You're Not Alone

This is the morning before the 5K and as I was preparing to step on the treadmill for one last trek before the race I was stretching and praying to my heavenly Trainer. I voiced to Him my fear of walking tomorrow's 5K alone. I've done a couple other 5K's, but each time my husband has walked with me, I wasn't alone. His presence near me was very comforting and encouraging to keep on. However, this time, I'm on my own, and fear grew as I stepped on the treadmill. Father, give me something to take with me on the journey tomorrow. I can't do this without you. Maybe I shouldn't do it, maybe it'll be too much. And deep in my heart I hear His voice, "Daughter, you're not alone, my angels are bside you to the right, to the left, they're cheering you on!" His words became my new cheer for tomorrow. "I'm not alone, His angels are beside me to the right, to the left, they're cheering me on. I'm not alone, His angels are beside me to the right, to the left, they're cheering me on!" A smile breaks through. Encouraged, another 5 minutes pass and I begin to sense something going on with my left heel. I knew when I put my socks on this morning that there was a small, pea-size hole by my heel, but it's been there before and I had no problems so I thought no more about it...until now. I realize a blister is forming and know I can't stop, so a previous cheer comes to mind: "Satan, no matter what you say, no matter what you DO, no matter how I feel, His grace will see me through. Heaven's gates are open, His strength and power is mine, my heavenly Father is leading me straight to the finish line, because...I'm not alone, His angels are beside me to the right, to the left, they're cheering me on...because it's not about speed, it's about endurance, walking with Jesus, walking with Jesus! I do it for Tyson, I do it for Grace, I'm walking for those who can't run the race. I see them ahead, cheering me on, All glory to God the race has been won! So I look up, look out, and set my eyes on Jesus, I look up, look out, I'm walking with my King! And realize I'm not alone. Ever. 50 minutes have passed and the now nickel-size blister is a factor, but I'm not quitting, no matter what happens, His grace will see me through. That and a good sized bandaid. All glory to God, the race will be run!

The Power of And

1 John 5: 13-15 (AMP, some ( ) taken out) 13 I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence which we have in Him: that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. 15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know that we have the requests made of Him. I've always loved verse 14 and 15, probably because it gives me hope. I also know that it's important, in order to get the full understanding of a verse, to read the verses before and after. But I have failed to pay attention to the first word in verse 14 – "and". Verse 14 and 15 are only possible BECAUSE of verse 13. We can have confidence in coming to Him because #1- we believe in the name of the Son of God and #2- because we believe in who Jesus is we have life, yes, eternal life. Whew! I like those last seven words, "we already have life, yes, eternal life." Isn't that a powerful "and"? The confidence comes from the knowing…with settled and absolute knowledge. Knowing that when I surrender to the truth that Jesus really did pay the price for my sin on the cross so that I might have blessed restored fellowship with His Father, and confess to Him that my sin put Him there, ask His forgiveness of that sin, He forgives me, and I become His child with all the rights and privileges of that life. No ifs or buts about it. And it doesn't stop there. Yeah, I know. I surely could stop there, couldn't it? As a believer in Jesus, if I ask any request of Him, and know that is in His will, I have the joy of knowing that He listens to AND hears me. To picture in my mind that the God of the universe, my Creator, cocks His head to listen to my request is so very…well, cool. AND it doesn't stop there. It surely could, couldn't it? Knowing He listens and hears me, I have the freedom and confidence to ask for anything in His will and can be assured He, like the loving Father He is, will grant that request. So I best make that request wisely and in His will. The interesting part about it is that if I make a request that isn't in His will, He won't grant it because it's not best for me, His child. And that's reassuring as well. I can't lose. So why not ask? Father, thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for me and for forgiving me of my sin. Thank you for making me your precious child and loving me so much that you bend your ear to my voice. Thank you for hearing my requests and helping me to grow in knowledge of your will and purpose for my life. Father, I know that it is your will that my body, this temple you live in, be healthy for the work you planned before my birth to do. So in Jesus' name, I ask you to remove all the excess weight that entangles me and keeps me from fulfilling that purpose. May your life shine from the inside out and draw others to you. Restore their souls, their personalities, the essence of who you created them to be, as you are restoring mine. I love you Lord. I praise you Lord. I bow on my knees to worship you Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Gluteous Maximus Hurtimus!

This is the week just before the 5K race and walking that treadmill has gotten tedius. I was time for a change. So Monday I determined to break into a jog after my warm up. The knee screamed, "NO!" I tried to go back to a walk and the muscles around my knee just didn't like even that. Fearful I'd have to stop I got off the treadmill and slowly walked around the gym trying to calm down the muscle. On my second trip around I wound up at the elliptical machine. "Why not?" my Trainer said to me. So I stepped upon the "pedals" and tentatively started moving and realized that the knee didn't mind that. Yesterday, I was on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes and must say I was pretty proud of that. Until later that morning. How deceptive that machine is while it's moving. You think, "Oh, this isn't as hard as I thought and seems easier on the knees than walking. I can do this." At the time, that's true. However, little did I know what other muscles the evil elliptical exercise would affect. Long about 10:00 AM my(should I say it this way?)butt muscles started voicing their objections. "What's going on?" I thought. "Why do my low back and glutes hurt so much?" And then awareness dawned. I worked harder on the elliptical and other muscles also worked harder. Owww!! But, then I thought, this is a good thing. Working muscles should speak up and tell you they're working and if a little ouchness comes with it, all the better. Discipline is a painful thing sometimes; that's why it's called discipline. AND I didn't quit. That's a good thing too. The same held true when I was in the pool this morning and was talking with the Lord. I sang to Him, I prayed for others, I shared my concerns, and got nothing. "Father, you're not talking to me. That's why I come to the pool at 5:00 AM, to talk with you and listen to what you want to tell me. What's up?" He spoke then, "Daughter, I brought your friend into your journey for a reason. I haven't abandoned you, don't you abandon her. So she hasn't been working out with you these past several weeks, go talk to her. She needs to know I love her no matter what is going on in her life." Discipline. It comes in all shapes and sizes, but I know it's there for my good and when I learn from it I grow to be more like my Saviour. That's what this journey is all about, becoming more like Jesus.

It's About Endurance-Put up or Shut up

I know I've written the exercise cheer for the title of this blog in a previous entry, but the Lord brought this truth home to me again through a devotional reading the other night. The scripture is found in Hebrews 12:1 (Amplified version). "Let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us." And again the cheer comes to mind, "It's not about speed, it's about endurance; It's not about speed, it's about endurance. Walking with Jesus, Walking with Jesus. Do it for Tyson, do it for Grace, do it for those who can't run the race; Do it for Mary (75 y.o. friend who just had open heart surgery), do it for Grace, do it for those who can't run the race (2nd verse); See them ahead? Cheering you on? All glory to God, the race has been won!"(3rd verse) It's time to put up or shut up and I'm determined to NOT QUIT! I'm determined to throw aside the unnecessary weight(all the pounds, the negative talk, the fear of failure, the "I can't do this" attitude, the "it'll never happen" taunts from Satan)that entangle me, try to trip me and cause me to fall. I WILL keep my eyes on Jesus. I WILL do this 5K and God WILL receve all the glory. I'm determined to share Jesus with every step I take on this journey. I'm determined, as the Lord opens the door, to tell others how He's brought me to this "race", the 5K and the journey to live living! Whether I'm first or last I WILL walk this path of righteousness that He's brought me to. What's next? No clue. But I know He will make the way clear to me and I WILL follow His leading. It'll be hard, it may be painful, it may be the biggest physical challenge I've faced to date, but I WILL go there because it's His will for me and that brings Him glory.

Jehovah Nissi-The Lord brings Victory

The biblical reference to the title of this post is found in Ezekiel 17:15 where God has directed the Israelites to fight the Amalekites and has instructed Moses to stand on a hill overlooking the battle so his people could see him and as long as he held up his arms with the staff of the Lord then the Israelites would have victory in the battle. When his arms were down they would be losing the battle. At one point Moses got tired and put his arms down. Aaron and another leader saw this and brought him a rock to sit on and helped to hold his arms up. That's a spiritual application within itself, but Moses chose to call this place, "Jehovah Nissi", The Lord is my Banner or the Lord brings Victory. I never really understood the phrase "The Lord is my Banner" until my visit to the doctor's office last week. Interesting that He has been telling me, when I'm walking on the treadmill and getting weak and tired and want to stop or quit, to lift my arms to Him and give Him praise. At the time I could hardly breathe and walk, let alone lift my arms, but I did it at his direction. I thought He was just trying to encourage me to keep my focus on Him, and in part I believe He was. But when I read the story of God's instructions to Moses in lifting his arms in the midst of the battle that God had brought him and his people to, the lifting of my own arms took on a whole new meaning. The victory came by God's own hand when I kept my eyes on Jesus, lifted my arms when I was weak and trusted in His unseen work within my body. And greater still was the victory in this current battle when I remembered the verse 1 Samuel 16:7, "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I know this is probably a duh statement, but when I actually stopped and looked at the evidence and truly thought about it, God is bringing about a greater victory of health, healing and live living within me from the inside out. How amazing is that?! I was bothered that neither I nor others could physically "see" the changes happening to me...until I got the A1C results at the doctor's office and realized what a remarkable victory he is bringing about. He has brought me to this battle with weight loss, diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure and is changing my physical body from the inside out, not from the outside in. He's changing my mental/emotional body through that same victory and strengthening my spiritual body by my daily walk with Him and seeing Him work within me. Kinda blows my mind when I stop and truly think about how He is working within me. All He asks me to do is believe He is at work, whether I see it or not, to keep my arms lifted to Him in the midst of this battle and trust that He will bring me all the help I need to gain the victory. His banner, His victory is awesome to behold! He brings to my mind Song of Solomon 2:4 (AMP version) " He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near him]." His victory banner is waving all over me, protecting, comforting me and bringing me victory and Him all the honor and glory due Him. Whew! What a RUSH!

Goals

You know, when you think about reaching a goal one normally thinks about running to a finish line or completing a project or getting your weight to a certain number or something that's designed to happen over a period of time. Rarely does one thing about a goal as being achievable immediately, unless of course, the "goal" is set so unbelievably low that it's not really a goal at all. I've got "goals": losing 100 lbs, getting off diabetic/high blood pressure meds, and maybe even eventually running a marathon (now THAT's a big goal!). This morning I read a verse that set me to re-examining the word "goal". 1 Timothy 4b-5 (NIV) reads: "...advancing God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." For the believer and follower of Jesus Christ, the goal as we advance God's work through faith is love. It's not to weigh a certain number, look a certain way, memorize a lot of scriptures so you sound "spiritual" or even refusing to use swear language. All these things are good and part of the believer's overall being, but according to God's Word our "goal" is LOVE; pure, right and sincere. towards God and towards others. I love that my diabetic numbers are nearing normal and that my body is internally getting healthy and my thoughts are positive, healthy and looking heavenward. I love that as I walk this journey to fully live living others are watching and seeking and examining their relationship with the Lord, but is that my GOAL? Or is my goal, as I faithfully continue to advance God's work, love? Kinda, sorta makes one ponder that truth, doesn't it? Love, what an interesting concept, what an even more attainable goal, right here, right now.

Working out is Working OUT!

The 5K is just a little over a week away, so I thought it would be a good idea to go for my quarterly diabetic check-up at my doctor's office (I'm late by about 2 1/2 months). The appointment was made for a couple days ago and obediently I drove to the office. When going to this type of appointment the first thing they do, after the weigh in, is take blood from your finger for a test called an A1C. If you don't know, this test determines your blood glucose levels over the previous 3 months. It's a pretty big deal to a diabetic. A1C levels are determined thusly: Daily blood glucose # 4-6% = considered non-diabetic 68-126 .1-7% = considered in control 127-155 7.1-8.4% = monitor closely 156-195 8.5-10.4% = elevated levels 196-252 10.5 % or higher = seriously elevated levels 253 or higher The higher the number/level the more one is prone to a stroke or death, so monitoring these "numbers" is crucial, not to mention a very good idea. The last time I had my A1C level checked was in October 2014 and it was at 8.6. This time, on March 31st, 2015 my A1C level was...wait...wait...hold your breath...it's coming...it's coming... 5.6 Woo HOO!!! Dance of Joy!!! Woo Hoo!!! Do the fist bump in the air!!!!!! The doctor also told me that my blood pressure was 98 over 56 and I could decrease one of my bp meds by half. The goal is to get off the meds completely, but I'll take decreasing a med...for now. When I asked her if I could think about discontinuing the diabetic meds she said she wanted to wait and see how I did at my next check up; that'll be the end of July. One of the reasons I am so excited about this is because since January (this year) I've been on that treadmill 5 days a week and the past 3 weeks I've been able to walk the 5K each Saturday. For me this is a serious work out regime and the "numbers" show that it is truly working and paying off big time. You can't fake those numbers. I've only lost 5 lbs since then but big whopping deal! My body is getting healthy! My cholesterol numbers are way down as well; not below 200 (normal) but 213. All these numbers will decrease as I continue to eat healthy, exercise and keep walking with my Lord. It's working! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus!!!