Pebble In Your Shoe

There is nothing worse than getting a pebble in your shoes when you are running.  That tiny, seemingly innocent pebble over the miles can destroy your feet!  At first you try to ignore it because you don't want to take the time to stop and remove your shoe, but if you continue down this path you could end up with massive blisters which make running painful if not impossible.  It is always best to remove the pebble right away even though it means stopping.  You don't want a pebble to ruin your run that day or in the days to come, but if you don't remove it that is exactly what it will do!

These pebbles remind me of pride.  Pride sneaks in, silently at first, but left to bounce around in your shoe it can destroy Gods plan for you and the relationships you are in.  Pride is a sneaky one, you have to keep an eye out for it!  I know that I really struggle with pride and I am thankful that God has made me aware of the struggle over the years.  I never used to recognize it until it was a huge, painful "blister" in my life, but now I try to get it at the pebble stage.

Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.

My Pastor gave a powerful message on this just this week, which was divine because pride is something I have been praying about lately.  Pastor Conan said that pride makes us harder for God to work with and that hit home.  I certainly don't want to be hard for God to work with!  I want to be easy for God to work with, I want to serve Him in every way I can, and that means that I need to take the back stage while still putting in full effort!  The flesh hates this, it screams "look at me, look at me!" But to have a humble spirit we have to move out of the spot light!  I try to remind myself that God sees everything that we do and that should be all the recognition and approval I need!  Pride certainly is sneaky, you can become prideful about being humble if you aren't careful!  Its a vicious cycle!  Praise God He is happy to help us become better in every area of our lives and I pray that one day the only pride I will have is in my Lord and savior and in those I love.

"True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less." C.S. Lewis

What a truly counter culture line of thinking! When we are humble we are able to elevate others above ourselves and help them to grow.  Everything society throws at us anymore tells us to get for ourselves whatever we want at any cost, but we are called to do the opposite, to put others first and worry less about ourselves!  We see it in our dog eat dog culture of today and it is sad.

James 3:16
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

As a Christian I am called to love, and love means that I have to put others first and to do that I cannot be filled with pride.  As I serve the Lord I realize that the triumphs are kingdom triumps and I am just grateful to be a part of that.  My reward is in heaven, an eternity spent with God.  Its hard to wrap my mind around that sometimes, its hard not want a pat on the back from time to time, but God can do that too, you don't have to seek gratification from others.  Sometimes when pride is removed God will give you a pat on the back in the form of a compliment from another person.  My husband told me that it is important to accept these compliments, and I believe He is right as long as you keep your focus on God and realize that the glory goes to Him!  When we let our hearts fill with pride we work so hard to be seen by others that we make ourselves miserable.  It'
s just never enough!

I'm taking off my shoes right now and dumping out any pebbles that may be forming.  I pray that every day God works on my heart and continues to change me.  These areas are truly a struggle for me, but with God anything is possible!

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

I Hate Cancer

I HATE CANCER!

This last week my heart has grown heavier and heavier over the devastation of cancer as more and more prayer requests come in from people affected by cancer!  I hate that my sweet friend Anna has to mourn her precious brother and sister in law who lost their battle with skin cancer.  I hate that my Mom had to have life altering surgery to prevent impending cancer.  I hate that my Mom and my sister both continuously have to have large pieces of their body removed as they battle skin cancer.  I hate that I lost my grandma to lung cancer.  I hate that I know people who are fighting for their lives right now from all forms of cancer.  I hate that there are so many mourning family members left behind when their loved ones lose the battle to cancer.  I HATE CANCER!

I was running today and my heart was overwhelmed with the word cancer.  I couldn't help but choke up every time I simply thought of the word.  Its a devastating word.  As I ran and prayed for all of the people listed above God opened my eyes to another kind of "cancer."  The "cancer" that all of us face.  It is a "cancer" that guarantees death, it will take your very life if left untreated.  It is also a "cancer" that has a cure, a 100% no fail cure.  You would think that if we all knew that we had a "cancer" like this and there was a cure that everyone would race for the cure but in fact a lot of people refuse the cure.  They feel like it restricts their lives too much, but the cure is waiting none the less.  What is this "cancer" we all have?  SIN!  What is the cure for this "cancer"? JESUS CHRIST!

Sin consumes us from the inside out.  If left untreated it will corrupt and destroy every part of you.  Sin separates us from God and promises an eternity apart from Him if left in our lives.  God didn't want to lose a single one of us to sin so He sent his son to pay the price for our sin on the cross.  We only have to believe in Him and we will be set free from its destruction, guaranteed a place in eternity with God.  Of course to truly except this gift it will be impossible for your life to remain the same.  The cure will change you as the Holy Spirit has His way in you.  You will no longer seek after things of this world as you once did.  You will now recognize sin as it tries to sneak back into your life, and with repentance in your heart you will turn from it.  That is what happens when God gets a hold of us.  He breaks the sin in our lives, He gives us a fresh start!  If God cured you from lung cancer today I can assume the first thing you wouldn't do is pick up a cigarette.  Well its the same with redemption.  When God extends the His grace of the shed blood of Jesus over your life he makes you brand new.  If you truly accept this grace then you will not desire to return back to the way of the flesh.  That is not to say that you will never sin again, but your desire to avoid sin should be overwhelming!

I am so thankful that God set me free from my sins, that He broke its power over my life and that every day He shows me what He is working on in me.  I have been cured and that makes me want to live my life fully committed to Him and His purpose for me!

I pray for my friends, loved ones, and strangers who battle cancer that God might heal them and help them through their pain and struggle.  I will never stop praying for them.  I will also never stop praying for those who are still drowning in their own sins.  Praying for those who have not yet met Jesus Christ and His amazing promise of redemption.  God has the answer and I pray that they will receive it and be healed!

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life.