Letting my son sleep in! Far be it from me to wake a sleeping child. For whatever reason, he is pooped this morning...probably because his Granddaddy came to visit last night. I love that we don't have anywhere to go, so he may sleep 'til his heart desires. For that flexibility, I am thankful!
For today, I have a very candid revelation from the Lord to share with you. In doing so, I hope it will inspire you to prayerfully ask God to reveal things in your life that may have been left in the dark for far too long, whether it comes to mother hood, your marriage, your friendships, or your self.
I spoke on Wednesday about choosing to act...choosing to be a willing participant in the changes that God desires to make in your life. I know I have caught myself begging and pleading with the Lord to change a situation for the better, and finally He (gently) bonks me on the head and asks me to jump in and assist! Remember, it's not that He needs it. It's that He wants it.
I don't think God appreciates the "I can do it all" attitude or the "I can't do anything" attitude. He wants a happy medium. Enough faith to call on Him for all we need and desire, but also enough willingness to join Him in the growth He wants to nurture in each of us.
I have shared that my weight and eating habits have been a struggle for longer than I care to admit. I have times where I do a great job, lose a lot of weight and revel in the happiness of fitness, and then life happens (a knee injury, college, a happy marriage, pregnancy...) and I let my focus turn from my health towards anything else. My friend suggested a book study group on Lysa TerKeurst's book, Made to Crave. I've only read one chapter, but I know it will be fantastic. Because of that, I'll post it to my "Recommend Links" in the right column of my home page. The premise of Lysa's book is learning to crave the Lord instead of learning to crave food. When I first heard that, I was discouraged. I do crave the Lord, I do want to spend time with Him, and honestly, food is not a spiritual thing. That's where I was wrong. Food is an incredibly spiritual thing, and I'm learning that the enemy uses it to cause frustration, feelings of failure, unhealthy habits, and idolatry in my life. That has got to change.
I challenged each of you to choose one way to act in a situation where you are desiring change right now; to join with the Lord in making some progress. I have chosen to fully throw myself into this seven-week study and ask God to do with it as He may while I do my daily part. I don't know exactly where it will lead, I don't know if this will be the final effort that changes my attitude about eating habits, but I do know that I will wholeheartedly commit. He can take me where He wants to go.
After I decided to invest in this study, I feel like the Lord spoke a powerful insight to me on Wednesday evening. Lysa, the author, discusses self-control as a spiritual attribute right off the bat. I tend to cower when I hear that word. I feel that out of all of the fruits of the spirit, this is my struggle. I don't have great self-control, I thought. I love to indulge in many things, I admitted. Then the Lord impressed upon my heart that I do have excellent self-control, and I just need to learn to apply it specifically to food. I exercise tons of self-control financially...which allows me to, hopefully, share and be a blessing to any woman reading this blog. I use self-control in staying faithful to my husband when we are apart much of the time. I use self-control in my dealings with my son when he is out of control and screaming like a crazy man. I use self-control in listening to the Lord to make wise life-changing decisions. You see, God loves to encourage. And Wednesday night, He deeply encouraged me. I do have self-control, I just need to focus it into the area of health so that glory may be brought to Him.
I share this story with all of you to encourage, but to also ask for accountability. Decisions made in secret have a harder time coming to reality. Please feel free to ask me how I'm doing in this journey, offer support if you've been here, and join me, if you feel so led.
While this topic doesn't exactly have to do with staying at home and making it work, I think it is very important to set a healthy example for our children and to keep a fit and fun body for our husbands. I just struggle with doing it on a daily basis. Proverbs 25:28 says:
"A man (or woman) without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."
I certainly don't want to be that kind of wife and mom! I want to be strong and unwavering in my devotion to God and to my family each day, no matter what the subject...even food! I love His promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
I have a new outlook, and you all should to! This, or anything else, isn't beyond God's ability or beyond mine, with God in me. Maybe food isn't your issue, but something is. We all have one, or a couple :-) Invite Him to make some changes with you. His way is always the best.
Be blessed today, mommies. Don't forget to check the MMSM and Organizational Tip!
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