Discipline

Sisu is a Finnish word expressing the powerful combination of commitment, stubbornness, fearlessness, willingness to risk, and willingness to endure pain. ~ Running on the Edge Page 188

Here’s what I’m into:

Discipline.

What does this mean?

What are you really into?

Is it your work or your family or your athletic pursuits?

Maybe cultivating a garden or perhaps cultivating the soil of your soul?

Whatever most interests you, I encourage you to pursue it no matter the cost. No matter if you must turn from your closest relationships to get deeper into your own soul, your own heart, your own passions, your own inner voice, your own God.

If you can find the courage to do this, I guarantee you’ll have success in what you most want to do and achieve in life. Those who love you unconditionally will understand. Those who truly love you will be there when you are able to come back up from the air, when you reach the other side of the shore.

To risk it all, to go out on a limb when God calls you, to leave everything behind when He says “Follow Me”, will possibly take everything you’ve got.

Life seems to be about preparation. Choosing to do each day what must be done, building a life “house”, pursuing dreams, yet getting really great at holding paradox: building while also being prepared at any moment to lay it all down and follow Him into a new territory and terrain, that often requires something being left behind. For tons of material things will only weigh down the pack, making it extremely difficult to move with the gracefulness of a dancer, the power of an athlete, and the precision of a hunter. Excess makes it hard to move over mountains, traverse the peaks, descend into the valleys to rise again.

So discipline seems to come in many forms.

Discipline to train our minds, bodies, and spirits daily
Discipline to refrain from purchasing what we do not ultimately need
Discipline to say no when He says to say no and say yes when His will requires it
Discipline to listen for His Voice and choose His higher ways versus listening to the loud, clamoring voices of the world and its backwards ways.
Discipline to rest when it’s time to rest to prepare for His next call, His next trumpet blast that says to “go!” “Move!”
Discipline to be obedient to Him
Discipline to use time wisely, to keep pressing forward while simultaneously remaining in the present moment, the only time His Voice is loud and clear.
Discipline to keep the structure of life created in Him strong, while maintaining space for Him to move in freedom and simplicity.
Discipline to rebuke what is not of Him, to ignore what the world says is a “must” or a “should” in favor of what His Voice is leading to do or not do.
Discipline to go counterculture to the world requires great strength, endurance, and perseverance. There will be those who yell or who do not understand or who judge.
Discipline to not worry about what others are thinking or may be thinking in favor of what He says and thinks. His thoughts and ways are Higher than human thinking.
Discipline to keep the body in top shape- never know where He will go next.
Discipline to guard heart and mind from outside influences, especially until a sound vision and plan is realized. People can be well-meaning but are often advising from their own point of view. If one can find a mentor who is on a similar belief system, you’ve found a gold star. Remain humble and trust that God may be speaking through this person for your benefit.
Discipline to allow the past to remain there and hold hope for the future while living fully present in the present. It takes a lot of discipline to be a free spirit, Gabrielle Roth.
Discipline to stay in the love of God and trust that the free-fall feeling is a good thing
Discipline to remain in touch with others who also believe, to reach out for help and support when needed, and to find your inner circle of people on a dynamic path in God, who love Him as much as you do.
I pray for others who love God as I do and want to go all the way in Him, to surface on my path— I yearn for more supernatural humans who are non-judgmental, dynamic, alive, and full of light to come my way, maybe my same age, and also a mentor who also serves as a working/business extrapolator — someone I can trust with where I am with work and how to succeed from this place I am currently in.
I want a breakthrough in a relationship like this so I can hit the nail on the head and move into a higher dimension or experience in God and in business. I know not every one may be a quick fix. But I yearn for a new way of seeing what I am doing and not avoid next steps because they feel too small
Discipline to do the very next step, even if it is not one I am excited about, knowing it will lead to what I most want to do. I want my work to be my God and my world— not marriage or children or sex or family or even community.
Discipline to stick with what I know and love, even when others try to guilt me into doing what they want because it’s what they need and comes from a place of attachment, control, or dependency. I will keep saying no to those who want to attach and swirl in liminal space in favor of saying yes to God and moving forward in my own dreams this time. God, help me keep saying no so I can say yes to you and us. Please don’t test me in areas I don’t need to be tested. Help me get momentum and soar in You, Lord! Activate me!!