Working On Our Spiritual Strength

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It’s that time of the year where many people have made their resolutions and starting out the new year focused on their goals.  It’s a good time to sit and reflect on the days that have past and really dig into what God has in store for you in the days to come.  If you are a resolution/goal or new year’s list maker - you probably have something along the lines of eating better, losing weight or working out on your list.

  

It is important to take care of our physical bodies but we also need to take care of our spiritual bodies as well. There are spiritual "muscles" that we need to workout ......

The 1st muscle is our FAITH.

In Matthew chapter 17 we read about a father who brought his son to be prayed over.  If we pick up the story at verse 16 - read through to verse 20.  (You can read it here)

Jesus said that if you have faith as a mustard seed - you can move mountains.  We all have mountains in our lives.  Loneliness….loss of job….sickness...wounded relationship….trouble at work.  Whatever it is - it can be removed.

Have you ever looked at a mustard seed?  They are tiny - THAT is all the faith required to move a mountain!!

But just like junk food can limit your progress when you are working out, unbelief will limit your faith. If we look back at Matthew 17, in verse 20 - Jesus told his disciples that it was their unbelief that hindered the healing of the boy.  Grab you a mustard seed and put it somewhere as a reminder that it isn’t the quantity of faith that matters - but the quality.  Resist the unbelief and know that with God ALL things are possible.

The 2nd muscle to workout is the muscle of PRAISE

I think that we all know that exercise is good for us, right?  So we can all agree that it is something that we should do.  What about praising the Lord daily?  That’s something we should do as well, right?  Just like we may neglect exercising our physical bodies, do we also neglect singing praises to the Lord?

Psalm 100:4 says “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  

When we praise the Lord, it makes it less about us and more about God.  Praise builds us up spiritually and keeps us from crumbling, for the JOY of the Lord is our strength.

There are so many scriptures on praising the Lord, that I can't list them all but I encourage you to grab your Bible and read through the Psalms - it is FULL of praises to the King of Kings!!

The next muscle to work out is Prayer

There is always a debate on how often we should work out physically but there is NO debate on how often we should pray.  

Psalm 55:17 says “Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing.

Making prayer a vital part of our lives gives us strength.  It uplifts and strengthens us as we go on our way.  Prayer is a POWERFUL tool that we all have available.

The last and most important muscle to work out is The Word

Staying in the Word daily builds up our bodies.  We’ve just got to keep reading, studying and memorizing God’s Word to stay fit and strong. 

Psalm 119:11 - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that i might not sin against thee.

2 Timothy 2:16 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Just like if you were to walk into the gym for the first time, you couldn’t pick up the heaviest weight and begin to do arm curls.  In order for you to be able to arm curl that heavy weight, you have to start with the 5 lb weight or the 10 lb weight and move up as you build your strength.  

In the same way, you aren’t going to automatically know the whole Bible by heart.  You have to start with what you know and build on that.  Start with a verse…..or two and then keep trying to learn more.

In my own life, I can see where some of these muscles have gotten a little weak, maybe not as strong as they once were.  I know that I need to work on these muscles - EVERY day.  The easiest way to work out is with a group or a friend, so grab a friend and work together this year to hold one another accountable to grow strong in the Lord together.  

Beauty Restored

Last year around this time, something huge happened in my life.  Although I have yet to share the details publicly, I have been thinking back to this time last year and the hopelessness that I felt.  I can't wait till the Lord allows me to put into words what I went through but I could not let this week go by and NOT give Him glory for where He brought me from.  It was an extremely dark time in my life and I know that I am only here today because of Jesus.  He has brought restoration and life back to something that was dead.  As I revisited some of the emotions I felt last year, I wrote this poem....my prayer is that those of you that may be experiencing a dark time in your own life - that you would HOLD ON - breakthrough IS coming!!  Beauty will return..... 

Beauty Restored

One dreadful night, my world shattered

The blow that came left my heart bruised and battered

Crying out to God came bucket of tears

A broken spirit casting down fears

Learning to trust in God alone

Trusting Him for peace in my home

It wasn't easy and didn't happen overnight

I had to press through and put up a fight

I fought for life and for those that I love

Reaching out to the One above

Healing came and joy returned

Beauty restored where ashes burned

Don't give up, my precious friend

You will dance on your feet again.

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Integrity

in·teg·ri·ty

noun\in-ˈte-grə-tē\

: the quality of being honest and fair

: the state of being complete or whole

"Integrity" - this word has been burning in my heart for the past few weeks.     

What exactly is integrity?  Do people truly value it anymore?  Am I willing to sacrifice MY integrity for some "thing" or some "one"?  These are all the questions that have been drilling through my mind.

Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on VALUES rather than personal gain.  What are my values?  Am I standing up for them?  Am I compromising them?

I've been praying about this certain situation and these have been the questions I've been asking myself and God.  The thing I've learned is that NOTHING (or No Thing) is worth me sacrificing my integrity......Nothing!

This scripture really spoke to my heart as I was doing some digging on integrity, "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways"  (Proverbs 28:6 ESV)  No matter what - it's best to walk in integrity!!


 

Happy Friday

Have a great weekend!  Try to do something F-U-N this weekend!  :D 

Fighting Against Discouragement

Today marks day 5 of our 24 day Challenge which means we are HALF way through our 10 day cleanse!  It's going great, by the way... I was a little nervous because I have never done a cleanse before and I have a sensitive stomach so I wasn't sure what to expect but it has been totally doable!

So, since we are half way through the cleanse, we wanted to check in on our results - so yesterday we stepped on the scales.  I lost 2 lbs and 1" in my waist which made me VERY excited; until John stepped on the scale....he is down 7lbs.  Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy for him and I celebrate his losses with a grateful heart BUT I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a ton of discouragement at that point.

I started the comparison game.  

That was until I was reminded that this is NOT a competition between he and I but a competition with myself to be better than who I was!  Then, I was thought of this scripture:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Here are my new thoughts - things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy- 

• Men and women burn fat at different rates and I feel GOOD, it doesn't matter what the scales say.  
• I have stuck with this wellness plan, and unlike a "diet", it is a lifestyle change.  In the past when I have tried to eat better and workout, I have failed miserably or I have cheated....these past five days - I have not cheated ONCE - that is HUGE for me.  
• My husband is ROCKING this 24 day challenge and I really want to celebrate that with him. 
• The time we are spending together working out - is the most precious time.  We have been getting up early and truly having one on one time together.  It's been like a date night every morning.

Discouragement can creep up on any one of us  - not just in fitness and weight loss, but in other areas of life.  So, just remember to think on those things that are TRUE, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy!!

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3 Keys to Surviving Life's Storms - Key 3 - Stand

The past 2 days we have looked at keys to Surviving Life's Storms.   Key #1 - Prayer and Key #2 - Examine your heart.

Today we will take a look at Key #3....

3.  Stand

Sometimes after we've prayed and asked God to examine our hearts, there is nothing else we can do but S-T-A-N-D!  Wrap our arms tightly around the foundation of TRUTH and stand firm on the Promises of God.  We put our trust in Him and keep our focus on our own actions and just wait out the storm to pass.

May peace surround you, dear friend, as you weather the storms in your own life. 

3 Keys to Surviving Life's Storms - Key 2 - Your Heart

Storms in life can kill us or they can make us stronger.  Yesterday we looked at how prayer helps us to weather the storms and today we will continue with key #2....

2.  Your Heart –

Storms come in our lives for various reasons and sometimes they involve other people.  Fleshly nature can cause us to quickly judge the other person and give all of our focus and attention to what “they” did or are doing wrong.  

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 Can I just be honest and real with you for a minute?  I spent many days guilty of this!  Very guilty.  Those days I spent trying to get the speck out of the other person’s eye, left me full of bitterness, resentment and anger.  I don’t know about you – but I don’t remember THOSE being fruits of the Spirit. 

After several weeks of just living in pure sourness, my eyes were open and God began revealing TRUTH to me.  While some people could look at my situation and tell me that the circumstances surrounding my storm justified me to look at the other person’s actions as unjust and that THEY were the one that needed to change, the TRUTH is the only person in the situation I could control was ME….and boy, was I out of control!!  

The fact that I was so bitter, well, that was bad enough but God showed me that there were other lessons to be learned during this storm and they were lessons for ME!  I had to allow my heart to be moldable and open to God. 

Once I stopped trying to control the situation, surrendered myself to God and trusted Him with the outcome, everything in me changed.  Circumstances didn’t change but my outlook did.  I’m serious – God turned my mourning into dancing; I was able to face the storm with my umbrella in hand, jump in the puddles and even dance in the rain.

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Tomorrow we will finish up with the last key to weathering the storms of life......just STAND.