"I Went to a Strongman Competition!!"

Yesterday, David and I had the opportunity to go and watch a "Strongman Competition". Our daughter, Savannah's, boyfriend was in it. It was quite interesting to watch. The human body can display such amazing strength in unbelievable ways! These men, young and old alike, were phenomenal! I do well to just carry a full load of laundry, in the basket, upstairs!!

There were different levels represented: Masters, Light Weight, Novice, Middle Weight, and Heavy Weight. And there was six events required to participate in: I'm not going to try to guess at the names of those. I'm sharing a picture of Savannah and Taylor and the 5 of the 6 events he paritcipated in.

A funny insert:: I had to tell my Mom, when she saw these pictures, that No Taylor did not tattoo his face. Haha! Rather he has a signature look at each competition and this helps him to stand out and be remembered.

Taylor did very well and placed 3rd in the Middle Weight division! YAY!

As I thought about sharing this Blog, I could see how this competition related to life itself in different ways.

1. All men were strong, but not all men had the same strength.

We all have strengths, but not all of us are strong in the same areas. Does that make one better than the other? No, not at all. 

2. It wasn't always about the strength that was required, but rather about the technique.

If the technique was wrong, often the strength didn't matter. Your approach/ways/technique to handling life matters more than how strong you may view yourself. One example:: How do you handle stress in your life? Is your first resort to handle it the best way you can yourself -OR- to seek God and his grace, his guidance, and his help to help you with it?

3. The men pushed themselves farther when given encouragement.

We all need encouragers in our life. Whether they be a spouse, a parent, a friend, a teacher, a grandparent....and the list goes on. God plants those people in your life to spur you on....to go farther....don't give up.....keep trying.....you ARE going to get there!! David and I recently had the opportunity to go on a beautiful trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. While there, we hiked to 3 different waterfalls. These hikes were NO easy walk in the park....in fact it was downright exhausting (but great excitement too!). On one such hike, we were on our way down the mountain and a man was hiking alone up the mountain. He was growing weary from the hike and wasn't so sure his efforts were even going to pay off. He questioned us as we were in passing saying "Is there really a waterfall ahead?? I keep going and can't find it!" We both assured him "Don't stop now, you're almost there! It's just a little farther ahead. Keep going." Later....as we had taken our time coming down off the mountain, we see this man once again. He was SO HAPPY! I asked him "Did you find it?" He excitedly replied "YES! and my friends are never gonna believe I did this! But I got proof....there was a girl there and she took a picture of me on my camera!!!" It was so awesome to be able to encourage this man to "Keep keepin on!" when he could have easily given up and not reaped his awesome reward! In much of life we can apply this mentality - - one step at a time. And in that one step at a time, you know what happens? You get closer and  closer to all that God has waiting for you ahead!! We know that our ultimate reward will be when we see Jesus' face and he wraps his arms us around us welcoming us home! But there are many "rewards" here on this earth as well. Keep keepin on, my friend. Don't stop....you're almost there!

As I shared earlier, we all have many strengths and all they all vary from one another. But just as we all have strengths, know that we all have weaknesses too. Never use your strength to look down on another brother or sister who may not share that strength. For you may be the very one God uses to encourage and lift them up to be all that they can be. And as we all know....the tables can turn and we too may find ourselves needing the strength of another to pull us up. For it is by God's grace that we are who we are, where we are, and all that we are.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped."

Psalm 28:7

Trust in the very One Who is your strength and shield.

"All Because of One Special Boy. . . ."

David and I have made a decision to start working out at the gym, on a continous basis....once again. We previously were committed and for one reason or another decided to not continue. Let me say here. . . I am SO very PROUD of my David and his accomplishments!! He is working hard and his efforts are coming with results! Please pray for continued determination and motivation if he crosses your mind. :)

As for me - I am self diagnosing myself to now know it's official.....I'm allergic to exercise!! I start sneezing whenever vigorously working out on treadmill! Craziest thing ever!! So if you happen to see me wiping my nose, and my eyes, all the while sneezing....I'm not sick.....I just have a case of allergictoexercise is all. :)

Yesterday, we were at the gym working out as usual. I absolutely love the fact that they now have a row of treadmills facing AWAY from all those crazy Tv monitors! BESSST thing they ever did for that place! We were treading along when I noticed a teenage boy catch my eye. I noticed that he had physical limitations that didn't allow for him to be "normal" as if everyone else was. He appeared to have Cerebal Palsy or maybe even results from a stroke. . .one side was considerably weaker than the other. I continued to watch him throughout his workout with a trainer. He became true inspiration for me in many ways.

He was a very GOOD looking teenage boy and he dressed the part of someone his age. He would joke around with the trainer, smile often, and wave at occassional people passing by. He was happy. He was determined. And. . . he didn't let his limitations stop him. As I said earlier, there appeared to be two sides to his body - a stronger side + a weaker side - and both were worked out during his time there. The stronger side was exercised with weights, while the weaker side was simply held, pulled, and stretched by the trainer. Both sides took genuine effort by this boy himself, but the weaker side made it visibly clear . . . this was tough. His face let you see the pain and focus of his determination. All the while, the trainer continued to gently lead him through his exercises. To me this boy was the true athelete, stronger than anyone in that entire gym. The simple stretching, lifting, and following through took a physical strength that not many of us probably have. His determination even brought tears to my eyes! Not only did this boy have to deal with his physical limitations, but as he sat there and rested, a group of teenage boys casually walked by him. I had to wonder "Does he wish his life was different? Does he long to be like others without viewable limitations?" I can't really answer that question for him, but my hope is that he sees himself as someone who is greatly BLESSED and that he doesn't have to look, act, think, walk, talk like others to be who God created him to be. The boys didn't appear to have any negative effects on his countenance and he continued steadily on. As time went on, I happened to look away for what only seemed moments only to return my focus on what was now an empty workout table. It seemed as if this boy who appeared from nowhere....suddenly was gone just as quickly! It was as if he was an angel of inspiration sent right in front of me!

As I was intently watching this courageous boy with his workout, I begin to see God and our own lifes, and the similarities. To me the strong side of this boy's body represented our strengths in our life > talents, abilities and such. We usually feel pretty good about working those areas out. We have reachable confidence to get us through the "workout". But when we come to the other side of our bodies known better as the weak side, it can be a different story! Maybe the weak side could be considered of failures, temptations, worry, mistakes, fears, doubts and the list goes on. BUT! in and of all those weaknesses none are too great for our Mighty God Himself to overcome and lead us through!! Just as I saw through the powerful example of this beautiful boy in front of me! The strong side, the trainer was there if he needed him, and at times he did, but he was more confident in doing it. The weak side, the trainer was there to assist and encourage. He gently held and supported him taking the boy's arm and leading him through it. Never did the trainer just step back and say do it, with his arms folded idlely, standing by, and the boy not being able to do it. He was there to see him through it....to completion and nothing less. How wonderfully the SAME as we see God in our lives!! God knows we are perfectly imperfect....He knows we have weaknesses that seem unbearable sometimes, He knows the limitations of our humaness. And yet He never once just stands back and says "Figure it out yourself. You got yourself here, get yourself out. You wanna be strong - then do this on your own and you will be." NO!! what He does do is holds us up when we can't stand, carries us when we can't walk, listens to us when we are afraid, and . . . He leads us through it. What he does say is "I'm here for you child. Lean on me. Trust me. I know it may hurt, but I'm making you stronger because of it. I will never give up on you."

So, my friend, whenever you may feel despair because of the weaknesses that you see in your life.....KNOW that God is there with you.....holding you, supporting you, encouraging you, bringing you to a better place and seeing you through to completion. He never asks you to do it alone. Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ."

Thank you Jesus for sharing hope with me. . . through one inspiring, beautiful boy! :)

"Hey Did You Know?!"

Hey did you know that God is a God who sympathizes and identifies with our weaknesses and suffering? In Hebrews 4:15 it lets us know that. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin."

God really made this verse stand out to me yesterday as our pastor shared the real meaning of what it's saying. I am no pastor, but I will try to put into words what I learned through this message. . .

When we hear this verse it can almost seem cold in a way. . . as if God is seated on his mighty throne in Heaven looking down us with our pain, sickness, struggles and says "You poor thing. I see you from way up here and you look miserable. That's a pity. Not sure what it's like, but I will say a prayer for you."
But that's not it at all!

God came to earth as Jesus himself and has lived YOUR life. Some may say well he's never been married to my spouse or had my children to deal with. . . and this list could go on. And although those could be true statements, that hasn't stopped him from having every single feeling you have, every single thought you have, every single challenge, every struggle, every fear, every doubt, and even faced the same temptations you have. He lived through it ALL as a human here on earth.  He knows. He is not some distant God who is unable to identify with all that we have ever been through and will go through. Let me say it again. . .He has lived YOUR life.

God not only knows, but he even gets in our weakness with us when we are experiencing the pain, suffering and struggles of it! He feels it with us and doesn't just leave us on our own to figure it all out! How amazing is it that we know he doesn't just know. . . but he feels it along with us?! He feels sadness, pain, fear, lonliness, rejection, worry right along with us.

The second part of the verse "but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin." lets us know this >> God has lived our life and he aced it! When he walked here on earth and was faced with all matters of fears, doubts, worry, struggles, challenges - he made the right decisions. He made the right choice, took the right path, chose the way that led to righteous living, freedom. And as the verse said he was without sin - he led a sinless life.

So in understanding all of this we see that: 1. God sees our struggles. 2. God came to earth and lived your/my life....feeling every pain, sorrow, doubt, fear, worry. 3. God gets in our struggles with us NOW. 4. In living and knowing, all the while living a sinless life,  he is able to navigate us through them and out of them!

God gets you and me, my friend. He understands. He isn't someone removed from knowing all the pains and struggles of our life here on earth. Trust him to navigate you daily through this journey of life. Draw near to him. If it has been awhile since you have, it's never too late to do so. If you have made wrong choices in life, God was/is with you in those times and he can and will lead you out of them. No life is ever too wrong, too distant, too messed up to turn to God and tell him "I messed up. I need your help."

O and an add on here: God not only shares and feels our pains and weaknesses, but he also shares and feels our JOY, our VICTORY, our HAPPINESS, our FREEDOM right along with us as well!! So rejoice in and with him today!

Thank him for not only knowing, but leading us through too!! :)