Happy 365!

Hey everybody! Have you heard what TODAY is? What, you have no idea! It is Friday the 13th… of November 2009? You know… that very special day… for a very special little bud of yours? Ok… no more hints! I’m just going to say it straight out… today is 365 Day for chuckbalsamo.com! 365 consecutive DAILY blogs!

You knew that of course… because I’ve been talking about it ALL WEEK right! I know, you might be getting tired of reading all this blah blah blah about my current overwhelming sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT! But, I promise it’s almost over… and then we can get back to business!

What shall I do to celebrate 365 Day? Sadly, not much time for celebrating at the moment. (frowning, then smiling) Gotta work diligently on my Sunday Destiny Family Center message till 2pm… then off to Richmond to visit my amazing father-in-law. That will be fun… It may even count for celebrating! (smiling more consistently now)

I’m staying the night in Richmond, and then… at 7am tomorrow morning-I will be cheering for Emily (speedy girl) Balsamo as she runs the Richmond Marathon! She’s trained so well and I’m so proud of her! Due to the overly complicated last 7 months of my life, I wasn’t able to train well enough this time (grrrrrrr)… so tomorrow, I’m just a fan in the crowd. (head tilted down)

WAIT A MINUTE… NOT just a FAN in the crowd! Victory and defeat is determined by the quality of a persons CHEERING SECTION, right? Thats RIGHT! I’m going to CHEER and CHEER and CHEER until I can CHEER no more! I’m gonna CHEER so obnoxiously, all the other more dignified fans are going to wonder if I’m an unstable person! This boy aint holdin nothin back! Go speedy girl! Go speedy girl! Go GO GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Run speedy run! Run speedy run! RUUUUUNNNNNNN! Get the point?

Hey, at least I’ll get to CARB-LOAD all day with my little marathoner! I’m such a good and SUPPORTIVE husband! lol

Finishing

There is something very special about carrying an assignment all the way to its FINISH LINE! Anybody can start a thing… but only a few people finish the things they start! (good quote aye!)

The best biblical illustration of this CONCEPT of FINISHING is seen in the life and ministry of Moses. Remember that guy? After freeing a nation of slaves from the legendary Pharaoh of Egypt… he spent months ALONE in the mountains with God, receiving METICULOUS instructions about what he was to do with the rest of his life. Moses was commanded to build a tabernacle for worship… and he was told exactly WHEN and HOW God wanted him to build it… and Moses started the work and Moses FINISHED the work!

And ON THE EXACT DAY that Moses FINISHED what he started… SOMETHING HAPPENED!

Exodus 40:33-35 Then he (Moses) hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses FINISHED the work. THEN the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.

I realize that today might just be another ordinary day for so many people… and it would be JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY for me… EXCEPT for the fact that today is all ABOUT COMPLETION… its about FINISHING something I started… its about RUNNING STRONG across a marathon FINISH LINE… its about PICKING UP OUR FINISHERS MEDAL!

Who knows what’s going to happen TODAY? Maybe nothing immediately recognizable. This might turn out to be just another SEEMINGLY ordinary day for me. But, I believe that just like MOSES FINISHED THE WORK… and THEN, the glory cloud COVERED the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord FILLED the tabernacle… I believe that SOMETHING HAPPENS for EVERY PERSON that FINISHES a God ordained assignment!

I want God to look on my work and measure it for CONSISTENCY and HEART… and I want him to say WELL DONE CHUCK BALSAMO! And the only reward I desire is for his GLORY to FILL MY LIFE and MINISTRY… for this blog and my preaching at Destiny Family Center and at other places around the world, and for EVERYTHING I DO to be MARKED with the GLORY OF THE LORD!

As you read my story today… OUR STORY TODAY… be INSPIRED to finish more and more of your own God ordained assignments. Don’t be a quitter! Trust me, there are a million reasons to quit EVERYTHING you and I ever set out to accomplish. Especially the meaningful things! But the glory comes to the one that stays in the race… to the one who trains historically, enters his race with great optimism, overcomes the million temptations to drop out, defies the odds, and finishes STRONG!

Thanks for making this blog site such a great source of inspiration for so many people worldwide! I’m positive, the best is JUST AHEAD!

I hope todays blog 365 is everything you hoped it would be… and so much more! Now dream big, live bold, and keep on making a gigantic difference with your amazing life! Love you all… have a most triumphant day!