Forward.....MARCH!

In honor of this month of MARCH, and in honor of our service men and women who, on our behalf, are MARCHING to the beat of the love of their country, my word for today is MARCH.

It’s MARCH 4th -- the only day of the year that can also be a sentence -- MARCH Forth! Time is marching forth and so are we! An Army platoon marches FORWARD, not backward. Whether soldiers are at their home base moving from one post to another, or on the battlefield, they are on assignment until their mission has been accomplished. St. Paul wrote "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining FORWARD to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

My daily goal is to MARCH forward. No backward marching for me because I want to make daily progress. Some folks have lost their hope and expectancy for good things to come their way so they HALT, and are at a stand-still. I get that because for over 44 years, my assignment included a partnership with my dear husband and his earth assignments ended when Heaven called his name. My life could be HALTED, too, but Heaven hasn’t called my name. I’m still here! I'd lose momentum in accomplishing my assignments if I stayed in backward thinking.

My precious 95-year-old mother-in-law often asks “Why doesn’t God take me home? I’m ready to go!” And we always tell her “He’s not finished with you here, yet! Keep sharing your love with others, pray, and be here for us! That’s your assignment until you get called home!” You and I are still here and we, too, must complete our God-given assignments. Keep marching!

Everyday we have the opportunity to MARCH to the beat of our Divine Drummer who has perfect rhythm so we can make daily progress on our journey of faith. No more rear-view-mirror glimpses of regret, unforgiveness or shame from the past. No MARCHING backward. We have assignments to complete. This year, with its surprises and joys, AND with some bumpy roads along the way, let's keep MARCH FORWARD to conquer whatever comes our way, hand in hand with our Commanding Officer, Joy-Bringer, Deliverer, Comforter, Guide, Peace-Giver.

What are the assignments that God has given you? What are you going to accomplish with YOU? Life is worth LIVING. We’re still here and we’re “on assignment” – let’s get our MARCH-ing orders today – our MISSION is possible!

March On

I know DSW Shoes was making a play on words with their email advertisement yesterday. After all, we are in the month of MARCH and it's time to MARCH ON. Here are lines from their ad:

*****OK, IT’S TIME: TIME TO FINALLY REALIZE “I WILL” WALKS ALL OVER “I CAN’T.”
*****IT'S TIME: TO CONFRONT EACH NEW CHALLENGE, AND DECIDE WHETHER TO GIVE UP, GIVE IN, OR GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT.
*****WAKE UP. PUT ON YOUR SHOES……MARCH ON.

Their ad worked. Here I am passing it on because it said something. The fact is life happens, stuff happens and we can decide whether to give up, give in or give it all we've got.

The first photo here was of my grandson's Army platoon marching for their Ft. Benning, GA Ranger graduation ceremonies. Notice they were FORWARD marching NOT backward marching. Whether soldiers are at their home base moving from one post to another, or are on the battlefield….they are on assignment and they will not cease until their mission has been accomplished. Paul said in Philippians 3:13,14: “…..but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining FORWARD to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” MARCH ON.

For over 44 years, my assignment included a partnership with a beautiful man and we accomplished a great deal during those years. Though Heaven called his name and his earth assignments ended, Heaven hasn’t called my name. I’m still here!!!! And, because I’m still here, there’s work for me to do, places for me to go and assignments I must complete. I take my “single” life on with fervor and with great ambition. I embrace the life God has given me and I purpose to make the most of every day. That’s God’s gift to me, and my gift back to Him is my attitude of “winning, conquering, celebrating and overcoming”, because He promised that to me. Jesus said, “I am come that you may have life, and have it in abundance”. (John 10:10). So I MARCH ON!

Don’t think for a moment that I don’t appreciate the beautiful life that I shared with my Sweetheart. I often think about those sweet years. And, I could “sit there” in my thoughts for hours on end, and if I stayed “there”, momentum in accomplishing my assignments would be stalled. But, I’ve determined to not “stay there”. It gets me nowhere! If I stayed there, I would be like a soldier gone AWOL (absent without leave). My precious Mom passed away at age 94. When she was still here, she would ask, “Why doesn’t God take me home? I’m ready to go!” And I would always tell her, “He’s not finished with you here, yet! Keep sharing your love with others, pray, and be here for us! That’s your assignment until you get called home!” You and I are still here and we, too, must complete our God-given assignments. We MARCH ON!

What are the assignments that God has given you? What are you going to accomplish with YOU? Life is worth LIVING. We’re still here and we’re “on assignment” – let’s get our MARCH-ing orders – our MISSION is possible! So we, MARCH ON!

Forward....MARCH!

Here we are – well into this month of MARCH! Time is literally MARCH-ing forward, and so are we! An Army platoon marches FORWARD, not backward. Whether soldiers are at their home base moving from one post to another, or are on the battlefield….they are on assignment and they will not cease until their mission has been accomplished. Paul said in Philippians 3:13,14: “…..but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining FORWARD to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Forward: go forth, onward, progressive, ahead, leading, forth, forefront, to the fore, further, advancing.

For over 44 years, my assignment included a partnership with a beautiful man and we accomplished a great deal during those years. Though Heaven called his name and his earth assignments ended, Heaven hasn’t called my name. I’m still here!!!! And, because I’m still here, there’s work for me to do, places for me to go and assignments I must complete. I take my “single” life on with fervor and with great ambition. I embrace the life God has given me and I purpose to make the most of every day. That’s God’s gift to me, and my gift back to Him is my attitude of “winning, conquering, celebrating and overcoming”, because He promised that to me. Jesus said, “I came that you might have life, and have it in abundance”. John 10:10

As Jesus once said to a man whom He was about to heal, “Step FORWARD.” (Mark 3:3), isn't it time we step forward in our belief and determination? Or will we hang back in the shadows afraid to move ahead, forgetting the destiny and purpose God has for us?

This day, month and year -- with all its surprises, joys, blessings, and, yes, even heartaches – lies ahead. Let's MARCH FORWARD to conquer whatever comes our way, hand in hand with the Joy-Bringer, the Deliverer, the Comforter, the Guide, the Peace-Giver.

No longer should we have rearview-mirror glimpses of regret, shame, or unforgiveness from the past. No longer marching backward. We have assignments to complete and accomplishments to fulfill. Life is worth LIVING. We’re still here and we’re “on assignment” – let’s get our MARCH-ing orders because our MISSION is possible!