Test of Faith

The Aug 29th Devotional from Oswald Chambers pretty much hit an accord, so I thought I pay it the respect it needs through a few comments. My comments are in red.

Faith must be tested(yup daily, hourly from birth to this minute wether it's a foul word, looking a women in lust/acquirement, judging someone because they are different, and just forgetting to pray to God until I need Him on on on all the time the test of my faith.) , because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict. What is your faith up against just now? (being single minded with God developing that relationship with Jesus, hard when we are so used to loving a physical being that we can touch.) The test will either prove that your faith is right, or it will kill it. "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." (as I find my relationship with God and Jesus growing closer I become that much more offensive.)The final thing is confidence in Jesus. Believe steadfastly on Him and all you come up against will develop your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith, and the last great test is death. (lately I really have no fear of dying, almost a can't wait for Heaven attitude probably cause its a painful life.) May God keep us in fighting trim!Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us. (a fighter I am a warrior in a different sense always have felt that way.)

Thank you Oswald for pushing me.

Working Out for God

In church this past Sunday I had revelation about my spiritual life and practice. As a competitive athlete I am very disciplined and committed to keeping myself physically fit by training at least 15 hours a week. I also do certain workouts to better and maintain my level of competitiveness.

Then it came to me that I should look at my spiritual life in the same manor. I must work my spiritual fitness in the same manor. Ah Ha. Here is my workout schedule.

Daily Devotional readings
Reading of the bible (i am in the middle of Matthew)
Listen to Pod casts of different Pastors around the country (bell, boyd, stanley)
Praying myself and with the kids
Sharing my path and experiences of my Christian life with my friends.
Volunteering and Mentoring with the High School Youth Group Rezlife
Spending Time with fellow Christians
Writing about my relation with my Lord
Sunday Service 5pm

Wow that felt good. I am pleased with work out and I feel closer and more fit in my spiritual then I have ever in my life. Its A Good Life.

Sunday, Aug 26, 2007

Volunteered in the am for the Jackson County Triathlon and it was a good to see friends and make a new one, connect with a team mate, see pettiness, see families being there to support one another.

Afternoon Ride with a friend to just hang out in the outside! Still cannot believe the beauty of every ride.

Church: What an unbelievable place, the energy, the God thing just fills the tank up. The before and after effect on my kids is way too cool. If I could prove to you the power of God in a real life example, I would show you the joy and energy that comes out of them after Sunday school.

Evening: I recently got my family photos back from a friend that stored them during the divorce. I pulled out some pictures of my ex wife Julie and I on our honeymoon to Hawaii. Memories flooded in, raw pain of the failure of my marriage, shed a few tears. Trust me divorce hurts like you have no idea, But like any heart break, loss or tragedy there are gifts in it. More later.

Margin

I have come to realize how important it has become in my life to have margin. No longer do I crowd my schedule with activities just too keep from being bored. Gone are days where I felt the need to be doing something at every waking moment of the day. I now leave time and big gaps of time to be with myself It maybe a Saturday night where I spend it alone with nothing to do. It is this time I call my margin. I fill it with reflection, reading, and exploring my thoughts, feelings, and events of the past week. To maintain this margin I keep my focus on what is important in my life right now. I call this my WIN test. WHAT IS IMPORTANT NOW. This simple phrase I learned from Steven Covey in his book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." We all need more margin in our lives especially in business where margin means time to reflect on creative ways to solve problems.

Stop with the "I am so busy" crap. Everyone is busy thats just life of being addictive to over activity or better put people keep themselves too busy so they don't have time to feel how unconnected they are to whats important. Jesus was obviously in much more demand than you and he always found time/solitude to reflect and pray to his Father.

In closing on this thought I want you all to know I am never too busy for my friends. Oh I am not really that alone, God and Jesus are with me nudging me, inspiring me, giving me words and most importantly guiding me down an unbelievable path. Thank You Lord for Margin!

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