The first three.....cont........

So, my reply was too many characters to list in the comments, bahahaha!  So here it is in a "new" continued post!  I love copy and paste by the way......

Well, 4 weeks later and it appears my procrastination actually has purpose.  I find it no coincidence that in my Bible study this week we wrapped up Hebrews 10 which Paula so appropriately referenced in this discussion about the testing of our faith and the perseverance we are called to as believers.

I agree with Paula, in fact if you look up perseverance in the dictionary you very well might see a picture of Katie :)  I cannot tell you the countless times she has quoted these very verses in James for either some struggle I've been dealing with or perhaps a personal struggle of her own she is sharing.

Let's talk about this "patience" part first?  Without patience, the perseverance is pretty much impossible.  One definition of patience I've found is "the ability or willingness (hmmmmn - interesting word choice), to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay."  I think by nature people are not patient.  Just look at our "gotta have it now", instant gratification society we live in.  Fast food, instant messaging, answers at our fingertip (thank you google for that one!). Perhaps this has been a disadvantage to us though..... Have we lost the endurance and perseverance of previous generations? Have we lost our staying power? We are quick to give up on careers, on relationships, and sometimes on life in general. . . .

Probably the most challenging aspect of this though, for me at least, is to find joy in each storm we have to endure.  I mean, let's face it, do you find yourself saying "bring it on?"  We even read in Matthew 26 that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asked the father to "let this cup pass from Me."  However, what we can find peace in is that very fact that Jesus was tempted in every single way we are.  What a comfort that we have a high priest who can empathize with our trials because he has been there.

Have you ever really watched what happens during a storm? I love watching thunderstorms cross the lake in the summertime. Marvelous, yet sometimes scary sights can be witnessed. High winds can put a lot of stress on whatever stands in its way.  If those objects are not tied down or rather anchored onto something they can be caught up in the wind and either damaged, overturned, ripped apart, or in some case completed displaced or even worse simply destroyed.  This summer during a rather severe storm shingles off my mom's roof covered her entire yard (thankfully the house stood strong) and our neighbor's dock was overturned.  Interestingly their boat was tied to it and guess what, it was found across the lake.  Guess even though it was attached to something, WHAT it was anchored to just wasn't strong enough to hold fast during the roughest part of the storm.

A few months ago in our bible study we discussed the relevance of the anchor as the symbol the early Christian church used in the midst of Roman persecution.  Interesting to me that they used an anchor, not a cross.  They used the anchor to remind them of the eternal hope they had in Jesus that goes beyond this life, yes beyond any trial and tribulation that this life brings.

So not only do we have to make sure we set our anchor in anticipation of the storm, but in order for the anchor to hold in the roughest of waters we need to know what or more importantly WHO that anchor is!  Hebrews 6:19 says "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul , a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil."

The link below will take you to a youtube video of "Cornerstone" by Hillsong United.  Please take a second to listen :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZq9xTfHvgo

An interesting fact that you may or may not know is that the calmest waters come immediately after the storm.  Our favorite time to waterski is right after a hard rain or thunderstorm.  As soon as the rain stops the water is like glass.  A smooth reflection just calling my name.  Jason and I will eagerly ride out the storm just waiting for it to die down.  We have our suits on raring to go, checking the radar, and just before the rain completely stops we are on dock prepping the boat and ourselves for what potentially could be the best ski of the year.  Growth comes from difficult circumstances, from struggles, from effort.  Whether learning a new skill, training for a triathlon , following God's calling outside of your own plans, or enduring an unexpected loss, or a betrayal.....but the end result yields progress, or in the spiritual arena, completeness.  a V. 4 "and let endurance have it's perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  

"God changes caterpillars into butterflies,
sand into pearls,
and coal into diamonds.
Using TIME and PRESSURE,
He's working on you too."
      -Rick Warren

So, I guess I'm going to be joyful not necessarily in my trials but in the calm waters afterwards.  Did I mention that there is only 6-8 more weeks until my first ski of 2013!!!