Author: Beth Morrison

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”  Matthew 7:13
I love to bike ride.  Last month I rode 204 miles to support the fight against childhood cancer.  All of those miles reminded me of one of my favorite analogies of the Christian life.  The narrow road we walk on when we follow Christ, for the road must be narrow to get through the narrow gate.
When you are riding on the road with your bike, it’s best to stay as far to the side as possible to avoid getting hit by a car.  I like to ride in the narrow edge between where the white painted line is and the edge of the asphalt.  I think of this as the narrow road of following Christ.  Sometimes however, I sway past the painted line and am in the much larger road where I’m more likely to get hit by a car.  I always try to get back into the narrow lane as quickly as possible.  It’s much safer there.
I think it’s a beautiful picture of what it is like to follow Christ.  There is only one way to get to Him, one gate to pass through.  However in life, there are many ways we can choose to live our life, many gates we could pass through.
We can follow the path of money and spend all of our time trying to get through the gate of wealth.  We can follow the path of relationships with people and try to find happiness through that gate.  We can follow the path of diet and exercise and try to find our identity in being the perfect size.  There are so many paths we can take, so many gates we can try to get through.   Gates that cause us to lose focus of Jesus.
When I’m riding along on my bike, staying in my narrow little lane  I imagine it is like when I’m following Christ.  Those times when I know I’m in His will, I can feel His presence, we’re in tune with each other.  But then I swerve off the road, I enter into the big road.  Those are the times when I take my eyes off of Jesus and focus on something else.  It could be my own selfishness, a relationship I’m not trusting Him with or a problem I’m trying to solve on my own.   It’s those times I forget to ask Jesus into the situation.  Those times I try to do it on my own strength and not with Him.  Those are the times when I swerve into the big road.
Gratefully, I always find my way back to the narrow road.  I find my way back to Him.  The quicker the better, the safer I will be.  It’s the same in life.  The sooner I realize I’ve lost my focus, the faster I can get the Son back in my eyes.  The faster I get back on the straight and narrow.  It takes work to stay on the narrow road.  It’s ok if you swerve off of it every now and then.  It’s inevitable.  The important part is that you find your way back.
 
 

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9
It never ceases to amaze me how God grows me.  This month I committed to ride 200 miles and raise $500 for the Children’s Cancer Fund.  I made the decision the day before it started for one reason.  To help motivate me to do my cardio workout.  I was in a funk.
God has done so much with that selfish decision.  I’m 11 days from completing it.  I have 49 miles left to ride, $97 left to raise.  I have learned that each week 38 children die from cancer.  I have met and sat with parents who lost their seven year old 3 1/2 years ago.  I’ve listened to their story.  I’ve heard their struggle.  I’ve received emails that have educated me, like the one I received today from the CEO of the CCF:
 
Over the past 19 days, 51,319 riders have so far pedaled 2,234,957 miles across the USA, on all types of bikes and in all kinds of weather. It has been phenonemal to watch the event (and hit ‘refresh’…alot) and the 2018 Great Cycle Challenge USA is set to break all the records.
To break down the month so far:

• 51,319 riders are taking part from every state in the country.
• 105,961 individual donations have been received to support your efforts.
• The website has been viewed a total of 1,905,759 times from 188 different countries across the world.
• Together, we’ve ridden a total of 2,234,957 miles and pedaled for the equivalent of 7,450 days and 9 minutes.

…and we’ve still got 11 days to go.
Wow. This IS truly a movement to end childhood cancer.
To put this into perspective, over those same 19 days you’ve been riding in the challenge:

• 760 families have heard the painful words, “your child has cancer”.
• We’ve lost 103 little lives to this terrible disease.

I have been amazed at the dedication of people all over this country to come together and fight a cause.  I have found heartache and I have found hope.  I didn’t know any of this 20 days ago when I made this commitment.  What I love though is how God lets nothing goes to waste.  I love how He grows and molds us, even through our selfishness.
If there is one thing I would hope for you, make a commitment to a cause you don’t know a lot about.  See what God does with it.  You won’t be sorry!

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”  Jeremiah 29:12
I love knowing God is always available.  I love knowing when I call on Him I will never get a busy line.  I love how intricately He is involved in our lives.  Often times we don’t even realize how close He truly is.
I’m sitting in the hospital as I write this.  I look around at the people sitting here in this waiting room with me and wonder why they are here?  I always wonder if they know God?  If they have His peace which surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7)?
I have that.  Even though I’m scared.  Even though I’m not sure of what this day will bring, I have His peace.  I’m not saying I don’t wrestle with God.  I do.  I get angry at Him.  I cry out to Him and ask Him why?  It always makes me think of when Jacob wrestled with God:
 ^“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.  When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.  
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”  Genesis 32:24-28
When you wrestle with God you are never the same again.  It always changes you.  It always draws you closer to Him.
It’s funny, as I sit here thinking about past hospital sits I’ve done for people I love, they are special memories.  It’s not something I want to do, don’t get me wrong.  It’s just at times like this, I feel God’s presence in such a special way.  I feel the prayers being prayed for us right now.  I feel His comfort, His strength, His love.
It’s in the kind words of the receptionist who went out of her way to find out information for us.  It’s in the smile of the nurse who walked us to the next stage of this day.  It’s in the hands of the Doctor as He cares for our loved one.  It’s in calming music playing softly in the background.
We had a great sermon yesterday.  It was perfect for the day we had ahead of us.  You can listen to the full message here.
These were the main points:
Need some encouragement today?
If you look for it, you will see it. 
If you need it, go find it. 
If you think it, say it. 
If you preach it, you will feel it!
I love God’s timing.  It was exactly what I needed to hear.  It is all true.  If you call out to God, He will answer.  He will encourage.  He will strengthen.  He will persevere.
If you need encouragement, call out to God.  I promise, He’ll answer!

“Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves.”  Romans 12:10
Have you ever heard of phubbing?  I hadn’t until last night.  Hubby and I are doing a fun study together called “Five Dates” by Mike and Jennifer Foster.  You literally go on five dates with your significant other.  It guides you through great conversations.  Each has a different topic and is designed to help deepen your relationship.
Last night’s topic was “presence”.  It started by talking about phubbing.  Phubbing is a combination of the words phone and snubbing. It describes the moment when someone pays more attention to their phone than to the person they are with at the time.  What an eye opener for me.  I am a total phubber, especially when it comes to my husband.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence we’re doing this study.  I also don’t think it’s a coincidence they started with phubbing.  I’ve been convicted of this for some time now.  I’ve come to realize, the more comfortable you are with someone, the more you are able to phub them without realizing it.
In complete honesty, the book asked us to rate ourselves on how much of a phubber we are on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the worst.  I rated myself an 8 and my husband did not disagree with my assessment.
Gratefully, I’m more aware of it than ever now.  I’ll be more conscious about it in all of my relationships.  That was the discussion hubby and I had last night.  It doesn’t just pertain to marriage, it can pertain to all types of relationships.
Did you know on average people check their phones over 150 times a day?  That’s about every 10 minutes or so.  Can you believe in such a short time we’ve developed such an addiction to a device that wasn’t even present 20 years ago?  It literally is ruining marriages!  For some reason, we think whatever is on the phone is more important than the person who is in front of us, including our husband and kids.
What are we missing by being so addicted to our phones?  What moments have passed us by and we didn’t even notice?  It makes my heart hurt to think of the lost moments with my husband.
The good news is today is a new day.  I can always change my priorities.  I can always work harder at my marriage.  I can always pay attention to the moments God gives me today.
Here’s the question, are you a phubber too?  Be honest, it won’t hurt, it can only help!

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3
Can you believe June is just a couple of days away?  We are already half way through 2018.  How is it possible?
I was in yoga this morning, thinking about my word of the year, which is COMMITMENT.  I was thinking how it has impacted these past six months.  It is what keeps me going back to my mat every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I keep thinking to myself, “I wonder how much sticking to this one routine will impact me physically at the end of the year?”
I can honestly say it’s the longest I have ever stuck with a regular workout routine in my life.  As I dove down into my forward fold this morning I realized my fingers were touching the mat and my legs were straight.  I couldn’t do that six months ago.  I also couldn’t do a slow push up, or chatarunga in yoga terminology, without belly flopping.  Now I can.  I can actually slowly lower my entire body to the floor without just plopping.  It is all because of my word for the year…COMMITMENT.
For the past six months I’ve done one class at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time.  As a result I am stronger, more flexible and in better shape than I think I have ever been.  I am more relaxed and I think I’m handling stress better, although my husband is the one who should answer that particular question.
I definitely feel more connected to God.  There is this one pose we do in yoga at the end of class.  You’re laying on your back, arms stretched out wide, legs straight up in the air.  It is the most empowering position for me.  I always pray the same simple prayer, “Fill me up Lord, fill me up!”  I just imagine His Spirit pouring into me, invigorating me, preparing me for the day ahead.  It has become my favorite moment of the one hour class.
Thinking about my word of the year made me realize it was time to check in with my goals for the year.  Keeping them in the forefront of my mind helps me accomplish them.  It helps me implement them into my life.
Just as a reminder, these are what mine are for this year:
My goals for 2018:
Spiritual:  Praying over my calendar on Monday mornings.  Finding and completing a domestic mission trip.
Physical:  Continue my two classes a week minimum.  Increase cardio workouts to 5-6 times a week.  (Cardio meaning walking, biking, zumba etc.)
Financial: Come in on budget personally each month.
Writing:  Write a blog weekly.
If I were to recap where I am at this point I would describe it in this one sentence. I have gone from thinking of them as goals to having made them a part of my life.
Praying over my calendar has become my favorite part of Monday (or sometimes Sunday afternoons).  I love looking over my calendar for the week ahead and seeing what is before me. I love thanking God for giving me another week.  For giving me divine assignments and tasks to complete.  I love knowing He is going before me and preparing the way.  Most important, I love knowing it is all covered in prayer before the week even starts.
I think I already covered the physical.  The one thing I’ve changed is my cardio routine.  I have bursitis in my achilles.  Definitely on the mend, but it was from over use playing tennis and walking.  Obviously the yoga is helping heal it.  I have switched to bike riding.  My most recent implementation is doing 20 minutes on the stationary bike as soon as I roll out of bed.  I get it done before I even know what is happening.  Better than a cup of coffee.
Financially, I have to confess, I almost didn’t make it on budget this month.  I was $59 over and I had tapped out my resources.  God is good though.  He provided as He always does.  I not only came in on budget but have extra in my account.  Just love how He always provides!
Writing my blog is going well.  The most exciting part of my writing is God has brought together a writing group for me.  I’m part of a group of amazing writer’s, all women who are meeting once a month to encourage and uplift each other.  It is so incredible to meet with them and share my passion.  They have spurred me on in ways I couldn’t of imagined.
Still have to do a domestic mission trip.  Haven’t lined anything up yet.  Considering I only have 6 months left of the year, I need to get working on it.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do and He will establish your plans.”  Proverbs 16:3
My verse of the year.  I can honestly say, letting God be the cruise director of my life this year is phenomenal.  I would much rather be walking on water with Him than sitting in the boat trying to steer it myself.
How’s your year going?  Already half way there.  Time and tide wait for no one.

“Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.”  1 Chronicles 11:22
The above verse was in my Bible reading today.  It is a hidden gem of a verse which was unpacked beautifully for me by Mark Batterson in his book, “Chase the Lion”.  Benaiah was one of David’s three mighty warriors.  As Mark talks about in his book, Benaiah had chasing lions on his resume.  No wonder he was one of the three!
Below is the Lion Chaser’s Manifesto from the book.  It is truly words to live by if at all possible.  I just wanted to share it with you in case you were thinking about chasing some lions.  It will give you a good start!

The Lion Chaser’s Manifesto

by Mark Batterson

Run to the roar.

Set God-sized goals.

Pursue God-ordained passions.

Go after a dream that’s destined to fail unless God intervenes.

Stop pointing out problems, become part of the solution.

Stop repeating the past and start creating the future.

Face your fears.

Fight for your dreams.

Grab opportunity by the mane and don’t let go.

Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.

Burn sinful bridges.

Blaze new trails.

Live for the applause of nail-scarred hands.

Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.

Don’t try to be who you aren’t.

Be yourself.

Laugh at yourself.

Dare to fail.

Dare to dream.

Dare to be different.

Chase the lion!

“Come,” he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ”  Matthew 14:29
I watched a documentary yesterday titled, “Losing Sight of the Shore”.  It started with this quote:
“You can never cross the ocean without first losing sight of the shore.”  Christopher Columbus
It instantly captivated me.  The movie tells the tale of six women from the UK, whom together row across the Pacific Ocean.  They started in California and ended in Australia.  It was over 8,400 miles of rowing.  It took over 9 months to complete. They broke three world records in the process,  including being the first women to do it.  They were known as the “Coxless Crew”.  It is truly a fascinating journey, one worth the watch.
As I have pondered this since it reminded me of Philip Yancey’s book “If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get out of the Boat”.  It centers on the above passage from Matthew.  Peter had to get out of the boat before he could walk on water.  We have to lose sight of the shore to cross our oceans.  We have to have faith.
The tagline from the movie is “Everyone has a Pacific to cross.”  This got me thinking about what mine are.  I started thinking about some of the challenges in my life.  Steps of faith I needed to take which would eventually get me across the ocean.
Relationships are a constant challenge.  My relationship with God is challenging.  Trusting Him when I don’t understand why bad things happen is challenging.  Believing His will is best can be challenging.  Making Him a priority can be challenging.  Loving Him completely can be challenging.  It is a day by day journey in which I consciously choose to lose sight of the shore and follow Him into the deep water.  One row at a time.
Continuing to put God first helps me row into the deep waters of human relationships.  It helps me forgive people who have hurt me.  It helps me ask for forgiveness when I am the offender.  It helps me cross the ocean of broken relationships to restored relationships.  It helps me take steps of faith which may lead to rejection here on earth, knowing I will never be rejected by Him.  He helps me lose sight of the shore and cross the ocean.
There are so many oceans people have to cross.  Oceans of loss.  Oceans of turmoil.  There are oceans we’ve created ourselves and oceans created by others.  My ocean of weight loss was created by me.  When I lost my job it was created by someone else.  In both cases, God is the one who helped me get to the other side of it.  He is the one who helped me through the rough waters until I found the shore.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  Matthew 14:30-31
It’s fascinating, Peter was doing great walking on water until He took his eyes off Jesus.  The minute he saw the wind he began to sink.  He lost his faith momentarily.  The minute he cried out, Jesus was there.  As soon as he had the Son back in his eyes, he could walk again.
It’s important to remember, as we cross our oceans, what the source of strength is.  We have to keep the Son in our eyes as we row our boats if we want to cross the Pacific.  The beauty is, even if we do lose sight for a moment, Jesus is right there waiting.  He will take our hand, lift us back up and help us keep going.
You do have to lose sight of the shore to cross the ocean, but you can’t lose sight of Jesus.  Where are you on your journey?  Are you still on the shore?  Are you in the middle of the ocean?  Have you taken your eyes off Jesus?
Where ever you are, take heart, He is there.  He is there to help you take the first step, the 99th step or the step to get you going again.  All you have to do is ask.  Before you know it, you too will have crossed an ocean!
 
 

“Even though I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger.  For you are with me; your and your staff-they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (CSB)
I just enjoyed a most uplifting stroll through the scriptures learning how faith overcomes fear.  It comes at the most apt time as  I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with life this morning when I sat down to my quiet time with God.
Life has a way of sneaking up on you while you’re making plans.  It is like having your back turned to a wave in the ocean, it knocks you down because you didn’t see it coming.  When we’re knocked down is when we are in the perfect position to receive His strength.
My source of strength is best accessed when I’m on my knees.  Knee-mail so to speak.  From my lips to God’s ears, He lifts me up and always places me back on my feet again.
I love what Isaiah 41:10 says:
“So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
No matter what you are facing today, God is holding your hand, tightly.  He is lifting you up.  He is helping you to stand.
There are over three hundred scriptures telling us to not be afraid.  The way to over come fear is with faith.  Beth Moore says in The Quest,  “Fear and faith cannot be roommates.  They will not coexist.  The one assigned authority automatically elbows the other off the space.  Fear can’t stand on a carpet of faith.”
If you want to overcome fear, replace it with faith.
How do you replace it with faith?  Apply God’s word to it.  Apply scriptures like these:
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”  Isaiah 41:13

Remember what these verses are telling you.  God is with you always.  He is holding your hand.  He is helping you.  He knows your name and you are His.  He is your Rock!
Evict fear from your life.  Give the space to Faith.  Whatever it is, God’s got this…always!

“Then he asked, “Who told you that…” Genesis 3:11
I recently started working through the “Quest” by Beth Moore.  It’s a journey to a more intimate relationship with God.  It’s fascinating, enlightening and challenging all at once.
The Quest is based on answering five different questions: Where, Who, What, Why and How.  You hear these questions asked a lot in different ways for different reasons.  It’s great asking them about my relationship with God.
I love the second question she poses, “Who told you that?”  She is asking us to introspectively think of how we define ourselves.  Then answer the question, “Who told you that?”.
For instance, as do most women, I struggle with my body image.  If I define myself as fat, who told me I was fat? Who put the thought in my head? I could easily answer the question by looking at the cover of the latest fashion magazine.  Culture and the world around me tells me I’m not a size 2 everyday in a myriad of ways. It’s a constant bombardment. To combat that lie, I need to find out how God sees me.  To God, I am the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). I am the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8).  I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
Do you see where I’m going with this?  Who are you going to let define you?  The world around you or the one who created you (Gen. 1:26-27)?
I wanted to remind you today of who you really are:
You are called of God (2 Tim.1:9)
You are Chosen (Thessalonians 1:4)
You are the Apple of His Eye (Psalm 17:8)
You are being changed into His Image (2 Cor. 3:18)
You are a New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
You are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19)
You are Forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)
You are Redeemed (Gal 3:13)
You are Blessed (Galatians 3:9)
You are Above and Not Beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)
You are Elect (Colossians 3:12)
You are Victorious (Revelations 12:11)
You are One in Christ (John 17:21)
You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Psalm 139:14)
You are Set Free (John 8:31)
Don’t forget it!

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23
I tend to be a black and white person.  I’m not a huge fan of all the shades of gray but I’m learning.  Thankfully, God gave me a husband who is all grace.  He sees all the shades and helps me to do so as well.
One of the areas I always struggle is when someone is searching for God’s will.  Don’t get me wrong, I love they are searching.  It’s where they are searching I struggle with by times.  80% of God’s will is already laid out for us.  It is in His Word.
I believe it can be summed in two verses:
 ^“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
Love God, Love others.  Seems simple enough.  We all know it isn’t.
Feelings get in the way of loving both God and people.  How easy is it for you to not agree with God?  Or God’s decisions in your life?  I can tell you I was 16 when my Dad died, I wasn’t God’s biggest fan then.  When I lost my job a few years later, again not the head cheerleader.  Those are just a couple of the many times I’ve struggled with God.  It has been years since both of those things happened.  As I look back on them now, I can see God in it the entire time.  He was there caring, loving and protecting me.  I just wasn’t looking around to see it.  I love Him more now than I ever could, partly because of those very situations.
Then there are people.  Just last week I had my feelings hurt so deeply it took days for me to work through it.  I leaned heavily into 1 Corinthians 13:12:
“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”
I have to tell you, as hard as it was for me to work through last week, I grew so much.  I had never applied this verse to relationships. It has totally changed the way I think.  It completely reminded me the person who hurt me didn’t even know it.  I could only see part of the situation, I had no idea what the whole situation was or even is.  God loves both of us and He knows the whole story.  I can trust Him. I don’t need to know all the details, I just need to love.
My bottom line.  It takes the rest of God’s Word to help me live out loving Him and loving people.  I’m grateful He wrote so much of it down for me, 80% in fact.  I find the other 20% takes care of itself.  I’m too busy trying to follow the 80% to even notice.
I do know this though, you have to read His word to find His will.  I also know feelings lie.  If I had listened to my feelings last week I would of lost a friend.  Instead, I’ve grown closer to God and preserved my friendship.
Don’t let your feelings shade the Son from your eyes.  Keep them focused directly on Him. He’ll show you the way!