The steadfast love of the Lord never changes His mercies never come to end They are new every morning New every morning Great is thy faithfulness Oh Lord Great is thy faithfulness.
The steadfast love of the Lord. Steady Sure. Unchanging. Never ending. Geared toward those who Love him. Who trust in the saving work of his son. It is what we are called to be. Steadfast...just as the Lord is. Fighting against the sin within that causes us to NOT be steadfast. Unchanging. Sure. Not selfish. Not wanting our own way. But seeing the bigger picture. So standing Firm Steadfast. Unchanging. Geared toward those who love the Lord. Geared to turning hearts toward the one, who ALWAYS has his heart turned toward us. So let us stand Steadfast Steady. copyright June 2017, Annette V.
Run with Me is the story of an U.S. Olympic Champion which started in Jamaica and ended in Oregon. Sanya Richards-Ross lived a life of faith combined with the joy of running. Written towards youth as the intended audience, Ms. Richards-Ross speaks with a candor about listening to the Lord as you engage in your daily activities. She lists five P's that she has found pivotal to her life. Ms. Richards-Ross has been running ever since she was a little girl. Running was simply part of her life that she enjoyed. She found it hard sometimes to push through (as every runner does) but the end result was a lady born to run, and to run with speed. I remember watching her run in the Olympics and being amazed at her speed.
Learning from her coach the first four P's, a fifth was added for her faith. Seeing her faith in God and learning how God made himself known to her was great to read about. Learning to listen to voice of God is a great thing for anyone to learn. You can see her work ethic, how she pushed through the pain, trained relentlessly (1000 reps at night), running races and PUSHING to win. She had an end goal and worked until she achieved it.
My Thoughts: I appreciated so much how the importance of listening to those who have gone on before you is stressed: from listening to her coach (who taught her the first four P's), to listening to her dad and enjoying his support, to the love of her family, and even to getting mental help from experts. She learned from everyone around her, including God, how to make the game she played, better. Part of her end goal was to be a good role model for any youth that might come along after her. To that end she used her physical condition, mental stability and work ethic to become the World and Olympic Champion that she is today. It was a good book to read, one that I think middle schoolers could enjoy and learn from. They will most definitely enjoy her pictures that are included, in full colour, in the middle of the book. Pictures from youth through to her Olympic wins.
Our children aren't just badly behaved at times, they are individuals lost in sin. Everything they do stems from that condition. This means you need to think about what a lost child needs. 1. Insight. They need to see how they need your oversight and protection. They need to understand that what they are fighting is the sin that is within them. 2. Compassion. One doesn't get mad at a lost child, or scold them for being lost. One offers aid to a lost child, doing their best to have them become found. 3. Hope. As children begin to realize their lost condition, we can have hope. We are then in a position to show them the help that is available to them. God sent his son to redeem them, all they need to do is call out to him for help and believe that he'll do so. 4. Rescue. Parenting is a heart-rescue mission. We can't force our children to turn to the Lord God. All we can do is point the way. We can address their heart issues, and praying that God will open their eyes and heart to him. 5. Wisdom. Teaching our children how to say no. To say no to sin, to the temptation to behave in ways they shouldn't. This is an important concept to teach them. I have found this chapter falls into line with the rest of the book. The realization that we are no different from our children, and like them we have need for insight, hope, rescue, compassion and wisdom. We so need God's intervention in our lives. If we know this and truly accept it, then it makes it easier for us to offer it to our children don't you think?
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Great is thy faithfulness Oh Lord
