My 7 Most Inspiring Moments

 

 

“True inspiration overrides all fears.”

Bernie Siegel

 

I was so honored to be nominated by Pearl Girl at INFJ Ramblings for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! This award is given to blogs who have inspired at least one reader out there, and this encouragement came at a perfect time.

As I reflected on how I should go about accepting this award, I decided that I would share the seven moments in my life which have inspired me the most. My hope is that you might draw a little inspiration from these memories as well!

 

 

My 7 Most Inspiring Moments

1. Field Day – Shortly after I became a Christian at the age of 12, I remember sitting in the empty lot beside our church. It was Spring, and the field was covered in tall, yellow flowers which rose to my shoulders. As I sat, soaking in the cool breeze, I remember telling God that I would follow Him from that day forward. I had already asked Christ into my heart for salvation, but this was the moment I decided to fully run after His will for my life, no matter where it led me. Perhaps it was my imagination, but it seemed that the sun shone a little warmer on my face as I sealed this promise in my heart.

2. A Tale of Two Sandwiches – During my early teen years, my Sunday School class was taught by our pastor’s wife. One morning she told a personal story about a plumber who came to work at their house. She was baking a fresh loaf of bread, and he made a comment about how wonderful it smelled. She made him a sandwich, but gave him the rest of an older loaf of bread so she could enjoy the fresh bread. He raved about it, but she was overcome with guilt. She realized that she should have been honest, and should have put others before herself. After praying for forgiveness, she ran outside with a new sandwich and told the plumber everything. It seems like such a trivial thing, but this story has really stuck with me. It reminds me of how important it is to serve God always – even in the small things… because there really aren’t any “small moments” with God.

3. A Walk to Remember – As I neared the end of my high school years I began to worry and stress over what college major to pursue. One evening I walked around the neighborhood with my mom, and I told her how concerned I was over my future and what God’s will was for my life. In a moment I’ll never forget, she stopped walking and said simply, “John Mark… it sounds like you’re looking in all the right places. And as long as you do that, you’re going to be just fine.” I’ve carried that with me through the years, and as you probably guessed, it turned out Mom was right.

4. Watch Out For That… Light Pole? – The college I attended is situated on top of a hill, and when it snows during the winter this hill becomes a prime spot for ice sledding. One year we were out of class for a Snow Day, and all the students were borrowing cafeteria trays and sledding down the hill. By the time I arrived the cafeteria trays were gone, so I decided to go sledding in a giant Rubbermaid tub. The only problem was that the tub was too tall for me to reach the ground once I really got moving, and I couldn’t steer! I plummeted down the hill, and heard my friends screaming in horror… “Watch out for the light pole!” Before I knew it, I had struck the pole head on. When I awoke a few minutes later, one of my ears was halfway severed from my head and I was completely disoriented. I couldn’t count, or remember who George Washington was. What I didn’t know was that my skull had fractured, and was bleeding into my brain. An ambulance finally arrived, and as we tried to get through the ice to the hospital the paramedics thought I was unconscious. “I don’t think he’s gonna make it,” one of them told the other. I’ll never forget what that moment felt like, and I promised God that if He let me live, I would give every single moment for Him. My entire college began praying for me, and on the day before my scheduled brain surgery, the doctors told me that my epidural hematoma had begun to disappear on its own. I never did have surgery, my ear was successfully glued back into place, and I walked away with an unforgettable turning point in my life.

5. A Friendly Challenge – Before my wife and I ever dated, we were best friends all throughout college. One day my friends and I were planning to see an R-rated movie that we had been looking forward to, and Janelle pulled me aside. “I see so much potential in you,” she said frankly, “but you’re not living up to what you could be. You should be an example for everyone else, and you know you shouldn’t watch that movie.” I was shocked, but knew that she was right. I stopped watching R-rated movies on that day, and realized how valuable an honest friend is. Naturally, I had to marry this one!

6. The Power of Niagara Falls – For an anniversary trip, Janelle and I flew up to spend the weekend at Niagara Falls. I’ll never forget the sound of the rushing water, or the awe I felt as I considered the fact that I was watching 600,000 gallons (2,271,247 liters) of water spill over the edge of that cliff per second! It’s unthinkable, and yet the water never runs out. I learned a powerful lesson about the power of God that day, and began to appreciate the miracles He is capable of in an all-new way.

7. A Son’s Forgiveness – We’ve tried hard to teach our children to share, be kind, and forgive one another. But I was still blown away one day at church as I took my son to “go potty.” I had run out of Pull-Ups, so I ran into the church nursery and grabbed one to borrow. When I returned, his little eyes widened in horror. “No Daddy, it’s a girl’s… it’s a girl’s!” I looked down, and realized I had grabbed a pink and purple diaper. I knelt on my knees and looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry,” I told him. And in a moment that made me infinitely proud, he patted my shoulder with his little hand. “It’s okay Daddy,” he said reassuringly. “It’s okay.”

Blogs I’ve Found Inspiring

The following are blogs which have inspired me with their faith-based writing. If you haven’t run across them already, you should give them a glance!

1. “Seeing Deep” – http://denisepass.com/

2. “Source of Inspiration” – https://patcegan.wordpress.com/

3. “Our Life on the Border” – http://diasolifeontheborder.org/

4. “A Christian Thought for Today” – https://achristianthoughtfortoday.wordpress.com/

5. “The Life Project” – https://lifereference.wordpress.com/

6. “Tales from the Laundry Room” – https://talesfromthelaundryroom.com/

7. “Invited by Grace” – https://invitedbygrace.com/

8. “A Sister’s Hugs” – https://asistershugs.wordpress.com/

9. “Amazed by Grace” – https://amazed-by-grace.com/

10. “Stormie Steele” – https://stormiesteele.com/

 

 

The Rules for Accepting This Award

• Post the award on your blog
• Thank your nominator
• List 7 facts about yourself
• Nominate 10 other blogs for their awesomeness
• Post the rules for others to see

 

 

What About You?

What do you find inspiring today?

Advertisement