ENCOURAGE - EQUIP - EMPOWER
IT STARTS HERE.
I tend to have an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to my goals. If something can’t look exactly the way I think it “should,” I give up on it altogether.
I can’t find a full hour to practice drawing techniques? Then I’ll leave my sketchbook to collect dust for another day.
I can’t do a 45-minute workout including cardio, legs, and core? Then I won’t exercise, period…
In a similar way, I often hold myself to a rigid list of shoulds when it comes to spending time with the Lord. For example:
Several years ago, the church I was attending had a huge push for financial giving as there were multiple projects that needed to be funded. Although I was working at the time, I was struggling to make ends meet, but after hearing stories of how God had provided for many who chose to give abundantly, I decided to do the same.
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To get more active, I am trying to get more steps in each day. I started off the new year walking with my husband or kids. If it wasn’t so cold, I would probably try to wrangle in one of my neighbors. But the other day, I went outside to get my steps in alone, and I was bored after a few minutes. I literally struggled to be alone in my thoughts.
There are several reasons I have for believing in God, and one of them is my high school junior year track season.
Looking back, I still don’t know what compelled me to sign up for the team. I’d never been gifted or really interested in the athletic department, but I had long legs and good lungs and running seemed like something I could do. I had visions of crossing the finish line in a blaze of glory with Katy Perry’s “Firework” playing in the background. (It was 2011 and that was the tune of the times.)
Embracing a new year means something different to each of us. Many will be racing out of 2020 in full sprint. It was a hard year for so many. Job loss. Deaths to family and friends. Isolation. Changes in routine. Missing the normal way of life. Some look back to see how 2020 changed perspective and provided opportunities: More time for what matters most. Keeping their job. Their people were not impacted by coronavirus. No matter what camp you fall under, one thing we can all cling to is that God was faithful all year long, He has been and will always be.
She sits on a thin, dirty mattress in her room, if you can even call it that. It’s more like a dark, damp, hopeless cell. The ragged blanket wrapped around her does little to protect her from the chill. She no longer notices the overwhelming stench of unwashed bodies permeating the space. The door is locked from the outside, holding her prisoner to the nightmare she is currently living. Walled in.
I think we all fear judgement, and this especially seems to be the case when it comes to sharing our faith We fear backlash we might receive, questions we won’t find the words to answer, friendships we might lose. So how do we conquer that fear and share the Word? How do we go about bringing others to Christ?
