Scraped knees are okay.

So you used to run. 
    & it was all your little legs knew. You flew through life doing all you could & putting all you were into everything you did because that was success. That was how to become somebody. Success earned you a fan club, people who looked at you starstruck from how all together you were. Whatever it was, you had it. & everyone told you how great you were. You were such an inspiration. You had it all right. They told you so. They saw the spark in your eye, the magic in your touch, & although you didn't know what the heck they were talking about because all you were feeling was the sinking sand, you remained unstoppable. & you were unstoppable until you hit that brick wall. & that's when you met Jesus.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36

    Jesus lifted the chains from trying, alright. He set you free from sin & free from trying. You were free indeed. But what do you do when you don't do things to earn God's love? You don't know. & it's something nobody explained to you when you had that melt your makeup off moment of repentance. All you know is God loved you in your sin. Before you chose him, he chose you. Which means nothing you could do is going to make God love you any more or any less. His love is constant & not based on circumstances. So he doesn't want you to run in circles panic stricken because you haven't got the house tidied before your guests arrived. You don't need to shove book after book down your throat to be sure you are a philosopher with all the answers. You don't have to run around serving others with no time to rejuvenate.

I'm a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N.
[CUE THE WAITING ROOM MUSIC]

    So here I am sitting on my couch in silence, hands folded on my lap, trying to practice the art of rest. I try to think of something 'restful' to do with my free time, but I don't like anything on television & I have no partner to play chess with me. I say chess because I feel like that's a holy game. I mean I don't want to play monopoly, because a game revolved around money is the devil. So materialistic. I don't want to go on Facebook or any social networking because chances are someone will post something that draws the anger up in me, leaving me bashing them for the next twenty minutes because how many different angles do we need to see of your face? We get it. You think you look good. So I think I'll just sit here on the left side of the couch, because we all know Jesus is probably seated on the right side. I just don't want to mess up. So I'll remain seated until the light turns green & things look safe.

This is Joshua.
{DEUTERONOMY 31:1-8}

    He probably felt put on the spot. Can you imagine? Moses is in conversation with God, small talking with the invisible ruler of the universe, & you see him turning your direction, pointing directly at you. He must be telling God on you. The guilty conscious sets in. What did you do? Well other than laughing at the man who tripped over the tree root the other day, you got nothing. So that must be it. You're so deep in thought you don't even realize whats happening until Moses is two thirds of the way away from you, walking straight towards you. Before you can even think of what excuse you can give for the inappropriate laughter, he blurts it out. God was talking about you. Uh, What?!
    Not only was God talking about you, he chose you to replace me.

    You're going to lead the Israelites.

    "Be strong & courageous," Moses says, all casual. No big deal.

    (tap table x2) Pass.

    I would probably begin dry heaving from the overwhelming anxiety. Not only do you feel unqualified, but you're looking around at all the thousands of eyes on you & you know that they all must be thinking the same thing. It was Moses who God called from the burning bush, Moses who God gave the power to part the seas, Moses who performed a ton of miracles to simply get Pharaoh to let the people go. Everyone knew that Moses & God were bros. You don't know God like he knows him. God hasn't used you how he's used him.

{JOSHUA 1}

    So he has a little time to sit on the whole idea. Moses is still kicking it & moving good so the stress slowly fades to the back of his mind & he's enjoying life, living day to day. Then it happens. Moses goes up to check out the Promised Land & dies & God buries him. That's the end of that. & the Israelites are looking around trying to find the man that God had told Moses was to follow in his footsteps & then they find him. All eyes rest on Joshua.
   

    "Okay, God. What do I do." -Joshua

    "Be strong & courageous." -God

    "Yeah. Okay." -Joshua

    "No I mean it. Moses did nothing. That was me, & I'm still here. Be strong & courageous." -God

    (Joshua gives him a reluctant head nod)

    "Be strong & courageous, Joshua. I can." -God

    As if God telling Joshua three times to be strong & courageous wasn't enough, when Joshua returned to the people to prepare them for God's plan to conquer the land he had promised them, the people responded to Joshua with an encouraging "be strong & courageous". So he listens & obeys & puts his trust where it belongs.

{JOSHUA 10:1-27}
    & throughout the book of Joshua, we watch him lead the people. Honestly, sometimes it doesn't look too pretty. Joshua wasn't perfect. People steal things that they shouldn't be taking. They don't ask God's input before making treaties with mysterious men. & at a couple of key moments, you have to wonder what they were thinking. But Joshua never lets the possibility of failure stop him from trying, growing, & allowing God to use him. Years after he began his journey, we see a change in Joshua. God no longer has to keep reminding him to be strong & courageous. He has clung to God's words & allowed them to build him into the person God needed to get the job done. & now, he's fearless & believes in God for the impossible. So he asks God to make the sun stand still.

So the sun stood still & the moon stayed in place until

the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.

(Joshua 10:13)

    Joshua didn't stare at the rubble & defeat, forcing himself to return to start without passing go or collecting $200. He pressed on. He moved forward. He asked God for more.

Flightless bird. 

CAUTION: A SIMPLE WARNING OF HOW MUCH THIS GIRL NEEDS THE GRACE OF GOD TO TAKE HER BY THE HAND. 

I'm a hot mess nine out of ten times in my life. I try so hard to live in a way that God would stick my picture on his frig, but trying gets me no where because no matter how hard I try this flesh can't save itself. I've hit rock bottom enough to be able to tell you the seconds it takes to hit the ground. I've been a hypocrite. & somehow God is still here. I can't understand it. But that's beautiful, amazing grace. I tell you this as a preface to the repetitious example I always return to. Because to you, I might be a stupid girl stuck in the same sin. & I am. Just not the stupid part. I am a daughter of the king. That's who I am, my identity. I'm not defined by my battles.  

NOW TO THE SAME OLD STORY.

    You know how it goes. You think you're strong enough to do it by yourself, you're taking off the training wheels. So you're lovely big brother who thinks this is the most brilliant idea you've ever had begins pushing you down the run way, snickering the whole way as he knows what's about to go down. As you begin to gain speed, his grip on the back of the seat fades & you're free as a bird, gliding through the streets. Suddenly, the streets turn to gold, the birds chirping sound like a Disney movie, & the flowers are in full bloom. & you're smiling until you hit that large pothole in the middle of the road that your brother didn't warn you about. The front wheel drops, & your weightless feathers go gliding over the hand bars.

     You have your battle scars, some wounds maybe still fresh. Maybe for you it's materialism, always needing to have the latest & greatest possessions. Maybe it's popularity, changing who you are to mold into the people you surround yourself with. Maybe it's feeling confident as a single woman of Christ. Maybe it's deeper than that. Maybe it's not lusting after men that aren't yours. I don't know, but I do know I'm barely scratching the surface. God made his daughters so intricate that, despite how narrow minded & blonde men might classify women as, we are detailed, beautiful beings with depth. We have struggles, tally marks counted as wins & losses. We will fail, & God knows. But we will rise. Because despite what a hot mess I am, God knew that when he met me in the pit. His love isn't based on my actions. His love endures. & when we fall off our bike & scratch our knee, he's the one running to our rescue, scooping us out of the gravel.

Be strong & courageous, love. He can.