ENCOURAGED IN HEART

My weekly weigh-in revealed a one pound and two ounce loss! In the words of my circled eared friend, “ZIPPITY DO DA!!  68 down and two to go!  I’m particularly delighted as weeks (okay, months) ago I injured my right foot, and kept working out.

Why? Because I have an unattained goal…why else?  Now I know my fellow Type A’ers are nodding their sweet goal-oriented heads with a, “duh, of course…gotta get to the goal!” And my Type B’ers are shaking your head in the east-west direction saying, “calm down already you crazy woman!”

Oddly, my foot didn’t heal, but rather got more tender (go figure, huh?)…

This past week, I deliberately took a week off of exercise in hopes my foot would stop hurting. And miracles of miracles…it’s not aching nearly as much! AND I lost weight too! Humph…that’s odd, eat less and lose weight? What’  I can cooperate with my body (instead of beat it into the ground) and still get results!? Huh?

Amazing what happens when I listen…not just to my body, but to God’s promptings! I’m learning…

This week’s nugget God spoke through the book, Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible – Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God by Liz Curtis Higgs.  Liz Curtis Higgs is one of the top five women in visible leadership, that I admire the most! Liz ROCKS!

I admire Liz for her contagious passion to trust God’s grace and forgiveness as she humorously and candidly reveals her life, Biblical truths and how God’s love is for her, and all of us!  She has an uncanny way of making me feel like I am no surprise to God and even more, that I am loved by God, today, as the imperfect woman I am…right where I am!

Don’t you dare let her soft silver hair and beautiful crimson smile fool you…

I continue to chuckle as I remember that Liz said in the paramount of her former “bad girl days”, the Shock Jock Howard Stern (who Liz formerly DJ’ed with at the same station), told her that she needed to calm her party life down…that’s how dramatic her past life was.  And she’s now a highly celebrated Christian author!

Well, no matter what, I believe I would have enjoyed some drinks, cigs and laughs with her in my former bad girl days.  I feel blessed to be able to indulge myself with bountiful laughs today from her work, as we’re both on the other side of the fence, pursuing God!

Back to the nugget…

Liz wrote a beautiful description of Sarai (later named Sarah by God, aka: Abram’s wife) as well as a fiction account of what Sarah would look like in today’s terms.  I’ve received infinite comfort from Sarah before, because, like Sarah, I too was barren for years.  I know that pain and felt a kinship with her.

When Liz wrote in her chapter, appropriately titled, “A Matter of Time,” these words were the arrow that struck a bulls eye in my heart.

“Sister, when we stare anxiously at calendars and clocks rather than turn to God, we’re looking in the wrong direction.” (1)

Oops. I did it again.  (Bad reference I know…I’m just too cheesy!)

Sarah was ninety years old when she held her first son, (from her womb), Isaac. (Genesis 21)  Okay, I feel kind of wimpy because I was Sarah’s junior by only about 52 years when I held my first born son!

This time I’m not waiting on children to fill my arms, which the Lord has delivered abundantly!  My repetitive clock watching for the past SIX PLUS years has been for, “when Lord, when will I be at my goal weight?” You see, my time line looked a whole lot shorter than six years!

And I’m certain, Sarah had to have thought the same thing, “my time line looked a whole lot shorter than…” as she too, took matters into her own hands (with making Hagar her surrogate).

“My definition of a Slightly bad Girl is simply this:  a woman unwilling to fully submit to God.  We love him, serve him, and worship him, yet we find it difficult to trust him completely, to accept his plan for our lives, to rest in his sovereignty.” (2)

Wow…

…to trust him completely,

…to accept his plan for our lives,

….to rest in his sovereignty.

I do love, serve and worship God!  And I do have a difficult time trusting, accepting and resting.

Another reminder I’m flawed truly loved by our flawless God (see, Liz is amazing!)!

Do you too, have a difficult time trusting, accepting and resting? You’re not alone.

In those refining moments, I need to remember the same God that delivered my perfectly crafted sons to my arms…in His time,

is the very same God who restored my failing marriage, in His time…

will deliver me to my goal weight, in His time.

No matter where you’re “waiting” right now, whether weight loss, childbearing, finances, job changes…it WILL happen…in His time!

PS
For my fellow Jersey Girls, Liz will be in Bridgewater, NJ this October 17-18!
Friday 6:00PM – 9:30pm, Saturday 6:30AM – 3:30pm.

You can contact: Michele Lyn McKenna 609-267-2657 m_m@lighthousetab.com for more details!

(1) Liz Curtis Higgs, Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God
(Colorado: WaterBrook Press, 2007), p. 27.
(2) Ibid, p.4.

My weekly weigh-in revealed a 5 ounce gain. This one surprised me as I had an active exercise week and my Ms. Pac-Man-esque snacking was rather mild. I’m pressing on…with God, I will get to my goal!

Many wiser than me have advised that when I feel like I’m about to start chomping away like Ms. Pac-Man, I need to stop and turn “it” over to God.  I have literally found myself, circling my forest-green kitchen island, in search of a snack…to chomp, chomp, chomp away like Ms. Pac-Man. (Unlike me, that gal hasn’t put on an ounce since the 80′s!)

When I sense my chompers are reving up and my body is drone-like, circling and bumping into the kitchen corners, the Holy Spirit is helping me realize it’s normally not a physical hunger but rather an emotional and spiritual hunger.

Most times, when my chompers are ignited in motion it is because I have not asked myself “why” I am looking for food.  Many times I have found that the root of the “why” is because I failed to identify with my emotions.  Hence, my emotional eating.

For example, “I’m angry because my friend said this….”  or “I’m scared because this is out of my control…” or “I’m mad because I didn’t say this…or because I did say this….” or “I’m afraid to let my friend down…” Those are the moments, I need God, not food!

God spoke a nugget into me as I read Having A Mary Spirit. I wanted to share with you the most practical description of what being led by the Spirit (as opposed to me!) looks like:

Being Led

How do we cooperate with the wooing and leading of the Holy Spirit? The following is by no means a comprehensive list, but here are some ways I’ve experienced the Spirit’s leading.
(I wish I was quicker to recognize His guidance and followed it more regularly!)

1. Tune your heart to His voice. God’s Spirit speaks in a still, small voice rarely audible to the human ear (at least not out mine!). But as we quiet our hearts, He often uses impressions or our own thoughts to direct us. The more we practice listening for Him, the more we’re likely to recognize His leading.

2. Mind the checks. This Quaker phrase means that when we fell a strong doubt whether a particular course is right, we should simply wait and do nothing. Direction from God will strengthen with the passing of time. If the course of action is not from Him, in a few days or weeks it will fade or disappear entirely.

3. Test the message. We must check any inner direction we receive against Scripture. If it aligns, then the advice of godly friends, providential circumstances, and what Catherine Marshall calls “sanctified common sense” can also be helpful.

4. Watch for repetition. God often sends me confirmations that I’ve heard His voice through sermons, other people, or miraculous provision. Themes will be repeated because, as my friend Marla says, “God is like your mom. If you don’t listen the first time, He repeats Himself!”

5. Take the next step. Though God often gives direction, I’ve found He almost never lays out a road map for the future. He intends this life to be a walk of faith. So as we obey one step at a time, the next step will come into view. As we practice obedience, the voice of the Spirit becomes clearer, His instructions more definite.

6. Beware the Spirit’s withdrawal. Our disobedience grieves and hinders the Holy Spirit’s work. If He is insistent that you obey in some area, do it – or you’ll feel a lack of the Spirit’s presence. As Oswald Chambers says, “God will never reveal more truth…until you obey what you know already. ”

7. Ask for and expect wisdom. Do not rule out God’s help with the small details of life. If we don’t allow God to direct our everyday lives, we may not be able to follow Him when crises come. When you ask, believe the Spirit will lead you into all truth. Look for the answer in faith. God is eager to help us!

Teach me to do you will for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10
(New International Version)

(From Having a Mary Spirit. Copyright 2006 by Joanna Weaver. Used by permission of WaterBrook Press, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.)

Are you like me, tired of being a drone-like Ms. Pac-Man emotional eater? Do you need help?  All you have to do is ask Him for help! No matter whether physical, emotional or spiritual, I trust God will meet your needs.  He promises this, and He won’t let you down!

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (New International Version)

Ask God for help, print off this list and refer back to it for help! God WILL see us through!

First, I want to thank all the special ladies for showing love, support and encouragement to Kerry! THANK YOU!!!

And Ker, keep on rockin’ girl!

I’m reminded, with God and when we’re united together, we will conquer! LOOK OUT LUCY!

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble…A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (New Living Translation)

My weekly weigh-in revealed a two pound, two ounce loss…CAN I GET WHOOP, WHOOP?!? Okay, I’m dating myself just a tad with that musical reference but I’m psyched.  I remain on the edge, (in more ways than one), of goal attainment! WHOOP, WHOOP!

The weekly nugget God revealed came through ducks.  Yes ducks. And not just any ducks…yellow ducks that are neatly surrounded by an aquatic blue border…

A couple weeks ago, Jake expressed concern for his current bathroom theme, that, “Rubber ducks are for babies!”  To increase the conversation temperature, Cal chimed in a concurring, “Yeah!”

I’m left, like any other good mother, internally thinking…”WHATEVER!” Also known, in more hip terms as, The Big W!

Despite being in strong denial that our sons are growing up, it appears that what worked for a precious period of time, doesn’t work for the next segment.  And there you have it, as I scored duck border today, my weekly nugget from God:

What worked for a period of time, doesn’t work for the next.

There are times and seasons for everything. God outlined this fact in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes.  No, He doesn’t specifically mention ducks, bathroom decor or a tantruming 30-something-woman, but He does mention in Matthew 9:16-17, “No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.” (The Message)

Meaning out with the old, in with the new!  My Study Bible laid it out clear, that “Jesus brings a newness that cannot be confined within the old forms.” (1)

WOW.

And neither can I.  He has brought a newness in me which demands I not be confined within the familiar parameters (pants sizes and all!).

What worked for a period of time, doesn’t work for the next.

As I have placed my fingers in the familiar “W” formation, my indifferent, “Whatever!“, is apathy that held me back.  I knew in the depths of my heart what it has meant when I’ve hit my “W’s” in the last six years; God has directed more exercise, less food and most importantly a deeper trust in Him (evident in increased time alone and with Him!).

When I have hit a plateau, that’s the moment I need to reevaluate. No more excuses or whatevers.  For what worked yesterday, just may not bring me through to the next tomorrow. And I do want the next.  The next means more depth, trust in God and a greater intimacy with Him.

What worked for a period of time, doesn’t work for the next.

I leave you today with, “What’s working for you and what isn’t?” (Please don’t go Big W on me!) Honestly evaluate, what is working and keep pressing through. But also honestly evaluate what isn’t working.  The most amazing thing about God is, He’s always there, to love us, guide us and see us through.  If you sit quietly and ask Him, I know He’ll reveal both Himself and clever ideas to you to see you through to the next, next!

And yes, the duck border came down today, and so did one less opportunity for me to say, “Whatever” about my life!  KEEP PRESSING!

(1) Kenneth Barker, ed., The New International Version Study Bible (Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers), 1985.