exciting - these are exciting times! we serve an exciting God who is in the business of doing exciting things.
focus - much like daniel in the karate kid, i am interested in the art of catching flies with chopsticks; in other words, finding focus for the things that matter.
passion - paul says that it is good to be zealous about the things of God. it is amazing to me that we as people can expel passion about things that are trivial - sports, clothes, music, shoes, etc. passion is a gift from God and when put to use in and for the things of God...buckle up and hold on tight because i believe that we're in for the ride of our lives.
desire - desire to live life in and through God. after all, he is the author (creator) and perfecter of life. what better way to live life then in the arms of the one who knows the ins and outs like the back of his hand, literally?
persistence - "if at first you don't first succeed, try, try, and try again". paul says it best in romans; "not only so but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope". amen
~Andrew
5 comments:
the karate kid and focus...GENIUS!
love it love it love it!
MEAN IT!
Desire/passion/focus/persistence...wow! I was struck immediately when I read this...where has my desire, passion and focus been lately? To be quite honest, it's not really been anywhere, except work and commitments that I have made and not completely on the Lord. Sure most of things I do and am committed to are ministry based/related and I see the Lord working everyday in all these things, but my own passion, desire and focus...hmmmmmm, it doesn't leave much to be desired in and of itself...
But after talking with a friend last night and reading this I finally admitted to myself that I have lost some of the desire/passion that I normally have towards God and its been put on the backburner for the last week or so (if not longer)...I'm constantly thinking about what I have to do next and where I need to be at a certain time and forget that it's NOT about what I'm doing or where I'm going but WHO I'm doing it for. Who am I really serving? The Lord or myself? Unfortunately I fall into the latter category all to often and think it's all about me as most of us probably do but maybe don't want to admit...
So as I sit here contemplating where it all went wrong and where my passion, desire, and excitement went, my next thought goes to what James had to say, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Consider it pure joy? Really? It's a joy to feel like I've been treating people like crap? Or that sleeping is more important that really reading the bible? And that I make time for things but not the Lord? That makes me feel horrible and really guilty!!!
So where do I go from here and where does this leave me? This probably means I need to apologize to some people and ask for forgiveness for being a jerk and might mean having a rough couple of days or week trying to re-adjust my thinking and focus but with help from the Lord and the grace and forgiveness from some friends the reward/excitement and growth in the end will all be worth it!!!
Thanks for the reminder Andrew!
Sarah definitely needs to start blogging on the Inn blog, like yesterday.
I appreciate your candor and perspective, Sarah. I, too, agree with John. We'd love to hear from you more often, including writing your own blog.
Blessings!
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