Progress is sometimes in the baby steps......

1 Corinthians 3:16 says " Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?".

I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy

and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Today I am choosing to respect my body as God's temple.  I will have this instead of a Dr. Pepper.

Devotion from Daily Hope with Rick Warren 

Did you know that twenty percent of the population in every state in America is obese? And 50 million people worldwide will die this year from chronic diseases due to being overweight.

Your physical health is an important part of making your life count. I want to look at the right motivation for getting healthy – what God’s says about the importance of your body in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV).

1. God expects me to manage my body. “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. …I will not be mastered by anything …” (verse 12). Your body is a gift from God. He loans it to you and it’s your responsibility to manage it well. What are you doing with what He’s given you?

2. My body is God’s property. “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord …” (verse 13). Our culture teaches us that we can do whatever we want with our bodies. But God created our bodies, so we don’t have a right to share them with anybody we want.

3. My body will be resurrected after I die. “ … God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also” (verse 14). God never wastes anything. One day he’s going to resurrect a new version of your body.

4. My body is connected to the body of Christ. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (verse 15). God considers sins against the body to be in a special class because your body is connected to the body of Christ.

5. The Holy Spirit lives in my body. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit … ?” (verse 19). Your body is God’s temple. If you were walking down the street and saw some gang vandalizing a church, you’d do something about it, right? When you don’t take care of your body, you are vandalizing God’s temple.

6. Jesus bought my body on the cross. “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (verse 20). If you want to know how much you’re worth, look at the cross. Jesus with his hands outstretched says, “This is how much you’re worth to me. You’re worth dying for.” You are infinitely valuable.

Keeping your body in shape is a spiritual discipline. It’s not just about losing a few pounds, wanting to live longer, or trying to look nicer. God created your body, Jesus died for it, the Holy Spirit lives in it, your body is connected to Christ, and it’s going to be resurrected one day. When it is, God’s going to hold you accountable for how you managed what he gave you.

Ashes to Beauty

This little bud touches my heart and reminds me of the grace and mercy of our heavenly Father.   For months now this plant has been dry and dead.  Feeling bad for it I continued to water it hoping it would spring to life again....today I noticed it did.  This reminds me of my heavenly Father and his tender care for me.  Where I was once dead in ashes He gently nurtured and watered me and replaced my ashes with a crown of beauty through Jesus Christ. Isaiah 61:3 says:

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy!!!

We are Jars of Clay

For years I have used this analogy in therapy about being "cracked pots". I use the analogy to teach about the glory of being "cracked" by our struggles and battles within the world as they are often what makes us stronger and more 'connectable' with others.  I tell a story that is derived from an old fable about a man carrying water down a path between a well and his house.  He carries the water using a shoulder pole that is constructed of a large pole with a pot at either end that would be balanced across ones shoulders.  In the fable one of the pots is in pristine condition and gets a full amount of water to the man's house each trip.  The other, is cracked and leaks, delivering only about half of the water to the house each time.  The fable expresses the cracked pot's disappointment and shame in itself for being cracked and not fulfilling its duties.  The man explains to the cracked pot that for years he has known it was cracked and therefore spread flower seeds along the path they walk daily.  Each day the water leaked out from the cracked pot watered the seeds providing a beautiful scenery for the man to enjoy as he did his daily chore.  He explained that the cracked pot served its purpose in providing beauty and joy in the man's life daily. 

I love how God plants these seeds in my heart and mind and over the years grows them into a message that is so beautiful and full of love that it is overwhelming.  This week one of my daily devotions included the following passage of scripture: 

2 Corinthians 4:6-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁶ For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.^[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

¹¹ Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. ¹² So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”^{[b] 14} We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,^[c] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are^[d] being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

As I read this passage I thought back to the cracked pot fable.  In this scripture I imagine that we are all clay jars.  When we are born we are in pristine condition created by the ultimate creator and artist, God the Father, within the pristine clay pot he creates a space.  A special space that is prepared to receive the "great treasure" if we so choose.  I would suggest that the "great treasure" is the Holy Spirit which enters us, the clay pots, after we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  As we go throughout the world, being fragile but pristine clay pots, we are damaged.  We are damaged by parents who are bound to make mistakes, peers in school, hurtful words, hurtful looks, failed goals, abuse done by others, abuse done by ourselves, sins we commit, sins others commit, etc., etc., etc.  When we do not have Christ/the Holy Spirit in us we are simply a cracked pot dark inside and broken.  Perhaps we are able to mend ourselves up and appear to still be functional but the light is not there.  When we have Christ/the Holy Spirit in us, with each crack (damage done throughout our journey in this world) Jesus shines brighter through us.  I imagine it is like a chrysalis that forms slowly over time.  Like the scripture says we are pressed on every side but we are not crushed! With each crack I imagine a piece of clear chrysalis forms where the light of Jesus can shine through even brighter.  In the end, when we arrive in the Glory of Heaven, we will be transformed into the beautiful butterfly that is our spiritual bodies that will live eternally with God the Father and His son.  Until then, He mends us and shines through us; using all of those broken places, all of those cracks to shine brighter because He loves us and heals us regardless of what happens in this world as long as we trust  Him and keep that special space full of His "great treasure".  

When I think of it this way it helps me to "count it all joy" when I am in the times of being broken, beaten by the world, in heartache, etc.  Because, I know that during that time Jesus is in me and will mend me and through that crack will shine brighter and I can be used by Him to spread the joy that is Him to others.  What an honor to be a cracked clay jar......or as I've always called it in the past a "cracked pot".  If I have to be cracked in order for people to see that beautiful light that "great treasure" than I am honored to go through the cracking because I certainly don't want to get to heaven and explain why I hid that light in my perfectly pristine clay pot and shared such a wonderful gift with no one. Embrace being a cracked pot with me?!?!?!?!? 

Don't Ever Get Tired of It!!!!

This is not the account of a perfect day of parenting and how I took my children to all of their extra-curricular activities in well pressed clothing with their hair looking impeccable.  It is not the account of my incredible patience and amazing mothering skills.  This is the true account of a real working mother and what life looks like in that reality sometimes. 

This weekend my younger daughter was repeatedly pestering to go to the park right at the end of our volleyball game as we were getting ready to leave.  I told her she could not because we were preparing to leave.  Being the determined child that she is she continued providing valid arguments (looking back on it now....in a rather respectful manner) as to why the park was a great idea.  I stepped away from her and quietly said to my husband, who at the time was talking to my dad, that it was time to go because I was "tired of this".  My dad looked at me with the look only he can give and said in the most loving and wise manner "Don't ever get tired of it".  My quick response, "What, the disrespect?".  He simply replied in the same tone "Don't ever get tired of it.".  He did not judge or go any further he chatted with us as we gathered our things and told us all goodbye and went about his duties.  We left and had a discussion in the car with the girls...using this "teachable moment"....to discuss being grateful for what we get and not always wanting more and having good attitudes.  After all we just got back from a weekend full of family vacation fun, couldn't we just be grateful for that?!?!?  My husband and I felt we had accomplished something with our discussion as the girls seemed to take in the "teaching" and respect our view point.  However, I could not get off my mind and heart my dad's words "Don't ever get tired of it".  You may have to know my dad to understand that he is one of the greatest teachers I have ever met.  He is incredibly wise and loving and has always been the kind of parent that never needed spanking or anything such as that because a simple "I'm disappointed and I still love you" look was enough to cut to the heart.  Throughout the week these words have resounded in my mind and heart and today I think God revealed some truth and wisdom to me that I needed to hear......

In my efforts as a parent and in my job I am frequently highlighting these "teachable moments".  These opportunities when a struggle or mistake shines light to an amazing moment in time when we get a chance to take that mistake and learn from it.  I use these moments with my kids every day.  They may not love them as much as I do but I truly love to see them learn and grow and I truly believe that we can learn from every mistake and struggle God allows in our path.  So, considering I love these "teachable moments" so much why is it that I am so resistant when God uses them with me??  Why is it that when God uses a teachable moment I don't like that he uses a particular person to teach me or I find the moment he chooses to be inconvenient or I just plain don't like the lesson?  I was concerned about my daughter's "disrespect" when in all actuality it was my own disrespect to my Heavenly father that was appalling.  He was lovingly reminding me that a few minutes at the park wasn't going to make or break the evening.  A few more Teen Beach movie songs sung at the top of their lungs wasn't going to harm anyone even if they'd already heard them 10 times.  A strong willed child that respectfully and intelligently provides evidence to her mother is not a problem but rather a sight and experience to appreciate and marvel at because that is what God placed me here for.  He put me here to create that little life that would grow into a strong person that could stand up for what she believed in....even if right now it is going to the park :).......to her the park is important and in 10 years the rights of those less fortunate may be her cause and will I want her to back down then?  I ask God every night to give me another day with my girls and every morning I thank Him for waking me up again and giving me another day to spend with them.  I don't fear death because I know that I have been saved by Jesus Christ and will spend an eternity with my father in heaven; however, I know I do not want to miss a second of my two beautiful daughter's lives and I want to enjoy and share every moment they are willing to share with me.  So, from this day forward I will take the lesson learned from my wise and loving dad and I will "NEVER GET TIRED OF IT" because a day too close to now I will not have had enough of it!

Thank you God for ever second of every day that you bless me with:  the hugs, the kisses, the laughs, the smiles, the fits, the arguments, the battles, the messy house, the busy schedule, the rush of the day, the EVERYTHING!!!  All of it is a blessing from you and I will COUNT IT ALL JOY!!! 

Thank you to my earthy father for being such an amazing teacher and leader!   

not a fan.

God has been thoroughly convicting me of my "fandom" recently.  I'm reading not a fan. by Kyle Idleman and I am realizing that as much as I desire to be a FOLLOWER of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I have been acting as a fan.  My sister and I were talking recently about salvation and if we as Christians are becoming too comfortable and taking our salvation for granted by being fans of Christ rather than true followers.  Jesus tells us that we are saved by inviting Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior.  However, He doesn't stop there.  He also tells us to pick up our cross and FOLLOW Him.  I am wondering how much I have been carrying that cross and how much I have been cheering for Christ carrying the cross. Lord, I pray that you would remind me daily of my desire to pick up my cross and FOLLOW you. 

Eat Pray Love

"If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you. "

I watched Eat Pray Love today and was quite inspired.  I find this quote to be a challenge.  It is to me the same as what God asks of us when he says to go and do.  He asks that I give up all of my earthly comforts to seek the truth.  Everything that happens, every day, every second, every experience is a moment from God that prepares me for His eternal plans for me.  Every person He puts in my path is there to teach me something from Him.  If I can absorb all that God has for me on a given day then His truth will not be withheld from me.  His truth shall set me free.

~A challenge to see and do life differently~

  Doing Life Differently: The Art of Living with Imagination by Luci Swindol 

Not a book I would typically choose for myself but I have found it to be inspiring.  The right-brained perspective challenges me to experience life from a different perspective.  Being more left-brained I fail to recognize the arts as inspiration to life and my Christian walk.  God is so good.  He challenges me to experience Him from every angle and I love every minute of it.