The Wreath Imperishable

“And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” –I Corinthians 9:25

New Year’s Eve: Today is a great time for our family to plan a new strategy. Sometimes, Mike & I feel like we compete in a marathon in this life. We are not only "runners," but trainers, as we teach our son how to run so he will not become winded, and not retreat to the sidelines of defeat in life. Every moment that is ticking away is potential training time.

In evaluating 2010, we are looking at how many hours we have spent with our son per day. In those hours that we are together, how many minutes are spent in training Blaine in the ways of the Lord? What about in Scripture? Godly Values? We are resolved to improve in these areas in 2011!

Investing this kind of time and instilling these principles will equip Blaine to cope with life. If you know Blaine at all, you know that he will surely run many of his own long races. And so, the imperishable prize of Eternal Life is clearly in our view today as we try to think of ways to train our boy well.

This evening, Mike and I prayed for wisdom to adjust our schedules this coming year to spend even more time with our child. We asked the Father God to show us how to best instill biblical principles that will ultimately take him across “the finish line,” and into Christ’s Kingdom!