A new chapter in My Story

I have been in church and around more people who know what I believe most of my life so it is easy to talk about my relationship with Christ. Turning 44 this year I wanted to do something that would be a "mile marker" or a "memorial stone" of my journey with Christ. Jesus has changed my life in the past few years, so much that my family would say I am not the same person that I was when we moved to Florida. I wanted to do something that would open
the door of sharing my faith with a converstion starter and then I also wanted something to remind me of what Christ means to me.
So on my birthday, the girls went with me to get a Tatoo.....yes you read that right a Tatoo! I have thought about it all year. I knew I wanted to get a word in Latin written on my wrist but I also knew it would be permanant so I prayed and asked God to show me what the word should be. I began making my list of words that would express my "story" naturally, I read scriptures and I kept it in my prayer journal. I kept comming back to the words I get to choose
Every day we make choices.....we choose how we are going to live our lives, what we will say with our words, who we will touch with our lives, if we will love, forgive, be kind....we get to choose how we respond to life. Because Christ chose to give his life for me I get to choose how I am going to live it for His glory. I wanted the second half of my life to make a greater difference for Him, to live intentionally.
Here I am getting a Tatoo at 44!The coolest thing was going with Emily and Katie and sharing this experience with them. To hear them say, they are proud of me as their mom for stepping out and taking a risk, to not worry about what people think but follow after.....chase after God.....to express my relationship with Him as the most important and do something that is "out of my comfort zone" for me!

God has changed me so much in the past few years. (and thankfully He continues to change me) My natural self would rather choose to have it my way, all about me & be the center of attention. There are times when I would rather harbor a grudge or nurse a hurt rather than let it go and forgive. I have thought that by choosing to hold on to the hurt or even the bad thoughts
I would be hurting them back but in reality I am only hurting myself. I end up blocking my communication with God. The only thing in this life I get to control is my attitude....my reponse and I get to choose! When I choose God's way, He blesses and honors that choice with more and more of His presence in my life. Jesus didn't tell the disciples to follow the crowd, follow their hearts, or follow what seems to be right according to the present circumstances. He simply said, "Follow me"....Matthew 4:19.

We only become different when we are following him!

Matthew 16:24-25 - If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself/herself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

The Latin word, eligere, means "to choose". This is a permanant reminder that Christ chose to give His life for me and I get to choose every day to live my life for Him!

Choose your path and don't look back

Hebrews 12:1-2, 5-7, 10-13 - Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfector of our faith....Do not make light of the Lord's discipline & do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves.....Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as (sons) daughters....God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness & peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms & weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

When you get ready for your run, you first have to choose your course...choose the direction you will run.....map it out. You may even use a tool to map out your run, like this one - http://www.mapmyrun.com/

You lay out all of your gear, water-bottles, gatoraide and then you choose to lace up your shoes, stretch and then run! As you are running you choose to keep running, not to quit; choosing to endure to finish your course.

You can choose to run alone, with a partner or in a group. All of these choices determine your success as a runner. Who you run with can encourage you to run your race or they can hinder your race.

So much of life is like a race/ a course we run and we are given choices every day. We daily choose the attitude we will have, the direction we take for this day, how we will respond to the twists and turns of this day. We choose how we will communicate to those we love, those who irritate us and people that God brings across our path....we daily choose!
Our lives do not always run smooth but regardless of what happens, God is still working in it. When I choose to look to him.....fix my eyes on the author & perfector of my faith, I will find strength for the hard things, patience in the daily things & joy in all things. To believe in the core of who I am that I am in good hands.....God is good and He can be trusted! It is my choice in how I respond and where I choose to focus.

All of us have a path, a race, a route mapped out for us. God wants us to run it, live in it, with perseverance and to trust Him every step of the way. Trust that there is a bigger picture in life, He has a plan, He is always working behind the scenes in your life and He sees the bigger picture, so trust Him.

Today, make a choice to make a level path for your feet as you run the race that He has marked out for you; clear the path, make it level, by focusing your eyes and attention on Jesus.

Choose to run....lace up your shoes, stretch it out, and then run. No looking back because you cannot run the race while looking behind you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 - Be joyful always; pray continually.

My prayer for you & for me today.....Father, I am weak & yes, sometimes emotionally feeble. I need You every hour. Strengthen me according to your Word. Change me & renew me from the inside out. Give me the courage to fix my attention on the bigger picture, the greater good, & on YOU. Fill me with anticipation for what You want to do in & through my life. Make me spiritually savvy to walk around the traps set for me by the enemy. May I turn my back on fear and embrace faith instead. When I get knocked down, help me to get back up again, wipe off the dirt, clear my path & fix my eyes on You. May the destiny You've appointed for me be forever in my view. I want to be a woman who rises up out of the ashes and does something beautiful with her life. Jesus, I want to be conformed to your image. Give me the grace to endure whatever it is that is taking me there. Do your work in me, Lord.

Look straight ahead

Proverbs 4:25-27 - Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

This is so hard for me....to look straight ahead. It's hard for me to keep my eyes focused on my path when I am running and definately just moving along through life.

I get distracted easily, looking at the scenery....or who is that over there......awe look at that beautiful front porch:) I can also trip over my own two feet if I am not careful. I can also get distracted along my faith journey. Looking back into the past and its set of failures; looking at people, things and then even looking ahead with anxious thoughts of the future. God gently reminds me, Linda, look straight ahead and stick to the path. When I stick to the path there is safety. Like in Psalm 40:1-3 - He has set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walk along....He gives me a firm place to stand.

He also reminds me that if I am looking straight ahead it will be harder to get sidetracked and will keep me from making wrong choices in my thoughts or in actions.

So many times, sad to say....the right direction is just not in me. It even says this in
Jeremiah 10:23 - O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

Romans 7:15 - I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do...

I am forever thankful that my God is so patient with me, His love is endless and His mercy and compassion fail not they are new every morning. As long as I keep looking straight ahead, and fix my eyes on what lies before me, He will give me a firm place to stand.

As I trust Him more each day the path that He has marked out for me becomes even more beautiful than I imagined it could be. The path is risky and narrow but incredible because He is with me every step of the way.

How's your focus?

Hebrews 12:2 - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How do you keep your focus on a run? Do you listen to some good tunes? Do you just let your mind wander and listen to your surroundings? Running is more than just physical exercise it is mental exercise!

I get distracted easily so I have to do a few things to keep me focused on a run in order to achieve the endurance I desire for today. My little routine is: I have to chew gum:-), then I set my watch, set up my tunes on my iPod; stretch a little; washcloth in one hand and waterbottle in the other....I know this is crazy but it helps me to begin to clear my mind and focus on achieving my desired goal for today.

The same is true in my life......I have to daily fix my eyes on Jesus. Set my eyes/mind on Jesus.....and don't look away from Him. That may not be hard for you but it is hard for me. I never thought I had ADD(attention deficit disorder) but I am definately beginning to wonder.
In the Amplified version it literally says - "Looking away from all that will distract, to Jesus who is the Leader and the Source of our faith." I not only get distracted by what is in front of me but my past and every sideline distraction that the enemy tries to trip me with. (other people, anger, envy, jealousy, the comparison trap...ect.)
Are your eyes fixed on Jesus today?
Why do I need to daily fix my eyes on Jesus? The verses goes on to say - He is the author and perfector of our faith. He began my story & he will finish my story. My faith begins with Him....He originated it so he will perfect it....he will fill in the gaps, all the pot-holes along my journey with His grace and loving-kindness.
Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.....He endured for me so that I can endure.
When I am coming to the end of my run it gets harder and I have to keep my focus, so I begin talking to my self. I push myself by saying.....you can't quit, the very life of your family depends on this, don't give up keep pressing on, you can do this! This is a matter of life and death....don't quit. Greater is he that is in you than He that is in the world! I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! And when I cross my finish line it feels so good because I pushed beyond what I could do and kept my eyes on Jesus....the true finish line. This is true in life as well, the closer we draw to Jesus the enemy turns up the heat. The enemy knows our potential and he wants us to quit, to give up, to walk away but whatever you have to do to re-align your focus and turn your eyes on Jesus do it....don't let the enemy win!
What does a runner do to get to the finish line?
- she fixes her mind on the finish line
-she concentrates on the path before her
-she focuses on running the race
A few more verses to fix your mind on: Psalm 119: 34-37 and Phil. 1:6. Check them out in different versions and journal your key thoughts. Ask god to show you what you are focusing on? Are you focusing on unimportant or worthless things? Set your mind/focus on Jesus who is the author and perfector of your faith. You can be confident in this truth that He who began a good work in you will complete it! The God who loves you, who never changes, will complete His work in you and in me.
Our attitude for today should be For the joy set before Him, He endured. He endured for you and for me so that we could endure. He knows us & He knows what we are capable of becoming in Him so we can put all of our trust and focus in Him today!