The course God sets before us is seldom easy. Running it takes commitment. James MacDonald says, 'I've lived long enough to know men and women whose lives were sold out to God a few years ago, but who've since walked off the track... gone AWOL... lost their longing for God. Fear of following in their footsteps haunts me... and it should you, too...
The faithfulness of my walk with God depends on my willingness to stay in a relationship with Him. I never want to lose the grip His greatness has on my life and the privilege it is to... serve Him till the day I'm welcomed into His presence. That passion compels me. It keeps me honest and humble... the last thing I want to do is crawl across the finish line a defeated, derailed Christian, or worse - give up the race before my life's over. I want to break that tape with arms high, my face to the sun.'
Paul said, '...I have finished my course... Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown...' (2 Timothy 4:7-8 KJV). Notice, courage plus endurance plus faithfulness equals reward. Photographer Jacob Riis said, 'When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps 100 times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it will split in two, and I know it wasn't the last blow that did it, but all the blows that have gone before.'
God's Word is '...a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces...' (Jeremiah 23:29 NKJV). So, '[hold] fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ [you'll] have reason to glory because [you] did not run in vain...' (Philippians 2:16 NAS).
Courage + endurance + faithfulness = reward.
I already have all the reward i REALLY need. I am alive. I have my health. I am happy (most of the time) and my children, aka my monsters are happy and healthy. I have amazing friends, and a Nixon that loves me so much, he won't let me out of his sight...even to go to the bathroom.
Anything else, to me, is just a bonus. Icing on the cake.
I have another busy day today, so i better get moving. I have traffic, computers, job hunting, a run, and the kids to sort out after school, before date number 4 tonight...
I think my hay fever is coming back!
Oh yeah - got this funny email from my friend in Aussie that i have not seen since 2002, and is visiting next week...it made me laugh so thought i would share it ;)
i just read your blog, thanks for the mention, im getting to be quite a popular character in it, maybe you could fictionalise it a bit more and write about your skinny, beautiful super model oldest friend who has the best life.....blah blah blah.
you could call me some glamourous name and make up cool things i do.
anyway.....just saying...:-) by the way i keep forgetting to tell you that nixon is always what i would call my baby if i had a boy. :-)
So from now on, one of my best and oldest friends, who sometimes has relationship problems, and who i sometimes worry about because i love her so much, but really has a pretty cool life - shall be called Giselle, and looks like this....;)
Oh and...i always thought Nixon is such a cool name for a dog. Everyone comments on it, and asks why i named him that. I never thought about it for a person, or a baby though. I guess if people can name their babies, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Kennedy, etc etc...then why not Nixon? As long as no one starts a trend by naming their kid - Bush - then i guess it is all good! haha
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