Training

Hi Sisters,

What does the word training mean to you? What comes to mind? For me, I think of three different scenarios in my life.

One, I think of my season as an athlete. There was so much time, sweat, and mental preparation for each competition. This included: skill training, weight training, and team training. One track season, our 4 x 1 team accomplished silent hand-offs. I cannot begin to explain how much precision that took. The margin for error was slim to none. Focus had to remain sharp and intense with no distractions. If a person took off a moment too soon or a moment too early, the hand-off of the baton would be at risk for failure at which point we would be disqualified.

“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”
~ II Timothy 2:5

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.“
~ I Corinthians 9:24-27

Another time in my life when I entered training was in college to become a high school math teacher. This was a different sort of training, but training nonetheless. I remember: sacrificing sleep to finish papers; studying with friends for big exams and finals; being in tears on my first homework assignment for a class called “The Theory of Numbers”; being evaluated every time I taught a lesson in a high school setting; receiving feedback on my teaching skills, classroom management, and rapport; taking big national exams for certification; and more! To keep my license, I must engage in “continuing education.” Many job are like this. Sometimes it is to introduce better practices. Sometimes it is to keep your skills fresh, have good reminders, or collaborate with others.

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. . . It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
~ II Timothy 2:3-4, 6

The last scenario is the spiritual parallel these are all pointing to: spiritual training. I have needed spiritual training in: how to read my Bible; how to memorize Scripture; how to be kind and not sharp tongued; how to love my husband; how to seek justice for the oppressed; how to “fish” for spiritually hungry women and how to help those women grow; how to “rightly handle the Word of God”; how to resolve conflict; and on and on this could go!! Sounds a lot like Titus 2:3-5. This training is life long and I will always need “continuing education” and training in this area too. The Scriptures provide many physical parallels in our world to communicate this spiritual truth. Listed above are three of them: athlete, soldier, and farmer. All three reflect the necessity of spiritual training to survive, contribute, persevere, and finish well.

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
~ I Timothy 4:7-8

Therefore, whatever you have trained for (profession, motherhood, marathon, etc.), have you invested as much time, energy, passion, focus, and rigor into your spiritual training? If you have, keep going sister! Stay on the battlefield! If you have not, will you consider investing into your training right away?

I pray there are women around you offering this type of training. If you are not around this type of environment and you are not even sure exactly what I am talking about, I want to invite you to a conference to “come and see.” If you are around a training environment, then I still want to invite you to this conference for “continuing education/ training” and mutual encouragement by other sisters in Christ.

I am talking about the “Operation Train Up A Woman” (aka OTUAW) conference run by The Well Bible Study Ministry in Tampa, Florida, founded by Susie Walther. This is not your typical Christian women’s conference and is held every other year. It will be held this year on September 6th and 7th in Tampa. Regular registration rate ends July 19th. Women will be there from not only the Tampa area, but also from other states. I will provide a link below for more information about the conference.

I will also end with a short blog post from the The Well’s blog. This was posted a few days ago on July 18th. It provides some information about The Well’s mission and the importance of training, which is why they provide conferences such as OTUAW.

Please click “HERE” for information regarding “Operation Train Up A Woman”

Please click “HERE” for the blog post.

Regardless if you are able to come to the conference or not, investing into your spiritual training is of eternal importance. Just like on a relay team, our training not only impacts us individually, but it also impacts the others counting on us to pass the baton! May we be ready at every exchange!

EXTRA: In case you have a few extra minutes today, I cannot help but share this video about the women’s 4 x 1 Olympic-gold team in 2012. It merely shows the precision of a baton hand-off. How much more care should we apply to the spiritual race! Enjoy!