Heavy Lifting

So, any of you who follow me online, particularly on facebook, will know that I started a new workout routine a little over two weeks ago (the power 90 series for those who are interested).  I love it, I'm doing great, and I'm already looking and feeling a whole lot better.
Now, interestingly enough, my pastor told a story on Sunday that not only caught my attention and really got me to thinking.  He was talking about lifting weights in correlation with the the burdens we face in life that seem to get increasingly heavy with each subsequent trial we face.
Matthew 11:28 says "Come to me, you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest".  The next couple of verses go on to say that we instead take on Christ's yolk, which is light.
But here's the point the pastor made, and that we often don't think about...in order for us to come and trade our burdens for Christ's yolk, we must first pick them up and give them to Him.
Now, if you are like me, chances are you have in the past or are currently looking at a situation or burden in life and feeling rather discouraged right now, because there is no way that you can imagine picking up this thing at all, much less picking it up and putting it down at Jesus' feet.  And if you are like me at all, you have or maybe still are asking why the burden was given to you in the first place.
Well, let's go back to exercising.  Part of my "routine" two nights a week involves strength training.  And one of the exercises involved is called a bicep curl.  I have to pick up the weights, then bring them back down.  Repeatedly.  But along the way, I got good at picking up and putting down those cute little two pound weights I bought for myself.  It was no big thing anymore, and I was stronger than the weights I was using.  So this week I had to switch to my husband's ugly (sorry babe) five pound weights.  They are big, black, and mean looking.  I can add more weight to them as I go.  And this week, I curled a bigger weight.  Yup, that hurt a bit.
The same is true with our trials.  There is a reason they seem to get easier, and then WHAM!  The next one looks ridiculously hard.  Guess what?  Those trials are not there out of meanness.  God is not punishing you.  But in the process of picking them up to lay them down at His feet, guess what they are doing?  Yup, those mean old trials are making you stronger!  Stronger in faith, stronger in confidence, stronger in conviction.
I Peter 5:10 says:  "And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast".  
The thing is though, the trick is to pick them up, then lay them down (at His feet).  If I were to pick up that 5lb weight, curl it up, and then never lay it back down, I could and likely would hurt myself.  The same is true with our trials.  We were never meant to pick them up and hang onto them.  We were meant to pick them up, to lay them down, and in the process be made stronger, firmer, steadfast.  And the best part is if we obey in the lifting and laying, we don't even have to worry about choosing the wrong size weight, because God promises that He will not give us more than we can bear.  (I Cor. 10:13).
So the next time you face a trial, and it seems like to much for you, remember, He chooses the weight; He always chooses the right weight for where we are at in our journey.  You were made for this; pick it up, lay it down, and just see what God will do!

New Song teaser...and a quick update

Okay, so some of you know I've been working on a new song that has taken me a while to get together.  Not so much because I didn't know exactly how I wanted it to sound, but BECAUSE I knew exactly how I wanted it to sound and it has taken some serious work on the keyboard skills to get it close enough to share.  I'm still learning as I go on the keys, and while I've definitely gotten better, I still sometimes hit that hump where what I hear in my head and my actual skill set don't exactly match up.  It's taken lots of work and practice to get to this point (here's hoping my family isn't sick of this song yet lol).
This song is also deeply personal to me.  Out of everything I have written thus far, it's the one where I've dug deepest into something that will not let me go and really laid it out there, so it's a little intimidating to share it with the world in that regard.  The story is that of a girl, comes around to my understanding of the situation, and goes back to the story; however, I could be and have been that girl.  Most days I still am.  I have my struggles, and being accepted, loved, and supported by people who should hasn't always come naturally to me. (sidenote...sooooo not talking about my husband and kids here...they have been ridiculously supportive of me).

Soooo....check it out on the music page ( www.myspace.com/elitagalvinmusic )

In other news, I just had an awesome afternoon singing the National Anthem at the Sea Dogs game.  Beautiful day for baseball (or any other outdoor activity), and did the best I've done ever on the Star Spangled Banner.  Wahoo!  Many thanks to my husband, kids, Shallon, Beth, Candace, Dave, and Bradyn for coming out to hear me sing and hanging out to watch the game after.  The Sea Dogs won...I'm thinking that maybe they should switch places with the Red Sox, they are certainly playing better!  Some day dreaming and hoping to sing at Fenway.  Who knows, dreams can come true ya know!  ;)

For those who missed it, I sadly do not have the Anthem recorded from this past Sunday's game BUT you still have a chance to hear me sing it live at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Thursday, April 28 at 6:30pm...would love to see you there!

<3  Elita

PS  feedback on the teaser definitely encouraged :)