You GUYs!!! I am SOOO sorry!! I have been in Project Central for the last few days and haven't touched the computer until very late each night and by that time it was email, a little facebook and bedtime!
So, today I'm combining 2 into 1 on the day I told you I wouldn't be sending a blog post....call me what you will -- I understand!
Let's start with tips and tricks and I'll end in the Word - hope that's ok with y'all....
Well, today is my birthday. I'm 48 and have decided to do something good for me and make a pledge to myself and to the Lord to get healthy this year. No, I'm not going to go on some amazing spa diet and no, I'm not joining a gym and no, I'm not having any radical surgery -- been there done that and nothing worked long-term. I've just decided to find ways each day to move more, find ways to add more fruits and veggies to my diet each day and subtract more junk and to let being healthy because it honors God to take care of my "temple" better. If I am blessed with a smaller clothing size that'd be great, but my primary motivation is really to feel better and have more energy and truly to honor the Lord with a healthier body.
So, rather than giving you guys tips and tricks, I'm asking you to give me some. If you have some great ways that you've discovered to get healthier that actually have stayed with you long term, I'd love to hear about them. Believe me, I've tried all the diets there are that are out there and for a short term, they've all worked...but I want to hear your "go to" things that make you stick with a lifestyle change long-term and ways you live "normally" and stay on track.
So, go ahead....I'm listening -- let me hear from you ladies and gents....help me make this change for the long-term - the get-go - the whole shootin' match - the big kahuna...I need you!
Today's devotional is going to come from the Ten Commandments....Exodus 20:3-7
"You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
Kelly Minter has written a Bible study entitled "No Other Gods". I'm sure that I've referenced it before in this blog. It's one of the most Scripture rich studies that ties the seriousness behind God's commandment to have no other gods before Him. In her study, she talks about how good things can become idols, defined as "functional gods" when we allow them to take our attention away from a life lived to worship and glorify God. For the committed Christian, it's not necessarily the cares of the world that get us off track. It's the good things...ministries we are committed to, spouses and children that we adore, churches we attend, our homes, our families, our bodies, our jobs, or friends, and the list goes on and on. In the name of our commitment to the Father, we commit our attention to these things and it's the things that end up holding our attention. It's not that we bow down and worship them, it's that they own more of our hearts and minds than they should.
Maybe we love them more than we love the Lord, maybe we worry about them too much, maybe we want them to be perfect, maybe we enjoy being with them more than we enjoy being with Christ, maybe we spend more time thinking about them than we do God's Word, maybe we are afraid to surrender them to the Lord because we are afraid to trust Him with them....see how quickly our attention can be diverted.
In my own life, I believe now that food has become an idol to me. It's been a place of comfort when my emotions aren't balanced. It's become a place of success when my career or my life haven't felt so successful. It's become a place where I can take out my frustration on a bad day, entertain serve my family and challenge myself to do something new on a tight budget. But what I've discovered through the study of these verses is that God doesn't mind if I enjoy his bounty and provision. But when I use it as a means of escape from my troubles, I'm substituting it for Him - He wants me come to Him - to seek Him first in all things.
It's great to have hobbies and to enjoy doing fun things. It's great to eat and enjoy good food and good friends. It's wonderful to have the ability to do things like sing, dance, lift weights, karate, cook, run, play sports, sew, paint, and so on, but when we use them as a means of escape or as a way to feed our souls, then these good things are serving as functional gods - idols.
God gives us our spouses, children, families, friends, jobs, talents, gifts, homes, cars, gardens, etc. and he wants us to enjoy them. But if we find ourselves trying to "fix" the people in our lives or maybe we're holding on just a little to tightly - then what we're saying to the Lord is that we can manage them better than He can. Not true, dear friend. We must trust God as first and only God. We must open our palms to the things we hold on to so tightly and let Him have them. This is the "grass roots" of trust.
If fear controls us, if distrust controls us, if our emotions control us - really anything controls us then we have issues with trust. A dear friend shared with me when I was at my lowest point that when she was at her lowest point in her own life she began every day saying to the Lord, "Lord, I'm going to trust you with the outcome of this situation." And she would do that every time she felt afraid or out of control or angry or at a loss. She did it on days when she didn't believe it - and she did it on good days when things were going well. Little by little, she truly began to trust God more and more with every situation. Today, her life is an amazing example of restoration, grace, mercy and healing.
In my own life, I am learning to trust and relinquish all things to God. The first thing He has blessed me with for being obedient in these this is peace. I have bad days, sure, but my situation hasn't really changed - but the peace of God has covered me beyond explanation...a promise that He has fulfilled...Phil. 4:6. I'm learning to give Him my troubles and to let Him work them out. I'm becoming bolder in sharing my faith. I'm becoming more able to hear His voice and heed His instruction. I'm learning that prayer doesn't have to be formal or wordy -- it's conversation with my Lord and can happen anywhere, anytime.
Dear friend, I urge you to take a deep look into your heart today. Ask the Lord to show you if there are any "functional Gods" in your life that may be causing you to stumble in your relationship with Him. It's really a big deal to Him - if it wasn't - it wouldn't have been the first commandment He gave to Moses....and it wouldn't have been the first commandment Jesus shared when the disciples asked Him which commandment was the most important - Matt 22:37.
And when things get really tough, shout to the Lord - "Lord, I'm going to trust YOU with the outcome of this situation." and say it until you believe it and whether you believe it or not...
May you be blessed, not stressed and may this weekend be one that draws you closer to the Lord....
On Monday, I'll be a little older .... and hopefully a little wiser too!! See ya! Amy
So, today I'm combining 2 into 1 on the day I told you I wouldn't be sending a blog post....call me what you will -- I understand!
Let's start with tips and tricks and I'll end in the Word - hope that's ok with y'all....
Well, today is my birthday. I'm 48 and have decided to do something good for me and make a pledge to myself and to the Lord to get healthy this year. No, I'm not going to go on some amazing spa diet and no, I'm not joining a gym and no, I'm not having any radical surgery -- been there done that and nothing worked long-term. I've just decided to find ways each day to move more, find ways to add more fruits and veggies to my diet each day and subtract more junk and to let being healthy because it honors God to take care of my "temple" better. If I am blessed with a smaller clothing size that'd be great, but my primary motivation is really to feel better and have more energy and truly to honor the Lord with a healthier body.
So, rather than giving you guys tips and tricks, I'm asking you to give me some. If you have some great ways that you've discovered to get healthier that actually have stayed with you long term, I'd love to hear about them. Believe me, I've tried all the diets there are that are out there and for a short term, they've all worked...but I want to hear your "go to" things that make you stick with a lifestyle change long-term and ways you live "normally" and stay on track.
So, go ahead....I'm listening -- let me hear from you ladies and gents....help me make this change for the long-term - the get-go - the whole shootin' match - the big kahuna...I need you!
Today's devotional is going to come from the Ten Commandments....Exodus 20:3-7
"You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
Kelly Minter has written a Bible study entitled "No Other Gods". I'm sure that I've referenced it before in this blog. It's one of the most Scripture rich studies that ties the seriousness behind God's commandment to have no other gods before Him. In her study, she talks about how good things can become idols, defined as "functional gods" when we allow them to take our attention away from a life lived to worship and glorify God. For the committed Christian, it's not necessarily the cares of the world that get us off track. It's the good things...ministries we are committed to, spouses and children that we adore, churches we attend, our homes, our families, our bodies, our jobs, or friends, and the list goes on and on. In the name of our commitment to the Father, we commit our attention to these things and it's the things that end up holding our attention. It's not that we bow down and worship them, it's that they own more of our hearts and minds than they should.
Maybe we love them more than we love the Lord, maybe we worry about them too much, maybe we want them to be perfect, maybe we enjoy being with them more than we enjoy being with Christ, maybe we spend more time thinking about them than we do God's Word, maybe we are afraid to surrender them to the Lord because we are afraid to trust Him with them....see how quickly our attention can be diverted.
In my own life, I believe now that food has become an idol to me. It's been a place of comfort when my emotions aren't balanced. It's become a place of success when my career or my life haven't felt so successful. It's become a place where I can take out my frustration on a bad day, entertain serve my family and challenge myself to do something new on a tight budget. But what I've discovered through the study of these verses is that God doesn't mind if I enjoy his bounty and provision. But when I use it as a means of escape from my troubles, I'm substituting it for Him - He wants me come to Him - to seek Him first in all things.
It's great to have hobbies and to enjoy doing fun things. It's great to eat and enjoy good food and good friends. It's wonderful to have the ability to do things like sing, dance, lift weights, karate, cook, run, play sports, sew, paint, and so on, but when we use them as a means of escape or as a way to feed our souls, then these good things are serving as functional gods - idols.
God gives us our spouses, children, families, friends, jobs, talents, gifts, homes, cars, gardens, etc. and he wants us to enjoy them. But if we find ourselves trying to "fix" the people in our lives or maybe we're holding on just a little to tightly - then what we're saying to the Lord is that we can manage them better than He can. Not true, dear friend. We must trust God as first and only God. We must open our palms to the things we hold on to so tightly and let Him have them. This is the "grass roots" of trust.
If fear controls us, if distrust controls us, if our emotions control us - really anything controls us then we have issues with trust. A dear friend shared with me when I was at my lowest point that when she was at her lowest point in her own life she began every day saying to the Lord, "Lord, I'm going to trust you with the outcome of this situation." And she would do that every time she felt afraid or out of control or angry or at a loss. She did it on days when she didn't believe it - and she did it on good days when things were going well. Little by little, she truly began to trust God more and more with every situation. Today, her life is an amazing example of restoration, grace, mercy and healing.
In my own life, I am learning to trust and relinquish all things to God. The first thing He has blessed me with for being obedient in these this is peace. I have bad days, sure, but my situation hasn't really changed - but the peace of God has covered me beyond explanation...a promise that He has fulfilled...Phil. 4:6. I'm learning to give Him my troubles and to let Him work them out. I'm becoming bolder in sharing my faith. I'm becoming more able to hear His voice and heed His instruction. I'm learning that prayer doesn't have to be formal or wordy -- it's conversation with my Lord and can happen anywhere, anytime.
Dear friend, I urge you to take a deep look into your heart today. Ask the Lord to show you if there are any "functional Gods" in your life that may be causing you to stumble in your relationship with Him. It's really a big deal to Him - if it wasn't - it wouldn't have been the first commandment He gave to Moses....and it wouldn't have been the first commandment Jesus shared when the disciples asked Him which commandment was the most important - Matt 22:37.
And when things get really tough, shout to the Lord - "Lord, I'm going to trust YOU with the outcome of this situation." and say it until you believe it and whether you believe it or not...
May you be blessed, not stressed and may this weekend be one that draws you closer to the Lord....
On Monday, I'll be a little older .... and hopefully a little wiser too!! See ya! Amy
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