Full bodied praise

I love them that love me.........and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17

This is when the rubber meets the road.....summer is digging in it's heels and we are no longer greeted with cool mornings. We have to dig in too. And it's not all bad. The desert makes you tough. It's already hot and sticky in my prayer closet this morning.

As I finish my prayer time, I am ready. I live the words as I put on my shoes to make my trek around the park. "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:27

As I walk, feel my body move, I am so thankful I can do this. I think of dear Briley and Kathryn whom I sit with when I volunteer in the Extrordinary Life kids group, bound to wheelchairs. I think they are the real heroes, they, and their dear parents.

I pick up my pace and think of an old Glen Frey song I played a lot when I worked out........for those of you under 40, he was one of the Eagles......the words come back and the years fall away:

I'm outside runnin' in the mornin' sun
No matter what it takes, I know I'm gonna get it done
I'm pushin' up the hill, fightin' through the pain
Everything to lose, everything to gain
I know I'm on my way, I'm on my way to number one

Feelin' good, gettin' tight
'Cause I'm livin' right, livin' right
Up in the mornin', asleep at night
I'm livin' right, livin' right

Out of the darkness, into the light and I'm

livin right, livin right.

I thought of the worship leader yesterday and what he said, why he wears no shoes when he is up there leading the music. He says it reminds him that it's Holy ground he stands on, and it is a way of keeping his focus on the Lord and not on all the people. He said he sees the ones sleeping, and the ones playing games on their Iphones, the halfhearted worshippers.

"For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." Matthew 18:20

He is right, the ground is Holy.

The sweat is pouring down now, and I hear the words of Mercy Me singing.......

"Separated until the veil was torn.

The moment that hope was born

and guilt was pardoned once and for all.

Captivated but no longer bound by chains

left at an empty grave

the sinner and the sacred resolved

And this is it, this is full bodied praise, right here and now. How right he is, the ground here is Holy. I think, this is what keeps me going. He keeps us, day after day. We have the strength to get up and do it again somehow, carried along by His Spirit.

This is the promise I cling to, and its true: "The Lord preserves all who love Him....." Psalm 145:20

Counting the gifts and the promises today, with these fine folks.......