Pancake Night...

Yes, I know that is a strange title for a blog post. I wanted to share an experience that we had just last night. We have become good friends with a family from Texas. They have a five year old girl, a three year old girl and a little boy who just turned two. We first met this family at the airport in Richmond way back in May when we came to our candidate conference. We were to be carpool buddies during our conference and we have been friends since. They are awesome and we really love them and love having them as friends. Ok, back to “Pancake Night”. Pancake night evolved from a family ritual that started with our friends from Texas. It began as “waffle night”, but we did not have a waffle maker here, so we opted for pancakes, hence pancake night. The idea is that it will be easier to cook and eat in our quad area rather than taking all of the kids to the cafeteria. Well, as we started we realized that we did not really have anything to cook pancakes on or with, so Paige and I went to the store and bought us a skillet and spatula. Now we are ready to cook. We start out with 2 pounds of bacon. We forget that the kitchen is only about as big as a decent size hall closet, not to mention the fire alarm is in the kitchen, so we are cooking with the door and the windows open so as to not alert the local friendly fire department. While in the process of cooking the two year old insists that it is much better to be in the kitchen than out in the open area playing with the other kids. The only problem with that is the tiny little stove we are cooking on is not much bigger than one of those easy bake ovens and he can reach up and touch the pan that is on the stove. Meanwhile the little boy’s dad has to keep getting up and taking him out to the common area just outside of the kitchen and that just makes the boy more anxious to get in the kitchen. I think I actually saw his hair turning gray. Finally, we are finished cooking and we all are able to sit down and enjoy our dinner. The dinner went without incident, but in the time it took to cook, keep all of our kids occupied, and finally eat we wondered if maybe we should have just taken the kids to the cafeteria. To fully appreciate the story you need to go to http://www.kingfamilyfiveblog.blogspot.com/ and read about the cafeteria experience. It is priceless!!

Well, here we are. We made it to ILC for our orientation and training. It is the end of week two and I have just had a chance to sit down and make an entry on the blog site. We are on a pretty tight schedule everyday with classes going on almost all day. It is nice to not have to do a whole lot on the weekend. While we are here we are encouraged to exercise at least four times a week. I have taken up running…again. Today I went on my second 4 mile run of the week. While I was running today God took the opportunity to speak a few things to my heart and I wanted to share them with you.
As I began my run, I was not feeling terribly athletic. My calves hurt, my shins were bothering me, and my feet were beginning to cramp. Keep in mind; I had only gone maybe half a mile. Not to mention today was one of those days that I really just wanted to go home and head to the woods to deer hunt or maybe take Buck (my quail dog) out for a run to find a few birds. I really miss that part of my life. In one of our meetings this week our teacher made the comment, “dying is not painless”. I am becoming very aware of what he was talking about. I have to lay down some things that hurt to sacrifice. In Romans Paul says that we are to be a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our REASONABLE SERVICE. Sacrifice is never painless. As I made the turn at 2 miles to head back, I started to notice that the run was becoming harder. What I began to notice was a slight headwind. It was barely noticeable, but just enough to make me feel like I was had to work that much harder to keep up the pace. In that moment the Lord spoke to me (paraphrased), “This is exactly how the enemy works. He is so subtle and slight that you don’t even know what is going on. All you know is that the work is getting that much harder and for no particular reason”.
I also thought about how I used to run quite a bit and I would only be sore for a day or so and then I could run and enjoy it. I would get over the soreness much quicker in the past. The Lord took the liberty to remind me of something else, “The strength you had in the past will not be the same strength you will need for the future” (spiritually speaking). It will take time and commitment with HIM to attain the strength needed for the future.
I’ve always wanted to be one of “those” guys who are healthy; they eat no sweets or anything good for that matter. They can bike or run any number of miles. They are in excellent shape (I have a family member like this). I would look at them and want to be like them, but when I would start on my quest of shapeliness and healthy living, I would end up giving up after a few weeks and settle for where I was. I wasn’t quitting because of laziness or any other “bad” reason. I had good reasons. Such as, being busy at work or having to do things with the family or being busy with church. That easily translates into the spiritual realm. I would see a fellow believer and desire to have a genuine, closer walk with Jesus. They would be inspiring in their walk. As I began to take the time to do this, I would inevitably find myself “busy”. I would end up giving up and settling for a settled for life. Here is the million dollar question: Am I willing to do whatever it takes in order to be in the spiritual shape of an Olympic champion? God did not intend for me or any other believer to be any less. We are called a “royal priesthood” and the very apple of His eye. I guess it all boils down to this: Can I accomplish the “race set before me” while in the current spiritual shape I am in? God is showing me so much about myself and the things He desires to accomplish in my life over the next 7 weeks. Thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to leave any comments. That lets us know someone “out there” has not forgotten about us.