forgiveness

I think that I am just beginning to crack the smallest bit of shell when it comes to forgiveness.  I was recently reading in ephesians about this very subject.  It says to forgive just as Christ forgives.  Well.... what in the heck does that mean?  I am nowhere near Christ's ability to forgive!!!!!  But, Christ living in me does, thank goodness.  When you think about how He forgives, how exactly does that work?  Well, He forgives quickly and completely.  what's quickly?  a day?  a week?  a year?  is it a process?  I think it can be all the above!  AT least, I hope so.  Completely... what does that mean?  It means all of it.  ALL of the hurt.  All of the pain caused.  Forgiven.
I have been struggling with forgiving the ones who have hurt me so deeply.  IT IS SOOOO HARD.  I beg God to help me forgive.  Most days I just have to say it in Jesus' name.  I cannot do it through mine.  But, in order for me to move on with my life in a 'whole' way, I must strive for this.  I feel as though I need to write a letter, but as of now, Thursday night, Nov 19th, I'm not ready.  Please forgive me Lord ad give me the strength to do what needs to be done.  Love you all!

people pleasing

Why is it that we sometimes say, "Well, I'm just a people pleaser."????  I guess I/we don't realize that we are completely speaking that over ourselves.  I mean, we say it as if it's the absolute truth. Why can't we just stop and say, "I am no longer a people pleaser?" Just stop!  Quit saying you want to stop and you ought to stop... Just STOP.  It will bring an unbelievable amount of peace to your life.   Ultimately we are to please God.   If we are concerned with pleasing God first, just as Jesus was while on this earth, then everything/everyone else takes the back seat.  And besides, it's an impossible task to please all men!  It's quite exhausting.  Think about this, when we occasionally DO please man, we are not servants of God.  (Galatians 1:10)  We can't please both.  If we are in tune and in step with the Holy Spirit at all times, trying to please Him and only Him, we will have so much peace, we won't know what to do with it.

WEll, I am done with training.  It's kind of sad, really.  It's kind of like your wedding day.  You prepare for soooo long and it's all you talk about for quite some time, then, BOOM it's done!  This happens to me every time.  So, I am ready to take on the next assignment God has for me.  He's so good at that.  He equips you for the unknown and then makes known what it is that you are to do.  It's so much fun isn't it?  It's like an adventure everyday!!!  And people say living the life of a Christian is boring!  WHAT??? please...  It's like constantly watching a broadway show, but BETTER.  Or a really amazing movie, but BETTER!  I would never trade this in!  well, love you all.  have a great week!  T

reflection

Well....  I was thinking this morning during the 11:30 service, that one week ago I was on mile 21, almost done.  I cannot believe that it has come and gone.  What an amazing journey!  I will tell ya what, though,  it did not come without sacrifice!  All that training and time.  The days that I absolutely did not want to train...  wow.  I look back on all the supernatural strength that God imparted on me to help me complete the task.  all glory and honor go to Him for this victory in my life.  I am telling you what,  a marathon is like life in 4 hours!  there's pacing, plateuos, excitement, pain, tears, sweat, exhaustion, joy, and on and on.
the interesting part of the weekend was how my support kept getting taken away from me.  First, my sister and her husband couldn't come due to a death in their family, then, my best friend from high school couldn't come due to illness, and another friend had surgery and couldn't make it!  It was as if God was saying to me..."I'm your portion, I'm all you need."  (A lesson that He's been teaching me lately.)  I'm telling you what, there are so many things to learn in singleness!  He is jealous for me...  He really is.  He wants all of my time.  And, you know what?  He's enough for me.  He's more than enough.  But, He also knows what we need.  He provided Ked and Michelle and Teresa to be there and cheer me on throughout the race and most importantly after the race as I needed some TLC.  Just exactly what i needed.
So, as of last week, we have raised over $5,000 for the Refuge!  YYYEEEAAAHHHH! thank you all so much for your donations and prayers.  Our banquet on tuesday of last week brought in over $70,000! God is just moving and shaking.  I love you all so much and can't wait to see what's to come.  I am taking a break from running for a while, but watch out, God might be calling you to train for a 'running for the refuge event'!  God bless.  Taryn