We have been enjoying this gorgeous Arizona weather for 9 days now. Like Daniel wrote, we arrived to Peoria last Wednesday and what an awesome and exciting drive that was!
Daniel has been practicing at the field everyday and has truly been enjoying being apart of mini-camp. He has so much excitement for baseball. He honestly never complains, every morning he wakes up as if a child excited for his first day of school; Daniel wakes up anxious and refreshed for another day to play baseball. God is so great for giving Daniel the desire of his heart to play baseball and to do what He loves. We are so grateful. In the midst of the hard times that come along with this career/lifestyle, we couldn't be more thrilled for the opportunity.
Daniel left for the field around 7 am this morning. It's been working out perfect because we are living exactly 2 miles from the complex. We only have the 1 car, so Daniel's been driving to the field and I get to sleep in a little longer after he leaves. I've been taking advantage of the short distance we live and have been able to get my morning jog in everyday, going to the field and picking up the car from there until Daniel is ready to be picked up in the afternoon.
It's been really nice to be out here on our own again. Don't get me wrong, we loved every minute of being home spending time with friends and family. But being on our own again, in a different state, in a different environment and having that independency again really enables us and forces us to truly rely on each other and depend more on the Lord then ever. To fully depend on the Lord is something I want so much. And to be honest, it definitely doesn't always come easy to me. Especially with the uncertainties baseball brings; the"not knowings", Not knowing where we'll end up next baseball season, not knowing if we'll face another injury this year, not knowing what the Mariner's are thinking. There is so much unknown that this career brings, but how much more as Christians should that make us rely on Him? Incredibly more!
I am currently reading this devotional book by Joni Eareckson Tada called Pearls of Great Price. The devotional this morning was really awesome and related specifically to the questions of the 'unknowns' I have been feeling. I felt like God was speaking to me directly through my time with Him. Isn't it so cool that we serve a God who gives us those special moments and makes us feel as if it was meant just for us? The title of the devotional is called. "What's Up Ahead" followed by
Psalm 37:5-6 "Commit your way to the LORD;trust in him and he will do this:He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."
To sum it up Joni (the author) was left hospitalized and paralyzed after a diving accident in 1967 and has been confined to a wheelchair since. Well in this particular devotion she starts off by talking about a drive she did with a friend of hers from Chicago to Urbana. Because of being in her wheelchair, her head reached higher then the windows and she was unable to see anything during the entire stint of the drive. Her friend would try to describe to her the cornfields and barns they were passing, but it only frustrated Joni more because she wanted to see. She's describes herself as the sort of person who likes to know what lies ahead.If she can't see the whole road;then she'd like to see "a few feet at least", she says.
She goes on to relate that to our spiritual lives. How often do we say to God, "If you don't mind, please show me where I am going. I don't need the whole road, but at least a little bit." I know I'm guilty of that charge! Especially in baseball, I am constantly trying weigh out possibilities of places we may end up during the season. I ask God to give me 'hints' or try on my own to search for hints. Jodi continues on to say "We think our faith has to be supported by a bit of evidence. A hint, a signpost, a whisper...something to give us a clue to what God is doing. We wrongly assume that faith is the ability to take a couple of puzzle pieces and be able to envision the entire picture. Not so. Faith that must be supported by the five senses is not genuine. Jesus said to doubting Thomas, "You have believed me because you have seen me, but blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." our insistence upon discerning what's up ahead is natural, but is a hindrance to real faith. It's why God constantly encourages us to trust Him in the dark (Isaiah 10:10)
I love that, TRUSTING GOD IN THE DARK. We all face that, having the choice to trust God with our lives or deciding to put on our detective badge, scoop up clues and try to figure it out ourself what our future may hold. In baseball especially, Daniel and I have realized that we can't make plans of our own because anything can change. Going into this spring training brings alot of uncertainties of what (the big question for me has been 'Where') the next baseball season holds. We are not sure where we will end up (It will either be back to Low A Clinton, Iowa or High A with the High Desert Mavericks). I honestly have tried to figure it out. The Lord knows our hearts desire is to be in California close to home. But more then that, we want our hearts desire to be Gods desire and His will to be ours. Reading that devotional today was a big reminder to me to stop trying to 'figure it out' and to fully trust God in the dark.
I need to stop trying to point my flashlight ahead to see what's in the distance and hand my flashlight over to Jesus and let Him take charge and be my guide!
Daniel has been practicing at the field everyday and has truly been enjoying being apart of mini-camp. He has so much excitement for baseball. He honestly never complains, every morning he wakes up as if a child excited for his first day of school; Daniel wakes up anxious and refreshed for another day to play baseball. God is so great for giving Daniel the desire of his heart to play baseball and to do what He loves. We are so grateful. In the midst of the hard times that come along with this career/lifestyle, we couldn't be more thrilled for the opportunity.
Daniel left for the field around 7 am this morning. It's been working out perfect because we are living exactly 2 miles from the complex. We only have the 1 car, so Daniel's been driving to the field and I get to sleep in a little longer after he leaves. I've been taking advantage of the short distance we live and have been able to get my morning jog in everyday, going to the field and picking up the car from there until Daniel is ready to be picked up in the afternoon.
It's been really nice to be out here on our own again. Don't get me wrong, we loved every minute of being home spending time with friends and family. But being on our own again, in a different state, in a different environment and having that independency again really enables us and forces us to truly rely on each other and depend more on the Lord then ever. To fully depend on the Lord is something I want so much. And to be honest, it definitely doesn't always come easy to me. Especially with the uncertainties baseball brings; the"not knowings", Not knowing where we'll end up next baseball season, not knowing if we'll face another injury this year, not knowing what the Mariner's are thinking. There is so much unknown that this career brings, but how much more as Christians should that make us rely on Him? Incredibly more!
I am currently reading this devotional book by Joni Eareckson Tada called Pearls of Great Price. The devotional this morning was really awesome and related specifically to the questions of the 'unknowns' I have been feeling. I felt like God was speaking to me directly through my time with Him. Isn't it so cool that we serve a God who gives us those special moments and makes us feel as if it was meant just for us? The title of the devotional is called. "What's Up Ahead" followed by
Psalm 37:5-6 "Commit your way to the LORD;trust in him and he will do this:He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."
To sum it up Joni (the author) was left hospitalized and paralyzed after a diving accident in 1967 and has been confined to a wheelchair since. Well in this particular devotion she starts off by talking about a drive she did with a friend of hers from Chicago to Urbana. Because of being in her wheelchair, her head reached higher then the windows and she was unable to see anything during the entire stint of the drive. Her friend would try to describe to her the cornfields and barns they were passing, but it only frustrated Joni more because she wanted to see. She's describes herself as the sort of person who likes to know what lies ahead.If she can't see the whole road;then she'd like to see "a few feet at least", she says.
She goes on to relate that to our spiritual lives. How often do we say to God, "If you don't mind, please show me where I am going. I don't need the whole road, but at least a little bit." I know I'm guilty of that charge! Especially in baseball, I am constantly trying weigh out possibilities of places we may end up during the season. I ask God to give me 'hints' or try on my own to search for hints. Jodi continues on to say "We think our faith has to be supported by a bit of evidence. A hint, a signpost, a whisper...something to give us a clue to what God is doing. We wrongly assume that faith is the ability to take a couple of puzzle pieces and be able to envision the entire picture. Not so. Faith that must be supported by the five senses is not genuine. Jesus said to doubting Thomas, "You have believed me because you have seen me, but blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." our insistence upon discerning what's up ahead is natural, but is a hindrance to real faith. It's why God constantly encourages us to trust Him in the dark (Isaiah 10:10)
I love that, TRUSTING GOD IN THE DARK. We all face that, having the choice to trust God with our lives or deciding to put on our detective badge, scoop up clues and try to figure it out ourself what our future may hold. In baseball especially, Daniel and I have realized that we can't make plans of our own because anything can change. Going into this spring training brings alot of uncertainties of what (the big question for me has been 'Where') the next baseball season holds. We are not sure where we will end up (It will either be back to Low A Clinton, Iowa or High A with the High Desert Mavericks). I honestly have tried to figure it out. The Lord knows our hearts desire is to be in California close to home. But more then that, we want our hearts desire to be Gods desire and His will to be ours. Reading that devotional today was a big reminder to me to stop trying to 'figure it out' and to fully trust God in the dark.
I need to stop trying to point my flashlight ahead to see what's in the distance and hand my flashlight over to Jesus and let Him take charge and be my guide!
Are you willing to hand your flashlight over to Jesus today and let Him take control?
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