If we water our garden faithfully it will grow. If we bake faithfully every day, our skills will grow. If we run 500 yards every day, our ability to run fast and far will grow. It’s how we’re made.
Things done faithfully ALWAYS grow.
The amount of time we choose to spend doing something matters less than how consistently we do it. Because doing something consistently will invariable make us want to do it more.
Therefore, if you spend 5 minutes with the Lord each day, your faith can ONLY grow. It can ONLY give you a greater desire to read more, pray more, worship more and serve more.
The Enemy wants us to over commit. He wants us to set high, unrealistic goals because he knows that we never fall when the path is a gentle, upward slope. We fall, fail and give up when we try to climb mountains too soon.
When things get hard and the path too steep, don’t quit. Slow down. Crawl if you have too, but don’t stop.
Inertia: Law of Physics that states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest.
Whatever it may be that you’re working on to improve your life, remember to start slow. Start small. Action begets action. If you’re faithful, it will snowball.
Faithful forward progress, no matter how slow, will always get us across the finish line.
(Originally posted 9/23/10. Thanks for your grace during this busy season as I’ve shared several posts from the archives. I hope they’ve blessed you. New posts coming next week.)
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Did you register for the Hello Mornings Challenge, but never receive a group assignment?
It seems as though, when our registration server went down in early January, quite a few registrations went with it.
So if you are among those who wanted to participate in the Hello Mornings Challenge, and you registered and even received a confirmation email, but then didn’t receive anything after that, we want to make sure you don’t miss out.
Find or Fill a Hello Mornings Group
I’ve opened a new section of the Hello Mornings Challenge Forums where you can find or fill a group. Here’s what you’ll do:
1. Click here to register for the forum.
2. Once you’re registered, find the Section titled “Find or Fill a Group” at the bottom of the list.
3. Start a new topic and title your topic with:
A. Your name,
B. your Time Zone (PST, MST, CST, EST, Europe/Africa or Asia/Australia
C. Your preferred format (i.e. Facebook, Forum, Twitter, Any)
For Example
It would look something like this:
Kat – CST – Facebook or Forums
Or if you’re willing to use any format
Kat – CST – Any
Then you can join together with others to form a new group or you can also look in the Fill a Group section to see if there are any group openings that matches your criteria.
Don’t Delay
I’ll be closing this section of the forums sometime next week, so be sure to visit as soon as possible to find or fill a group.
Please note: I will not be assigning you to groups. This forum is to simply help you connect with others to join a group or create your own.
A Little Song for Everyone Else
Rss and email subscribers, click here to view the video.
And for those of you to whom this post doesn’t apply, here’s a little something for you. A brilliant song from the Robbie Seay Band (Baylor alumni represent!).
The song is called Rise. I remember the first time I heard RSB it was love song he wrote for his wife (so I didn’t know it was a Christian band) and I thought, “Why can’t all Christian music sound this excellent?” Then I went home, looked up RSB and found one of my favorite bands. Excellent lyrics, excellent music. Enjoy.
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Maybe you made big plans to get up early and read your Bible, pray, exercise and plan. Maybe you hit the snooze button this morning. Maybe you’ve hit it every morning for the past month.
Maybe you’re feeling discouraged right now. Or maybe you’ve been discouraged for awhile.
Maybe your past echoes of brokenness, fatigue and failed dreams.
Have I got a story for you.
This isn’t a story of triumph. It’s a story of pain, falling short and unfulfilled dreams. But it’s also a story of furious love. And a reminder that faithfulness in the face of our failures can bring the greatest reward of all.
Last Place Never Looked So Good
Barcelona. 1992. Derek Redmon was Britain’s greatest quarter miler.
BANG!! Off to a good start, his prospects for the race looked good. Until…
Until his hamstring snapped. Yes, snapped. He stumbled and fell to the ground. With cameramen snapping pictures and the world watching, he was consumed with the pain of his broken body and broken dream.
And then? He made a decision. To finish. He knew he wouldn’t come in 1st, 2nd or 3rd. He knew he wouldn’t cross the finish line in victory. But he decided he would cross that line. So, up he struggled and he hobbled down the track, grimacing in pain.
Then, in the background, something happened in the stands. A man, older, gray-er than Derek pushed past people, waved off guards and ran down the track. His face was filled with the furious love of a father.
He pushed away officials. He pushed away security personnel. He pushed away anyone who dared interfere. He wrapped his arms around his weeping son and together they finished the race.
Few could name the winner of the 400 meter gold that year. But millions of people remember Derek’s faithfulness and his father’s furious love.
You Do Not Struggle Alone
If you are struggling, whether it’s with getting up in the morning or life in general, never believe that your Father’s love is any less furious.
He DOES NOT stand at the finish line awaiting your triumphant victory. He runs alongside you, cheering you as you go. And when you struggle, when you fall, He wraps His all powerful, healing hands around you and and holds you as you press on. Together.
He will let nothing get in His way.
Enough of my insufficient words. Read what David said in the Psalms and then watch the video below.
Psalm 18
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Grab Your Tissues Now…
(RSS and email readers, please click here to watch the video.)
Press on, my friends. For perfection is not our reward. He is.
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(Originally posted on 2.14.10. I’m working on a group solution for everyone who had Hello Mornings Challenge registration issues. I’ll post it tomorrow or later today. Thanks for your patience.)
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It’s been kind of insanely crazy around these parts the past couple of weeks. For example, I got excited when I found out my local coffee shop now opens at 5am instead of 5:30am so I could go get 30 more minutes of work done.
Who does that?
Not me, I’m normally sleeping at 5am. Or at least lying there trying to pretend I don’t have to go to the bathroom so that maybe, just maybe, I can get fall asleep again before my alarm goes off.
Anyhoo…
Here are some great reads, and fun news, from the past few weeks:
Note from Kat: Today’s post is written by my friend Katie. Kat…Katie. Confusing, I know. I may ask her to change her name. Nonetheless, I love this post and I pray it’s an encouragement to you! :: I pray for God to strengthen me. Over and over I plead for Him to make me stronger [...]
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Today is Martin Luther King Jr day. For those of you who live elsewhere, Martin Luther King Jr is well known for his part in the civil rights movement here in the U.S. And he is probably most remembered for his “I Have A Dream” speech. (RSS and email readers, click here to watch the [...]
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The Hello Mornings Challenge Theme Song I’d mentioned on Twitter that we have a Hello Mornings Challenge theme song and I’m excited to share that with you today! Note: Please be sure to read this whole post and *then* download the song. I’d wanted a theme song for a long time, but I didn’t have [...]
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Hi friends! I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know I’ve been having some computer issues. If you have emailed me, posted in the forums, or contacted me via Twitter or Facebook, it might take a few days for me to get back to you. I’d hoped to share the Hello [...]
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Here are some of my favorite quotes, along with a little comment about why I think it applies to all of you who are taking on the Challenge of “maximizing your mornings.” I hope they inspire you! He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot [...]
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Life Lessons from a Little Boy The other day I found my little boy in the living room with the fan on ultra-super-insane high speed. He was standing on the couch arms outstretched…waiting. Then, with all his might, he jumped. “Mama, if I catch the wind, I can fly. Watch!” I know what you’re thinking, [...]
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