See you at the finish line.......

I've been reading a short book by Lincoln Murdoch who is an endurance racer, "See You at the Finish Line" and am again reminded how God works in our lives. I have been struggling with motivation and direction lately and it seems that others around me are as well. You see, this book wasn't on my bookshelf, in fact I don't even know where it came from or how I got it. I stumbled across it when putting away the Christmas decorations. I don't know about you, but I heard God speaking to me "stop what you are doing and look at this book". Now of course, Otto would say that was my ADD and inability to stay on task, but I know it was God. So many of us miss His calling because we are pre-occupied and don't stop to listen. So, blocking out Otto telling me to 'stay on course', I picked up the book and read the Introduction....

In the Introduction, Lincoln speaks to his endurance racing and how he is able to compete because he has set a plan and stayed the course - he talks about how football or basketball teams fall apart in the 4th quarter and lose because they didn't have the same level of endurance and conditioning as the other team. Well, just as in athletic performance or life, we need endurance in our spiritual walk.

Luke 21:19 says "By your endurance, you will gain your lives."

I am drawn to what the author is saying, whether we are battling relational struggles, burnout, financial problems or an attack by the enemy we can not abandon our faith just because the race is too hard. We must stay the course and press on. I am looking forward to reading more of what Lincoln has to say in his book and will keep you all posted and hopefully bring some helpful tips on not giving up when the going gets tough! As well as our spiritual lives, we can apply what he is saying in our daily lives and other goals we may have set and struggling to complete.

Two weeks ago, I signed up for two classes at the local community college with the goal of getting my degree (finally). I gave up pursuing my degree about 20 years ago; there were many reasons that justified my decision at the time and even since then. But I have always questioned my decision and whether I should start school again. Over the past few years my job has taken many twists and turns, all of which I had no control over and many times I thought about going back to school to see what I wanted to do when I 'grow up'. Well, finally, after much soul-searching and praying, I made an appointment, met with a counselor and requested my transcripts from 1987. I know this road may be a tough one to travel, but I am keeping an open mind and pressing on toward the goal to get my degree.

I hope that if any of you have set goals and not accomplished them will consider looking at them again, coming up with a plan to meet your desires and pressing on to completion!

Oh yeah, and one more thing.... GO CARDINALS!