Run Forrest, Run

I can imagine that you are reading this from the sitting position; which is great because I am writing this from the sitting position.

I went on my first run in a long time yesterday and I remember it well (along with my legs, gag reflux, and feet). I decided that I was going to run for fifteen minutes around campus. At around eleven mins into this run I make way to the nearest bush and had my lunch for the second time... Ew.

Needless to say I am way out of shape.

Hebrews 12:1 says we are to run the race with endurance. The race being referred to here is the race of life. 

I think it would be easy to say that life is a marathon, no doubt. There are ups and downs, a start and a finish, and some people make it to the end before others.

So my question for you today is, are you a spiritual runner?

Runners never start off running 26 miles at a time. They slowly build up their mileage throughout days upon days of running.

I would say that a good definition of a spiritual runner would be: one who meditates on the Word daily, prays without ceasing, seeks God's will and not their own, and spreads the gospel.

Often times we only see the word "endurance" in that passage and we automatically relate it to rough times, and we think that this endurance is automatically given to us.

Well I hate to tell ya, God didn't just fill you full of endurance powers, just like beginning runners can't run a full marathon. BUT God did give us all the tools we need to acquire endurance. So He says meditate on my Word, throw off the things that weigh you down, pray without ceasing, love me over everything else in your life.

I can guarantee that your spiritual stamina will increase ten-fold if you do those things. Talk about running with endurance. You may not even break a sweat. More importantly, you won't lose your lunch.

So I ask you again, are you a spiritual runner, and are you doing what is needed to run this race with endurance? If not, my best advice is to get up and....

Memories, Dr. Suess, and a Testimony

Merrium-Webster defines a memory as "the store of things learned and retained from someone's activity or experience". 

What is your fondest memory? (You're probably sitting here thinking "I have no idea"). 

Let me tell you mine. 

I can remember the day I found Jesus like it was yesterday. I was "saved" around ten years ago but I didn't come to know Jesus until July 25th, 2013. I was sitting in the auditorium of a high school in Cleveland, Ohio and I was actually there on a mission trip. I was currently at the worst point in my life because I had become a victim of my circumstances. 

It was called a Concert of Prayer and I was absolutely dreading it going in because my initial thought was "who wants to pray for an hour and a half?". Little did I know that the biggest turning point of my life would happen in that hour and a half.

One of the leaders stood up and said "Let go of everything that is weighing you down. Let go of your circumstances and the control over your life. Bring it all to the feet of Jesus". (now you're probably singing "Let It Go" from Frozen in your head which is totally okay).. It was in that moment that I felt tears streaming down my face. I was crying hysterically because it was like everything I had been carrying on my shoulders was gone. The pain was gone. I closed my eyes and gave my life to Christ in that moment. 

What a distinct feeling that was. 

Dr. Suess said, "You will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory". 

I believe that we have as many memories as their are stars in the sky, but I would compare my fondest memory to something as unique as the moon that gives light in the darkness. Memories are gifts, but sometimes they are burdens. The ability of your brain to look back on a moment and make you feel as if it were happening now is nothing short of miraculous. 

Sure we all are going to have good memories and bad ones, but which one do you have more of? Are they memories of value and depth? Do they make you smile and wish it could happen all over again? I sure hope so. 

I wonder what life would be like without memories. 

So I ask you again, what is your fondest memory? 

April showers bring May flowers

It's always around this time of year that the phrase "April showers brings May flowers" is incredibly overused. 

Rain can be depressing when it happens for an entire month, but the great thing about rain is that once it's done, everything looks beautiful and refreshed. 

I've realized that our lives can be like the month of April. Sometimes it seems like it rains without stopping, and you begin to wonder if the rain will ever end. 

And then you see blooms that turn into blessings. All thanks to that rain. 

So whenever it seems like the rain in your life will never end, just remember that April showers bring May flowers. 

Do you believe in magic?

I can remember being a child and believing in magical things. Santa was real, I was going to be a princess when I grew up, and all those stories from the bible were absolutely believable. What I mean by believable is that I understood it as something that could happen everyday. Everything is so magical during childhood. 

Then you start growing up and everything gets hairy. Santa was your parents the whole time (total bummer), and you're wondering how you grew out of all your princess dress up clothes so fast. More importantly, you start to question everything that once seemed so believable. Did Jesus really feed 5000 people with a couple fish, and a few loaves of bread? Was Jonah really in the belly of a whale? 

And then life happens. You grow up, people break your heart, nothing seems to go right, and you're at "rock bottom". 

If you've ever seen a mustard seed, you know its the size of that little black speck that gets stuck on your tooth when you're eating. Pretty small. 

And Jesus said, "if you have faith the size of this mustard seed, you could look at that mountain and say 'move' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you". So you only need faith? 

The answer was, is, and forever will be YES. 

The beautiful thing about faith is that its magical. Thanks to faith, I am a child of the King, and doesn't that make me a princess? And who needs Santa when you have Jesus? With that faith, miracles really are everyday things. 

So my question for you today is, do you believe in magic? 

Have faith--Move mountains. 

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." ~Matthew 17:20

The Best is Yet to Come?

We are constantly bombarded with the comment "the best is yet to come" and we choose to believe that its true because it gives us security. We rely on the fact that we constantly work towards "the best" that has yet to come. Maybe we are missing "the best" because we are too busy trying to find it to stop and understand that maybe you are in the best moment of your life. 

I'll admit, being in college I often convince myself that one day all this work will pay off. And once it does, will that be the best? Or will the best come when I have children? Or is it when I buy my retirement home at the beach? Before you know it, I'm dying and wondering what the best part was. 

You see, I think that nothing on earth can be "the best" because life is but a vapor. The best that has yet to come will come when I am walking the streets of heaven. What can be better than that? 

So I will rely on the fact that the best is yet to come, but I will understand that it comes when I'm gone. And maybe every moment that life gets tough, I'll remind myself that the best is yet to come. 


Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ~ James 4:14