Contender or Pretender

May 3, 2023Blog, Personal Growth, Sunday Sermonscontender, pretender, stand up, valuesdebio7 Leave a comment

Repost from Sunday sermon 6.26.21, because this is so vital right now. 5.6.23

I remember times in my life when I decidedly committed myself to being a true contender. Bear with me as I list some:

Young softball pitcher
16 year old female table tennis champion
Award winning French Horn student
Honors college student
Ace volleyball server
SUP 10Ker

In each of these stages, my focus, energy, effort, thoughts and time was (mostly) willingly given to improving, becoming stronger, better, more accurate and fluid in what I was contending for.

Training, discipline, and a long term goal, pushed aside laziness, discouragement and cheap talk. I was purposed to contend and be the best I could in an effort to win the prize.

If you’re looking to be a contender, your daily decisions are what put you on the road to that prize, not your words.

Contenders and pretenders look alike on the surface, but it is their actions that set them apart.

Pretenders take the path of least resistance, while contenders take disciplined training and overcome. There’s no achieving that championship belt by sitting quietly and watching others in the ring.

Pretenders allow laziness to take over and then the comfort zone anchors them in.

Here’s why it matters, whether you are a contender or pretender…

“… I felt the need to challenge you to vigorously defend and contend for the beliefs that we cherish.”
Jude 3

Judah, was Jesus’ half brother and it is he that is speaking here. He was writing to the early believers because he wanted to challenge them to contend for the things that Jesus had taught them. Fight for them, for their truth, for their preeminence, for their validity. He was calling them to be contenders for the faith not pretenders.

No words of the Bible could be any truer today. Judah is calling to us, to remind us to contend for the beliefs we cherish, not become lazy and allow them to slip from our minds, lives, and national awareness.

Contend, with the same discipline as an athlete, for Christian beliefs that are under attack. Focus on them, exercise with them, spur with others- as an athlete and true contender for the faith, not just some lazy “Christian”.

Here is a quick list I made of Christian messages that are under attack:

God as creator
All are created equal and in God’s image
God loves all mankind
The Bible is his word and divinely inspired
The inerrancy of the bible
There is truth and there is absolute truth
There is life after death lived in heaven or hell for everyone
Right and wrong
Power and freedom come from God not government
Marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman
The church is God’s institution designed to execute God’s will on earth
Life begins at conception
Male and female

We are told to contend for these beliefs! Judah tells us to vigorously defend these!

What are we doing Christians?

We cannot allow the influences of this society to sweep away these beliefs that we cherish!

Who’s winning? Are you contending for the faith?

Think too about the values and beliefs brought to this nation by our founding fathers. We must not let them slip or be retaught guised in lies. This is serious.

I can’t help it, what are we doing?

Are you a contender or a pretender?

Go with God,

Debbie

Your Core Values

May 14, 2021Blog, My Podcast - The Joshua FIles, Personal Growthcore values, valuesdebio7 Leave a comment

The Joshua Files Podcast 5.14.21

Building your life on core values, choosing to live by them and make decisions based on them is challenging, but you will find the greatest fulfillment, pride and happiness doing so.

Click on this Friday’s episode of my podcast to hear some important truth.

Subscribe, leave a message, give it a star rating and spread the word – all I would greatly appreciate.

TGIF!

Cheers.

Debbie

Reset

April 1, 2020Blog, Encouragement, Personal Growthpriorities, reboot, reset, valuesdebio7 Leave a comment

Can you feel it lingering in the air?

That feeling that this is major and lifelong change is happening right before our eyes? The world as we know it is shifting and we are witness to history?

Maybe it’s not like that for you, but it sure seems to at least be a major reset for us. So, to that end, allow me to expatiate.

“Reset – to set again, or differently; adjusting or fixing something in a new or different way.”
Synonyms – reboot, restore, re-establish, restart
Common uses – to reset: an alarm clock, a broken bone, a different way, priorities, prices
Websters.com

We are truly at a reset time in our country. A time to re-evaluate our priorities, our values. What ways need to be changed? How can we do things differently? What has been broken that needs to be fixed? What alarm has been sounding and we better get to it? What needs major restoration? What shall we start up again?

These are questions I believe we should be asking on a global level, but I also believe that we should be asking and dealing with them on a personal level too. We have the time.

Now is the time to reboot, restart, restore and reset our thinking and priorities.

From my life, here are some simple examples of how my thinking has been reset: I now view grocery store clerks, workers, stockers and truck drivers with much more appreciation, respect and value. Restaurateur’s are due mad props for all they deal with and I will no longer take their fine dining wares for granted. That goes for fast food eateries too.

Hair dressers, teachers, plumbers, construction workers, florists, carpenters, small businesses, THESE are some of the jobs and people that have been overlooked, and undervalued in our society. We/I need to reset our/my thinking about them.

I value these jobs/people, they are important to me. They are more important to me than the multimillion dollar MLB or NBA player and what shoes they are wearing. Or the YouTube influencer and what lipstick they endorse. Geesh, how petty. How shallow we have become. Reset!

I value churches being able to meet. I value all Americans having the right to speak, even if I disagree with you. I value people disagreeing and yet still respecting each other. I value national traditions, even if they are not mine. I value life. I value hard work. I value family.

What do YOU value? I hope these days have given you time to see those clearly.

For me, these days are filled with major self-reflection and these 3 things keep coming up:

What are my priorities?
What are may values?
What are my interests?

If what I am doing, thinking, or planning does not line up with those, then I need a reset.

As America is resetting, may her members and citizens do the same. What is important to us – let’s keep it in focus and never stop using our voice and efforts to advance it. Otherwise, let’s adjust it and fix it or totally do away with it.

” Every sunset is an opportunity to reset.”
Richie Norton

Let’s PUSH the RESET BUTTON, today.

Cheers to you.