Blog – Page 30

Olympians

February 26, 2014trishLeave a comment

I enjoyed watching the Olympics, especially the figure skaters. They make their sport look so easy and graceful. They smile as they are competing but once off the ice they are panting. It must take a lot of work for them to build up endurance. The athletes discipline themselves to train many hours a day, 7 days a week to be the best at their sport. Yet there is only one winner.

Each of us runs the race of life. Paul tells us that you (plural-not individually) all run in such a way that you (all) will win. Our prize isn’t salvation because that is a free gift from God. We are saved by believing not achieving. Our prize is our heavenly reward. It’s the joy of hearing Jesus say, “Well done!” God blesses us on top of free salvation with temporal and eternal rewards for faithfully serving Him.

How do we run this race to obtain an eternal prize? Serving others, growing through circumstances in our life, prayer, Bible study and worship the one true God. It takes commitment, discipline and self-denial. We can’t sit in the grandstand and observe; or run just to finish instead of winning.

Unlike The Olympic games where there is only one winner per event, each one of us who are Christ followers can win the prize. There will always be someone faster, smarter, stronger than us. That’s okay because each of us is running our own race, with the opportunities God gives us. What we do for Christ will last forever.

Olympians exercise self-control. They don’t fill up on oatmeal fudge bars (my personal favorite) but keep a strict diet. They get proper amounts of sleep each night. Daily they train for their events. They do it to obtain a prize that eventually fades.

We are in a race to accomplish what God put us here for, a race to finish in a way to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21, 23

How is your race going?

On the journey,

Trish

Bearing Fruit With A Lemon Pie

February 15, 2014trishLeave a comment

I am enjoying a lovely vacation in sunny California with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and neice. No snow, rain or ice, only sunshine, flowers and warmth! Our time together is winding down and we are preparing to return to the cold tundra. Shopping for citrus fruit is easy here- just step outside the condo and pick lemons, oranges and grapefruits from the trees.

With the Meyer lemons we made a delicious pie for dessert last night.

Meyer Lemon Pie

1 whole lemon – washed (use peel and all), 1 1/2 c. Sugar, 4 eggs, 1/4 c. Melted butter, 1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulverize whole lemon in blender. Then add rest of ingredients and blend in blender. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool, top with whipped cream and fresh berries. Yummy!! Thanks mom for the recipe!

Just by looking at the trees one can see the lovely fruit. God’s Word tells us that people will know what kind of person you are by your fruits (Matthew 7:16). For those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus our life should reflect Christ’s character. The Bible calls this “fruit of the Spirit” which is, to name a few, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. ( Galatians 5:22). We should “live a life worthy of The Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of Christ.” Colossians 1:10. We can also bear fruit with our lips by giving praise and thankfulness to God (Hebrews 13:5). Are you a Debbie Downer or someone who looks for the good in a situation?

God wants a relationship with each on of us. When we decide to follow his ways and not our own, we want to be kind, good, faithful, gentle, etc. because the Holy Spirit lives in us and it’s a way to show God we love Him. We bear fruit.

What kind of fruit are you bearing? What do people see when they look at you? We represent Jesus to the world. Let’s go out and make some wonderful lemon pie!

On the journey,

Trish