Day 9-Power of the Spirit

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit....says the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4: 6b

"if we are going to win continually over the attacks against our minds, we must realize that willpower alone won't work." (Meyers, pg 30)

"Not only does God love us like a father, but He also has caring concerns for every part of our lives." (pg. 31)

"We are too independent, and we experience a lot of unnecessary frustration simply because we try to do things without God's help." (pg 32).

Prayer:
"Dear loving God, I want to think thoughts that honor You.  I want to have a mind that's fully centered on You and I know that can't happen unless I spend daily time with You. Help me, Holy Spirit; help me to be obedient and eager to be in constant fellowship with You. Amen." (pg 32)

My Thoughts:
This morning, I got up a little later than I wanted to.  I had a 6 mile run on my agenda, but my bed was so warm and toasty and I love to just lie there.

So there I was arguing to myself, letting time slip by.

Get up and run and be happy I did it?

Stay in bed and cuddle because I never get to do that?

Choices.  Choices.

Then I got up.  I would not be happy with myself for missing my long run.
Besides,  I wanted to eat a cookie or two I made the day before.

By the time my:
under armor cold weather pants,
Army physical fitness pants,
wicking tee shirt,
wicking long sleeve shirt with hood and thumb holes,
soft sweater,
jacket,
ear muff,
hood,
wool socks,
running shoes,
Yak Trax,
iPod
and Garmin were on,

I only had 45 minutes to run before I needed to be back to give me time to get ready for church.

I knew the 6 miles were out of the question.  My average on a good day is a 12:30 pace.  It's cold, I'm dehydrated, and the ground is frozen.

3 miles was my new goal (which, by the way, I did do.)

While on the run, I thought about many things.

Like I really need to set up "genius" on the iPod and download some different music on iTunes.  It is filled with way too many songs from the 1990s when most of my CDs were bought.

But on a more serious note, I thought how church is a lot like running.

For example, how many times have you laid in bed not wanting to get up early to go to church?

You end up getting up a little later than planned because "five more minutes" turned into 45.

But you get up anyway because you know you will feel better after getting your God time in.

Some days, church is painful because the service hits way too close to home.

Other times you feel like it is a waste because you already know about tithing and how many times do you need it preached at you?

And then there are those times when it is uplifting and you feel refreshed and alive afterward.

Running is the same for me.

Today, it was painful.  I think my legs turned into cement blocks, but it was so nice to get out and move.

Just like we need to spend time daily with God to be spiritually fit, we need to spend time running and getting our body prepared for the goals that lie ahead.