Runner's High

I ran yesterday, just like every day. I have been training my body for the last week or so to become a runner. Not for a marathon or anything like that, I just want to be a runner. I want to go on a morning run or an evening run. For exercise, for relaxation, for fun! From 3^rd grade on up to High School, I ran track. I was a sprinter, and a really good one. But I had no endurance. Give me  the 100 maybe 200, but that’s my limit! I don’t have time for all the long distance stuff. Now over a decade removed from being a track star, I decided to get back at it.

I have a plan, I will run a little walk a little, repeat. Until I was able to run a little more, walk a little less. And for awhile it seemed like I was still only able to run the same measly distance and nothing more. But I kept at it. Suddenly, last night while I was going over my same routine, something changed. I started running at my normal point and expected to go until my usual stopping point, but when I got there, I wasn’t ready to stop. I had breath! I could keep going!! Elated I pushed myself further and actually passed my second stopping point. Well here is where things got strange. Even though I felt that my body could keep pushing doubt in my mind began to speak up. “Stop Candace, too far”.” You can’t run this far.” “ You’ll get winded.” “ Your heart, what about your heart?” And then I felt it. Fatigue. Breathlessness. Chest pain. I slowed down to a brisk walk. Why?

Sometimes we are so locked in our old ways or our old mindsets, that when we are finally free and ready to move on, something pulls us back. “You can’t do it.” “Remember what happened last time” “Everyone will laugh at you… again” “Stop now, before you get hurt”. When the truth of the matter is you have already built up your endurance, you are strong enough, just…. keep…. RUNNING!!

Push Until Peace Comes...

Have you ever heard this “If you don’t have peace about it, don’t do it”. I have. And I lived my life and made a lot of decisions based off this philosophy.  If I started feeling like I didn’t have peace about something or it became too hard, I would just give up or put it on “hold”, which usually meant I left it and never picked it up again.

But lately I have had to revisit this idea. I thought about some of the most influential characters in history and their lives didn’t seem like a walk in the park. There were trails and tribulation, hard times and heartache. There were times when they had to push without peace, better yet push until peace comes.

Maybe you don’t agree, maybe you still think that if you don’t have peace, you shouldn’t do something. I completely understand but let me show you two things and I’ll let you make your own decision.

1) Luke 22:43-44

King James Version (KJV)

⁴³ And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

⁴⁴ And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

2) Jesus going to the cross

Jesus going to the cross is the most important thing to happen in the history of the human race (whether some want to admit it or not). And there was no one earth then, before or after that could ever complete such a task. He was the man sent specifically to do this, there is no doubt that this was God’s will for his life, yet even Jesus was troubled by it. He struggled, he was in pain, it was hard, yet he did it. He pushed his way through, he pushed until peace came when he said “It is finished” (John 19:30).

So don’t be afraid or hesitant to do something and step out on faith and try something new if at first it is uncomfortable, difficult and you end up doing more pushing than gliding along.  Remember the struggle is a part of the process and continue to push, until peace comes...

*This blog was written for the SUPPORT Group.* SUPPORT Group, Sisters Unifying Producing Positive Outcomes Regarding Trades Group, is a gathering of business-minded women of faith, who are striving to accomplish personal dreams and visions. We encourage each other, provide fresh ideas, share different perspectives, pray collectively, network, and more. Although each woman may be going toward a different goal or may be at a different stage in their progress, we share the common ground of working hard to achieve our dreams.

"Just Do It": Unify and Conquer

So this week in S.U.P.P.O.R.T Group, (a group for ladies who are going after their dreams) our topic is, “Just Do It,” which is most famously known as the slogan of Nike. Nike never really elaborates in its advertisements about what exactly “Just Do It” means;  I think that is the point. The company leaves it up to the person to decide what their “It” is. The importance of the slogan doesn’t lie with “it” but with “just do.”

I think this is so fitting for S.U.P.P.O.R.T. Group(SG), being that we are an eclectic group of ladies striving for our dreams, in many different areas. SG is a place for ladies who have an “it” that they are currently just doing, just starting, or just thinking about it. It doesn’t matter what stage you are on, the important part is that you “just do.” Get started! Yes, you might fall a few times. Perfection, if it ever comes, does not come at first. It takes time and perseverance. The most important step is the first one.

Someone told me something today that truly rocked me. I was chatting with one of our awesome content writers and she said, “You have such a huge vision.” Now, different people could take that statement in different ways. When she said it to me, it made me think and I took a second to reflect on what I am doing with SG. The idea came from one of many conversations with some of my sisters in Christ, who all have dreams and visions, and we would discuss “doing it one day.” As time went on, we began to gravitate toward each other we became a small “support group” for each other. After all, “Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). Then, God impressed upon me that we weren’t the only ladies out there who He had given a vision and a dream to and if we rally ourselves together, we could push each other forward and then reach the world. So, I began writing what poured out of my heart for SG. When I was done, I saved it on my computer and left it for months. I had the vision typed out and I just let it sit. Finally in August of 2011, I got that “Just Do It” attitude one Saturday morning and decided to just put it out there and see what happens… and S.U.P.P.O.R.T Group was born.

Our veteran ladies will remember the group started strong and then fell off for a while. I believe that was greatly due to me being overwhelmed, trying to do it alone. I had a lot going on in my personal life and I let what SG could be one day cloud what was happening in the group here and now.  The vision step by step, I lost focus and was crushed under the weight and had to pull all the way back. Despite how I was feeling, I couldn’t let it die. SG was a vision God gave to me and I knew if He gave it to me, He would sustain it. So, I had to “Just Do It”… again.  This time is different. I am not trying to float this boat myself. Instead, I am reaching out and embracing the many gifts and talents of ladies in the group. I am excited as more ladies pour in. We unify and conquer. Sometimes a vision is not for you to carry alone. This is the case most of the time. Yes, God may have given it to you, but you are just the messenger. Share it while using discernment when you do. Just because you are “doing it” doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. And this is a reason I love SG. We might not be able to help with the everyday tasks of going after your dreams, but we can support the mess out of your dream!!

So, don’t be afraid to get out there and “Just Do It!” Yes, sometimes we fail, mess up and have to try again, but you are not alone as you go. S.U.P.P.O.R.T Group ladies are here to encourage you along your journey.

 

One Year Ago.......

For the first time in my life I did not spend New Year's Eve at church.(Oh Snap) Well, see, what happend was......my church here in Charlotte was so packed, 15 mins after it started that my family of 5 couldn't be seated and not wanting to stand in the back with 3 little ones, we opted to just go home. However, I actually had a wonderful night with the kids and my husband thanks to Just Dance 3, the Time Square Ball Drop, and the good folks down the street setting off fireworks (is that legal in NC???).

Anyways, after my husband and I put the kiddos down I started to think about where I was this time last year. And I realized just how far God has brought me and my family in one year's time. This time last year I was in Ohio, at church, just the kids and I, and while everyone was downstairs celebrating the New Year and eating the after service breakfast, I was in the sanctuary, pacing and crying out to God. You see this time last year my husband and I were separated and on the brink of divorce. We had tried counseling (a few times), time apart, talking, etc, but our marriage was at the point that nothing could help BUT GOD.

God told me that night that He would restore our marriage. Yet, as much as I wanted to I really didn't believe it. We were just too far gone. But God said that not only would He restore but He would give us a new love, a deeper love. Again, I didn't believe, but I asked Him to help me believe and trust that He would do what He said. Now, it didn't happen overnight, but 6 months after that conversation God restored us and since then we have been growing and loving each other more everyday. Not to say we don't have disagreements or annoy the heck out of each other. But we both are firmly rooted in the fact that "never again", never again will we speak divorce, never again will we take our marriage out of God's hands, because that's where it belongs.

This is my testimony, and it may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is to me and my family. Through the hardest times of that 6 months when it seemed everyone around me was telling me in one way or another to give up and prepare to move on, I still held on to what God spoke to me on New Years Eve. God can and will take a situation that looks dead, that everyone says is finished and not only revive it, but give it a brand new life, better than before. Trust God for whatever situation is heavy on your heart as you go into this New Year, and praise Him for the next New Year's Eve when you'll look back and remember how God did it for you in 2013!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Shiny New Toys!!!



Lord knows I have loved the Christmas holiday since I was a little girl. But now being the mother of 3 and having 2 nephews all between the ages of 8 and 3 to buy for Christmas has become quite stressful. "Toys Toys Toys" has been the main thing playing in my head for the last month. I try to enjoy the season, the cheer and most of all the celebration of the birth of my Lord and Savior but I'll admit it gets clouded with compulsion of consumerism.

Thankfully with the kids I buy for they seem to be impressed with how much they have and how shiny it is instead of what it is exactly. For example, they are all young enough to be impressed with lots of cheap shiny gifts under the tree that make it look grand and impressive than a couple really expensive gifts that may make the scene look less impressive. And these less expensive gifts might entertain them for awhile but ultimately they will grow tired of them.

However, as children get older they learn the importance of quality over quantity. They prefer a gaming system or a new computer to multiple less expensive gifts. They are no longer distracted by the shine, they want something that will last longer and they can do more with. (It's time to start teaching my kids that consumerism is wrong and that we just need to be together for Christmas instead of buying gifts) :)

In 1 Corinthians 13:11, it reads "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." As Christians on our walk with Christ, especially in the beginning, as we are learning the way, we might be impressed by charismatic preachers or enjoy music that are good to the ears but ultimately empty and meant for show and not helping us grow. We might be drawn to churches with the largest attendance assuming that they are doing the most for the Lord. But as we "grow up" in Christ, we learn to prefer substance over the shine. We will learn to see past the show and prefer things that will outlast this world and this life and usher us into the next. 

Dough over Bros ?

Recently as I was re-reading the betrayal of Jesus ( Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-56; Mark 14:10-11, 17-21, 42-50; Luke 22:1-6; 21-23; 47-53; John 18:2-11), I wanted to know exactly how much money Judas Iscariot received for turning Jesus in to the chief priests. In the scripture it says that he received thirty pieces of silver (Matt 26:15). My first thought is that this does not really seem like too much money for such treachery. I then, looked to the place most people look to for wisdom and guidance, Google. It gave me sites that began breaking down exactly how much 30 pieces of silver was back then; saying it was equal to 120 days wages and so on and so forth. Other sites gave a few different thoughts but they didn’t really seem that believable. You know how the internet is, you just can’t believe anything and everything people say *cough* wecanknow.com *cough* (if you don’t get that, read my last posting). But then God spoke to me and said, “Does it even matter?” Could I even put a price on such an act? Immediately I answered “No”. It doesn’t matter how much money Judas received to betray Jesus, no amount would be sufficient.
Judas’ actions show that he still didn’t understand exactly who Jesus is. Or better yet, Judas was so clouded with greed that he didn’t really think it through, because if he would have, he would have realized a few things. First, that Jesus would know that he was going to betray him even before he actually did (John 13:21-27). Second, nothing he could have possibly wanted to gain would be worth trading in the Messiah to get it. And third, he still didn’t understand that whatever he needed or wanted would have been provided if he just had enough faith to ask and believe. Judas did not have to resort to deceitful ways in order to get what he was after.
In Luke 22:3 and 4, it says that satan entered Judas before he went to the chief priests. But that doorway was already open because apparently Judas had a weakness for money. In John 12:3-6, he objected when Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus. Judas, outraged, stated that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor, but he really didn’t care about the poor, he was a thief. He was keeper of the money bag and he used to help himself to what was in it.
So let’s apply this to our lives today. If asked, “Would you betray Jesus for 30 silver coins,” I am guessing most, if not everyone would say a quick “no”. But even if we are not the ones who infamously betrayed Him with a kiss (Matthew 26:48,49), we are in a sense betraying Him daily when we turn away from who He is and chase after things of this world that are nothing when compared to Him. Our disloyalty comes when we use deceitful practices in order to retrieve the things we want instead of realizing the key to everything we want and need is already with us or in us. Now, in no way am I saying that we will become a modern day Judas and commit such an act, but what Judas’ biggest fault was that he left a door open for satan to enter and use against Jesus. So my advice is shut those doors. If there are little deceitful things that we are doing “behind Jesus’ back”, close the entry so the enemy has no way to come in and use us. Instead, take those things to Jesus, because He already knows of them. Ask He who already has forgiven us, He who laid down His own life for these little things and big things, He who even forgave those that crucified Him, including Judas (Luke 23:34) to not only shut the door but clean out the whole house.

We Can Know...... Can We???

So there is another website out there predicting the end of the world. Well, actually it is more than a website, it is a movement of some sort predicting the rapture of the Christian church will be on May 21, 2011 and the end of the world will be on October 21, 2011. Maybe you have seen the billboards, bumper stickers, T Shirts, license plates, etc, with saying “We Can Know”. And my questions is “can we?”
I was first alerted to this movement a few months ago and being the curious person I am I went to the website right away, www.wecanknow.com, and checked it out. I just skimmed it at first, brushing it off as some crazy people trying to scare the world into getting saved. But then last week when I saw a huge billboard near my house I thought to myself, “oh these people are serious”. So I went back to the website and took a second look, a little deeper this time. I wanted to see why they feel that “we can know” and also how do they come up with these dates (May and October 21, 2011).
They are basically saying two things:
1.There is a biblical timeline that leads up to these dates as being the end of times.
2.The reason they’re able to know this information is because God is pouring our His spirit in these last days in such a way that Bible scholars are able to understand the Bible in a new way. They reference the fact that Noah knew that the flood was coming and that God is doing that same thing today.
The first thing that might be hard to swallow for many believers, other than their statement that they know the date of the rapture and the end, but the closeness of these two dates. If they are right and the rapture is a little over a month away, the end is only 5 months after that. Many believe that there will be a 7 year tribulation period that will take place after the rapture and before the end. But even that is debatable.
However, my purpose or point is not to discredit this site or these people or say that they are lunatics. I know, for a fact, that the Bible can speak to various people in various ways. I even know that I personally might read a scripture at one time then come back later and receive something completely different from the same exact scripture. But some scriptures have never changed for me are…
Matthew 24
36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Mark 13
32 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when that time will come.
Acts 1
6. So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
As many times as I have read over these scriptures, before I received the holy spirit and now currently with the holy spirit, they still say the same thing to me. We will not know when He is coming, we just need to be ready at all times. There are also many parables that tell us to be ready, but parables can be confusing to some. So I’m just using these scriptures, to me they cannot be any plainer. YOU WILL NOT KNOW. Not “one day” God will change what He has previously said and will reveal that the end will come in 2011 to only some.
In my opinion, if people are spending time searching the scriptures, studying and only focusing on figuring out the time when Jesus will return, they are neglecting the time they need to spend doing what Jesus commanded us to do. Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. Also let’s allow for a quick and I mean quick second that Jesus will rapture the church next month. Not everyone will make it to then because people are dying every day. Jesus may call them home April 30, 2011 and if they are listening to these people who are telling them they have until May 21, they may not be ready for their time.
So this is my point, we do not need to know when Jesus will return, we just need to be ready at ALL times. And while we are waiting we need to get as many people on board as possible, not by scaring them into submission, but showing them how to walk in faith and love.
And on May 22, 2011, when the rapture is still yet to come, are people still going to be living “saved”? Or are they going to revert back to their sinful ways?