Your sports team just won the Championship!
You beat every other team out there. You are in the record books, the newspapers, and on TV. You have a Championship ring and everything.
But the day after your win, you oversleep and miss one of several victory parades. You’re devastated. You throw your Championship ring on the ground and walk around feeling like a failure. You talk under your breath about how you’re a terrible athlete and maybe you should never play the sport again.
Simply because you missed one of many celebrations.. Â
Ridiculous right?Â
Then why do we let ourselves feel so discouraged when we miss our time with God in the morning? The victory parade has no bearing on the win. He already won the Championship, we are simply invited to the celebration every morning.
He wants to meet with you and celebrate and remind you of the victory you already have in Him.Â
We may wake up late, we may not have many minutes to offer but if we don’t offer the little we do have, how can He multiply it?Â
Nothing is a “failure” unless we refuse Grace…because Grace already won.
So start everyday as the fresh, clean, blank canvas that it is.Â
There’s a celebration waiting.
Don’t forget to register for the free parenting webinar I’m hosting next week!
::
The randomly selected recipients of Emily Freeman’s amazing book Grace for the Good Girl are:
Traci – comment 85 (9/13 9:46)
Darci – comment 306 (9/14 6:47)
Katy – comment 316 (9/15 7:34)
Trace, Darci and Katy – be on the lookout for an email from me.
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My name is Kat and I'm so glad you stopped by. This blog is full of resources for inspired moms like you.
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Great reminder!
I needed to hear this today. I overslept due to being up in the middle of the night and was berating myself. Thank you for this reminder.
Wow. This is such a refreshing perspective. How do we balance this with the understanding that God should be our first priority of the day? He wants our every breath. Our every step. It’s not merely about accomplishing the task of a quiet time and then being able to move on with the day. It’s about giving Him every moment, whether in the Word or in the kitchen or in a toddler’s poopy diaper. Plenty of people have a quiet time in the morning and don’t think about God at all past that. So maybe if Im feeling discouraged over missing that time, I can check my priorities and realign if possible, but I can also realize that the task is never what God is after. He wants my heart. And I give it to Him every day I accept His grace.
Thanks for letting me wrestle through this here. And thank you for the encouraging words this morning!
That’s wisdom right there, Tasha. Thanks for sharing!!!!
“…the task is never what God is after. He wants my heart.” Wise and true words. Wow. Thanks for sharing this
This is good advice (especially before a busy weekend). Sometimes it’s hard to let go of an “all or nothing” mentality. Thanks for the reminder that we’ve already won.
Have a great weekend!
Great analogy, LOVE it and it really helps!
Oh Kat you do not know how I needed this today! I am so thankful for your ministry through your blog! I am growing in Jesus like never before and I know it is in part due to you and Maximize your Morning Challenges! Thank you!! I know you are busy and have a ton of followers already but I gave you a blog award here http://ejoym.blogspot.com/2011/09/im-honored.html I want you to know how much I appreciate what you do – keep up the good work! Looking forward to worshiping Christ with you every morning afternoon and evening some bright and glorious day!
Hi Kat, how do I know if I made the cutoff for the free parenting webinar? I signed up and haven’t heard anything. Not sure how it will work. BTW, thanks so much for your encouragement.
Lynn,
They’ve actually raised the cutoff, so if you were able to register – you’re in! You should get a reminder email a few hours before.
Kat,
You have a unique perspective that helps make things clear in a way that nobody else can. Thank you for sharing your gift with all of us.
Sharon
Thank you for those encouraging words!
I thankyou so much for this word today. It is comforting also to notice I am not alone in this! This is #1 area the enemy attacks me in. This was so freeing today, to read this. I painfully experience “seemlike-failure” in this area. This is such an issue for me, as I want to please God more than anything else!
I love this post! I hate guilt trip-y posts on FB or blogs about what an awful person you are simply by missing one quiet time. I believe I am missing out if I don’t spend time with God daily. But I’m still on His team! LOVE LOVE LOVE this post!!!
“We may wake up late, we may not have many minutes to offer but if we don’t offer the little we do have, how can He multiply it?” Now that is encouraging and motivating!! Thanks Kat for this wonderful reminder. I’ve been enjoying my MYM group so much – they feel like family.
I just love this. Thank you so much for your fresh perspective on things, Kat. It’s a blessing to me, and I’m sure many more
I read this and immediately thought of my mothering too. I can have a wonderful day full of great memories and one “failure” can rob me of celebrating the role God gave me as a mom. Thank you for the reminder of grace…in my quiet time and with my kids!
Oh, how I needed this! I am not a morning person. I have two very strong-willed children (wonder where they got that?) and a 2mo. old. One SW child wakes up even harder than I do. My alarm is her high-pitched scream every morning, waking the other two up! My patience is being terribly tested. Needless to say, God isn’t first thing on my mind in the morning. But, now I realize, that all that is not an excuse. After that first blow horn screech comes out of my precious child in the morning I should give it to God first in prayer, then take care of my screaming stinker. I can celebrate the victory I have in Christ and then my problem doesn’t seem so large. (PS I’m so thankful to be taking the parenting webinar!!!!! Thank you for the opportunity!!)
I loved this post! Thanks for encouraging me. This week was a tough one and I didn’t get in much of the Word and was feeling like a failure. What a great reminder that we win in the end and to keep on trying.
“He already won the Championship, we are simply invited to the celebration every morning.” I LOVE THIS! I can’t tell you how much freedom and joy this brings my heart – an amazing reminder that our relationship with Him is the prize!
I’ve been playing blog catch up and just read this post, but it was so encouraging to me. Your blog has ministered to me so much in the short time that I’ve been a mom, and I just wanted to say thanks.
Erin!!!
You have a precious little girl. It’s been so fun you watch you transform over the last few years. You’re a great mom, Erin.
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