Last Monday, I ran farther than I had ever run before – nearly 7 miles. I left the house a little after 5 and got home around 6:15. I ran the whole time. 72 minutes. (Yeah, I'm pretty slow.) Not only that, but it was my third straight "longest ever." I'm not doing anything different than what I did last summer when I couldn't break 5.5 miles. Well, maybe there's one thing different – I'm learning the mental side to running. I'm learning my body can do more than I realized if I don't give in to its whining. I'm also learning to listen to my internal "coach" and not the "critic." Who knows, I may be running a half marathon before the season is out.Of course, all this has a spiritual application. We can do far more for the cause of Christ than we realize ("all things," the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13). However, it is all too easy to listen to that voice inside. You know, the one that says, "That will never work." Or, "You're not qualified." Or, "You're just one person. You'll never make a difference."
How would things change if we listened to our Holy Spirit "coach" instead? What would our families and churches and neighborhoods be like if we grabbed hold of, "You have everything you need. You've got this." Or, "That discomfort is because you're doing something. Keep going!" Or "Look how far you've gone!"
When God called us, He equipped us. We can do the ministry He's given us to do. We can. He has infused us with the Holy Spirit. But we have to make the effort and we have to endure.
(A side note: Endure doesn't mean "exhaust yourself." Sometimes we have to make sure we are running the race God has laid out and not running extra miles someone else piles on us.)
Bottom line- Don't quit. Hang on and push through, and you'll start to see amazing things happen.
"…[L]et us run with endurance the race that is set before us" Hebrews 12:1
(PS- I'm shooting for 8 miles by the end of the month!)
Philippians is the feel good book of the New Testament. I love this book. Chapter 1 encourages us to hang in there and keep growing. Paul's description of how Christ humbled Himself in chapter 2 gives me chills every time I read it. In chapter 3 Paul tells us what his salvation means to him. Then chapter 4 finishes with some of the most encouraging words in all of Paul's writing.
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you" 
Something I've noticed in the course of reading and studying Scripture is how often God goes to extremes. By that I mean, when God says or does something, it is "all" or "none" or the "most" or the "least". Paying attention to those little words are tremendous food for the soul.
Through the month of November, I'm taking on a challenge to write 50,000 words in those thirty days. Officially, it's 