I had been warned that it was cooler in the mountains, so I wore long pants and a quarter length sleeve. A light drizzle started as we approached the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we ate our picnic lunch in the car. I knew the mountains held the last of the mountain laurels and this would […]
I don’t know if this happens to you, but sometimes I loose my might to fight, because I feel overwhelmed. Because I’m faced with too many things and everything s
eems to much for me to tackle.
Let me explain. In the last few weeks we uncovered a termite invasion in our house, horrors! Our truck had a very expensive break down. My computer crashed. The dishwasher broke. The refrigerator went out. The dryer quit drying. Family crisis. When it all happens at once it’s overwhelming. And that’s how it usually happens. It’s not just one thing, it’s multiple things, one right after another! Ahhh!
Not only that, my yard. I have taken out locust trees repeatedly. Wayne is a craftsman, so I do things that don’t require carpentry skills. So sawing down the locust trees has been my job. He helps, but it’s my job. I cut them down in the fall. Pulled the roots up as far as I could pull. In February, for every place I had one in the fall, I now had two. So I chopped and hacked. I pulled and chopped some more. I’ve poisoned. I’ve cut. I’ve pulled, but now they have taken over the entire hillside! Ahhh! I was totally overwhelmed. I just wanted to go to bed. I had no more might to fight the locust.
But going to bed doesn’t clear off the hillside.
In spite of how I felt I had to tackle my mountain. This is what I did.
I think my strategy for clearing the locust from the hillside is a viable strategy for whatever may be overwhelming you. Whether it’s financial, physical, disobedient children or organizing a closet. Life can be overwhelming. Problems can be overwhelming. When that happens we can loose our might to fight. Instead, tackle it. What strategy do you use when you feel overwhelmed.
Think Missional! Pass this on to someone you think may enjoy it or need it.
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Yes, Florence Chadwick broke the world record in 1950 when she swam across the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes. And yes, she is notably the first woman to swim the English channel both ways in 1951. Still she’s best know for her “not so successful” swim in 1952.
Ms. Chadwick’s new goal was to be the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, a 21 mile swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. Rough waters, bone chilling waters and sharks make ocean swimming arduous and dangerous. Long distance swimming adds another layer of complexity to the challenge that lay before Florence. The shark infested waters alone, would be enough to keep this “land lubber” from attempting such a daunting task.
Her support team armed with medical supplies and rifles to shoot sharks, accompanied her in a small boat. In another boat held moral support-her mother! Yeah mothers! Of course, I must mention her dad had accompanied her on the English Channel record shattering trip, so yeah for dads too!
Florence swam methodically hour after hour in the cold waters pulling herself toward her goal. A thick, soupy fog settled over the waters making visibility impossible. When the bleakness of that fog began to blind her inner vision, she began to doubt her abilities. She complained to her mom, “I don’t think I can make it.” Still she swam for another hour. Florence had been swimming for almost 16 hours. But without that inner vision, all she could see was a never ending struggle and that drained her energy. That lack of vision and lack of hope defeated her. She called for her support team to take her out of the water. When she was sitting in the boat she discovered she was less than one mile from land.
Brian Cavanaugh, in A Fresh Packet of Sower’s Seeds, noted that she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I know I could have made it.” (Read more:
She didn’t know just how close to victory she was. She was less than one mile…one mile. If only she had known…if only you knew just how close to victory you are. Life doesn’t give us mile markers to indicate how close we are to victory; like an interstate highway marks our progress to the next town. Without those indicators we must have confidence in our guide and a clear vision of where we’re going. If you don’t; you’ll lose heart. You’ll lose your might to fight.
While our vision must include a picture of victory, our vision must go even beyond the fight, even beyond the victory to the person holding the victory. That is essential as a believer. Jesus wants to give you the victory. As you behold Him, His promises, and His love for you, your heart will receive hope. That hope is a light that enables vision. If it’s dark where you’re cowering this morning and you’ve lost your might to fight, then go to God’s Word. Find a promise for your situation and begin to declare God’s truth, God’s reality over it. Look to Jesus.
Hebrews 12:2 “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.”
I talked with a dear friend recently that is fighting a huge battle, I asked, “How are you doing?”
My friend responded, I’m deliberately building my faith. It’s a fight, but my confidence is in God.”
Two months later Florence Chadwick tried it again. This time she kept the vision of land in her heart the entire swim. The entire trek was completed in a record shattering “13 hours, 47 minutes, and 55 seconds”. Not only did she break the record by two hours, she began the first woman ever to swim the Catalina Channel. She did it and you can be victorious in your circumstance as well. Fight the good fight of faith by keeping your eyes on Jesus.
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Mark Twain Get your fight back…more tomorrow.
Think Missional! Pass this on to someone you think may enjoy it or need it.
Florence May Chadwick.” The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press., 2012. Answers.com 07 Jun. 2012. https://www.answers.com/topic/florence-chadwick
Read more: https://www.answers.com/main/cite_this_answer.jsp#ixzz1x6XNivW2
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Maybe you don’t need a definition, but I did. There’s a lot of talk about heroes. Somehow I missed the fact that there’s a show on TV now called “Heroes.” Then there’s all these super hero and comic book hero movies coming to the theatre. I haven’t seen any of the TV shows or the new movies, but I think I observed a hero night. Just in case it really was a hero, I thought maybe I should look up the definition.
According to Merriam-Webster a hero is “a. a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability”. I definitely have not met a hero that fits that description. It sounds a little scary to me. Samson is not on my list of “would love to meet” Bible characters. Even the next definition, “ an illustrious warrior” is way out of my league of experiences. And I thought I had experienced all there was—now I have a new thing to do on my bucket list; meet an illustrious warrior, unless that would be Samson. I would love to meet a real war hero. Anyone out there have any connections. But, I must confess that I tear up if I pass a soldier in the grocery store wearing their uniform, so maybe I have already done that too.
But like I said, she wears many hats. She and her husband rounded up the kids that ride the van for their trip home as we chatted. She knows all the kids stories; their hurts…the reality of their broken homes, broken lives and night mares come true. And not just the kid’s stories, she knows the parent’s and the grand parent’s stories. She shares more than their stories, she shares their pain. She cares. She listens. She hugs. Not the impatient, I’ve got things to do hug, but the lingering, full, but always appropriate, I really care about you, hug.
Yes, Thelma Bartmess, you’re my hero. Not the “a.” or “b.” definition as described by Merriam-Webster, but the “c.” definition “a man (in this case a woman) admired for his achievements and noble qualities.” Thank you for all you do to make our church a better place. Thank you for all the hugs. For all the years you’ve loved on kids and taught them Bible verses. For all your trips to Fine Arts. I’ll just stop here…you know what you do, I’m too tired to go on….
Our church, and I’m sure your church, has more than one Thelma; those ordinary people doing things with extraordinary love. Those people are my heroes, not the plastic imitation heroes with fragile egos that parade on the news and social media. While I don’t worship heroes, they inspire. Heroes like Thelma make me want to serve with greater love, give more generously and live louder.
To all the Thelma’s out there, even if you’re called by a different name, THANK YOU! Thank you for living your faith out loud by lovingly serving others. Thank you for making the difference even when no one noticed or no one seemed to care. You don’t need my thank you because that’s just what you do, but I needed to say it.
Think MISSIONAL. If you know someone that would enjoy this blog, please pass it on.
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If you follow my blogs you know I love stories, especially Bible stories. This young man loves them as passionately as I do. He has his doctorate, so what he does; his books, his preaching and his life is beyond story telling. Just when I thought I had a mental icon of what a successful pastor, author and preacher should look like along comes a man that changes that icon. He is passionate in his pursuit of God. He is humble, approachable and brilliant. He tells his story, his amazing and miraculous story of God taking care of a man following, obeying and giving his all to Christ.
I loved him for his riveting life story, but he does more in his book. But it’s the influence of HIS (God’s) story, the Scriptural weaving of powerful Bible truths into the fabric of his life that makes this book life changing.
If you want to read a book that will wrap you in God’s love and then release you into your destiny with renewed passion, you need to read this book.
Meeting and hearing this man at District Council in Louisana impacted my life. I’m seeing things differently…oh, how desperately I want to be more like Jesus!
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Forgive me. I intended to get this posted yesterday. By the time I juggled everything that had to be done, it didn’t get up. The wind and rain awaken me at 3:30 this morning. My first though was, “Do we still have power?” Even before we went to bed (we don’t normally get a […]
Pentecost Pentecost is a special celebration to the Jewish people. It commemorates the supernatural giving of the law at Mt. Sinai complete by getting all dressed up and watching a spectacular fireworks display. Pretty spectacular stuff! It was one of three feast that every Jewish male was required to attend. Pentecost means fifty and comes […]
It was only logical that the family reunion take place at the old farm homestead. Everyone was there including sweet, little Aunt Burdie. After lunch she plodded down the hall to the back bedroom for a nap. As she turned to go into the room, she passed a full length mirror at the end […]
Mirror, mirror on the wall. Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest, the smartest, the richest…you get the picture. No, you don’t possess a magic mirror, but I’m gonna guess your mirror does talk to you and whether we realize it or not we all engage in self-talk. What do you hear when […]
I wonder what she sees when she looks in that mirror. I can almost hear her mom standing nearby questioning, “Who’s that? Who do you see? Is that Keira?” Perhaps she realizes that she’s looking at herself. You can tell by her smile that she likes what she sees. All babies seem to enjoy seeing […]
OK. It’s spring. The flowers are blooming…the birds are singing. It’s time to drag out the mowers, dust off the lawn chairs and try to fit into last year’s bathing suit. Sounds wonderful, except the bathing suit part, unless you’re exhausted and in need of rest; then Spring is reduced to yellow pollen on everything, noise […]
Don’t do it! You’ll pay dearly for it. Maybe it was part of the ritual of growing up in the deep south. I guess that’s as good a reason as any other that I might give. I knew better, but I still did it. I don’t know why it would even be tempting, that big […]
