Restoring Hearts Blog

“In this world, things that are naturally to endure for a long time, are the slowest in reaching maturity.” St. Vincent de Paul We live in a microwave society where we want things to come quick and easy, not slow and hard. And because of that, we’re losing the process which makes us become strong and mature. “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Proverbs 13:11). I find comfort in the words “little by little” and that over

“God never sets us up to fail – only to grow.” Bill Johnson I don’t know about you, but my walk with God isn’t easy and at times, it requires a fight. It’s hard to persevere and not give up. In I Timothy 1:18, the Apostle Paul encourages his spiritual son Timothy, who is pastoring the church in Ephesus. “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight.” I find two strategie

“A tree is shown by its fruits, and in the same way those who profess to belong to Christ will be seen by what they do. For what is needed is not mere present professions, but perseverance to the end in the power of faith.” St. Ignatius of Antioch Soon gardeners will begin planting seeds in good soil that will one day bear fruit. Good soil produces much fruit, as seen in Luke 8:8a: “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than w

“God does not give us overcoming life – He gives us life as we overcome.” Oswald Chambers My son began climbing rock walls a year ago. There was a route he wasn’t able to do initially, but he tried multiple times to ascend it. He watched others do it. He picked a portion of it, projected it, and tried various ways until he conquered that section of it, and committed it to memory. Then he tried different approaches to climb up the next segment till he surmounted that too. He

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1 I’ve run a few marathons and have discovered what’s needed to complete a race. I would not have been able to finish without John, my husband and running partner. He encouraged me with his determination and helped me keep a doable pace. The rewards for fi

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” Samuel Johnson This summer while visiting Banff, Alberta, Canada, we went on a hike up the Valley of the Ten Peaks with our cycling group. Right from the get go I was huffing and puffing. Between the altitude and the steep climb, I wondered if I had made a mistake. I thought maybe I didn’t have what it took to make the climb. I pondered turning back and retreating to our room at the Moraine Lake Lodge. I wanted

“There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.” Author Unknown A marathon is 26.2 miles. I had no idea how far that really was until I trained to run one. If you were to ask me how in the world I did it, the simplest answer is, one step at a time. Believe me, the hours spent in training, the sacrifices made and the pain felt are not worth the t-shirt and medal. But the satisfaction that you did it, and knowing you obeyed God, is well wor