perseverance

Dive In & Just Keep Swimming

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Sharita

My heart was pounding. The sun was beating down on the back of my neck. My little feet left wet footprints on the warm concrete. I shivered… from the gentle Kansas breeze or nerves, I couldn’t tell. I approached my target. Breath. Step. Breath. Step. Breath. Step.

The higher I climbed, the harder my heart pounded. I reached the top and peered down to the deep blue water. My Mama was looking up at me, her hands shielding her eyes from the sun, watching my every move. I inched slowly to the end of the board. Then I turned around, heading back towards the ladder.

Suddenly, I spun on my heels, got running start and jumped. It felt like I was flying, suspended in air for a few brief seconds… That is, until I hit the water.

Yes, my first ever trip off the high dive at the swimming pool ended in a belly flop. Uh, ouch? While the landing took my breath away, my third grade limbs managed to function well enough to get me back to safety to the side of the pool. I DID IT.

Not quite the high dive described above... but it captures my expression both then AND now when it comes to taking risks.

Many years later, I discovered that my Mom was prepared for me to chicken out. When I turned back around heading towards the ladder, she thought I had changed my mind. But in all actuality, I had a surge of courage. Get a running start, plug my nose and dive in.

Nearly two decades later, I am still not much of a thrill seeker, especially when it comes to heights. But one thing has changed. When it comes to Jesus activities on the ground, I now have the courage to risk boldly and jump (with or without the running start and/or plugged nose.)

While I would love to say that the risks I take were the same caliber as jumping off the high dive, now they seem to be much more intense. Instead of risks of the physical type, God has called me to risk boldly when it comes to issues of the heart. Personally, my heart seems more fragile than my body sometimes.

And yes… even “heart risks” can end in a belly flop.

I risked boldly when… I answered the call to be an army wife. It’s thrilling, rewarding, and occasionally terrifying. Yeah, sometimes I feel like we are just treading water, waiting for a direction. But I don’t regret diving into marriage with my beloved.

I risked boldly when… God told my husband and I to start a family. Right now, we still feel the sting of that landing as we recover from our miscarriage. However, we are slowly but surely paddling to the ladder of safety and recovery on the side… And we await the call when God tells us to dive in again.

I risked boldly when… I answered the call to ministry. Launching my own personal ministry has literally made me lose sleep on occasion, due to excitement, uncertainty and confusion. Yes, I have swallowed a little water along the way and felt like I was temporarily sinking, wondering WHY I jumped in… But God is right there beside me, His words similar to Dori from Finding Nemo: “Just Keep Swimming.”

Is God calling you to dive into something? Or are you already in the pool, trying to keep your head above water? I would love for you to share your experiences by leaving a comment here.

Regardless of where you are on that risk taking dive, whether you are still on the ground looking up, in the middle of the climb, flying through the air, recovering from a bellyflop landing or paddling towards the side… Know that God is your lifeguard, cheering you on. Don’t be afraid to dive in and just keep swimming.

Doggie Paddling my way to Jesus,
SGK

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.” –Luke 19:26

Categories: call, challenge, childhood, Courage, excited, God, perseverance | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Faith by the Foot

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Sharita

Hey you. Yeah… you.

Wanna know a secret? C’mere. Lean in close…

Ready? I have a tattoo. 

Oh. Are you not impressed? Dang. If you knew how much I hated needles, you should be blown away by this statement. But honestly, it isn’t much a of a secret. After all… the foot-tattoo story made it into my engagement pictures, the wedding ceremony and even into a class I was presenting about spiritual gifts a couple of weeks ago. (Glad my boss didn’t fire me for that one.)

So yes. I have a tattoo on the top of my left foot that says “Soli Deo Gloria” which is Latin for “To the Glory of God alone.” Let me give you a brief summary of the backstory.

It was late March of 2010. I was at the lowest point of my life. Over the last several months, I had moved away from friends/family, was working nightshift in a job I hated (Note: I never use the word hate. It was bad.) I cried everyday (and I was NOT a crier.) My grandmother had died suddenly, then three months later my Grandad died. My mom got fired from her job, Dad was sick. Oh, and my beloved was deployed. Relatively certain I was clinically depressed but was so far into denial that I refused to get diagnosed. (For the full story of my testimony, click here.)

It was a Friday morning and I was getting off work around 9am after working all night. I was incredibly sleep deprived. I recently had some dental work done, in which they totally messed up a crown on my tooth. So it was infected. Neat. I was fed up with life so decided it was time to take action. I was going to take control of my situation and live above my circumstances. With God.

I left work (in tears.) At 3am that morning, I decided that I was going to have a good day OR ELSE. So instead of driving home, I took the long route to Columbia, Missouri, praying the entire way. My beloved was coming home from Iraq in a couple of weeks for R & R, and I wanted to feel more like myself again. It was time for an attitude adjustment.

First stop: The mall. New outfit. CHECK. New hairdo. Sorta check. (It was new, and felt great at the time… I learned that chunky blonde highlights are NOT a good choice for me. I looked like a skunk. But my hair could have been purple with green streaks and I still would have felt like a rockstar.) Next: call the dentist and tell them to give me something for the pain. CHECK. They subscribed a narcotic for me to pick up at the pharmacy in a few hours. (Huh. I was feeling better already.)

Last stop: Tattoo parlor. Dear. Baby. Jesus.

I had already decided the what/where details for this tattoo. I always said I would never, ever, EVER get a tattoo… But then again, I never thought I would be smitten with an army man who had Bible verses tattooed on his ribcage OR personally be so crazy in love with God. I needed a personal and permanent reminder of who I was living for. Soli Deo Gloria: To the Glory of God alone.

I was terrified, especially since the guy who greeted me at the front door was so tattooed and pierced that he looked like someone that was recently featured on Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not. But I had done my research. This place was certified and up to code. It was legit and not (too) shady. No turning back.

So I did it. The tattoo artist was extremely impressed– I didn’t flinch once, and he said that top of the foot is one of the most painful places to get a tattoo. (Good to know… after the fact. Sigh.) My eyes were closed and I was praying the entire time that he was inking my foot.  Craziest moment of my life.

My foot. Beloved's arm. God is awesome.

I wear that tattoo with pride. I see it when I look down. I see it when I’m reclined. I see it when my feet are up as I relax in the tub. From the moment that I walked out of the tattoo shop, my perspective on life changed dramatically. It shifted to God. Permanently.  I had hope. I knew from that day forward, everything I did was going to be Soli Deo Gloria… to the glory of God alone.

Now, I’m not telling you to go get a tattoo (unless of course you feel led… but do your research.) It was a little extreme, and might not be for everyone. (My husband was impressed.. my parents were less than thrilled.) What do you need to do to remember who you are living for? Is it a note on your bathroom mirror? A piece of jewelry you constantly wear? Live for God and your faith will gradually grow. Maybe first by a centimenter. Then maybe an inch… and soon… you will be growing your faith by the foot.

Soli Deo Gloria,

SGK

“Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions. Do what I say and you’ll live well. My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it! Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart.” Proverbs 7:1-3 (MSG)

I’m linking up with Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood today.
Won’t you join the party for God’s glory?

Hey

Categories: faith, glory, God, perseverance | 8 Comments

The Devil’s Copyright

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Sharita

I found Satan yesterday.

No, that’s not a typo. You might have figured out I already found Jesus long ago (hence the Christian blog,) but I met Satan head on yesterday. It. Was. Intense.

You might be curious where I ran into this sneaky literal devil. He was in the copy machine at church.

Are you confused yet? Probably, but that’s ok. I was too until I started thinking. Here’s the back story: I have been working like crazy this week to prepare for a big team launch that I am heading up our church. I love teaching, teambuilding and leadership, so this is right up my alley. While it is a TON of work, it has been very exciting. We are doing our official launch of the team tomorrow, hence why I was making copies of everything imaginable.

And, as we have discussed, The Enemy doesn’t want us doing great things for God and sharing His message. Which is why he was hiding in the copy machine. Waiting for me.

A job which should have taken an hour or so consumed my entire afternoon– as well as our administrative assistant’s afternoon, the copy machine/printer guy’s time, and a big chunk of valuable time of my boss and her daughter.

While I am beyond thankful that these folks jumped in to help me out, it would have been even better if things went smoothly and I could have slammed this project out on my own. However, Satan had different plans. Nearly everything that could go wrong and/or slow down the process did (minus my computer actually melting into a puddle, and I think God’s grace saved that one.)

Long story short: My computer wasn’t hooked to a printer, there were only a few methods on how we could print color, the margins weren’t lining up, things that originally were spelled correctly (seriously) somehow got changed between my computer, Janell’s (admin asst) email inbox (since I had to email all of the docs to her) and the copy machine, ETC.

So why do I tell you all of this? Because I was surprised how I reacted. Yes, I was frustrated and a little stressed. Annoyed. Exasperated. In need of a Diet Dr. Pepper and huge bag of chocolate. But I still confident that God was going to figure it out in His time. I have been in these same situations in previous jobs and spent most of the time fighting tears (and usually lost that fight.)

But yesterday, as we were FINALLY nearing the end of this debacle and Satan was starting to loosen his grip, Janell walked up behind me and started to rub my shoulders for some encouragement. She gasped and commented how my neck and shoulders weren’t tense AT ALL. I laughed and realized that all day I had been praying… outloud, under my breath, knowing God called us to this and was going to bring us through it. After about 12 hrs of ministry work (5:30am to 5:30pm) I found myself singing praise and worship music in the admin wing of the church. In the copy room.

Wow. Good work, Jesus. You win again.

Oh, and did I mention… after I got home, I power-cleaned my house (because it somehow vomited on itself and one of my best friends from KS is coming to visit) for THREE hours straight. I contribute this motivation of course to the power of God, but also because I gave him my firstfruits of time today. Between my personal quiet time with him and CRAVE, I spent nearly two hours in His presence. Not to mention all the time that I spent talking (begging) Him to help throughout the day. Even with a huge to-do list. My heart is at peace. And I almost can’t believe it. (Almost.)

Moral of the story: be on the lookout for the The Enemy– you never know where he is going to be. He might be in your living room, car or even church.

Hey, he might even be waiting for you in a copy machine so he can attempt to exercise his Devil’s copyright.

Well, I’ve got news for Him. When Jesus is involved, the devil ain’t gonna get nothing but a copywrong. Christ will win. Every time.

Victory in Christ,

SGK


“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” –1 Corinthians 15:57

Categories: dependence, faith, perseverance, work | 2 Comments

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