Victorious limp

My world has been rocked lately by Brennan Manning's book RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL... This is some of the excerpt I read today and I just had to copy the best parts. 

The biblical image of the victorious life reads more like the victorious limp. Jesus was victorious not because He never flinched, talked back, or questions, but having flinched talked back, and questioned, He remained faithful…. Our whole understanding of God is based in a quid pro quo of bartered love. He will love us if we are good, moral, and diligent. But we have turned the tables so that he will love us, rather than living because he has already loved us. (175-177)

Faithfulness requires the courage to risk everything on Jesus, the willingness to keep growing, and the readiness to risk failure throughout our lives… Risking everything on Jesus: the ragamuffins gospel says we can’t lose, because we have nothing to lose. Faithfulness to Jesus implies that with all our sins, scars, and insecurities, we satnd with Him; that we are formed and informed by His Word… The willingness to keep growing: Unfaithfulness is a refusal to become, a rejection or grace (grace that is inactive is an illusion), and the refusal to be oneself… The readiness to risk failure: Many of us are haunted by our failure to have done with our lives what we longed to accomplish. This disparity between our ideal self and our real self, the grim specter of past infidelities, the awareness that I am not living what I believe, the relentless pressure of conformity, and the nostalgia for lost innocence reinforces a nagging sense of existential guilt: I have failed. This is the cross we never expected, and the one we find hardest to bear. (185-186)

The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the law and never finds out who he is at all. Winston Churchill said “success is never final; failure is never fatal. It is the courage that counts.” (187)

Letter to my team(4/6):

One pitch at a time, one inning at a time, live in the moment to rise up and dig deep within yourself to find that desire, that drive to be the best you can be. Achieving greatness isn't succeeding every time, but it is giving it everything you have, the best that you have, and waking away knowing you gave it your all. If you go out and do what you know you can do, you will end up on top. God has gifted each one of you with certain talents and strengths. Live up to your potential. Let your talents play for the glory of God. Let your strengths shine as you come together as one team, as one unit, as one family. Where you are weak, another is strong, that is why you need each one of your teammates. Edify and build up one another, encouraging each player to achieve their own possible greatness. And with great power and confidence rest in the fact that God is your ultimate source of strength. With him, everything is possible.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but

 who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion,, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the e

nd the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt

It's our house, our game... Their blood their pain.." Have courage today. Dare greatly. Strive valiantly. Focus on your wins, not failures. Take every loss as an opportunity to learn. Rather than win loss it is win learn. Change your perspective so every setback is just a stepping stone to you getting better. If you don't get a hit, take that chance to learn, grow, step up. WINLEARN! not winlose. When you are giving your best, that is what is asked of you. So we are either succeeding or becoming

 aware of ways we can get better. Therefore, we never fail. There's only room for rising up in each moment. Give it your best, give it your all. Believe in yourse

lf and believe in eachother. I believe in you.

choosing

Every day is a choice... A choice to live for a purpose, live for something you created. We were created to life life to the fullest, to experience greatness in who we can be. Not success, but significance. Significance is who you are, not what you do. Choosing the other option, you choose to go through the motions of life, the complacency and lack of effort.  But we must desire to choose the straight and narrow. There is one way... choose wisely. 

Dreams

Your whole life you are told to dream big... follow your dreams... never give up on your dreams... keep on dreaming...

But what do you do if those dreams seem to be gone, to be done..  You dreamed one thing your whole life, and now its over...  the bliss and energy of that moment are just a memory, you can't go back... but you can't seem to exactly go forward.  Where do you go from there?  You try to keep on dreaming but it just is not the same...  Everyday living that dream gets farther and farther away.  You try to keep on going but no longer do you know what you are looking forward to.  The last chapter is over, but how does the next one begin?

I guess I know to keep pressing on until I find my way.  The straight and narrow is there, its just not as easy to follow so I have to be ready for an adventure.

Vision

So we are supposed to find this place in between present and future where we can live in the present but still holding onto our broad vision and dream of the future.  How can we do this?  

Tony Dungy once said "The first step toward creating an improved future is developing the ability to envision it.  VISION will ignite the fire of passion that fuels our commitment to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to achieve excellence.  Only VISION allows us to transform dreams of greatness into the reality of achievement through human action.  VISION has no boundaries and knows no limits.  Our VISION is what we become in life."

Am I dreaming this big?  Or am I settling with complacency and mediocrity.  Greatness takes surrendering my life to the passion and fuel that drives me.  Excellence is not measured by this world, but by my greater purpose in which I live for.  God calls the ordinary to do the extraordinary.  I can never doubt his power in me but live knowing that his will surpasses all understanding.   He knows the way.  He knows my dreams.  I just have to commit and keep dreaming the vision.

blessings

Just wanted to say... God is good.  He has us right where he wants us if we continue to seek him.  I am striving to see Christ in the little things.  To see his overflowing blessings that are all around me. One moment at a time.   Just  like your rainbow  at the end of the flood.  The sun will always shine after the storm.  There is hope.  There is a promise.  There is purpose.   

What do I really see?

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...  Do I truly believe this?  Is my faith a moment to moment reality in my life?  Or is it conditional?  So often I say I believe... but does every part of my being really believe this?  Would my faith surpass all understanding that I press into God more and more?  I think I constantly find myself asking why? How? What? which are examples of my doubt...  How can we get to a place where our faith becomes a reality?  where our eyes do not search for material things but we see treasures in heaven through the eyes of Christ. 

I know that too often I jump to conclusions or become impatient when all God is asking me to do is wait.  Wait upon the Lord, for he knows whats best...  Wait but I know whats best for me right??  That is what the little voice in my head tries to tell me...  But I need to search for truth.  Surrender my desires to the will of God and take steps day by day to follow him.  Reading my Bible Study today I was so stoked about what God can do in us and through us.  I want so much to be used by Him, but I have so much to learn... 

Waiting: Waiting redefines our desires and aligns our purpose with his (Hebrews 11:1) (2 Cor. 4:18)

Faith: spiritual sight. Reality in the power of God, plans, purpose, his voice, and his promises (Hebrews 11:3)

Prayer: prayer impacts the invisble and expresses our faith which is in harmony with truth (James 1:2-4)

Perseverance: ability to go the distance. The refiners fire our proves our faith (1 Peter 1:7)

"Pray as though everything depended on God.  Work as though everything depended on you." 

-Saint Augustine