BENEFITS OF THE TRAINER

I have been going to a trainer for a few months now in an effort to keep my hip going.  Bless his heart--he has helped BUT!

It started as a great relationship and THEN he wanted me to work.  It all began to go downhill when he assured me I could do whatever form of torture he had for the day.  I am pretty sure the man suffers from nightmares and all night indigestion---how ELSE could he dream up these methods of cruelty!

To make it even worse--he does NOT listen to my whining and "I can't's".  I tell you the man has NO mercy.  OH--he has some reason for everything we do, but my reasoning of why I should not do his plan does not go far.  It makes me question whether his momma raised him right.  He SURE doesn't listen to his elders!

The reward for my hard work is at the end of the session when he stretches my hip.  Even the reward has a cost!  He expects me to put my knee into my armpit and other such awkward positions.  I don't know about you, but I spend very little time with my knee in my armpit while on the floor.  BUT, when we (he) finishes the session, I walk out better every time.  And added bonus, I am stronger and able to do much more than I could when we first started.  I have a cumulative gain of greater strength.

You might call this a physical sanctification.  Through pain and suffering I am becoming stronger.  My endurance has increased.  With every session, I am able to do more the next session.  I know what to expect when the trail of the next session begins, but I also know I will not only endure, but grow after it is over.  Though I may laughingly give the trainer a difficult time, his insistence on my hard work is paying off.

So it is with God, He has us in the process of sanctification.  "The process of sanctification is progressive.  God grows and changes us from one level to the next instead of all at once."  Priscilla Shirer We endure pain, suffering, heartbreak, illness and all the other trials of life with a slow growth of assurance that God is at work in us.  He is faithfully by our side and loves us beyond our comprehension.  "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" Phil 2:12 was written for Believers.  Paul was telling these followers of Christ they needed  "to exert some effort, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work in them, as part of their salvation experience."  We are growing spiritual muscle when we allow God to teach us and draw us closer.  AND--muscles have memory--it can be called upon when we once again are facing trails.

SO--WORK OUT your salvation.  Seek the Lord with all your heart and KNOW that He is God.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God,

 you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29

NOT EVEN

NOT EVEN NOW

ARE YOU LESS

THAN ALMIGHTY GOD

YOURS IS ETERNAL GLORY

YOU ARE FOREVER STRONG

SABBATH BLESSINGS, DEAR FRIENDS!

MEANWHILE HERE IN THE HOOD

ENOUGH ALREADY

RAIN RAIN-

GO AWAY

MY DAILY CHALLENGE!

GET YOUR SHOES ON

I am NOT a clothes horse--my closet is not filled to overflowing and I tend to wear those garments which I am most comfortable wearing over and over.  Shopping is not my favorite thing to do and in fact, is way down on the list.  I had almost rather go to the dentist.

I do not have books in my closet, but you get the idea.  

Shoes are not a big deal for me either.  What is MOST important is for the shoe to be comfortable and to not look like a stork on stilts when walking in them.  HOW do you walk in these??

What I do seem to have more of is my "work out" shoes.  There is a pair for the road, trail shoes, hiking shoes, weight lifting shoes, and the extra pairs of the road shoes which have seen a better day but can still be an alternate pair.  Then there is the rack with the recycled old road shoes which are now my garden shoes.  It is VERY important for stability, grip, form, and bio-mechanics to have the right shoe on for the right activity.  The shoe is my most important piece of equipment.  Taking a close second to that shoe is the sock I wear under the shoe.  It needs to have just the right support, be non-slipping, and moisture wicking.  My feet are essential to all of my activity and I try to take good care of them.

It is a sure sign of a worn out shoe (though they never look worn out) when my feet and ankles begin to get sore after my long walks.  The cushioning in the shoe is essential to absorb the shock of my heavy footfall.  Therefore I do not neglect or ignore the needs of my feet.  All forward motion will cease without the proper care of that which creates the motion.

I am preparing next week's small group lesson.  We are talking over the shoes of the gospel of peace.  The author makes a statement I LOVE,

"When you're wearing your daddy's shoes,

your footprints can start looking a whole lot like his."

She admonishes us to put on our Father's shoes and see the tracks of peace in our hearts and our relationships and experiences with others.  The proper footwear is essential for peace to rule in our lives.  Turmoil, drama, chaos, and strife all come from the enemy and he is out to steal our peace.  "A life without peace is simply unprotected, crippled, unable to move forward, hindered from maturing and developing in a healthy fashion.  

When we put on our Father's shoes, we experience the gospel of peace.  This peace spills over into our lives.  Even in the midst of pain, commotion, confusion, disappointment  instability we remain steadfast because we are walking with the Spirit given confidence, stability and steadiness.  "Our God can and will anchor your soul, tethering it to the security found in His gospel, the good news of His beloved Son."  Put on your shoes and walk in faith--KNOWING all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

Since we have been declared righteous by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1

REDEMPTION STORY

I am always amazed when I see God working in my life.  At times it is the most unexpected of ways.

My blogging friend, Linda, lives far away in the frozen Northeast.  We met on the great waves of the Blogasphere and our friendship has grown over the years.  We share one most important identifying trait---a great love for God the Father and Jesus His Son.  Linda has a book club about once a month on her blog HERE.  As most of you know, I keep several books going at a time and am teaching the current Bible Study book.  So there is little time for extra reading.  I was intrigued with her choice of book and agreed to read this one~

C. S. Lewis is one of the modern day icons of the faith.  He prolific writings in a variety of genres has widely influenced young and old alike.  Frankly, I had him up on a pedestal.  Why wouldn't I want to read a book about his wife.  And then I started it.  Have you ever had a book that you picked up and put down repeatedly?  Declaring my anguish over the details of their relationship, I would put it down and promise I was finished.  The next thing I knew I would have it back in my hands needing to know if the story would ever redeem itself.  

After I finally finished the book I came away with several "take aways"~

C.S. Lewis had feet of clay just like the rest of us.
The relationship with Joy (his wife to be) began as an emotional affair.  As I have thought this over, I don't think there was even a concept of emotional affairs during the time period this happened.  We now recognize sharing intimacy of any kind with someone other than your spouse can be an emotional affair.  Throughout their relationship, Mr. Lewis maintained boundaries when it came to any type of physical relationship.  Clearly Joy yearned for this, but respected his clear reservations.  She was a married woman in a marriage with an abusive and alcoholic husband.  BUT she was married.  

I saw God's Word woven all throughout the story.
I thought of Job and his suffering and loss.  I remembered David, the one after God's Own Heart, who also messed up big time and not just once.  Bathsheba also jumped off the pages as I remembered the tragedy of the loss of her baby. And finally Moses came to mind as I reflected upon his not being allowed to go to the Promised Land.  All that wandering around, arguing with the stubborn people, putting his life on the line and he does not step one foot into the land promised because of his disobedience.  All of these suffered consequences of their actions.  

God answers prayers.
After Joy's diagnosis of terminal cancer, Mr. Lewis prayed he could take her pain.  He was then struck with his own debilitating disease.  Joy, in the mean time, was in remission.  They had three years together before she finally passed away.

Redemption clearly works it way into the story.
God is in the redemption business.  He desires to redeem our stories.  This does not mean we will not endure the consequences of our sin.  A Grief Observed was written after the tragic death after a brief marriage to Joy. It is a testament to the intense loss of his great love endured by Mr. Lewis.  

God gives us a free will.
God knew how this story would play out, but he did not intervene and stop the relationship.  This could have possibly called into question one of last century's greatest Christian writers.  God allowed it to happen.

God uses the unexpected.
C..S. Lewis was not a believer until he had a Paul like experience.  Interestingly enough, Joy had a similar experience and she was born Jewish.  What a duo!  There was never any doubt in my mind that they both loved God.  No matter what their relationship, God can still use the words of a great writer to influence countless others for years to come.  In my lifetime, C.S. Lewis is perhaps the most quoted Christian writer beyond the Bible.

I am glad I finished the book and will continue to ponder the lessons for some time to come.  There is no doubt we all have done things which cloud our witness and bring into question our faith.  BUT GOD---the Great God of the Universe--he is in the business of redemption.

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—

 those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

Psalm 107:2

HOLD ON!

When I am in the gym, if I have my head below my heart for a period of time I am usually in trouble.  When I return to upright, my head is going to spin for a brief period of time.  Perhaps I am working my muscles so hard the blood flow has been diverted from my brain (I seriously doubt this--Slacker is my middle name).  Perhaps my blood pressure was low and the result was a little vertigo.  Perhaps I am getting old---I refuse to admit it!

For whatever the reason, a sure cure is to stand still and breathe deeply.  It does not take long for the world to slow down and finally stop.  The trainer told me one of the weight machines causes him to become dizzy every time he uses it.  He never pops all the way back up, but instead stays on his knees until the world has stabilized. Today he told me that one of the other weight lifters commented upon how spiritual he was while he waited for the world to stop spinning while on his knees.  He repeated the story with a great laugh at the misconception he had caused being on his knees.

AHA!  Perhaps if we all spent a little more time on our knees talking with the Father our worlds would stop spinning.  Perhaps you do not suffer from this, but some days I am totally off balance and the world seems to be off kilter.  I am so busy holding on to keep from toppling over that it never occurs to me to go to my knees to regain perspective.  Time spent in the gym is never wasted and time on my knees is time well spent.  A little knee workout every day might be just the ticket to make this world stop spinning!

26 "Or, you may fall on your knees and pray - to God's delight! You'll see God's smile and celebrate, finding yourself set right with God.

Job 33:26

RAIN ~RAIN GO AWAY!!

It has been a LONG WET fall and winter.  Starting tomorrow we have another five days of rain coming with an expected total for those five days to exceed five inches.  My back yard is so "squishy" I have not been able to begin construction on my ark.  I may be forced to rely upon the borrowed kayak in my garage.  Unfortunately this is a ride on top kayak.  This means I WILL get wet!

The only problem with my plan, I can conceive of, is if my niece wants her kayak back.  I live three doors down from her---this is a distinct possibility.

Personally I prefer the rain to come in measured doses.  This deluge will eventually lead to a L O N G ~ H O T summer with little to NO rain.  WHY can't the rain come according to my plan?  Let's say raining once a week and no more than an inch at a time--year round.  This should keep the grass happy and the mud to a minimum.  Louisiana gumbo mud is another topic for another day.  Let me just tell you quick sand looks like a wimp compared to gumbo mud.

Why doesn't God set the rain to fall like I set my sprinkler system?  It goes off three times a week for a determined period of time in the early morning hours to not interfere with daylight activities.  The slow and measured method of watering is preferable and allows for optimum grass growth.

We were reminded of the beauty of slow and relentless spiritual growth by the High Reverend Sunday.  Spiritual growth is not explosive, not flashy, and not instantaneous.  It comes over a long period of time in small and consistent acts of  pursuing God.  Those small ordinary moments of faithfulness on a day by day basis lead to a deep and sustained relationship with God.  The "Little Big Things" of showing up faithfully in the pursuit of a deepening love of The Father.
There is no forty days and nights of flood, but instead the slow but steady streams of mercy pouring over us day after day.  How beautiful our garden will grow with day by day showers of his love and mercy.

Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them,

 so that your progress will be evident to all.

I Timothy 4:15