You are what you...

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "You are what you eat" and realized there is truth to that statement.  Have you continued that thought and realized that you are also...what you think, what  you say, what you do, AND what you pray.  Yes, what you pray is what you are.  When we are trying to change (any change like mine of eating) you start on the inside because the spirit and physical body are inseparably linked and the role of prayer plays an intimate part.  I never thought about how I pray, with doubt or with confidence, would play a part in how my journey of change goes.  If I pray, Lord help me eat better but inside I fully doubt that this will happen - it truly won't.   God calls me to a life of faith and to commitment to pray with certainty..  No matter what I see (the scale not moving, that giant ice cream cone that jumps in front of me in the grocery) happening, I KNOW that GOD IS WORKING! And we remember that its all worked in HIS time, not mine! "So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36

Now if we think about how our lives change when we pray with confidence and consistently about everything in our lives...how much more could we help to change the lives of others by praying for them.  Friends or family may ask pray for me for this or that and we say sure no problem.  Do we? Do we stop, right then and either pray with them (yes I'm working on that) or stop in our busy days and say a pray that we promised.  What does it take - a minute, two, three, or maybe five minutes? Think about the power of Jesus' name and how we could affect change in that person if we stopped and prayed.  We are what we pray and what we pray for others.

Now I challenge you to think about the goals/changes you are working on in your personal life - write down a confident pray and commit to praying that with faith and consistency.  Then list five people in your life - family, friends, or maybe that single mom struggling at the grocery store with her kids you saw today, or even your boss! - and commit to praying consistently for them for the next month.  Every day.  And it doesn't matter if you don't know any specifics to pray for because God knows and He'll lay it on your heart.

Those are just my thoughts for today.

Dear God: today I come to You in faith, asking for what I fear I may lack - great faith! Help me Lord to understand how I can stand firmly on shaky ground, believe in what I can't see trust in what I can only hope for.  Bathe me in Your faithful love that I might in turn love You more faithfully.  I surrender myself and my body (my finances, my self-worth, my family, my job, me everything) to You right now, along with all my expectations.  In exchange, may I receive from You a confidence that can't be shaken. Make me a person of faith, Lord.  I am not strong enough to create all my own success, but I believe that You will accomplish all the good plans You have for me.  Amen.  (from "the Dieter's pryaer book")

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Will it affect my life?

I joined a weight loss FB group called SMART Weight Loss - there's a challenge every other month and I thought the accountability and guidance would be helpful.  Wednesdays "exercise" is a 30 minute walk and reflection time.  This weeks reflection question was: How will reaching your goal affect your life?  Now these goals are to be SMART goals - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.  So my goal for January you ask: Walk 4 miles or 10,000 steps 4x a week.  Seems simple.  It meets the SMART guidelines. Yesterday I looked at the reflection question: How will reaching my goal of walking 4 miles or 10,000 steps 4x a week affect my life? Seems simple enough to answer, right? Maybe.  When you think about it the first thing that comes to mind is with more exercise I'll lose weight.  Yeah, probably. Yet when I go a little deeper and think about how completing one goal would make a big difference in my life I get a more specific answer.  Reaching this goal every week, and continuing it, makes it a habit.  This goal will help me feel stronger, more capable, and confident.  I also realized that pushing through some perceived limitations due to chronic illness I would QUIT defining myself by what I have and instead define myself by what I can do and have done with the help of my God.  Yes I have used the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Polymyositis to limit myself in what I believe I can do.  I have a constant fear of falling and breaking a hip and I avoid activities because of it.

Well, no more.  I'm TAKING ACTION.  I'm pushing through the tiredness and the aches - if I do, then my body will adjust to the extra walking.  Why four days?  Because I do listen to my body and realize that I do need an extra day of recovery than most.  So its walk two days, rest, walk two days, take the weekend off.  Besides the first thought is right, if I exercise a little more I can help take of the weight better and build endurance and muscle and strength and flexibility.  All which help but the RA & myositis to the side.  Walking makes me feel better and when you feel better that reflects in the rest of your life too.

Here's to more walking.  To a stronger me.  To a new identity.  To a redefining of myself.  I AM A CHILD OF GOD!  I AM WORTHY!  I AM LOVED!  I AM BLESSED!

dana

Changing lives, changing names...

As my family and I set out on a mission together to build relationships with each other, more family, friends and others through health and wellness; I decided to change the name of the blog to the name I hope to do business as:  Simple Family Goodness.  I think this describes how we want to build and share essential oils and wellness - simple, good, and for my family and yours.  Stay tuned for more posts on how we do this.  

D