Just say "no" to Vinnie: Speed walk to the finish line! Guest Blogger: SuperPurple JEN

Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, 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 on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.


Near The Goal!!!!

I have come to see that when you're in a race (I did a 5K and a 10K
last year, not running but speed walking) it is not the start that
hurts or even the miles you walk down a long stretch, it is when you
see the end (the goal) in sight. When the goal is spotted is when the
heart, nerves, courage, and muscles are strained beyond anything you
can think of and you feel like you're almost at your breaking point.
Now at this point you can stop and call a taxi and have them take you
home, or you can take a look back and see how much you have
accomplished and press forward to make it to your goal.

The last week has been so up and down for me and instead of hailing down a taxi and saying 'Vinny (Yes I named the taxi driver) take me back to where I started" (and that would be one HUGE mistake), I chose to press into God even more. I know that my new season is just around the bend and
all I have to do is continue to cry out to God with all that I have, I
have been training way to long to give up this race and I know that
God is right beside be cheering me into victory!! So with this in mind
I continue to press into God and reach for the goal, and jump over
road blocks and dash past red light if I have to, just to reach the
goal that is in sight. Even if my goal is in the distance and I feel
like my 10K has turned into a 20K I know that God has a good reason
for his timing, and I may be cry out to him that it hurts, but I know
that the pain will subside and I will have a nice pretty prize in my
hands!!

Today I will walk (or speed walk) to my victory!!!!

Stop Tryin' and Start Dyin'- GUEST BLOGGER: JEN

Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

God spoke to me this morning telling me to die, and I questioned it.
Hey wouldn't you, if God spoke very clearly to you telling you to die?
I have been very frustrated with everything lately and the enemy found
a way to get in: I have been trying to get things done with my own strength and not letting God do his work.

So what God spoke to me this
morning was "Stop trying and Start Dying (to yourself)"
Ah, thank you for confirming you're not telling me I'm going to die God!

Sunday I was
convicted, I realized after church I really
wasn't being thankful for some things in my life. So, I started doing it.
Girls guess what?
I have started to change and now everything is changing around me!
(When I change, everything changes)
PRAISE GOD!!!
My son Isaac has done a 180!!!!! I started again praying for my
finances (which I stopped doing, and boy was that a mistake!),
and was able to book some work last night!!!
I just have to remember God is my provider and I need to put all my faith into him and not let it go.

I will continue to die to myself today, and let God work in me like he
has been trying to!!

Taking Ownership: Poop or no Poop. Guest Blogger: JEN

Gen 1:28
God blessed them:
Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

Ownership

God tells us to take responsibility (ownership) in our lives, and that
means for us to know what is ours to take care of and what we don't
need to worry about. It takes wisdom to know what we should be doing,
because we can't do everything. God broke something in me that I
didn't realize was still in me, and it stems back to my marriage and
my ex husband. I realized that I am nice out of fear, this was a HUGE
thing for me this morning I used to be this way with my ex husband I
did everything out of fear, and I see this creeping back in.

"HELLO JENNIFER" God was saying to me the spirit of fear, rejection, and
people-pleasing lay in side of you. WHAT? I thought all of this was
gone. Nope, and it is all my fault because I didn't take complete
ownership of what God has given me.

Now that I start thinking, it is hard for me to realize what are my responsibilities and what aren't. I know that God doesn't expect me to do everything, and now realizing that it shouldn't matter what people in the world expect me to be or do.

This doesn't fall into my daily responsibilities, but this falls
into not doing things for people out of fear that they won't like me.

God revealed to me a vision of a house with a zero lot line and a
house with a lot of space around it, boundaries around my heart is
what God wants me to do. I need to stop having a zero lot line around
my heart and letting people look in my "windows" and letting their
dogs poop in my yard, because I don't want people pooping on my heart
then walk away. Once they walk away they feel better, but then I have
to sit and try to justify that it was ok for me to let them dump on
me because that is the "Christian" thing to do.

Today I will realize what is my responsibility and what isn't!