Quotes and thoughts from my reading...

I am currently reading The Grand Weaver, How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives, by Ravi Zacharias.

Today I read the chapter, "Your Calling Matters"...  and thought I would share with whoever still stops by to visit some thoughts that I found encouraging, motivating, and inspiring.

A calling is simply God's shaping of your burden and beckoning you to your service to him in the place and pursuit of his choosing. 


When your will becomes aligned with God's will, his calling upon you has found its home.


It is God's vital purpose in positioning you in life and giving you the vocation and context of your call to serve him with total commitment to do the job well. 


This is what we are seeking - a life and a calling that do not get corrupted along the journey, that cannot be defiled by earthly distractions, and that will not grow dim or dull with time.  

He then shares with his readers 3 ways we can know our calling and recognize its impact...

1.  Have a devout prayer life.  One simply can not know one's call without coming near to God in prayer.
The purpose of prayer and of God's call in your life is not to make you number one in the world's eyes, but to make Him number one in your life.


2.  Be willing to be outshone while shining for God.  Humility is the touchstone of serving God.
Someone who stands under the bright lights of history will never, in God's eyes, outshine the humble attractiveness of the one who humbly serves God.


3.  Make certain that you stay close to those who walk closely with God. 


Know that you are God's temple.  Bathe your life in prayer.  Live out your life in humility of spirit that serves for the right reasons.  Seek the counsel and example of godly men and women.   Finally, exhibit a commitment  to the preeminence of Christ in all things.  These are the components of a call.

May we all recognize, know, and fulfill His calling upon our lives with total commitment...

Wordless Wednesday... We Had SNOW!!!

Running the Race...

This past Sunday, on Valentine's Day, I ran my 1st half marathon!  I ran in celebration of the freedom that Christ Jesus has brought into my life... freedom that can only come from Him!  My running verse is:

"I run in the path of Your commands,

for You have set my heart free!"

Psalm 119:32

I run because Jesus has set me free...

I run because my body is the temple of His Holy Spirit and I desire for it to be a fit place for His Presence... 

I run to keep in shape, so I can do the things He calls me to do...

I run to clear my mind and for stress relief...

I run to spend time with my Savior... the time I spend running is devoted to talking to my Lord and listening for His voice...

Throughout my training my Lord has taught me many lessons.  This has been a spiritual journey just as much as it has been a physical journey.  I wanted to share just a few of the things He has taught me...

No one can do the training for me.  If I want to run the race I have to do the training... it is a choice.  Just as no one can seek His face for me... If I want to know my Lord more intimately, if I want a closer walk with Him, I have to make the time to spend in His Word and in prayer.  I have to choose Him over other things, even other good things...   And just as the strength and endurance come from the training, so does the deeper walk and closer intimacy with Him come from spending the time in His Word and in prayer.


Even if no one is there to cheer me on, I can still run the race.  Approximately 2 weeks before the race my husband found out he was going to have to go out of town for work.  Now, he almost never travels for work.  In the past 12 years he has worked at his job he has had to go out of town maybe 2 times.  Needless to say, I was very, very disappointed... I really wanted him and the boys at the finish line.  I wanted them to cheer me on...   He even tried to get some people to be at the finish line, but couldn't...  However, God had a lesson for me!  He taught me that even if no one is cheering me on here on this earth, my Father in Heaven is cheering for me in the spiritual realm.  I was running for Him and He wanted my eyes on Him, not on whoever might be there cheering for me...  And there are things He calls me to do daily that no one cheers me on in.  I am not to let that discourage me, I am to keep my eyes on Him, and He will, through His Spirit, graciously encourage me to keep going...

Endurance is the key, for the physical race and the spiritual race.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, 

let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, 

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, 

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 

despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself,

so that you may not grow weary and lose heart."  

Hebrews 12:1-3

My Lord taught me that just as I need physical endurance to make it across that finish line, I need spiritual endurance to make it in this spiritual journey I am on.  I am to consider Jesus, who endured in the face of hostility and rejection,  who endured for the joy that was to come, who kept His eyes on His Father in Heaven, and who stayed focused on the goal, which was redeeming us from our sins.  So during my training and on race day, when I felt weary or tired, when my muscles felt tight and I wondered if I would make, I turned my focus away from myself and toward my Lord.  I would begin to praise Him for the freedom He has given me, for the many gifts, spiritual and physical, He has blessed me with, and for the countless ways He has shown me His love (after all, the race was on Valentine's Day, how could I not think of His amazing love!).  And do you know what happened in those times?  Those were the absolute best times of my running... He empowered me with physical and spiritual strength to continue on, and not to just continue on wearily, but to continue on victoriously in His power and strength!

And by His strength and His power I continued on, straight to that finish line!  And what a joyous feeling that was!!  How I praise Him and thank Him for loving me and setting me free, and for giving me feet to run for Him!

And for those who are curious... I ran the 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 51 seconds!  To God be all the glory!!

He gently leads...

See, the Soveriegn LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, His reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
Isaiah 40:10-11

I read this this morning during my morning devotion time... the Lord spoke to me and encouraged me through these verses. How wonderful that:

• He gathers me in His arms,
• He carries me close to His heart,
• He gently leads me since I have young ones.

I was really encouraged by the fact that He gently leads me... He does not get irritated with me and lead me out of frustration, as I admit I sometimes do with my children... He gently leads me. He leads me with a heart filled with peace and love... I pray that today I would be able to gently lead my children, out of a heart filled with my Lord's peace and love, and not out of the frustration that sometimes comes with homeschooling two six year olds.

Thankful Thursday

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in one body;
and be thankful."
Colossians 3:15

Today I am giving thanks for:

• Our fenced in back yard! I am thankful for the moments, and sometimes hours, of peace I can get while the boys play out back!
• For morning snuggles with my boys, which I most likely would not have time for if we were not homeschooling...
• Our new mattresses which are being delivered today!! And very thankful for how God provided the finances for us to buy them! We will all be eager to go to bed tonight!
• A good haircut! My favorite hair stylist moved months ago and I have had great trouble finding someone else I like... I may have found her now!
• The privilege of hearing my children pray for others... their prayers are so simple yet heartfelt, they are just precious...
• Jesus showing us the "full extent of His love" as described in John chapter 13...
• Leftovers! I will not have to cook dinner for 2 nights in a row since we have some yummy leftovers in the frig! And I am thankful I have a husband who does not mind eating leftovers!
• The fact that our Lord's mercies are new every morning...
• For friends, old and new...
• For this life that the Lord has blessed me with... I truly love where He has me and what He has called me to do and be...

What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take some time to think about it and give Him all the thanks and the glory that He deserves... you will be blessed by doing so!

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Wordless Wednesday