Breakthrough

Learning to Run

/ Liz Herod / 1 Comment

Walking with faith is like learning to run.

When I first began running, I was super gung-ho about it. After my first run, I went out and bought new running shoes, shorts, shirts, and sports bras. I downloaded Runkeeper to keep track of all of my workouts. I even woke up early some mornings to run, and it felt GREAT!

You know what, though? That first run was a little rough, and it’s not like I just got up that day and decided to run. Thing after thing went wrong that day, and by the time I made it back home I was done with the world. I needed to release all that negative energy that was built up inside me, so I ran inside, got ready, and took off to campus. Between my walk there and back and my run around the Drillfield, I put in over 5 miles of work.

I tried to run 2.5 straight laps around the Drillfield, but my body just couldn’t do it. I wasn’t used to that strain. At that point, I don’t think I had really run for any length of time since I broke my femur back in 2009. Despite the pain and the struggle of getting my feet about me, the run felt good, and it made me want to keep running forever.

At first, I kept up. I woke up early at the beach to run I’d go run on the track at home. I even found a couple good routes around town…

But then, life got in the way.

First, I wanted to sleep in. Then, it was too hot in the afternoon. Then, my normal run spots just weren’t convenient enough (or available at all thanks to construction). Just like that, I stopped running. The ease of my running had run out, and I just wasn’t willing to put myself at the necessary inconvenience to keep it up.

I kept telling myself,

“I’ll do better tomorrow.”

Of course, I’d say the same thing when tomorrow came, and then the next thing I knew, I stopped saying it at all because I knew I wasn’t going to do it.

That wasn’t the end of my running, though. The other day, I felt like running, so I did. I went on a 2 mile run with a friend, and it felt so easy. I wanted to keep running even after my friend couldn’t anymore. The ease of running had returned! My muscles only only hated me a little bit, and my mindset made up for the pain. I was ecstatic!

Then, I tried to run again a couple days later, but, as excited as I was to go, my body didn’t support the idea. I went, but it wasn’t nearly as easy:

I only ran 0.75 miles of my 2 miles run because I couldn’t get my breathing together and everything hurt. You know why?

Because my body was awoken to the new movement during that first run! It was relearning how to build those muscles and increase my endurance.

Even though that first run last week was easy, the next several from here on out – so long as I keep it up, of course – will be a lot more difficult, at least for a while. Building muscle and endurance takes time, effort, and sacrifice. It’s not easy, it’s not always relaxing, but it is worth it in the end. The endorphins and satisfaction I feel Post-run are more than worth the pain and effort I put in to the run, not the mention how much better my body feel as time goes by.

Guess what?

FAITH is the same way!

The first big step into faith is a little rough as you face all the stuff you have to release to God and ask for salvation, but then you experience the same post-run high when the weight of sin is first lifted from you. You have new life, and you are so sure you are going to do all these amazing things, and life is going to be so much easier!

But then…

LIFE HAPPENS.

Prayer dwindles. Reading your Bible happens less and less. You barely consider your faith when you act throughout the day.

All of a sudden, you seem too busy to spend time going to church, reading the Word, or talking with God at all. You have too much to do, you don’t have a quiet enough place to focus like you “know” you need to – ANY excuse you can think of works.

And – just like that –

you stop pursuing your faith walk. It hasn’t ended, but you’ve wandered off the path –

you’ve paused your workout with God.

One day, something happens, and you rediscover your passion, so you become rededicated to your faith walk, and you start running again! You feel great! It’s easy! It’s even better than you remember it being! WHY DID I EVER STOP?

Then, you do it again, start trying to build a routine… but this time isn’t so easy. It kind of hurts. What happened?

Well, just like with running, you’ve just awoken all parts of yourself that needs to relearn its proper movements and needs to rebuild endurance. The more you push through and press on through whatever pain or whatever obstacle makes you want to stop and give up, the easier everything will become and the longer and farther you’ll be able to go.

Our journey with God is a race we were called to run with endurance! Keep the faith, keep striving, and don’t give up! Your better is coming, but you have to work to reach it!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”  Hebrews 12:1-2

God bless!
Elizabeth

God is Great, Even When the Road is Dark.

/ Liz Herod / 1 Comment

Y’all, God is just SO good. I’m wrapped palpably in His presence right now. He’s doing some great things in my life. I don’t know where I’m heading, but I know I have a trustworthy guide to lead me to my new destination. There’s a quote by E. L. Doctorow that says, “It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” That’s kind of how it is with God. We can’t see the whole plan, but we can see enough to take the next step. All we have to do is trust our road, which is the path God has laid out for us. It’s when we stop following the road that we start wrecking.

I pray guidance and clarity over each and every one of you that you will be able to see the path ahead of you, that you will pay attention when God reveals to you with his light like Moses paid attention to the burning bush. I pray peace and trust into your spirit that you will have no doubt in your steps, even though you can’t see far ahead of you. But, most of all, I pray courage into your hearts that you will keep going when the path gets steep, when the path gets bumpy, and when there are so many twists and turns you think you must be lost. He’s got you! So long as you hold onto Him and keep your eye on His light and His road for you, you will not ever be lost.

God bless!
Elizabeth

What does BREAKTHROUGH mean to me?

/ Liz Herod / Leave a comment

This was the question of the night from last week’s weekly devotion. Everyone who shared their answer on the call had fantastic and inspiring answers. I’d like to share mine with you:

To me breakthrough means…

Overcoming: Breaking into:
Fear Freedom
Self-consciousness Joy
Doubt Confidence
Lack of self-worth Strength
Loneliness Protection
Heartbreak Love
Anxiety Peace

Reaching my breakthrough took time and work. For the most part, I didn’t overcome all of these things with one swift movement of God. He worked slowly on me for some of them. That’s the funny thing about breakthroughs: everyone’s (and every one) is different. God may instantly deliver you from what you’re struggling to break through in one miraculous moment, or he may work piece-by-piece, chipping away at the chains holding you down or the walls holding you in. It all depends on what’s best for you.

I’ve had a few of those worked-in-an-instant breakthroughs, but then I squandered my joy when I stopped working in my breakthrough. I took for granted what God had done in me and didn’t change what I as doing that led to the chains and walls to begin with, so I found myself trapped again. That’s why my breakthroughs usually take slow steps of effort to reach that final “I’m free!” moment. I’ve needed the focus of working on myself to fully appreciate the wonders of what he’s doing in my life.

Now, will my breakthroughs always work that way? Not necessarily. It all depends on what God sees in me and what he wants to do for me for my good and for HIS purpose. Every blessing I’ve ever received has been so I could work in line with HIS will. As soon as I start focusing more on what I want to do and not what HE wants me to do, I’m in trouble.

God knows what he’s doing. He knows what works for me, and he knows what will work for you. All we need to do is keep our eyes on him and follow his will above our own. As soon as he’s your focus, amazing things will start happening – I guarantee it!

Now, what does BREAKTHROUGH mean to you?

God bless!
Elizabeth

Who Am I in Christ?

/ Liz Herod / Leave a comment

I am a daughter.

I am a seeker of souls.

I am a child still learning how to fully depend on my always dependable, always faithful, always present father – my Protector, my Leader, El Shaddai.

I am an imperfect person constantly humbling myself before my ruler who is forever thankful for the forgiving love of my Father.

I am an OVERCOMER of fear and life’s distractions who will no longer allow the business of my everyday world suffocate my walk in my faith and my calling.

I am a FIGHTER for my soul, a WARRIOR who will not give up, will not give in, will not surrender when the world tries to knock me down and knock me out. I will NOT be KO’d!

I will renew my identity as a writer of words to reach, teach, and motivate a generation of souls to follow Christ as I revive the calling my God placed on my life.

This is MY breakthrough.pj442try5pn169p-cropped

Have you found your breakthrough?
Share yours in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter!
Tags: #breakthroughmovement #NCbreakthrough2015

God bless!
Elizabeth

Kicking Off My Journey: Why this blog?

/ Liz Herod / Leave a comment

This is my first post, and what better way to begin this new blog journey than with my inspiration to start this blog to begin with?

Every year, I work the NC Church of God of Prophecy youth camp in High Point. This year, however, I couldn’t get time of work to spend a week (or 5) at my second home in the summer. Not being there didn’t keep me from experiencing some of the amazing things that happened there, though. This year’s theme was “BREAKTHROUGH,” and there is no better way to describe what happened each week of camp this year. I read testimony after testimony about the amazing things God did and how changed people were from campers, workers, leaders, and directors.

The last week of the camping season this year was Senior High, which consists of youth ages 15 to college. Those attending were experiencing breakthrough after breakthrough throughout the week, and several of them decided that they did not want those breakthroughs to end when the week did, so they created the This is Our Breakthrough, a Breakthrough Movement geared towards uplifting and encouraging our generation to walk strongly in their faith. It functions as an all-inclusive support group for anyone who needs a Christian family and wants to pursue the greatness God has prepared for them.

That’s where I come in. My best friend from camp is one of the three who began the movement, and she, knowing how passionate I am for supporting our youth, invited me to join the movement, and I promptly accepted. Well, this past week or so they’ve been doing a “Breakthrough Challenge”:

The Breakthrough Challenge:
1. Make a status stating your name.
2. Telling us something good about yourself.
Ex; Katy is an amazing woman of God.
3. Then drop a selfie underneath.
Hashtag ‪#‎BreakthroughMovement‬ & ‪#‎NCBreakthrough2015‬

Naturally, I wrote mine and posted it, but I felt it needed to be more than a Facebook status, so it became a blog post on my broader, separately personal blog. Then, I participated in a devotional call with the group (10 or so people on one call is an interesting phenomenon.), and the question of the night was “What does ‘breakthrough’ mean to you?” That question has stuck with me, and when I realized my answer meant actively pursuing my calling, I knew a blog would be the best vehicle for me to use.

I’ve blogged some before, both as a personal endeavor and as a leader of a group that has since retired. I’ve missed having the platform I did with the group blogs because I knew people from all over were reading the posts and receiving something from them. In those few short months, I was actively pursuing my calling, and it felt great!

Unfortunately, due to a few team issues and members being lead in another direction, that group project ended, and the blogging platform went silent. The blogs still exist, but when the team behind the group they represent doesn’t, writing new posts just never felt right, so I stopped, and, then, slowly, all of my writing stopped.

It’s not that my desire to write stopped, but I no longer knew what to write. I’d be lying if I claimed my spiritual journey has been perfect and straight these last several months because it hasn’t been; it’s been messy, crooked, and overgrown – with people, things, and all kinds of distractions – and all that mess certainly messed with my ability to share God’s words.

Not anymore.

With this blog and this first post, I am reviving a journey into my calling that I began over a year ago, and I’d be incredibly blessed if you’d follow me as I make my way on this peculiar journey that is my walk with God.

God bless!
Elizabeth