HIT THE GROUND RUNNING!

It's starting to get a bit chilly these days and we see that summer is almost behind us and autumn is right around the corner.

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As we gear up for the start of another school year, I'm sure that a lot of us are feeling a bit of excitement for the fresh start ahead of us.

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Well that's how I feel (even though I'm not in school) and that's why the quote 'Hit the Ground Running' came to mind. I put the quote up on my Messenger, as well as on my facebook, and I started getting questions from people of what that meant. Somebody asked me if I fell off the treadmill while at the gym, and someone else asked me why I would do such a purposeless thing to hit the ground with my feet.

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So I had to revisit the meaning of the idiom in order to explain to them what I was trying to say. After careful research (typing it in to google), the free dictionary website defined the idiom as "to immediately work very hard and successfully at a new activity". Yep. Exactly what I wanted to say.

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If my memory serves me right, I first encountered this saying in a movie or television show where a commander ordered his troops to 'hit the ground running' as they were parachuting off the helicopter into enemy territory. If they remained still on landing, they would be caught in a fierce crossfire.

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Personally, the quote carries another meaning. That I will not stop running, trying, fighting, with my life for God's convictions in my life, even if I find myself on the ground, fallen, at the bottom of life.
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To every and any race, the start is crucial. If you start slow, it's that much harder to catch up later in the race. I've rarely seen anything in life that has a poor beginning that results in success without trials and difficulties. In the same way I want to say that we must HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. Have a great start to this school year to everything that we do: relationships, work, church, ministry, etc...

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I especially want to rally us to seek a great start to this year's EM Praise Ministry at Open Church. If there is any time to be open and honest about your ideas, inputs, convictions, and expectations for your role and position within this team, it is NOW. NOW is the time for us to be gathering, sharing, talking, communicating, fellowshipping, encouraging, and building, doing anything and everything we can to share in each other's burdens that God has given us for our ministry this year.

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Come ready to our meetings and practices with an open heart, ready to share, to fire away your thoughts and your feelings. Be ready for battle, to be engaged, to be convicted, to be hurt, to explore and learn new things about others and about yourself.

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"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand."

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Are you ready?

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2008.09.11

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-sHin