Lifestyle Change

As I have gotten older I have struggled with my weight. I have attempted many things without long-term success. Some of them might have helped if I had adopted a new lifestyle to include them but they were never anything I was willing to commit to long-term. I recently signed up for a 30-day challenge which starts out with a 3-day detox. I’ve heard about doing a detox but have never done one before. This challenge includes a private FB group for support. After the detox, they provide weekly meal plans for clean eating as well as workouts and meditation. As I am preparing to start this I am wondering if this will be a short-term event in my life or something I can commit to long-term.

This morning I was reading in 2 Kings 11 about the coronation of boy King Joash. After his crowning, there was religious reform in the land. The people became committed to following God and destroyed the temple of Baal and destroyed their altars and idols. They were all in to make this lifestyle change.

It struck me this morning (I know I may be a little slow 😊) but this is what I need to do if this will help long-term. I will need to make a lifestyle change in how I eat and workout. I don’t know if I will become a puritan in clean eating but I think I can live without a lot of sugary items. So, as I go through the 30-day challenge I will be focusing on learning how to make this a long-term lifestyle.

G

Update

Hi!!!!

WHEW! What a summer so far! In May I attended two weddings - one in TX and one in OR. Sandwiched in between the weddings was a trip to Poland to provide administrative assistance to the European Leadership Forum (ELF). http://www.euroleadership.org/  The mission statement starts out with: The European Leadership Forum seeks to serve and equip national Christian leaders to renew the biblical church and re-evangelise Europe. 

Through that event I learned of some Wales leaders putting on a smaller version in September in the UK. So as Henry Blackaby says in Experiencing God, look for where God is working and join him there. So I am going to Wales in September to again provide administrative assistance. I am joining a team from Scottsdale Bible Church, Scottsdale AZ. Each of us pay $2000 to attend this event. I would appreciate your prayer support for this trip. If you would like to support me financially you may do so at: https://scottsdalebible.onlinegiving.cc/donate/form/43#/ Select the Wales trip and then select my name to contribute to. You can do this as a guest to their site and do not need to create a login.

It is exciting to see where/how God will use me.
G

Mow Lawn

Mowing lawn, God, and my life – how are they related??

As I was mowing the lawn today I started wondering if my lawn is how God looks at my life. The lawn is always my lawn whether it has been mowed or not. When I start to clean up the lawn by mowing, I don’t just snap my finger or twitch my nose (like Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie – ok, this dates my age) to have the whole lawn mowed. NO, I start in one area and continue mowing a section at a time. When I am done the lawn looks pretty good. However, there are still weeds there. I know the grass and weeds will grow back unless I put weed killer on the weeds, but the grass will still grow back. And in another week or so I will be back mowing the lawn again.

Is this how God looks at our lives as believers? As a follower of Jesus Christ, I am still His child even though I’m not perfect, just like the lawn is my lawn even when it hasn’t been mowed. When he is working in my life, he doesn’t just change everything at once. He works on one area at a time – gossiping, pride, disobedience, etc. He knows there are still areas to improve in my life and ‘weeds’ to root out but it is a constant ongoing loving/living relationship of being groomed by God.

So, to answer my question of is this how God looks at my life – probably not but it does make me stop and think about the ongoing process of following God – growing closer to Him, listening to Him and being obedient to Him.

G