So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you.

Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Colossians chapter 3 is a great chapter on how to live your life through His perspective. You’ll be guided in the practical, everyday behaviors, parenting, and marriage. I read this chapter and prayed –repented of a lot of thoughts and actions–only to get up from my prayer time to be challenged.

The usual pattern of prayed up, got this, a challenge occurs in your day, and then you respond. Sometimes I respond with God confidence and, other times, I wonder if I was really paying attention or absorbing the scripture. It’s one thing to study it, and it’s another to live it, which was our post yesterday.

 I mentioned yesterday that God and I had a throw down.  This throw down spilled into my life after a series of events and email. My husband and I took a walk, sat on our bench in the front yard, and he listened. Valentina asked later that day what was wrong.  I was a liitle “off”.  I shared your typical life issues in her 12 year old language.  I assured her that I was okay, and it was nothing that God can’t handle. I just need prayer and time.  What she said next was beautiful and a reminder of why it’s okay to be honest with those we love so much

“Mom, sometimes it helps to just cry.”

That was better than any Hallmark card. We smiled at each other. If Jesus wept, I guess it’s okay if we do, too.

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

We’ve been watching the Olympics as a family. As you know, swimming is the sport of prominence at the moment. There is a refugee swimmer named Yusra Mardini. Here is her story:

Last August, four years into the Syrian civil war, the 18-year-old fled her home. Like many other refugees, she and her sister ended up on small boat bound for the island of Lesbos off the coast of Greece.

The boat began to sink, and Yusra jumped in the water.

“It was quite hard to think that you are a swimmer, and you are gonna end up dying in the water,” she said.

For three hours she and her sister pushed the boat to shore, saving nearly 20 lives. Yusra traveled 1,500 miles through Turkey and central Europe before settling in Berlin, Germany, where she’s been training for the Olympics.

She’s now part of the first refugee team to ever compete in the Games.

© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/refugee-swimmer-yusra-mardini-makes-history-in-rio-olympic-pool/

Yusra competed and took sixth place. She may not have won a gold medal, but she won at life. Have you ever felt like second place?  Do you toil and labor in a direction, only to discover a door closed?

“When you have [a] problem in your life that doesn’t mean you need to sit down and cry like babies. The problem was the reason why I am here, and why I am stronger and I want to reach my goals.” Yusra

She is living out this passage:

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

It’s no coincidence that I read her story after my tears of frustration. In order for her to say “I am stronger, and I want to reach my goals”, I suspect she spent some tearful moments. Those moments gave her the strength and determination to move forward. I spoke with my husband. “I believe that the insanity of irony propelled her to do something courageous!”

“It was quite hard to think that you are a swimmer, and you are gonna end up dying in the water,” she said.

Ironic situations find us looking up asking God–“What IS your perspective on this?” Her willingness to overcome fear, jump out of the boat, and take on God’s perspective overwhelms. I have a strong visual in my brain. The next time I’m faced with a “sinking boat” situation, and it feels slightly ironic, I’m jumping out and pushing the boat to shore. I refuse to sink in the failed attempt, or irony. Let me qualify that any situation I face pales in comparison, which is also my point. Certainly we can overcome if she did! She sets the bar high!

With God ALL things are possible!  Get out of the boat and start swimming!

God’s word says that no weapon formed against you will ever prosper (propel you forward). Decide to believe that God, no matter what your circumstances, conceived you in His mind before you were even born, and has set you apart!

I have my window open. A little sparrow came and sat on my window sill. The sun is shinning bright through the front window. Today is beautiful.

Don’t worry about a thing….

Play this and smile with me….