Heartblown!

Within a day or two of my previous post, God expanded my understanding even more on the matter of transformation for the believer.  God showed me that the soul is made up of three parts as well; our mind, will, and emotions.  Our mind produces thoughts, our will produces choices, and our emotions produce feelings.  Our mind has been deceived by this sin-ridden world, our will has become rebellious, and our emotions become controlling.  At salvation, our spirit becomes alive and the Holy Spirit indwells us.  We become new.  Our thoughts, choices, and feelings want to change.  The Holy Spirit desires to work through our soul to bring fruit to the body.  The spirit and fruit of the body is God's part.  Our part is to renew our minds and surrender our will and emotions.  We have to make those changes and allow God to rewire our thinking to please Him and glorify Him.  WOW!  What an incredible concept.  It is amazing how everything works together for a purpose.  I am thankful for the love He has shown us just so we can know Him.  I am so excited learn more, and ready for God to reveal what I need to change next.  It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

 For the Glory of God,

My Best Effort is NEVER Good Enough

Filling out a job applictation:  "Were you ever terminated or discharged from a previous job?  Why?"
I think long and hard on my answer.  My best effort didn't measure up.  My best effort...
As I ruminate how to answer this question, I hear the lyrics to Matthew West's song "Strong Enough" float around me and my answer hits me like a ton of bricks.  My best effort.  I can't do it on my own.

That is kind of the point...I can't do anything without God.  The days are a little fuzzy now.  I remember the stress.  I remember wanting to do everything well. I neglected God till the stress was overwhelming.  It was a different kind of stress...it wasn't a defensive kind.  It was a balance thing.

The stress of a more than full time job stopped.  The struggle now became what to do with my time. Yes, I have job searched.  Nothing.  I have been able to serve more at my church, go to women's Bible study, help out neighbors, make new friends, and more.  There is a certain flexibility with not having a specific job.

My best effort will never measure up in a job, a fitness and food program, or in church service.  I can't do anything on my own.  I am only good and can only do good through Christ.  Apart from Him, I can do nothing.  It is a daily surrender~a heart, mind, and spirit matter.  This is easier said than done.  I hope and pray that I will surrender each day, each moment, and each breath to my Lord.

For the Glory of God,

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

~Colossians 1:27

GOing into Glory

GO ~ There is so much packed into that tiny little word.  For me it was a more than a command to go and do what God had for me to do for my harvests of kiddos.  It was a broader command to go and share the love of Christ to everyone.  It was a bidding to seek out the opportunities to be a witness to others.

That tiny little word also had a flip side to it with a meaning of "letting go."  This by far was the hardest impact of this word for me.  I can honestly say that I haven't allowed it fully to sink in and do it's work in me.  I have held on to particular things for so long that letting go feels like losing something that is a part of me.  I'm not talking about a coat or a jacket; it's more like losing an organ or body part.  I know in my head that "letting go" would be best for me, but getting that from my head to my heart are two very different things.

As for what I expected my word, Go, to do in my life was to give me a sense of awareness and boldness to share my faith to those around me.  I did that for a while, but relaxed a bit later in the year.  I also expected a sense of spontaneity, so to speak, to go and do rather than plan and plan to do something with no follow through.  This also happened to a certain degree, but there are several times when I still get hung up on the details.

I have now been in a waiting period for the past few months learning to trust God with my everything especially my health and harvests of kiddos.  This is where a lot of the "letting go" has been asked of me.  I am slowly learning to trust and surrender.  I know God's got me, but for some reason it has been difficult for me to let go of control even when my head knows God's plan is better for me.  God is always faithful and gives me exactly what I need.

As I close out 2013 in the next few days with my one word GO, I look with anticipation to 2014 with my one word Glory.  I seek to do everything in 2014 for the "Glory of God."  Whenever I ask "why", I will answer for the glory of God.  I look forward to educating myself on the glory of God and what my actions should reflect to bring Him the honor He so deserves.

For My One Word resources check out myoneword.org for more information.  It will change your life.

Thanks & Happy New Year,

Operation Faithfully Fit

Today is the day, no more excuses, no more waiting for tomorrow, no more if onlys, Operation Faithfully Fit begins today.  In keeping with my alliterative streak, my plan focuses on the following areas: Food, Fitness, Finances.  The plan is to make some baby steps in each of these areas until they finally become routine and I can do them without thinking about it.

Food
Read Faithfully Fit Devotional daily and apply lessons learned
Make menus
Login to Sparkpeople.com
Drink 64oz of water daily
Log water intake on Sparkpeople.com
Track food intake on Sparkpeople.com (1500-1700 calories)

Fitness
10 minutes of exercise daily
30 minutes of exercise 3 days a week
Gradually increasing that to more as goals are reached

Finances
Make Budget
Stick to Budget
Don't make any unplanned or off budget expenses
Budget for groceries not convenient unhealthy fast food

This may look like a lot or not enough.  For me this is just right.  If I can't obey or make the little things important then the important things will be mismanaged and suffer.  I have done more at once, but for only a short while.  The plan never became a routine or part of me.  I am ready to be faithfully fit in these areas, and I can't do it alone.  God is my strength and my family and friends are my accountability.  I can do this, but not on my own. True change comes in surrender, and with surrender comes true freedom.