I realized this a.m. that it had been 2 weeks since I last blogged. Isn't it amazing how quickly time can pass sometimes? I am ever amazed at the quick passage of my life, minutes turn to days, then to years,etc... I am glad to say that as of today-March 9th, I am remaining faithful to my word of the year, "health". That is the reason for my delay in blogging recently. Focusing on "health" has taken much of the last 2 weeks of my life. That is a good thing. It helps me know that I am reaching my true heart's desire in obtaining better health in various facets of my life. Let me share some insights as to the ways my time has been spent focusing on health over the last couple of weeks.
First, the most important area of my life...spiritual health. I have been very blessed over the last couple of weeks to have "extra" opportunities to grow spiritually. I had the blessing of spending an entire day w/sisters in Christ in Conway (about 45 minutes drive) while engaging in a look into the book of Proverbs (wisdom literature) contained in God's word. After the study, my God peep-Laura-and I went to lunch together to talk about spiritual matters, things on our hearts/minds that we could pray about for one another, etc...It was while I was with these dear sisters that I received a text/phone call to inform me that a past coworker and dear friend from HIPPY, Jackie, had passed away very suddenly from a heart attack. Jackie was not "old", she was middle aged, still had a college aged daughter living at home w/her and her husband. Jackie had not been "sick". Jackie's "vapor" of life just disappeared at an earlier point than most. I was so humbled by God's provision for me at the moment I received this shocking news...I was in the presence of my sisters that I knew would share their compassionate spirit, prayers, and grief with me even though none of them even knew Jackie. That's the beauty of relationships with other Christians...they didn't have/need to know Jackie. They know me and they saw me with the eyes of Jesus at that moment-they were sad for the hurt that I was experiencing as well as all those that knew/loved Jackie. Such a blessing indeed and certainly one that I took time to thank God for that day. I also had the spiritual blessing of beginning a bible study for young Christians here in my home. An opportunity to "mentor" a young Christian woman in the congregation here came to my attention and we have been studying basic bible principles together. My 2 daughters are here during this study as well. The purpose of the study is to help these young women understand the importance of the commitment they've made to Christ. To help them search the scriptures for themselves so that they will have the information they need to make wise spiritual decisions for themselves in the future. The study has been very encouraging for me. Encouraging to see the "interest" in spiritual matters from youth, particularly with regard to seeing/knowing for themselves what the bible has to say about various matters-not just "listening" to me speak or give my opinion, but indeed letting the Word convict their hearts and move them to action. I pray each day for wisdom as I continue with this study, that I will merely be an instrument/vessel that God uses to help these young women as they are entering adulthood. I take seriously my responsibility to "teach the younger women" as the scriptures teach me to do. Last night, I had the blessing of attending a special meeting series at a congregation in Conway. The lesson was on "slander" and I have to say that it was a very convicting lesson. It was during that sermon that I realized that to my recollection, until last night, I had never heard an entire sermon on this subject since I became a Christian 23 years ago. Yes, I have heard various passages quoted "about" slander, but never an entire lesson devoted to this subject. I began to ask myself, "WHY?" Why is such a devestating/condemning sin not spoken of from the pulpit? After evaluation I came to the conclusion that perhaps it is because it would hit way too many of us "where it hurts" so to speak! I know that I was convicted during the lesson. I have been guilty of slander-I am not proud of it, I am ashamed. One of the "weaknesses" that extroverted communicators, like myself, face and often struggle with is that which involves the tongue. However, being an extrovert does NOT give me an excuse to sin. I cannot just say, "well, that's just the way I am." To do so would be to cast blame on God for "making me this way". But I know that instead, God created me as an extrovert to use that gift in ways that will reflect/bring glory to Him and He expects me to manage this gift by using self-control and by praying/asking for His wisdom/guidance. I realize that I have the ability to either "build up or tear down" with my tongue. I am growing in my ability to use my tongue to build others up in the ways of God/encourage them to want to know/love God w/all their heart, mind and soul. However, I have been guilty of slander. Knowing this and realizing this, what will I do with this new information? I am humbled by the fact that because I am God's child and I have confessed the sin to Him with a heart of repentance, God forgives me. I will truly try to bear "fruits worthy of repentance" by being more aware of what I say, how I say it, etc... Slander is such a far reaching subject of great biblical importance-the Word of God says that those that slander will NOT inherit eternal life. I do not want to be counted among those that slander. My focus/that which I live my life for, is the goal of Heaven. I want to meet God in the day of judgement and hear Him say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord."
I am thankful for this lesson on "slander", for it has indeed helped me to grow more spiritually healthy.
Mental health-wow, lots of opportunities to grow in that way as well. Over the last 2 weeks I have come to new mental realizations about upcoming changes in my life. First, my husband is leaving in just 4 short months and the time truly is passing very quickly. In order to make these moments together count, we will need to spend as much time together as possible. I'm thankful that he is finished with his college courses and will not be resuming them until he arrives at his new duty station this summer. This has helped me readjust some of my previous "goals" for the upcoming months that I had originally made at the beginning of the year. I am working on our schedules so that we may spend as much family time together as possible. Have as many meals together as possible, spend time in recreation together, etc...I spent much time over the last couple of weeks planning some "mental health" vacations. First, I planned the graduation trip for Rebecca/I to NYC the week following graduation. This trip is important for so many reasons. This will be the only strictly mother/daughter trip she/I have ever taken together. She is leaving home this fall and going to live in the college dorms. She is becoming a young woman and we are entering a new zone of "friendship" that we've never had the opportunity to explore before because I was given the responsibility to "train her up in the way she should go" as God's word dictates. I will always be her parent, be available to help/guide her as she needs that assistance-but I will no longer be "responsible" for her in the same way. I am looking forward to experiencing NYC w/Rebecca, but more than the sights, I am looking forward to watching our adult mother/daughter relationship evolve during this trip-that is good for my mental health. Second, I spent time planning my annual girls trip w/my bff Jen. This annual trip will have a new meaning for me this year-it will be a "prep" trip for the upcoming year. Always before, this trip has been a "refreshing" celebration to end my work year. This year, it will be preparing me for the year that lies ahead. A year without my spouse or my oldest child at home with me. A year when it will just be Michaela/I forging ahead in new ways-building our own relationship as mother/daughter, sharing meals just the 2 of us, making plans/dreams for the future, etc... I will need this trip to help me prepare, mentally, for the year that lies ahead. We are going to D.C.-my first ever trip to the capitol of our nation. We had originally planned to go to Victoria, Canada-but alas, we changed course due to the expense of the airline tickets. Yesterday this thought occured to me, "Perhaps I am being blessed by God to go to D.C. I can gain a renewed perspective for the year-the fact that my husband will be away from me defending our great nation just like the testimony I will see in D.C. of those that have gone before him." Last, I spent the last 2 weeks planning our final "family" trip together before John leaves for the year and Rebecca goes away to college. Rebecca will work this summer to earn money for college this fall-John will be busy outprocessing the base and preparing for his new assignment. This is a needed vacation for all of us. We are going to just have some "fun" together, in Dallas. We are going to the Medieval Times dinner theatre. We all love the Dixie Stampede...this is similar but has the "knight/jousting" theme. We're hoping it will bring back all of those pleasant memories we shared with so many brethren of such outings while we lived in England. Living in England has been come to be known as "the glory days" of our family life. Sometimes things just fall into place and everything is just "right", that's how it felt during our time in England as a family. So many blessings w/brethren, the girls were GREAT ages for traveling/truly enjoying themselves in foreign lands/cultures we visited, such a beautiful home/farm we got to live in/on for 3 years...indeed it was like a fairy tale-but it was real! We're hoping to recapture just a glimpse of that at the Medieval Times dinner theatre. We're going to have a blast at an amusement park! Our family also has a history of enjoying amusement parks together. We all enjoy just goofing off for the day and being a "kid" again. Only a few short days for this vacation-but it will be what carries us through until January when our family is reunited to hopefully share more time together.
Physical health-wow, there is so much I can say here. The biggest change that has occurred over the last 2 weeks is that I am fully recovered from the pneumonia I had the beginning of February. This has allowed me to finally be back at the gym on a regular basis. I have enjoyed it so much and have even added some extra gym time in my daily routine. Another biggie-I resumed working for my bff cleaning her industrial business office/showroom. This is HUGE for me physically. I performed these tasks for 4 years when we lived in Cabot before, but due to working for HIPPY full time, did not resume the position since my return. Last weekend was my second week, "on the job", WOW-it literally wiped me out! I got to thinking, "man, am I really in that bad of condition?" Then I realized, it's been 7 years since I last did that type of hard/physical work! I am 7 years older! Boy am I glad that I had been going to the gym, I don't know if I could have taken the job if I hadn't been working out prior to this. Apparently it is the "jump start/jolt" my body needed in order to move forward in better physical health. I finally got off the 1 pd. weight loss/week plateau and lost 3 pounds last week! I have no doubt it is because of the "extra" physical activity the cleaning job is providing. So, I will continue to do this job until we move from here summer '12-it will go a long way to helping me obtain better health. This a.m., I actually "cleaned out" my clothes closet/drawers. I threw away an entire large bag full of clothes that I do not intend to EVER go back into! Now, I must go out and buy just a couple of new pair of pants to help me make it until I reach the next size down-then those will be thrown out-this is a process I intend to continue until I reach full optimum health for me and start to maintain. Who knows, maybe I will actually "enjoy" shopping for a new wardrobe when I get to maintenance mode? I doubt it, never been much of a shopper of any type, but it will feel good to just have all of the old "unhealthy" me stuff removed from my closets/drawers.
So, as you see, I've been quite busy focusing on my "word of the year" over the last couple of weeks:) My apologies to all of those that are following this blog looking for daily inspiration. I will type of couple of things that have caught my attention in my daily readings over the last couple of weeks and hope that you find them to be helpful.
Restore Serenity-Serene women do not become sidetracked. Today, concentrate slowly on completing one task at a time, each hour of the day until the day is over. Inner peace can come from living fully in the present moment. This is where you will experience serenity.
Meditation-Retreat to a quiet place where you can sit/lie down in comfortable position to relax your body. Close your eyes and breath slow and steady. Take 20 minutes a day to concentrate, intentionally, on one thing of importance to you. This is what meditation is.
Personal Sabbath-One day/week when you can rest, renew, rejuvenate, recreate, rejoice, count blessings, say "thank you". This is not a day for strenuous household chores, catching up on work from week or getting head start for next week, no shopping, etc... If God, the Creator, can take a day of rest...surely we can!
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