’t share all the details of how God responded to that prayer (I highly encourage you to read the book), I will say that part of Jennie’s story includes adopting a son and God giving her a vision. This vision was to help lead and equip women as they pursue a deeper relationship with Him. Jennie obeyed God’s promptings in her life, and because of that the vision has now become a reality – thousands of women are part of the IF: Gathering, exploring "What IF we lived like Jesus?" What I love about Jennie’s story is how God is using her willing spirit to change lives for eternity. He is looking for more people to display His love through. You don't need to be famous or have tons of money. You don't have to be able to answer every question with a Bible verse. Instead, God is looking for ordinary people who love Him and are willing to be obedient. As soon as Jennie was willing to make God her first priority, He did incredible things through her. It made me think, “What is God waiting to do through me? What more could He accomplish if I would be willing to listen and obey every prompting from Him? What if every believer was willing to say, “God, I will do anything so that others might know you better?” I have starting praying my own “anything” prayer. Will you join me? I love technology! Are you looking for some new apps to try? Here are 2 of my favorites. (And no, I’m not getting paid for this – but that would be nice.) Both of these apps are FREE and are available in iTunes and the Google Play store. In case you’re wondering, I’m a HUGE fan of Apple. :) Heirloom – Use your smartphone camera to quickly scan in photos. For each photo you can add information (description, date, location, tags) and then share (save to your camera roll, share with individuals, to a group, or to social media). The photos are not stored on your phone (unless you save them to the camera roll). Instead, they are stored in the cloud at www.heirloom.net. If you’re like me, you have hundreds of photos laying around in photo albums. I wanted to digitize my photos, but I didn’t want to spend days/weeks scanning them in on my computer. With Heirloom, I’m able to scan in complete photo albums in about 15-20 minutes. You simply take a picture of the photograph and Heirloom automatically finds the edges. It’s so easy! Ink Cards – Looking for a convenient way to send personalized cards? This app allows you to send 5” x 7” cards (starting at $1.99, postage included) right from your phone. Pick a template (over 500 to choose from), upload a photo, type a personalized message, and then enter in your recipient’s address. You also select when you want the card delivered. I have used Ink Cards several times, and everyone has always been very impressed with the cards. Fun idea: Use the Heirloom app to scan in old photos and then upload those photos to the Ink Cards app. There’s nothing like surprising your friends and family with mail containing throwback pictures and a personalized message. Read more: https://sincerely.com/ink What are some of your favorite apps? |
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