Persevering Rangers

When the perseverance pays off

Okay, I’m gonna start out and say I know a lot of you aren’t baseball fans but stick with me today for this lesson on perseverance. K? Thanks.

“Rangers are World Series champions!” The announcer on TV proclaims. My husband, kids, and I are whooping and hollering and screaming exclamations of joy and excitement. Our team FINALLY won! (Side note: during all the loud noises we were making my dog was in the middle of having puppies so we were sitting by her in her birthing pool and clapping for the Rangers. More on the puppies in a future post).

The Rangers are my favorite baseball team and my all time favorite sports team in general. I grew up as a child watching every game and recording stats in my stat book. Yes, every ball, strike, out, error, etc. 6-4-3 double play. I had that recorded in my book as a nine year old. To watch them make history by winning the World Series this year is surreal.

The Texas Rangers (until now) were the oldest Major League Baseball team that had never won a World Series. Over 60 years. That’s a long time. But each year, the players and coaches would still suit up and go out on the baseball diamond and try again. As the song goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.” (Credit to singer Aaliyah). The fans would come season after season to watch their beloved team. Players, coaches, and fans….they all persevered.

Perseverance. It’s what happens when we never give up. Is it easy? NO! Is it worth it? Absolutely, just ask the Texas Rangers and their fans. How do we persevere in life?

“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:9-10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

In other words, don’t give up. You will be rewarded for persevering. You may not see it in this lifetime, but there will be a reward. God sees you working, not giving up. Keep going one small step (or one swing of the bat) at a time. Persevere.

Those sweet hound dog eyes

Those big, beautiful hound dog eyes would look up at me eager for me to pet him. His red, floppy ears flapped around as I played with him. He was young, why did this happen? Our beloved 3 year old hound dog, Rover, passed away yesterday.

Didn’t I just write about my dog, Dixie, dying and now this? Rover seemed to have a long life ahead of him so this is hard to understand.

Yesterday I took my shovel and pickaxe and went outside to break through the hard dirt and rock for a burial site. As I swung the pickaxe repetitively to break up the layer of limestone rock, I could feel the Lord breaking up the hard places of my heart. My need for control, my anxieties, overwhelm of my schedule had all contributed to a hardened heart. But the Lord wants me free of these hard places.

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭11:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Just like I broke through the rock when digging the hole, God breaks through my heart of stone so I can be wholly devoted to Him.

Rover was wholly devoted to my family, faithful and loving no matter what was happening. I want to be the same way towards my Heavenly Father. Rover’s joyful eyes would look up at me and my family, just happy to be with us. I want to look up to God with the same joy in my eyes just happy to spend time with Him.

Friend, how is your heart? What are your eyes looking up at?

Cool breeze – Thursday thought #2

My Thursday thought is a short thought or inspiration to help you through the day. Enjoy!

Can you feel it? The slightly cool breeze the past few mornings? Fall is coming! The cool breeze is also a reminder of God’s Spirit moving. God’s Spirit will blow in and give us relief on a hot day when maybe life feels too overwhelming. Know God is with you in the breeze today friends!

Are you longing for water?

Okay, y’all. Did anyone go dance in the rain when we finally got a bit in our dry, dry area?

Water is precious. My 9 year old has been praying for rain everyday for months. She is absolutely consistent in her prayers for rain. Where we live in the Texas Hill Country, we absolutely need rain. We are in a long drought and the Guadalupe river in our town is drying up. We are desperate for rain.

There’s another type of water that’s not physical and it’s even more important than actual H2O because it goes beyond our life here on earth. What is this water?

Living water….Jesus. The Holy Spirit.

Are we desperate for Jesus like we are desperate for rain on our drought-stricken land?

Do we long for and thirst for this eternal water like we do for actual water when we are dehydrated?

Y’all, I haven’t been as spiritually thirsty as I should. I haven’t been desperate for this living water like I should.

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.””
‭‭John‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him”.
‭‭John‬ ‭7:37-39‬NLT

How can we bath in this living water? What does it look like to be desperate for it? For me, it’s turning my trust and control over to Him on a daily basis. I have to repeat it and dwell on it for this release to happen.

What is it that works for you to remind you to seek the living water daily? Are you longing for this water that can bring you back to life?

We have to go back?!

At my house, the first day of school is exciting along with some nerves. The second and third days are still pretty good. But after one week (or maybe after the first day for you), yikes. All of a sudden it is extremely difficult to get the kids out of bed. They groan and moan and don’t want to go to school. Please tell me this happens in some of y’all’s homes too. I start to hear “I don’t want to go” and “Do we have to go to school?” The new wears off superrrr quick at the start of school.

As I sighed thinking about my kids wanting to go back to summer, I realized I do the same thing. I want to go back to when things were good, fun, and I could sleep in later and sit on the beach reading for hours.

There are other times I don’t want to go back. Do I really want to go back to writing because it can be hard and people might not read it? Or some of us may want to go back before a scary diagnosis. What about going back when life seemed easier for you?

We all come up against hard things in life, and we can either live in denial and not deal with them, or we can move forward.

As much as I want to go back to easier days, I can’t dismiss the hard days and just wish for things to go back the way they were. We all come up against hard things in life, and we can either live in denial and not deal with them, or we can move forward. Have you ever kept going when something was hard instead of quitting? Did it feel good to know you didn’t give up?

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When we want to give up and not go back to do the hard thing, let’s have endurance that makes us stronger in the long run. Let’s develop hope for our future. God will give us the strength to endure, to persevere.

What is your hard? What is that thing that makes you want to quit? Look forward and envision yourself overcoming on the other side. We can persevere friends.