exercise

1 Comment Posted on Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Springtime reflections

I went on a 5 mile walk today with my friend. It was awesome! 

Springtime pushes me out of the house and into the sunshine. Plus, it’s time for me to get back into an exercise routine…it’s been too long. 

I looked around as we walked the trail and saw some interesting things:

1. Beautiful trees growing in all sorts of directions. 

2. A butterfly bush and several butterflies. (I even tried to catch one but it didn’t happen.)

3. A man playing bongos on a park bench. 

4. The fact that this beautiful walking trail ran parallel to the road and highway entrance. It just struck me as odd for some reason. 

The weather is beautiful and the sunshine’s appearance makes this Easter weekend perfect. 

Today I can’t help but think of the disciples and how they were so sad because Jesus was gone–or so they thought! 

It’s easy for us to pick on them for their unbelief, but that’s unfair. 

How many times do we fail?

And, we have the whole Bible and the disciples did not. 

They remembered after the fact all that Jesus had told them about His death, burial, and resurrection. 

I’ve forgotten stuff the Lord has told me and the Holy Spirit has to remind me. 

All of these thoughts have me excited about Sunday…

Even when I mess up and forget, Jesus never does. He always does what He says. 

Nothing has changed from that first Easter weekend to now because Jesus is the most stable, most steady guy I know. 

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Want to vs. Need to

Putting off tasks that are not fun will not make them more fun later.

No one likes to pay bills.

To budget.

To exercise.

Some things need to be done–whether you enjoy them or not.

When I first started exercising, I hated it.

I hated when the alarm clock went off.

I hated leaving my warm house on cold winter mornings.

But I still did it.

After a while, once I saw the results, I began to enjoy it more and more.

We need to quit making people feel guilty when they don’t enjoy something at first.

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 21:28-32. Let me paraphrase it for you:

A father asks two sons to go work in the yard. One son says, “Are you kidding me? I won’t do it!” Later on, he feels bad and decides to go. The other son said, “Sure, Dad! I’ll be glad to help!” and then didn’t show up to work. Jesus said the first son was obedient.

Jesus was looking at their hearts and he saw what was really going on. He was telling this story to religious leaders (it was really about them). He was talking about their refusal to accept Him as the Messiah.

We need to realize, though, that this story can be applied to more than just “spiritual” things like missions and evangelism.

The principles in the Bible apply to all areas of our lives–spirit, soul, and body.

Keep this text in mind next time you’re struggling to want to do something.

Maybe you should just do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Your heart and attitude will catch up with your decision.

Remember: Words mean nothing without action behind them.