Do You Try? Just Try.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I Corinthians 9:24-27

 TRIathlons.  Swim.  Bike.  Run.  All three require endurance and perseverance in order to win the prize. 

Training is imperative for one to be successful in a TRIathon.  If I am not willing to put the time and effort into training, I will NOT see the results I am capable of achieving.  My body will remain the same.

In comparison to training for a triathlon, I must also train and put forth the time and effort into receiving a personal relationship with Jesus.   If I do not put the time and effort into training my heart to truly know Jesus, I will never grow spiritually.  My heart will remain the same. 

Try. Try. Try. I declare to never be idle or indifferent, and never allow my life to pass me by because of my fears.  I will always TRY to put God first. I will TRY to take care of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I need physical and spiritual endurance to finish the race in all aspects of my life. In ALL that I do, it is my desire to help others reach their goal.  The goal being to reach and accept the prize, which is the crown of salvation and our blessed assurance to meet our Coach "face to face" one day.   

I continuously look up to my Abba for guidance, because I trust His plan for my life.  I know He had my life planned out before earth even began.  The Word says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10.  God had my training schedule and workout plan already in place.

Training for a triathlon is a healthy reshaping of my body, however, most of the time it hurts.  Most of the time it is painful. My physical endurance will increase with working out, while my spiritual endurance will increase when I allow Jesus to remold me, even as painful as it may be at first.

 I would rather endure the pain of discipline rather than the pain of regret.

I may not fathom everything I have gone through when training here on earth, but I am confident He allows me to go through trials and tribulations to increase my endurance, perseverance, and hope in order to help others do the same.


I am in awe of how Jesus loves me just as I am, but even more, because He doesn't allow me to stay just as I am. He pushes me to live a life woven with integrity. Living a life with integrity is challenging when satan loves to attack me or play pretty little tricks on me. And many times I fall for satan's lies.

However, the Word says, "Therefore submit yourself to God. Resist the devil and he will FLEE from you." (James 4:7)  The more I submit to God, the more satan has to leave me alone. Falling for satan's lies then become less and less frequent when I fall more in love with Jesus. Falling in love with Jesus is the best thing I have ever Tried.


Until I meet Jesus, I will forever TRY to demonstrate by gratitude and become more like Christ. I will worship Him. Praise Him. Love Him. Trust Him. Study His Love.  I look forward to making Him proud and receiving a congratulatory high-five and a hug when my time here is done.



Application:
What hinders your from trying to have a personal relationship with Jesus?
What is ONE goal you can make for the next 30 days?

Memorize Power Verse:
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.~Galatians 6:9

Kayleigh is saved.

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Psalm 25

<3 me, Krystal Leigh

Your Great Name, Jesus.

My Abba. My Bridegroom. My Comforter. My Counselor. My Deliverer. My Faithful Truth. My Guide. My Hope. My Leader. My Advocate. My Living Water. My Love. My Mediator. My Prince of Peace. My Refiner's Fire. My Teacher. My Source. My True Light. My Author of my Life. My Bread of Life. My Bright Morning Star.

My Advocate.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the rightous. 1 John 2:1.

Mighty Malachi's Message

Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend.~Corey Ford

I have been wanting to find a place to volunteer Malachi as a therapy dog. This has been laid upon my heart for many months. We plan on going to our training later this month. I have decided to go through Delta Society. I am excited to find, yet another way to witness how Christ is living in me by dedicating my time, not only to an animal, but allowing Malachi to bring comfort to people who are hurting.

We adopted "Elmo", now Malachi, as a puppy from Doberman Rescue of North Texas in September 2009. I appreciated the process of the program choosing me, rather than me choosing Malachi. They required an application and Sunday visits to ensure that we were the best match for Malachi.

Malachi, being a Doberman, sometimes receives a bad reputation. Watch the media and children's movies. Which dog is on the bad side usually? Which was ironic to see in "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", because we also have a Chihuahua,Smarshmellow, that runs the house.

Being the parent of a small child and owning a small dog, it was important to find the right Doberman with the right personality.

Malachi is a gentle dog that only wants to cuddle with everyone. Even his little big Chihuahua sister. He is an intelligent and obedient dog that catches on to new tricks all of the time. His recall is phenomenal and we never have to worry about him leaving our side. He does have a watchful eye, as he protects his family, but he is loving to all.

I am blessed to call Mallie mine.

Click on the following links for helpful resources

Doberman Rescue of North Texas

Delta Society

Doberman Information

Real Talk

My students were in awe when I used the term "real talk", which was a time when I was wanting to really get down to the truth of a matter. Real talk. This is the talk where respect is maintained, but nothing is sugar coated or danced around. It is real.

And this is how I talk to to God. Sometimes there is nothing beautiful about what I say. Sometimes I beg. Sometimes I am angry. Sometimes I yell. Sometimes I cry.

But it is in my brokenness, that God still knows my heart.

When I am broken, I will cry out to God, and in all of my imperfections, I will still give Him the glory.

No matter what happens to me, I will cry out "Hallelujah!!"

Daring To Dream Motivates Me To Move

I teach Leadership. And one of the concepts I teach my students is about gifts and talents. God gives each and every one of us different gifts. In order to pursue a dream, one must have the gift to do so in the first place.


It is a scary to think about the dream, I feel, God has placed inside of my heart and utilize my gift to "arise and be all that I dreamed." I feel God is leading me to sing in the church. I feel through my gift that God has given me, God will be able to move people towards Him. And I feel this is true for everyone. Everyone has different gifts.

Being that I am fearful of singing in front of a crowd, I cannot fathom God wanting me to sing in front a big group of people. So, being that I cannot fathom this, or understand it, I try to reason with God.


How in the world will I do such a thing? And who is to say I'm really THAT good or inspirational? Is this God speaking or is this all inside of my head? And seriously. Seriously? Seriously! However...



My faith IS growing. And people can SEE my growth. But I still question things I don't understand or know.



I DO know, everything has led me to this point. Everything had to happen this way so I could be led right here and right to this moment.




It is in the moments when I am on my 1 1/2 drive into work, that I sometimes hear the song "Arise" by Flyleaf. It truely motivates me to move from my comfortable expectations to higher expectations that will glorify God.








This song not only inspires us to be all that we dreamed, but to leave behind all of our fears and allow Christ to eliminate the demons in our heads. Eliminating the demons and fears will allow us to boldly follow Christ and become all that we have dreamed.




The "pages in the Book" could be the Bibical account of a man, who was possessed by demons, crosses paths with Jesus. As Jesus is about to cast the demons out of the man, the demons beg Jesus to cast them into the swine they see nearby. Even the demons acknowledge the power of God and beg for his mercy. The swine, then filled with the demon spirits, run into the water and drown. Instead of the people being gracious that the demons had been cast away from this man, they were angry because of losing a herd of swine, which was thier income.




Even after we are rescued, we still want what was left behind. We battle between our old and new self. Am I ready to let go of materialistic or earthly things to follow Christ? To follow HIS dream and plan for my life? Or will I allow the battles and the demons behind the battles to defeat me?




The battles can make us weary. And we want to hear songs about the end of the world because it is only then, the "hammer and needles for You" will end. The suffering will end. We believe, and "there is hope left in us yet" that Christ WILL return again. And it is this HOPE that allows us to endure the suffering. So as a Believer, it is my obligation to "arise and be all that I dreamed", because it is through me and my gifts that God will tell people, "Stand in the sun, we'll dry your eyes. Hold on to the world we are fighting for, there is hope left in us yet. Arise and be all that you dreamed."

I can only be all that I am supposed to be by allowing God to save me from myself. We have to let go of our demons and fears. Let them go. Let them rest in swine. If we don't allow God to rescue us, we will miss oppurtunities to utilize our inner gifts.


This will take Time. This will take courage. Strength. Faith. It is scary to leave behind what we know to be comfortable expectations for ourselves.


This also reminds me of the Biblical account of the man lying on his mat because he was paralyzed. It is frightning to think if he hadn't risen to walk when Jesus told him to, he would have never known what he was capable of doing for Christ.



Change is scary. But NOT changing is paralyzing.


So I arise. I am becoming all that I dreamed.

Reference:

Luke 8:33~Then the demons came out of the man and into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.




Mark 5:11-14




Matthew 8:28-32




Mark 3:11

BE a lighthouse by shining the radiance of God FOR the ocean of LOST SOULS.

Kayleigh is an avid Kasey Kahne fan!He is the one that saves ... on Twitpic

Kayleigh is an avid Kasey Kahne fan! He is the one that saves ... on Twitpic

Be Still

As much as I love to analyze stories and songs, sometimes my mind OVER analyzes situations. I sometimes make things more difficult than they have to be. I listen to these lyrics as if it is what God would say to me when I am in the midst of chaos and on the brink of giving up.