"As God leads the way, you will make it!!!!!!! Keep Him in front of you at all times. You can't do this on your own, but we know who can get you through this. "Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power, help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You." (2 Chr 14:11) King Asa gave this battle to Him. He didn't say, "Lord, don't let "me" fail. I love this verse because it tells of a story of one that knew he couldn't win a battle (King Asa) and acknowledged God to be in the fore front. If He is before ("be for") you, then who can be against you, how can you loose? So, during your adventure, make sure you are behind Him rather than your own program. He is sure to bless you! Let this be a time to glorify Him!"
A great encouragement for me and something to keep in mind at all times while I train.
Training today - Lost 3.5 pounds yesterday. May be all water - but that's okay - I'll take it!
Training was a bust today. I learned a very important lesson - Make sure that I don't have any appointments in the morning. I had an appointment at 9:00 which was made before I decided to do this training. I thought I could make it work but then the day got away from me. I was letting it stress me to the max and decided that I could walk the dog tonight when I get home from Bible Study but that's not safe. So I didn't get my exercise in today. I have to remeber that it's not all or nothing. Let this be a lesson to me for the future. Tomorrow it's pool time and a new day.
The Journey - Installment Four
After I hung up the phone from speaking with my husband, I was again feeling physically sick about the whole mess I seemed to be in. At that point, I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably be doing the ride. It wasn’t until much later that I realized how ashamed I needed to be for my devious actions, which by the way, the Lord subverted, through my husband Bob, for His purposes. Having agreed to be part of the ride, I said out loud to the Lord, “Okay, I’ll do the ride, but you’ll have to provide the $200 and a bike.” I then called the bike ride office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and spoke with Joe Silveria, the bike ride manager. I asked him how much time I had until I had to send the money so that I wouldn’t lose my place on the team. He didn’t know for sure and left the line to ask someone. No one seemed to know the answer to that question, but since the northern California ride was not being held for such a long time, he said that I would have some time to raise the money. I told him that I was not worried about raising the $3000 donations because I had calculated that if 150 people sent $20 each, then the total could be met. I felt that this was a reasonable solution to raising the donations. The two hundred dollars was a different matter because I didn’t feel that I could ask people for help with that part of raising the finances. Joe told me that if I couldn’t raise the two hundred dollars that I could call back in a couple of weeks and possible he could find a sponsor for me. I was thrilled that someone might be so generous as to donate that money on my behalf. After the phone conversation with Joe, and upon reflection, I felt that if it were really the Lord who was requiring me to complete this ride, then the money should come from around my sphere of influence. I was still not certain in my own mind that all that was happening was part of God’s plan. If God would have sent me a letter telling me all of this and signed it “God”, perhaps I would have believed it, but then, maybe not. I just felt that I needed more confirmation. Like Joshua, who in Judges 6:36-40 felt he needed further confirmation that God was going to be with him, I too felt that I needed an “in your face” proof of God’s intentions regarding this bike ride.
I began to tell others about the ride and was astounded at the response. Everyone was so supportive and told me that they would donate toward the cause. After about two weeks of spreading the news, I began to question the Lord because I was telling so many people about the ride and yet I still did not have the two hundred dollars or a bicycle. I told Him that I was going to be really embarrassed when I had to inform everyone that I was not going to be able to participate in the ride. I actually began whining and complaining about it to God. Unfortunately, this whining and complaining continued throughout the next year and a half. I had studied the books of Moses in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) a number of years before and had learned in this study that God is Holy, He expects obedience, and He hates whining, grumbling and complaining. Yet here I was, doing just that! I am constantly amazed when I reflect about this entire journey, that God was so patient and merciful. I have often thought how great our God is and if I had been God, I would have at the very least, smacked me along side of the head to get my attention. How patient though, is our God.
What a great Scripture from Morena... Enjoying reading your journey, and remembering some of those things your journey as you shared with us at the time.
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