running

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24 (ESV)
 
I started running in 2013. Now, before anyone gets too impressed, let me clarify something: I was not fast.
I ran several 5Ks, two Warrior Dashes, a Color Run, a Glow Run, and I even managed one 10K. Randy ran the Warrior Dashes with me. Our youngest son, who ran cross country in high school like his dad did, ran several races with me—although “with me” is generous. He usually ran somewhere ahead of me. Even our middle son joined me a couple of times.
The one consistent thing through all those races was my time. It wasn't great.
I was never last, so I have that going for me, but nobody was standing at the finish line wondering whether I'd broken a course record. But I trained. I showed up. I ran. And I finished.
A few weeks ago, Randy ran his first 5K since 2014. With basically no training whatsoever, he finished with a better time than I ever did. Did I mention that I always trained?
I'm incredibly proud of him. Slightly annoyed on principle, perhaps, but incredibly proud.
When Paul talks about running in 1 Corinthians, he tells us to run that you may obtain the prize.
That makes me think about all those races and ask a question I probably didn't ask often enough:
What was I running for?
I was never going to win my age group. I wasn't chasing a medal for fastest time. I wasn't trying to beat Randy or my sons or anyone running beside me. For me, finishing was the prize. Crossing that finish line proved something to me. I had set out to do something difficult, and I had done it. Even when my time wasn't good, I finished. Even when I hurt, I finished.
Our walk with Christ deserves that same kind of intentionality. Do we know why we're running? Are we actually running—or are we standing on the sidelines watching everyone else? Are we so busy looking at the people in the lanes beside us that we've forgotten where our own finish line is? And most importantly, do we know what prize we're running toward?
Faith isn't a competition with the person beside us. Someone else's pace doesn't diminish our progress. Someone may appear to be farther ahead. Someone may seem stronger. Someone may make something look effortless that requires everything we have.
That's okay.
God didn't give us someone else's race. He gave us ours. Paul wasn't telling us to casually wander through our faith and hope we eventually stumble across the finish line. He said run. Run with purpose. Run knowing what you're pursuing. Run like reaching the finish line matters.
There will be days when the race feels easy and days when every step hurts. There will be people who pass us and seasons when we wonder whether we're making any progress at all.
Keep your eyes on the prize.
Because sometimes winning isn't being the fastest person on the course. Sometimes winning is knowing why you started, refusing to lose sight of where you're going, and crossing the finish line knowing you gave the race everything you had.
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible

traffic

Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.
- Proverbs 19:2 (NLT)
 
Driving in Northwest Arkansas is not for the faint of heart. I have come to the conclusion that if I make it to my destination without cussing somebody out, it was a good drive. Don't judge me. I'm working on it.
There always seems to be someone driving ten miles under the speed limit when I'm in a hurry, someone changing lanes without looking, someone riding my bumper, or someone who apparently believes a turn signal is optional equipment. And don't even get me started on the person who races around you just to end up sitting at the same red light.
But if I'm being fair, sometimes I'm the problem. Sometimes I didn't leave early enough. Sometimes I'm watching the clock. Sometimes I'm annoyed with someone for simply being in front of me because I've decided that where I need to go is more important than whatever they're doing. And all that rushing usually saves me what—two minutes?
Proverbs tells us that haste makes mistakes. That's true behind the wheel, but it's also true in life. We live in a world that constantly tells us to hurry. Hurry to work. Hurry home. Hurry through dinner. Hurry to the next appointment, the next accomplishment, the next season of life. Even when we aren't physically going anywhere, our minds can be racing ahead to whatever comes next. But what are we missing because we're so determined to get there?
Sometimes slowing down isn't about the speedometer. Sometimes it's taking a moment before responding when someone makes us angry. It's praying before making a decision instead of rushing into one. It's giving someone a little grace because we don't know what they're carrying. It's recognizing that being delayed isn't the same thing as being harmed. And maybe it's remembering that God isn't only concerned with where we're going. He's concerned with who we're becoming on the way there.
There will always be another slow driver. Another red light. Another interruption. Another person who doesn't move according to our timetable. We can spend the entire journey frustrated that everyone else is in our way, or we can slow down enough to recognize that the journey is part of where God is working in us.
The goal isn't simply to get there quickly. It's to get there safely, faithfully, and without allowing the journey to turn us into someone we don't particularly like.
And if I can manage that without cussing anyone out? Well...I'd call that a pretty good drive.
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible

continuous

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NIV)
 
And just like that...it's Friday again. Looking back over this week's "Daily Breads", I noticed something I hadn't planned. Not much went according to plan.
We've spent a couple of years looking for a church home we thought would be easier to find.
We spent sixteen exhausting hours moving our kids on one of the hottest days of the year.
A tiny bird landed right in the middle of those moving plans and needed a little help.
Then there were broken coolers and missing coffee ingredients.
None of those things went exactly the way I would have chosen. And yet, it was still a good week.
First Thessalonians tells us to rejoice, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.
Not for all circumstances. In them.
I can be thankful while we're still searching because God is with us in the search. I can be thankful for sore muscles because they mean our kids are closer. I can be thankful for the tiny interruption that reminded me God can see what I can't. And yes, I can apparently even find something to be thankful for when they are out of the coffee.
Maybe I've been measuring good days by the wrong standard. A good day doesn't require everything to go right. A good week doesn't require everything to happen according to plan. And a good life certainly doesn't require the absence of inconvenience, disappointment, or change. It simply requires us to keep looking for God in the middle of it all. And when we do, we may discover there was a lot more good in our week than we realized.
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible
 

without

Do everything without grumbling or arguing.
- Philippians 2:14 (NIV)
 
Can you imagine walking into your favorite coffee shop only to discover they're out of the main ingredient needed to make your drink? It happened to me. Then, the next day, I stopped somewhere to grab lunch for a group of people and discovered an entire section of food was unavailable because the cooler was broken.
Seriously?
Now, neither of these things qualifies as an actual crisis. I survived both incidents. But isn't it funny how quickly a tiny inconvenience can change our attitude?
Philippians tells us to do everything without grumbling or arguing. Everything, Paul? Apparently, that includes coffee shortages and broken coolers.
It's easy to think our faith is demonstrated primarily in the big moments—how we respond to loss, uncertainty, fear, or major changes. But most of our lives aren't made up of big moments. They're made up of traffic lights, long lines, messed-up orders, broken appliances, changed plans...and places that are out of the one thing we stopped there to get.
Maybe those little inconveniences are opportunities to practice something bigger: Patience. Grace. Gratitude. Perspective.
I didn't get what I wanted that day. But I had plenty of other choices. I could be irritated about what wasn't available—or grateful for what was.
And perhaps that's something worth remembering the next time life tells us “Sorry, we're out.”
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible

a little bird

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,     and he will make your paths straight.
- Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
 
Saturday night, sometime around midnight, we pulled into our kids' new neighborhood with another load of their belongings, and right in the middle of their driveway sat the tiniest little finch. She let me walk right up to her without moving. With people unloading trailers and carrying furniture into the garage in the dark, I knew someone could easily step on her. So I picked her up. She was NOT happy about it. She squawked, struggled, and tried to fly away—but she couldn't. I moved her into the bushes near the front door where she'd be out of the path of all those busy feet. She didn't understand that I was trying to protect her, but I could see what she couldn't.
The next day we returned to help unpack, and there she was again, this time sitting on the sidewalk. I started toward her, planning to move her back to safety. But this time, she flew, not very far—but farther than she could the night before.
Proverbs tells us to trust in the Lord rather than leaning on our own understanding. That's difficult when we don't understand why something in our lives is changing.
Sometimes we squawk and struggle because we don't want to be moved from the place where we've gotten comfortable.
But we only see where we're sitting - God sees everything around us.
Maybe the place we desperately want to stay isn't where we need to remain. Maybe the change we're resisting is leading somewhere we can't see yet, and maybe we're not ready to soar today.
That's okay - sometimes faith is trusting the One who can see what we can't—and discovering that today, we can fly just a little farther than yesterday.
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible

moving

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 (NIV)
 
We spent this past weekend helping our youngest son and his family move to a new home in a new city.
And when I say move, I mean MOVE. A moving van. A truck with a trailer. A Bronco with a trailer. Three SUVs. Two trips between two cities and two houses about twelve miles apart. We packed, loaded, hauled, unloaded, and cleaned for sixteen hours—on the hottest day of the year. By the time we finally dropped into bed, every muscle seemed to have an opinion about how we'd spent the day. And the next morning? Time to unpack. But here's the thing: I'd do it all over again. Because those sore muscles came with something pretty wonderful—our kids and grandkids are closer to us now.
Galatians tells us not to become weary in doing good. I usually think about that spiritually: serving, ministering, helping others, doing the things God calls us to do. But maybe it applies to ordinary days, too.
Sometimes doing something good is exhausting. Sometimes love looks like carrying another box when your arms already hurt. Sometimes serving someone means giving up your comfortable Saturday. Sometimes the blessing doesn't make the work easier—it simply makes the work worth it.
We are going to get tired in this life. Maybe the better question is whether we're getting tired doing something that matters. Because some things are simply worth being tired for.
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible

church

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
- Hebrews 10:24–25 (NIV)
 
For the past couple of years, we have been searching for a church home. You would think finding a church would be easy. There are churches everywhere! But finding a place where you feel like you can truly belong? That's been harder than I expected.
We don't want a mega church or one with so many satellite locations that we're never quite sure where the pastor is. We want something small enough to build relationships, but large enough to have different ages, activities, and interests. We want sound teaching, belief in the Trinity, communion, and worship music that speaks to us. We want opportunities to be involved without feeling like we need to be at church every night of the week. Apparently, we have a list.
I don't think there's anything wrong with knowing what we're looking for. Where we worship matters. What a church teaches matters. The people we surround ourselves with matter. But I've also realized something during this search: God can't connect us to a church community if we never stay long enough to become part of one.
Hebrews reminds us not to give up meeting together, but to encourage one another and spur one another toward love and good works.
Maybe sometimes we're so busy looking for the place that checks every box that we forget why we're looking in the first place.
We're looking for a place to worship God. A place to learn, to encourage others and be encouraged. A place to serve and a place to show up.
The perfect church probably doesn't exist. And if it did, the minute all of us imperfect people walked through the door, we'd ruin it anyway. So maybe the question isn't, “Does this church have everything we're looking for?”
Maybe it's simply: “Can we grow closer to God here?”
If the answer is yes, maybe that's enough reason to keep showing up.
 
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Daily Inspiration from the Bible