Acceptance

I will put my trust in Him.
-Hebrews 2:13

Helen Roseveare was a British medical missionary in the Congo years ago during an uprising. Her faith was strong & her trust was confident, yet she was raped & assaulted & treated brutally. Commenting later, she said, "I must ask myself a question as if it came directly from the Lord. 'Can you thank Me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why?'"
What a profound thought. God has trusted each of us with our own set of unfair circumstances and unexplained experiences to deal with. Can we still trust Him even if He never tells us why?
The secret to responsible trust is acceptance.
Acceptance is taking from God's hand absolutely anything He gives, looking into His face in trust & thanksgiving, knowing that the confinement of the hedge we're in is good & for His Glory.

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that was from a devotional book someone had me read.
Asking myself if I can thank Him for this experience even if I never hear why.......

A year ago....

Well July 21st, tomorrow will be a year of solid, 5:00a.m. alarms, work outs at 5:30, five days a week, sometimes six, sometimes four, and 6 months of eating correctly.
See over the past 5 years the Lord has been taking me on this journey of giving him ALL of me....all of me included my weight. I have always been over weight....in 2nd grade I remember being on a diet if that tells you anything. The Lord convicted me one year at a Leadership conference at BRCC and we were talking about giving God all of us....I told him, sure Lord anything, you know I would go where you wanted, you know I would do what you ask, just say it & I'm there. His response to me was...give me ALL of you; including your weight.
*WACK*
Um what??? I asked. He said all of you, give me all of you. I was like Lord, I don't know how to give you ALL of me....I don't know what that looks like, I don't even know where to begin.....thus started my journey. Its been a long road, not with out bumps & bruises along the way. Its been one that has formed who I am right now though. I know now that I do NOT have to live the way I have for the 1st 29 years of my life. I know now that I do not have to be a slave to myself. I know now that I am in control of whether I get diabetes or not. I know now that weight & losing weight is not about the number on the scale, but if you can say, Yes God, I honored you with my body today!
Some verses that have helped me along on this journey are:

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, and the new has come."

Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? but if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must MASTER it."

1 Corinthians 9:27 "...No I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

....and many many others keep me going. Changing that tape loop in my head that tells me I'm not worth it, to I AM WORTH IT! I AM. I am allowed to live a healthy life for Christ, I do NOT, WILL NOT, be a slave to my self any longer.

So for now, for me, this is what I have to do, waking up at 5 am, going to work out, monitor what I eat, and praying that I do not give into self is where he has me now. I have lost 35lbs since this journey began, and I have 20 more to go. As God is my strength I WILL met my Goal.

Thank you Lord, for the work in this life, may you be lifted high! May my life, physical, spiritual, and mental be a testimony to where you have brought me. All for you Lord, yesterday, today & forever.
I love you.

Irrational

We started a series called Irrational at my church. Its been so good for me because, as I'm learning I am the type of person who has to understand things. I have to understand how they work, how they got to the point at which they did, for it to make sense to me. The Lord is teaching me that I don't get to understand sometimes. I don't get to know what the plan is. All I need to be concerned with is this day. All the others will take care of themselves. And see for me, this is the biggest leap of faith I think. One of my biggest fears is not being in control of a situation & letting it just happen. God has been moving in me over these past 6 years showing me that it is HIM that i am to lean on....no one else. he is the one who ALLOWS me to see certain situations & see how they work & to bring understanding. Its so hard for me to let that go...but I'm trying.
Yesterday in the Service we talked about Moses (Exodus 2:1-4:17). I am so much like Moses. I am not eloquent in speech, there is nothing really special about me, but the Lord is calling me. calling me to let HIM speak through me, and calling me to a new level in my faith. A level where I don't get to understand everything...or understand why things happen the way they do. Its a level where I am only allowed to focus on me, and how much I am loving God. Beyond that I can not see. I shut my eyes the other day and all I saw was me standing, and there was nothing around me but pitch blackness. And the Lord said to me, I will give you the light for your next step. This is so hard for me. But I am trying to let him do the leading & the guiding. I am trying to let the need to understand things go, and let Him. And see for the last couple years I've been waiting for this life that I thought would happen for me, and its never happening, and its killing me waiting. I need to start living, and let the life I thought I was going to have go. He will provide the next move for me...if I trust Him to. He will be my words, if I let Him. Its an irrational life, one that I'm not used to living, but I'm going to take all the effort I have & let it go & let Him move.
All for you Lord.

Not in Ourselves.

So week one is done. We did it! My mom did great with her week! She met all her goals...I on the other hand...had a hard time for some reason. This weekend was a big rough for me, we had a couple parties & a baseball game to go to & those types of environments don't lend themselves to a healthy eating situation. I did however meet my goal of work outs, so that is something good. So yeah week one is done & I think I will strive to work harder this time, be more strict with my eating. Mom, Great job! You did it! So proud of you!
This next week i think I will focus on a chapter from the Abiding In Christ book by Andrew Murray.(Amazing btw, if you've not read it, pick it up today!)
this chapter is talking about losing self for the sake of Christ. Its based of this verse: Galatians 2:20 "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." This will be our theme for this next week...Christ in me. I can do this because I am NOT the same person! I am choosing to be who Christ says I should be! Let this encourage you Christian.
Here are some quotes from the book that really stood out to me:

"The greatest enemy int he abiding life is self. First it refuses to give up its will; then again, by its working, it hinders God's work."

"Am I prepared to say that my old self will no longer have a word to say?"

"It is in the slaying of self that the wonderful powers with which God has fitted you to serve Him can be set free for a complete surrender to God and offer to Him to be accepted, sanctified, and used."

"If you are willing to entirely give up self, and to allow Jesus Christ to become your life within you, inspiring all your thinking, feeling, and acting, in things temporal and spiritual, He IS ready to take CHARGE."

It is time Christ Follower to die to self, once and for all! Stand up, fight back, take your self & your self will hostage to the grace that Jesus offers. Surrender to Him. Fight everyday to make HIM number 1 & self to be #2!!

**REMEMBER**
Self that seeks to serve God is more dangerous than self that refuses to obey God.

Losing All

So Today is really day one of our 4 week journey my Mom & I started. I think its going to be really important to focus on Christ throughout this process because He is the only one who will give us the strength for a new day & to keep on going. So today's verse is going to be:

Philippians 3:7-8
"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things."

I think this verse is perfect for the journey we've just started....losing all for the sake of Christ. Isn't that what this whole thing is about anyway? About Him? How we can do this life for Him & serve & love like Him? It takes a lot of 'losing of self' to continue on a journey of being healthy. Its a sacrifice daily to say...OK Lord, I'm going to lose ALL for the sake of you, even if that means giving up an old way of eating, or an old routine, or a routine not filled with physical exercise. Its a NEW life, a life of losing all for the SAKE OF CHRIST. Whatever was to my profit (insert whatever filled you up) I now consider a loss for the the sake of Christ.

Stake your claim now! Claim that you ARE different because of Christ. Claim that you no longer have to live like a prisoner to self! He has changed you from the inside out & HE is making you into a new person.
What will you "lose for the sake of Christ" today?

A Life of Honor

So as most of you know the Lord has had me on a journey of honoring him with ALL of me. This was a journey that started back in 2004 & has manifested itself all throughout my life the last 5 years. One consistent theme though has been the area of Honoring Him with my physical health. The Lord has challenged me & pushed me to get up at 4:50 every morning (m-f) and work out at 5:30-6:30 as an act of worship to Him. Since July 21, 2008 I have been going consistently, apart from the vacations & the occasional 3 or 4 day work out weeks. But all in all I would say with 90% certainty I have been honoring him with my health. I started the Body For Life program on January 2, 2009 to serve as the way I base my meals. I have come to a plateau and I'm ready for the next challenge. I think the Lord is so sweet in how He knows where we are & knows what we need right when we need it.
Enter the phone call from my Mom today. She asked me to pray for her because she had just got done working out & asked that I would pray that she continues this journey.
So for the next 4 weeks I am going to partner with her in this journey. Praying, working out, and eating healthy I am going to do this with her! I have included our goals in this blog, see below.

Philippians 4:13 will be our theme!
13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

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Janna & Joan’s Work out Plan
May 26, 2009 – June 29th 2009

For the next 4 weeks we will stick to our plan, we will be accountable to each other. We WILL NOT cheat (except on our cheat day) & we will call in every Monday to do a summary of our week.

Janna’s Goals:
To pray every morning that I give this over to God & that ultimately it is HE who is in control of my weight loss. As long as I honor Him with the goals I set, I will not be a disappointment.
To lose 2 lbs a week
To work out 5/6 times a week for one hour sessions
To continue eating 5 times a day, one carb, one protein & 2 veggies mixed in there
To have a cheat day or meal at least one time during my week

Joan’s Goals:
· Give workout/weight/food to God every morning! Say a prayer that he would help you to be mindful of what you put in your mouth & that everything would Honor HIM.
Work out a minimum of 3 times a week
Eat healthy every day
Don't forget your cheat day!!

Fruitful branch-life

"The God who has chosen me and planted me in Chirst as a branch has ensured that I will in every way be worhty of Jesus Christ." Andrew Murray