Archive - July, 2010

Don’t Give Up!

July 5, 2010 in Across My Heart with 4 Comments

Overwhelmed? Under-appreciated? Got too many plates spinning? Ready to throw all your hats into the fire?

Joel Osteen tells a story about not giving up. Here’s my version.

This story is about a healthy woman who went on an early morning Colorado hike.

At it’s base the mountain’s elevation was 8,000 feet above sea level. At it’s summit it was over 11,000. The sign at the bottom of the trail read, “3 hours to reach the summit.” Undaunted, she began the climb with fervor, in spite of feeling breathless quicker than she expected.

The trail zig & zagged up the side of the steep mountain. The further up she went, the harder the terrain became. Several times she had to stop to catch her breath. About 45 minutes into the climb, she was sweaty, discouraged and kinda ticked at herself. She felt out of shape. She just knew she’d worn the wrong shoes, and couldn’t imagine climbing another two hours to the summit. As she set on a large rock, she began to doubt if it was worth the climb at all.

As she debated with her inner self, an older gentleman passed by, coming down from the summit. He smiled and simply said, “You’re closer than you think.” before he continued walking. Hmm. Maybe he’s right, she thought. So she stood up, dusted herself off & began to climb, all the while saying to herself, I’m closer than I think.

To her astonishment not 15 minutes later, she reached the summit! What? How was that possible? Was the sign wrong? A three hour climb took her just over an hour. She was thrilled as the excitement & joy of accomplishment overtook her. Victory!

The man had been right! She truly was closer than she thought.

In  your own life, be encouraged today that you are closer than you think! You’re closer than you think to reaching your goal. You’re closer than you think to overcoming that trial you’ve been in for so long.  Now is NOT the time to give up, but to pursue your dreams & press forward. You are closer than you think to victory!

Has there been a time in your life when you were ready to give up, but kept moving forward to find that the victory truly was worth the journey? What would you say to someone else facing a trial similar to the one you faced?

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Human Sacrifice is a Good Thing

July 2, 2010 in Across My Heart, Across Our World, Swaziland with 0 Comments

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ~ Nelson Mandela

On my last blog post, I shared an article written by Seth Barnes. You can read it here. Jesus, An Activist. But I’d like to discuss the subject a bit further as it relates to human sacrifice. That’s right. Human Sacrifice. It’s a good thing. Read on.

No matter what the need is that stirs your heart…

~ serving at-risk teens

~ local community outreach

~ domestic abuse advocacy

~ finding a cure for breast cancer

~ supporting orphans & vulnerable children in Africa

If you want to be part of the solution of change, sacrifice is required.

I believe awareness alone does little to bring real change to these issues.

Seth Barnes explains that awareness is needed, but ACTION must follow or our words are in vain. This is a huge part of why HH & I want to put our money where our mouth is and go to Swaziland in September.

{Don’t read this thinking that I’m saying only people who go on missions trips are activist – I’m not}

Yeah, there’s a ton of other things we could be giving our time & money to, but God has been crystal clear on His desire for us to go – to be activists – no matter the costs. Personal sacrifices is a form of ACTION. We see that our summer will be spent working hard to raise funds for the missions trip, as well as making personal sacrifices to save money.

We won’t be taking a cross-country family vacation this year.

We don’t have television service anymore.

And perhaps the hardest is no more bottled water at home! :) We’ll save $300 just using glass cups!

And we see that not everyone will support it. But we won’t retreat just because not everyone approves. In fact, there’s a rumor going around our new neighborhood that a set of our neighbors are actually ticked that we are going to Africa to help “black people”! Are you kidding?

Don’t be afraid of a little controversy to stand up for what’s right!

We pray that whatever it is that you are bringing awareness to, you are also being an active participant who digs in & MAKES change happen – even if it requires human sacrifice!

What sacrifices are you making to bring awareness & change?

Shine On Sisters!



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