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Today’s Encouraging Thought…

Feb1

A note about “Today’s encouraging thought…”

Thank you all for being so gracious in your comments to me publicly and privately regarding taking the month of January off from posting “Today’s Encouraging Thought.” During this time, one thing God impressed upon my heart more vividly than ever is how His Word speaks for itself. So, in light of this, “Today’s encouraging thought” is taking on a new title, and will simply be called “Fix Your Eyes…” a Scripture focus with fewer, less or no comments from me. I believe this is exactly how the Lord is leading. This month will begin with an emphasis on prayer and promises. I hope you will be equally as encouraged and blessed with “Fix Your Eyes” as you were with “Today’s Encouraging Thought.” Words cannot express how each of you who ‘like,’ comment and/or share these posts bless my very heart, and I pray His richest blessings on each of you as well as we, together, fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

It Takes Faith

Jun5

On your mark… get set… go!!!

It takes faith to start a race… to commit to a 50-yard dash, a marathon or anything in between. It takes faith to trust that your lungs will function, your heart will keep beating and your legs will carry you through to the finish line. It takes faith!

Trust in the LORD and do good;

It takes faith to stay in the race, to not look to the left or the right, to keep your eyes on the prize and keep going. It takes faith to leap over the next hurdle, to not dwell on the last one and to focus on your goal regardless of who may be behind you, next to you or ahead of you! It takes faith to stay calm and steadfast in the midst of the race. It takes faith!

…dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

It takes faith to enjoy the race, to be grateful for the ability to run, even in the midst of the pain, sweat and toil. And it takes faith to trust your Coach’s instructions as His words echo through your racing mind. It takes faith to remember that running for His team was initially your decision, and that this is the race you sincerely desire and choose to run. It takes faith!

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

It takes faith to persevere when the race gets harder, the pain gets greater or the competition taunts you. It takes faith to endure and trust that your Coach’s wisdom and instruction will never let you down, and that if you do everything He has trained you to do, you will be the best runner you can possibly be…even better because of Him! It takes faith!

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

It takes faith to cross the finish line, and know that whether you have stumbled, fallen and injured yourself or others…your Coach will be there cheering you on. It takes faith to know that after you have trusted Him and given it your all, the best prize you can ever receive is yet to come! Because, regardless of what you or others may think of your race, there is a “Well done!” from the best Coach in the Universe waiting for you! Why? Because He ran before you, He ran with you, He ran behind you! It takes faith!

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

Yes, it takes faith…to start, commit, stay focused, enjoy, be grateful, trust, persevere, endure and to finish. Would we want it any other way!?! Sometimes, we would all most likely say “Yes, it would be nice to see the outcome!” But when we reach that finish line, we will say “Nope! I’m glad I didn’t know!” because the One holding our trophy will make all things clear to us the minute we see His face! So for now dear friends stay in the race and never ever give up no matter what! And as you do, remember…

It takes faith!

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Psalm 37:3-6 © 2011-2016 BIBLICA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE

©Celebrate His Love, 2017

Green Cap Guy

May26

Last weekend I had the wonderful privilege to attend a pastor’s wives retreat and just absorb it all! That’s right, every lady attending did not have to do a thing…did not have to organize a planning team, make sure every detail was covered, call the speaker, order the food, advertise, speak or execute any other part of the weekend. All we needed to do is pack and get there! It was wonderful! And absorb I did!

 

Hopefully, you know this… Pastor’s wives are a rare but normal breed in every way. Rare in that people may expect more from them than, say, their best friend. But normal in the sense that they are just that…regular girls with the same wants, needs, desires and issues as every other woman. I say all this because sometimes I tend to expect more from myself than God even does… And this is where we girls get tripped up! We know we put our pantyhose on one leg at a time just like every other woman…well, we used to…not too many where pantyhose anymore, not in So Cal anyway, but you get the picture!

 

So back to the weekend… The keynote speaker brought a picture of Olympic swimming champion, Michael Phelps, to our attention. He is the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 gold medals. And here is his very simple secret, he kept his eye on the prize! Here is a picture of him winning that last gold medal before his pending retirement…

 

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Notice how fixed Michael’s eyes are on the goal, the prize as it were…and then notice ‘Green Cap Guy.’ His eyes are on Michael, and he lost the race. Thus, knowing the secret, Michael won 28 medals during his 16-year Olympic career! The illustration is simple, but the lesson learned is quite clear… If we are going to reach the goal God has for us, we have to run (or swim as it were) our own race and keep our eyes on The Prize, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

—Proverbs 4:25

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 —Hebrews 12:2

I don’t want to go through this life as ‘Green Cap Guy!’ …No way, no how! So the question I have to ask myself often (and I’m guessing you do too) is, “What is the race God has for me?” Hopefully, if we have not defined it yet, we soon will, and as another Dori…aka Dory…would say, “Just keep swimming!”

 

More on this later! 🙂

 

Proverbs 4:25; Hebrews 12:2 © 2011-2016 BIBLICA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE