What a beautiful day today! We have had a pretty wet and COLD winter, so tomorrow is a day many of us are looking forward to. It helps when the weather is Spring-like!!
We have been discussing a lot in our morning devotions with the kids. The main focus being Discipline. This morning we talked about self discipline again. Scott grew up riding motocross and of course that trickled down to our kids. The boys currently race and Grace would love to do it if we allowed her. :) It is a family affair on the weekends to load up and travel to a race. On the weekends we don't race there is always a race on TV during the season that we will gather around to watch. The kids all have their favorite pro riders they support. We as a family support Kevin Windham because he and my husband road some together and he is a great rider to be his age. The kids each have different riders that they love. In talking about self discipline Scott used Ryan Dungey as an example. They did a segment on him for TV talking about his training for upcoming races. Racing is an endurance sport. You have to be in great shape and disciplined in order to win. It is 20 laps of pinned throttle and adrenaline. Ryan talked about not having a trainer like most riders do. He trains himself. He talked about days where he doesn't feel like getting out of bed when he needs to train or going to gym. He said he does it because when he is told to do something he does it more than what he was told. In other words, not only does he do what he was told to do, but beyond that. Nobody has to check up on him to see if he is doing it because he is self motivated to win. He does win too. He is a contender for the championship.
We encouraged the kids to have the same attitude in life. To be self disciplined is to say "I am going to do this....even if I don't want to, or don't like it, or it doesn't feel good." To be Christian it is doing it because God says so and it's the right thing to do. Even still you have to be self disciplined. God doesn't do it for you. WE have to do it ourselves. Whatever that may be on a day to day basis. Scott shared with the kids how when he was younger he had a friend Danny who would (on purpose) say something like "you can't jump off that bridge," and just because he said "you can't" Scott would say, "stop the car" to where he would jump off the bridge. The point wasn't stupidity of jumping off a bridge, because that was not using the brains God gave him, but the point of a challenge being made and him taking that challenge. Someone tells you that you can't do something (there are principalities, powers and darkness speaking the same thing to you every day), except the challenge and push to do it. He shared with them to have that attitude with school. This class isn't going to beat me, I will make a good grade. I want to graduate and not have the lowest GPA so I WILL make the grade. The fighting attitude to be self disciplined. I WILL....instead of I can't or I won't. That shows a character of the heart that will help you succeed in life both spiritually and physically. To be self disciplined. To meet the challenges of life and overcome. The alternative is to shrink back and give up. Hebrews 10:38 says Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. It is saying...I don't care how big that mountain is or the size of the giants. I am going to go forward!! To shrink or draw back is to say it's too much or I can't handle it. You quit basically. Christ knew how big the Cross was and he pressed on forward meeting that challenge and overcame it. We are to do the same thing. When He dwells in us we have everything it takes to be just like Him. If we find we don't have that quality, then we must be honest with ourselves (why lie) and ask "does He really live in me?" The end of Hebrews 10:38 says that if we draw back the Lord has no pleasure in you. We encouraged the kids to not draw back to press forward and please the Lord. Isn't that what we are here on earth for? What an encouraging word. I hope it encouraged you as it did our family.
