GPS (God's Powerful Spirit)

Lately, I've been challenged by my weight again. I lost 66.7 lbs. in 2005-2006, and I certainly don't want to find them again. My biggest ally in maintaining a good weight is the Holy Spirit. His still small voice tells me when I am full, but sometimes I ignore it. I am God's creation and as such, I know that I am wonderfully made. (Psalms 139:14.) I love myself because God loved me first. Now I just need to take care of His creation. I know how to do it. It's just a matter of doing it. This week my challenging adventure will be to eat right and exercise. I will avoid stress eating and late night eating. I will trust my GPS. The GPS in my car works wonderfully. The GPS inside me works even better if I activate Him. I need to hold a vision of myself as a very healthy lady. I need to renew my mind on a daily basis. I need to persevere. "Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the test of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4. This trial of maintaining my weight is pure joy because it is developing perseverance in me. It is empowering me. My weight watcher leader once said that I have a 100% chance of success if I DO what is required to lose weight. That does not mean....think about it....or hope or wish for it. That means DO it. That means eating right, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of activity in my day by riding my bike, walking, and doing housework. That means staying in control of my life. That means forgiving myself for errors and moving right on past them. That means not resisting my GPS. That means focusing on my success, not my failure. That means keeping track of what I eat. That means I am on a mission. "Then they said to him, 'Inquire of God that we may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed. The priest replied, 'Go in peace. The mission you are on is under the eye of the Lord.'" (Judges 18:5-6). Today I choose to believe in myself. I choose to believe that I can make a decision to stay healthy and have the perfect weight. With the help of my GPS, I'll meet my goal.

Does It Matter?

This week I've been on the verge of experiencing stress and tension, but I've chosen peace of mind instead. I have to remake my decision for peace of mind often during some days. I know that it is all a matter of attitude. No matter what happens in my life....no matter what anyone does or says, no matter what happens as far as circumstances or events are concerned, nothing can cause me distress unless I let it. Only my own attitudes, thoughts, and judgments about something can make me stressful and full of tension. "Teach me to do Your will for You are my God. Let Your Good Spirit lead me on a level path." (Psalms 143:10) If I go with the flow and stop resisting, I will realize God's perfect plan. I need to keep myself from becoming a participant in human drama. I need to live only in this moment and realize that I'm nobody's victim. If I can be at one with what happens, then I will not be at the mercy of the world, and my happiness will be determined by my own self, not someone else. Thanks for reminding me of that, Lord.

Thoughts Determine Destiny

Oprah says, "I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become." William James, an American philosopher, psychologist, and teacher who lived from 1842-1910, wrote, "There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking." The bible says, "As you think, so shall ye be." All of these quotes would lead us to one conclusion. We create our reality with our thoughts. Phillipians 4:8 has been quoted on this blog before, but I think it is worth repeating that we need to think about "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think on these things." If we fill our minds with these kinds of thoughts, there will be no room for worry. Not only that, but our thoughts can bring about our destiny. We wish for something and desire it. Next we set our intentions with passion to bring it about. This happened for my granddaughter Jessica and me last summer when we lost her dog Red. We wished so hard that we could find him. We prayed about it with strong desire in our hearts. With passion we set our intentions to find him. Then we took action by looking everywhere, putting up posters, offering a reward, and contacting both the animal shelter and the animal control officers. We never gave up hope. I was supposed to take Jess home, but she would not leave without her dog. Three days later we found Red. Our thoughts never changed from faith to doubt. We wouldn't let ourselves get discouraged. Some people tried to prepare us for the worst, but Jess wouldn't accept it. When I saw her determination, it added strength to mine. We filled our thoughts with God's faith and sure enough, it worked. Now you might ask what would have happened had we not found Red. Could we have handled the disappointment? I only know that we didn't let that possibility enter our minds. We deliberately shunned doubt in this instance. We actually read quotes like the ones at the beginning of this post and took them to heart. Can we use our thoughts and visualization to live favor-minded as we studied in YOUR BEST LIFE NOW? Will God grant us that kind of favor? I think He will. Because I realize the power behind my thoughts, I keep them focused on moving a mountain of doubt. In my mind, I don't lay out the welcome mat for worry. I lay out the welcome mat for good to come into my life and the lives of all my loved ones. Thank You, Lord, for honoring our faith and bringing about Your greatest good in our lives.

Constant Craving

I must be thinking of song titles today. Remember that song by K.d. Lang about constant craving. I often think of how much we live in a material world. That's the title of another song by Madonna. Even our study on the blog of YOUR BEST LIFE NOW seems to point toward receiving bigger and better things. Often we try to fill ourselves with possessions, money, success, power, status, or even people to feel more complete. Matthew 6:26 says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them." Our God shall supply all our needs. "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (Matthew 6:28-29) If we feel a big hole in our heart, we can not fill it with possessions, job promotions, social status, or all the money in the world. We can only feel that hole with God. My best life now is one of perfect peace centered on God. I achieve peace through forgiveness of myself and others and loving kindness toward all God's creatures and even our planet. My joy comes from a grateful heart for all of God's abundant blessings. He supplies all my needs.