Sewing these words on my heart. Amen. ♥

Love!

This was in my #timehop this morning: "My brave husband sent this to me today....(six years ago)....Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there lived a woman who did not nag, whine, or complain. But it was a long, long time ago and it was just that one day." Does he have guts or what?! (Yeah, yeah I know men do all of those things too but you get the point, lol)

I chuckled when I read it again this morning and then I came HERE. Yikes. Me and conflict resolution do not really go well together. I wouldn't lash out at someone but would keep it inside (unless I ranted to The Sweetheart). But oh how much I could learn and CHANGE if I took Paul's words to heart! Instead of stewing, brewing and chewing, which cause MY blood pressure to rise and stress level to elevate beyond what is healthy, I could hand that worry over to God and follow those wonderful steps to healing. I don't want my nagging, whining or complaining to cause another to stumble either. God forbid.

Dwell on HIM, not the problem. He is the ultimate Problem-Solver! ♥

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing else in this world can satisfy...the most probably explanation is that we were Made for Another World." ~C.S.Lewis

Yet while we are here we have a mission, a true purpose to fulfill and God alone gives us the strength, wisdom and humility to imitate Him.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.

Blessed Wednesday, friends, we have a hope in this life and in the world to come! ♥

Praying with you and your students today and for wisdom for all involved. ♥

Am I worth imitating? I shall take this with me today....♥

Wonderful word pictures today, Tina. Made me feel sorry for those dogs who never obtain the prize :( But thank you for the thoughts today.We don't do this on our own! He is always with us and is waiting at the end of the race. ♥

Such a beautiful analogy as always!! You draw me in with your words...hoping and praying you can run that marathon one of these days but also thankful you know what the real prize and race truly is. ♥

This all reminds me of the Andy Griffith episode (pardon my simplicity) where little boy Opie runs in a track meet to "get me that medal". He trains for it, although he is awkward and clumsy. He isn't quick and you can easily decipher the outcome is not going to be in his favor. Sure enough, on race day he takes off with the best of them but immediately he is left in the dust. He does not get his medal and goes home pouting...not even staying to watch the rest of the races or to congratulate his friends.

His dad is not happy with his attitude. It stinks! And he reminds him that life is this same way...it may seem that others outrun us (they are smarter, prettier, more popular, more spiritual) and breeze by but the race is not to the swiftest. You just keep getting up and getting back on that track, no matter what.

I know it's a little of a stretch today because we ARE to run to obtain the prize, the high calling in Christ Jesus. But thankfully it isn't just a trophy (so to speak) for one but "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Mark 13:13. Run that you may obtain! ♥

I spoke with a friend at church yesterday who is suffering from multiple myeloma. Needless to say, the bottom fell out for her big time. It has turned her life upside down and inside out. Lost her job, spends countless days and hours at numerous different doctor's offices, endures infusions and treatments, and deals with infections, extreme fatigue and many, many other symptoms that have changed her life the last couple of years.

But this lady, oh how grateful she was to be in church yesterday! At times it is like seeing a newborn Christian all over again. She kept telling me of all the great things God had done for her through this sickness. The people she has been able to witness to about the power of our God, the strength He has given her for each day, one day at a time, the trust she has learned to put in Him alone and His faithfulness in return in the big and small things. She doesn't welcome the sickness but is so thankful for the relationship change between her and her Lord! The doors He has opened and the prayers He has answered just seemed to make it almost worth it, if you understand what she means.

And you will if you have been there. If the bottom has fallen for you in any way, through anything at all, you understand what Paul is saying. Through suffering, affliction, abandonment and even as Paul, complete conversion that may cause our families to forsake us, if we turn our eyes to Jesus, we will find Him faithful in every circumstance and ABLE to carry us through the darkest valleys! There is always a reason for it, not that God puts it upon us, but He can definitely turn it into a testimony and a stepping stone. All for His glory! ♥