Part 1: Off To The Races

Upon my baptism (most wonderful day of my life!) my pastor gave me a baptismal verse. It was tradition at Wellsville Baptist Church that the pastor would pick a passage specifically to be blessing or prayer for the one being baptized. At the time I had no idea what my special verse meant. I knew very little about the Bible and by the grace and mercy of Adonai my eyes were veiled to my future walk with Christ (more on the veiling of the future to come). My verse:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24

The verses surrounding this one give a little more clarity. Every person in this world is running the race; in one way or another each one is training so that they may win a prize or accomplish something great. As followers of Christ Jesus our purpose for running the race is for the sake of the gospel; that Christ be known.

I know many of you have been watching the Olympic games for the past few weeks (I would have liked to!), have you thought about the strict training those athletes undergo? Have you thought about why the Olympics only come around every 4 years? Their strength, agility, and pure talent is extremely admirable and often inspiring, but what is their purpose? Their metals will rust, trophies with break and grow dusty, and their flowers will wilt and die. As soon as they get home from Vancouver they will begin training again to reclaim their fame and add to their collection of meaningless things.

Verse 25 says, "...They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

We are all in a race, running for a purpose, our prize is Christ's name known and glorified around the world. But how are we training in order to win this race? In the next two verses Paul writes, "Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:26-27.

I believe Paul's words are meant as a warning to the saints in Corinth against hypocrisy, and as instruction toward self-discipline and integrity.

A personal example of how I have been thinking about this comes from this past weekend. I was blessed with the opportunity to lead worship at a women's conference, there were 800+ women present!!! Side note: There are few more beautiful experiences then raising my voice to praise LORD Yahweh simultaneously with 800+ other women! Anyway, God used this opportunity to minister to my heart. As I was singing all of these wonderful theologically rich lyrics, I could not help but feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit in my voice. The thought came to me, as it has before, "How can I sing these promises and truths to these women, and in essence preach the gospel to them in song, without allowing it to infiltrate my own heart and mind?" The answer came to me quickly, "I can't!" I must have a heart of integrity and self-discipline in order to run the race and win the eternal prize!

Christmas on the Farm

Bundled up like a farm-girl!

He's so sweet.

I bet you've never been sledding in a boat!

Fight for Hope

2 Samuel 22:31-34

"As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield

for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

he enables me to stand on the heights."

There is a time and season for all things. God's word tells us that God is not slow in answering our prayers as we often think he is. Rather, God works all things out for good in his own way.

Truth be told, my hope-ometer has been wavering around the empty line for quite some time now. Simply put, I've been in a "spiritual drought" for the better part of a year. Friendships that had been spiritually encouraging have changed and faded, and I had set various goals and expectations for myself only to have them deflated. It is so easy to get distracted by the business of life. It is so easy to lose grasp of the importance of truly living in communion with God everyday. Even now, I am writing this while babysitting a teething 8-mo. old little munchkin, running a load of laundry, and thinking up a grocery list. All of these things seem urgent today, but the truth is that they are not very important in the light of eternity. I can let daily tasks overwhelm me and steal my focus from God, or I can choose to live life of joy with my heart in a continual posture of prayer. Without prayer hope fades quickly.

God IS faithful, he IS listening, he WILL provide!

New Beginnings

Greetings fellow bloggers! I'm imagining an empty echo in response right now. First posts seem always to be rather awkward. I guess the lesson here is that everything has a beginning and experience isn't chalked until it's been experienced.

I suppose some sort of introduction is called for here. As my life is changing and moving constantly, I am learning that it takes more and more effort to maintain unity. This blog is just a little finger on my hand of effort toward regaining and maintaining connection.

So...speaking of new beginnings:

Today is a very special day in our little home! December 1st marks 4 months of marriage to the most fun, loving, humble, Godly, MANLY man I have ever known! I mentioned in my profile that I am learning that marriage is created for holiness and sanctification. A husband is sanctified by his wife's respect, honor, and care for him. A wife is made holy by her husband's love and tenderness for her, and leadership in their family. I'm not going to say this process is easy as pie, sometimes we unexpectedly bite down on a pit. There are times when we both have to choose self-control, grit our teeth, and hold our tongues. I will, however, promise you that this process is oh, so sweet! The key is choosing grace along with self-control. In ALL circumstances God has continually revealed Himself to be faithful and patient with us.

These tidbits can and should be applied in all other relationships as well. Unity in the Body is not achieved by choosing to just "put up with" someone or some situation. I read Philippians, chapter 2 today (one of my all time favorite passages) and I think it directly applies to this. Paul writes:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being on in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

(Phil. 2:1-4)

"God never coerces us. In one mood we wish He would make us do the thing, and in another mood we wish He would leave us alone. Whenever God's will is in the ascendant, all compulsion is gone. When we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all His almighty power." -Oswald Chambers