Off-season training

Welcome!  Thank you for stopping by today, as we spend some time talking about training ourselves in godliness.  I'm much more equipped to talk about that type of training than athletic training.

I'm thankful my sons got my husband's genes when it comes to athletics.  If they had mine, their athletic experience would have been limited to tetherball on the 4th grade playground.  I've been told I run worse than a girl.  The one time I got bullied talked into trying out for softball, I got hit on the head during tryouts. Yes, it's that bad.

Thankfully you haven't stopped by my blog today to learn about sports ... hopefully I can share a lesson from sports we can learn without breaking a sweat.  So, welcome if you are visiting after reading my devotion about off-season training.  If you haven't read it, hop over to Proverbs 31 Ministries for a peek. 

What I've learned from watching my athletic family, is what you do off-season, significantly affects in-season performance.  If you want to succeed, do your personal best or pin an opponent, your training prepares you for that one moment that makes the difference.

For a Christian, reading God's Word is one of the best ways to train off season.  Here are some of the benefits I've found by training in Scripture:

1)  I recognize the voice of God more readily.  When you read the Bible, you get to know God.  You stop saying things like, "God would never ..."  The only thing I'm convinced of is God would never sin.  Other than that, our God is in the heavens and He does whatever He pleases.  (Psalm 115:3) So when He speaks to me, I'm better equipped to know it's Him because I've heard His voice recorded for generations.

2) I've gotten answers to questions I haven't asked yet.  Here's an example. One thing I learned by reading the Bible is I can know God's will.  I didn't even think it was possible before I read Romans 12:2. It reads:  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."  That truth gave me confidence to step out in faith.

3) I've made life-changing decisions based on truth in the Bible.  One huge choice I made was to honor my husband in my heart.  In my flesh, I wanted no part of that.  There was some sense of power I retained by harboring dishonoring thoughts.  But then I put two verses together:  Ephesians 5:33 which teaches a wife to respect her husband and Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:21-22, which says if you are angry, you will be judged the same as if you had murdered.  I understood through those, and other scriptures, that God was looking at my heart just like He's looking at my actions.  It made me do a heart-check in my marriage, and I wasn't looking too good. 

Last night, my friend Wendy Blight felt compelled to write a prayer for marriages.  She had no idea I would share this on my blog today.  If want to pray for your marriage, and don't have the words, please visit Wendy's site for a prayer God led her to write.

Of course, I've only touched on the powerful impact of training has when a crisis hits.  Training is the difference between standing firm or falling apart. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject.  As I mentioned in the devotion, I'm giving away a copy of the Chronological Bible to someone at random.  All you have to do is identify one truth you’ve learned from the Bible that has helped you stay strong in the tough times.  If you don't have a truth to identify, the just make a comment.  Please leave your email address so I can get in touch with you.  Or check back on Friday when I'll post the winner. 

Thanks so much for joining me today.  May the Lord bless you!

In His Love,
Glynnis

More on Hearing God's Voice & a Winner

Thank you so much for sharing your heart with me the past few days as a result of my devotion on hearing God's voice.  

It seems many of us long to have specific direction from God about our plans.  I wonder if this isn't increasingly due to the number of choices we have these days.  I can stand in front of the deodorant display for 15 minutes!   I am often on information overload, and an tired of making decisions.

I think there's also a common fear that we will make a mistake and follow our own sinful inclinations.  That's possible.   A sweet friend (thanks Sharon S.) gave me a devotion book that I've started reading.  It's called "Experiencing God Day by Day" and it's by Henry and Richard Blackaby. 

Yesterday the devotion spoke directly to my heart about this.  Specifically about a difficult relationship in my life; one I can't walk away from.  Nor do I want to.  It's my daughter Ruth, who was born in Africa and sadly deals with many challenging issues that often overwhelm me, to the point of despair.  So I find myself frequently and desperately seeking God's direction on how to respond and what to do next to help her grow into a godly woman.  Sadly, my responses are not always a good role model for her.

The devotion yesterday was based on Psalm 24:3-4a:  "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?  Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart."

I was convicted right down to my toes.  God challenged me to examine the deepest reaches of my heart and confess sin regarding my thoughts, words and actions.  I was undone.  Even though God spoke to me gently, it was still tough.  Here's the takeaway for me:

If I want to walk in intimacy with the Lord and hear His voice, I need to be sure that I'm not harboring any unconfessed sin. 

Even though the promise of walking closer with God is amazing, it's still hard to dig in deep and pull out those thoughts I'd rather pretend weren't there. 

So that's what God spoke to me this morning.  It's not easy. It's uncomfortable.  It's embarrassing at times.  But it's a journey.  And I'm choosing to focus my eyes ahead and keep on walking.

__________________________________________________________________

Now, on to the winner of Lysa's book. 

There were so many deserving comments that I decided to generate a random number (http://www.random.org/), and it was 60.  So the 60th post is the winner, which is Robyn. 

Min: 1
Max: 151
Result:  60
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

However, as I double checked the comments to make sure I counted right, I realized that somehow Robyn's comments posted twice.  I'm sure that was a bloggy glitch.  But, I decided to give a book to the 60th person as well as the 60th post.  And that winner is Joyce Ashley.  

If both winners will contact me personally (editor@proverbs31.org), I'll get your addresses and get your books mailed out.

Thanks so much for for joining me on this journey. It's an honor to be your sister and friend.

In His Love,

Glynnis

Hearing God Speak ... To Me

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to those of you who are visiting, especially if you have just read my devotion on Proverbs 31 about hearing God Speak.  I also have a post on At the Well today, and want to welcome any visitors from that site as well. 

In my P31 devotion today, I wrote about a time in my life when I started hearing God speak to me.  I'm so used to it now, that it's hard to remember the time before.  But for many, many years, I never expected God to speak to me with a specific message.  And I never asked Him to either. 

It didn't have anything to do with my level of faith, or passion for Christ.  During those years I was on fire for God, and served Him in many areas.  And now, that I heard God's voice on a regular basis, I don't think I'm a "better" Christian than before.  I don't think I'm more spiritual.  I've just think I've learned something new.

To hear God's voice I need to position myself in a place of quiet.

This is repeated through the Bible.  Moses heard God speak in the wilderness and on top of a mountain.   Mary heard God speak through an angel when she was alone.  Jesus went off by Himself to pray and hear from His Father.  They were positioned geographically in a place of quiet.  And quiet of many kinds seems to be an important ingredient in hearing from God.

Sometimes God speaks to people when they are in a place of emotional quiet.  Loneliness can put us in that place.  Peace can put us in that place.  Ceasing to strive can put us in that place. 

Sometimes God speaks to people when they are in a place of spiritual quiet.  This is a place I choose to go when I need to hear from God.  This is when I stop presenting Him with a to-do list in my prayers.  This is when I ask Him to speak and just wait.   And wait.   And wait some more. 

In a place of spiritual quiet I'm leaning in to hear God's whisper.  I'm attuned to see the supernatural in the natural.   I'm expectant of heart.  I long.  I listen.  And then, sometimes, clearly, sometimes faintly, I hear.

How do I know it's God?  Well, it's always different.  I always know it's NOT God when it doesn't line up with Scripture or it sends me in a selfish direction.  While God has directed me to focus on myself at times, it's never at the expense of others.  Usually, I know it's God when it confirms Scripture, brings good to someone else, encourages me in obedience to something I've already heard, and/or it pushes me out of my comfort zone.

This past weekend at She Speaks, Karen Ehman challenged us to fast from somethings so we can feast on others.  In my case, 12 years ago, God decided I needed to fast from just about everything so I could hear from Him.  It worked!   Now, I choose to fast.  (In part so God doesn't need to take any more drastic measures with me ... smile).   

I choose to fast from too much activity, from busyness, from demanding my own way, and often from noise.  Even though I work at home, most days I work in silence ... until 2:20 p.m. when the first of my five joys comes home from school.  This weekend, I "heard" God tell me to fast from the morning news.  I'm guessing He needs to talk to me then. 

I've learned a lot about hearing from God from my friend Lysa TerKeurst.  Lysa has some incredible, miraculous stories about how God used her when she simply positioned herself in a position to hear, and then obeyed.  If you read my devotion, you know she's connected to my first experience in hearing God speak to me.  I'm not surprised He would connect me with Lysa since she's been an inspiration to me since I've met her.

In fact, when Lysa read my devotion in its draft stage, she offered to give away one of her books on my blog.  So today, we'll be giving away a copy of "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God."   You can enter to win by posting a comment on my blog today.  I'll pick someone to win at 5 p.m. (PST) on Wednesday 8/4, so make sure you leave a way for me to contact you.  I'll post the winner on my blog on Thursday. Thank you Lysa!

Thanks so much for joining me today.

In His Love,

Glynnis