Strength Will Rise

There are times that we can anticipate when life may get a little hairy.

I think being able to anticipate possible difficulties benefits us.  It gives us time to prepare and be strengthened... to put on the full armor of God.  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Yesterday, I was anticipating one of these hairy times.  I don't know what to expect from the situation, but I know that whatever happens it will work out.  Thinking about the situation, one of our praise choruses came to my mind as I left for work in the morning.  "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord."  Of course, my memory for songs is not a good one, so the only other lines I remembered were the next two which say, "We will wait upon the Lord.  We will wait upon the Lord."

Coming home from work, still thinking about the hairiness that may come, I started to hum the song again.  Since I couldn't remember the rest of the song, I thought, "I would love to hear this song on the radio."  The radio was already tuned to my favorite station, 95.5 The Fish, so I pushed the button to turn it on.  This is what I heard...

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord (repeat)

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint You won't grow weary

You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

God is absolutely amazing!

Pressing On

Most things I've tried, I've been pretty good at. A good majority of those things I've even been a bit above average in. (I'm not talking about anything athletic of course.) But in my adult life, I've come across something that continually kicks me in the butt. Something I work at, think about, and try over and over. But I seem to mess up - all the time. It's at the point sometimes that I feel like I've failed and I should just drop out. I've never been a quitter though and so I never fully drop out.

I guess that's the one of the things I have going for me.

Philippians 3:12-14 I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. (The Message)

Life Explained

My friend just sent me this. I read it before and loved it. Now I'm passing it on.

On the first day, God created the dog and said: 'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.' The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?' So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said: 'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.' The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?' And God agreed .

On the third day, God created the cow and said: 'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer 's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.' The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?' And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created humans and said: 'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.' But the human said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?' 'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.

Totally Worn Out

I found this quote today.

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming--"Wow! What a Ride!"

-- Author: unknown

Living a life like that takes effort, goals, purpose, and risk. Totally worn out is how I feel most evenings, but at least I know I'm living to the best of my ability.