Which Voice?

I have been involved with a 12 week Team Beauty challenge for the last month.  I have enjoyed it so far.  It has kept me really accountable to my meal plan and exercise.  I am down six pounds so far and have a little over 6 pounds left before it's time to party!  

BUT today I messed up.  It started off good.  I had a great day with a shake for  breakfast and lunch.  I gave into temptation at a ladies fellowship at church tonight.  I tried to steer clear of the desserts, but I gave into a peanut butter "crack" brownie (Rice Krispy crack).  I also kept nibbling on an organic but not necessarily healthy pumpkin cobbler crumble of sorts.  I also had a few too many meatballs.  I posted my food to the accountability group, but I omitted a few details.  As I was driving home, my tummy started to feel the effects of my choices. Yes, they were my choices.  No one forced me to eat anything.  I chose to and I chose to go back.  Then it began, the thoughts.  The guilt.  The beating myself up for making the choices that I made.  But this time, I chose not to listen.  I told Satan to get out.  I prayed to God for forgiveness, and I let go of the guilt.  I nipped the thought in the bud before it had a chance to fester and eat away at me.  I decided right there that I would exercise when I got home.  I did put a video on and got a good ten minutes of exercise in.

This may not sound like a big deal, but for me this was a major victory.  I am learning to practice taking captive my thoughts and not allowing them to dictate my feelings and attitudes.  It is a work in progress, but I know that I will continue to grow.  No one is ever going to steal my joy.  I am in charge of what I think, and I choose to think on the things that are lovely, pure, and noble.  God's got a plan for you and I, we just need to make sure we listen to His voice and not the voice of the Enemy.

Watch. Wait. Listen. Learn.

Tangled

Have you ever been in a place where your heart was tangled up inside of itself with no way of controlling a situation and its outcome.  You feel helpless.  You want to do something.  Help in whatever way possible, but circumstances prevent it.  What can you do?  Where can you go?  What can you do?  This was made real for me this past weekend.  A dear friend of mine went through an extensive surgery.  I wanted to help.  That is my nature to help.  I went to the hospital and met a family member I didn't know and we chatted about my friend and life in general.  It was an interesting time.  I handed him a card to give to my friend, and that was all the help I could give.
I wanted to do so much more. But in my limited access to the family and my friend, I turned to the only thing that I could do.  I prayed.  I prayed often.  I don't think I prayed near enough or with as much passion as I could have, but I prayed nonetheless.  As the situation progressed, my prayers began to change.  I prayed that God would get the glory and that His will would be done.  I don't think I have ever valued prayer-communication with God-as much as I do now.
Prayer is an intimate conversation with the Creator of the this world and us.  He is our Father, Savior, and friend if we have trusted and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who paid our debt for sin with His life.  He is our Beloved, the Lover of our soul, He is "The One" that everyone seeks, but only some find.  Prayer is our connection to Him.  He listens to the longings of our hearts.  He answers them with a perfect answer in His timing.  We may not always like the answer, but God's thoughts are higher than ours and His ways are not our ways.
This weekend was a huge reminder that I can take everything to the Lord in prayer.  When I feel helpless, alone, or even joyful and happy, I can take whatever burden or news to God in prayer.  I know I don't pray often enough, and I want to pray more and for others and not just myself.  Remember that in all things, you can pray.  God is just a prayer away, and he wants to hear what you have to say.

To God be the Glory,

Trust~Delight~Commit

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.  Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
~Psalm 37:3-5

Picture:http://ad-for-god.blogspot.com/2011
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I am stepping out into new territory.  I have joined the Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study with over 36,000 people signed up.  Wow!  That's a lot of people!  The book focus for this study is Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.  I am excited to see what this study will bring.

God is so good.  My favorite verse is Psalm 37:4, "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."  Delight is described as "pleasure, joy, happiness."  When I enjoy or take pleasure in God, he will give me the desires of my heart.  To be very honest, I struggle with enjoying God.  It has not been until the past few years, that I have really put forth an effort to know my Lord.  I can tell you the more I get to know Him, the sweeter and more enjoyable He becomes.  My desires begin to shift into "How do I get to know God more?" "What does God want me to do?"

When looking at Psalm 37:4, you can't help but read the verses that sandwich it.  Verse three says to trust and do good.  The promise for doing so is food.  How cool is that?  When we trust God, we will be fed.  We won't go hungry!  So we trust, then we delight, and now we commit.  We must commit our way to the Lord.  Our way.  This requires surrender.  We must surrender our plans for God's plans.  Trust Him.  Double trust.  If God repeats something, it must be important.  Trust God, and He will bring it to pass.  He will bring His plan to pass.

This seems like a simple enough recipe for life: Trust~Delight~Commit

These three words are so rich and powerful.  They are nothing until I apply them in my life. I truly want to trust my Lord, enjoy Him, and allow Him to lead me in His plan for me.  Joining the Proverbs 31 Bible Study is one step towards that, and I commit the next few weeks to Him for the purpose of enjoying and delighting in Him.  I want to Crave God rather than food or anything else.

Filled with JOY!

JOY! Joy!! JOY!!!  This has been a year filled with Joy.  God knew what He was doing when He put that word on my heart for this year.  This year has not been easy.  I have struggled with many different things this year such as job loss, my singleness, my ministry.  In one of my attempts of "changing my traffic patterns" to meet people (okay, I'll be honest, guys...), I returned to Jesus, my Prince of Peace.  In the form of a 21 day journal (that has lasted well beyond 21 days), God has rocked my world with a consistent quiet time I have never experienced.
He supplied my need for a job not once but twice this year.  He has shown me that I am worth it.  God has given me great friends and a wonderful church family.  He has shown me that I am not in control.  I have learned the hard way to allow Him to have the control.
Things have happened that in my own knowledge and strength, I can't explain. But by faith, I know that God has a plan.  As God works in my life in such direct and distinct ways, I can't do anything but thank Him and obey Him.  God called me to teach in 2009 and has faithfully supplied me with harvests of kiddos to teach and shine the light of Christ in their lives.  Even when others doubted, I pressed on and God delivered.  He also opened my eyes to several harvests of kiddos that surrounded me and gave me opportunities to invest in their lives.
Most recently, I have been reminded of the value of any soul.  This has prompted me to become more bold in sharing my faith with others. I have had the opportunity to "change my traffic patterns" for a very different reason, an eternal purpose. In the past few weeks, I have met many people and pray that God will water the seeds of the gospel and give me the courage to continue to go.
God has given me true Joy this year through the mountains and the valleys.  I took joy in everything because God was there through all of my circumstances.  I pray that you find the Joy that Christ can give and have a blessed new year.

Alone in a Crowd

Have you ever had the this deep sense of loneliness even surrounded by several hundred or even thousands of people?  I have.  It is a sad, sinking feeling that is attempting to rob me of the joy of the moment. 

Being alone in a mass of people can be inconvenient and awkward, but it also presents opportunities to meet new people and attempt to make new friends.  This is something I am not very good at.  Yes, I can converse in idle chit chat for a few minutes or so, but to actually introduce myself and share a few genuine moments signifying that I care is one of the most difficult things for me.

When I observe the crowd, I see that the crowd is made up of little circles of friends, laughing and having fun.  I stand out or blend in without someone to answer to.  I can maneuver about the crowd as one better than with others.

I can do what I came to do faster and not have to keep up with anyone in this mass of people.  But in the end, it feels good to have someone you know by your side.

As I endeavor to do more things in life, I won't let the crowd get me down.  I will attempt to get to know at least one person in the crowd.  I mean introduce myself and give them however much time is necessary to show that I care.  My ultimate goal is to share Christ, but in order to do that I need to at least say hello. 

Loneliness is a choice, and I won't allow it to steal my joy in any situation.  Who know, maybe you were one of the crowd that spoke up at the right moment and was a part in making a person's day just a little bit brighter.

To Date or Not to Date?

I had a book recommended to me entitled How to Get a Date Worth Keeping by Dr. Henry Cloud.  I have looked into this book, but with great hesitation.  I don't want to date, just to date.  But this book brings up some good points that go against my I Kissed Dating Goodbye mentality.

Have I really kissed dating goodbye or  do I hide behind the fact that I don't date because no one asks?  Am I in places to meet my "future husband"?  How can I meet someone to marry if I don't even meet new people.

Cloud's book brings up the point that God is not going to send us a husband from heaven air stamped in His Timing.  We have a role in our circumstances and need to do our part.

I still have more to discover from this thought provoking stance on dating.   I have a feeling this will be an interesting read.  I will keep you updated.

My goal as of right now is to continue to discover who I am in Christ and find joy in His presence.  I am embracing my season of singleness one step at a time.  I know God has a plan and a purpose for this time in my life.