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.

"Live and Let Live"

Patty, this comes straight from your entry today. Your comments on aggresssiveness and defensiveness took me right to the book I just got yesterday, and started reading while waiting for a friend at a restaurant. (Yes, that ties in, her daughter had a baby when she was just a teen, with a guy she thought would be her life mate - he wasn't!) Corrosive relationships, power trips, all of it had me thinking back to when we were praying for the situation. There have been others in the past that we have prayed for God to watch over and work through. The name of the book I just got from Radio Bible Class? "Before the Ring" William L. Coleman. My friend leaned over, and said "What are you reading that for? Are there weddings in the future?" Quite possibly on my part, but she went on to say that her daughter is engaged to another young man but the marriage is over two years in the future. She said.... It is too late for "Before the Ring." Perusing it, I think not. The information and stories could be for a lot of us, before we take the leap. How much easier life would be if we worked out kinks in the rope before we rope ourselves into situations. Some of the stories are applicable to not just marriage, but to work situations, friendships, etc. How many of us have aggressive or defensive work mates or partners? One comment that stood out like a light: Marriages (work partnerships, etc) that begin with fireworks may end up as scattered ashes. I told someone recently... Marry in haste, repent at leisure, and he said: WHAT does that mean?
For you on the blog, if you were asked that, what would you say?

Patty, you are right...

God is good, and we used to sing a little chorus, and it is going through my head right now. "God is good, God is good, God is good, all the time!"
I am so glad that God watches over us, and directs our pathways. If I was in control, I would have such a 'spaghetti bowl' mess part of the time. I am reminded of that as I think over today. When I got off work, a little 9 year old girl came to my house to help me clean, and stay focused, and she is very good at keeping the focus going! I have been so busy that I piled face painting stuff, fabric and books in my sewing room, and it was a mess. I just didn't take the extra time to put things away. She helped me and I am nearly to the point of being ready to sew again, and I am so glad that she can come alongside me, and help me keep my focus.
I think back to the times when God directed someone to do that for me when I was overwhelmed and I am so glad He was good to me... and didn't let me slip and fall, with the help I had I was able to overcome. I am very grateful for that help, guidance and direction.

Accepting God's Good

It has occurred to me that we have a wonderful God that gives such good things in life. When we come against a challenge in life, many times the last place we turn is to God Almighty; yet the bible tells us to "seek ye first the kingdom of God". If we, on a daily basis, would look to God as our source, "all these things would be added unto us" (Matthew 6:33). I'm so grateful for the good God has shown me lately. He has showered me with blessings.

One of the blessings was a wonderful trip with my cousin in May to Iowa and Illinois. What a lovely time to travel! All the trees were decked out in their greenery, and the blossoms were so colorful. It was a lovely girl trip. Our mothers are sisters, and it was a pleasure to relive our childhoods with each other. I've had many other blessings of late: a couple more girls' trips with my daughters and granddaughters, the lovely wedding of Frank's daughter, and currently I'm keeping my precious granddaughters.

This week I want to concentrate on all the good in our lives. If we would accept God's good instead of putting up a resistance, I'll sure we would see it everywhere. God's good just keeps becoming more and more obvious in my life.