Doing good. Does it really matter?

Windy and cold.  Doctor appointments.  Less riding time.  Too much to do.  More trials.  Same old. Unfinished business. Stresses of life.

Is life tiring you out?  Are you getting weary, Christian?  I've had this verse on my mind of late. Galations 6:9  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

There is so much hurt in this world.  I've hurt people.  People have hurt me.  We hurt each other.  But should that keep us from doing good?  I have been hurt by doing good.  I had thought if I do good, that should mean I should get something good out of it.  Not so.  The Bible clearly states don't become weary in doing good....meaning that it's tough to keep doing good!  It's tough to keep loving someone who doesn't deserve it...it's tough to reach out in love to someone and be smacked instead...it's tough to read and pray but not get answers or at least not the ones we want.  

I am weary. I was wondering why I should do this good if it only makes me weary?  The verse answers this in that we will get a bountiful blessing (Heaven) if we don't give up.  But giving up is so so easy.  It doesn't require any work at all and in fact can make you feel "lighter" as you say to yourself, "Well at least I tried not to be weary for awhile!"  But the thought of why should I not give up (does it really matter) bothered me......

Today was a cold, windy 20 some degree day, but I decided to work my horses together on some liberty work in the yard.  They could use the exercise and I needed some therapy.  Kitty was working superb, even though I could tell she didn't like the hard frozen ground, she still wanted to listen to me.  Missy was being silly due to not being exercised for a couple days and then she was being stubborn about cantering on the hard ground.  Poor Kitty and I cantered circles and circles trying to get Missy to canter beside us, but Missy was either too frisky or too tired to corporate.  At one point I just let go of the lead rope so Missy could do her own frisky things without upsetting Kitty.  And that's when Jesus started to explain some lessons to me about why a Christian should not grow weary of doing good!

Kitty was the perfect example of what a true believer should be.  She never once gave up or gave in to becoming weary of the hard ground or weary of the constant circling....she kept her focus on her trainer the whole time and did not grow weary of her job.  Missy, on the other hand, was weary of doing good.  Missy was a good example of those of us who are weary and want to give up.  What happened?  She was letting lifes situations get to her.  The everyday bucks of life caused her focus to fade and she decided that becoming weary was easier than doing good.  And yes I had to let go of her!  She wanted to go her own path because doing good seemed exhausting to her.....why should she do good if it's harder work and why should she do good if it's more painful than giving up?

Yet, Kitty and I were there for her.  We weren't about to weary in doing good so we picked up her lead rope and tried again and again and again until finally Missy became joyful instead of weary in doing good. What changed her actions?  You know God sometimes let's go of us for awhile...He lets us take our own paths and when they get bumpy enough He asks us gently to try to walk with Him again.  Sometimes we say no, but other times we say yes because we're usually in a big mess by that time...as I grabbed the lead rope I visualized God grabbing me again after I become weary....and I couldn't help but think that I never want Him to ever drop my lead rope again! Never!!  Yet God wants us to walk on our own sometimes to better our reliance on Him and sometimes, well sometimes that means doing good...so much good that it almost becomes wearisome!  That's when Believers like Kitty step in....They see struggling believers like Missy who are becoming weary and walking off the narrow path....so if they are like Kitty they keep trying to reach out to bring them back whether that's praying for them, writing them a letter, a call, a hug, an email, etc. however long it takes because they never grow weary.  If there were no Kitty's, there would be many more lost Missy's.

What I am saying here? I'm saying that if we were all weary Believers in Christ, there would be no one to help save the lost. No one to show God's love and mercy for those that need it desperately.  No one to come along side the lost or struggling believer and say, "Jesus loves you and so do I!  I know He has a plan for you! A plan to prosper you and not to harm you!"  Jeremiah 29:11

It's tough to do good.  We're human. We mess up.  I sometimes downright feel like a flop!  But don't let your mess ups tire you from striving to do good!  Our reward is great....undeserved, but that should just show you how much God truly loves us!  He wants to reward us anyways and that makes me less tired and more willing to do good!

The Pony Express Rides Again! New Years Resolutions!

It's officially afternoon and I'm still sitting in my pj's! I've done lots of stuff (including outside chores!) in my pj's today but I can't seem to officially change to start the day!  Perhaps this is what happened to my blogs as well....I get something on my heart that I know I should share, but yet I'm so comfortable and lazy that I shove it off for whatever reason.  We're busy, right?  It's true we are busy with things, but that's what they are....things!  This year my resolution hasn't changed much from my past resolution which was to show the love of Jesus more, to be a more loving person!  Yes I still want to do this, but I also feel I need to use my time more wisely.

Most of you know, I'm not a lazy person I love to be doing things, but this year I want to be doing more things worthy of praising Jesus not just my own pleasures!

So I started this resolution a bit early but here it is:  I want to include Jesus more in my life!  I want to go to Him first when problems arise...I want to share my heart more often with Him.....and I want to show my love for Him by loving others and spending more time with Jesus in prayer, acts of love, Bible reading and anything else he lays on my heart!

This December, I was feeling on fire for Jesus and I asked Him what He would like for me to do!  I was thinking, as usual, that He'd ask me for something so super great that I would be the next Billy Graham!!!  haha...well I do this to myself sometimes...I think I have to be doing something great for it to actually count for Jesus.....as I was doing good and showing lots of love I became pretty happy with myself for the fire that was burning and just feeling like I could tackle just about anything!

Then it hit!  Trials.  new news. Horse problems.  got sick. couldn't sleep.  throat closures came back.  had a fever.  No energy!  But why?  I asked God. I had all these plans that I was going to do for YOU!  Why are you punishing me for doing stuff for you!?

Ya see I thought I had it figured out....If you are doing stuff for Jesus nothing bad happens to you....

It's funny. I had just talked to someone in church and He was saying the exact same thing as me.  He was doing the most He had ever done with his life for Jesus and then all sorts of tragedies and hardships came!

WHY DOES GOD DO THIS?

Yes.  We can get a bit bitter about it can't we, but nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus gives everyone who serves Him a free and easy ride here on earth!  In fact it says He disciplines those He loves!  Rev. 3:19 and many more passages!

So here I was stuck with a list of things I wanted to do for Jesus but feeling sick and trialed up!  I asked God why....You know what He said?

It's amazing really!  Jesus is so loving!  Jesus gently took me aside and told me that He loves me and said if you really loved me you wouldn't let all this sickness and all these trials slow you down from serving me.  Sandy, did you really want to serve me?....or did you want to become something great by using me?  See, Sandy, that's why I disciplined you...I love you too much to lose you...I don't need you to be great....I need you to be willing to serve me during your sicknesses and trials...can you love me that much to keep serving me in spite of this?  Or are you so uncommitted to me that you need a "perfect" life in order to serve me?

JESUS KNOWS US BETTER THAN WE KNOW OURSELVES!!!!  He knows that I can't handle a perfect life! I need those trials to bring me closer to Him!  To realize I desperately need Him and His discipline!!!

So to shorten this up...I stuck to it!  And during this time Jesus answered my request of what could I do for Him?

I ride alot around my country neighborhood and I get to talk to alot of my neighbors and some of them are so sweet! Some let me ride on their land, some like to chat as I ride by and some are so nice and drive super slow around us as we ride the roads.  Jesus laid it on my heart to thank them this year....so I did Pony Express style!  I rode to each of their mailboxes and dropped a letter into each mailbox with a thank you card and hot chocolate packages!  I was so excited to be used by Jesus in this way it made me feel so good!  And it was sooooo simple!!!!!  A letter.

You don't have to do anything great!!!  DO SOMETHING SMALL FOR JESUS!!!  You don't have to shrug these small things off saying to yourself it's so small it couldn't possibly matter!!!  If GOD LAYS IN ON YOUR HEART---DO IT!!!  Don't be afraid of what others think!  God so wants to use us...don't wait for something big like I do.....however God wants to use you is BIG no matter how tiny it seems to you!

This year I want to listen to that still, small voice that says many things to my heart....and I want to do more of what that voice inside my heart is suggesting no matter how small!  Love and hugs to you all for a safe and blessed New Year serving our amazing, loving Father!

The pictures below are of the first Pony Express delivery day which I talked all my siblings into helping me which was pretty special!