Too Much To Do

“Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.””

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I read an article by Rick Warren this morning. He states: 

“Think of the rubble as the trivial things that waste your time and energy, those things that prevent you from accomplishing what God has called you to do. If you are discouraged, you may need to clear away some of the rubble in your life.”

I have spent my life trying to do three things at once...literally. It was almost a challenge to try to see how many plates I could spin at the same time. A year and a half ago, I retired from my full time job. Because I did not know any other way to live, I tried to put more things in my life so that life would be “normal feeling.” 

I want to digress at this point. I absolutely do not think that a person needs to cancel every event in their life. Many times when people think they are too busy and stressed, they cancel the things they need to keep. 

I think the most common event for people to cancel is going to church and being a part of a community group. The rationale is this a day of rest and relaxation, their only day off. 

Another common thing to cancel is exercise. No time to take care of yourself physically and frees you up for more TV watching. 

Another thing to cancel is serving others. No way for time to observe that God has placed some people in your path that need you. 

Definitely most people cancel having a quiet time with the Lord. We rationalize that God wants us to rest. We cannot wake up earlier and read His incredible word and talk to him about life. 

I have noticed that when people start canceling rubble from the life, the most important things are sometimes the things are dropped first and should be kept. 

To clean out rubble, real trash, means to be able to hear what is rubble and what is not. Nehemiah and his crew got tired...real tired. They did not make time for social media and watching their favorite TV show. 

God gave them wisdom to know who to ignore and what to ignore.

“so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭6:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I want 2020 to be the year that I plead for wisdom to know the difference. If I lay out my life for God to examine, he would love to reveal to me what is my purpose and what is not. 

Is it a Sin to Overeat?

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I am attempting to examine what this verse really means. How far do we take this verse as a Christian?  Does it only apply to the "big issues" or does it apply to things like how we spend our money or what we eat for lunch?  In what ways should we be different and in what ways is it okay to blend in to the world's ways? In particular, I have been looking at food issues and how we take care of our body.  Should we look like the world in those issues or should we take a strikingly different stance?

We could look around at prominent Christian leaders and observe that they seem to look about the same as the rest of the world. Many are overweight.  Many lack the physical stamina through lack of exercise. I want to look at my own life with a critical eye and see if I am trying to not copy the behavior and customs of this world.  Because this verse implies that if I don't copy them, God can transform me into a new person by changing the way that I think.  Then I will learn that God's will for me is good and pleasing and perfect. Notice I said that I am looking at myself, not others.  When I mentioned that popular leaders are not following this standard for their life, I realize that more fingers are pointing back at me if I dare to point one finger at them.  So let's make this clear that this is about me, not anyone else.  If you see me in a fast food restaurant eating french fries, it will be obvious that I am just like everyone else:)

What are America's habits for eating?  Obviously we are missing the mark badly in this area. Take a minute to read the following article on health issues in America.

Excess body weight: A major health issue in America

For many people, the modern American lifestyle has led them to eat more unhealthy foods, eat bigger food portions, and be less physically active. As a result, the number of Americans who are overweight or obese (very overweight) has been rising. About 1 in 3 American adults is now obese, and another 1 in 3 is overweight.

Being overweight or obese can have far-reaching health consequences. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excess body weight increases the risk for:

• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol levels
• Stroke
• Liver and gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Arthritis
• Abnormal menstrual periods and infertility in women
• Certain cancers

Overweight and obese people, on average, do not live as long as people who stay at a healthy body weight throughout their lives.

Not only are more adults overweight or obese, but more children are, too. Among children and teens, about 17% (or 12.5 million) are obese, a rate that has almost tripled since 1980. Some of the same health problems affecting obese adults can also affect obese children. These include heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, as well as asthma, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, muscle and joint problems, and liver disease. Obese children and teens are also at higher risk for social and psychological problems, such as discrimination and poor self-esteem.  Obese children and teens are more likely to be obese as adults. 

How many times will we read these statistics and ignore the fact that America is growing weaker and weaker as a nation?  Can we continue to rationalize away the issue that is not only an epidemic in America, but the Christians don't look any different from the non-Christians?  No stone gets thrown at the speaker if someone points out that Christian divorce rates are the same as non-Christian divorce rates.  We are aghast and say this is wrong!  But the weight/health issue is protected somehow from debate.  It seems okay to be overweight and under-exercised.  Just a little nag of discontentment.  Just a little depression about the way we look.  But no radical alarm that this is not right.  We should enjoy health more than anyone.  God is saying, "My ways are best.  They are good.  They are perfect.  Try them and you will see." You will never hear this proclaimed from the pulpit.  Someone might be embarrassed.  

Remember "there is no condemnation in Christ...none." Period.  Never.  Just a conviction that he wants better for us than the food-addicted, stress-induced cravings, handle-depression-through-eating-ice-cream type life we are choosing.  I have said this before.  I have lived that way most of my life. However,  I am not living that way at the present time and I enjoy life a lot better than I used to.  I am seeing that his ways are really better...amazing actually:) 

Ponder this verse and see if you are conforming to the world or are you actually choosing a narrow way that very few are walking on these days.  Life doesn't have to be so miserable. God wants an abundant life for me and you.

The Narrow Way

““You can enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way. But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow. And the road that leads there is hard to follow. Only a few people find it.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:13-14‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I know you have read this many times. But read it slowly today and let the words permeate your mind. This road is not the popular or well chosen road. You will walk the opposite way of the world, definitely not the American road. If everything in your life looks likes the American way, stop and think, “Is there a problem with this?” 

We get so busy in life that we honestly do not have time to search for the narrow way. It will involve a sacrifice of time and maybe sleep and even food(if you want to fast to hear from the Lord). 

Everything I just mentioned is NOT something we want to give up...sleep, food and especially give up our time. We want to be in charge of those areas. But the rewards are incomparable! 

Let us find accountability to seek the narrow way. Let us have a desire to look for the narrow road. Let us have glimpses of the rewards that awaits us when we search for the narrow and not the wide, easy road. 

Jesus, you love us so much, you don’t water down your word and make it more palatable. Jesus, you say to follow you it involves everything we’ve got. But when we practice deferred rewards, we inherit the kingdom.  We don’t get all the promises now, but every single promise will be in our future! 

What Are Your Devoted Things?

“Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, "There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you."”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭7:13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is a familiar story(If it’s not a familiar story, spend time in the Old Testament. Incredible stories are found hidden in those pages.)

Joshua had led the children of Israel in a resounding defeat of Jericho by walking around the city walls 7 times and the walls collapsed. Their fame grew within the enemies in the Promise Land. Next on the list was Ai.

“”Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." And the men went up and spied out Ai.”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭7:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The men came back and reported that they only needed about 3,000 men and not the whole army. This should have been an easy defeat. But much to their surprise, the men of Ai soundly defeated them! What happened?

One of the members of the Israelite army, Achan, saw treasures of the of Jericho and stole them and hid them in his tent. God had specifically said,

“Remember, we must destroy everything else. Don’t take anything. If you take anything and bring it into our camp, you yourselves will be destroyed, and you will cause trouble for the rest of our people.”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭6:18‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Keep this in mind. The next time they attacked Ai,

“You will do to Ai and its king the same thing you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you can take all the wealth and animals and keep it for yourselves. You will share the wealth with your people.””

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭8:2‬ ‭ERV‬‬

God does not say to turn away from all the good things here in earth. This story is not leading us to deny ourselves of all things that he provides. But when the world flashes money, entertainment, even food and tells us to make these our “devoted things” and our source of happiness, be careful. Only the Lord, and him alone, will be our source of joy and strength and wisdom. 

I love that the Lord knows that we are weak and we need his help to fight our battles.

That's how we fight our battles

This is how I fight my battles

This is how I fight my battles

This is how I fight my battles

This is how I fight my battles

It may look like I'm surrounded

But I'm surrounded by You

It may look like I'm surrounded

But I'm surrounded by You

It may look like I'm surrounded

But I'm surrounded by You!

Lord, I’m surrounded by enemies to the right and to the left. But these battles are won when I lay aside the sin that so easily entangles me.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Make a list of the “devoted things” that have been kept hidden in our tents. Get rid of these things that are nothing but cheap substitutes for the real treasures. There are battles ready to be won! Even better, we will gather up the crowns of our enemies and lay them at the feet of our Savior one day.

Slithering of the Snake

Slithering of the Snake

After over 40 years of marriage, Mark and I went to a marriage conference last weekend! Several people have asked me what was the most important thing we learned. My brain was so full of truths that I was not sure how to pick out a favorite. But these two words kept returning to my memory, “slithering snake.”

We were both so excited. But two days before, we had two huge fights over nothing...absolutely nothing. Mark and I know that when this happens, something big is coming up. Satan did not want us to experience this weekend. We prayed that God would do something so amazing, that we would not believe it. However, I actually doubted that he could answer that prayer.

Not that God was not all powerful, because he is. I figured that the conference leader may find out that we have been married for that long and he might even want to know how we stayed happily married, like a TV show. He would ask the common questions like “what was our secret?” I’ve read so many books and blogs on good marriages. What would be new? I had such a negative, pathetic attitude.

We drove up to a conference filled with 4,000 other people and we did not know a soul! I had a phone call right before it started and Mark and I were annoyed about the content of the call. The first half conference had wonderful speakers but i was thinking how I’ve heard all this stuff before. The reason I am giving all this background is to demonstrate the power of the “slithering snake.”

“Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?” She said, “The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit.” So the Lord God said to the snake, “You did this very bad thing, so bad things will happen to you. It will be worse for you than for any other animal. You must crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭ERV‬‬

(One of the speakers mentioned the idea and I wish I could give him credit but I can not remember who. I will be careful to not take credit for those words.)

Satan attacked Eve through trickery, deceit. He attacks us the same way. Looking back to the events leading up to the conference, the slithering snake was literally crawling around quietly, in and out of our lives, whispering, casting doubt about God’s goodness and power. He whispers lies about God’s Word. 

If I saw a slithering snake, I would scream and run away with fear. However, if he was slithering I probably would not even see him. I almost never see snakes. But obviously, they are everywhere. Why don’t we see them? They seem to lie still and wait.

What’s the best way to avoid snake bite? Simple answer – leave snakes alone. If we encounter a poisonous snake, run away. If we knew a snake had the power to kill us with their bite, why would we be foolish enough to hang around them?

The same thing is true in our marriages. When we knowingly sit near to a snake, we will probably be bitten. But everyday, we knowingly sit by snakes. Oh, we don’t see them. Satan is too crafty to be noticed. But he slithers into our conversations and causes us to speak disrespectfully to our husbands instead of encouraging them. He tempts us to spend too much money and then not be content with our husband’s salary. He makes us nitpick the small stuff about our husbands, instead of looking for the million of wonderful things about him. 

That is one of his very main slithering tricks. Another speaker gave this illustration. He asked us to look around the auditorium and look for people wearing red. Then he said to close our eyes and estimate how many people were wearing blue. We could not think of anyone. Why? Of course, we had only been thinking of the red. Same is true in our relationships. When we constantly focus on the negatives of the other person, we don’t notice the wonderful qualities of them. It is almost impossible to see the good.

Stop right now and name your spouse’s bad qualities. Pick of a pencil and make a list of the reasons you feel in love with them. If it is difficult, you just fell for the “slithering snake” trick. All day today, be alert to the slithering snake trick.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He wants to bite you and destroy you. One hundred percent of the time, he wants to destroy your marriage. If he can’t do that, he wants you to not pray together. He would love for you to just tolerate each other. He wants you to be too busy for each other. He can try to get you to blame the other person and not accept your part. His schemes are endless and crafty.

I woke up at 3:00 AM this morning and could not get back to sleep. I decided that somebody on this planet needed to hear about this. I cannot express how many things went wrong when I tried to publish this. Satan is a crafty one.

Fight to Keep Our Faith

“We have to fight to keep our faith. Try as hard as you can to win that fight. Take hold of eternal life. It is the life you were chosen to have when you confessed your faith in Jesus—that wonderful truth that you spoke so openly and that so many people heard.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I love this reminder that our Christian life is not easy. When you accept Christ, you enter a battle, a war. If you are not feeling like you are in a fight, then it may be a good time to examine your life. Think about this verse,
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you look like and act like the world around you, then the devil is not messing with you. There is no battle to fight. This is not good!

For example, the world does not wake up and pray without ceasing. The world does not read the Bible. The world does not get involved a community of believers. The world has no problem with living together before marriage. That just becomes a personal preference, not a veering away from a biblical truth. The world has no problem with being jealous or greedy or selfish.

When I read that verse this morning, I was reminded that I am in a battle. Instead of resenting the battle and feeling like I am losing the battle so often, I think I will draw strength from the commander of the army.

“So Christ can save those who come to God through him. Christ can do this forever, because he always lives and is ready to help people when they come before God.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7:25‬ ‭ERV‬‬

What a great promise to take hold of! Jesus lives to intercede and help us.

The King Adores You

““Now listen, daughter, don’t miss a word: forget your country, put your home behind you. Be here —the king is wild for you. Since he’s your lord, adore him. Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre; rich guests shower you with presents.””
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭45:10-12‬ ‭MSG‬‬

I love the month of June! My Bible reading plan always brings me to Psalms in June.

This particular set of verses is good advice for a woman approaching marriage. The writers, the sons of a Koran, advised the young woman to leave behind her ties to her country and her family and adore her husband. The Psalms is warning her to come into the relationship with intentionality. On the wedding day, her husband is wild for her. To keep that love alive, she must give up some things, put some stuff behind her.

Even now after 39 years, I am constantly fighting against my selfishness and my desire to put myself first. When I fight to keep my needs at the front, Mark is less likely to adore me. I need to put some stuff behind me. He likes me a whole lot better when I stop trying to be first and fight for my needs to be met over his.

However, these verses are about so much more than marriage. It is describing our relationship with Christ. When we come into a relationship with Jesus, we have to intentionally leave behind our past. We have to come into this new incredible marriage with our Savior, giving up all of us(our country) and letting Him be the Lord and King.

If we continue to put our desires first and not die to ourselves, He will still adore us, but we lose the whole point. We keep trying to bring our past country. We need to enter into the relationship bringing nothing because we have nothing to offer. Absolutely nothing! He adores us and He does everything.

When we need a reset button, as my sister calls it, we reset by dying to ourselves and letting Christ take over. We can't do anything to help ourselves. The enemy tells us we can by working harder. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we begin to walk back into wide open spaces. Today is the best day to quit trying to fix ourselves. We can't.

“If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your “Goodness” will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the Lord will come following behind you.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58:8‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Wait for the best

Remember, most temptations are a shortcut that Satan wants you to take. ~Johnny Hunt

I read this quote this morning. Every time we make a lessor choice, it is because we take the easy way out. I often do that with food. I come home from work and I am starving, absolutely starving. But instead of waiting for a healthy dinner, I eat one snack and then another snack and then one more snack. By the time dinner rolls around, the healthy choice does not even look so good because I am filled with the lessor choices.

Think about areas of your life when you took the "shortcut." You did not want to wait for the best. And to top it all off, Satan condemns you and tells you how pitiful you are after you make that choice! Jesus said that "he did not come to condemn but to give us an abundant life." When you are condemned, that is not the voice of the Heavenly Father. Even though you made the wrong choice, he will not condemn but the Holy Spirit will gently convict you that you made the wrong choice. That is the voice of the Father.

Be intentional today to take the path, even though painful, to abundant life. If it's a shortcut, steer clear.

Biking Riding Thoughts

“You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don’t own yourselves. God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ERV

What a sweet reminder that we do not own ourselves! I am so excited that this was the verse that I was reading this morning and I had already decided that I was going to write about bike riding!

Yesterday was the first day back this year to ride my bike...extremely late in the season. First, school was way too busy. Then it rained all the time. Then three weekends in a row with out of town company. The excuses piled up. I wondered if I should just sell that bike. But yesterday I could offer up no excuses.

Let me me say from the beginning that riding bikes for me is not easy. I did not grow up riding bikes. My mom did not let us ride our bikes out of the driveway because she was so afraid her four daughters would get hurt. I decided that bike riding was a dangerous activity and I should avoid it. Four years ago, Mark came in one day and said "I bought bikes for us to ride." I thought he has lost his mind! I had no idea that bike riding would teach me about myself and walking with the Lord.

When I first started riding, it was so unfamilar to me. But as I improved I began to enjoy the time of riding. After two years, Mark came home and announced that we would be getting "better" bikes. Better bikes meant bikes that have these weird handle bars. They help you go faster, according to Mark. I thought "I don't want to go faster. i want the slow, steady and no risk pace that I have."

Oh, the lessons I have learned come riding these new bikes. First of all, you have to keep your balance.

“But I almost slipped and lost my balance. I almost fell into sin.”
Psalms 73:2 ERV

About a month after I started riding, I got a little cocky. I took my eyes off the road in front, took one hand off the handle and looked to the right and attempted to pick a bug off of Mark's shirt. That crash sent me to the emergency room with a fractured arm. Just as in the Christian life, if I get prideful and think that I can take my eyes off Jesus for one second and "turn to the left or right" I am in for a painful crash. Keeping my balance and focus is imperative!

Another thing that I have learned is riding bikes is that it is not a joyful, pain free activity. It always requires grit for me. It starts off carefree for about 60 seconds and then I remember that I have to keep making my legs move and move and move. Happens every single time. The first minute is glorious and then I realize that I have to exert the energy to ride 15 more miles to finish. So much like my walk with Christ. It is awesome to declare that I love following the Lord. But to wake up early every morning and spend time with him requires effort on my part. It will catch you off guard when you realize that wanting to follow the Lord requires that you have to "deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him anywhere."

The place where I usually ride is a 7.5 mile path that ends in a circular spot and then you turn around and ride 7.5 miles back to your car. I usually try to work harder after the turn around. I purposefully try to go much faster and it kills me. I am uncomfortable. I divide it up into the mile markers to pace myself. I see the mile marker that says, "5 miles" and I tell myself that I have to make it until I see "4 miles." This always makes me think of times in my life when I step out of my comfort zone and be willing to be uncomfortable to live in obedience to Christ. Writing this blog is a good example of this for me. I want to write down my thoughts and keep them to myself. I feel foolish most days for letting others read these. But I tell myself, "Jesus is saying just trust me today. Don't worry about whether you have anything to write about tomorrow. We can talk about that one on the next mile marker."

I saved an obvious lesson for the end. " Honor God with your body." Even though God may not call you to begin riding bikes, today may be a good time to ask if there are any changes you need to make with how you treat this body that God owns. I can guarantee that God can use the exercise to teach you about Himself.

Lose some stuff before you lose weight

Steven Furtick: "There’s always a tradeoff. Before God can bring his promises to pass in your life, he has to strip away all the stuff that keeps you from trusting him wholeheartedly. And that stuff is on the inside. God’s invisible work in you prepares you for his visible works through you."

What does God need to strip away on the inside of my life? I worry a lot about the outside appearance. But the outside won't change until I allow God to work on the inside. The enemy wants us to only focus appearance, doesn't he? If I want to lose some weight, there is some inside stuff that I need to lose first.

Kindness to People Who Serve Us

“When you come across a bird’s nest alongside the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, don’t take the mother with the young. You may take the babies, but let the mother go so that you will live a good and long life.”
Deuteronomy 22:6-7 MSG

I have been stressing over these two verses for a long time. I couldn't figure out what they meant. If you haven't figured this out yet, the book of Deuteronomy is full of ways to understand the 10 commandments.

Actually when you read a verse, anywhere in the Bible, there is a principal behind that verse. It helps you understand something. I would encourage you to sit on that verse and try to see the principal behind the verse. Ask yourself,"Why was this verse written?"

Sometimes we just ignore the verse because we think it only applies to the people living a long time ago. That is a dangerous assumption. If we do that, we will pick and choose only the verses that we think are important.

Back to this commandment about the birds.Taking the mother bird means that you are harming the mother. Letting the mother bird go means you are allowing them to live and actually valuing even a bird. Perhaps this is why it is written in the Bible.

There are a lot of people that I meet that I call "service people." They fix my appliances, they work at the desk at the YMCA, they take up tickets at the stadium, they clean my board at school and empty the trash, etc. The service or "eggs" is the part I am after and the provider or "mother bird" is disposable to me.

Actually to some people, I am the service person. I teach their kids and to them the kids are all that matters and I am "disposable." How does that make you feel when the person takes what you provide but they discard you?

That is like getting the eggs from the bird and eating the eggs but throwing away the mother bird. Gracious! Today as I run my errands, I want to make the provider more important that the provision.

Try Again

Wow! I read a great devotional by Max Lucado this morning. Here's part of it.

The Bible says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). Thousands upon thousands of saved saints are looking down on us. Abraham. Peter. David. Paul... and Joshua. Your grandma, uncle, neighbor, coach. They’ve seen God’s great grace, and they are all pulling for you.

Press your ear against the curtain of eternity and listen. Do you hear them? They are chanting your name. They are pulling for you to keep going.

“Don’t quit!”

“It’s worth it!”

“Try again!”

After reading this, it reminded me of how many times I have failed at something and wanted to quit forever. Maybe you have done the same thing. 

Maybe you set goals about trying to implement a quiet time and it lasted a week. Or maybe you set a goal to lose weight or exercise and you were eating brownies by the second day. Perhaps your goal is to really be patient with your coworkers and show Christ to them but after a really stressful day, you found yourself acting like an unsaved person. I hate when I do that.

I have the very best intentions and set wonderful goals about what I want to accomplish. I want to write this blog everyday and I can't seem to do it. But the enemy wants to kill, steal and destroy. He genuinely wants us to fail. And he knows what triggers to push. When he makes me stumble, I want to give up say, "I am not equipped to do this."

This verse was a much needed reminder that "we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses" who are cheering us on. What a smile this brings to my face. Moses is cheering me on and I will thank him one day when we meet. Abraham and Joshua and Joseph and some of my other favorites want me to be "fit" and they are cheering me on. They are cheering you on, as well. So pick up the pieces and get busy!

Get Started

“All the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh where they set up the Meeting Tent. The Israelites controlled that country. They had defeated all the enemies in that land. But at this time there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received their land. So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you.”
Joshua 18:1-3 ERV

This is another one of those verses that I forget is in the Bible:). Maybe only a teacher can see the similarity to her students and the children of Israel. Joshua is a little surprised that the promised land is conquered and yet still undivided. The next verses in the Bible are a list from Joshua of what needs to be done to divide the land.

It made me smile because it really sounds like an email I got last night from a student. He just can't take any steps without me to get ready for a test we are having today. Joshua is probably feeling the same way with the children of Israel.

Just like my student and just like the Israelites, they don't seem to want to think for themselves. But wait...am I like that sometimes? There are some obvious steps that I can take to "become fit for his glory." I just seem to want to wait until someone kicks me to make me get started. I already know what to do-maybe today is a good day to start.

Deal With Your Anger

Ephesians 4:26-27 ERV

“When you are angry, don’t let that anger make you sin,” and don’t stay angry all day. Don’t give the devil a way to defeat you.”God understands that we will get angry. We can get really angry. We can be disappointed. We can believe that life is unfair. But for our own good, we have to work through our anger and disappointment. There must be an end to the anger. Allow God to bring his perspective to our situation. Plead for his help in dealing with the anger.

Because if we don't...the devil will defeat us. We must realize that the enemy wants us to stay angry, to think that life is unfair, to think that God can not take care of us. The more we allow the anger and resentment to reside in our hearts, the more we allow a bigger foothold for the enemy.

I am thankful that God says in his word that "when you angry." I am always relieved that the book of Job is in the Bible. Job whined for about 40 chapters. But there was an end to it. There must be an end to our anger and bad attitudes-for our own good.

"Developing "Mental Toughness"

You might spend a lot of time thinking about how to get your body stronger, but have you ever thought about increasing your mental toughness? Think of your brain like a muscle you can strengthen, and you can improve your life. Mental toughness means you won’t fall apart with bad news, or when a challenge or a problem comes your way. With a strong mindset you can set goals, overcome setbacks (without unhealthy behaviors)." ~Chris Freytag

This article was not Christian related but boy can it relate to the Christian life. Here are a few tips about developing "mental toughness." 

First of all, God is our strength.
God said this once and for all; how many times Have I heard it repeated? “Strength comes Straight from God.” (Psalm 62:11 MSG)

So we will never be strong enough on our own to amount to anything.
That being said, I think we need to develop some mental toughness about facing life.
So my tip for the day is start each day with prayer and gratitude! Plank and praise is a really good way to express your joy to the Lord. 

Another idea about developing mental toughness is to keep your promises. I need to back up here for a second. I wrote a vision plan for my own life several years ago. I try to update the goals once a year. I call them "Pat's Priorities." If you feel like your goals are within God's will for you, then your goal is much like a promise that you intend to keep.

"When you do what you say you are going to do (from your workouts to meeting up with a friend for lunch) you are a person who keeps commitments. Whether it’s a silent promise to yourself or a commitment to someone else, keep those promises and you will be strengthening your mindset because you are a person of your word." ~ Chris Freytag

When we commit to ourselves that we will read our Bible on a daily basis or commit to a friend that we will pray for them, we need to keep that promise. Whether we are keeping a promise to a friend or keeping a promise to ourselves, we are developing that mindset that we will not disappoint our friends or ourselves.

If we continually break promises, whether to ourselves or others, life seems more out of control. We will break more easily in a storm. We will be more likely to forget that God ALWAYS keeps his promises…always!

One more tidbit about developing a strong mindset...

Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done. If one person falls, the other person can reach out to help. But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them.

An enemy might be able to defeat one person, but two people can stand back-to-back to defend each other. And three people are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped together—it is very hard to break. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 ERV)

Self-discipline doesn’t have to be about how much temptation you resist, it can be about how smart you are about creating an environment that supports you. Do you hang around others who want to grow in their relationship with Christ? Do you have friends and family supporting you and your goals? Do you have an accountability partner or a friend who pushes you a little bit? Each day commit to a little more "mental toughness."

Finish Strong

Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. 

There are certain times of the year that my students are tempted to coast to the finish line. This is one of those times. When we return from a break at Thanksgiving, there are a couple of weeks and then Midterm exams. It is a test of character for middle school students to stay the course until Christmas break. Often there is a drop in grades because they are thinking about the upcoming holiday and not have the grit to finish strong. I cannot count how many times I have reminded them that people who start strong are "a dime a dozen." The people who finish strong are the exceptions. 

As I am approaching 60 on my next birthday, I must ask myself the question…Am I coasting or am I running with endurance to the finish line? Many people my age are looking forward to a mythical retirement. It is the dream of most Americans to quit work one day and begin to live out our dreams. We want  to travel to far away places. We envision that we will have "time" to finally start to living because our 40-50 hour a week job keeps us busy and too exhausted to do anything else. We must be careful to not coast towards a perceived finish line. 
The finish line is not retirement from a job. The finish line is when I meet my Lord Jesus Christ face to face. At that point, I will be crossing the finish line and not a minute before.

God's word is clear. We will reap whatever we have sown. I can not bear the thought that I will face a crop of weeds due to my selfish habits. I want to finish strong. Even though I may become weary and want to quit or slow down because of age, God promised that I will harvest a good crop if I persist. 

I want to run with endurance the race that is set before me and not quit a minute too soon!

'We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.' Hebrews 12:1

Do You Want to Be Strong Without Depending on Chocolate?

Isaiah 30:15-16 (ERV)

15 The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says, “If you come back to me you will be saved. Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong.”

But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” 

On any given day, okay most days, I need to find the strength to get through the day. I feel like there are way too many items to check off my to do list! I feel defeated before I even start the day and want to give up because I feel so discouraged…like the battle is too overwhelming for me. So at that point, I have two choices. 

First choice, eat!!!  Eat something that will make me feel better, give me energy, give me strength. I can't tell you how many times I take the first choice. It may be evening time and I have too much schoolwork to get done and I will spend my evenings working on that, as well as laundry and dinner and a host of other things. Eating something unhealthy seems to be a great solution to give me the energy I need. I can sit down and get busy and have a "snack" right beside me and I tell myself this will be perfect.  Only problem is when I finish that snack and I have to stop and get another snack and then another and suddenly I realize that the thing that was supposed to make me strong made me feel weak. Has that ever happen to you?

Read what it says in Isaiah, “Only by remaining calm and trusting in me can you be strong”But you don’t want to do that. 16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” .

I took that right out of the Bible!  I thought,"God, you read my mind."  You told me that if I wanted to be strong, the way to accomplish this is to remain calm and trust in you.  But instead, I say "I don't want to do that. You were not enough for the kind of strength I needed." God's ways are always going to seem contrary to the world's logic. When the world says to go shopping and buy something you don't need then you will feel better, God says remain calm and trust in me. When the world says to yell at your kids or your spouse and you will feel better, God says just trust me. When the world says to go through the closest drive-in and order something very unhealthy because you had a bad day, God says "Can you trust me, instead of food?' 

The second choice is always the choice that works every single time! There is not enough energy in a candy bar or bag of chips to help you through your day. The enemy will lie to you every time and a lot of time you will listen to him. And then you know what he has the nerve to do…condemn you for eating the whole thing. You just cannot win if you choose that way. Next time you get to this point where you are desperate for some strength, remember this promise:

Isaiah 40:29 

He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it.

Learn From Your Past Mistakes

 

Proverbs 16:20 (ERV)

 Good things happen to those who learn from their experiences, and the Lord blesses those who trust him.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Bible has an answer for all of life's issues. As I am contemplating on what to write about today, I realized that this verse is a golden nuggett of truth for those who want to lose weight and regain their health. This verse is stating the simple truth...change what you've done in the past if you want to change your future.

I teach 8th grade Algebra. Best job in the world!!! I try to teach a short lesson every year on "3rd alternative thinking." Many of my students want to make a better grade and ask me if there is bonus work to improve it. You can imagine that I am not happy with this request. They want a quick fix to a larger problem...lack of effort.  I explain that most people would like to use the third alternative when they want to change their grades(or their weight). Problem is...there is no third alternative. It doesn't exist.

The first alternative is to stick with the same behaviour and get the same result. The second alternative is to change your behaviour and get different results.  Most of us deceive ourselves into thinking that we can continue with our same behaviour and get different results(this is what I call the third alternative). This is not possible!

At one point in my life I weighed 80 pounds more than what I weigh now! I lost a lot of opportunities to swim with my children, ride bikes with my children and just enjoy life more. I finally realized that unless I changed, nothing would change.  I literally thank God everyday that he is allowing me a second chance to swim and ride bikes with my grandsons. How incredible is that?

I have spent the last three blogs on "transforming your mind "without naming a diet plan or an exercise plan. That is because unless you get your head on straight and quit looking for the quick fix, you will not achieve your goals. I have tried in the past to lose wieght for a trip or a high school reunion or any upcoming event. But unless you committ that you want to stop the endless cycle of losing and gaining, it is just that...a quick fix and not a life change.

So before you begin your next diet, examine your motives.  Why are you wanting to lose weight? If it is for life change, then are you willing to change your behaviour for the rest of your life?  I decided(at age 55) that it was worth it to make changes because I would gain so much more than I was giving up.

Next blog, I want to visit some changes that made a difference for me. I will not advertise a diet plan or gym membership. This will be just stuff that worked for me. Until then, ponder this verse:

Proverbs 16:3 (MSG)

Put God in charge of your work,
then what you’ve planned will take place.

And if you still are not convinced that it is time for a change, ponder on this picture:)