Honor God and He will honor you. Even when you can barely talk

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like a noon day sun."  1Samuel 2:30".......Those who honor me I will honor....".   I had a great Birkie week!!!  Thank you everyone for your prayers.  I could feel the Lords strength with me as I climbed the Birkie hills and felt a tail wind in the middle of a head wind across the Lake on my way to the finish line!!!     Only way I could do all that was through the powerful gift of Jesus!!! I skated a Birkie on Wednesday, skated the Korte on Friday and Classic skied the Birkie on Saturday. (134k total) All went very well!! I'm not in the winner's circle at this point, in my life; so, I gage my success on my ability to keep encouraging others during my races.   This year I was bolder in thanking Jesus for strength and bolder in talking about trusting God and getting our strength through Him as I pushed through the hills.  On my third race I was feeling too tired to talk, about half way through I found the energy to start praising God and encouraging others more boldly.   WOW!! Did God ever reward me with strength and energy as I did that!! He gave me strength as I honored Him!!!    That is life too!!   We all have something heavy to deal with; This life on earth is difficult in many ways.   When we look up and Honor Him through it all, even the hardest somehow becomes manageable.    Be encouraged today to honor God even if you are having a hard time  talking,   I promise you He will honor you as you honor Him!!!!😇🙏🌸🦅⛷

Soar!!

Romans 8:18 “ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed within us.”  I love the book of Romans!   So many good things.    Yesterday I had a great Korte race!!! Thanks so very much for your prayers.   I could feel the strength of Jesus, taking me to high places.  I was able to climb the Birkie hills with relative ease.   Praise the Lord!! 😇.  Today I’m classic skiing the Birkie, my last endurance event of the week. To stay strong yesterday I stayed in gratefulness and thanksgiving.   It was easy to do since it was a beautiful day!   Today may you be inspired to concentrate on the beautiful,  not the sufferings; keep your head and heart on Jesus, He will let you soar to new heights!!🦅🙏😇🌸

Faith makes things possible not easy

Psalm 147:10 "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; 11The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. ".   Today I'm skiing the Korte ski race and tomorrow the Birkie!   They are my"Big Races "

For the season.    I'm a non contender so it really doesn't matter , but I try to do my best, my Winter training is all about performing well this weekend.  I read these verses today and I remember;  it's not my physical strength God is impressed with, its my hope and reverence for Him that He cherishes.  We can all be champions when we simply have our Hope in the Lord's unfailing love!!❤️😇🙏🦅💃🌸🏅⛷

"Faith makes things possible—it does not make them easy."

Unknown

Fear is a liar

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear had to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”    Is there something you fear?    I’m tempted to fear a variety of things.  Then I try to remember, “Gods got this”.  He is sovereign and He loves me and even in my worse case scenario, He is with me using it for His glory.     When I simply TRUST in Gods intimate love and provision for me, I can let go of fear and TRUST that God will provide whatever I need at the exact right time.   I don’t know what’s best for me often.  Sometimes I’m like Donqueoti, chasing the wind.    Then God calls me back and I realize that when I Seek His Word like silver and apply it to my daily life.  I can rest in things that are not as I chose TRUSTING, His outcome.    This act of continually trusting in His love for me, provides me the foundation to be truly well, not consumed with fear.  If I let fear take hold I can become paralyzed in a hopeless dialog in my brain.   When I focus on Gods perfect love for me it casts out my fear and I go forth in confidence; that even when I mess up or things seem crazy out of control.  He is there to catch me.    Rest in His Love today not  your Fear!!  😇🙏🌸💃🎈🦅❤️

Strong, determined confidently in His direction

2 Corinthians 12:8 "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.   9 But He said to me, "my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me."    Christ in me!!!Lord let me take every thought captive that doesn't lead me to you!!!    Yesterday I met a lady who is a Bible college student.   She is my age ( retirement age) she is starting a new thing!!  She is also skiing the Birkie and is from Texas where there is no skiable snow.   I have my friends here from Maryland, they too are skiing the Birkie. In their home state, they rarely have snow.    How do people decide to go for a winter event like the Birkie when they live in states with no snow???   Crazy huh? Cool too!!  They obviously can look beyond the reasons they can't and look towards the reasons they can.    Some days I'm tempted to feel, like I can't.   I'm tempted to feel like retreating.    But then I remember,  it's Christ in me that gives me strength!    His arm is never to short!!   He is with me always, even to the end of the age!  Why should I fear and cowardly give up?    I shouldn't.   I can keep on keeping on with Christ in me!!! Be strong and determined today go confidently in His direction!!!😇🌸🦅🙏❤️💃

What are you truly chasing?

Matthew 15:8 "These people. Honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (words of Jesus).  This verse is loud in my heart today.   I am being convicted to be a doer of the word not nearly a hearer of it.   It's funny, I have been a Christian for so long I don't remember not being one; yet at different times in my life I've chased the wrong things, not what I know God is calling me to do.      To deny myself and pick up the cross means I deny things that take me away from doing what God wants me to do.    We can't be filled with anything outside ourselves, such as booze, money, food or sexual immorality and be truly full.  When we are hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word, we are not living life to the full.  It's not enough for me to quote scripture that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and then go ahead and try to satisfy my lust ignoring Gods word (even though I quote it).  Today let's be doers of the word not nearly hearers of the word so we can "be filled".    Hope this helps you today!!!😇🌸🦅🙏❤️

Control the narrative!

Feb 19, today is exactly one week tell the American Birkebeiner!    This is a cross country ski event I look forward to all Winter.  It's a really fun week with lots of countries represented and a variety of activities from little kids to dogs to people skiing in their 80s. ( Not many of the later, pretty amazing the ones that do that).   In order to train for this event I have to keep the narrative in my head positive.   On the cold days,  I have to look at good snow conditions on the warm days I have to tell myself snow might be sloshy but it'll be fun.  When I have a four hour training ski ahead of me and no friends to meet me, I have to encourage myself with being thankful I can ski in the first place.  " The narrative in our heads plays a huge role in our healthy and wellness and our abilities to conquer life's circumstances.       We each face challenges every day, many are out of our control.    Nothing is out of Gods control.  He often doesn't answer prayers the way we prefer Him to.   But He does respond to each one when we pray through the powerful gift of Jesus.    TRUST!!!! If fear and doubt enter you brain those will enter your heart, what ever we think about expands.  Each of us have the ability to control our narratives and not let our narrative control us.  Today you might not "Feel" like eating right or moving well.  You may take comfort in an excuse you've come up with.   STOP !   Eat well, move well think well.  It's your choice.   Psalm 37:34 " Wait for the Lord and keep His ways. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. ". 1 Corinthians 9:26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."   I have heard this verse paraphrased," I discipline my body so it doesn't discipline me!!   Today, be inspired to take charge of the narrative in your head; so you can be truly well!!😇🌸🙏❤️🦅

See His Son’s Shine

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.

Frederick W. Faber.    Life seems full of disappointments but in Jesus.  We can keep looking up.     I have a plaque on my wall that says, "There's always, always something to be thankful for!"  Everyday I have the opportunity to focus on  disappointment or to be thankful for what I have.  I have far more to thank God for  then to be disappointed about.  The enemy wants me to focus on lack.   When I trust that God has the disappointments in His capable, all knowing hands,  I can be thankful in all things.   My heart is filled with joy today as I'm thankful for something that happened yesterday.    There was an opportunity for me to be disappointed about something else yesterday too.    But as I focused on the wonderful, my heart fills !!!   Thank you Jesus!! Today, be inspired to focus on what is right!!  God's got it all!! We can Trust Him always!!

Romans 8:28 " And we know that all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that we might be the first born among many brothers ."    Thank you Lord that the disappointment and amazing are all used for your glory as I stay in thanksgiving!!😇🦅🌸🙏❤️ See His Sons Shine!!!

Never give up!!

Faith is demonstrated by Christians who refuse to accept failure as final. 

Unknown.   "Keep on keeping on! "   Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."      We all fail, diet plans, financial plans, substance abuse, business, relationships so many things that we try and seemingly fail at.  But it's not over!! Personally, I have struggled with so many things, some of them I was convinced would; " Do me in" but I kept the faith.  I stayed hopeful in hopelessness, because The Bible says; God has plans for me, He will use all things for His ultimate good to mold me to be more like Jesus.   Diets are something I could never get right.  I suffered with a plethora of eating disorders.  I no longer diet.  I chose healthy eating choices. This helps me on my attitude toward food.  Today, I don’t struggle in this area.   18 years ago, I had decided I would never be able to quit drinking I had tried and failed for so long,  I felt like I needed to accept the me being a drunk.  I have always hoped for a spouse , I figured I would have to find someone who loved me like I was, a drunk.  I did…. Jesus!!   Then; God opened life circumstances and here I am clean for a little over 17 years.     Never give up!! Keep trying!!! Keep the faith!!! The Lord your God is with you wherever you go!!!

Break every chain!

1 John 2:19 "They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of depravity-for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."   Wow!!! John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."   These two verses remind me that when I chase the world and my fleshly desires I become a slave to sin but when I look to Jesus and try to walk in His love, continually accepting the forgiveness He died to give me I walk-in freedom.   For me it's daily struggle to turn from sin and turn to Jesus.   What ever we gaze upon grows.  Today be inspired to Gaze upon Jesus and let His love set you free!!

Loving the unloveable

Christ wants not nibblers of the possible, but grabbers of the impossible.

C. T. Studd.  Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." 

Sometimes loving someone feels impossible!😇.  People come with flaws we are all broken.  Loving the alcoholic can really "feel" impossible especially if they are actively drinking or haven't been working on their character defects.   Jesus did not say love others if they are loveable, He said we are to love others as He loves us!  He loves us each so much that while we were still sinners He came and died for us!! To pay the price of our sins and make us right with God!  We can love the alcoholic and hate his or her disease.   Love is kind, patient and understanding.   I'm not saying to be actively involved with people who hurt you, I'm saying for our own health and wellness,  we can actively chose loving thoughts for others rooted in forgiveness and acceptness for who they are and who they are not.  Today, on this beautiful Valentines; try to actively love others the way Jesus loves them.   Constantly forgiving, understanding and pure of heart.     Happy Valentine's Day!!! John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another." ( These are the words of Jesus!)

He Knows…. He understands more than you can fathom!!

Psalm 40:28 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, AND HIS UNDERSTANDING NO ONE CAN FATHOM.  29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak, 30 Even the youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like Eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

God Knows and His understanding no one can fathom!!!

He understands!!! He is with us and what ever we are going though He understands.  Be inspired to firmly TRUST AND WAIT UPON GOD today and always😇🌸🦅🙏

Search my heart Lord and clean it out!!

Psalm 139:23-24"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting."    Search me and know my heart and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me to the way of everlasting!! Wow perfect!!!   I want to have a pure heart, but I can easily be filled with crazy thoughts and irritation I was reading today, that social media actually targets us to entice our anger. I believe that.   When I get all worked up about a subject I can be guilty of amercing myself in it.  ❤️ Love!💕.   Love is the way of everlasting.  God loves us so much He provides a way out of our sins and helps us be His love.   Thank you Jesus!!!   Today, I'm inspired to let go of the things that are keeping me from truly being Love!!   Happy Valentine's Day 😇🙏❤️🌸🦅

Unchain my heart

Proverbs 23:7 " For as a man thinks in his heart,  so is he.  "Eat and drink!"  he says to you but his heart is not with  you."  NKJ

Proverbs 23:7 "for he is like one who is inwardly calculating, "Eat and drink! But his heart is not with you.  ESV.      Sincerity of heart.  When I quit drinking I had to have a sincerity of heart. My head had to match my heart.   In my head I knew I needed to quit but my heart longed to have a relationship with alcohol.  I had to let Jesus change my heart.    There are many things each of us know we need to let go of, (head knowledge) we know we have to let go of anger, past hurts, resentments, gossip, negativity ..over eating the list seems endless but we can not change any of our behaviors if we still long for them in our hearts.    Today be inspired to ask God to change your heart to help you give up or do what He is calling you to do!!!😇.  Philippians 4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Just the way you are

Mark 1:6 "Now John was clothed with camels hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locust and wild honey."   Can you imagine?   This was John the Baptist!   He was used by God without question, he did not "fit in" He stood out for Jesus!!  Sometimes, that’s how I feel,  like a real "odd duck".  Then I remember God made me like this, on purpose for His reason.     This helps me embrace who I am and move forward boldly with my head up.   Many people don't necessarily "like me", but God loves me always, just the way I l am!!    Sure there is sin in my life, I have to keep trying to purge , but he still loves me unconditionally!  He loves you too, just exactly as you are!   He knows you better than anyone else and still He says, I Love you♥️💕❤️(John 3:16 He loves each of us so much that he gave his one and only begotten Son to suffer and die for us so out sin could be forgiven and we could become His righteousness, not perish but have eternal life

/ This is a Kimberly paraphrase of John 3:16.) There is no greater love!!  Today live loved as your unique self!!😇🙏🦅🌸♥️

Let go…go forward

Do you need to put something in the past and leave it there?   I have a few things like that.  Sometimes I can rethink things that are over, like by somehow rethinking them over and over can change the outcome.    This type of perseveration is absolutely useless and gets me stuck on yesterday instead of being fully alive in my present moment.    There are many things in life I would change, but my key to happiness is knowing when I've done my best and when to move forward without looking back.   We are to learn from our past.  We are not to live there.  If I rehearse pain that is what grows. Philippians 4:13 "Brother, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press in toward the goal to win the prize which God had called me heavenward one Christ Jesus."   Today let's be inspired to live fully for Jesus in our present moment!!😇🦅🌸🙏💃

In our present

 Matthew 6:33 “But seek Fisrt the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Today has enough trouble of its own.”     Don't worry... be happy😇.   It's easy to live in the past or the future but truly we can only live in our present moment.  Health and Welness is the choice we make in our now.    We can't start our diet tomorrow, or decide we'll get in better shape after.... and be successful.  We have to make one good decision after an other in our present moment to accomplish our goals.   God's got all our lives in His very capable hands.  Let's TRUST Him with each moment and live in our now keeping Him first, one way I do this is thanking Him.

Soar like an Eagle away from the things you could be ashamed of 🦅

Romans 6:21 “What benefit did you reap at that time, from the things you are now ashamed of?”   I’m reading Romans Chapter 6 this morning it is filled with turning from sin so we can be alive in Christ Jesus.   Sin and lustful desires can really choke out my joy in Jesus.   When I gaze upon the wrong things I hurt myself and those around me.   Years ago I had an eating disorder.   I would continually fill my thoughts about my weight.  I got down to 85 pounds.(I was 5’4” at the time so I looked like a walking skeleton and thought I had weight to loose). Obsessive thinking on things that are not the word of God can and will hurt us.     Life has pain.   When I deal with the pain by turning to Gods word and let Him heal my heart,  I come through it without hurting others or myself.    But if I deal with this worlds pain on my own I can go down the rabbit hole of obsessive thinking and then I end up doing things I am now ashamed of.    To be heathy and well we need to take our every thought captive.   Recognize a thought that will lead to sin and stop it immediately.   The world will say, “ it’s okay, you need to nurture your feelings.    But when I nurture seeing what’s wrong with my loved ones resentment and hard heartedness grows.    When I nurture my desire to over eat or over or under anything then my disfunction grows.  Proverbs 23:7 “ as a man thinks in his heart so is he.”😇🌸🙏🦅 Today let’s be carful with what we let ourselves think so as to not be engaged in something we’ll be ashamed of😇

Dating? Without the flirt?

Ephesians 5:3 "But among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immortality, or of any kind of impurity or greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.  4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."  Not even a hint of sexual immorality ..... have you ever tried to date without flirting?   Tried to let someone just see you without throwing out the flirt?   It's hard     The flirt is the short cut.   Our society is very sexual.   Even diaper commercials have innuendoes.    I try to coach my "Bible Babes" to date with out the flirt.  I am not sure it can be done.   Certainly not easily.   But if you're looking for a spouse it's so important that you can truly " See" that person and when it is sexual right away it can be a few years before you see them and often at that time you might not like what you see.    "Don't marry someone you think you can live with, marry someone you don't think you can live without." James Dobson.    If you're single reading this, be encouraged to take the time to make sure the person of your desires is, equally yoked and takes the time to truly "see" you and not just what you do.   

Peace like a River

Isaiah 66:12 "For this is what the Lord says; "I will extend peace to her like a river......".    Peace to her like a River.   How beautiful.  Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!  5 Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ".   The peace of God, like the peace of a river and more.    I love the water.  It seems to sooth my soul and bring me back to exhale.   Jesus said, He is the living water,  those that drink from the well, will thirst again.  But when we drink of His cup and TRUST Him; He will be our living water; over  flowing from within us.     It's easy for me to focus on lack, when I do I can " feel" empty and defeated.    But when I focus on Jesus and what He does for me my cup is over flowing, I have a renewed Spirit within me and I can "feel" peace like a river🦅🌸🙏😇