MONDAY MUSINGS: Putting God First

Do you feel fully alive in Christ this Monday morning? Are you filled with antcipation, wondering how God will  use you today? Joy and excitement can be yours when you live every day with Jesus. He promised in His holy word that He came to give us life and that more abundantly. (John 10:10)

The abundant life is available to all who seek it. There are no tricks or gimmicks. It is yours for the asking. Jesus had only one requirement:

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:32-34 from The Message)

The King James version of this same passage puts it succintly:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

So that's all there is to it. Put God first and the joy will come. Put God first and you'll be able to manage your work load better. Put God first and the people around you will notice.

People are often drawn to me. Most of the time they don't why,but I hope it is because they feel God's love flowing through me.

One person says she comes to my office to get her "daily dose of Debbie." She says she feels better after she spends time with me.

One day, I hope to share the gospel with her. But until that time comes, I will keep praying for her and being a friend to her.
Loving others for the cause of Christ  infuses us with joy.

Let's put God first today!

It's a very real part of living every day with Jesus and it will fill you with encouragment and unspeakable joy!

Affecting Others

"Walking with God down the avenues of prayer we acquire something of His likeness, and unconsciously we become witnesses to others of His beauty and His grace." -E.M. BOUNDS

Stop right now and write down the first ten people that come to mind.

Now, look at that list and write down which circles of your life  they come from. Family? Friends? Co-workers? Neighbors?

These ten people, and if you had time to write down the next ten people and so on, are the souls that God has entrusted you to influence for His kingdom. Think about it. In Christ's infinite wisdom, He planted you in the job you have, the home you live in, the community you raised your kids in etc. And this planting wasn't by happenstance. God had a specific purpose in it all.

God knew for example that your best friend would need your unique giftings and personality traits to cope with life a little better. And God also knew that if He had a pesky neighbor live nearby, you would grow in patience and learn to lovingly serve despite their small annoyances.

Do you see where I'm going with this? A very important part of living every day with Jesus is to recognize that He is involved in every part of our life and has ordered every detail.

So look around you today at the people God has chosen to be in your world. Thank God for them. Pray for them. And let your light shine brightly for the cause of Christ. It is your duty, if you want to live every day with Jesus.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

WEDNESDAY WEIGH-IN: Strength From Others

It amazes me how quickly Wednesdays roll around.


I started this year proclaiming that I would post each Wednesday my determination to lose 100 pounds. Well to date, I've only lost about 20 pounds, which is not much for being 8 months into it. But one of the best things that has come out my commitment to blog about it is how others have reached out to me and offered encouragement, affirmation and support.


Readers like you, and my family and friends have really gone out of their way to encourage me - not only in losing the weight, but in telling me what I mean to them or how my writing has helped them. In short, they let me know one way or another that if I never lose another pound, that's okay with them because I'm a beautiful person just the way I am.


Take for example an email I got from my mom just this morning. Now I know she's my mom and  you're probably thinking that mom's are supposed to be all mushy-gushy etc. And to a point that is true, but what you may not know is that my mom is ver attractive and always has been. She is not quite 5' tall and weighs probably 110 pounds soaking wet. While I am 5'4" and weigh more than twice that. So as you can see, for her to acknowledge my inner beauty means alot to me because I've always admired her outer beauty. Here's just a part of what she wrote:


"... Maybe, just maybe your genetic makeup isn’t to be a thin person.  As long as you are healthy etc. that is what is important. ... We open magazines, turn on the telly and fashion is about thin.  I look at the latest fashion and all the clothes are designed for people who are size 0, that is slowly changing ...real women have curves...."


A mother's wisdom is always good isn't it? And she's right about the fashion magazines etc  portraying very thin women. Even the majority of the plus size stores use thin models.


And then there is my precious friend Vlatka who gave me a delightful little book this weekend called "How to Eat Like a Tree" by Dara Boland. In the flyleaf Vlatka wrote: " I can't wait to see the fruits that this book, Jesus and our friendship is going to bring forth."  What words of strength and refreshing! Vlatka is also very thin and beautiful. She sincerly prays for me and my weight issues and often offers encouraging words to me.


So today, on this particular Wednesday Weigh In, I give honor to you my reader for caring enough to stop by my blog and see how I'm doing. And I give honor to my mother, my friend Vlatka and all my other friends and family who see something in me that I'm not completely convinced of yet. And interestingly enough, this drawing strength from one another is part of living everyday with Jesus. You see God created us for community. We need one another. At least I know for sure that I need you.


Blessings and strength to you today my friend.


Until next time...


Debbie

MONDAY MUSINGS: Great Expectations

"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man." (Psalm 112:4)

Monday mornings sometimes feel like darkness don't they? It's funny that I spring out of bed on the weekends, but sluggishly shuffle about on a work day morning. The only difference is my expectations of what the day will hold.

On the weekend, there is time for play,relaxation and adventure. During the work week, there is pressure, agendas and quotas to meet. Yet, I have a feeling the weekends wouldn't be so relished if it were not for the confinements of the work week. It's quite possible that we feel free on the weekends, because we first fulfilled the mundane obligations of the work week.

So today, as we face another week of phone calls to make or appliances to repair, let us remember that our work duty is a necessary ballast to our weekend reverly. And therefore, we ought to be thankful for the forty-hour commitment we make each week - not just for the paycheck we recieve, but for the clarity and joy it brings to our time off. For how else could we celebrate the weekend, if at first we had not done hard labor by the sweat of our brow?

So be encouraged today in whatever this particular Monday holds for you.

Jesus is with you and He loves you.

And in His wisdom, He felt your job was the best thing to meet  your needs.

 And know that Jesus can soften the disposition of even your most difficult of people.

And Jesus can enlighten your mind to enable you to solve every problem that may await you.

You see, Jesus' greatest desire is not that you just endure this work week, but that you invite Him into it and allow Him to do exceedingly abundantly above all you could ask or think.

Because when you (and I ) learn to do this, we will spring out bed on the workday mornings because we can't wait to see what Jesus has in store for us.

Honoring Your Enemies

Who has mistreated you in your life? Who angers you? What injustices have you suffered?

I ask you these questions  not to upset you, or bring back painful memories, but to help you realize that we all have suffered at the hands of another in some form or fashion.

How do I know this?

Because we are human.

We are fallen, sinful creatures who ooze with selfishness.

And often it is our base selfishness that causes us to wound one another.

 I've done it. You've done it. And those we categorize as our enemies have done it. It's the ME, MYSELF and I syndrome that drives us to step on others in our quest for success, or the last word, or fairness.

But of course, God's way is just the opposite. He commands us to put others first, to serve them, to love them and do good to them - even the ones who have sliced and diced our heart:

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:44)

"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." (Luke 6:35)

So how do we accomplish this when our enemies are so toxic?

I'm grappling with the answer to this question myself.

There is a person in my life that consistently attacks me verbally.

Whenever I see one of their emails in my inbox, I usually let it sit a day or two before opening it because I never know if it's going to contain a fresh barrage of accusations, or a kind word.

For me looking at the subject line and contemplating if I want to read it's contents is like looking at a bottle of poison and trying to decide if I want to drink it. Rarely are their comments edifiying. And even if they start off being edifying, it's usually a ploy to draw me in so I'll let my guard down.

Yet, Jesus says to love them.

Do good to them.

Show them compassion.

Go out of my way to be kind to them.

And even to speak well of them to others.


 Well, I've tried all these  things over the last 10 years with this particular person
But it didn't improve the relationship.

 So I dug even deeper into the scripture to see what else God wanted from me and came across this scripture:

"When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." (Proverbs 16:7)

OUCH!

 Now, I don't think this means that we have enemies because we aren't right before God. But I do think the scripture is saying that if we are surrendered enough and crucified in the flesh enough that our humbleness will force our enemies to shut their mouths.

And of course, in my situation, humbleness only comes through complete forgiveness with no strings attached.

• My answer to the forgiveness/humility issue with the person I told you about was to delete 4 years of their hateful, hurtful emails. I guess I was saving them 'in case' I never needed proof of the pain I'd suffered at their hands.

But true forgiveness keeps no record of wrongs. It's gone. It's under the blood. And so I released this individual completely to Jesus when I let it all go.

• I highly recommend your reading a book by Lewis Smedes called Shame and Grace, if you have any issues with reconciling being mistreated by others. It helped me tremendously. 

 Loving and overcoming our inner pain, is such a vital part of learning to live everyday with Jesus.

Until next time...

Debbie

WEDNESDAY WEIGH-IN: Exercise

(Sorry for the delay in getting this post up... things with my dad got a little hairy for awhile, but thank God he's much better now)

Did you excercise today?

I didn't, but it's because I've been in a hospital waiting room since 5am this morning. ( My dad is having surgery)  But, there have been many mornings in my life when I didn't have such a good excuse for not exercising. And it's those everyday mornings that I'd like to talk about today.

Let's face it. If daily exercise had been as important to me as my daily shower, I probably wouldn't have a weight problem. My metabolism would be in high gear, my BMI would probably be normal, and I'd have energy to burn. So with all these incredible benefits, why do I avoid doing it?

My answers to this question vary depending on my mood, but here are a few of them:

• Because I don't have time
• Because it takes alot of work
• Because I get bored

Yet, the health guru's shout... "YES, BUT THE BENEFITS ARE SO WORTH IT."

And although I know they are right, most of the time I still avoid the commitment of exercise.

But all this thinking and self-examination into why I don't enjoy exercise made me realize the many similarities between my avoidance of exercise, and some people's avoidance of the gospel of Christ. Funnily enough, people often give the same reasons for not making a commitment to follow Jesus Christ:

• Because they don't have time
• Because the Christian walk can require me to 'work' at my inner shortcomings
• Because I get bored in a church service

I like the Apostle Paul's response to this topic. He said in 1 Timothy 4:7-9:

"...Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we've thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We're banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers."

So my dear friend, what will you do today regarding exercise? My hope and prayer for you, (and myself) is that you will not only learn to exercise your body, but also workout daily in the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible reading.

May you be be empowered today as you strive to live every day with Jesus. And may you not only develop a beautiful physical body, but an incredibly attractive, healthy spirit.

Until next time...

Debbie

Nutrition tip link.... http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/25-best-nutrition-secrets

MONDAY MUSING: Rest From Labor

 Ah, Labor Day. A day of rest and relaxation set aside for those who labor. A time to commemorate the end of summer and the onset of fall. The one day of the year where you can happily ignore your commitment to your employer and languish in bed all day , or cook burgers on the grill,  or fish, or spend time with your family.

That's the beauty of Labor Day. It doesn't have the pressure and expectations of other holidays. It is simply a day to tell the average hard working American:  "Take a day off. You deserve a rest."

Yes, Labor Day was a great idea. The Central Labor Union engineered it and it was intended to provide for a holiday that celebrated the working man –the laborer- as well as his contributions to society. A working man’s holiday just wouldn’t be complete if it did not include a day off work, and so Labor Day began. (resource from http://www.wisegeek.com/)

But did you know that rest from labor was actually God's idea? It's true. Jesus Christ told the multitude in Matthew 11:28:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

And in Genesis 2:2, the Holy Bible tells us that God rested on the seventh day after He created the world:

"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made."

And not only did God example rest, and offer us rest, but He actually commanded a day of rest:

"But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:



For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:10-12)

Obviously, God places a great deal of importance on us having a time set aside  to rest and renew ourselves. So how are you doing with getting the rest you need? Assuming you are getting adequate sleep each night, what else do you do to renew and recharge yourself?

Here a few suggestions that work for me:

• A long soak in the bathtub
• A long, compteplative walk
• Curling up with a good book
• Calling and talking to a friend who is positive and uplifiting
• Getting a massage
• Sipping a nice cup of Chamomile tea
• Listening to classical music
• Watching a funny movie

Can you add some suggestions to this list? Remember, that part of living every day with Jesus is to take care of ourselves, physically, emotionally and spiritually. So as this Labor Day comes to a close, may you find great peace and a deep sense of calm as you pay attention to your bodies need for rest.

"So the people rested on the seventh day." (Exodus 16:30)

GUEST POST: Nona Freeman

(Good Morning and Happy Friday ! My week has been a little busier than normal and school starts Tuesday so I decided to drop my postings to 3 times a week. Mondays will continue to be about work related issues, Wednesdays about weight loss and self-esteem and Fridays will be anything goes.)

Iwas in a fantastic service last night with Reverend Travis Worthington. He taught that humility and servanthood is what brings the spiritual authority in our lives. For those of you who may not know, God promises He will give us power to tread on scorpions, to stamp out the powers of darkness, to pray for the sick and they will recover. And Reverend Worthington says that we can only access this kind of power when we are humble servants of God with no traces of pride in our hearts.

And Reverend Worthington is right! I have experienced this first hand. When my life is fully surrendered to Christ, I can operate in a dimension of Godly power that blows my mind. But when I am full of self and personal irritations, my ability to speak to the mountains in my life vanish.

Nona Freeman, in her book In The Bag confirms this. She tells of an angelic visitation she had that convinced once and for all the importance of keeping ourselves broken before  God. Here is an excerpt:

I opened my eyes to see a being clothed in exquisite light standing by my bed. I trembled, immobilized by fear. "Do no be afraid," a soft, yet vibrant voice answered, "I am a messenger sent from God to give you the secret to revival.... I am here in response to your outcry for a Pentecostal outpouring..."

[The angel] unrolled a large parchment scroll before me containing the words of Jesus in John 7:38: "He that believeth on me, as the scriptures hat said, out his belly shall flow rivers of living water." ... The angel said, "You preach about drawing water out of the wells of salvation with joy. You know you do not comprehend the limitless scope of the gift of God. Jesus wants to deluge you and the thirsty world with rivers of His Holy Ghost power. The will of God is not mercy drops or showers or even buckets full of blessings. It is torrential rivers of blessings flowing through you." ... [I asked the angel] What prevents the flow of the Spirit in me? The answer came gently. "A guise of spirituality and a mere profession of salvation are empty vanities without the flow of the spirit. I will name in everyday language the most common hindrances for you:

UNBELIEF. DISOBEDIENCE. FEAR. REBELLION. JEALOUSY. BITTERNESS. HATRED. STUBBORNESS. LUST. MALICE. GREED. ANXIETY-WORRY. JUDGING-CRITICISM. GRUMBLING-COMPLAINING. PRIDE-AMBITION. TEMPER. SELFISHNESS-COVETEOUSNESS. IMPATIENCE.

[The angel continued] "These are the evils that block the moving of the Spirit through you. When the flow stops, you usually fall back on your own resources... ask forgiveness often. Only the cleansing blood of Jesus can remove the barriers of your soul.... get the flow, get the flow... get the flow...."

I don't know about you my friend, but as for me, I want the flow of Jesus in my life! Operating in the free flowing power of Christ is a very important part of living every day with Jesus. Won't you pray right now for God to remove the barriers in your own life? It really is the secret to having bubbling over joy. Know I will be praying for you and I hope you'll do the same for me.

What are the obstacles that hinder the flow in you? For me, at least one area is ambition. I am a firstborn and over-achiever by nature. So I'm always wanting to be the best. God has been working on me with this alot lately and so I've been putting alot of energy into helping my peers succeed. This pleases Jesus and it keeps my own self-drive in check.

Let's live today for Jesus... and tomorrow and the next day. And let's share with one another our struggles to get and stay in the flow because bearing one another's burdens is also a part of living every day with Jesus.

WEDNESDAY WEIGH-IN: Lying to Ourselves

I lost two pounds last week and did really good until the weekend. Ugh, the weekends are always a challenge for me. During the week, my days and evenings are pretty structured. But on the weekends, it's anything goes. And it is the 'anything goes' part that makes me feel like rewarding myself with junk food.

Why do we feel that junk food is a reward? The truth is in almost every case it weakens our body, clouds our thinking, and enlarges our waistline. Yet for many of us it represents comfort and solace. Think about it. How often do we tell ourselves after a hard day we are gonna sit down with big bowl of broccoli? Instead, we reach for the ice cream, or potato chips or... whatever is going to make us feel better.

Intellectually we know that sugar, soda and other foods like them, weaken our immune systems and make us feel sluggish. We know they harm our bodies, yet we continually indulge. WHY?  Because we are decieved. Somewhere in our self-talk we think we deserve it, or that it won't really harm us, or __________(you fill in the blank). And it is the deception, the false belief that keeps us in the clutches of a food bondage. (I guess I shouldn't assume you are in a food bondage, but for me, it is or I wouldn't be as large as I am)

But thankfully, if you are living everyday with Jesus, even food bondages can be broken! Beth Moore, in her powerful book Praying God's Word devotes a whole chapter to food related strongholds.  I have used my copy so much the binding broke and I had to buy another one. But somehow the worn out one with it's pages falling out means more to me. It's like a sword that's been used and reused in battle. Beth Moore uses so many scripture prayers in each of the chapters in this book it feels like my second Bible. Here are just a few of the prayers from the Food Related Strongholds chapter:

" Lord, when you bring the captive completely back to You, I will be like those who dream! My mouth will be filled with laughter and my tongue with songs of joy! The Lord has done great things for me, and I am filled with joy! "(Psalm 126:1-3)

"God, I am so thankful there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you do not condemn me, I have no right or place to condemn myself. Help me not to get caught up in a defeating cycle of self-condemnation."

These are just a few of the powerful scripture prayers that Moore uses. You might think about checking it out if you have food issues, or other areas that you want to overcome. Moore's Praying God's Word book covers many, many different areas and has such chapters as Overcoming Sexual Strongholds, Overcoming Pride, Overcoming Idolatry etc.

I hope my post today helped you my friend. This weight loss journey has not been an easy one for me. I began the year thinking I was going to lick this thing once and for all and it has proven to be full of ups and downs. But thankfully, in Jesus there is always hope and always a chance for change. And that is one of the most wonderful things about living every day withe Jesus!