Fire for HIM

Yesterday in church, a sweet lady in her golden years hugged my neck and said, "See yourself at my age - just imagine what level you will be."  I was taken back.  I had never thought to stand in my "senior shoes" and look in the mirror.  She was paying me a complement.  I had just prayed for someone, and she was telling me to see the vision of who I might become and the freedom and wisdom I would truly walk in...just if I continued on the path of fervor after the Lord's heart.  Wow!  What a challenge to be told to look at life in a 'flash-forward' stance.  Our campus pastor at my university would often tell us to look at decisions we might make with the perspective of 'hindsight in foresight position' - I have never forgotten those words and have applied them so very often.  I was saying this quote of Pastor Shuler to someone recently, and they said, "What exactly does that mean anyway? I hear you say it often."  I explained the above...

                                             " By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." (Hebrews 11:30 KJV)  Giving up can be a huge temptation.  I often feel that little tap on my shoulder, so to speak, to just throw in the towel when something is very difficult and my energies are expended.  My mind wants to say, "Oh, well."   I feel like I have done all that I can do.  But something beautiful can come out of that.  I can allow Him to give me strength to do more - to reach the goal at hand. A sweet friend gave me Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers for my birthday.  I have been so encouraged by the elaborated stories of the women within the lineage of Christ.  Seeing them in t...

I wanted to jump off the end of the pier... I picked up a Kleenex box and gazed at the picture on the side.  It was of a long wooden pier out over shimmering, blue water, with gorgeous mountains far in the distance.  I had the sudden urge to run down the length of the pier and into the water.  My senses longed to feel the joy of the bubbling water surround me.  I wanted to swim and swim, reach the other side and run toward the mountains.  Hesitancy and planning are the usual behaviors for me, so this impromptu longing was far from my practiced nature.  However, God is taking me to a new season.  A season of moving forward, at a marathon pace, is what my heart has been conforming to desire.  As I thought about this, I reflected on how He prepares us and plants desires within us for the place He wants to take us.  "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. "...