Running....

Do you ever come upon a situation or a new circumstance that makes you feel so scared that you want to run and never look back? I am heading into so many new circumstances and my natural abilities tell me to be afraid of the change, be afraid of the new. But with renewed strength...

I am attending my first writer's conference this week. Where did this all come from? I never thought that I would take writing so seriously that I would actually pay someone to help with my writing, I hired a writing coach. I never thought I would pay to attend a writing conference, I leave on Wednesday. I never thought I would write a book and pitch the idea to publishers, I have two meeting this week with two publishers. What was I thinking??? I want to run!

Thank God I stopped thinking and started hoping, hoping in the plan God has, hoping in the Will of God not mine, hoping in His Strength not in my own. I stopped thinking of the failures of the past, the hurtful words of the past and started looking forward to the path that God has laid ahead of me, the one where he renews my strength, the one where I will soar and not grow weary. I will walk and not be faint because I am relying on Him, my hope is in the Lord.

Change is not a bad thing. It is an invitation to hang onto the Lord, to live on His strength not our own. New circumstances give us the opportunity to show His greatness in our lives. We don't need to run away!

However, God does want us to run and never look back. He wants us to run to Him, never looking back to where we have come from but toward His open arms!

Are there circumstances in your life where you need your strength to be renewed? Are there things that make you want to run away from God and not toward Him? How can I pray for you?

Being Challenged.....

Challenge. I love to be challenged. That is until it makes me feel uncomfortable and shows me my struggles. Then I feel the pain!

When I first met my husband one of the things that intrigued me the most was that he challenged me. He wasn't negative nor did he just point out my faults but he encouraged me to be the best me I could be. He likes competition, so do I. We played games, cards, basketball, all to the highest level of competition that we could. Sometimes he won, sometimes I won. He challenged me in intelligence also. He pushed me to learn. I never knew how much I loved to learn.

In my adult life I have learned my love of being challenged. I take on most challenges with fervor. I began to look at the things I did not enjoy being challenged with and found that in those times the thing I did not like was the ones that pushed me into areas where I saw my failures more than the ability to grow.

Not embracing challenges is when I question God the most. Why is he making me do this? Why is this happening to me? Why do I have to go through a time of testing? Why me?

When I am challenged to leave my comfort zone, I have learned to embrace rather than run. I strive to embrace what God is doing in my life and the growth he is forging in my spirit. It is not comfortable, it is not easy. In the end, it is exactly what I need to see growth in my spiritual life. I embrace the challenge to grow in God's Word, in His guidance to live a more Godly life. Each day I embrace the challenge that God has put forth. Each day I recognize all the growth potential there is! Each day I embrace His love and His push to be a better me in Him. The best me I can be in God's eyes!

What are you finding challenging lately? Is God refining you as a Christian and pushing you into an area that is outside your comfort zone? What can you do to embrace the challenge and find the growth?