Devotionals for the Heart: Life Advice

Don’t Go Running Blind
A devotional by Sharon Musgrove

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
–Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

Running races was something I did when I was younger. I loved it! I ran the occasional city race or fundraiser, and daily I ran alone.

The longest race I’ve run was a half marathon. The “half” is 13.1 miles. Initially, I wanted to run the full marathon, but early in training, I sustained an injury and settled for the shorter distance. I was disappointed to be running what I thought to be a second-rate competition. I was more bummed at lowering the bar of my personal achievements than my concern for my strained achilles tendon. I found a way to continue in training.

I was running for my glory. I was running blind.

Because of my running, I’ve appreciated this passage in Hebrews chapter 12. However, the author is not writing about a race like the one I ran. He did not promote challenges to prove oneself. This race he pens is a fight for life.

In the ancient world, the Olympic games were severe. Competitions were often to the death. While, like me, some contenders might have been seeking their own glory, but it was also common that prisoners were pit against each other for entertainment.

Imagine a stadium filled with spectators awaiting who would emerge victorious. This was no time to daydream or get sidetracked with whose shoes were a better brand! There was no silver medal for second place. Competition demanded focus and putting to use the daily training.

In these verses in Hebrews 12, I see four “sights” to keep us intentional in this “good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) rather than running blind. Let’s look at the scripture moving from the end to the beginning: “…Jesus…who for the joy set before him endured…and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Let’s examine those four “sights”:

Sight #1: Run with eyes set on the throne of God

There absolutely is an end to the marathon and the prize is a face to face with the great I AM! For all of the striving and effort we put into proving value, the time is coming when we will look our Father in the eye and He will know every footfall we’ve had. What a reward!

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith….”

Sight #2: Run with eyes set on Jesus

Jesus set the pace, training us daily by the records of him running ahead. It is Jesus who makes our victory possible! He endured what was set before him and knows we can follow.

“…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely….”

Sight #3: Run seeing that the thing that holds you back is sin and the shame of it.

The blood of Christ on the cross was death to sin and death to shame. Forgiveness does not hold a grudge nor does it consider you accountable. The price is paid. Let it be paid. Shame is weighing you down. Lay it aside. Jesus despises it!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses….”

Sight #4: Run seeing the eyes that watch

There is no such thing as a secret. There are always witnesses to how we run this race. Children observe parents. Neighbors survey their hood. Heavenly beings also watch on as we run.

Let us be encouraged as we run the race before us. Let us not run blind, as if a spiritual world does not exist or if our steps do not matter. Let Jesus continue to be your trainer, saying, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” as you power on toward the prize. Victory is ours, friend, fix your eyes on Him!

~*~
Author Bio:

Sharon Musgrove is a self-proclaimed sociologist. The opportunities opened to her, over the years, have led her on a fascinating journey observing human behavior. 

She has a diverse background in business, fitness and health industries. This background led her to a unique position writing curriculum and teaching for two private, Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both recovery programs served women primarily from the homeless community.

Sharon has traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the rural Maasai communities. She's been privileged to participate in Leadership camps for maturing young women. These annual camps have a mission of encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often abused young Maasai girls.

Easily identifying personally with the brokenness of the women she's served, Sharon now sees all people as needing more encouragement regardless of cultural or socioeconomic status. Within these ministries, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and witnessing its transformative power has become her passion.

In her leisure time, Sharon enjoys her garden, health food, travel and a good story. She and her husband, Jeff, make their home in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. They have two grown children. Currently, Sharon is writing her first Christian historical fiction novel utilizing her study, experience, and understanding of self-destructive behaviors.

Author Interview with Lindsay Harrel about "The Joy of Falling" (book)!

Dear Blog Reader Friends,

Today, you're in for a special treat!

My author friend Lindsay Harrel is here to talk about her new novel, The Joy of Falling. See the book cover above. Isn't it gorgeous?

Now here's what's in it for you (besides getting to know an awesome author): Lindsay is going to giveaway ONE signed paperback copy of her book to the winner of the book giveaway contest (enter via the Rafflecopter widget toward the end of this blog post)! This book giveaway contest is for U.S. residents only because shipping books internationally is expensive.

I hope that you will enjoy getting to know Lindsay and learning about her book baby, The Joy of Falling!

God bless you.

~*~

Interview with Lindsay Harrel about her book, The Joy of Falling:

Alexis: Why did you write this book?

Lindsay: I wrote this book for the same reason I write in general—I want to bring hope to people. Grief is such a difficult topic, and everyone experiences it and reacts differently to it. But regardless of our different experiences, I believe that hope can always be found, and that’s what I wanted to illuminate in The Joy of Falling.

Alexis: What was your inspiration for this story?

Lindsay: Grief is a topic that is deeply personal to me, since I lost my mom at the age of 19. But I recognize that my own journey is not the same one others have taken, and that led me to write a book about the different ways that people handle grief. That got me thinking about how two people might react to the same incident in various ways—one too busy to deal with it at all, another consumed by it so completely she can’t move forward.

Alexis: How did you research the international locations described in this book?

Lindsay: I mostly used the Internet, including various blogs, tourism websites, etc. Because this book features an ultra-marathon in New Zealand, I actually found a real ultra-marathon website and followed the marathoners’ journey across the country to infuse real places and moments into the story. Also, I asked a friend who lives in New Zealand to read an early draft of the book, and she was able to give me a lot of insight into things that the Internet didn’t.

Alexis: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this story? Why?

Lindsay: Honestly, it was just putting myself through the emotions of grief once again. Remembering how it felt to lose my mom, asking myself the tough questions that don’t really seem to have an answer—those things gutted me emotionally.

Alexis: What was your most memorable moment as you created these characters?

Lindsay: I was actually doing revisions and trying to rewrite the entire first act. I needed to figure out Eva and her motivations a bit better. And I rewrote the first line: “Once upon a time, color had dominated Eva Jamison’s days.” I still wasn’t sure I had gotten it right, but not long after, I received an email with the cover of the book—which is bursting with color. I immediately knew that this theme of light and darkness, colors and grays, was the perfect metaphor for Eva’s life before and after her husband’s death.

Alexis: Tell us about Eva and Angela. How do they know each other? What do they each want out of life? What is their greatest joy and deepest pain? Explain.

Lindsay: Eva and Angela were both married to the Jamison brothers, who died in a scuba diving accident fifteen months before the book begins. Before their deaths, Eva was living her best life as a florist/artist, fully enjoying her marriage and all that awaited them in the future. Angela, on the other hand, was a wife and mom of three kids, and while she hadn’t pictured her life the way it had turned out, she found she actually enjoyed homeschooling them. When their husbands died, though, Angela had to quit homeschooling and start working two jobs to make ends meet. And here’s the other thing—Angela is mad at her husband for dying. So how is she supposed to process that?

Alexis: How do Eva and Angela process the grief of losing their husbands? In what ways do they grieve the same and in what ways are they different?

Lindsay: Eva is kind of stuck in the grief. She lives in it, because she’s afraid of forgetting her husband if she moves forward. And with raising three kids and working two jobs, Angela doesn’t have time to grieve at all.

Alexis: Let’s talk about the men in this story. What can you tell me about Marc and Simon without giving away the plot? Describe their looks and personalities too!

Lindsay: Aw, I just love these guys! Marc was Brent Jamison’s best friend and business partner, and he feels really guilty for not only still being alive—he was supposed to be on the ill-fated scuba diving trip with his friends—but also for having feelings for Eva (now, after Brent is gone). Marc is Italian American, so he’s got darker features and an amazing smile.

Simon King is a New Zealand reporter who is also a widower with children, so he is someone Angela finds herself able to relate to in a way she hasn’t connected with anyone else. Simon is in his early forties, and he’s broad shouldered with an athletic build. He’s such a family man and I just loved writing him.

Alexis: In what ways does the concept of hope play into this story?

Lindsay: Like in all my stories, I want readers to come away with a sense of hope. Just because our circumstances might be worse than we can possibly imagine doesn’t mean we can’t have hope for a future.

Alexis: What do you want readers to remember most about The Joy of Falling?

Lindsay: I want them to remember how they felt as they read it. I hope that they see themselves in the characters, even if they’ve never experienced the loss of a husband.

Alexis: Now for the fun questions (in italics):

How do you take your coffee? 

Uh, not at all! LOL. I prefer iced tea. ;)

What is your least explored hobby? 

I love to sing and wish I had time to be in shows like I once was. But with little children, that’s not happening right now.

Who is your favorite author? 

Explain. That’s a really impossible question to answer! If I must pick one, I’d say Jane Austen. But if we are talking someone in more recent times, I’d say Lisa Wingate. Her book Before We Were Yours inspired me to go even deeper with my writing.

Who in your personal life do you look up to the most? Why? 

I have a few mentors who pray for me regularly and are very generous with their time and encouragement! They love the Lord and they love people, and those are two things I strive to do better.

What is your favorite Bible verse? Why?

I love Philippians 1:6: “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I feel like it’s such a good reminder that even when we don’t see the WHY of something, we can trust the WHO.

Cake or Ice cream? 

Always and forever ice cream.

Netflix or Hallmark movies? 

Ah, that’s hard, because I don’t have access to Hallmark movies. I’ve enjoyed both!

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Lindsay! Would you like to share closing thoughts?

Lindsay: Thanks, Alexis! Happy to have the opportunity to share about The Joy of Falling!

~*~
About the Author:

Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd with a B.A. in journalism and M.A. in English. 

She lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. Lindsay has held a variety of jobs, including curriculum editor for two universities, medical and business writer, and copywriter for a digital marketing agency. Now she juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with working freelance jobs, teaching college English courses online, and—of course—writing novels.

When she actually has time to do other things, she loves to sing, read, and sip passion iced teas from Starbucks. She loves to watch God work in ordinary lives to create something extraordinary, and she writes to bring hope to those who may have lost it along the way. 

Connect with her at www.LindsayHarrel.com and any other place she hangs out online, including Facebook and Twitter.

~*~
Blurb for Lindsay's book, The Joy of Falling:

Eva and Angela must learn to live again. One step at a time.

It has been fifteen months since Eva and Angela lost their thrill-seeking husbands in a scuba diving accident. Both women are trying to navigate their way through the grief, but neither one is making much progress. Angela is barely making ends meet, angry at her husband for leaving her to raise three children on her own. Meanwhile, Eva is stuck, unable to move forward after losing the love of her life and her source of inspiration.

But then Eva gets a life-changing phone call. Before Brent and Wes died, they had signed up for a race of a lifetime—an ultra-marathon in beautiful New Zealand. Eva begs Angela to run the race with her in their husbands’ place, and Angela finally agrees, hoping to finally understand her husband's choices.

Training is exhausting, and the race is even more demanding. Their journey grows more complicated by the presence of two men—Marc is Brent’s best friend who is running the race with Eva and Angela, and Simon King is a writer who is covering their inspiring story. With every step, Eva and Angela must ask themselves questions that they haven’t had the courage to ask before. As the women literally put one foot in front of the other, they wonder: Is it possible to find their way forward in hope?

~*~
*United States residents ONLY may enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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