Okay, I'm sitting here at a Panera Bread on a snow day. School is cancelled and as a teacher I have the luxury of not having to go to work! Strangely, my text messaging has been on the higher side today and I ran across an interesting, but brief conversation with a friend of mine. She asked me if I have given much thought about golf?
Now, before I go into this...for those of you who do not know, golf has been a HUGE part of most of my life. I started playing when I was 5 years old and earned my way throughout college on a golf scholarship. God has been an amazing blessing to me with this talent. During my younger years, I had aspirations of being the first deaf professional golfer on the LPGA Tour.
So, what happened to my golfing days? Believe me, I have asked God about that countless of times. My response to my friend is that I've finally stopped asking God because the answer is clear. It is finished. That is not where God wants me to be at this moment of my life. I have asked God to teach me and mold me to be more and more like Jesus Christ. The utmost importance for me is the development of my character and the continuous fire for my love of Christ.
Did I waste all those years in my golfing profession growing up? Absolutely not! I recall many memories that God has taught me during my golfing days (although I didn't really realize it at the time, but it's becoming evident to me now). I'm looking outside of the window right now and smiling because I can vividly remember those days. I would like to share a moment of time that God has taught me about honesty.
On a certain day in October 1996, I was walking up on the 18th green somber and discouraged. Many things were running through my mind. "Jeez, I've screwed it up! All those hard work, down the drain! I guess I won't get that three peat now." Many other thoughts came across my mind. I have probably played the worse golf of my life on the worse day to do it...the state championships. I hadn't even finished the round yet. As I arrived to my ball, I studied the green and decided what to do. I took out my Cleveland sand wedge and took a couple of practice shots. I approached my ball and set the club down. Next, I took a back swing....wham....and then something bad happened. I double chipped. This means that I had already hit the ball, but as I was following through somehow the club hit the ball again. Now, the rules state that every contact counts as a stroke. "Shoot!" I said to myself. I looked up and to my amazement, nobody noticed. As my group finished the hole, my scorekeeper asked me if I had a 6 on that hole. It literally took me 5 seconds to answer that question. Finally, I decided to go with my instincts and tell the truth. "No," I said. "I had a 7 on this hole; I double chipped back there." The girl looked up to me in amazement and said, "Are you sure?" "Yes," I said. Next, I went up to my parents and they knew how I was feeling and hugged me. My dad thought I shot a certain score, but I told him what had happened. The look I saw on my dad's face caught me off guard. He smiled and simply said, "God noticed your honesty and will reward you for it." At that moment, I had mixed emotions and I was really ticked off and frustrated. I said, "God? I doubt it! I've worked so hard for this moment and I'm a good person and I've done all I can to live a good life! I have always been honest and never really saw the blessing! How can God reward me for this? I haven't really seen God do something miraculous in my life. I'm too far behind from the leader and only have one more day to compete!" I said so many things and was angry with my dad and God. Finally I walked off and said, "Impossible!"
For the rest of the night, I went off to practice and was the last person left on the golf course. My coach finally encouraged me that I've had enough practice and need to eat. He was getting tired and it was getting dark as well. Honestly, I don't know what happened the rest of that night because the next day completely overrode what had happened the previous day. I went about as if it was just another day and to my amazement, things were going so great! I had played the best round of my life! Little did I realize that I had won the tournament! "What? How can that be?" and then I cried. I looked to my dad and said, "What would have happened if I lied?" Seriously, I knew I would have carried a deep feeling of guilt even if I didn't win the tournament. God has taught me a valuable lesson through my dad. The two things God taught me was that nothing is impossible with God and that my honesty left a good feeling inside of me that I could never forget. Because of that, the next two years of my championship felt like a huge blessing! I was the first female golfer to win three straight years at a Division 1 high school in the state of Wisconsin. I created history in October 1998.
Therefore, no, I don't regret giving up golf because it is the life lessons that God has used through my circumstances to teach me. God has brought me to a place today that would never have happened if it wasn't because of those experiences. That is only one small part of my story... The lesson of the day: Luke 1:37 says, "For nothing is impossible with God."
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Give what it takes to follow Jesus!
Life is hard. Sometimes I feel like I go through an emotional rollercoaster and just don’t know why. Do you feel that way too? Well, at least it is for me. This past week has been incredibly difficult and challenging. It’s been a fight. It seems like so many factors find its way to pull me down from my purpose in life. I know I have the victory and I’m holding on…
Whether or not you’re a born again believer, you will discover that things don’t just happen they way you want it to happen. Sometimes we just feel so out of control! We actually mean to do well, but something enticing comes in our way. We do things we don’t want to do and we don’t do things that we want to do. Seems ironic? But it’s a reality.
The Apostle Paul shares some of his lessons (Romans 7:7-25) that he learned in trying to deal with his old sinful desires. He says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul noticed that he was sinning in ways that weren’t even attractive to him. Who knows what he was struggling with, but there were just as much temptations during his day as it was when Jesus was on earth. (Here, I must note that even though Jesus was tempted, He never sinned – that is why he is the perfect sacrifice for us. Praise the Lord!) There sure is heck as much temptations in our lives today. Nothing has changed…sin still remains prevalent in our daily lives.
We can do absolutely nothing for ourselves to live a perfect life. Each and every one of us has sinned. All of us have fallen short. We find that one of the Apostle Paul’s lessons show that self-determination doesn’t succeed. This means we try to struggle and win with our own strength. Here’s an example, how many times have you left a buffet feeling properly nourished? I’m sure we’ve often left the restaurant beyond stuffed. What happened to our will power? Or maybe we ate an extra chocolate chip cookie because it looked so delicious. It’s not enough to have just one. We have to have two…maybe three…or more? Now, I'm not saying that eating is sinning, but the temptation is there for us to eat more than what we can handle. What about what you see on television, the magazines, or billboards? Everything seems so enticing. Romans 7:15 is a description of a Christian struggling against sin or trying to please God by keeping the rules and laws without the Spirit’s help. There is no way we can live a perfect life and that is why Jesus Christ came for us…and there is no way to win our salvation by attaining perfectionism because we fall into legalism. We will fall short anyways and even IF we don’t, God's main desire is our heart. God looks towards the inside of us more than He looks on the outside. Thank God for the Holy Spirit’s help because when we fall, He (Jesus Christ) lifts us up.
Thank God we have the Holy Spirit available to us in giving us the strength we need to resist temptations and to lift us up when we need it. God’s grace surpasses it all! Ephesians 2:5 says, “…it is by grace you have been saved.” When we come to Christ with our life, the penalty of sin and its power over us have been destroyed by Christ on the cross.
My challenge to you is to keep fighting the good fight for righteousness and holiness. Being a part of God’s army is a lifelong journey. As we continue to follow Him and training ourselves to be godly, we must embrace the cross. Embracing the cross doesn’t mean that things will always go the way we expect it to go. In Luke 9:23-24, “Then he (Jesus Christ) said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’” I dare you…give what it takes to follow Jesus Christ.
Whether or not you’re a born again believer, you will discover that things don’t just happen they way you want it to happen. Sometimes we just feel so out of control! We actually mean to do well, but something enticing comes in our way. We do things we don’t want to do and we don’t do things that we want to do. Seems ironic? But it’s a reality.
The Apostle Paul shares some of his lessons (Romans 7:7-25) that he learned in trying to deal with his old sinful desires. He says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul noticed that he was sinning in ways that weren’t even attractive to him. Who knows what he was struggling with, but there were just as much temptations during his day as it was when Jesus was on earth. (Here, I must note that even though Jesus was tempted, He never sinned – that is why he is the perfect sacrifice for us. Praise the Lord!) There sure is heck as much temptations in our lives today. Nothing has changed…sin still remains prevalent in our daily lives.
We can do absolutely nothing for ourselves to live a perfect life. Each and every one of us has sinned. All of us have fallen short. We find that one of the Apostle Paul’s lessons show that self-determination doesn’t succeed. This means we try to struggle and win with our own strength. Here’s an example, how many times have you left a buffet feeling properly nourished? I’m sure we’ve often left the restaurant beyond stuffed. What happened to our will power? Or maybe we ate an extra chocolate chip cookie because it looked so delicious. It’s not enough to have just one. We have to have two…maybe three…or more? Now, I'm not saying that eating is sinning, but the temptation is there for us to eat more than what we can handle. What about what you see on television, the magazines, or billboards? Everything seems so enticing. Romans 7:15 is a description of a Christian struggling against sin or trying to please God by keeping the rules and laws without the Spirit’s help. There is no way we can live a perfect life and that is why Jesus Christ came for us…and there is no way to win our salvation by attaining perfectionism because we fall into legalism. We will fall short anyways and even IF we don’t, God's main desire is our heart. God looks towards the inside of us more than He looks on the outside. Thank God for the Holy Spirit’s help because when we fall, He (Jesus Christ) lifts us up.
Thank God we have the Holy Spirit available to us in giving us the strength we need to resist temptations and to lift us up when we need it. God’s grace surpasses it all! Ephesians 2:5 says, “…it is by grace you have been saved.” When we come to Christ with our life, the penalty of sin and its power over us have been destroyed by Christ on the cross.
My challenge to you is to keep fighting the good fight for righteousness and holiness. Being a part of God’s army is a lifelong journey. As we continue to follow Him and training ourselves to be godly, we must embrace the cross. Embracing the cross doesn’t mean that things will always go the way we expect it to go. In Luke 9:23-24, “Then he (Jesus Christ) said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’” I dare you…give what it takes to follow Jesus Christ.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
God's plan from the beginning...
So, here it is...my first blog. First of all, let me say that the purpose of setting up this blog is to share my heart as I continue to strive for a personal relationship with my Savior. I pray that my relationship will be an inspiration to others around me and perhaps bring you to the Lord much closer than you ever imagined. I will be posting many different things, whether it's the Word of God or the daily involvements of my life.
I've been thinking about what I would like to post and one thing popped in my mind. Here's a truth for you to think about. God knew you even before you were born! Do you actually believe that? Let me validate that from Ephesians 1:4, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Okay, here's another way of saying it bluntly...YOU WERE NOT A MISTAKE! Yes, God knew you! That is why you are here on earth. God wants a personal relationship with you. It was from the beginning that God would send Jesus Christ to die for our sins once and for all! There are many scriptures in the Bible that tells us about that. A couple of years ago I had a devotional time with God and was reading through the book of Genesis, chapter 5. This chapter is a long list of genealogies of Adam's descendents - from Adam to Noah. I vaguely remember how boring this is with all the names. How would this apply to my life? Thankfully, the Holy Spirit nudged me to continue reading my devotional (Embracing Eternity). I would like to share this with you and I think you will be amazed as well...
First, read the book of Genesis, chapter 5. Don't fret, if you don't have a Bible on hand, just go to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%205;&version=31. Hopefully this will lead you there :)
Now, you may be thinking...I don't remember what I read! I did the same thing. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." Okay, so there must be some meaning to Genesis 5. Let me explain...it is very significant! The people of the Bible generally have names that means something. So, if you look up in the Hebrew dictionary, you will find the names of the genealogies provides a hidden message.
Adam -- "man"
Seth -- "appointed"
Enosh -- "mortal" or "frail"
Kenan -- "sorrow"
Mahalalel -- "the blessed God"
Jared -- "shall come down"
Enoch - "teaching" or "commencement"
Methuselah - "his death shall bring"
Lamech -- "despairing"
Noah -- "to bring comfort"
So, if you would put the puzzle together and read between the lines. The whole chapter of Genesis 5 tells us that, "Man appointed mortal sorrow. Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) his death shall bring (the) despairing comfort." The gospel of Jesus is hidden within the lines of scriptures since the beginning!
God had a mission all along! I don't know where you are at with your relationship with the Lord, but John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Will you allow Jesus in your life and change you? All you have to do is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). God loves you! Don't ever forget that. Will you come to Him today?
To have Jesus come into your life say this simple prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. I n Jesus' name. Amen.
For more information on Steps to Peace with God, visit: http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp.
Have a Blessed day!
I've been thinking about what I would like to post and one thing popped in my mind. Here's a truth for you to think about. God knew you even before you were born! Do you actually believe that? Let me validate that from Ephesians 1:4, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Okay, here's another way of saying it bluntly...YOU WERE NOT A MISTAKE! Yes, God knew you! That is why you are here on earth. God wants a personal relationship with you. It was from the beginning that God would send Jesus Christ to die for our sins once and for all! There are many scriptures in the Bible that tells us about that. A couple of years ago I had a devotional time with God and was reading through the book of Genesis, chapter 5. This chapter is a long list of genealogies of Adam's descendents - from Adam to Noah. I vaguely remember how boring this is with all the names. How would this apply to my life? Thankfully, the Holy Spirit nudged me to continue reading my devotional (Embracing Eternity). I would like to share this with you and I think you will be amazed as well...
First, read the book of Genesis, chapter 5. Don't fret, if you don't have a Bible on hand, just go to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%205;&version=31. Hopefully this will lead you there :)
Now, you may be thinking...I don't remember what I read! I did the same thing. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." Okay, so there must be some meaning to Genesis 5. Let me explain...it is very significant! The people of the Bible generally have names that means something. So, if you look up in the Hebrew dictionary, you will find the names of the genealogies provides a hidden message.
Adam -- "man"
Seth -- "appointed"
Enosh -- "mortal" or "frail"
Kenan -- "sorrow"
Mahalalel -- "the blessed God"
Jared -- "shall come down"
Enoch - "teaching" or "commencement"
Methuselah - "his death shall bring"
Lamech -- "despairing"
Noah -- "to bring comfort"
So, if you would put the puzzle together and read between the lines. The whole chapter of Genesis 5 tells us that, "Man appointed mortal sorrow. Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) his death shall bring (the) despairing comfort." The gospel of Jesus is hidden within the lines of scriptures since the beginning!
God had a mission all along! I don't know where you are at with your relationship with the Lord, but John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Will you allow Jesus in your life and change you? All you have to do is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). God loves you! Don't ever forget that. Will you come to Him today?
To have Jesus come into your life say this simple prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. I n Jesus' name. Amen.
For more information on Steps to Peace with God, visit: http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp.
Have a Blessed day!
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