Christmas a World Apart

This year has been one of the hardest Christmas' for me.  I can not pinpoint why, its certainly not the first time I have spent Christmas overseas, but this one seemed harder.  I spent the entire month grasping at things that "felt like Christmas" but kept coming up short.  For me Christmas is the most special time of the year.  The celebration of my Lord and Saviors Birth is something to cherish.  I do miss my family, and I miss my friends, but I guess I am finally in a place where I was trying to figure out how to celebrate Christmas in the tropics, when Christmas has nearly always been "white" for us.  South Dakota and its beautiful landscape and snow always brings a sparkle of magic to the season.  I think I have finally grabbed hold of the fact that Fiji will be our home for a very long time, and I am happy about that, but that reminded me of something I had not thought of.  I may have grown up with frosty white Christmas' but Ella Mae is growing up with tropical ones.  I realized that we needed to start new traditions and make special memories with her instead of me lingering in my past.

We decided this year that we would spend Christmas Eve at Natadola and that would be a tradition for us.  I am so happy we went.  It was the perfect day at the beach and we had an awesome time.  The water was calm so I went out for a float.  As I floated there in the near silence of the day I was swept away by the peace of it.  As long as I floated in the water with my eyes closed I was lulled into a silent place of meditation and prayer.  I waited on the Lord.  He kept sending me "peace" as His message.  I realized that as I floated there and trusted God it was a lot like the way our lives go when we surrender and trust HIm.  As long as my eyes were closed and I was relaxing in Him allowing my thoughts to rest on Him and trusting Him to direct the currents I had complete peace.  It was only when I opened my eyes and lifted my head did my body sink and the noise of the world interrupt. It was beautiful really.  I spent that time in quiet reflection talking to God and telling that I desire to spend this next year with His peace as I trust Him to carry me down His path on His current.  I want Gods plan, Gods will, Gods way.  Right then and there as I floated in peace God reminded me that my sins have been washed away, that I am brand new in Him.  In that silent moment between me and God I offered up my prayers of repentance and asked God to baptize me and set me on His path for the year to come.  As I sunk below the water and then rose again I felt so much peace.  I am so thankful for Fiji, for our Christmas memories for years to come and the adventures and plans that God has for my family!

I pray that all of my friends will experience Gods love in an even deeper way in 2016.  I pray that I will serve God in an even greater way in 2016.  I pray that God will strengthen my family in every way in 2016.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Merry CHRISTmas and a prosperous New Year!

That Race was Brutal....

Bru-tal
adjective
savagely violent
*punishingly hard or uncomfortable
*direct and lacking any attempt to disguise unpleasantness


This last week I flew from Fiji to California and on to Las Vegas to run an amazing race with my LIFE Runner teammates.  From the start it was clear that the enemy didn't want us there and he waged war against many of us in our lives and our families, but we pushed forward and arrived right where we were meant to be.  I can admit to you that of all of the places in the world the LAST place I wanted to go to for a race was Las Vegas, but it was the exact place God needed us to be.

I no longer struggle with my past addictions of alcohol, cigarettes, and the party lifestyle, but that doesn't mean I go looking for it.  It has been a long time since I have been in the environment filled with all of the lusts of the flesh, the things that kept me in darkness for so long, but I trusted God and I went to sin city ready to stand for LIFE and for truth.  You cant miss the enemy roaming around in Las Vegas, he doesn't slink, he lives out loud in the open and you can feel his very presence the moment your feet touch ground.  We were there to be a small beacon of light in a city shrouded in darkness, it seemed daunting, but then I kept reminding myself who goes before us, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The smoke, the gambling, the drunken masses, "sex" being sold on every billboard, skin everywhere you turned, and lives in the midst of being broken and shattered around every corner.  Las Vegas is the place where sin lives in the open, glorified for all to see and encouraged to join in.  As I walked through the smokey casino from my room to the street I looked at the people, some drunk in the middle of the day, others hopefully dropping money into slot machines with a dream of getting rich while throwing it all away, many looking for love or breaking vows, my heart broke.  My heart broke because I was once these people, desperate for the world to satisfy in some small way not realizing that the world will always fail you.  There was a point in my life where I was one who drank to numb the hurt, who searched for love from strangers, who stumbled around in the dark turning my back on the light.  I wanted to help them, to show them that love was waiting for them, He is the light and all they need to do is step out of the darkness.  Satan is such a liar, and he loves to keep us pinned down in the weight of this world and its troubles, but Jesus is always extending His hand to us, waiting for us, never giving up on us.

Matthew 5:14
"You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."

It was a powerful weekend of team building and I am so thankful for my teammates.  If I ever had to face Las Vegas they were the people I wanted to do it with.  People that I could be real with, express how heavy of a burden my past mistakes felt like surrounded by this place.  They were uplifting and encouraging and we, as a team, brought the Light of Jesus into this dark city.  We had the opportunity to pray over Las Vegas' pregnancy resource center, First Choice Pregnancy Services.  It is a tiny jewel of a clinic in this massive city run by the flesh.  It perfectly stood its ground ahead of the gated and uninviting abortion clinic.  As I walked down the street praying over the path a pregnant woman would take towards the abortion clinic it warmed my heart to see this center standing in the gap beckoning women in with love and kindness.  I was floored by the sheer numbers this center sees each week and it is clear that God is using them to save lives by the thousands!  It was a privilege to pray over the clinic, to lay my hands on its walls and ask for blessings and protection, for lives to be saved, both of the mother and the child.  I also grasped the cold black bars of the abortion clinic.  The moment I began to pray I was overcome and began to cry.  These women are lied to by the world, they are given promises that cannot be kept and the world has failed them.  In a city where sex sells, and flesh is the currency, women find themselves stuck when they face unplanned pregnancy.  They feel like they have no other choice and then the abortion clinic sells them abortion as the only option.  My heart was broken right then and there and I continued to pray and cry out to the Lord to reclaim this place for His glory.  It is my hope that not one more life will be taken at that clinic, and that First Choice will continue to grow and provide loving care for women in need.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand

Race time came and it was less than ideal.  First off it was a night race and for me that was a challenge for my food intake, but by the grace of God I worked it out and was able to run and not be full.  The Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon/Half is huge!  I believe that there were nearly 40,000 people with the 4 races combined.  I have never seen anything like it.  It took a full hour for my corral to make it to the start line.  In the time of waiting weather decreased and we faced a brutal race.  20-25mph winds gusting up to 40mph, then came the rain and the temperature was cold.  As I stood there cuddled up with teammates waiting for the start I was drawn into the club music that was blasting.  Music was always a gateway for me.  One of the first things God called me to purge out of my daily life after my complete return to Him was my music.  I realized how quickly that familiar music pulled me back into memories of my party days.  My heart became heavy waiting and I fought the urge for a night out on the town.  I began to pray and then put on my ear buds and began listening to my Christian music.  God gently encouraged me forward, reminding me that I was a new creation, the past was behind me and forward was the only direction He wanted me to look.  When I passed the start line the rain started and I smiled realizing that this race was going to fight me to the end, but God was with me.  As we rounded the corner to head back down the strip, all of its lights, and allure drawing you in I began to pray and thank God for delivering me.  I realized that this was my redemptive run.  Satan had lost me, God had delivered me back into the fold so many years ago and this was my chance to face the party that used to call my name and reject it for Gods glory.  As I ran God began to heal my past.  My shame disappeared, my sorrow and regret faded, and I realized that I was brand new.  I had faced my fears and God had delivered me.  As I ran I prayed, I had to pray, there was no other way I was crossing that finish line.  I needed God every single step.  It was cold, it was windy, I was tired, but I was not going to give up!  There, running amongst thousands, I knew that God had a mighty purpose for not only me, but for LIFE Runners in Vegas and all over the world,  I was so happy I went!  Sometimes the gusts of wind would nearly knock us over, and by the grace of God I kept standing.  That is how life is, the world tries to knock you down, and sometimes it succeeds, but God is there to pick you up if that happens.  This race was hard, I struggled with the cold, the wind, and random runners aches that aren't even worth mentioning.  God continually encouraged me forward and I found that I had everything I needed.  When I run, I rarely run with a time goal because I let God set my pace.  I trust God that I go the speed I need to go to impact the people around me with His LIFE affirming message.  I did hope to PB this race, and set a hopeful time goal.  As I ran and fought the elements I resigned myself that I would just be happy to finish the race.  God is so faithful, He gave me so much energy the last 3 miles that I pushed earlier than I ever would have, and if I hadn't been fighting to get through a crowd of walkers and 40mph winds attempting to take me out I know I would have blown my goal out of the water.  In the end I did get my best time ever of a half marathon and that was awesome, but that was not the prize.  The prize for the weekend was looking my past in the face and saying, "you have no power over me anymore.  My sins are bought and paid for and I willingly give my life over to God every single day for His purpose not my own!"  The medal was all of the people who approached us and asked about LIFE Runners, or who made encouraging comments.  The weekend was a blessing filled with amazing team and friendship building, an opportunity to minister to each others hearts. You see people are looking for something Vegas can't give them, they are looking for love, hope, and freedom and that can only be found in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven

The word of the weekend was "brutal."  It comes from a funny elevator encounter with a courageous young man who referred to his first 5K as brutal.  You had to be there, but considering that he was speaking to seasoned runners, the idea of a brutal 5k was too far behind us to remember.  Fortunately God reminded us what a brutal Marathon/Half marathon looked like the very next day.  We laughed and joked about "brutal" races all weekend, and it created some extremely fun memories, but somehow this word "brutal" reached deeper into my heart the more we spoke of it.  I began to realize that "brutal" was the perfect word for the battle we fight every day for LIFE.  You see women face brutal opposition when they are coerced to get an abortion, they face brutal hardship when friends and family reject them in the face of unplanned pregnancy.  They are stuck with the brutal consequences of past abortions that flood them with guilt and sorrow.  Those precious unborn are ripped from the womb and die brutal deaths.  An abortion is one of the most brutal acts that can be performed on a woman.  Brutality is satan's handiwork, he loves to hurt us, to make us suffer.  Abortion is his crown jewel, convincing society that it is right to brutally remove the unborn from their mothers womb for convenience sake.  We went to Las Vegas to offer love and hope, and I believe for that weekend satan could not step foot in Vegas because we came there as the light of Jesus and the Light drives out the darkness.

God also blessed my family while we were away by answering some prayer needs and bringing healing to some relationships.  God is so good, I just can't say that enough.  If you lay your burdens at His feet He will carry you and them.  He never fails us, even when it feels like He isn't answering.  He sees a picture so much bigger than we could ever imagine and I am thankful that I am finally in a place where I am learning to rest in the unknown, because He has it all in the palm of his hands....

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

At the Cross

Today as I ran with my husband I was reflecting on how unimaginable it is that Jesus not only died for me on the cross, but He would have died for just me, even if I was the one hammering in the nails.  It was in that moment when I really started to think about the character list involved at the crucifixion that I clearly saw that I was at the cross and at one point or another in my life I have been every single one of the characters there that day.  My heart tried to grasp the heaviness of it all, and I felt Gods love even stronger in that brutal reality!

We are Pilate when we decide to go along with what society says for the sake of not stirring up the crowd.  How often do we say things like, "Well I would never personally do that but who am I to tell someone else what they cannot do" that is a Pilate moment, a moment when we know what is right but we hide behind fear of rejection and refuse to stand against what society is force feeding us.

We are the Pharisees when we get so caught up in legalism that we lose sight of everything that Jesus has shown us.  When we start to trust works and ritual for our salvation instead of trusting God that His grace is sufficient.  That our sins have been forgiven by Christ alone and that there is no payment to be made.  We become the Pharisees when we get far to caught up in doctrine that we miss the point, that it is our job to trust completely in the Lord for deliverance and to lead others with love and not judgement.

We are the fleeing disciples when we aren't willing to speak the truth in the face of rejection.  When we remain quiet over what God is telling us to do instead of being bold.  When we hide and hope that the moment will pass us by instead of being willing to face the scorn of unbelievers.

We are the soldiers who laugh and jeer at Jesus when we openly defy Him, when we say "sorry God not this time, I'm doing this my way."  When we choose to stray but still hold on to a tether of truth, when we put God in our back pocket because we just aren't quite ready to fully surrender.

We are the women at the foot of the cross when we cling on to Jesus in the moment of our deepest fear and loss, when we are sure that nothing good can come from the situation even though Jesus has promised that He can use everything for His purpose and plan.  In that desperate moment when fear and sorrow over take we draw as near to the savior as we possibly can.

We are the angry crowd cheering for Jesus crucifixion when we pull back from God and allow the world to latch on.  When we give ourselves over completely to the madness that is driven by the enemy, the lies, the deceit, the desperation.  We join the crowd when we are willing to give up on faith and claim our spot in the flesh.

So many characters, and yet in my life I have been almost every last one at least for a time.  I was at the cross, I condemned Jesus with my fear of rejection, I battered and bruised him by acting out my sinful desires, I rejected him with my satisfaction in things of the world, I abandoned him when the path got scary, and finally I ran to him in my moments of desperation where he opened his nail pierced hands and wrapped his loving arms of redemption around me.  We have been to the cross, and the only question is will we rise up and accept His gift and give our lives over to Him for eternity or remain in the cast of characters still desperate for peace in a world that offers none.

We can let our sins and failures consume us or we can let God consume them with His loving redemptive fire.  All we have to do is turn and face him, He took our shame to the cross and rose victorious all so that He could have eternity with us.  He died on that cross for everyone and He wants us to come as we are, battle scarred, weary, broken, and lost so that He can show us how beautiful His plan is.....

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

John 1:4
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one's life for one's friends.

Praise God!

I think its really important to give God the glory when He answers your prayers and provides for everything you need.  I think its important to always share the way God provides for us, to give others hope and encouragement.  A few months ago I wasn't sure I could handle being in Fiji anymore.  I felt like God was asking me to really trust Him as He took some very important people from us.  I know that God has to work in every ones life and what was best for those 3 families was to be relocated elsewhere, but it left a noticeable hole in our lives.  Ella Mae's 3 closest friends were gone, her beloved teacher was gone, and 3 very special women were no longer in my daily life.  My heart was broken for my family, but we gave it to God and we trusted as we moved forward!

I can say looking back on how many ways God provided that I am so very thankful!  He took care of every need and even blessed us beyond!  Ella Mae, although she still misses her lovely teacher and her French buddy, she really likes her new teacher and has a new Australian friend.  God brought into my life someone who I am extremely blessed by.  She was an instant friend and we have so much in common its scary!  Gods timing is perfect and He knew that this new friend would not only be a perfect match but also someone who would join in the ministry and have the same love for women and serving the community.  If she had not come along when she did I don't think I would have gone forward with a major fundraiser that we have in the works right now.  God knew I needed a friend, and not just any friend, He provided the perfect friend!

We have been blessed in Ryan's job, and are very happy with his career decision to come and stay in Fiji.  Our church family is truly a powerful blessing and we look forward to growing with them for many years to come.  I finally feel like we are home, so much so that we added a furry family member to the house, our sweet dog Treasure!  Of course there are still storms and there is a lot going on with my parents.  I wish I was closer to help them, but I trust God.  He has never let me down and I know that He will take care of everything, just like He always has!

A few months ago I was completely overrun by worry, fear, and doubt, but now I am experiencing Gods perfect peace as I truly trust Him with all of the details!  Things won't always go the way we want them to, but when your hope is in Jesus you can trust that His plan is perfect and will get you where you need to be!  Its not by chance that my awesome Pastor preached on just what I needed to be reminded of this weekend, I love when God speaks directly to me!

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.

AND BE THANKFUL!  I want Gods peace, and for that my faith must be deepened.  God never stops working on my heart and my faith cannot be deepened without trial, and I will try my best to be thankful in advance as I wait on the Lord to bring His promises into completion.  I've noticed that as He increases my peace my patience is improving.  I struggle with lashing out in anger and frustration at those I love when I am stressed and it is an area I have committed to the Lord to change in me.  That is exactly what He is doing.  When I seek Him in stress I receive His peace and my long-suffering is increased.  I am slowly learning to stay calm when I would usually lose my cool.  I have a long way to go, but by reflecting on all of His past provision it is easier to trust Him with future worries and fears and not let them rule my heart and attitude!  To God be the glory, He is not done with me yet!

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.

The Endurance Mile

It's hard to always run by myself.  I miss having someone to push me, to encourage me, to chat with, and to press through the difficult moments with.  I may not have someone in the flesh, but I never run alone!  The Holy Spirit uses those runs to talk to me, encourage me, and build me into the person I am meant to be.  Every situation and circumstance leaves something to learn from.  Today the word was endurance!

I am not competitive, just ask the Fiji LIFE Runners, I just don't feel the need to beat anyone.  The only competition I ever have is with myself and honestly I have to really push to compete with myself!  Today I had an 8 miles run and I decided to throw a PR mile in at the end.  The very last mile of my run today was very hilly so I put the PR mile in at 6 mile mark.  I gave that mile my all, I pushed hard as I could after already running a fairly decent 6 miles.  My pace was good despite a bit of a hill and I just concentrated on not losing my footing and my breathing.  At the end of the mile I fell 2 seconds short, but who is counting!  No PR today!  Then I realized that PR mile didn't matter, the mile that mattered sat before me.  The last mile, the mile I had left to hit the finish when I was already spent!  That was the mile that built character, that was the mile that proved that you still had more left to give when you had already given all you had!

As I steadily jogged that last mile I prayed for strength and endurance.  I needed to be carried home because my legs were done, my heart was tired, and it was hot!  But step after step I had the strength to go on.  I made it to the very end, and that is because I never run alone.  God ran with me, taught me things, and carried me when I needed carrying.

His ability to teach us endurance falls over every aspect of our lives, especially his call for us to ministry.  Some days its so hard, standing up for life in a world that embraces self and little else.  There is so much darkness it would be easy to just crawl back into bed and pull the covers up and give in, but then what.  Women would continue to be damaged by abortion, innocent lives would continue to be snuffed out before their time in the name of convenience.  See there is one simple truth, a truth so obvious it is mind boggling to me that anyone ever supports abortion.  No woman's right to convenience EVER supersedes another persons right to life!  Never!  Then will come the arguments about rape and children who will not be born perfect, and still I say that we are not the ones to decide life or death over another.  It has already been shown that women who choose life for their child following rape never regret choosing life, but those who choose to end the life of their innocent child after such a tragic event are even more broken and often struggle not just with the rape but with the guilt of the life they took.  Every life matters, and that includes the innocent children conceived in rape.  As for the 90% of babies who are aborted simply because they have a diagnosis of Downs Syndrome, well that speaks of the selfishness of our time.  Who are we to judge who is worthy or less worthy of life.  God created every last single one of us.

With the lies of Planned Parenthood being exposed there has been a growing anger rising from the public to see an end to their funding, but an end to Planned Parenthood is still not enough.  Until we decide that ALL life is precious and we all fight to protect it, abortion will still fracture our society leaving broken families, scarred women, and generations cut off too early.  Endurance is the only thing I have to keep me going.  My legs are tired, my heart is weary, but I will not give up.  I simply can't.....

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.