Runner

I call myself a runner.

This is of course a term I use loosely.  I run about twice a week and I enjoy it... so I call myself a runner.

Like many runners, my running frequency ebbs and flows with my desire, free time and the weather.  Not being the most athletic specimen on the planet (stop laughing), I can't just jump back into running 4 to 5 miles after a period of time where I haven't jogged at all.  In fact, that first run back is HARD.  I mean, after several months of not running, I can barely run a mile without stopping to catch my breath or stretch out some muscle that is tightening after having not been used in a while.  Not to mention that the next day will be ridden with soreness as I regret having not jogged sooner.

Just like running, we also can't just jump back into our walk with the Lord after having been without Him for a long while.  The training is a slow upward climb back into his arms.  Their is soreness as we stretch back into a routine.  With each step, we get closer and we feel the warmth comforting us and His arms welcoming us home.  All Christians ebb and flow in their desire to seek the Lord, the free time that they have to spend in His Word and the seasons of life that push and pull us in different directions.  He is so constant... even when we aren't.  Our walk with the Lord isn't made up of short sprints and it isn't a race to finish before other Christians... it's a marathon... and He's gonna run it with us!

Beauty in the Hills

Mills College, Oakland, CA, March 2010

I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth -Psalms 121:1

The Fight

I swing around with such a force,
I'm knocked onto the ground,
Searching for a breath of air,
My heartbeat the only sound.

He knows my every weakness,
From jealousy to pride,
Embarrassed of the things I've done,
My thoughts I try to hide.

He sits upon my shoulder,
To taunt and push me down,
He tells me that I'll gain so much,
Yet hurt is all I've found.

Dear Lord, I need you on my team,
For it's battle that I face,
I feel I can't keep fighting him,
He has me in an embrace.

With fists held up, I'm ready Lord,
I'm moving toward what's real,
To fight for love that deeper than,
Any earthly joy I feel.

The fight is done, the bell has rung,
No longer will he win,
Oh Satan get away from me
And take with you my sin.

The Cup

As she neared the table she gazed across it's surface to see one solitary cup sitting in the table's center. The closer she got, she realized that the simple white foam cup had her name on it's side. But why? "What was it filled with?" she wondered.

All of a sudden the empty room filled with people who were shoving and pushing their way through the room without even taking notice to the table. With each person who entered, a cup appeared on the table, different names on each.  As she moved around the table in an attempt to somehow guard the cup and it's contents, something from behind her caused her footing to slip and she fell into the table bringing it crashing to the ground.  

As she pulled herself up, she looked over to see the cup... on its side... empty.

When you get knocked over in life, what spills out for all to see?  What do you fill your cup with? 

Ignored Call

As the playful tune rings from her purse, she digs to find the source of that familiar noise. Dig... dig... dig... yes! Finally in the depths of her purse, she is able to feel blindly for her small vibrating cell phone and pull it out of the abyss so that she can see who is calling. As she glances at the screen, she decides that she doesn't have time to take the call, and she thinks nothing of pressing the "Ignore" button.

Whatever the reason may be... "I don't have time"... "I don't want to discuss what it is that he/she is calling about"... "I'll just let them leave a message, it will be easier"..."he/she wants something and I don't want to give it to them" We've all ignored a call... or two. We've all become so accessible with cell phones and yet, with that access and information comes more freedom to make a choice about whether we want to respond.

Sometimes I feel as if the Lord ignores my calls... I get down on my knees and with prayer and petition, pour out my heart... but I hear nothing, he doesn't answer. "Is the Lord ignoring me?" I say to myself.

The Lord is the almighty, all knowing, and a wonderful listener... he hears ALL of our prayers, and with his vast knowledge that is beyond our understanding he will answer all of our prayers. Sometimes the answer is "yes"... sometimes it is "no"...and so often he says "not now". He never ignores our calls... he is merely waiting to answer until the time is PERFECT acording to his most perfect plan for our lives.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20