Success or Failure?

There is no failure. Only feedback. ~Robert Allen

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon

I learned something about myself today. I don't like driving a motorcycle. Perhaps that doesn't seem like a very big deal, but to me it was huge.

I love riding a motorcycle. My husband drives one, and we have ridden together for years. It is a completely different experience than riding in a car. You see things differently. Colors are more vibrant. Landscapes are more spectacular. It's almost indescribable really if you haven't experienced it firsthand.

A couple of months ago, I started thinking that I would like to have my own bike. I shared this with my husband, and he suggested a beginning riders course that the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) offers. I registered for the course, and it was this weekend.

After four hours of classroom instruction last night, we were to spend about six hours actually learning how to drive/ride a motorcycle today and again tomorrow. I only made it through three.

They say that part of the purpose in taking the course is to determine whether or not driving a motorcycle is actually for you in a safe and controlled environment. I found I didn't like it. In fact, it scared me to death. The further along we went, the more frightened I became.

I wish I could say why, but the truth is, I have no idea.

Besides learning how to engage the clutch on a bike, make it go, make it stop (and no, putting your feet down doesn't work!), etc., I gained a knowledge far more valuable than the in's and out's of driving a motorcycle. I was finally able to grasp a truth that has always seemed to be just beyond my reach.

There was no failure in not finishing the course. It was optional. I was there because I thought it was something I wanted to do. Turns out, it was not.

The failure would have come had I never chosen to try it in the first place.

I can tell you honestly that even a year ago that would have been the case. Not anymore.

There are no feelings of failure. Only a sense of accomplishment in not allowing fear to keep me from trying.

Wishing you the courage to chase whatever dream you may be dreaming.

Mystery

As I consider Thanksgiving today, I am reminded of all for which I have to be thankful. My family, friends, and church family. The abundance of wealth God has blessed me with compared to so much of the world who has not even food or clean water. My health. The ability to see, to hear, to walk. The men and women who put themselves in harm's way every day so that I may live in freedom. Their families who sacrifice so they may serve. The ability to worship freely without fear of reprisal.

First and foremost, I am ever so thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who by the shedding of His precious blood has set me truly free.

It is a mystery, and I cannot begin to comprehend it, but I am so thankful.



I wish you Thanksgiving blessings!

With All My Heart

Yesterday I noticed that my trash can is desperately in need of cleaning. It's white, so it shows everything, and it doesn't take very long before it begins to look dingy and disgusting.

As I began to think about my to-do list for the day, my mind immediately went to cleaning the trash can. Ewww! Did I mention that I strongly dislike that job? Can I get an Amen?

Not particularly glamorous cleaning the trash can, but necessary nonetheless.

I wonder how many people will wake up today feeling that the tasks ahead of them are not only less than glamorous, but would even be considered menial. As I considered this, God brought Colossians 3:23-24 to my mind. "23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Will anyone see me clean my trash can today? Probably not. Will they notice that it is clean? Maybe. Maybe not. But God will see, and God will notice. To Him, no task is too small, no job too menial.

It is often the small and seemingly insignificant tasks that make the most difference.

As you go about your day today, know that God notices and cares about what you are doing. Work at it with all your heart for it is Him you are serving.

Serving with you,

In Need of Repair

In the past two weeks, I have replaced the motors in my upstairs and downstairs heating/air-conditioning units (at different times), my hot water heater, the expansion tank for the hot water heater (also at different times), and discovered a leak on the ceiling of my master bedroom. This last one was discovered just this morning. The source is yet unknown.

Back in the spring, my husband said we really needed to have someone come out to drain and flush the hot water heater because we had not had that done since moving into our house. Of course, who to call, a plumber, right? I knew that much, but randomly picking one out of the Yellow Pages, well www.yp.com, actually, didn't really seem like the best plan. So, what did I do? I asked for recommendations from friends and family and received one for whom, as it turns out, I am now on a first-name basis. It was the same scenario when I needed to have repair work done on my HVAC system. I am now on a first-name basis with him as well. I am thinking I should add them both to my Christmas card list. :0)

But who do I call when I am broken and in need of repair? I should not need a recommendation. I know the Master Physician Himself, and, more importantly, He knows me. He "made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13 NLT) He "saw me before I was born." (Psalm 139:16 NLT) He IS Jehovah Rapha - The Lord that heals.

There is no repair of which I might find myself in need, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, that is out of His control. I cannot misplace His phone number. I do not ever have to worry about getting voicemail. He will never tell me that He is unable to speak to me right now or that I will have to wait for Him to order the part. He is available to me 24/7.

The repair may not be instantaneous, but I can trust that He will be with me while I wait. I know this because He tells me in His Word in Hebrews 13:5, "...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

It is enough.

Blessings,

Mind Over Matter

Have you ever seen the movie True Lies? I saw it again a few months back after not having watched the movie in years. If you have seen it, you might recall one scene where Jamie Lee Curtis' character does a rather racy dance for her husband, although she doesn't know it's her husband.

Yesterday, I was sitting in the rocking chair in my bedroom talking to God. I was just praying away, and, all of a sudden, this scene from True Lies flashed into my head. My first thought was, "Ewwww...you don't belong here. Go away! I'm trying to have some time with God."

It was in that moment that my thoughts simply froze. I began to consider what I had just been thinking. The next thought that came into my mind was if I didn't think that scene belonged in my head while I was talking to God, then that bore the question of whether or not it belonged in my head at all.

I don't think that True Lies is a particularly bad movie, but this experience caused me to stop and think about the things with which I am filling my mind. The truth is, it is easy to get desensitized to the things of this world.

My daughter and I recently had a conversation about the TV show Cake Boss on TLC. We would record and watch it periodically, but after an episode last week, I told her we would not be watching it anymore because there was too much foul language in it. You wouldn't expect this from a TV show about making cakes for crying out loud, but, sadly, that is the way it is.

She asked me why they allowed that on TV, and I told her I really didn't know. I shared with her about how when I was growing up, you didn't hear cursing on TV at all. Normal television shows were then not allowed to use curse words, and movies that were shown that contained them were bleeped out or dubbed over.

What is this? Desensitization. A gradual acceptance of lower standards. It is insidious, actually, but it is the way of the enemy. He doesn't hit us with big changes all at once. A movie here, a TV show there. First, we only look for a few seconds. Then, next time, maybe a minute. Then, a few minutes, and before we know it, our standards have lowered. We have become more accepting, and we are not even aware that anything has happened.

I am not pointing any fingers here. I would be the first to say I know I am guilty.

For now, I think I need to go find my rocking chair and talk with God some more. I need to ask Him what I have allowed into my life that should not be there.

Blessings,

Overflowing With Love and Gratitude

Good Friday always brings mixed emotions for me. On the one hand, I know it is the beginning of a celebration that at its very core is the basis of who I am. Good Friday leads to Easter Sunday. The day of resurrection. The day that death was overcome, Satan was defeated, and victory was proclaimed forevermore. But in order for that to occur, a sacrifice had to be made.

Jesus died for me. He shed His precious blood. He sacrificed Himself. He was mocked. He was tortured. All so that I would not have to die. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 (NIV)

I deserve to die. I am a sinner. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 (NIV)

And yet, if you look again at Romans 6:23, it says that rather than death, I receive a gift. The gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. But the gift is not just in Christ Jesus; it is because of Christ Jesus.

God required a sacrifice. He is holy and righteous and just. He cannot look upon me in my sin. Jesus said that He would be that sacrifice. He who was perfect and sinless, who had done nothing wrong. Because He loves me that much.

Yes, today I am filled with mixed emotions. My heart is grieved that He had to suffer so horribly because of me, but at the same time, my heart is filled to overflowing with love and gratitude for the One who is my Savior.

Thank You, Lord Jesus. I love You!

Blessings,

FEAR Part 2

Yesterday we talked about how God commands us 365 different times in the Bible that we are not to be afraid.

What do you fear?

I find that most of my fears revolve around my own feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. I fear failing. I fear not being "good" enough...whatever that means. I fear being rejected. I fear not being able to realize my dreams because I am too afraid to step out and move forward.

God and I have been dealing with these issues for sometime now.

I have always known that we are not saved by our "works" but by God's grace. ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) There are many things in my past for which I have had to ask for forgiveness, and I have done so and accepted that God has forgiven me.

However, I think I have believed there was some sort of standard for being a Christian woman, wife, and mother to which I have never been able to reach.

Recently, during a morning quiet time, God spoke to my heart. He told me that the standard for which I was striving was not His standard. It was a standard I had set for myself based on what I believed others thought I should be.

And I said, "But Lord. You created the Proverbs 31 woman. You put her in the Bible. She must be in there for a reason. You would not have put her in there otherwise. She is our model, and I.Am.Not.Like.Her! Why?"

Ever so gently, He whispered to me, "My child, the Proverbs 31 woman looks different for each woman. I have called you to specific purposes, and you can not compare your purposes to that of another. More than that, though, I love you UNCONDITIONALLY, regardless of what you do or do not do."

How freeing. He loves me. Just for me. Faults and all. I do not have to be perfect. I never will be perfect. Most importantly, His opinion is the only one that matters. His standard is the one on which I need to set my sights.

I find when I focus on that, the fear fades away. May your fear do the same.

Blessings,