{"id":7288,"date":"2015-05-27T06:30:40","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T10:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/?p=7288"},"modified":"2015-06-21T22:40:52","modified_gmt":"2015-06-22T02:40:52","slug":"weekly-wisdom-the-race-of-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/2015\/05\/27\/weekly-wisdom-the-race-of-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Wisdom: The Race of Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/raceofyourlife1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7292 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/raceofyourlife1-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"God's Word, Scripture, faith, truth, wisdom, Hebrews 12\" width=\"560\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/raceofyourlife1-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/raceofyourlife1-200x134.jpg 200w, https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/raceofyourlife1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I confess, I have been out of focus lately, feeling a little out of sync, as if I\u2019ve lost my sense of direction. I feel like a ship that has lost sight of the lighthouse and is being tossed around by the waves, slowly drifting away from its intended path. Ever since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bsfinternational.org\" target=\"_blank\">BSF<\/a> ended in the beginning of this month, I have not been consistent with meditating on or\u00a0digging deep into Scripture, and I feel the difference. Knowing how amazing it can be when I dwell in God\u2019s Word, being able to discern His urgings more\u00a0clearly, and experience Him working within and around me, there\u2019s really no other place I\u2019d rather be and all I want is to get back in God\u2019s path. Just like Moses and the Israelites, I want to follow His cloud by day and His pillar of fire by night, and have a sense of direction as I live out my God-given purpose in this life.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Desperately needing\u00a0to find a daily devotional that I can go to consistently, I turned to <a href=\"http:\/\/shereadstruth.com\" target=\"_blank\">She Reads Truth<\/a> as I often do and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they\u2019re currently offering a study on hymns. They\u2019re taking a break from their typical Bible-reading plans and focusing on favorite old\u00a0hymns\u00a0and the Scriptures that inspired them. I highly recommend that you stop by to see what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n<p>I was excited to see on their list one of the hymns we chose to sing in our wedding ceremony, <em>Be Thou My Vision<\/em>, a favorite of mine and my husband\u2019s. The words spoke to how we wanted to live our life journey together. Please allow me to share the words to this beautiful hymn with you:<\/p>\n<p>Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;<br \/>\nNaught be all else to me, save that Thou art;<br \/>\nThou my best thought, by day or by night;<br \/>\nWaking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.<\/p>\n<p>Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;<br \/>\nI ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;<br \/>\nThou my great Father and I, Thy true son;<br \/>\nThou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.<\/p>\n<p>Riches I heed not, nor man\u2019s empty praise;<br \/>\nThou mine inheritance, now and always;<br \/>\nThou and Thou only, first in my heart;<br \/>\nO King of glory, my treasure Thou art.<\/p>\n<p>O King of glory, my victory won;<br \/>\nRule and reign in me \u2019til Thy will be done;<br \/>\nHeart of my own heart, whatever befall;<br \/>\nStill be my vision, O Ruler of all.<\/p>\n<p>Ah, these words just play with the strings\u00a0of my heart, \u201cBe Thou My Vision, O Lord of my heart\u2026Thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, thy presence my light\u2026Thou and thou only, first in my heart\u2026Rule and reign in me \u2018til Thy will be done\u2026Heart of my own heart, whatever befall; still be my vision, O Ruler of all.\u201d This is how I want to live my life! God as my vision, my purpose for living, my end goal, the prize for which I\u2019m running this race called life.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Our job is to follow God\u2019s lead, right behind the cloud and fire, <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">not getting ahead and forging our own way <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">nor falling behind and losing our way.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>I remember back when we were first married, I had a vision of how our life would be like. Regardless of my husband\u2019s desires, I imagined us somewhere in Central Asia or South America, serving God thru long-term missions. It might have been a noble and Christian-like vision but the problem was that it was my vision, not God\u2019s. Who knows? Long-term missions might still be in God&#8217;s plans for us but only God can show us where we need to be and when we need to go there. Our job is to follow God\u2019s lead, right behind the cloud and fire, not getting ahead and forging our own way nor falling behind and losing our way.<\/p>\n<p>This brings me back full circle to the main point of this post. I have been feeling unfocused because I have\u00a0not been focusing on God and His Word. Only when we are in close relationship with God thru Scripture can we discern the path we need to take. <strong>Psalm 119:105<\/strong> says, \u201cYour word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.\u201d His Word is also nourishment to our soul as it says in <strong>Matthew 4:4<\/strong>, \u201cMan shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.\u201d Knowing that \u201cAll Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,\u201d (<strong>2 Timothy 3:16-17<\/strong>) how can we not hunger for our daily intake?<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">When it comes to spiritual training, we ought to be like runners, <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">training for the most important race\u00a0of our lives.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>When it comes to spiritual training, we ought to be like runners, training for the most important race\u00a0of our lives. Imagine the dedication that it takes for athletes to endure the grueling physical training, to push themselves\u00a0to the limits of their\u00a0potential, to stay focused, to never give up, to never let anything get in the way, and to always persevere. God expects that same kind of wholehearted devotion from us.\u00a0However, our spiritual fitness will bring us much more than a fleeting taste of victory as it says in <strong>1 Corinthians 9:25<\/strong>, \u201cEveryone 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.\u201d I want to be relentless when it comes to seeking His truth. As Paul describes in <strong>Hebrews 12:1-2<\/strong>, I want to \u201crun with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.\u201d So that at the end, when it&#8217;s all said and done, I\u2019ll be able to join Paul in His words, \u201cI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.\u201d (<strong>2 Timothy 4:7<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s some food for thought:<\/strong> Are you running the race? Are you aiming for the prize that lasts forever? Are you living your life purposefully or are you merely existing?<\/p>\n<p>Have a blessed rest of the week!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloglovin.com\/blogs\/my-rose-colored-shades-10658125\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bloglovin.com\/widget\/bilder\/en\/widget.gif?id=10658125\" alt=\"Follow on Bloglovin\" width=\"150\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/myrosecoloredshades?ref=badge\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/\/badges.instagram.com\/static\/images\/ig-badge-view-24.png\" alt=\"Instagram\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Linking up with these lovelies:\u00a0<a title=\"Unite Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/www.richfaithrising.com\/2015\/05\/how-to-rise-from-the-mud-and-mire-unite-link-party.html\" target=\"_blank\">Unite<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"Word Filled Wednesday Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/www.w2wministries.org\/2015\/05\/chipping-away-revealing-masterpiece.html\" target=\"_blank\">Word Filled Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"A Little R &amp; R Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rosilindjukic.com\/2015\/05\/a-little-r-r-wednesdays-a-linky-party-105.html\" target=\"_blank\">A Little R &amp; R<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"Coffee and Conversation Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/momsmorningcoffee.com\/coffee-and-conversation-link-party-43\/\" target=\"_blank\">Coffee and Conversation<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"Thursday Favorite Things Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/katherinescorner.com\/2015\/05\/27\/thursday-favorite-things-blog-hop-191\/\" target=\"_blank\">Thursday Favorite Things<\/a>\u00a0| <a href=\"http:\/\/www.servingjoyfully.com\/2015\/05\/27\/thriving-thursday-528\/?utm_source=MadMimi&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content={Bloggers\" target=\"_blank\">Thriving Thursday<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"SHINE Blog Hop\" href=\"http:\/\/thedeliberatemom.com\/shine-blog-hop-49\/\" target=\"_blank\">SHINE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/3dlessons4life.com\/kiss-on-my-list\/\" target=\"_blank\">Thought Provoking Thursday<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"Fellowship Fridays Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/christianmommyblogger.com\/ff73_bible\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fellowship Fridays<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"Faith Filled Friday Linkup\" href=\"http:\/\/www.missionalwomen.com\/faith-filled-friday-blog-link-up\/faith-filled-friday-standing-firm-giving-fully\" target=\"_blank\">Faith Filled Friday<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a title=\"Faith &amp; Fellowship\" href=\"http:\/\/www.simplemomentsstick.com\/2015\/05\/faith-and-fellowship-blog-hop_29.html\" target=\"_blank\">Faith &amp; Fellowship<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/adivineencounter.com\/supporting-your-hard-working-husband-grace-truth-linkup-week-20\/\" target=\"_blank\">Grace &amp; Truth<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I confess, I have been out of focus lately, feeling a little out of sync, as if I\u2019ve lost my sense of direction. I feel like a ship that has lost sight of the lighthouse and is being tossed around &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/2015\/05\/27\/weekly-wisdom-the-race-of-your-life\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Weekly Wisdom: The Race of Your Life http:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ea16-1Ty #livebyfaith #scripture #wordsofwisdom","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[269,232,981],"tags":[1073,270,369,338,1072,738,910,1070,1071,1069,968,1005],"class_list":["post-7288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-faith-family","category-weekly-wisdom","tag-be-thou-my-vision","tag-faith-2","tag-god","tag-gods-word","tag-hebrews-12","tag-jesus-christ","tag-scripture","tag-she-reads-truth","tag-spiritual-training","tag-the-bible","tag-truth","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ea16-1Ty","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7288"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7558,"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7288\/revisions\/7558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrosecoloredshades.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}