Yesterday evening we had storms sweep through the area. It was pretty rough for a while. High winds, scary lightning, some areas had walnut sized hail, tremendous thunder, downpours, everything but the lady dressed in black riding her bicycle.

 

We were supposed to have a ladies movie night but we decided to move it to Saturday because we knew early on the weather had the potential to get pretty rough. I decided to use my evening to make a new Keto recipe. My husband and I have been on a Ketogenic diet (low carb/high (good) fats/medium protein) since May of 2016 and I am always looking for quick and easy recipes that fit with our busy schedule. Last night, it was pretzel dogs. I love pretzels. I love bread. Bread loved me. We can’t have bread on a Ketogenic diet but there are substitute recipes involving almond flour that have hit the spot.

 

Around 6pm I started to mix the ingredients and watched the sky grow darker. I knew the storm was approaching. I also knew that when it storms, or if you blink your eyes and create the tiniest of drafts, the power in our neighborhood goes out. I was taking my chances by cooking something that involved the oven. It took about 10 minutes to get the dough ready and wrapped around the cheddar-filled sausages I was using. In the oven they went for 12 minutes.

 

I’m not sure how much time went by before the power flickered and went out. I stood in the dark and smiled knowing I had under-cooked dough in the oven. I wondered if the power was going to stay out and if it did, how long before the dough went bad? How long before I had to throw away the deliciousness that was baking in the oven? How long before it was rendered useless and I would have to start over if I wanted pretzel dogs?

 

The power came back on about two minutes later. The temperature in the oven had to rise again. The timer had to be reset but the problem was that I wasn’t sure exactly where it was at when the power went off. Add in the fact that it wasn’t a non-stop cooking time and it was having to heat back up. Now, I had to stand right there at the oven and watch. I had to watch to make sure I didn’t overcook it. I had to watch to make sure they didn’t burn. I had to watch and make sure I cooked them long enough. At one point I pulled them out and cut one open to see how cooked the dough was. I put them back in the oven because they weren’t ready.

 

For the next twenty minutes, me and mother nature duked it out. She kept knocking the power out, I kept praying it back on. I kept resetting the timer and checking my pretzel dogs. The power would be on. The power would go off. Five minutes later, it would come on. What should have taken 12 minutes to cook took around 30.

 

This morning, as I woke up, I thought about something I read about Smith Wigglesworth and how he described his mornings. He told how he would jump out of bed in the mornings and dance before the Lord. He talked about how he would run around his room for a good 10 to 12 minutes each morning. He did this well on into his golden years.

 

So as I lay there in bed this morning, after texting my husband in the very next room that the dog was awake and ready to be walked, indicating he should come get her because I was not ready to be up and walked, I pondered on Smith Wigglesworth.

 

I went to sleep last night with the pain of a pinched nerve in my neck radiating down my arm into my fingertips. I woke up this morning with a stiff neck. I woke up this morning knowing that when my feet hit the floor, I would be reminded by my joints that I’m not in my 20’s anymore. I would be reminded by my shuffle down the hallway that my body takes a minute to loosen up these days. I thought about Smith Wigglesworth and how he jumped up out of bed and danced. I told God, I’m going to try this. I’m 38 years old. If he can do it, so can I.

 

I lay there a little while longer. I wasn’t fully convinced I wasn’t going to hurt something if I jumped out of bed into the dark abyss of a bedroom we have (black-out curtains) so I eased into it. I threw the covers off and stood up really fast, not quite a “jump.” I stood there for a moment and still wasn’t convinced that if I started dancing something wasn’t going to snap. I was always taught to stretch first when I took tap, ballet and jazz. So I slipped on my flip-flops and walked to the end of the bed and I bounced on my tip-toes. It was an attempt at movement that my body was not used to in the morning. As I bounced on my tip-toes, gravity felt extra strong and sluggish. I felt every joint in my body fighting against me and screaming, “who do you think you are?!”

 

I bounced on my toes for maybe 10 seconds. That was all I had in me. I am far from a morning person. At eight o’clock in the evening, watch out, I’m ready to run around the block.

 

As I shuffled down the hallway I said, “God, I tried.”

 

I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Keep your momentum.”

 

That is when I was reminded of the pretzel dogs.

 

Today I bounced on my toes for 10 seconds. Tomorrow I’ll do it again and maybe I’ll be able to do it for a minute. Eventually, my body is going to get used to jumping out of bed and dancing before the Lord to get my day started. It will set my pace.

 

I was really craving pretzel dogs last night and because the power kept going off and coming back on, interrupting its cooking time, they took longer than normal and the crust didn’t cook like it should had it been a consistent 12 minutes.

 

I really crave God. I crave a relationship with Him and am constantly trying to find ways to get closer to Him. However, there are times that I let other things interrupt my progression. I let distractions get in the way. I let the “cook time” be interrupted which means I have to pick up where I left off, reheat, or sometimes start all over. There are things about my walk with God that should have taken 12 minutes but because I let the power go off, they took 30 minutes. How much quicker would I be satisfied if I kept my momentum?

 

This morning I started something new. If I had jumped out of bed and ran around the room like a crazy woman, my body would be feeling it tomorrow morning and fight me. I made an attempt this morning. I’m in the process of heating up the oven. Tomorrow morning I’m going to keep my momentum and get up a little faster. I’m going to bounce a little longer. I might even shout “Amen” and scare the dog. I’m going to keep doing this, keep my momentum, until I get up every morning jumping out of bed and praising God with my focus solely on Him.

 

This can apply to any goal you have in life. Keep your momentum. If you do too much too fast, you will wear yourself out and things will come out undercooked or burned. If you do too little too slow, the ingredients will go bad and you’ll have to throw them out and start over.

 

God honors those that try and don’t give up.

 

Keep your momentum.

 

Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,