No long post today. Starting with the ridiculously long title and the use of the word “just”, this will actually go against all the rules of blogging but I don’t care. These two simple sentences are something I desperately needed someone to tell me once upon a time when going through the hardest thing I’ve ever endured in my life.
I recently watched my grandson struggle to climb up into a chair. I chose not to help him. Not because I’m mean but because I love him.
Per·se·vereˌ pərsəˈvir/ verb: continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success. Facing difficulty with little to no prospect of success. Oh my goodness… This sounds so bleak! Persevering without hope, without Christ, is bleak at best. Persevere is a verb. And action word. My idea of persevering is waiting while moving forward. That sounds more hopeful, doesn’t it?
I don’t normally have many dreams – that I remember anyway. I had several last night. A couple of them didn’t make as much sense as others once I woke up but one in particular was vivid. Probably because it was what I was dreaming as I awoke.
When the assignments are too arduous, the emotions too burdensome, the schedule too packed, the future too uncertain, the enemy too fierce… when you’re tempted to quit, hopefully, you’ll have a friend who tells you not to. They’ll tell you to keep breathing. And you’ll be inclined to listen.
When there’s only an ounce of life left, there’s still life. What is even a little bit alive is not dead. Nothing is pronounced dead until it is actually dead. Until it is actually dead, it is alive.
It’s been raining here for a solid 24 hours. Not a heavy rain, not even a storm. A steady trickle. It’s amazing to me how a steady trickle of rain can bring a flood.
We live on a retention pond with ducks and fish and turtles bobbing their little heads up out of the water. We have water fountains. It’s peaceful. The sun rises over it. It’s quite beautiful. We call it our lake. But alas, it’s a retention pond.
TODAY IS THE DAY!! I’ve been waiting for this day! I’ve had these 5 little books, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, in my hot little hands for weeks now just waiting to give them to 5 of you lovely readers. Yes, 5! Not just 1 of you, but 5 of you!
Most of us have heard the story where Jesus fought his way to earth through the birth canal of a virgin. Fought his way through his childhood being the boy who did nothing wrong and whom many in his family didn’t even like him – never mind that He came to give them eternal life. Fought his way through Satan’s temptations. Fought his way through crowds. Fought demons. Fought incurable illnesses. Fought death.
He fought all these fights, for me, and He won.
Empty Plate . Full Heart 