We have spent almost one entire year meditating on the Names of God as well as who God says we are. When we began this journey, I was so excited to learn something new about our God. He has knocked my socks off. He is so Faithful, and Gentle and at the same time He is our Protector and Shelter and fiercely protective of His children.
It's that last little bit that has become so precious to me over the last few weeks. Without going into a lot of detail, I was deeply hurt by someone close to me. This wasn't the first time these choices were made and that is what hurt the most. It brought up all sorts of old feelings, fear and insecurities I thought were long gone. I found myself headed down a road that I haven't been down in several years.
Here is what I love about my God. He made a way for me to have some completely alone time with Him before Thanksgiving. It was incredible. To spend time in worship, prayer and most importantly: SILENCE.
I had poured out everything in me and then sat and listened. Do you know what I heard?
Verses. Specifically Psalm 139, where He tells us He knew us before anyone else even knew we existed. That we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
I heard Deut. 33:12 where He tells us the one the Lord love rests between His shoulders.
I heard Him saying that He was with me and FOR me and that He does not forsake those that love Him.
He reminded me to forgive that person again. THAT part was not optional. So I forgave.
He reminded me that I was treasured and protected regardless of what others said or how they acted.
Then I wound up in Psalm 138. I decided that for the next two weeks I would begin to memorize and pray verses 7 and 8.
Here they are from The Message.
When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, with your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me, God. Your love is eternal - don't quit on me now.
I share this with you because for almost one year we have concentrated on WHO God says He is and who He says we (Christians) are. If I had not been making a diligent effort to do that, I'm not sure what kind of mess I would be in right now.
But I'm not.
I have peace that I can not describe.
I have the desire to love this person and see complete restoration. Sure, that scares me a little and believe me I've had the "what if" conversation with God. BUT, my friend, He has assured me that He can handle whatever comes up. I am to just choose love today.
As I was reminded in my Bible study this week, weeping is okay. Just make sure you are weeping forward. That is where we are headed. No looking back. FORWARD. Right on the heels of our God. Is there any safer place?
He went before me and made a way for me.
There is no one like my God.
How I love Him.
Blessings,
Stephanie
Friday, December 4, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
My Everything
To fret or not to fret? That is the question.
Your hands are sweaty, your heart is racing, and your
mind is reeling out of control. What brought it on and why can’t you control this feeling? You can’t even remember what initially caused this mode of fretting. You just know your head feels like a volcano about to erupt and your entire body is facing major exhaustion.
Sound familiar? It’s called fretting. Most of us have fallen into that black hole at one time or another. Some go there daily and others find themselves completely debilitated because they choose to stay there day after day with no peace in sight.
We need to find what brought us to that place and deal with the root of the problem. If we take the time to trace the thought process back to the root, we will always find that Satan is standing there feeding us some lie. If we don’t “nip it in the bud”, Satan will enhance that lie and add others to it. He will convince us that we are worth very little. He will have you believe that others are laughing behind your back. The lies will continue to spin a vicious cocoon around your heart and in a short period of time you will become lifeless. He’ll even try and convince you that you are the only one that can control those feelings. That lie could not be further from the truth. Trust me; we must place this sin at the feet of Jesus. He is the One that can destroy it.
Last Monday I found myself ready to drop into that black hole. I had already lost hours of productive time to fretting during the day. I had even permitted him to steal hours of peaceful rest during the night. Satan loves to attack us when we should be resting. The Lord’s position regarding this sin was simple. “Debbie, give no time to fretting, wipe it off your agenda. You need to focus on Me and accomplish all that I have equipped you to produce today.”
Once I got to school the next day I went all around my room saying the name of Jesus constantly; walking up and down each row of chairs. As I touched each chair in my room, I prayed for each child that would enter my classroom that day. I called His name on my breath constantly throughout the day. He rescued me. He gave me my lesson plans for the day... and the fretting stopped. At the name of Jesus, the demons trembled.
We have so much power through Him, if we will only breathe His name and believe in His promises. That day, the names of Jesus washed over me. It was as if the Lord gave me a front row seat in a fancy movie theater. Name after name of my Savior flashed across the screen reminding me that He is and was and will always be My Everything.
You know the signs of fretting. When they begin their deceptive dance, decide what lie Satan wants you to believe. Command Satan to flee and then set about your daily routine empowered with His word, the Names of Jesus and the desire to serve Him even more boldly.
Revelation Song
Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus Your Name is Power
Breath of living water
Such a Marvelous Mystery.
Debbie Fritz
Your hands are sweaty, your heart is racing, and your
mind is reeling out of control. What brought it on and why can’t you control this feeling? You can’t even remember what initially caused this mode of fretting. You just know your head feels like a volcano about to erupt and your entire body is facing major exhaustion.
Sound familiar? It’s called fretting. Most of us have fallen into that black hole at one time or another. Some go there daily and others find themselves completely debilitated because they choose to stay there day after day with no peace in sight.
We need to find what brought us to that place and deal with the root of the problem. If we take the time to trace the thought process back to the root, we will always find that Satan is standing there feeding us some lie. If we don’t “nip it in the bud”, Satan will enhance that lie and add others to it. He will convince us that we are worth very little. He will have you believe that others are laughing behind your back. The lies will continue to spin a vicious cocoon around your heart and in a short period of time you will become lifeless. He’ll even try and convince you that you are the only one that can control those feelings. That lie could not be further from the truth. Trust me; we must place this sin at the feet of Jesus. He is the One that can destroy it.
Last Monday I found myself ready to drop into that black hole. I had already lost hours of productive time to fretting during the day. I had even permitted him to steal hours of peaceful rest during the night. Satan loves to attack us when we should be resting. The Lord’s position regarding this sin was simple. “Debbie, give no time to fretting, wipe it off your agenda. You need to focus on Me and accomplish all that I have equipped you to produce today.”
Once I got to school the next day I went all around my room saying the name of Jesus constantly; walking up and down each row of chairs. As I touched each chair in my room, I prayed for each child that would enter my classroom that day. I called His name on my breath constantly throughout the day. He rescued me. He gave me my lesson plans for the day... and the fretting stopped. At the name of Jesus, the demons trembled.
We have so much power through Him, if we will only breathe His name and believe in His promises. That day, the names of Jesus washed over me. It was as if the Lord gave me a front row seat in a fancy movie theater. Name after name of my Savior flashed across the screen reminding me that He is and was and will always be My Everything.
You know the signs of fretting. When they begin their deceptive dance, decide what lie Satan wants you to believe. Command Satan to flee and then set about your daily routine empowered with His word, the Names of Jesus and the desire to serve Him even more boldly.
Revelation Song
Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus Your Name is Power
Breath of living water
Such a Marvelous Mystery.
Debbie Fritz
Sunday, November 15, 2009
"Not I, But Christ"
Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”
What does that verse mean to you? To me, it means that we have someone on whom we can depend, no matter what may come in life. We have someone who will restore us. We have someone who will love and strengthen us. When we don’t feel like we have the power or courage to go on, Christ becomes our strength and deliverer. The Christ of the Bible, the Creator of the universe, wants to be uniquely active in our lives. In Him we find everything we could ever need to make it through life.
We don’t stand alone when we walk the steps of life. We don’t stand alone when we talk about Jesus to someone we meet. We don’t stand alone, even when we feel completely abandoned. We don’t stand alone when our families are in trouble or our marriages are falling apart. God wants to help us through every challenge in life. He wants us to lay our burdens at His feet.
As I look at the challenges in my life, I can only pray to God, “Lord, I can’t do it, but You can. So please, do it.”
Debbie lives in Dacula, GA with her most wonderful husband and their 4-legged wonder Bandit.
What does that verse mean to you? To me, it means that we have someone on whom we can depend, no matter what may come in life. We have someone who will restore us. We have someone who will love and strengthen us. When we don’t feel like we have the power or courage to go on, Christ becomes our strength and deliverer. The Christ of the Bible, the Creator of the universe, wants to be uniquely active in our lives. In Him we find everything we could ever need to make it through life.
We don’t stand alone when we walk the steps of life. We don’t stand alone when we talk about Jesus to someone we meet. We don’t stand alone, even when we feel completely abandoned. We don’t stand alone when our families are in trouble or our marriages are falling apart. God wants to help us through every challenge in life. He wants us to lay our burdens at His feet.
As I look at the challenges in my life, I can only pray to God, “Lord, I can’t do it, but You can. So please, do it.”
Debbie lives in Dacula, GA with her most wonderful husband and their 4-legged wonder Bandit.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
I AM FROG!!
It seems like every time we turn around there is another crisis. Whether it be within our family, a personal friend, or the world. We all know of someone going through a crisis right now. All you have to do is watch the news or pick up a paper. What is happening? is there any peace? Well if all you do is rely on the media, you would not think so.Even as we exam our own lives, our own crisis it is so easy to be sucked into this world of despair. We do not need to do this. it will only pull us down and then we can't be who God wants us to be.
I have been learning to Fully Rely On God(FROG). This summer when I was at McDonalds I got a Happy Meal. The toy I got was a miniature beanie baby- it was a frog. His name was Jumps. I thought how appropriate..We own an moonwalk business. later I was reminded by a special friend that frog stands for fully rely on God.I had heard that before, but at that time in my life it held a whole new meaning. I know keep him in my car as a daily reminder to FROG.
God is our refuge and strength a very present help in time of trouble.Psalm 46:1 and then 9 verses later it says in Psalm 46:10, Be still and know I am God. He is there for us all we have to do is be still and rely on His strength and power. We can't deal with any our our crisis on our own - we were not made to. God wants us to rely on Him that is how He made us.
Some people believe that God only is concerned with our big crisis', but I believe He is concerned with our smallest crisis.If He knows the number of hairs on our head, then He knows ALL of our crisis and He wants us to bring them to Him and let Him handle them. He will do a much better job than we will anyway!
That is where you will find real peace. When we can truly turn everything over to Him and let Him have control. Easier said than done? I think we will find if we will surrender to Him our life will be a lot easier.
So next time you see a frog.. Remember it is just a reminder to FULLY RELY ON GOD!
Amy lives in Lawrenceville with her husband Jerry and their 3 boys and 2 dogs
I have been learning to Fully Rely On God(FROG). This summer when I was at McDonalds I got a Happy Meal. The toy I got was a miniature beanie baby- it was a frog. His name was Jumps. I thought how appropriate..We own an moonwalk business. later I was reminded by a special friend that frog stands for fully rely on God.I had heard that before, but at that time in my life it held a whole new meaning. I know keep him in my car as a daily reminder to FROG.
God is our refuge and strength a very present help in time of trouble.Psalm 46:1 and then 9 verses later it says in Psalm 46:10, Be still and know I am God. He is there for us all we have to do is be still and rely on His strength and power. We can't deal with any our our crisis on our own - we were not made to. God wants us to rely on Him that is how He made us.
Some people believe that God only is concerned with our big crisis', but I believe He is concerned with our smallest crisis.If He knows the number of hairs on our head, then He knows ALL of our crisis and He wants us to bring them to Him and let Him handle them. He will do a much better job than we will anyway!
That is where you will find real peace. When we can truly turn everything over to Him and let Him have control. Easier said than done? I think we will find if we will surrender to Him our life will be a lot easier.
So next time you see a frog.. Remember it is just a reminder to FULLY RELY ON GOD!
Amy lives in Lawrenceville with her husband Jerry and their 3 boys and 2 dogs
Friday, October 16, 2009
I am Blessed!!!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus......................................... to the end that we Who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:3-12)As I sat down to write I was struck with the awe of our God. I am His child and I know Who I am has nothing to do with this world but totally to do with Christ in me, the Hope of Glory. As I walk through this season of my life I am awed by the work He has done in my life. The things of the world are growing strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. I am confronted daily with the awe of knowing I am accepted ( Romans 15:7) not on the basis of my own works but on the finished work of Christ. Therefore there is never a time when I am not accepted. Not only am I accepted but I am adequate for the role He has me in. 2 Cor 3:5 says Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves but my adequacy is from God. Therefore I can lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles me and run with endurance the race that is set before me, looking unto Jesus the author, finisher and perfector of my faith. (Hebrews 12) In the race as I encounter various trials I can be confident that after I have suffered for a little while, the God of all Grace Who called me to His eternal Glory in Christ will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish me. ( 1 Pt. 5:10) And in the process of that I am more than a conqueror, that nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord. ( Romans 8:39)
Based on Who I am in Christ I see life through His eyes. This past month our family was faced with something you think only happens to other people or that you see in movies but as we have walked through it and seen the Lord do miracles again in each of is and those around us I am now convinced that whatever trial may come my way, instead of wanting it gone, I know that the one who redeemed me and transferred me from the Kingdom of Darkenss to the Kingdom of Light is up to something good. That no weapon formed again me will prosper and that He is working all things together for Good and He will receive Glory.
My prayer for you is that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened so that you may know what is the Hope of your calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe. (Eph 1:18)
Nothing you accomplish on this earth can compare with the surpassing greatness of knowing Him - of knowing Who you are in Him. The greatest accomplishments in my life are pale in comparison to Him.
I pray you will take time to reflect on a few of His promises to you and ask Him to show you the reality of that truth in your life today. Don't waste your time - He has everything you need and more.
Here is a start to think about:
You are chosen - Col 3:12
You are His Handiwork - Eph 2:10
You are inscribed in His Palm - Isaiah 49:16
Your are His - Isaiah 43:1
Now these are the things to shout about and nothing and noone can take it from you. My dear sisters, rest in the unchanging character of God and the precious position, of knowing Him, has placed you. If you would like a "Who I am in Christ" booklet, email me at jmilligan3@carolina.rr.com and I will mail you one as long as the supply lasts.
O Magnify the Lord with Me and Let us exalt His name together.
Jill
Sunday, October 4, 2009
How Do You Smell?
A pleasant aroma. It is what continued to come to my mind as I prepared to post here tonight. I sat and tried my hardest to come up with a post centered around that theme, but God reminded me that I had already written it. This is a post that was on my personal blog last October. It is exactly what I feel God wants me to share here tonight...I pray that it ministers to you!
Earlier this summer we made a weekend trip to Chattanooga. It was hot, boy was it hot. As we pulled into town, we decided to go see Chad's mom and her husband first. After two hours in the car, we were all ready to stretch our legs. Our toy poodle Paddington needed to run and since they live on several acres, it was the perfect way to start our family visit.
We pulled up and got out of the car. Almost immediately one of the girls said "Gag a maggot mom, what is that smell?" I gave her the "mom look" that pretty much said, hush your mouth and don't say anything else.
As Chad's mom came out she told us that earlier in the morning, a skunk had wandered down very close to the house. The dogs spooked it and he "hid" up against the house. I guess the dogs wouldn't leave the poor little skunk alone, so he decided to leave them a gift. (Oh yes he did, and from the way it smelled...he didn't have any stink left in him.)
My first thought was, thank goodness it was outside and the little stink bomb didn't get into the house!! I'm so glad I didn't say that out loud! My mother in law then told us that their entire house smelled like skunk all morning, but that the smell was better now.
We headed into the house for the comfort of air conditioning and to escape the skunk smell only to find, it was worse in the house. That one daughter of mine, the one that had already been pretty vocal, looked at me with huge eyes. She started to say something, but I quickly gave her the look again. She hushed and put her hand over her nose and mouth. And yes, I talked to her about that once we got back into the car.
I felt so bad for them! It had been almost 8 hours since the "spraying incident" and the odor was still very strong. Bless her heart she had tried everything...opening windows, candles, air freshener you name it, she tried it. As hard as she worked, you can't just air that smell out over a couple of hours. It takes time as much as anything. After the initial aggravation of the entire incident wore off...she was having a good laugh. I still felt bad for her!
We had a nice visit and got in the car to head to my parents. Once we got there, my mom hugged us and said...did you hit a skunk on the way here? We cracked up and told them the story. Here's the thing...
We had spent about an hour or so with Chad's mom. And yes, the aroma was startling to begin with, but the longer we were there the less shocking it became. We didn't realize that just being in that environment would change OUR aroma.
We immediately changed clothes and tossed our skunk scented clothing into the washing machine. We washed our hands and realized that we would have to wash our hair too.
Until Saturday, the Skunk Incident of 08 had slipped my mind. This Chinese Proverb was on my calendar Saturday:
"Flowers leave their fragrance on the hand that bestows them."
I thought about my recent actions, my words, my attitude. I had been pretty "skunky" last week. As a result there were several days that I know my children's behavior was a direct reflection of MY actions. They were irritable because I was irritable.
I did not bestow sweet smelling flowers very often last week.
My "stink" rubbed off on them.
God's word tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
"Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."
Whew...that hit home big time. We, believers in Jesus Christ ARE the aroma of God in this world.
And you know what God REALLY impressed on my heart?
The world....
starts at home.
"How am I smelling God?" It's a question I'm starting to ask more often.
Have a blessed week!
Stephanie
Earlier this summer we made a weekend trip to Chattanooga. It was hot, boy was it hot. As we pulled into town, we decided to go see Chad's mom and her husband first. After two hours in the car, we were all ready to stretch our legs. Our toy poodle Paddington needed to run and since they live on several acres, it was the perfect way to start our family visit.
We pulled up and got out of the car. Almost immediately one of the girls said "Gag a maggot mom, what is that smell?" I gave her the "mom look" that pretty much said, hush your mouth and don't say anything else.
As Chad's mom came out she told us that earlier in the morning, a skunk had wandered down very close to the house. The dogs spooked it and he "hid" up against the house. I guess the dogs wouldn't leave the poor little skunk alone, so he decided to leave them a gift. (Oh yes he did, and from the way it smelled...he didn't have any stink left in him.)
My first thought was, thank goodness it was outside and the little stink bomb didn't get into the house!! I'm so glad I didn't say that out loud! My mother in law then told us that their entire house smelled like skunk all morning, but that the smell was better now.
We headed into the house for the comfort of air conditioning and to escape the skunk smell only to find, it was worse in the house. That one daughter of mine, the one that had already been pretty vocal, looked at me with huge eyes. She started to say something, but I quickly gave her the look again. She hushed and put her hand over her nose and mouth. And yes, I talked to her about that once we got back into the car.
I felt so bad for them! It had been almost 8 hours since the "spraying incident" and the odor was still very strong. Bless her heart she had tried everything...opening windows, candles, air freshener you name it, she tried it. As hard as she worked, you can't just air that smell out over a couple of hours. It takes time as much as anything. After the initial aggravation of the entire incident wore off...she was having a good laugh. I still felt bad for her!
We had a nice visit and got in the car to head to my parents. Once we got there, my mom hugged us and said...did you hit a skunk on the way here? We cracked up and told them the story. Here's the thing...
We had spent about an hour or so with Chad's mom. And yes, the aroma was startling to begin with, but the longer we were there the less shocking it became. We didn't realize that just being in that environment would change OUR aroma.
We immediately changed clothes and tossed our skunk scented clothing into the washing machine. We washed our hands and realized that we would have to wash our hair too.
Until Saturday, the Skunk Incident of 08 had slipped my mind. This Chinese Proverb was on my calendar Saturday:
"Flowers leave their fragrance on the hand that bestows them."
I thought about my recent actions, my words, my attitude. I had been pretty "skunky" last week. As a result there were several days that I know my children's behavior was a direct reflection of MY actions. They were irritable because I was irritable.
I did not bestow sweet smelling flowers very often last week.
My "stink" rubbed off on them.
God's word tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
"Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."
Whew...that hit home big time. We, believers in Jesus Christ ARE the aroma of God in this world.
And you know what God REALLY impressed on my heart?
The world....
starts at home.
"How am I smelling God?" It's a question I'm starting to ask more often.
Have a blessed week!
Stephanie
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A Spiritual Journey - An Iron Man Event
An Iron Man Event
Our younger son Michael just completed his first 70.3 Iron Man, an athletic event which includes a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run. This particular Iron Man event was the second largest one in the world, with over 3,500 athletes participating. After making the decision to enter, he told many of his friends. Many competitive athletes know if they verbalize their goals they will be more accountable. They are definitely locked in. With his commitment in place, he began training. Serious physical training was essential, but with this being his first Iron Man, he knew he would need to glean knowledge from seasoned veterans. A dear friend of the family gave Michael informative books and magazines to read. But more importantly, he gave him words of wisdom and a promise that he would be praying over the entire Iron Man journey.
Michael didn’t jump right in and tackle the full 70.3 miles. He gradually started to take on more distance while decreasing his time. He was careful to feed his body proper nutrition and to rest in order to recuperate physically and mentally. He set goals for himself. He achieved those and moved forward after hitting each benchmark. He realized the importance of pacing himself. He knew daily and weekly schedules would be vital. His sweet wife, Renee, was there to offer encouragement and research proper nutrition for this type of event. As husband and wife, they discussed the importance of sacrifices that each of them would have to make over the next few months. Competition would be within himself, not so much against others. He decided not to compare himself to others and become frenzied, but to focus on his goals.
It has been great to talk with Michael over the past four months of preparation. He knew he had strong support system from family and friends. On the day of the event we got up very early and traveled to Augusta, GA. to see him compete. Although we couldn’t see every mile of the race, we were there at benchmark spots to yell words of encouragement, display signs, hand him bottles of water and take lots of pictures to capture those memories. Folks that could not attend pledged that they would be praying for him throughout the day. Countless spectators offered words of encouragement and shouts of praise to thousands of participants they had never seen before.
Michael’s main goal was to finish the race.
He would indeed give it his personal best.
How did he do?
He finished the 1.2 mile swim in record time. He decreased his time from 45 minutes to 31 minutes. He came out of the water with a smile on his face ready for the 56 mile bike trek. All was going well, until the last 12 miles of the bike run. His rear tire went flat. Unfortunately, no one was there to help him repair it, so he biked the last 12 miles with a flat tire, which meant he had to put all of his weight on the front tire. Needless to say, his legs took a beating on those 12 miles. Once he completed the bike trek, he had to face 13.1 miles of running. Obviously cramping set in, but he persevered. While he had set a personal best of finishing in 6 hours, he knew he would have to settle for a much longer time. He refocused and ran across the finish line in 7 hours and 20 minutes. We were so proud of him. He had finished the race, differently than he had planned, but with a sense of accomplishment. He didn’t quit, he didn’t look back, but pressed ahead toward the prize… the finish line.
A Spiritual Journey
As I looked back over the Iron Man event I realized how many things parallel our spiritual lives.
We must make our decision to follow Christ. No one else can make that decision for us. Many of you can remember that decisive moment. You ran to tell others and they rejoiced with you and surrounded you with lots of prayer support and words of encouragement. If you were wise you found an accountability partner. I still call on accountability partners for many areas of my life. They help keep me in line. While Michael trained four months for this event, our training will take a lifetime. We must spend time in His word and seek His wisdom. We need to feed our bodies daily, always being sure to rest in order to more fully develop our relationship with Him.
There will be moments of great sacrifice. You will have “flat tire” situations in your life with no one around to rescue you. Will you press on? Will you persevere? We must be like the dying seed, that sheds the outer skin and blossoms a new from within. Count on others to offer words of encouragement. Seek out faithful prayer warriors and offer to stand in the gap for others in need. And remember, sometimes we finish parts of our lives differently than we had planned. Sometimes we will feel beaten down.
How will you refocus? How will you finish your race?
If you want to finish the race…give Him your personal best.
Phil 3:14
I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Michael and Renee
Our younger son Michael just completed his first 70.3 Iron Man, an athletic event which includes a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run. This particular Iron Man event was the second largest one in the world, with over 3,500 athletes participating. After making the decision to enter, he told many of his friends. Many competitive athletes know if they verbalize their goals they will be more accountable. They are definitely locked in. With his commitment in place, he began training. Serious physical training was essential, but with this being his first Iron Man, he knew he would need to glean knowledge from seasoned veterans. A dear friend of the family gave Michael informative books and magazines to read. But more importantly, he gave him words of wisdom and a promise that he would be praying over the entire Iron Man journey.
Michael didn’t jump right in and tackle the full 70.3 miles. He gradually started to take on more distance while decreasing his time. He was careful to feed his body proper nutrition and to rest in order to recuperate physically and mentally. He set goals for himself. He achieved those and moved forward after hitting each benchmark. He realized the importance of pacing himself. He knew daily and weekly schedules would be vital. His sweet wife, Renee, was there to offer encouragement and research proper nutrition for this type of event. As husband and wife, they discussed the importance of sacrifices that each of them would have to make over the next few months. Competition would be within himself, not so much against others. He decided not to compare himself to others and become frenzied, but to focus on his goals.
It has been great to talk with Michael over the past four months of preparation. He knew he had strong support system from family and friends. On the day of the event we got up very early and traveled to Augusta, GA. to see him compete. Although we couldn’t see every mile of the race, we were there at benchmark spots to yell words of encouragement, display signs, hand him bottles of water and take lots of pictures to capture those memories. Folks that could not attend pledged that they would be praying for him throughout the day. Countless spectators offered words of encouragement and shouts of praise to thousands of participants they had never seen before.
Michael’s main goal was to finish the race.
He would indeed give it his personal best.
How did he do?
He finished the 1.2 mile swim in record time. He decreased his time from 45 minutes to 31 minutes. He came out of the water with a smile on his face ready for the 56 mile bike trek. All was going well, until the last 12 miles of the bike run. His rear tire went flat. Unfortunately, no one was there to help him repair it, so he biked the last 12 miles with a flat tire, which meant he had to put all of his weight on the front tire. Needless to say, his legs took a beating on those 12 miles. Once he completed the bike trek, he had to face 13.1 miles of running. Obviously cramping set in, but he persevered. While he had set a personal best of finishing in 6 hours, he knew he would have to settle for a much longer time. He refocused and ran across the finish line in 7 hours and 20 minutes. We were so proud of him. He had finished the race, differently than he had planned, but with a sense of accomplishment. He didn’t quit, he didn’t look back, but pressed ahead toward the prize… the finish line.
A Spiritual Journey
As I looked back over the Iron Man event I realized how many things parallel our spiritual lives.
We must make our decision to follow Christ. No one else can make that decision for us. Many of you can remember that decisive moment. You ran to tell others and they rejoiced with you and surrounded you with lots of prayer support and words of encouragement. If you were wise you found an accountability partner. I still call on accountability partners for many areas of my life. They help keep me in line. While Michael trained four months for this event, our training will take a lifetime. We must spend time in His word and seek His wisdom. We need to feed our bodies daily, always being sure to rest in order to more fully develop our relationship with Him.
There will be moments of great sacrifice. You will have “flat tire” situations in your life with no one around to rescue you. Will you press on? Will you persevere? We must be like the dying seed, that sheds the outer skin and blossoms a new from within. Count on others to offer words of encouragement. Seek out faithful prayer warriors and offer to stand in the gap for others in need. And remember, sometimes we finish parts of our lives differently than we had planned. Sometimes we will feel beaten down.
How will you refocus? How will you finish your race?
If you want to finish the race…give Him your personal best.
Phil 3:14
I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Michael and Renee
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