Old Warrior
I get up before the sun, strap on my armor, belt my weapon to my side, pick up my shield and walk out to muster, standing in ranks, in the predawn light waiting for the days assignment. Knowing full well that I may not see my bunk again.
My heart beats a steady cadence as I hear the rough shout from a raw throat “FALL IN”. There is no fear, no anticipation and no expectations. I have been there a thousand times; my eyes see only flesh and bone, not man. My nose smells only mud, not life’s blood and my ears hear only clatter, not life’s last effort to cling to the body.
I am a warrior and will do what needs to be done.
My mind no longer returns to the thought of seeing my bunk again in the coming night, though it is all I have to call home. I have been too close, too many times to be distracted by such thoughts.
I am God’s warrior and will do what needs to be done.
Though I am in no rush, I know I will receive payment in full once my mortal remains are laid to rest, and I enter the kingdom of God. They day I stand in his presence bow down and kiss his precious feet, I will receive my true inheritance.
Brick Walls
So I am reading a book called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
The book is written on the premise that “many collage professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them” Only Randy’s story has a twist, a big twist. This really was his last lecture, and he knew it.
I am not quite halfway through the book yet, but have picked up a few Gems already, and I wanted to share one with you today.
Brick walls – Yup that’s it, that’s my revelation, how do you like it?
Just kidding.
Metaphorical brick walls are what Randy talks about in his book, and how they are often placed in our life as a way to determine how strong our desire is to reach the end goal. The first question I have on this is how am I willing to get past this wall? If my answer is yes, then how will I get past it?
- Scale the wall
- find the end of the wall and walk around it
- Put your head down and smash right through it
Here’s the catch, a few chapters later, it’s almost as if he took a like right out of my life, the biggest brick wall in my life, and Randy’s is one that neither one of us wish to get past. Now I am sure I won’t say this right, and will hear about it later tonight, but my lovely wife is the biggest challenge I have ever faced in my life, for the simple fact that we are two different people from very different backgrounds with very different prospective on life. Thankfully God has placed in our hearts a end goal in our life. She is the biggest challenge in my life because she is a challenge that I don’t want to get past. I don’t want to scale the wall, I don’t want to find the end of her and I definitely don’t want to put my head down and smash right through.
Now I am quite sure I am a brick wall in her live also, more then likely double thick and with extra mortar on each layer, but here is my twist, some walls are to beautiful to destroy, some are to beautiful to change so the real challenge is to find a way to solidly join the two walls together in a way that does not take away from either one, but form a new, stronger, and more beautiful structure.
I also thank God that in my beautiful wife God created a something strong enough to stand up to me. I love you Dear.
God spoke to me through a dime on the sidewalk this morning…
So this morning I found myself walking out of my home away from home, which I lovingly refer to as fourbucks, and I see this dime laying on the sidewalk. I think to myself there’s a dime laying on the sidewalk, I should pick it up, I mean it’s money right, free money. Then I start thinking of reasons not to pick it up, it’s dirty, it’s only a dime, blah blah blah. So I walked on by this little shiny silver dime thinking my final thought on the subject was that I would leave it to bless someone else. That’s when God stepped in and a very specific thought into my mind. “Who are you to pick and choose which blessings you will receive”? By the time the subsequent mental debate had subsided I found myself getting back out of the car and going in search of the dime. Funny thing is at first I was unable to find it and I had the thought God had lifted this blessing and almost started to feel a little panicked but then found this silly dime again. I imagine God was laughing a little bit saying lesson learned.
Praying Like a Lion
There are those who pray, and then there are those who PRAY. I am blessed by knowing people who PRAY. I heard someone say that my good friend Gala roars like a Lion, and just a few hours later I prayed with her. Now she didn’t actually roar like a lion, but I believe if she did you would feel the hairs on the back of your neck standup, she does have a point where her passion comes to the surface and her prayer seems to come more from the heart then the mouth, or more from the spirit then the mind. There is most definitely a roar in the spiritual when she comes to that point.
I am blessed my friend Gala’s prayer
There are so many people in my life that inspire me in many ways. Boldness, Understanding, freedom, willingness, unrelenting, these are things I desire more of in my prayer life. Gala is just one of many, but she is on the font of my mind since Sunday. So Gala may God bless you today, and thank you for allowing God to bless me through you.
To petition before the Lord
I claim to be a prayer warrior, I claim to stand on the wall through the night and protect and contend for the innocent, I even claim to be faithful. Yet when the time came and I was supposed to stand at my appointed place and cover those truly in need on prayer where was I. No where to be found… I was so involved in the earthly that I completely bypassed my what I was called to do. I forgot, I let it go, I failed.
I am human, and I ask For the Lords forgiveness in this but I also commit to redouble my efforts in covering those involved with Vote yes in prayer.
Please know, that if you are a part of that team the word I have for you this week is to take up your shield of faith. The enemy will no doubt be flinging darts in your direction, but have no fear, stand tall and do not flinch because once you take up that shield the darts will fall to the ground dead and harmless. Do not neglect the rest of the full armor, but know that the shield of faith if vital this week.
God Bless
