success

February 19 – Get Back Up Again

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I got on the scales the other day and man, was I surprised! I hadn’t weighed in a year and my workout schedule has been a little sporadic, to say the least. I’ve been running and I’ve been swimming. But I haven’t been consistent.

Though I’m not a fanatic about working out, I know if I plan on being around in good health any length of time, it is necessary. All my life, I’ve never really put on much weight, so I didn’t really consider that to be the reason for my pants getting snug. (!) Nonetheless, the extra pounds snuck up on me.

Accomplishing anything of value will require the steady stream of tenacity. No matter how instantaneous success might seem, nothing significant happens overnight. It takes years of root development for a mighty oak to be able to stand strong in the midst of a raging winter storm. The same is true for you and me.

And with all the planning and persistence you can muster, there will be days when you lose your grip and start to slip helplessly out of control. The tiger indeed gets you by the tail. That’s when grace comes in: you rise again to regain your strength, and once more, begin.

For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. Proverbs 24:16 New International Version

Biblical Meditation: 1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 

December 12 – How Bad Do You Want It?

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He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor. Proverbs 21:24

A hunting buddy of mine gets a deer almost every year. I, on the other hand, am not so “blessed.” It’s not fair. He just seems to get all the breaks. (Whine!)

I mean, just because he starts putting out feeders full of corn well before the season hits. And puts up cameras to monitor the migration and feeding times of the deer. And takes special care to cover his scent. And puts up strategic hunting blinds and tree stands. And gets up at the crack of dawn during the season and goes back often in the mid-afternoon. Surely all this has no bearing on how successful he is at harvesting those deer.

I, on the other hand, at this present time, am guilty of doing none of those things. I just sit out under a cedar tree, by a lonely little pond and wait…sometimes. Why in the world am I not getting my deer?!

The truth of the matter is I don’t want one bad enough. My buddy figured it out, if he was going to be successful at hunting deer, there were several things he would have to do to secure his desired result.

And it’s the same way with God Stuff! If I want to know His will for my life, or want to see His Plans succeed in my life, I have to spent time with Him earnestly.

God’s blessings are abundant, like grape clusters on a vine.  And far too many of the blessings with our names all over them are rotting on that vine. We have to do the picking and the prepping or the value is lost.

No finger-pointing allowed, just one would-be hunter to another. If we want it, and it’s beneficial, chances are, with a concerted and consistent effort, it will become a reality.