FAITH = The Ultimate Adventure

FAITH - So, it is true for me that my Faith with a capital "F" is my ultimate adventure. Trusting God in all I do, in all my actions and in all my desires and intentions, is the ultimate "I have no idea where I am going, but I will keep going!" There is a famous recovery prayer that I carry in my wallet and I refer to it when my faith is tested especially hard.

Dear God,

I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe this: I believe that the desire to be sober us your will for me. I hope that I practice that desire in everything I do. I hope that I never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it at the time.

Therefore, I will trust you always; for though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid because I know you will never leave me to face my troubles all alone."

All I can attest to is that I have never been left alone. Faith - I dedicate each month to a spiritual concept, Jan-Honesty, Feb-Hope, Mar-Faith. March is the month of faith. I have faith because I took a leap into the great unknown and I survived. I have faith because my right prayers were answered and my wrong prayers were not. I have a heart bursting with love and a body made strong by challenges. I have everything I need today; I have enough to spare and to give away.

Don't Be Like Akiba - Be Yourself!!

This is a story I learned, I wish I knew from where. Today is the first day of Passover, soo...When Akiba, who was on his deathbed, worried aloud to his rabbi that he was a failure. His rabbi moved closer and asked why; Akiba confessed that he had not lived a life like Moses. The poor man began to cry, admitting he feared God's judgment. At this, his rabbi leaned into his ear and whispered gently, "God, will not judge Akiba for not being Moses. God will judge Akiba for not being Akiba." Today, I am trying to be authentically myself. I am trying to be the best I can be. To Thine Own Self Be True!

Trust Him

I have had to face a lot of terrible things in my life - most of the worse were simple truths about myself. Honesty, Hope, Faith...I was told when I got sober that God (or that Power greater than me) asked only ONE thing, just one thing of me...Trust Him. I decided I could do that ONE thing. So far, I have never been let down. So far, I have not been given more than I can carry with help. If I didn't need His HELP (His Ever Loving Presence) I would not need Him. So I trust...

THE REAL ADVENTURE

The Real Adventure is the Adventure of Abandon..."Abandon yourself to God as you understand Him." This is the greatest adventure ever - to live on pure faith. A friend of mine from Kenya sent me this message today and I love it: Did you know that God can use a single moment to transform your life for the better?God is always working, even when we have no idea what He's doing. He loves to bless us with His amazing, awe-inspiring goodness, even when we least expect it or when things don't seem to be going the right way.Romans 8:28 is a popular verse but never gets old. To me, it's one of the most encouraging verses in the entire Bible. "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (NLT).I love the word "everything" in this verse. We tend to think of bad things and difficult seasons, but "everything" includes more. It includes the good things as well as the things that we are indifferent about. God takes all of those things and works them out for our good.He wants you to be the kind of person who thinks about His promises all the time, who believes the best, and who keeps hoping when others just give up. If you live this way, I believe you'll be amazed at how God works in your life. You'll experience His favor in what I call a "God-ordained moment."A God-ordained moment is an incredible, supernatural event that God's been setting up, working behind the scenes so that you can experience His goodness at just the right time.These God-ordained moments don't come on our schedule, but when they come, all we can say is: "Wow!" I want to remind you not to allow discouragement, a busy schedule or the hurts from your past to cause you to miss what God is doing in your life. Most importantly, don't give up on being blown away by God's favor.Because of how big our God is and how much He loves us, I believe that we can experience "Wow" moments on a continual basis, as long as we continue to love Him and obey His Word. C.

This May Not Be the Party...

I am not sure where I heard this phrase, but I love it: "This may not be the party that we hoped to be invited to, but, as long as we are here, we might as well dance." In other words, make the best of wherever you are! I have had to use this idea endlessly and it has a lot more meaning than just "acceptance" or "get used to it". To me, it inspires me to reach for the best in myself under all circumstances. Also, if it is true that there are no accidents, that everything is always the way it is supposed to be, that God makes no mistakes, then I may not like a situation, but my knowledge is limited and flawed. If I do not give my best in circumstances that I deem unworthy, I am cheating myself and others because I DO NOT KNOW BETTER. God has me best when I give it my all and let Him control the outcomes!

Many Rivers to Cross

How often have I thought "As soon as I get through this I will be ok, home free!" I keep forgetting that I have many rivers to cross. I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray that by crossing this bridgeI may receive the spiritual power I need. Given that life is often a series of challenges, or bridges to cross, it is so much healthier for me to view a bridge as an exciting and new adventure...a new challenge to embrace. I am better off thinking of each test or challenge as an opportunity to build spiritual muscle, to learn to live better, wiser and more gratefully!

THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING. Today, I participated in the Climb Tampa 2010 Fight for Air. It was a race to the top of the Bank of America Building - 42 Floors in 8 min, 45 sec. It was the perfect metaphor for life...no growth happens on top...it gets harder the higher you go...the view is much better the higher you go...You can go down very quickly, but it takes a lot of effort to get back up. If you get tired, you can always stop and rest, but ultimately we go up or down. No standing still. In the end, no matter what the result, the effort alone was always worth it.

THE SUN ALWAYS RISES AGAIN. SPRING ALWAYS COMES AND LIFE IS ALWAYS RENEWED. THESE ARE UNIVERSAL TRUTHS.