The race is not given to the swift, nor to the strong but to the one who endures until the end! Today was a race day! Actually everyday is a race day, but today was an actual 5k run race day. My first race of the year at the beginning of spring, my favorite season of the four. This race was symbolic for me in so many ways. As the race approached I was faced with many challenges. Honestly, I didn't think I would be able to run.
1. First Fruit Race - in honor of my Heavenly Father who gives me the strength to run and the ability to endure even when it's hard. 2. Spring - the season of new life. Everything that dies during the winter is now being resurrected again. Trees begin to bear fruit, produce flowers, grass turns green, weather begins to warm, bees begin to produce honey, etc. Life is new and its time for some spring cleaning! 3. The Arts - near and dear to my heart. As a professional artist I always try to support community arts programs especially those that incorporate wellness. When I arrived at the Porter Sandford PAC, the crowd was building. Check-in went smoothly. Vendors were available for wellness checks. We started off with a group workout lead by a fitness instructor. Surrounded by hundreds of people, we all made our way to the starting point. GO!!! As I began my slow and steady pace, I observed the hundreds of people walking and running around me. After the first few minutes the large crowd began to dissipate as the more experienced runners in the lead gained some distance. As I looked ahead the first hill was in sight. No longer did I see the hundreds of walkers who were now all behind me, all I could focus on was getting up that hill. Slow and steady, I paced myself. Determined and pushing forward with a little more speed, the crowd of runners ahead of me seemed to thin out as the now leading runners began to walk. That hill was a monster! As we approached the top of the hill, I focused on regaining my steady pace while talking deep breaths. Filling up my lungs with oxygen, I exhaled and down hill I went. Down hill I went! Instantly I had an epiphany. If life is one long endurance race then the hills are the trials we have to endure. Up and down we go. Slow and steady we push through the resistance, then down we go with lightening speed if we don't pace ourselves. Pace yourself when your rolling downhill, because if you go too fast you just might lose your balance. Down hill is the time you need to breath. Nevermind the walkers coming up along side of you or the runners. Keep your pace, focus on your race and your breathing, because guess what, another hill is coming. As we continued along the race path, I approached the straightaway, observeing fellow team members encouraging each other and water carriers distributing water on the sidelines. Water on the sidelines? I guess some people might need water if the did not take the time before the race to hydrate. During the race is the worst time to drink water. Hill number two is now approaching and again with a slow and steady pace I pressed up the hill. Focusing on my breathing and nothing else, I reached the top of the hill and noticed an even bigger gap now between the experienced runners and the walkers. Regaining my balance and taking deeper breaths, I had reached the half way point. The leading runners were still going strong, I being one of them! That is until hill number three! Just when I thought the rest of the race would be a breeze, another hill was before me, just like life. As soon as you think you have finally made it to reaching your goal, another curve ball is thrown your way. This moment unlike any other moment in the race is critical. Why, you may ask. Because this is the make or break moment. After running up and down hills, enduring the straightaway, trying our best not to become distracted by the people in the crowd, you must maintain your focus and keep your head in the game no matter what! You may have stopped for water and now you have a pain in your side (pain and sickness). You may have failed to stretch before you ran so now you have a cramp in your calf. You may realize that your not in the shape that you thought you were in to run a 5k at all! Maybe your like me, got a call on your smartphone by mistake because of that darn auto answer, interrupting the steady beat of your endurance music. Whatever your reason, these obsticals are designed to slow you down or get you to quit all together [ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO PRESS] Admitting, I had to power walk the last hill because I did not have enough wind to press my way up the hill because of the unexpected phone call. Foolish mistake, but it was one of my daughters. Even your children can be a distraction to your goals. As I power walked up the hill, catching my breath, I purposed in my heart to finish running. Again on the downward hill I regained my slow and steady pace and pressed on. Along the way there was another small hill that I cleared with no problem. The finish line was in sight. My legs felt like I was carrying 20 pound weights around my ankles. It was hard to run. I had to power walk for a moment until I could suck in enough air to run again. To my surprise one of the runners came up along side of me and said come on let's finish this together! Thankful for her encouragement, I began to run. With less than a mile left to go I was almost there. By now I could see the finish line. The fellow runner who had just pushed me to finish was now walking so I decided to return the favor. "Come on where almost there" PUSH, PRESS, ENDURE! Through the finish-line I went beating my personal goal and finishing strong. Excerpt from The Endurance Ride of Life Chapter 6: Detour Around Distractions ISBN- 13: 978- 1484966082 ISBN- 10: 1484966082 2013 © All Rights Reserved by Chi T. Mathias. ChiTMathias.com For a few practical tools and fresh inspiration through my personal life lessons learned, grab a copy of The Endurance Ride of Life. Available in ebook on Amazon.com
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2 TIMOTHY 3
"You emphatically must know what I am about to tell you! In the very last part of the last days, in the very end of the age, hurtful, harmful, dangerous, unpredictable, uncontrollable, high-risk periods of time will come." Are you built to #ENDURE? According to 2 Timothy 3:1, we are living in an age that will be marked by "perilous" world events. Let us therefore be wise, protecting our minds, our family members, and every other area of our lives by renewing our minds with the Word of God. Rather than hide in fear, let's get God's perspective about what we should be doing to help people who have been victimized by this age. Let's move out with the power of God and be ready to minister to those who have suffered harm because of the times in which we live! #KINGDOMAUTHORITY Daily Prayer For Today Lord, You designed me to live in these last days according to Your great plan. Because You are in charge of my life, I know it's no mistake that I am alive in this generation. Since these days are filled with greater risk than any other generation has ever known, I need faith to face these times victoriously. I need wisdom to minister to others who are wounded and hurt. So today I ask You to help me embrace this time as a part of my destiny and to become strong in faith so I can reach out to those who are near me and who need spiritual assistance! Help me to recognize their need and to know exactly how I should respond to help them. I pray this in Jesus' Name! FAITH DECLARATION I declare by faith that I am chosen and equipped to live in this last generation. The Word of God protects my mind, my family, and everything that is a part of my life. I will renew my mind with the Word of God and get God's perspective about what His role is for me in these last days. Therefore, I will be a blessing and a help to people who have been victimized by these difficult and trying times. Rather than hide in fear, I will move out with the power of God and stay ever-ready to minister to those who have suffered harm because of the times in which we live! I declare this by faith in Jesus' Name! How often do we start moving in one direction, face opposition and then quit? You had a great idea, you had tremendous passion, but once the real work came, you wore yourself out! It happens all the time to even the strongest willed people. They give up right before the good stuff is about to happen. The race is not given to the swift nor the strong but to the one who endures until the end (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Distractions are all around us. Distractions are hindrances that keep many individuals from accomplishing their goals, fulfilling their dreams, and staying focused. To accomplish any goal, especially a God sized goal requires tremendous focus and the ability to detour around the many distractions that we face on a daily basis. (1 Peter 1:13- 16) Personally, this is something I have struggled with for years. I have often found myself too busy to focus on the main thing and I’ve gotten lost helping others. Many of us can relate to this. We help so many people and do so many things that we are so emotionally and physically exhausted, that we don’t have time for the God sized vision in our heart let alone God. The lesson learned is that whenever you become so consumed with the cares of this world, becoming distracted by many things you will never accomplish the goals you set. It is imperative that you don’t allow the distractions that bombard us daily to cause you to miss out on opportunities, deadlines, rest and fulfilling your greatness. It happens easily. Excerpt from The Endurance Ride of Life Chapter 6: Detour Around Distractions ISBN- 13: 978- 1484966082 ISBN- 10: 1484966082 © 2013 by Chi T. Mathias. All rights RESERVED. ChiTMathias.com For a few practical tools and fresh inspiration through my personal life lessons learned, grab a copy of The Endurance Ride of Life. Available in ebook on Amazon.com Do you find yourself becoming angry at times or even discouraged by the disciples God has put in Your life to lead, coach, teach or mentor? I do! I become frustrated at times because of their inability to focus, complete and carry out the tasks before them. However, as leadership mentors we must remain patient and continue to model the behaviors we expect them to demonstrate. Leaders assume responsibility to model for those that they lead. What behaviors do you want to see demonstrated by your disciples? Are you modeling those same behaviors? We must also evaluate their performance and assess why they failed. In addition, we must affirm truth and hold them accountable to embrace it. What truths are you affirming? Please share your wisdom...#WISDOMSPEAKS I live everyday of my life in expectation. Like an expectant mother in her last trimester of pregnancy approaching the final week of her due date, I'm expecting. Like parents who tie a yellow ribbon around the oak tree in the front yard awaiting their sons return home, I'm expecting to see the long awaited promise walk through the doors of my life. As the April rain pours from heaven into the flowing rivers of the Niagara Falls, I'm expecting abundance to overflow into every area of my life. Like a fisherman casting his net out in the deep, calling for help to pull up the load, I'm expecting the windows of heaven to pour out a blessing that I won't have room enough to receive. I'm expecting to give with every measure of abundance given to me, because I know and understand that more will be added. I'm expecting, ready and waiting. Inspired Journal Entry 10/13/13 © 2013 by Chi T. Mathias. All rights RESERVED Celebrate Women's History Month on March 9th from 5:30-8:30 pm with me and my Sistahs at the Massage Luxe South Grand Relaxation Mixer. Come and be pampered and hear about how we are making significant changes in the community. Panelist include myself, Chi T. Mathias, Visionary & Creative Director of the Grand Center Creative Arts Building & Founder of The Musik Institute, Inc.; Tracie Berry McGhee, Visionary & Founder of SistaKeeper Empowerment Center & Imani Therapy; and Selena J, Visionary of The Mediation Lounge. Our stories will enlighten and encourage you.
The evening will be filled with massages, skin analysis, facility tours, service and product discounts, book autographs, meet and greet with staff, and volunteer opportunities. Admission is $10, partial proceeds go towards youth scholarships for students to take private guitar, voice, piano and violin lessons at The Musik Institute in the Grand Center Creative Arts a Building. I'm still celebrating the new year! We are having a blast! We are off and running and haven't stopped yet! Have you heard about TheCreativeArtsBuilding.com? Well check us out and most of all stop by and visit! We are also celebrating an anniversary this month! The Musik Institute was founded 7 years ago as a mobile business offering private piano lessons in the comfort of our students homes and private and group vocal coaching in local churches and within the community. Since then we have evolved into a a non profit organization with a physical location and now offer private and group violin and guitar lessons in addition to voice and piano! Be sure to visit us at TheMusikInstitute.org to learn more about our work with children and youth in the St. Louis community. Also consider sponsoring a talented child who may not have the financial means to take lessons. All The Best, Chi T. Mathias, Founder & President As children, many of us entertained fantasies or even goals of being an actor, singer, dancer, artist, or musician. In some cases, we received enough encouragement to develop our abilities in those creative arenas, but somewhere along the way we stopped. This stopping may have been due to circumstances beyond our control or to our own unconscious acts of self-sabotage. Being creative can be scary in a world that seems to value logic over imagination and practicality over dreaming. We can forgive ourselves for shutting down or turning our attention away from our inner artist, but perhaps we can also take steps to reclaim our dreams. Its time to find your creative outlet @CABStL, if not you then send us your kids! Oh and like us on FB https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Creative-Arts-Building/1454944618099161 Everyone’s journey is unique to them. Along the way we are given keys to unlock the doors of life as we make choices. Like the Oracle did for Neo in the Matrix, each door will take you further into your own matrix. Each season of life will present a unique set of challenges and many triumphs. That’s the stuff that life is made of. Embrace every moment. The good as well as the bad. The ups as well as the down times. Write about it. Cry about it. Laugh out loud. Share your lessons learned. Inspire someone else. Encourage others. By no means do you ever give up on YOU and don’t you dare give up on God.
If He could come into a two bedroom high-rise apartment and spare my life, keep me from losing my mind time after time. Teach me what I did not know. Forgive me when I made mistakes. Open doors that no man could close, not even myself. Then my friend, He can and will do the same for you. Is there anything too hard for God? Write down every problem in your life that you foresee on a sheet of paper and pray this prayer: Father, You are so faithful. I thank you for my life. I thank you for all of the years you have kept me, provided for me, opened doors for me, protected me and how you love me. I believe that you love me and that you want the best for me. I know that there is nothing too hard for You. On this paper are the things that are too hard for me. These are things I don’t know how to handle and I give them to you. I choose today to no longer worry about these things. I trust You. Excerpt from The Endurance Ride of Life by Chi T Mathias ISBN-13: 978-1484966082 ISBN-10: 1484966082 © 2013 by Chi T. Mathias. All rights RESERVED. In my previous post #The Power of The Holy Spirit, I alluded to the lives of the disciples of Jesus Christ who were once followers, now ready to lead. I also shared that the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives empowers us to do the extraordinary. The last few months I have faced all sorts of leadership lessons, personally and professionally. The constant question that I asked myself was, how do I ascend from a good leader to a great leader? Again, experience and observation, coupled with God's Word and Wisdom granted this revelation. As good leaders ascend from good to great, they begin to see things from a different perspective. This change in perspective shifts their position from the Overseer Leader to the Shepherd Leader. Our greatest example of a shepherd leader is our Heavenly Father. In Psalm 23 we read about the nature and the leadership of our Heavenly Father described by David, a model shepherd himself. "The Lord is my Shepherd." The term "shepherd" is used throughout Old and New Testament scripture to illustrate leadership. Leadership involves both the rod (correction) and the staff (direction). Leadership communicates love, compassion, nurturing, intimacy, and the spiritual care a godly leader provides. "Not only does leadership demand the shepherding of others, but leaders must exhort them and build internal motivation in the hearts of their followers." John Maxwell In my observations and in my own personal experiences, effective leadership is not always so easily demonstrated without proper preparation. Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 challenges us to walk prudently, to draw near to hear, and to not be hasty in our speech. Ouch! What lessons we can all learn from this. In the text Solomon describes three major pitfalls lying in wait for careless leaders: 1. Hasty Speech - leaders must listen as much as they speak. It takes more than words to fulfill dreams. 2. Empty Promises - leaders tend to say what others want to hear. Don't promise what you can't deliver. 3. Lame Excuses - leaders diminish their influence when they try to reverse a mistake with a lame excuse. #LoveLeadership 10 Commandments of Leadership 1. Leaders must be willing to listen as they lead 2. Leaders must be willing to learn as the lead 3. Leaders must be willing to serve as they lead 4. Leaders must reach the heart before they ask for the hand 5. Leaders must keep their hearts and motives pure 6. Leaders must keep their word 7. Leaders must stay on their knees in prayer for those they serve and lead 8. Leaders must make excellence a lifestyle 9. Leaders must remain committed to what really matters 10. Leaders must display integrity and sound ethics "Leaders are compassionate listeners of the heart who use their hands to ignite a flame of hope in the lives of those they lead" Chi T. Mathias, Visionary | chitmathias.com | Compassionate.Humble.Inspired Join us every Tuesday @ 7:30 beginning November 11th for a 7 week journey of #GENUINE servant leadership. The Leading The Way Bible Study at The Creative Arts Building in Grand Center located at 3617 Grandel Square 63108. RSVP REQUESTED @ 314.224.5377. Please bring a friend, a refreshment of your choice and your John Maxwell Leadership Bible. Don't have either of these? Come anyway! #NOEXCUSES #THETIMEISNOW #WHATRUWAITING4 #STL #HEALING #INSPIRE #EMPOWER #TRANSFORM #LEADERSHIP #ABUNDANCE #GRATITUDE |
AuthorLife long journal keeper who is now ready to share my story with the world! |