Stop trying to impress God…
I heard someone say this during a conversation I was a part of this past week, this stopped me cold when he said it.
If God is really God – creator of the universe, savior of mankind, the essence of love & goodness & holiness & all that… how in the heck am I supposed to impress Him?!
I can serve Him, love Him, honor Him, and so on – but impressing Him is about trying to perform/tap-dance my way into his good graces… which is ridiculous!!!. In Christ, I am LITERALLY in His good grace(s).
My Point: do you (or I) REALLY think so highly of ourselves, that we think we can impress God?
MORE HIM, less me
brent
And the journey continues…
As you may have picked up on by now… I’m on a journey right now… a journey of health… I have discovered (or rediscovered) our bodies affects us. Good or bad, it has a direct impact on your self-image.
We are all affected by our body image. Granted, some are less affected than others, but they are the minority. Most of us are quite conscious of our body. And rightly so. Truth is, the shape (health) of our body has a direct impact on everything we do in life. Period. When we are in better shape, we perform better in most things. When we are in poor shape, we perform worse than our potential. That’s just the way it is. So, it really doesn’t matter whether you are comfortable with your body image or not. What really matters is are you making your body work for you? Or, is it, and all of its cravings, or laziness, working against you?
How do you take charge of your body? ONLY 2 areas for now (more later): eating & exercising. That’s it. Only 2 things to focus on. Yet, how huge are both of them when it comes to your body.
My Point: Realize the power of each & every decision you make.
MORE HIM, less me
brent
A piece of delicious looking cake…
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 – 10)”
“A huge piece of delicious looking cake was on the table at the graduation party I went to today. It was my favorite … it was a PARTY … and it was free! But I was one week into my healthy eating adventure, which excluded sugary confections. But inside, a different dialogue was playing in my mind, “It’s not fair!”
I think this is one of the biggest tricks Satan plays to get us to give in to temptation. Saying “It’s not fair!” has caused many people to toss aside what they know is right for the temporary thrill of whatever it is that does seem fair. We complain, “It’s not fair that I gain weight so easily when everyone else seems to eat whatever they want and stay trim.”
“Now, realize that the dessert itself is not the problem. But if one piece of dessert leads to two and that leads to other compromises, which leads to wrecking our whole healthy eating plan, then the downward spiral reflects how temptation traps us in so many areas of life. I’ve experienced this vicious cycle myself, and I’m here to give you hope that it is possible to conquer it.
My pity party or not being able to eat that DELICIOUS looking piece of cake was a clue that I was relying on my own strength—a strength that has failed me before and will fail me again. So, when justifications swirl in my mind—“It’s a special day … with a bunch of friends … what’s the harm in sampling?” — I know I have to grab hold of God’s strength. The only way I’ve found to do that is to invite His power into the situation by mentally reciting truths such as, “I’m more than a conqueror,” “With God all things are possible,” or “Let the peace of God reign in your heart,” “Your gonna stay fat.”
My Point: “There is a good reason why we have to face our temptations. The struggle to say “no” may be painful in the moment, but the process is working out something AMAZING within us.”
A blog about my random thoughts... 