Unexpected Upgrades

It's funny how sometimes you don't know how little you knew until you take a look back. 
Never to regret, God has too much grace for that. 
No, just to absorb the immense greatness of God's power and timing. 
You can be trying your absolute hardest in life to hold things together yet they never seem to work out how you want them to. 

Do you notice the mistakes in that sentence?
YOUR absolute hardest, how YOU want them to.
They are not working out for a reason.
God wants us to hand over the reigns to Him, He wants us to stop fighting Him tooth and nail how to live our lives and just let Him.

Let Him take over and take control.
He already and always is in absolute control so why not make it easier.
If you find it hard to do this and are having trouble but want to, ask God to come in and change your life.
You will be surprised at how quickly God rips out your "stuffing-the-wrong-puzzle-pieces-into-the-puzzle-of-life" foundation and starts moving things around according to His plan.

I won't lie and say this part isn't at times scary and confusing but I can promise you the more you place your trust in God the easier things seem.
Pretty soon the confusion and dark clouds of being "unsure" will part and you will see clearly why the Lord had you trust Him.
The light He reveals is amazing and worth all the trials set in your path.
Keep pushing forward and gaining strength.
Strength to take on the next trial head on.
Walk down the road of trials and troubles, this life on earth, with your head held high towards the Lord, because you know whats at the end of the road.
Life.

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

                                                                                             -John 16:33

UTC!

I wrote a short paragraph explaining my experience at UTC a while ago and also have the letter I sent out to my supporters which explains what UTC is a little bit more.  I know I'm posting a lot at once I just wanted to get all of these in the same place :]

 Who knew you could feel totally, wholly, and completely loved and feel absolutely unworthy at the same time. That is what I felt going through UTC. To be pushed physically to where I had to rely solely on Jesus alone to get me through the S.P.E.C.I.A.L.’s 20 hours of physical activity does not give the experience justice. In my right mind, or perhaps my wrong or worldly mind, I could not move my body. As soon as a thought like that threatened to cross my mind; however, I would counter it with, “He did unthinkably more for you…do not quit!” With those thoughts my body felt recharged and I felt like I could do anything, in Jesus’ name. To complain about my body hurting after the S.P.E.C.I.A.L or to complain about anything in life would be like a slap in the face for all Christ did for us. So instead, I embrace my sore ligaments and bruised body and trade that all in for a want for a whole heart in the Lord. How interesting that what keeps the physical body pumping also is what keeps the spiritual blood pumping, but I’d offer up an arm or a leg any day if it meant I gained a righteous heart. That’s what UTC taught me. To be humbled in God’s grace and offer everything you do in life up to Him.

To My Supporters,

As you all know, I spent a week in Fort Collins, CO at Colorado State University from May 29th to June 4th for a Christian based athletic camp run by Athletes in Action called, the Ultimate Training Camp.  The camp consisted of a couple days of learning about biblical principles and how to apply them to everyday life, zoning in especially on applying it to your sport.  The end of this camp ended in something called the S.P.E.C.I.A.L, which is a multisport marathon that lasted approximately 20 hours to push us to our physical limits. This tested how we handled stress, fatigue and unthinkable odds with the newly learned principles and outlook towards our sport and life.

The last night of camp I shared with my peers and I’d like to share with you as well, how God has a knack for perfect timing.  I was supposed to go to the first week of this camp but God knew I needed to go the second week.  It was great timing in my life to be totally open in my mind and in my heart and be so willing to listen and take advice.  At points it was very difficult because the signs and things God was teaching me were very blunt and upfront and ultimately life changing.  This is where the big word came into play, trust.  Little by little I let go of the reigns I was trying to hold onto for so long and let God take the lead.  In doing so, I have seen many changes and have had a relief and peace about my life that I am so very thankful for.

It was a great experience to be in such a tight knit environment where everyone was focused on the same thing to get them through life’s obstacles.  The fact that everyone’s focus was on Jesus to get them through was an even greater experience and I have learned so much through every person that was at the camp.  Through personal conversations with them, hearing their testimonies, or just witnessing how they interact and apply God in their lives was so encouraging and taught me how to take a step back sometimes and truly see what God is trying to show me through other people placed in my life.

One expectation I had going into this camp was to learn how to deal with my sport; whether I be having a standout season, or I felt I was not competing the best I could.  I will be the first to say that even after going through this experience, it will take time and effort to reform my selfish ways of feeling sorry for myself when I don’t compete well.  I also will tell you that this camp has completely changed my outlook on life and my sport and I will now consciously make the effort to put God first in my life and let everything else follow, including competitions.  I am excited to bring back to my campus what I have learned and hope to reach out to other girls on my team and possibly disciple them, not only for their sport but in their walk with God as well.

I want to thank each of you again because without you I would not be sitting here typing out my life changing experience.  None of this would even be possible if I didn’t receive such generous and heartfelt support!  God started my journey when I received your letters and support by showing me how truly blessed I am to have so many people who care enough about me to invest time and money into an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.  My complete sincere thanks for your support and prayers!

                                                                               

                                                                                                Love,

                                                                                                Robyn Oakley

Love

Love?
What is love?
What is the difference between love and lust?
Love and selfish gain?
Love and comfort?
Love and scared to move forward?
Love and scared to be alone?
Love and scared of the unknown?
Love and jealousy?
The difference is that there isn't a difference.
It just isn't love.
With the love of God there is no need for questions.
With the Lord's love, a sacred marriage is more important than lust.
The Lord's love is selfless -- He gave His only son for our sins.
God's love is constant comfort but we choose His love because it is so much more than that.
Love from the Lord eliminates fear and gives us that push to move forward.
We are never alone with God's love. His love is unwavering and unchanging.
The unknown holds excitement with God's love, it is not scary.
God does get jealous, a righteous jealous.  He gets sad when our eyes are not completely fixed on Him first and foremost.
Just because you love someone does not mean you should be together, but because you love God and He chooses you to be together, you are eternally loved.
God ALWAYS chooses you.
God's love is sacred, selfless, constant, fearless, unwavering, exciting and understanding.
With God there is no if's, and's or but's.
There are no questions.
God is love.

"Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.
It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Love will last forever"
- 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Never Alone

God speaking left and right to me
Shouting out loud and whispering in my ear
He will not let me stand alone, I have nothing to fear
To feel pain everywhere and still feel incomparable
What the Lord went through for us is way past relatable
To even think of the life before I knew Him like this
What else in life did I miss?
But He says not to worry because in His righteous right hand He holds the ultimate plan
I'm so thirsty for His knowledge I want to know more
To think I could handle life on my own? I knew nothing before
People and situations in your life
He has brought in to mold you
I am thankful for them all,
even the ones I told you were
hardships
because they made me stronger
Yeah, with the Lord on my side I can push a little longer

Worth

               Have you ever felt unworthy?  What was the cause of that feeling?  Most likely it is from worldly expectations or other people's opinions.  If we live our lives according to others opinions of us we will never be happy, and it is virtually impossible.  While talking to my friend and fabulous mentor, Allison, she pointed out that people's thoughts and opinions are fickle and changing, so you can never possibly satisfy them all.  One of the absolutely amazing qualities of the Lord is that He already is satisfied with you, no matter what you do.  Whether you come in first or last place, ace a test or fail, if you get invited to this party or not, God still wants to congratulate you and love you and you will always extend His invitation to eternal life.  I'd take that invitation over an invite to a party anyday!

              Your worth is not defined by the people you know, activities you do or how well you do them.  If you put your worth in God's hands you will always be satisfied.  God is always fulfilling.  Always complete.  Always in your corner and your biggest fan.  God doesn't make mistakes.  Like Jonny Diaz says in his song "Beautiful You", "There can never be a more beautiful you, don't buy the lies, disguises and hoops they make you jump through. You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do so there could never be a more beautiful you"  Those lyrics are so true and resonate strongly as God's own message through the Bible:

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."

- Act 20:24

and

"But I have spared you for a purpose--to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth."

-Exodus 9:16

You are beautiful.  You are here on this earth for a purpose.  God already knows that purpose and sees you as worthy to fulfill it.  You are the only one that can be you!  Embrace who you are live for God, because in Him you are always worthy!

Random Observation

As I was trying to come up with what to title this page I pulled out my fanciest tools. Yup, that's right, Microsoft Word to look up synonyms. I was trying to be clever and come up with an alliteration (?) and typed in the word faith to see what wonderful synonyms would pop up.  I just had to write them down when I saw them! The words that came up next to faith were: confidence, trust, reliance, assurance, conviction, belief, devotion and loyalty!! Whoa right?!? It's like God typed in those words! It just proved to me the importance of faith in relationships with the Lord. 

Talk about tools, faith is the number one tool that holds a relationship with God together.  As Micorsoft Word pointed out to me, if you have faith then you have all those wonderful synonyms as well.  Faith brings you confidence in the Lords power, which further develops your trust in His plan for you and the situations that happen in your life.  We need to totally rely on the Lord and surrender to Him to get assurance that He has everything under control. Conviction is a sure fire way to know the Lord is working in your life and sparks your faith to be tested.  When you believe in God and His divine sovereignty it draws you closer to Him and drives you to want to devote more time to Him, giving Him glory in every situation that arises; good or bad.  All of this proving your loyalty to the One who doesn't know how to be disloyal.  Who never leaves your side even when your blinded by worldy things and lose focus.  Who is the light in the darkness and the compass to eternal life!

One little word with immense meaning behind it.  Faith. 

"When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

 - Romans 1:12

First Post!

So I wrote this a couple days ago but just wanted to see how this whole blog scene worked!

On my run today, as I usually do, I gave a little "thank you!" to God everytime I hit a patch of shade, got a feel of a nice breeze, or hit that downhill slope.  I began thinking towards the end of my run how appropriate this can fit into everyday life.  How often and easy is it for me to thank God when things are going great and I'm on that easy downhill path of life.  What do I do when I come around the bend and see no shade in sight and I can barely see from the sweat pouring down my face?  Am I thanking God even when I'm on that seemingly impossible uphill with the sun shining right in my eyes?  I should be.  Those are the times I need to most; when God is using hardships in my life to break down parts of me and build them back up better in His image.
God's work is always good, even when I can't even begin to think of a finish line.  Like Col 3:17 says, "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." God doesn't throw at me anything He know I can't handle, so why not thank Him for the lesson's that hardships in life are teaching me; molding me to become a better Christian. Another comforting passage for me concerning these ideas is 1 Tim 4:4 "Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks."  Okay! There is nothing my God created that isn't good? I'm so down with that! That's like a foolproof reason not to thank Him for everything.