In these last few weeks, I have done a lot of different things. I would actually say I have never felt more exhausted.  This is due to a few reasons. One of them being the always busy season of Cross country. It is always fun to coach XC, but it is more work as I have to leave my full-time job early, so I try to make up the hours by working extra late or by coming in early. Then as I mentioned in a previous blog, I was training and then completing my first marathon which took a lot of energy and time to get all those miles in. Thirdly, while I love them so so so much, having puppies is a lot of work. They are fun and are completely worth it, but it does make checking things off your to-do list a bit harder, even the little things.

However, because of this, I was struggling to take the time to rest. While I have done the majority of these tasks in the past, this year was way harder to actually do all my tasks and rest consistently. This is because I always feel as though I really need to get everything accomplished, even in one day. I feel like otherwise I am not using my time right or properly. Sometimes I will feel guilty when there is a day when I don’t get as much done.

This is a good reminder for me to make sure I rest. I need to remember I am not the one who earns my way to salvation. I am not ever going to be able to do enough, accomplish enough, succeed enough, to earn my way to heaven. The only way I am going to make it to heaven or have a relationship with Christ is because of his dying on the cross for our sins. Then the other tasks, whether it be for my clubs and my work, I need to accomplish throughout the day, while they may be important, they are not going to save me or save anyone else. While this doesn’t mean I don’t try to do my best, it also is making me aware to ask for help or sometimes ask for my time.

I am hoping to finish this cross country season well, and I hope to have a time of a little less craziness. I am going to seek to find a peace coming only from finding rest and from spending time intimately with God. This may mean having to say no to certain things I otherwise would have done. This may mean putting more time in silence and spending more time in devotions with the Lord. I hope this means my husband and I will start up our time working through our devotional book we had started a few months prior.

Another thing I am seeking to add is silence and solitude in addition to part of the rest. I have recently been doing a devotional study on the spiritual disciplines, Christians should all possess. One of the ones we should focus on is having rest, silence and solitude. We as people can often get distracted by the things going on in the world. We can believe we need to fill all our time, with either busyness or with noise, and this can even mean when we are just simply thinking.

“When we cut off the noise and retreat to a quiet place, our tendency to fill the space with distractions can be replaced by reaching out to God.” (Growing in Grace, by the Daily Grace company, pg.117). I will be one of the first to admit, I am not great at just being in silence. I am afraid of being bored and also to not get anything accomplished.  Because of this, I go seeking for noise and I seek distractions. There are also times I don’t want to have certain thoughts, or I don’t want my mind to wander too much, so I may start to think about things I don’t always find very pleasant.

The Bible also mentions the silence, rest, and solitude we are to find in Christ.  One of the verses is Psalm 62:1 which says, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” This is a good reminder our souls need to thirst and desire to spend time with God. This is the thing we should most desire.  This is the time we should find as our favorite part of the day. However, with all the things in the world, we may find ourselves going towards other things in the world.

The challenge for the week is to take some time to rest.  This could be for a few hours, or this could be for a day or even a few days. This doesn’t always mean you don’t have to do anything. This could be just lessening the load of the things you are doing. This could be just saying no to a few different things throughout this week that otherwise would have made you busy. For anyone who spends a lot of time in a busy season of life, this can be a very hard practice.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a new goal I was attempting to conquer which was running my first marathon. Well, this goal was achieved last weekend. On Sunday, October 18th, I ran the marathon in Des Moines, Iowa with thousands of others. Some of them were like me and this was their first marathon or maybe even their first race in general. Others were seasoned marathoners. Then there were a lot of others who ran the half, 10k, or were a part of relay.

We were all blessed with the weather. It was absolutely beautiful. It started a bit on the chilly side in the low 40s, especially chilly while the sun was down. However, then as the sun came up, so did the temps and I was able to comfortably run in capris leggings and my tank top. I wasn’t too cold, nor too warm. After many runs in the heat and high humidity to downpour, this was a very nice surprise. I prepared for the worst, but that made this weather even better.

This was overall a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it for the most part. I will not deny there were definitely parts of the race where I was tired and my legs really started to hurt.  I had the chance to stretch them out and eat a banana which really helped me with finishing ten miles. As far as the route goes, there were a lot of cool spots to look at along the way. One of the highlights was getting to go around the track at Drake University. This is where the state track is held every year, so that was a unique race experience. I also really enjoyed going by the river and through some of the parks.

I will say the hardest part of doing the marathon was the mental part. There were many times during the race where I was having a moment of starting to panic. I was very grateful for the Lord to be there to remind me not to be so distraught or to be anxious. He would remind me to stay in a good headspace throughout the whole thing. I was very blessed to have His presence with me. He was with me to help keep me centered. This was even during the time when my headphones died. I was able to run a few miles in the park without any distractions, and I could focus just on the course and the steps taken in front of me.

The Bible brings up many different verses about running and its similarity with living a strong Christian life. They are similar because both of these things take stamina. It is something not easily done or is very short. To run a race, especially one like a marathon, is not a sprint and it takes a lot of time. This is even for those who are incredibly good runners or those who break records. This still takes them a few hours of consistent running.

One of those verses highlighting the similarities is Hebrews 12:1-2 which says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith”. I enjoyed this verse because it reminds us all we all have a different path. We all were given a new and different journey than those who are around us. This doesn’t mean one is more important than another.

The challenge for the week is to spend time thinking about any goals you may have which haven’t been accomplished yet. Has there been something you have wanted to do for a long time, but you haven’t? Has there been a dream or a goal you are afraid of attempting to achieve? And if there is a goal you want to accomplish, how can you make the first step today? What are ways you could make this goal become a success or a completion? What is a way you could talk to the Lord about finishing this goal and making a new achievement.

The biggest thing I learned through accomplishing this scary goal, where I really truly did not believe I could achieve it, was I can achieve all things through Christ who strengthens me. This doesn’t mean I won’t ever face failures or I will never face hardships, but the idea is then I can also accomplish or get through those things too because God is strengthening me.

I have recently started the devotion all about the spiritual disciplines we should have as Christians.  These are the habits and the traits we should follow on a regular basis.  These are things like reading the Bible, praying, fellowship, journaling, fasting, etc. This isn’t because of a legalistic way we need to live, but rather out of pure devotion and love to our creator.

One of the first disciplines the devotional talked about was, of course, the reading of the Bible.  Reading of the Bible is fundamental to our overall Christian health.  This is something Christians are taught from a very young age.  However, it can be very hard for a lot of us to actually get the quality time we need with the Word of God.  We can end up finding a lot of other distractions and things to keep our mind on except for what the Bible teaches.

One of the best ways to describe the Bible was the word, reliable. This really struck me.  I had never really thought to use that word before, even though it makes complete sense. The Bible is always somewhere where we can turn.  It is always some place we can go to, no matter our life circumstances or anything else we may experience.

This is something I need more in my life. I need reliability. There are a lot of things not reliable. There are a lot of things that pass away in our lifetime. There are many things that do not matter, even when we really want them to matter or we think they could matter for the long run. This can be a job or a career we want to have. This can be our family and our relationships with others we have or want to have.

One verse about reliability is Matthew 24:35 which says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” This is a reminder to us all the Word of the Lord is forever. It isn’t going to grow weary and it isn’t ever going to go away. It is going to be continuously available to us all the time. Whenever we are in need or whenever we are in joy, the Bible will be there with the same message it has provided all the believers throughout history. The Bible will also be available no matter where we are or whoever we are with.

This is also very important for us to really focus on because there are times when people try to change what the Bible says. They may try to add to it, making mandatory rules and obligations not present in the actual word. Because of this, we need to go to the reliability of what the Word provides and what the Gospel repeatedly tells us. This is so we can know Jesus has died for us and through this death, He has promised forgiveness and to offer eternal life to all those who believe.

The challenge of this week is to do things.  The first one is to spend some quality time in the Bible, reading more and more the Word of God and what Jesus Christ and the Lord have all done for you.  There is a lot of truth, a lot of beauty throughout the Bible.  It is a good challenge to be in the Bible on a regular basis.  Then the second is to pray and thank God for his reliable word.  This can be thanking God for providing the Word, so we can have something reliable to go to on a regular basis.  This is something we have to depend on.

I just wanted to offer you encouragement if you are struggling through any issue to remember where you can go. You can always go to the same place. You can always go to the Word. You can always go to the Lord. He is reliable. Even when everything else in your life doesn’t feel reliable, you can go to the one place that will continuously be.

Recently, I have been given a gift from my dear friend Merry who also gives me sewing lessons. Besides the sewing lessons, she is also there for me when it comes to walking with the Lord.  Since my husband and I have gotten puppies, she gave me a book about dogs and following the Lord.  The book she gave to me is “Lessons from a Shepherd Dog.” by Philip Keller.   This book followed Keller and his relationship with his shepherd dog, Lass.  All I am writing in this blog is a reflection of the things I learned from his wisdom, while having a great opportunity to relate his experience to my own with my precious pups.  There are many lessons we can learn from a dog, especially those who are very good dogs and who are devoted to their owners.  

Dogs are usually considered to be loyal.  Once they have an owner or owners, they really connect to, they will follow you everywhere.  They will want to go with you to bed, to the couch, while you eat, even to the bathroom.  Our dogs are sometimes put into a little play area, so they can move around,but still not have full access to the house.  This is typically when we are actively doing something or we are gone.  They are always trying to move it closer to us when we are in a separate room. This shows our dog’s heart.  They want to be in the presence of either Cole or I or preferably both, all the time. 

Another thing about dogs is their love for their owners.  They don’t just follow owners because of the act of obedience.  Dogs don’t do this to avoid getting into trouble.  (At least this is hopefully not the reason.  Sadly there are terrible owners out there).  The dogs we have want to obey and they want to make their owners happy because they just have that much love for them. 

This is very similar to the heart posture we should have when it comes to wanting to be with our Savior and Creator, Jesus Christ.  We should want to be as close to God as possible.  He should be the absolute love of our lives. However, there can be times when we really get distracted and can forget how much we really truly need and love our God.  We can be sidelined by the shiny things of this world, and we can forget they will all grow dull.  Dogs never forget who their owners are.  An owner can be gone for years and then when the dog sees them, they rush to them, ready to be on their side again.  (Such great videos to watch). 

One statement made in the book is, “It never ceased to amaze and stimulate me to see how thrilled Lass was in her whole-hearted obedience.  Her eyes would sparkle with pure pleasure.  Her tail would wag with joy.  Her body was electric, vibrant with ecstatic satisfaction.  This is what she had been designed to do.  And precisely the same held true for me in my personal relationship with Christ.”  (Keller, Philip. “Lessons from a Sheep Dog,” pg. 35). 

Dogs are going to make mistakes.  Coco and Cookie are still in the midst of bathroom training, and there have been ups and downs.  However, Cole and I have seen the desire of the two girls to make us happy.  They are still puppies and they are very stubborn in their own way.  However, for the most part, they just want to be with  us and to spend time with us because we are their owners and they love us with their whole heart.  They want us to be happy with them, and for us to give them love and attention. 

The Bible mentions examples of people finding joy in obedience and in God’s Word. One verse I want to highlight is John 15:10-11 which says, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”  If we remain in God’s love and really start to know Him more and more, then we will be completely in joy and fulfilled in Christ. 

There are two challenges of the week. Then the first challenge and ultimately the more important of the two is to spend some time with God. Be like the loyal companion who wants to be with their master continuously. If you have a lovely pup or dog, make sure to spend some time with them. Give them some extra love and attention. I know there are some days or weeks where it can be busy and we can not spend as much time with them as we would have liked.

Recently, I have been at work where an exciting event has taken place.  We have changed our name from the Job Foundation to Lumicent.  We are lighting the way to better financial literacy education as well as students better understanding the way to budget and handle their money.  This is a very exciting time here at work for this reason.  It is going to be some work, as we have to change all of our information,  presentations, etc. to our new name and brand graphics, logos, etc.  However, I think overall this is a good step forward in the history of our organization. 

When I am working currently, I am doing whatever I can to remember I am not working for the Job Foundation and instead, we have now switched gears to the new name of Lumicent.  This doesn’t mean we won’t work with the  same kids or have the good pieces of our organization as we did before, but we are new and hopefully will be less confusing to the general public. 

This did get me thinking about a rebrand we as Christians make. When we are not yet a believer, we are still incredibly sinful. We are more prone to wander from what the Lord has planned for us in our lives.  However, when we are rebranded, or when we are given the spirit of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be more and more like Jesus.  

There are a few times throughout the Bible when we are reminded of being in Christ, and a new creation.  This is Romans 6:4 which says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.”  When we become a Christian, and we are now baptized maybe either physically or spiritually with the new life of Christ, it is as though we have died to our old selves and we are born again with a new spirit.  

I have had moments where I struggle to be a new creation, especially in this last year as we have gone through some trials and temptations.  I have had moments where I have been impatient, just as if I was still in my sinful state.  I have not been using the best words when I am talking about people or when I am not in the best mood.  I have been emotional and have had inappropriate meltdowns.  

With this realization, I need to be reminded I am a new creation.  I have been rebranded with the love and the life of Christ.   When there are moments I want to fall into my old ways, or when I want to fall into the way of my flesh, then I need to be reminded I am completely devoted and changed and now representing the flesh and heart of Christ. When there is a person I want to be really mean to because they have been mean to me, I need to remember I am a new creation.  When there are moments when everyone else is swearing and taking time to do things that are sinful to the Lord, I need to remember I am a new creation and am one with Christ. 

The challenge for the week is to remember how we are born into a new creation or have the opportunity to become a new creation. This may be for those who are reading who may not be a new creation to be reflective as to why you haven’t personally made the choice to become one with Christ and know him intimately. This is the chance to have a brand-new start and a brand new you!

This can be a reminder to all of you who are Christian and have had a changed life to be reminded of just what this means.This may be taking the time to realize the moments when you personally don’t want to act like a new creation.   What are the times when you most feel as though you are the farthest away from the Lord?  When are the times you would rather sin than the moments of spending time knowing God and depending on God?

One of the many great things about having the puppies (there are so many) is me and my husband are listening to more Christian music on a regular basis.  I know that may sound strange but whenever we are leaving the house or are doing something else, and we want the dogs to be relaxed, we are playing their little radio connected to the Christian radio.  

Because of this, I have discovered one of my new favorite songs by Brandon Lake, who wrote this song, Gratitude.  It is a beautiful song, both in sound, but also in the beautiful lyrics.  I have loved listening to it, and it even made me tear up by its beauty.  It reminded me of my relationship with Christ.  While there are some times I can forget how much God loves us and how much He does for us, I love when I  have moments of reminders. 

One of my favorite parts of the song is when He sings the chorus and says, “So I throw up my hands and praise You again and again.  ‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah, And I know it’s not much.  But I’ve nothing else fit for a King, except for a heart singing hallelujah.”  I love this chorus because it really captures a heart who is completely surrendered to the Lord. 

I have discussed throughout this blog of going through a bit of a stressful experience recently.  My husband and I have had a rough road in the past few months because of various obstacles.  There also has been an increased busyness as we have been getting into the swing of fall.  With all of these things, there are definitely times when I will feel inadequate or I will feel as though I am not doing enough for God.  However, hearing this song was a reminder to me I don’t have to be the one who is in charge of everything. 

There are also verses throughout the Bible showcasing the importance of praising God.  One of those verses is Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”  The book of the Bible does a great job of reminding us to love God and to praise God because of all the work and the love He often offers us.  

To be completely honest, we don’t have a lot for the Lord.  We don’t have a lot to offer.  All we can offer is our heart and our love for the Lord.  This is especially true whenever we feel a bit spent, when we are low on energy, when we are struggling to completely understand everything going on in our life.  Even in those moments we feel as though we are doing a lot and we are capable of a lot, we still can’t do nearly as much as God and as much for God as we think.  

There are times I can get very overwhelmed with trying to get a lot done.  There are times when we feel as though we are drowning in a mess of to do lists, a mess of work load, a mess of everything.  In those moments, it can be hard to depend on myself, and then there are those moments when I need to be more willing to listen to God and lean on his understanding.  

The challenge of the week is to 1. Listen to the song.  Maybe it won’t touch you like it touched me.  However, I have to imagine this song will be a big blessing in your life.  It really touched my heart.  Then there is also the chance to reflect on the song and what it is teaching about our relationship with the Lord.  

The second challenge is to spend time in full surrender to the Lord.  Essentially, this is to spend time with complete love and adoration.  I would highly recommend reading some time in the Psalms to see how many other people put the praise and the adoration into the Lord’s name.  This gives us a more of an understanding of how we can love one another and how we can continuously praise God.  Those including David who had been in the midst of a lot of trials including the previous king trying to murder him, was able to still offer great praises to God about his love and his unending strength and goodness.  

One of the Beatitudes is to be a peacemaker.  Being a peacemaker is an important role from our God in heaven because He is the Lord of peace.  He is the Lord over everyone receiving peace.  He is a God who desires there to be peace for all those in the world.  This is why He wants us all to have a relationship with Him, so we can know great peace.  This peace will encompass us completely and wholly.  This is His peace, not the peace of the world.  

The world is not filled with peace.  The world is incredibly far away from peace.  This is something we can all clearly see in our day to day life.  There are so many arguments and issues amongst everyone in the world.  There are a lot of wars.  There are a lot of people being hurt and a lot of people who are doing very evil things.  There are also a lot of people who are struggling with peace through their stress, anxiety, and depression.  The mental health epidemic is very prominent, especially in the United States.  There are so many people who are struggling to see themselves in peace. 

However, this beatitude often gets confused with never having arguments.  Sometimes we can believe this means we should never ever have arguments or disagreements between each other.  We may believe we can never be involved in a conflict.  We may believe we can never speak up for ourselves or for others.  We may believe we can never be involved in any debate.  However, this is a very passive form of peace.  In the end, this really doesn’t create peace.  There still may be a building up of resentment and bitterness not being discussed for fear of not being a peacemaker.  When a person is able to have healthy discussions, debates, and even work through conflict in the goal and pursuit of finding peace, not just for man but for God, then that is when we are being God’s peacemakers. 

One quote from the devotional book I have been reading is, “Being a peacemaker is not about passivity.  This is about a fervent desire for all to find shalom peace with God.”  We are called to be kind and to make sure not to start random arguments.  However, this doesn’t mean we can’t ever argue or have disagreements. We are most likely going to encounter disagreements and have arguments with people, but it is important how we argue and how we can turn people towards God even in the midst of conflict.  If they are walking down a wrong path or are struggling, we can be the ones to help guide them to God through our peaceful state.  The most true form of peace is knowing God, and this can be done in helping others find Him as well. 

Besides the Beatitudes in Matthew, chapter 5, there are a few other passages throughout the Bible mentioning the role of being peaceful and being a peacemaker.  One is Ephesians 4:1-3 which says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

I love to have peace.  I love being in a  peaceful state, and I really don’t like to be in arguments with anyone.   I try to keep the peace in most situations.  However, there have been times when I have needed to have discussions with another person to make things right or to fix issues, and I have avoided it because of my distaste of conflict.

The challenge for this week is to spend time thinking about peace.  If you are a person who struggles with your own mental peace with your own mental health, I would highly recommend spending time praying for your personal mental health and for your own personal anxiety and depression.  This can be over the simple little things you don’t feel you have any control over, to the big things in life, where you genuinely don’t trust God to have the best intentions or plans in life.  

I would also spend time thinking about how you handle disagreements and handle peace as a whole.  Is there a problem you tend to avoid because you always want to avoid conflict, even if it is affecting your walk with Christ and/or your walk with a brother or sister in Christ?  Do you tend to lean into arguments or disagreements?  Do you seek to have peace with one another and to help lead one another to know Christ?  Spend time reflecting over how you handle peace both for your personal self and for your relationship with others. 

I have been continuing the devotional book on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  This book is really good because Sermon on the Mount is so vital for our Christian walk.  It covered the Beatitudes, being the salt and light of the world, and it covered the importance of the law and how Jesus has fulfilled the law.  The section I have read recently was about us, as Christians being the light of the world. 

This is said in the Bible in the book of Matthew, chapter 5.  Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  When we are being God’s light we are able to show more people what God has done in our lives and what they could do for him.  This is highly important.  A lot of people won’t necessarily want to become Christian just by chance.  However, if the people see what God has done in us, they will want to be a part of it. 

This devotional book reminds us of the importance of light.  Light is important in any society and anywhere.  If you go out in the dark, like many of us have, it can be really scary when there is absolutely no light.  This is also very dangerous.  Dangerous because we could run into some walls or any other structure out there.  Light is important because it lets us see if there is anything dirty or gross or anything we as people need to avoid in the world.  

One quote from this book was taken by John Stott who said, “You are light, and so you must let your light shine and not conceal it in any way, whether by sin or compromise, by laziness or by fear.”  I really loved this quote.  We have learned the importance of being a light and how we can shine the light of Jesus Christ. If you grew up in the church, you learned the song, this little light of mine from a very young age.  I loved seeing this quote in a new way to serve as a reminder that there are definitely some hiccups to being the light for the Lord but that doesn’t mean we can’t overcome those hiccups.

If I am honest, the main issue I have with being a light is fear.  I can be very fearful and concerned about hurting people when it comes to shining my light.  I don’t ever want to offend others.  However, this really is just fear and this is avoiding sharing God’s law and love with other people.  If I am being even more honest, then I know the main reason I want to avoid telling other people about Jesus is because I am fearful of what they will say or think about me.  I don’t want to offend and I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I also want to be liked and admired by other people.  Because of this, I am often more quiet about Jesus than I should be. 

However, I also was aware that sometimes it is laziness.  While I don’t want to be a person who is lazy, and I try really hard to stay away from laziness in my day to day life, I realized that sometimes I can be lazy when it comes to telling others about the Lord.  This may be because I try to do so many things and keep myself so busy, I start to believe I have done my part.  “I served in church this week, so I should be good on my ministering to others.”  However, this is just not the case.  Just because we may have a serving role in the church or in the community, does not mean we don’t have to tell others we know about Christ and what He has done for us. 

The challenge of the week is to think about what is your hiccup or your hold up when it comes to being a light for the Lord Jesus.  Is there a main fear about spreading God’s Word you have?  Is it similar to mine with being fearful over upsetting other people as well as being looked down upon by those who you are trying to talk about Jesus to?  After the first challenge of reflection, it is important to try to focus and change your behavior.  

This week I started a new devotional book about the Sermon on the Mount, or the very famous message Jesus gave his followers and those who were listening to Him. This includes a variety of life lessons such as the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes are a list of the ways we should live on a regular basis, even when it is hard.  This includes having mercy on others, having a hunger and a thirst for righteousness, prioritizing being meek and having a poor spirit in our own abilities because it is important to know Christ is the only one who can save us and has come to do that to us.  

One quote I really enjoyed learning about this particular morning was about the importance of our hearts, and the importance of our attitude when it comes to Christ.  Many times our hearts and our attitude are way more important than the actual work we do.  This was stating, “The Gospel puts greater weight upon our attitude than upon our actions…we have to be Christian before we can act as Christian.” (Schmucker, Kristin “On Earth as it is Heaven, The Sermon on the Mount”)  

I have never thought about this before in this exact way.  I suppose I knew our thoughts and our internal relationship with God is more important than the physical way we act with our actions. We do need to care about what the heart is doing before we can really focus on our actions.  We as people, and even as Christians believe our actions are the most important thing. We may think what we do and our outside appearance is what is most important.  This is why we try to make ourselves feel better when we are doing a lot of serving or we are donating to the church/organizations. 

This reminds me also of the story the kids learned a few weeks ago in the children’s ministry I help with on Sundays.  It was the story of the two different prayers.  One was the Pharisee who was in front of the big crowd and saying a big prayer.  He is using big words and is looking really religious.  However, then on the other side is a tax collector, a man who was considered a traitor.  He was doing silent prayers. He didn’t want to make a scene of himself because he knew he would be outed by a lot of people for his lack of Christianity.  

If you have ever read this story in the book of Luke chapter 18, we can see the person the Lord chose to acknowledge was the tax collector who usually people would try to stay far away from.  He chose to lift this tax collector up because he was trying to really have a deep connection to God and not just praying for the sake of looking good in front of everyone.  He wasn’t just caring about appearances.  The Lord cares about our heart.  He cared about the tax collector’s heart and his desire to know Christ.  

We see this in verse 14 which says, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  (Luke 18:14).  We need to have a humble heart, we need to have a reliant heart.  The same action of prayer and talking to God was seen very differently by the father.  This is because God doesn’t just see the action but he sees the heart.  Because we can’t be a Christian if we are not changed internally.  

I will be honest when I say I have recently been struggling emotionally.  There has been a lot going on in my personal life adding to my stress.  However, this doesn’t mean I can let the bitterness really soak into my heart.  Even though I do have a lot of anger and there are a lot of things that are not going exactly right, this doesn’t mean I should continuously stay angry or upset.  

The challenge of the week is to be reflective over your heart.  Are there moments and times when you are not very good about having a good heart?  Are there people you find incredibly hard to love, even when you have been called to love.   Are there times when you care more about how people see you than what you really are?  Are there overall times when you don’t feel as though you are a Christian internally and only physically?  If any of the answers to those questions was yes, try to see what you can change both internally and externally this week.

This will be a harder blog post for me to write in some ways.  Typically I love to write about what I have been learning in church or throughout my devotionals.  Either that or I write about a recent experience and what I gained from it.  However, this blog post is all about something I have set out to accomplish without actually achieving it yet.  Writing this blog post holds me one more step of accountable to achieving this goal I have. 

I have signed up for my first marathon in October. (AHHHH).   I have run many races and done a few half marathons before, but I have never run a full marathon.  I enjoy running and have run many miles, but the idea of running 26.2 miles at one time is just very scary.  It is a lot of miles to cover all in one day, all at one time, and all on foot with just me and my running shoes. However, I have always dreamed of doing one, checking it off on my running checklist so we are going to go out and attempt this. 

I have realized I need to have a bit more optimism when it comes to accomplishing this goal.  Lately if anyone has asked me if I am training for anything, I begrudgingly say, “I’m training for a marathon.”   I even made my dentist laugh for my lack of enthusiasm about this endeavor.  (It is mostly because of my nerves.)  However, I need to remember to have more positivity.  I need to look forward to this challenge and this new adventure.  I am blessed with the opportunity to train for something.  I am blessed with the ability to run and to move my body.  

I also realized I really need to depend on God regularly.  Sometimes I get so bogged down with thinking about what I need to do and how I need to train, but I need to remember to love and depend on God.   I can not do this marathon by myself.  One I can’t specifically because of my mental stamina.  It is a lot to think about running 26.2 miles at one time.  This is a lot for the brain to take in if you have never ran that distance before.  However, with the Lord I can remember I can do all things through God, even if it is run 26.2 miles.

It is also even more important I remember to be aware that my Running this marathon should not just be for my own glory.  I need to make sure I am doing this in part for the glory of God.  I should not just do this as an item to check off my goal list.  Yes, in many ways this is what it is, but I also need to remember to not be completely dependent on this goal for myself and myself only.  

One verse I want to highlight is Philippians 3:13-14 which says, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”   Ultimately running this marathon is not my main goal, but rather eternal life with Jesus. 

The challenge for this week is to spend time thinking about your future goals.  Has there been something you have always wanted to do and haven’t yet achieved it?  This could be a physical goal like me who has a dream to run a certain distance. However,there may be those wanting to lift a certain amount of weight in weight lifting.  This could also be a different kind of goal about education, like choosing to go back to school.  This could be to change job careers.  

This challenge or goal you have a dream to accomplish is something to be consulted with God before you complete this dream.  He knows where we should be going.  He knows what we need to do and where we need to go. This is the biggest challenge we face.  We are not the ones who are completely in charge.  

I will definitely be checking in when I hopefully finish this race.  I want to really learn from this experience.  I want to learn to depend on God.  I want to learn to work hard to accomplish a dream I had originally never thought I could achieve.  I want to push my body and my mind to all its potential. However, I never want to do this just for my physical goals or my personal goals but rather use this new stamina and endurance, all for the glory of God.