Please don’t let the shirt fool you. I am a work in progress. The truth is it took me thirty minutes to get out the door today for my training run.

The inner resistance is real. Staying home and following my excuses instead of the training plan is ridiculously tempting.

But staying comfortable will not help me strengthen and refine my mind, body, and soul.

Choosing to do what is uncomfortable and pushing towards the resistance is where refinement and growth happen.

I share this with you today in case you’ve been talking yourself out of something you know is beneficial for you. If so, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

Let’s remember that temptations and excuses will always be there. But often what is easier in the short term will lead us further from where we seek to be in the long term.

May we invite God in to give us wisdom, strength and whatever else we need to take the harder, wiser step forward. And like the run this morning, may we allow ourselves to be refined from the inside out, so that we can grow more fully into the resilient person God made us to be.

With love and hope,
Shawn