Good morning! One thing I used to love to do with my brothers growing up was making up games to play with each other. We used to play this game on the trampoline where we would divide it into quarters and one person in each section. If the ball hit your section, you needed to keep it on the trampoline and if not, then you were out. If someone got out, the trampoline would get split into thirds, and then halves until one person was victorious.
Another game we played was in the front yard with a soccer ball, I’m pretty sure we called it ‘snooker.’ (I’m sure one of my brothers will correct me if I’m wrong LOL) We had a chainlink fence around the front yard and we set up goals on each side of the yard in between the uprights. One person would start with the soccer ball and could go up to the halfway ‘line’ and then would try to score a goal. We would keep going back and forth until someone reached the agreed upon amount of goals.
Now that I’m older and have my own kid (the BEST kid in the world I might add), I try to do similar things with him. You may remember that he set up a golf hole in the backyard – we have upgraded the border from rocks to a brick wall, three bricks high. At first, Josh was using the putter and as he made it, he would move back eventually trying to make it across the yard.
When I went out to check it out, I was like – hang on a second, I’ll be right back. I went in and grabbed the pitching wedge and changed the starting location to behind the fire pit. His eyes lit up as he realized we were going to be pitching over the fire pit and into the hole.
I think I made it in twice in the first day and Josh did not. Then we had my brother and nephew visit and both of them were able to successfully make a hole in one before the weekend was over and Josh still had not made it. Finally, after many, many attempts, Josh made it!
I kept encouraging him over and over as he was getting so frustrated, trying my best to make it a life lesson about not giving up. You’re not going to be good at everything and not everything in life is going to be easy. But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying.
The same is true in our walk with God. We are not going to get everything 100% correct, we are not always going to see the fruit of our hard work. But if we continue to live for God in every area of our lives, God will use our lives for His glory.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58
There are times when it will be hard to be a Christian because you will be the only one who will not want to do something. Your friends will look at you and wonder why you don’t act or speak like everyone else.
There have been different occasions where Mer and I have pulled ourselves away from certain situations because we do not live the lifestyle that other people do. We believe that God has called us to be separate and live beyond reproach in every circumstance.
We believe God’s Word when it tells us that we will reap a harvest in living our lives for Jesus! That is why we do it – so that others can know Jesus and BE TRANSFORMED into His likeness.
“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
Don’t ever become weary in doing good! That means living for Jesus, treating others the way you want to be treated (even when they don’t treat you the same), and constantly being renewed in the way we think, act, and speak. If we continue to do these things, we will reap a harvest at the proper time!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder this morning to NEVER GIVE UP! It can be hard to be different especially when we don’t see the results we expect. Help us to trust You in knowing that if we continue to live for You, we will reap a harvest at the proper time! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 