Another day gone by. Got a lot done today, it feels like. The day wasn’t rushed, but it also was full. I didn’t make a couple appointments I would have liked to have made, but every day has its decisions that must be made.

Brian talked a bit about discipline on the DAB today. I had been thinking about how sobering the Old Testament feels, about how some of the stories just give me that vibe, even though I’m not in exactly the same boat as the Israelites. I can relate. Discipline is hard. It means having something taken away, or a sort of pain inflicted with a lesson to be learned. We can’t always see that lesson, especially in the midst of the drama.

I also got a lot from Hebrews today. Here’s chapter 12, verse 1:

So then let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of him, and sat down at the right side of God’s throne.

Baggage. It’s everywhere. So much of it needs to simply be DROPPED. And yet there is also so much responsibility God has for us that He’d love for us to pick up, to carry with him, to even ENJOY. But the thing is, we just can’t when we’re carrying so much of our own junk.

I still have a lot to let go of. It’s not easy. Some of it is a form of discipline because I’m eating the fruit of a former life.