Let Us Run with Perseverance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. — Hebrews 12:1

Last night we watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

It brought back memories of our wonderful time in Paris two years ago.

And the crowd of spectators gathered there now for the games.

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, too.

But our crowd consists of the saints who've gone before us.

My mom, Kirk's mom, Polly Whigham, Mildred & Blain Marksbury, Burt Smith, Penny, Paul Pulliam, Gabe Saliba, and so many more.

Our lives have been blessed by each of them.

And we pray that our lives, too, will be a blessing to many.

Add to Your Faith Goodness

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. — 2 Peter 1:5-6 

Since God is love, whoever abides in love abides in God and God in him.

For this reason, God asks us to make an effort to not only have faith, but also goodness.

And knowledge. Then add self-control.

Next pile on perseverence.

And add godliness.

Then mutual affection.

And finally love.

If I possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep me from being unproductive and inneffective in getting to know Jesus personally.

The Testing of Your Faith Produces Perseverence

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. — James 1:2-3 

We should count it all joy when we face trials.

That's not always easy to do.

God only gives us what we can handle.

Whenever we face trials of many kinds, we should consider it joy.

When we're tossed about like waves in the ocean,

We should feel the calm underpinning of God.

Because we know the testing of our faith provudces perseverance.

And perseverance must finish its work so that we can be mature.

And complete in Christ.

We Also Glory in Our Sufferings

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. — Romans 5:3-4 

In a few weeks, our pastor will be preaching on a very similar verse, Philippians 1:27-30.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

This passage is titled, Life Worthy of the Gospel.

Of course, none of us are worthy.

It's only by God's grace that we are saved. And that by God.

Paul tells us to glory in our sufferings, as he did.

We struggle, and through our struggles, God gives us perseverance and ultimately, hope.

The Joy of the Lord

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. — James 1:2-3

We've had a fun time with our summer interns at work over the past few months.

They worked hard and added new energy to our marketing team.

One of them celebrated her last day with us today.

She posted a wonderful note of thanks to our team on her LinkedIn.

And she very thoughtfully sent each of us separate notes of thanks.

We are sorry to see her go.

But we're excited for her senior year at San Diego State University.

Go Aztecs!

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. — Hebrews 12:1 

This past week we've lost many parents of friends and relatives.

Today Kirk's cousin Cindy lost her mom.

It was a blessing that she's now with her husband but still hard, especially to lose your mother.

Kirk stopped by to visit them in 2021 on his way to Ohio.

And we are so thankful to God for that time together.

Within the year Uncle Bob had passed away.

Over the next year, Aunt Doris began her decline.

This has been a week of loss and a year of friends losing their parents.

We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.

It is encouraging to know that we're not alone on our journey.

They encourage us to run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Thank You, Lord.

Add to Your Faith Goodness

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  — 2 Peter 1:5-8

Today is the Ides of March!

And Friday is St. Patrick's Day.

And our friend Laurie's birthday.

May the luck 'o the Irish be with ye!

And the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here's a view of the Del Mar beach in March of 2019.

We're so thankful to God for His amazing creation.

Let Us Run With Perseverance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. — Hebrews 12:1

La Jolla Shores Beach

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

Over the past few weeks, even more saints have gone to be with Jesus.

Sharon's dad, Gale.

Sue's mom.

Ron's mom.

And many more.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us.

And let us throw off the sin that so easily entangles us.

Let us run the race before us with perseverance. 

Consider It Pure Joy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. — James 1:2-3

Monday, Abby and I went to the zoo.

The animals were up and about, so it was really fun!

Here's the view from our Skyfari ride.

It was a beautiful day.

And we got there early so we had really up-close views everywhere we went.

Five hours later, we were on the way home.

Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Because the testing of our faith develops perseverance.

Which is a gift from God.

Add to Your Faith Goodness

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness. — 2 Peter 1:5-6

God gives us situations where we need to have self-control.

And at times it seems impossible without His guidance.

He gives us situations where we need to persevere.

And at times we can't keep going on our own.

Last week I prayed with and for a coworker who was struggling in many ways.

She was broken downhearted, and defeated.

I asked God to wrap a hedge of protection and love around her.

And this morning that prayer was answered, and she was surrounded by support and love.

When she shared with me this turn of events, I mentioned that it was a complete answer to the prayer I had prayed over her last week.

Our God is an awesome God.

He loves and cares for us.

He is adding daily to my faith.

And God is teaching me self-control, perseverance, and even godliness.

Thank You, Lord!

May the Lord Direct Your Hearts

 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. — 2 Thessalonians 3:5

God wants to direct our hearts.

I have a hard time letting Him have control of my heart.

Kirk is planning to travel with Ernie back to Akron, Ohio to help him move.

They will have a fun road trip through Nebraska and Iowa on the way.

Kirk will get to see his Uncle Bob, Aunt Doris, and cousin Cindy.

This is Cindy's previous dog, Olive.

Ernie will get to see a bit of Spencer, Iowa.

Sounds like a really fun trip!

When Kirk checked to see which restaurants would be open for dinner in Dayton on Sunday, he discovered that of the top 10, none are open on Sundays.

Reminds me of my time living in Lousiana with blue laws.

I suggested they leave a day earlier so they can try one of the top 10 restaurants on Saturday,  instead.

Whatever they decide, they will have a great time.

God is good.

Perseverence and Encouragement

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus. — Romans 15:5

God gives us perseverance to continue when we can't go any further.

He give us encouragement when we don't think we're up to the task.

He knows our thoughts.

The Lord can help us to be of the same mind with one another.

Through Christ Jesus, anything is possible.

For Our Instruction

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. — Romans 15:4

All things written in God's Word are for our edification.

They are written for our instruction.

God's Word is living and active.

Each time I read it He has something new to show me.

At the moment I'm reading the wisdom of Proverbs. 

Through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we have hope.

Today we discovered that Kirk's classmate and former neighbor Scott died in March.

He named one of his sons Kirk, after his good friend, my husband.

Scott served as a Master Sergeant in the Air Force, and lived in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

He was a firefighter and taught fire science.

We saw him at his 40th high school reunion a few years ago and had a chance to reconnect.

They will hold a memorial service for him at Fort Rosecrans sometime in the future.

We hope to be able to attend.  

Our hears go out to Scott's family in their loss.

Your Labor of Love

Constantly keeping in mind your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, His choice of you. — 1 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Yesterday our friend Bogar gave a wonderful sermon about loving others.

Even those who are our enemies.

That's not something we can do on our own.

It takes God's love working through us.

And His Holy Spirit loving those who are unlovable to us.

It starts with me being able to pray for my enemies, even when I disagree or they make me mad.

I came home from church to this beautiful bouquet from my daughter.

She has a gift for flower arranging.

And I am a blessed mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Memorial Day Celebration

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. — Hebrews 12:1

Monday we celebrated Memorial Day with friends and family.

Peggy made this delicious and beautiful flag poke cake, Kirk barbecued steak, Kelly brought potato salad, and Marion made a wonderful green salad and chocolate cake.

We had quite a feast!

And we prayed for those who have given their lives for our country, remembering them on this Memorial Day. Praising God for His goodness.

Running with Perseverance

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. — Hebrews 12:1-3

Today I did not take any nausea meds, for the first time since my chemo began on Friday. I made sure to eat small meals or snacks throughout the day but did not feel any stomach upset. Hopefully that will be a trend. We'll see.

Our sweet neighbor Leslie brought us a healthy chocolate brownie dessert, which tasted really good with vanilla ice cream.

I'm enjoying having and appetite and taste buds, especially since I know both will be going away over the next week or two. 

The good news is that both will also come back again in about five months when my chemo is over.

I will speaking at our women's retreat this weekend, talking about our beautiful feet and how God equips us for the journey so we can tackle the mountains and valleys that come our way.

This is one of the photos I chose to convey the image of mountains before us.

Running the race with perseverance!