Your Pilgrimage...
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 5:52AM 
Greetings, Dear Friends!
Susie Larson here...
And to those visiting, I say welcome!
I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.
Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who has visited and posted on my blog. Well it's time to announce the gift card winner for the month of April.
And the winner is...Kathy Schwanke! Kathy, contact me offline at info@susielarson.com and claim your gift card! Congratulations and thanks for being such a faithful visitor! Blessings to you!
If you take the time to post on my blog in May, you may win a $10.00 gift card to Caribou, Target, OR Dairy Queen! Your choice. So drop me a note and say hi!
Now on to my topic...
As some of you may know, I've stepped into a new role as of late. While I'm used to being interviewed on the radio (and I really do love radio), working on the other side of the microphone is fairly new to me.
We as Minnesotans (and the surrounding areas) are blessed with fairly large and very popular Christian radio station. KTIS is continually rates in the top ten Christian stations in the country.
Recently I had the privilege of co-hosting with Kim Ketola (formerly Kim Jefferies) on her show, Along the Way with Kim Ketola. My first time co-hosting I got to interview my friend Sara Groves. Sara was incredible as always. Yesterday I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Calvin Miller. We had a great time together. If you want to hear that interview or listen to the whole show, follow this link (the interview took place during hour 2):
Along the Way - May 6th
So what does that have to do with our topic today?
The theme that ran through the whole two hours was this: Our Pilgrimage.
Kim Ketola just returned from France and described how, because of their desperate need, thousands and thousands of Catholics traveled long distances to touch the holy water. Calvin Miller described the mindset of the Celts and how they viewed their whole lives as a pilgrimage.
Though our hope is not in the water but in Christ alone, the challenge remains. What is the object of our earnest pursuit? In fact, are we earnestly pursuing anything?
To be earnest is to be:
Intense
Committed
Dedicated
Diligent
Wholehearted
Sincere
Urgent
Impassioned
The opposite of earnest is to be:
Frivolous
Apathetic
Halfhearted
Look again at this list. Do you see yourself among the earnest?
When you pause and take a look around, where do you see your greatest energies applied?
I chose the picture at the top of the page because I think it represents the life of the Believer. We are not a stagnant pond with no life flowing in or out. We are a bubbling, bursting, flowing stream. Isaiah 58:11 calls us a spring, whose waters never fail. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that He rewards those who earnestly seek after Him.
We are journeying toward our Promised Land and while we're at it, through our faith and earnest pursuit of God, we bring God's Kingdom to earth as we go.
Our call is this sacred pilgrimage. Our temptation is to forget our call.
Are we too easily distracted from our intended purpose on earth?
When the storms hit, or the breakthrough tarries, do we lose sight of our goal and camp in the wilderness?
A pilgrim is defined as one who is traveling to a sacred place.
Where are you on this journey?
If yours is a stagnant faith? That's okay, just ask God to revive you once again!
If you've been distracted, be not dismayed, just ask God to give you a singleminded purpose from this day forward!
If your faith has been shipwrecked, don't despair. God will repair your sail and revive your soul.
To be earnest in our pursuit and focused on the call, takes some effort on our part.
Ask God today for a renewed sense of purpose and a revived sense of His presence.
Take Him at His Word, and walk on even when you don't feel Him.
Refuse to be addicted and distracted by the trappings of this world. Be in it but not of it.
Be a blessing to those around you and let your life be an example of freedom and wholeness.
Refuse to stay stuck in old wounds and wrong beliefs.
It's for freedom that Christ has set you free.
If you've been camping in the wilderness too long, pack your bags, and get moving.
May our lives, our pilgrimage, be marked by these things: sincerity; wholeheartedness; passion; conviction; dedication; and a singleminded focus on what really matters during our short time on this earth.
Be blessed today!
Until next week~
Reader Comments (15)
God sent you to me today! I was thinking about your event and wondering some things to myself; then out of the blue your post shows up and speaks right to my heart. Thank you so much for responding to God's nudge to stop and post today.Be blessed, be blessed~
Thank you, Susie allowing Him to bless us through you. We love it!!
Pilgrimming with you,donna
Keep close to meDraw me to youNever let me get more thanan Arm's length awayWhisper my nameI'll hear YouCall me quietlyI'll not runKeep me, by Your side
And when the world calls to meHold my gazeAnd when thing hinder meHold tightly my handDon't release me to thetrappings of this placeKeep me by Your Side
While I was reading, this song came to my mind. Thank you so for the encouragement to stay close and focused! Be blessed today! Love ya!!
You can't keeping me hanging here! What's up??? Are they making a motion picture of your life? Or one of your novels? Tell, tell, my friend. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat.I'll be waiting...Bless you!
I loved the lyrics to that song! Thanks for sharing it. I'd love to hear the music behind such a wonderful song.
One day, one step at a time.
Bless you!
(E-mail forthcoming.)
THANK YOU SOO MUCH SUSIE!
LOVE YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!Melissa D.
Lot's of love,~Rebecca
It has taken me WAY TOO LONG to reply to your wonderful post. I've been traveling a lot this spring and my email and blog posts have suffered as a result. Thank you so much for your sweet post. I love hearing how God moves in the hearts of women! I pray that you will continue grow into the fullness of your calling in Christ. Be blessed, my friend. Susie