Johnathan and the Walker's High

"Stop worrying about how much you're accomplishing," my friend Karen told me thirty years ago.  "You'll get done what you get done."

Good advice from one new mother to another. Three decades later, I still pray daily: "Lord, keep me awake to my moments. Teach me to number my days right that I may become wise. Teach me to see with Your eyes."

It's called a "runner's high", but like many runners, I find the "walker's high" to be much less illusive.  The end of a run often leaves me feeling depleted, exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. It takes whole body sacrifice to finish with a personal best excellence. Walking the same distance leaves me refreshed, weary but strong. I am renewed, bubbling with creativity, goals and new insights...a "walker's high".

Johnathan tugs on my finger pulling me from my water bottle back toward the street. I have finished my housework and clocked a six mile run this morning, but he is only beginning his day..I am wearing a slow tired smile.  He is bursting with the pure joy of being awake. Four small steps and he drops my finger to study a zinnia. He notices the neighbor, pats a tree encouraging it to grow, talks to the sun, stops to hug me. He sees the pond, pulls me onward, intrigued by each new sight on the way. One wonder at a time, he shows me life through his eyes.

Suddenly he stops splashing his hand in a water puddle.  Big blue eyes widen and he shrieks with laughter.  The sky music he has enjoyed all his life is coming from these delightful creatures called birds! For several minutes he stands with hands swinging in pure joy at such wonder-filled accomplishment. God has made a bird that sings!

Noise and fray dwell where we run our life journey. Distractions await us around every corner. Exhaustion overwhelms us mentally, physically and emotionally when we take our eyes off the goal. Disappointment slides into discouragement. We consider easier trails and can be tempted to give up. We fail to notice a neighbor, to talk to the Son or encourage a young sapling tree trying to grow in difficult soil.

Walking with Jesus is training me to live awake in each moment, to see the world through His eyes, one wonder at a time. There is a difference between what I want to accomplish and what God wants to accomplish in me and through me.

As I am writing this post, Johnathan stops running to and fro testing his limits and exploring the world around him. He crawls onto my lap, snuggles into a comfortable spot to sit awhile, watching closely to see what I am doing.

He leans back against my heart and with a pudgy little hand quietly pats my arm. I change the structure of a sentence by deleting with one touch of a button. Part of this post is erased, gone in a flash of bright blue.

Laughing with amazement at what I have accomplished, he points to my creation and says, "OH! Oh, WOW!"

As I kiss his precious weary head and cuddle him close, I know exactly what I want to accomplish in my life journey..

Wake up, Mr. Harris!

Elyce Feliz, photo

"I'm glad you stopped by," the man said, attempting a welcoming smile. "I didn't want to get out of bed this morning."

Shuffling over to the stove, he put the kettle on for some tea. I moved aside old mail and papers to place a vase of fresh lilacs on his table. His skin was pale, dry and translucent. The raggedy sweatshirt emphasized his worn, stooped shoulders. 

We sat on a bench under his mulberry tree and he told me his troubles with sleeping, depression and boredom with life. The fresh air was a treat after the stale odors of the house.

I had suggested on my last visit that he go to church and out to a restaurant during the weekend. 

"I decided to have a quiet weekend," he explained.  "It was a bad decision. I got pretty down and disappointed in myself. It doesn't take a whole weekend to rest up from doing nothing. I'll go out next weekend and find something interesting to do."

"Next weekend?" I objected. "Do something today."

He chuckled reluctantly. "Like what?"

Our neighborhood was waking up around us. We were entertained by children playing at the bus stop. Birdsong filled the air in the tree above us and squirrels were scampering up and down the trees. The sun was beginning to shine and the gray clouds were rolling away.

"Wake up, Mr. Harris," I urged as he followed me back into the kitchen. "God gave you today for a reason. Don't you want to find out what it is?"

I opened his windows to let fresh spring breezes waft in while he put on his walking shoes and combed his hair.

Walking through the neighborhood, he started a grocery list. He had once enjoyed cooking and would make a favorite recipe. "Oh, and I will pick up some of that newfangled almond milk I saw advertised. Craziest thing I ever heard. Must come from nutty cows," he laughed.

His dusty bread machine came off the shelf in his garage. A list of books he might enjoy from the library was jotted down on a note pad. He debated between Oreos and Fig Newtons, then decided he would bake his own cookies."

As I was leaving, he saluted me with his bottle of water and zipped up the front steps to "shower, shave and do a bit of spiffing". 

I know 'tis but a Dream, yet feel more anguish

Than if 'twere Truth. It has often been so:

Must I die under it?  Is no one near?

Will no one hear these stifled groans and wake me?

           ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge 

Run a Negative Split

Photo by Sally Rae
(flickr.com)

I had kept a slow and steady pace, but was more tired than expected at the end of five miles. This was my first attempt at a negative split.  This means running the second half of the miles faster, stronger, than in the beginning.

The tendency is to go out too fast in the beginning of a race when strong and rested, then slow significantly as fatigue sets in. It takes a lot of discipline and practice to achieve a negative split. I wanted to try it this morning because the idea intrigues me, not only as a physical discipline, but as a spiritual discipline.

I have loved the hymn "Last Mile of the Way" since Carl Blacketer sang it in my home church years ago. The words challenged me even as a young child to begin looking at my life as a journey.

But I am a late bloomer, a slow-to-get-it sort of person. I have so far to go before I become the person God wants me to be! I will probably be like one of those flowers that lives a lifetime, blooms for an hour and dies. I think I might learn to be holy for about an hour when I'm 100, then God will say, "Okay, you are finally finished. C'mon in."

But, I want to live my life in a negative split. Remembering the first half of my journey tires me with lessons slowly learned, stumbling on unnecessary detours in the darkness, my lack of concern for others running the race alongside me.

I can go the last miles of life's journey racing with the energy and focus I held back. I can train harder to finish victorious and strong.  I can renew my focus on the goal and keep determination steady. And, I can race in a way that encourages and sharpens those who run, stumble or wobble alongside me.

Are you running the race to win? Do you hear the crowd of witnesses in the stands cheering us on? Faithful is He who calls you and He will bring it to pass if you do not give up.

Just Around the Corner

I greeted a stranger on my jog this morning. She had been walking her dog, Samuel Louise.

Focusing on my speed rather than location, I had made a mistake and turned the wrong corner. The stranger was standing in her yard, simply staring up at the blue sky. When I got closer I could see she was heartbroken, crying, talking to God...yelling at God.

Her kitchen was a cheerful place with sun streaming through yellow checked curtains.  Samuel Louise rested quietly in his big green bed the size of an inner tube. The woman's face was exhausted, ravished with emotion. Her Bible and a devotional guide were laying on the table.  She served chocolate-hazelnut tea and homemade cinnamon bread with trembling hands while I waited to listen, to love. 

"I think I've made a mistake," she explained. "My marriage. And becoming a mother and my career. My whole life feels like one giant mistake. It's not like I didn't pray about my decisions. I did. I do. But God seems to have disappeared on the scene, you know? And I am mad at Him. He could have stopped me, you see.  He could have stopped me from making the mistakes. I asked Him for wisdom."

Isn't it easy when things are going badly to conclude you've made a mistake? You buy a car that has to have more work done on it than expected. You marry someone who doesn't keep the promise to become their best self. Your child is the worst kid in the class and has no friends. And on and on it goes. A mistake. But is it?

"I don't know what I did wrong," my neighbor said. "What did I do wrong? And where do I go from here if I can't trust God to answer my prayers?"

It is right to make prayerful decisions, to know the Word of God, to acknowledge Him so He will direct our paths. But, through no fault of your own, you can find yourself in a big fat pit of a mess. 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He spent a whole night in prayer before He chose His followers...and then He chose Judas. Things could not have turned out worse for him or for Jesus. Did Jesus make a mistake? No. Judas was a man and he was free to sin. But the end result was a change of epic proportion, the opportunity for Jesus to offer redemption.

Behind every door is a mystery. Behind every face is a story. Behind every mistake is an opportunity.  

Running Uphill

To run far and fast, you start out fully fueled, trained and toned.   I was running my life race at a strong and steady pace, working toward peak performance, running to win. At a blind curve the road became a rocky incline. I adjusted my stride, weaving around potholes, more alert to obstacles and dangers.

Spiritually I have spent my summer running my race in my most difficult terrain ever. As the hill incline increased I called on a reservoir of strength I hadn't realized was even available.  Years of training in spiritual disciplines proved worth the struggle.

Then heart muscles began to strain. Attitude began to waver. Focus began to drift.  Determination for running to win changed to desire to finish the race.  Disappointment followed disappointment. Crisis followed crisis. Running uphill in the desert wasteland of enemy territory was lonely.  My usual kindred spirits, encouragers and prayer warriors had scattered, concentrating on their own races. I was being crowded off the trail by enemy critics taunting my grief with envy, shame and discouragement.

"Resistance", said my running buddy, Lindsey, "may reduce speed for awhile, but eventually it makes me faster.  It hurts the worst at the very end, right before reaching the goal.  But when it's all said and done, the most incredible joy overwhelms. Every bit of pain is worth it."

My steady confident stride slowed to survival speed.  Running slowed to walking as I continued to keep in step with the Spirit, believing His promises.  Man of Sorrows and Lord of Joy never once left my side.  Crawling, battered by the enemy, I recently reached the top of the hill.

Out of enemy territory I sit by the side of the road resting in the green pastures of a new plateau.  An article in Runner's World Magazine tells me "It is not only doing the work required in a race that makes you stronger. It's during recovery that muscles can rebuild and adapt to the challenge."

Sounds good! I definitely need rest and recovery, but I didn't quit and the victory is sweet~

The Better Gift

My husband knows that I sometimes clean chocolate out of the clothes dryer and scrub really nasty toilets. He knows I have fished dead worms and baby mice out of pants pockets. Having had five foster sons, he knows I have figured out by now how to duck snowballs, pitch a curve ball and shoot a basket. The presence of a mouse requires his immediate assistance, though I can dissect a deer heart or deliver a baby lamb without a problem. He knows more about me than anyone on the planet, self included.

Most women expect flowers, candy, restaurants or at least a token card on a holiday.  My husband's parting words this morning were to remind me he is at the low end of the scale in gift giving. I drove away laughing and headed to the market.  In the flower, card and candy aisle, two men grumbled to one another about the craziness of this holiday. One actually said his wife didn't deserve anything but "the boot".  And he didn't mean cute boots either!

No, my husband is not a great spender on cheap momentary gifts easily picked up on the way to work of a morning. His gifts are much more costly, permanent and difficult to find. He provides for me, teaches me, honors me and cherishes me every day. He says my weaknesses and faults make me human so it's okay when I fail. No, we don't do very well with holidays, but we are learning excellence in daily marriage.

Walking by faith not sight is an adventure that changes people. God has walked alongside molding us into His image one day at a time. The closer we each get to God, the closer we get to one another. A better gift would be hard to find.

I'm Running to Win!

My spiritual daughter, Lindsey, tells me that to run a race you focus on one mile, one quarter mile or one more step rather than the whole marathon. She coaches teenage girls by running alongside of them until their bodies are trained and their pace is strong. She tells them over and over again that they are winners until they believe her. I love to hear her tell of their progress. Starting at the back of the pack, they soon discover that training builds them into leaders.

The spiritual race you are running is not an impossible obstacle course. It is a race that you can win. You have a Coach who will train you and make you strong. He knows you can be a winner and is willing to help you make that dream come true.

Focus on your next step. There is always enough time, enough light, enough knowledge for the step you are on.  Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. Run in such a way as to win the prize. Use the spiritual disciplines to train yourself daily.  God promises an easy yoke and a burden that is light. He promises everything we need for life and godliness. He coaches and trains us with our qualifications and limitations in mind.

God expects progress, not perfection. Spiritual maturity brings a peaceful rhythm of graceful steps much like a well trained runner's stride. You will be a winner if you do not give up. Are you running to win?

Step by Step

You're walking along, thinking everything is as normal as possible, then, "POW!" Out of the blue comes a blow that knocks you down and leaves you shaking in your shoes. Maybe it's a death or illness, maybe it's a betrayal or a job loss. Maybe the money just won't stretch to the end of the month or your child is having a rough time in a new school.

Over a cup of tea, Andrea choked back tears and confided softly, "I'm bitter and I hate it! Where is God when my heart is breaking?I know God is real. I know He keeps His promises. He sees and knows everything. Why does He make life hurt so much? Does He love me? Did he forget about me?"

A lifetime of walking with Jesus has taught me that we don't have all the answers any more than Job did when his life got hard. Being a Jesus follower does not entitle us to a life free from disappointments. We are not entitled to health, wealth, good marriages or successful careers. In spite of our pain and loss, our disappointments, it is still worth everything to follow Jesus.

Andrea is learning that God's heart breaks with her when bad things happen. He loves her perfectly, personally, protectively with the heart of a father. She doesn't have to know all the answers to know He is a trustworthy provider and a strong fortress. Though she is shaken and afraid, angry and discouraged, God is an ever present help in her time of trouble. He is a steadfast Rock for her to stand on. His work is perfect and all His ways are just.

Step by step, He leads, refining us and changing us from the inside out. Down the road we are not as surprised by the unexpected blow that comes at us out of the blue. Later on we are more surprised by the joy and peace that are available even when we are down for the count.

A Memory for Katherynn

Katherynn is almost four and loves pre-school at my house.

Fascinated with the delight of learning to read, letters and sounds are "smooshed" into words. Slowly and methodically she writes each letter and sounds out words learning to spell. Every new story we read is added to our list of ones to enjoy repeatedly. Each new day is the "best day ever".

Today after a busy morning of doing her chores, writing, spelling, reading and playing with numbers, I suggested that it was time to go outside for a nature walk. After checking on the busy spider, visiting caterpillars and finding shoes we headed into the neighborhood to see what we could see.

Our nature discoveries were simple, but numerous. A blue jay feather, various flowers, a pine cone, a heart shaped leaf, two peaches picked from a tree and a dragonfly sighting by the lake.

As we sat enjoying the rippling water, Katherynn reached over to hold my hand. "This is the best minute ever in the whole world," she said softly. "Isn't it?" Her eyes, sparkling with the joy of walking in God's world, were wide-eyed with wonder.

"It's a wonderful minute, Katie Kat. God loves us very much to give us such a wonderful and interesting world."

"Indeed," she agreed. "Let's draw stuff in the nature journal so we never forget."

The Lady and the Cowboy

He was leaning against his mailbox waiting for me. Six foot, four inches of cowboy, solid as a rock. He was holding a giant mug of coffee in one hand and a Stetson in the other. I'd seen him in his truck, but he looked more intimidating up close.

"Good morning," he said with a slow grin. "You have worms."

I laughed. "Smart man. Wanta go fishing?" We introduced ourselves, becoming neighbors rather than strangers, as I explained that the worms were to show the children in my life.

"I told my wife about you waving to me every morning," he said softly. "Told her about the lady in our neighborhood that kept waving to me even though I scowled at her every day."

I smiled, remembering all the mornings I had seen him driving off to work, worn down and discouraged. "Well, it was a nice scowl. Not so scary really. I suppose I thought one day you'd wave back and smile."

"Cheered me up, it did. Been thinking on it. Most people just look on by other folks."

I nodded. And just that easily, there it was: the opportunity to give a reason for the hope that is within me. God is real. The Bible is true. Jesus is alive. I have never been more filled with peace and hope and love than I am today.

"He has shown you, oh, man, what is good; and what the Lord requires of you: to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." ~Micah 6:8

A generation of people, crushed with discouragement and lost in distractions, are in a great crowd of witnesses surrounding us. We, the people of His possession, are called to walk humbly with our God in the midst of them.

Who are the people in your neighborhood? C'mon. You bring the one next to you and I'll bring the one next to me.

Daffodils in the Snow

A single charming daffodil said hello to me this morning. The long harsh winter is melting into spring and my heart rejoices to see it. I don't know when I have needed a season of renewal and refreshing more than I do this spring. My tired soul is ready to be awakened to possibilities, opportunities and challenges that have been dormant all winter.

Whether the trial we endure has been physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, when life beats us down we bend our knees and beg for a change of season. Plenty of hardships, however, last for a much longer season than we ever expect. Indeed many last a lifetime. Pain is the universal language, the one thing we all have in common. It might be the death of a partner, a miscarriage, divorce, physical or mental disability, a prodigal child, learning problems, disease or abuse, any number of burdens, but we all have pain.

Does it seem to you that suffering is coming after you with a personal vendetta? I mean, why bother to fight this hard? It's easy to get caught in a downward spiral of lost hope, but denial, rebellion, worry and fear do nothing to empower us in our journey.

I beg you to wait. No matter how big the dragon that you face, please wait. Joy will come. There is a peace that passes understanding available for you in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Man of Sorrows and the Lord of Joy. In your weakness and pain, He can make you able to conquer the dragons you face. Open the book of Psalms and express your thoughts. Meet Jesus in the New Testament. Let someone know how badly you're hurting. There is a God who sees you, a God who loves you, a God who has a plan for your welfare and not your calamity.

This has been a difficult season for me, too, and I am casting my burdens on Him because I know He cares for me. In my weakness, He is strong. God is able to do more than we ask or imagine that He can do in our lives. Keep walking by faith and not by sight. Please, don't grow weary and give up.

As sure as the sweetness of daffodils after a harsh winter, the sweetness of His strength in our weakness will appear. He gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and a heart full of praise for the spirit of heaviness that we might be oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. (~Isaiah 61:3)

Faith Walk in Zimbabwe

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line.

The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure.

I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, dwarfed roles.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.

I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor with power.

My pace is set. My gait is fast. My goal is Heaven. My road is narrow. My way is rough. My companions few. My guide reliable. My mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice; hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the Enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, backup, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear!

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Anonymous Missionary in Zimbabwe

Camels and the Single Girl

The camel that lives in my neighborhood is a good teacher. He remains calm and steadfast whether the heat of summer scorches or the icy winter chills. Maybe camels never get very excited about anything, but the one I know is definitely not equipped with a panic button.

I don't know about in your neighborhood, but camels are not native to Missouri. Growing up on a Midwestern farm provided lessons in milking cows, shearing sheep and delivering piglets, but not so much about camels.

One of the few tidbits I learned about camels before meeting one is they can spit. I have no idea why. I mean, do camels spit because they drink 20 gallons of water at a time and overload? Do they spit for entertainment when bored on long distances? Is it an anger management issue? I do not know the answers to these questions and my neighborhood camel is not talking. Frankly, his mouth is usually too full of cud to speak in polite company.

But Rebekah knew all about camels. When God's servant went to seek a wife for Isaac during Biblical times, Rebekah was found watering her camels. She was not out tent hopping, investigating the lives of rich bachelors on television or shopping for a colorful luring tunic. Therefore, when she was least expecting it, in God's perfect timing, God's man came searching and found her doing what she had been called to do, watering her camels.

Probably you are not called to be watering camels. It's possible you don't even know any camels, thirsty or otherwise. But, what is it you are called to be doing today? If you are a single girl who would like to be married someday it's an important question to ponder. Where will you be when God's man comes searching for you? What are you doing with your singleness?

One Road for Katie

Determined to make changes in her life, Katie prints a list of new year resolutions on her favorite stationary. With a committment born of determination, she signs her name at the bottom. When the scrapbook page has been designed, it is posted on the bathroom wall where it can be a daily inspiration for change.

On a dreary February day, Katie studies her list and sighs. Discouragement has replaced hope. She still admires the creative page, so beautifully color co-ordinated with the bathroom decor. She still wants to accomplish her goals. She is still praying that God will help her become a better person. The reality of Katie's life, however, reveals not enough time and energy to recreate herself in one year.

When Katie phoned me to discuss her frustration, her question for me was simply stated. "These changes need to be made in my life. I'm running out of time. How am I supposed to change when it's too hard? I can't do this and I hate failure! Tell me what to do!"

"You can't do it, my darling," I agreed gently. "You are going to fail. Not because you don't want to change bad enough. Not because you aren't strong enough. Not because you aren't praying enough for God's help. You're going to fail because it's too hard to change so many things at once. You're spinning in all directions yet going nowhere. Change one thing. Put it on project status and you'll make it happen this year."

As we leave 2010, land of missed opportunities, we begin our journey into 2011, land of possibilities. Choose one resolution for change, one new road to walk. Like Katie, you may discover hope flowering all along the way.

Little Flowers

One day in late autumn I went for a long walk in the woods to say goodbye to my favorite spots before the oncoming of winter. Much of nature was already headed to bed and the woods had taken on a lonely and empty appearance so different from the abundance of shades of green, dotted with wild flowers that had been blessing my walks since early spring.

It gave me a melancholy feeling because I knew that, though I loved winter, I would miss my walks in the woods. Discovering a weed that was still dark green and thriving despite the cooling weather, I saved a sprig to take home with me.

For two months, transplanted to an antique bottle on my kitchen windowsill, it brightened the window above my kitchen sink. Like all of America, the orchard outside my window was covered with sparkling snow. In America we were surviving our coldest winter on record.

Most of the plant life was buried deep beneath the snow, dormant until spring, and yet one little sprig boldly continued to grow.

Without my ever even noticing, a bud on my weed grew to fruition and became a little orange flower. It just appeared there one day, delicate and soft, beautiful in its uniqueness. I began to ponder why such wonderful things happen to bless us and fill our lives with joy. God goes to an awfully lot of trouble sometimes just to hold on to our hearts and keep us tender toward him. The details of our lives matter deeply to him.

Someday I will be like that little flower. Father and I will keep tending to the details of my life. I will keep on walking by faith and not by sight and suddenly, to my surprise, along my walk I will discover that He has taken me, a worthless bruised weed, and turned me into a precious flower, delicate and soft, beautiful in my uniqueness.

Take Notice

It would be such fun to see below the topsoil to the wondrous unseen world below my garden.

This morning on my early morning walk through the garden I watched a mound of earth pulsate and hopefully waited for an animal to break through and peek out at me. It never did...It just kept moving below the mound of dirt continually pushing up almost to the brink of breaking through and then subsiding.

So much we miss because we do not take the time to see... And, yet, even when we do take the time to see, there is so much more to God's creation than meets the eye.

There are so many blessings and surprises tucked into the corners of every day just waiting for me to discover them. Beyond all that I notice are layers of blessings that I passed by without even noticing. God is always so very far ahead of me.

I've prayed that God will bless you today. And I'm hoping you see something special that you never noticed before.

Muddy Boots

Father, Dr. Luke and I just finished sharing a glass of iced tea and some cranberry-oatmeal cookies. I was fairly quiet and ate most of the cookies while they did most of the teaching. My heart seems to have paused on Luke 18:1 and the admonishment that we "ought to pray and not to lose heart".

Pray and do not lose heart...*smile. In the land that is plentiful, where the streams of abundance flow, I can still find myself discouraged and disheartened. I feel the splash of muddy waters filling up my boots on my faith-walk and suddenly realize that once again I have taken my eyes off Jesus, started trusting in my own thoughts and ways....and like Peter walking on the sea I begin to sink.

I am a Christ-follower with decades of learning to walk in His steps. I am a lead-follower with many who trust what I say and do. My faith is strong, but my heart is "deceitful above all things". The evil one is alive and busy with trying to implement his plans for my life. There are no pedestals you can put people on that protect them from failures and disappointments.

Pray...Such a small word, isn't it? When Peter was sinking and turned His eyes back to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of his faith, his faith-walk straightened out and his heart began to soar rather than to panic. We ought to pray and to not lose heart.

I like it out of the boat, walking in the rapidly changing waters with Jesus. I have learned that sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms my heart and lets the storm rage around me. He has a plan and if I have to be disappointed and wait or if I need to sacrifice without understanding why, greater glory will come for the kingdom.

"Pray and do not lose heart" ...I believe that's one doctor's advice I will follow because it came straight from Father's heart...the God who sees and is able.

As I held hands with Dr. Luke and Father this morning for prayer, it occurred to me that in 6 small words Dr. Luke gave me Father's prescription for good health as I walk by faith and not sight...and I will finish strong.

Pray hard. Love deep. Finish strong.
Karen

Walk By Faith, Not by Sight

Lord, when my soul is weary and my heart is tired and sore,
And I have that failing feeling that I can't take it any more;
Then let me know the freshening found in simple childlike prayer,
When the kneeling soul knows surely that a listening Lord is there.
~Ruth Bell Graham

This morning you leave for a journey that takes you far away from me. No longer will you be able to pick up the phone and send a text or give me a quick call. No longer will you sit at my table for meals or nap on the sofa, exhausted from homework. Today you will land on foreign soil and begin to live your dream.

To be a spiritual mother is to know what it is like to have your very heart walking around outside of your body. To be a spiritual mother is to bear the burden of your broken past with you and to share the overflowing of joy that comes when you are healed strong and ready to fly on wings like eagles. To be a spiritual mother is to stand the gap with prayer, to write the words of encouragement before you need them and to watch over from afar with a faith that can move mountains when your faith wavers.

You have come so far from that young girl I first met and yet there are so many miles yet for you to travel. Walking by faith and not sight takes practice, my darling. You won't always do it right. You won't always feel confident. Life is as full of pit falls, blind corners and rocky ditches as a Missouri road, but you will walk strong and true because you are brave and you know the God who sees and the God who is able.

Strength and courage grow not in absence of fear, but in the presence of God. Keep in step with the Spirit. You can do this big thing that you so wholeheartedly have worked toward all these months. Walk by faith and not by sight, knowing for sure and for certain that Father can see you and Jesus traveled the road before you. Father is able to do more than you ask or imagine that He can do. I can see the top of this mountain you are climbing from where I am and you're doing just fine.

"Do not call to mind the former things or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth; Will you not be made aware of it? I will ever make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert to give a drink to my people, the people whom I formed for Myself will declare my praise." ~Isaiah 43:18, 21

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance." ~2 Thessalonians 3:16

You are loved with an everlasting love....and I am walking alongside praying without ceasing.

Know the Word

If you are not determined to know God through His Word it will never happen.

So many things will crowd Him out of your life. So many other tasks, many of them noble and wonderful, will fill up your days...days that turn into weeks then turn into years. If you do not read His Word, study it, ponder it, fill your soul up with it, how then, will the real you know the real Him?

The seed of life is planted in your heart and He has sent His very Spirit, the Great Gardener, to insure that you will grow and produce fruit. The fruit you seek to see on the branches of your life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. To grow into that tree planted by the water that bears strong abundant healthy fruit, you must take a look today at your root system.

My spiritual son, Tim, knows much about gardening and plants. For a decade, he has faithfully watched over me, helped me, taught me patiently and thoroughly as I learn to garden, first flowers and now vegetables. He spent hours transplanting flowers after we moved to the Campus House. I tenderly watched and watered and guarded those transplants faithfully, sadly disturbed as green turned to brown, strong turned to weak and then inevitably, winter came bringing death. He reminded me time after time: "It's what's under the soil that matters."

Come spring there were flowers...beautiful pink ones. So it is with the root systems in your heart. An increase of the fruit comes from what is under the soil. Build your root system with a strong foundation in the Word. It has everything you need for life and godliness. It is necessary for knowing Him, having a healthy life and bearing good fruit.

Do you have a teachable spirit? Are you using the "Miracle Grow" of knowing the Word?

As I look at my life and all God, the Great Gardener, has done to grow me to this point, learning the Word, knowing the Word, understanding the Word, practicing the Word is what gave me roots to stand strong and bear fruit.

Training on the Vine

One of my cucumber vines is lazy. Vines all around it are holding tight to the trellis, staying on course, productive, beautiful and strong. No matter how many times I have folded Miss Lazy into the trellis, she zings out into chaotic directions refusing to be trained. As a result, she has accomplished nothing, become colorless and weak and now is dying in the pile of weeds.

Laziness is the easy way. Training is the hard way. Easy does not mean good. Hard does not mean bad. Strength, endurance and wisdom come from consistent training. If we want a productive relationship with Father, we must train. If we want an abundant life, we must train. I'm not talking about a grudging, resigned "Man, I'm trying to deny myself daily, take up this heavy cross I bear and follow God's laws the best I can, but woe-is-me" kind of life.

I'm talking about having a passionate faith and noble purpose that wakes you up with energy and creative thought; running the race because your passion sets your footsteps on fire and spurs you on; freed by grace, motivated by love and living a life that is full of adventure and made glorious by the God who sees and the God who is able.

"God's training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself." -Oswald Chambers

I'm standing still at the dawn of a new day. I can choose to mosey through daily tasks, mope about all there is to do, groan over my lack of accomplishment or I can choose to run the race, to train and grow step by step, to receive coaching when I need it and give my all toward the goal of winning the prize set before me.

It's not so much about what happens to you in life, but how you take it that's important. God is watching to see whether we allow the problems to defeat us or whether we will go through them in His strength, being made stronger for the next problem, diligently trained for the final end battle. Everything in life is training for the work we will do next. If that is true, then whatever happens is not a big setback or an interruption, but a stepping stone to even higher service and more glorious adventures of faith.

Be strong and take heart. You have been loved with an everlasting love. Serve God's purpose. Run with disciplined passion. He will take you by the hand, guide you with counsel and afterward take you into glory.