Yesterday was a pretty frustrating day for me. I felt hopeless, ironically....after sharing with you about some huge answers to prayer for Hope Academy. I went through my day experiencing disappointment after disappointment. I really was just disappointed with myself. It seemed like I was always behind, even though I tried so hard to be on top of it. For those of you who know me well, this has been the story of my life. I started out late because I couldn't figure how to download the newsletter onto my blog, so I felt dumb. Then I was late to several appointments....so I felt anxious about disappointing the people I was meeting. Then, as I was picking up the kids from school, I was complaining to one of my friends about figuring out what to make for dinner and if we just didn't have to eat, that would relieve half of my stress....to which my daughter (the one who is the opposite of me in so many ways) says, "well if you planned a menu, then it wouldn't be as stressful because you would have a plan for what you're going to make that day...." I know that what she said is true...it would be easier, but planning does not come naturally for me, nor is it easy for me. So I was hurt and frustrated with myself about that...then, as kids are loaded in the car and I'm backing out to leave the school playground, I backed into a wooden post (I have no idea why these posts are necessary???), denting the bumper of our "new" car. Oh, I hated myself then....Grrrrr
Then later, at home, while I was fixing dinner, a dear friend sent me a text that was so simple, but the Spirit used it to focus me back. It just said: "Hope. Praying you know the hope..and for the kids to know it to." She was referring to the kids at Hope Academy. The Spirit convicted me that I had been putting my hope in myself all day: to get it right, to not disappoint, to get to places on time, to be a better planner, to get myself together.... The Spirit brought me back to the truth in Psalm 131. Those 3 short verses talk about not being prideful (feeling bad about yourself is prideful, by the way, because we are focused on ourselves), and not concerning ourselves with great matters, but instead, calming oneself and quieting one's ambitions...like a weaned child, I am content. Putting my hope in myself to get things right just left me miserable. God was calling me to put my hope in Him, to be "enlightened to know the hope to which He is calling me..." (Eph. 1:18). Like a weaned child still needs its mother to feed him, but is content, trusting that it will be taken care of, so I can be content, hoping in the Lord to give me what I need and direct me in what He has for me to do....Living in the hope that He can use me the way that I am....the way He knit me together, in His image. Trust...hope...contentment
What are you putting your hope in? If you find yourself angry, anxious or discontent, then your hope is not in the Lord! Sometimes it's a minute by minute decision to put our hope in God. Look to His truth, His promises about who He says He is and what He says He's going to do.
Pray for the students of Hope Academy to find this hope in the Lord. Not all of them have accepted Christ. Pray that the seeds of hope would be planted deep in their soul, that the soil would be rich, that these seeds would grow and the roots would go deep!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Day 1: Twenty Six for Twenty Six (How to Join Me in My Run for Hope)
Here is the idea behind my run for Hope, and here is how you can participate with me.
Also, I want to pass along to you some prayer requests for Hope Academy for today's challenge. Thank you to those who have responded already! God is so good! Hopefully with my lack of technology skills I can successfully load the update letter that I received from the Executive Director of Glenwood Family Ministries, which is the non-profit that Hope Academy is a part of. This letter says it all about the reason Hope Academy exists....to change lives! This boy that she talks about has been prayed for and prayed for and prayed for!!! As I read the letter she sent me over email, I was overjoyed and shouted out loud in my living room.
*Please continue to pray for him and his brother, that they would grow in the Lord and have a hunger for the things of God.
*Pray for all the kids at Hope that have received Christ, that their hearts would be strengthened, that they would stand firm in their faith. You remember middle school and how hard it was??? Well....it's even harder now, I'm afraid. That's why we are to pray for and disciple the young ones in Christ.
Here is the letter that you need to read. I hope that it will encourage you and inspire you today. God is at work, His light is shining in dark places! Pray on......
Here's the letter in text form: (minus the picture, sorry....)
Praise God for Answered Prayers
There have been many answered prayers and
miracles surrounding Hope Academy.
However, this answered prayer is one of the
best! We have learned that when the spiritual
warfare becomes most intense, there is a
breakthrough close at hand. The last two
weeks have been especially difficult and many
of us were feeling very
discouraged. Then, last
Wednesday night, the
answer came. So many
have been praying for
one particular student.
He is one of our most
difficult students. He is
incredibly smart and has
an amazing future in
front of him, if he
chooses it.
However, he was angry and incredibly rebellious. He was only back this year on a probation
basis because he has so much potential and we didn’t want to give up on him. By the end of the
grading period, we were going to make the decision about whether he could stay. He had a
week left, things were not looking good and we were heartbroken. Then, Thursday morning he
came to school. Between classes, he gathered a couple of his teachers together and through
tears, shared with them that he had accepted Christ the night before. He was so tender and so
sincere that the teachers were crying as well. One of the teachers called him Brother and he
smiled from ear to ear. At this point, he seems to be a totally changed young man.
On Friday morning, after breakfast, Mr. Zimmerman called him up front along with the teachers to
lay hands on him and pray for him. Mr. Z then asked if any of the students wanted to pray for
him as well. As you can see in the photo, they swarmed up front to pray over him. Know who
the first student was to step forward to pray for him? His older brother who accepted Christ three
weeks ago.
Prayer Requests
This week, October 21-24, we are doing our fall standardized testing.
• Please pray that the students would do well and take it seriously. This test will help us know where
their strengths and weaknesses are and how to best help them the rest of the year.
• As a reward for this grading period, we were gifted 50 tickets to the UNC football game in Chapel Hill
on Saturday. Please pray for safety and inspiration as we take many students for their first visit to a
college campus.
Also, I want to pass along to you some prayer requests for Hope Academy for today's challenge. Thank you to those who have responded already! God is so good! Hopefully with my lack of technology skills I can successfully load the update letter that I received from the Executive Director of Glenwood Family Ministries, which is the non-profit that Hope Academy is a part of. This letter says it all about the reason Hope Academy exists....to change lives! This boy that she talks about has been prayed for and prayed for and prayed for!!! As I read the letter she sent me over email, I was overjoyed and shouted out loud in my living room.
*Please continue to pray for him and his brother, that they would grow in the Lord and have a hunger for the things of God.
*Pray for all the kids at Hope that have received Christ, that their hearts would be strengthened, that they would stand firm in their faith. You remember middle school and how hard it was??? Well....it's even harder now, I'm afraid. That's why we are to pray for and disciple the young ones in Christ.
Here is the letter that you need to read. I hope that it will encourage you and inspire you today. God is at work, His light is shining in dark places! Pray on......
Here's the letter in text form: (minus the picture, sorry....)
Praise God for Answered Prayers
There have been many answered prayers and
miracles surrounding Hope Academy.
However, this answered prayer is one of the
best! We have learned that when the spiritual
warfare becomes most intense, there is a
breakthrough close at hand. The last two
weeks have been especially difficult and many
of us were feeling very
discouraged. Then, last
Wednesday night, the
answer came. So many
have been praying for
one particular student.
He is one of our most
difficult students. He is
incredibly smart and has
an amazing future in
front of him, if he
chooses it.
However, he was angry and incredibly rebellious. He was only back this year on a probation
basis because he has so much potential and we didn’t want to give up on him. By the end of the
grading period, we were going to make the decision about whether he could stay. He had a
week left, things were not looking good and we were heartbroken. Then, Thursday morning he
came to school. Between classes, he gathered a couple of his teachers together and through
tears, shared with them that he had accepted Christ the night before. He was so tender and so
sincere that the teachers were crying as well. One of the teachers called him Brother and he
smiled from ear to ear. At this point, he seems to be a totally changed young man.
On Friday morning, after breakfast, Mr. Zimmerman called him up front along with the teachers to
lay hands on him and pray for him. Mr. Z then asked if any of the students wanted to pray for
him as well. As you can see in the photo, they swarmed up front to pray over him. Know who
the first student was to step forward to pray for him? His older brother who accepted Christ three
weeks ago.
Prayer Requests
This week, October 21-24, we are doing our fall standardized testing.
• Please pray that the students would do well and take it seriously. This test will help us know where
their strengths and weaknesses are and how to best help them the rest of the year.
• As a reward for this grading period, we were gifted 50 tickets to the UNC football game in Chapel Hill
on Saturday. Please pray for safety and inspiration as we take many students for their first visit to a
college campus.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Twenty Six for Twenty Six (Here's How to Join Me in My Run for Hope)
So much has happened since that first run after I felt God telling me to train for a 1/2 marathon. I can see His plan in pushing me because He knew I wouldn't follow through if it was just my idea! As I've been through the ups and downs of training, I have seen God's faithfulness through so many ways. He gave me the strength when I felt like quitting and He put people in my life to
encourage me to keep going. Part of the reason I have posted my runs on
Facebook was not only to inspire others that they could do it, too, but
also to keep myself accountable, to keep going. I mentioned my fear of failure before.... Well, God has been slowly weeding that out of my heart. I have experienced so much freedom, that I have actually been able to enjoy running.
After completing my 1/2 marathon in April, I felt like I wanted to aim for a marathon before I hit 40. I told Marshall this, so he promptly started planning our training schedule and looking for the right marathon. As I have been training for the marathon, I have experienced how selfish the running world can be. I am not insinuating that it is bad to have goals for fitness, like improving your distance or speed. But, if we are not careful, running can be very time consuming. It can become addictive, consuming your thoughts and plans, which ultimately is selfish. So I have confessed my selfishness many times and have asked God to show me how He can use my running to honor Him. As I have thought and prayed about this I have felt a nudge in my Spirit to run for a cause.
I have been thinking on this and praying about it for a while. Since tomorrow will be 26 days before my scheduled marathon, I thought it would be appropriate to bring forth a challenge. I named this blog: running with hope for a specific reason. Obviously, running has personally given me hope, but I would love for it to give hope to others.
There is a school called Hope Academy. It was started last June for kids 5th-8th grade, who didn't have much hope in life. The school is a private Christian school, so it receives no government funding. Our belief is that these kids need to experience hope in Christ before they can even succeed in academics and life. I have been so blessed to see this school being formed--it's been miracle after miracle that has brought it to existence and that keeps it running! Kids and their families are being changed by the gospel! Hope Academy has become a light in a dark place. Will you become a part of this miracle? Ultimately, I'm asking that you partner in prayer for the school over the next 26 days. It will take you less than five minutes of your time, but will have an eternal impact! If you feel called to do so, would you consider giving $26 to the school, in honor of this blog and my marathon? It would be a huge gift to me, as well as to the school. I am going to get my kids involved in doing this with me. I will have them put $1 each day into an empty glass jar and we will watch it fill up, as we also remember to pray for Hope Academy and what is happening there!
My prayer as that you will be blessed as you pray for Hope Academy.... That you may also be inspired to seek God in how to use your gifts and talents for His Kingdom!
After completing my 1/2 marathon in April, I felt like I wanted to aim for a marathon before I hit 40. I told Marshall this, so he promptly started planning our training schedule and looking for the right marathon. As I have been training for the marathon, I have experienced how selfish the running world can be. I am not insinuating that it is bad to have goals for fitness, like improving your distance or speed. But, if we are not careful, running can be very time consuming. It can become addictive, consuming your thoughts and plans, which ultimately is selfish. So I have confessed my selfishness many times and have asked God to show me how He can use my running to honor Him. As I have thought and prayed about this I have felt a nudge in my Spirit to run for a cause.
I have been thinking on this and praying about it for a while. Since tomorrow will be 26 days before my scheduled marathon, I thought it would be appropriate to bring forth a challenge. I named this blog: running with hope for a specific reason. Obviously, running has personally given me hope, but I would love for it to give hope to others.
There is a school called Hope Academy. It was started last June for kids 5th-8th grade, who didn't have much hope in life. The school is a private Christian school, so it receives no government funding. Our belief is that these kids need to experience hope in Christ before they can even succeed in academics and life. I have been so blessed to see this school being formed--it's been miracle after miracle that has brought it to existence and that keeps it running! Kids and their families are being changed by the gospel! Hope Academy has become a light in a dark place. Will you become a part of this miracle? Ultimately, I'm asking that you partner in prayer for the school over the next 26 days. It will take you less than five minutes of your time, but will have an eternal impact! If you feel called to do so, would you consider giving $26 to the school, in honor of this blog and my marathon? It would be a huge gift to me, as well as to the school. I am going to get my kids involved in doing this with me. I will have them put $1 each day into an empty glass jar and we will watch it fill up, as we also remember to pray for Hope Academy and what is happening there!
My prayer as that you will be blessed as you pray for Hope Academy.... That you may also be inspired to seek God in how to use your gifts and talents for His Kingdom!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Just the Beginning....
It was the middle of December, 2012. I had just finished having coffee with a friend. When asked how I was doing, my response was this: it's a discouraging time: cold, dreary winter months, struggling with fatigue, depression and anxiety, IBS.....the same 'ol issues. I struggled to even admit all of this, again, because: shouldn't I be "past" all this? if I would just believe enough, spend enough time with God, exercise enough, pray enough?? For goodness sakes, I'm a pastor's wife....aren't we supposed to have "it" all together? I know these are ridiculous statements because none of us have "it" all together....whatever "it" is, anyway. But, for some reason I sometimes still hold myself under this impossible standard.
After my friend left, I stayed at the coffee shop, thinking about my life and some of the issues we had talked about. I asked God, "why?" out of frustration. Why am I always so exhausted? I want to be a good mom and a good wife. I want to have energy for my family, to serve them and not feel like I'm slogging through mud all the time. I have a precious family and it felt unfair, not to mention I hate that I struggle to get out of bed in the AM to get them breakfast and off to school. As I was feeling sorry for myself, God spoke quietly....gently... I almost didn't hear.
"I want you to train for a half marathon, Diane." EXCUSE ME??? Did I not just tell you how tired I was? He only said it once, but I knew it was Him. This was the last thing I wanted to do right then! I have never...ever.... felt confident as a runner, struggling to make it 2-3 miles...lungs burning, ears ringing.... not to mention I felt slow and sluggish all the time. I knew what the biggest problem was, however. I was afraid of failing. What if I started training for this half marathon and I couldn't do it? I would be a failure! Then I would feel worse if I failed than if I didn't ever do it at all, right?? This fear of failure has been a huge stronghold in my life. My lifelong motto has been: If there is the slightest possibility for failure, DON'T DO IT!!!
So, I had a decision to make! And Praise the Lord I followed His call and not my will. I'm not trying to "over-spiritualize" this thing. I do, however, see how it has been a huge turning point in my life! I chose to trust Him that day and every day after that I got out to run. I had to choose to not live in fear of failing, but lean on Him and His will for me in all of this. I was afraid to tell people at first, for fear that I might not actually be able to do it, so then I would be a failure. I had to grow in being okay with that possibility...stripped down to possibly looking like a failure. What if I couldn't do it and God allowed that to happen? Did I hear Him right? Would I be a failure even if I'm living in obedience to what I thought was a calling of God? What is failure, anyway? Who am I allowing to define that for me? Does God see me as a failure? All of these questions hounded me through the months after that cold day in December!
And this is only the beginning.....my journey of running with hope.
After my friend left, I stayed at the coffee shop, thinking about my life and some of the issues we had talked about. I asked God, "why?" out of frustration. Why am I always so exhausted? I want to be a good mom and a good wife. I want to have energy for my family, to serve them and not feel like I'm slogging through mud all the time. I have a precious family and it felt unfair, not to mention I hate that I struggle to get out of bed in the AM to get them breakfast and off to school. As I was feeling sorry for myself, God spoke quietly....gently... I almost didn't hear.
"I want you to train for a half marathon, Diane." EXCUSE ME??? Did I not just tell you how tired I was? He only said it once, but I knew it was Him. This was the last thing I wanted to do right then! I have never...ever.... felt confident as a runner, struggling to make it 2-3 miles...lungs burning, ears ringing.... not to mention I felt slow and sluggish all the time. I knew what the biggest problem was, however. I was afraid of failing. What if I started training for this half marathon and I couldn't do it? I would be a failure! Then I would feel worse if I failed than if I didn't ever do it at all, right?? This fear of failure has been a huge stronghold in my life. My lifelong motto has been: If there is the slightest possibility for failure, DON'T DO IT!!!
So, I had a decision to make! And Praise the Lord I followed His call and not my will. I'm not trying to "over-spiritualize" this thing. I do, however, see how it has been a huge turning point in my life! I chose to trust Him that day and every day after that I got out to run. I had to choose to not live in fear of failing, but lean on Him and His will for me in all of this. I was afraid to tell people at first, for fear that I might not actually be able to do it, so then I would be a failure. I had to grow in being okay with that possibility...stripped down to possibly looking like a failure. What if I couldn't do it and God allowed that to happen? Did I hear Him right? Would I be a failure even if I'm living in obedience to what I thought was a calling of God? What is failure, anyway? Who am I allowing to define that for me? Does God see me as a failure? All of these questions hounded me through the months after that cold day in December!
And this is only the beginning.....my journey of running with hope.
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