Find your stride...

Some days are just that way, you wake up with things to do people to see and a list of demands on your plate...BUT you just to don't feel like doing anything for anyone or even yourself. You just want to crawl back in bed, pull the covers up, keep the blinds drawn and sleep for awhile longer. Just a little longer, put off all that's out there and let the world wait.

NO WAY!!!! God did not give me this day to hide myself away. I hear the whisper of the promise of the new day, tickling my brain, urging me to get myself up. Attack the morning and find my stride for a glorious day of challenges and opportunities to face and overcome. This past Sunday was Easter. A day of rememberance and recognition for the love God showed mankind by giving his only son to take the burden of our sins upon himself for all of us. My pastor spoke to us about approval and the fact the God does not doubly judge our sins. Jesus has already been judged for all the sins we have committed, are committing and will commit. Therefore, we are already stamped with God's approval. If God has approved me already, I have no need to seek or gain approval from those around me. To spend my time doing things looking for others to give me credit or a pat on the back, seeking acceptance from bosses, co-workers, friends or family are actions that only re-enforce the fact that I have yet to accept that I am approved already! By heading down that path I will find the morning where staying in bed sounds like the best option...

THAT will NEVER be ME!!! I AM APPROVED!!!!! I believe in my heart that God has put his stamp of approval on me. With that belief comes the realization that I am only accountable to myself and GOD in all I do.

As the dawn breaks I hear the whisper of the sunrise, as the first rays crest the ridge of the Cascades and light begins to fill the day. As darkness retreats from the light, I get my workout clothes on, fill my water bottle, grab my towel and keys, then off to the club, banishing the calls of my pillow and warm bed. Ignoring the sleepy looks of a 100 pound puppy who is not ready to get up. Reaffirming myself that I am on the right track. God has shown me that I have self-discipline and self-motivation and the "self" is the power of God in my life. No one can take away your "self" unless you surrender it to them. No one can ever take away my "self" because I have already surrendered it,TO GOD. A paradox of sorts, I recognize, but I like to look at it more as a perpetual motion machine, feeding on itself, creating motion and maintaining momentum. Bringing me to places and insights that I could never have reached on my own.

Thank you God for your approval and stamp of love and caring on my life, for bringing me to places where I could not go alone, I accept the responsibility of your approval and will continually endeavour to be the example of your compassion, faith, hope and acceptance for others to see....

That's what I was thinking this morning...what comes next is anyones guess...get out of bed, face it head on and find your stride...who knows where the path will take you...

Thank you for taking the time to read this, be blessed and enjoy the day, the smile you give may be the smile you get from an unexpected person!