Fitness Friday: Stay on Course, Part 1

This weekend Don and I are spending time with friends at the beach. It will be our first time travelling overnight since we started our new eating plan, and I'm a little nervous about the challenges we'll face. We are just starting our third week, so not quite to the point of new habits yet.

It's a Good Morning, Yes It Is!

Good morning to you!

The Lord has been dealing with me on where I focus. I have a tendency to go negative in my thinking, especially first thing in the morning.

Responding in Kind...or Not

This morning I made the mistake of reading work email before my quiet time.

Or so I thought it was a mistake.

One email was a response to something I sent – a response that felt like the person said, “Oh yeah, you think you’re right, take THAT!” Paragraphs of information telling me why I am wrong and they are right.

My initial response was defeat: I give up! Followed by, “Who do they think they are!” and labeling them as just plain evil. Followed by how I am learning all about evil by having to deal with them, and I am going to write a blog about their evil.

I remembered all the “evil” they had done over the past several months of working with them. I so wanted to call them out on all their mistakes and wrong-doing! Angry, I wanted them to pay for what they did.

But I knew that instead, I needed to forgive them and move on.

But how?? 

I cried out to God for Scripture that would help, that would give me direction on what to do. 1 Peter 5:4 came to mind. I read the verses around it, too.

And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: ² Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. ³ Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. ⁴ And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

⁵ In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for

“God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

¹⁰ In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. ¹¹ All power to him forever! Amen. (NLT)

Exactly the passage I needed – God knows me SO well! 

He reminded me that:

• My main responsibility is to the people under my care – the project team and others I work with
• Lead by example – choose God’s way of love and forgiveness over the world’s way of revenge, anger, and proving my case
• Humble myself – I don’t need to be right, or even to win the battle
• Others are going through similar things – it’s just how the world is
• The enemy IS out to destroy; don’t let him succeed by responding in kind
• God Himself will restore, support, and strengthen me

In fact, in my time with Him this morning, He already has.

Reading His word changed my focus from the problem to the Problem Solver; from the world’s ways to God’s ways. While I was upset that I even read that email because it disrupted my “quiet time”, God knew I needed to read it now so He could give me perspective before I got to work. 

He also knew I needed to spend this time with Him before responding to anyone – I tried to send an email to someone about it, and the email application logged me out. It has never done that before.

God reset my heart and attitude; He restored my peace and joy. He also restored my perspective: not ALL they did was bad - they've also done good and right things.


I am reminded of another verse from Romans 12:21.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)

 

Jesus, you are amazing! Thank you for Your faithfulness to give me exactly what I needed this morning when I asked for help. Thank you for leading me in Your way and restoring my soul. I choose to forgive; give me Your eyes and your heart for all the people involved. Help me to overcome evil with good.

Lesson From a Cholecystectomy

A few weeks ago I had my gallbladder removed…aka, a cholecystectomy.  Surprise! One day it just decided it no longer wanted to be in my body and revolted, enflaming my pancreas in the process. I was all too happy to be rid of it, for sure.

No Condemnation

Today as I drove from Raleigh to Virginia, I grieved.

I cried again over the sudden loss of my friend Maureen five months ago.

And I sobbed over the loss of my old boss and mentor, Randy, who went home to be with Jesus last Friday.

I Love My Hair

Yes, I love my hair. It's easy to style and stays where I put it (mostly). Today I had a bad cowlick issue going on, and with a little heat I had it fixed inside 30 seconds.

You Are Amazing God

The past few months have been a wrestling match of sorts – me with myself, and me with God. I complained, judged, whined, and lived in fear, with small moments of faith and joy in between. 

In the midst of the junk, somehow I managed to reach up for Him, ask for prayer, and obey Him even when I didn’t feel like it.

The result?

Loaves and Fishes

This morning, I read in Matthew 14 about Jesus feeding the 5,000. As I read, these two verses jumped out at me:

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”  Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:15-16 NIV)

Translated: “Don’t send them away to someone / something / somewhere else, you take care of them.”

Fitness Friday: Whose Disciple Are You?

We are all someone’s or something’s disciple. We learn from and empower, consciously or not, who or what we follow. This time of year, many of us will spend time with family and friends, and current event topics will arise. What we say in response matters. It’s important we know the answer to this question:

Whose disciple are you?

For Better or Worse, Part 5: Super-Spiritual

God, why doesn’t Don want to study this marriage book with me, or lead daily prayer?

Doesn’t he want to have a godly marriage?

In any marriage, one person can be more mature in their faith than their spouse. Or, maybe one of the two just thinks they’re more mature. Either way, the more mature person doesn’t have the right to demand that the other one measure up to any standards except God’s.

For Better or Worse, Part 3: Offense

Why won’t she listen to me? I’ve told her over and over again how I feel, and yet she never changes.

Doesn’t he see how much he’s hurting me? Doesn’t he care?

We can be so easily offended, and misunderstood. What do we do when that happens?

Fitness Friday: Holiday Food for Thought

My friend April made this yummy treat.
It's a paleo recipe, no sugar or flour!

Ahhhhh, inhale the savory aromas of the holidays. Nothing like home-made baked goods, juicy turkey, and all the other traditional and non-traditional holiday dishes.

Self-Care Part 3: Act on What I Know

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26, NIV)

Now that my unbelief has been revealed to me, and I confessed and asked for forgiveness, I now need to act on what I know to be true. 

If I don’t, I remain dead in my sin.

Whatever It Takes

Are you willing to change to be more like Jesus, whatever it takes?

This morning as I prayed for friends of mine, I thought about their struggles and their victories. Some of them are struggling now, and have been going through the same struggles for quite some time. They have sought counsel, prayed, and tried. And yet they remain strugglers.

Fitness Friday - Counting Down to INTENTIONAL FITNESS Release!

STAYING FIT (excerpt from Chapter 4)

When working out at the gym, it’s not uncommon to have someone review all of the equipment with us and help us determine which equipment will bring the most benefit. For eating right, we may consult books and other avenues that can help us know which food will be best. In both cases, we are looking to an expert who has experience and can guide us along.

Spiritually, in addition to the Bible, we have the Holy Spirit—the Counselor, Helper, and Guide—as our expert. We need to learn more about how to hear His voice and allow Him to rule our lives. I’ve already mentioned the first step to knowing His voice, which is reading the Bible so that we can know God and what He says about us. The next step is getting things out of the way that interfere with His voice.

Fitness Friday: Daniel Fast Reflections

“Are-we-there-yet????”

I feel like a 2-year old on the last leg of a 3-hour car trip to Grandma’s, asking every 5 minutes if we’re “there yet”.  For me, “there” is tomorrow:  the day when I am no longer on my fast and can eat anything I want. 

Of course, I really want to eat it NOW.

But I won’t.  This close to the finish line, I can’t quit the race.  (Even though I really want to!)

“Focus, Mary…not on the food you can’t have, but on how thankful you are for the awesome results of the past 3 weeks and all the Lord has revealed to you.”

And I am incredibly and overwhelmingly thankful! 

Fitness Friday: One Habit that should NOT be Daily

Woohoo, down two pounds since yesterday!

OK, holding steady, that’s good.

 

Man, how could I have gained a pound?  I’m barely eating ANYTHING!

 

OK, lost that one again plus one more, back on track.

 

What, no change?  I’m eating even less now than yesterday!  What’s the use.

Now we’re talking, another pound bites the dust.

 

And another one gone.  Looks like my efforts are paying off…FINALLY!

 

Sound familiar to anyone?  

Fitness Friday: Seven Seconds of Pleasure

Mmmmmmm, nothing like biting into a MagnumTM ice cream bar.  The chocolate outer coating gives that little bit of crunch, the caramel in between the two chocolate layers is sweet and smooth, and the ice cream is rich, cold, and creamy.  My taste buds are in heaven!

Wide Open Spaces

Psalm 119:45                        

AMP:  And I will walk at liberty and at ease, for I have sought and inquired for [and desperately required] Your precepts.  

MSG:  And I'll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom;

One morning, this verse grabbed my attention.  I had been struggling for a week or so with busyness and trying to get everything done, and almost flattened like a pancake by the burden and weight of what was NOT getting done.  In fact, I was up at 4AM with my thoughts having an Indy 500 race in my mind, seeing which one would win my attention.