My Life as a Biggest Loser - pt 3

We are in the home stretch of the last week before our first weigh in... and it has been a grueling week.  Three 5am workouts, several 2 or 3-a-day workouts...  it's a ripe recipe for grumbling, let me tell you!

So, it's interesting that I "just happen" to be reading through the Old Testament description of Israel's dessert years.  Wow - they sure could grumble!  "We don't like manna!  We want meat!  Egypt was better!  Why'd God bring us out here to die?  Moses stinks!  Are we there yet?!"  And the list goes on... and I think, "Boy, they sure were a bunch of whiners..."

But guess what?  At 5am, I look and sound a lot like an Israelite!  "Why do we have to come so early?  MORE squats?  I need Icy Hot.  My knee hurts. Five more??? I'm tired.  Are we done yet?"  What is it about our species that makes us look back to times of slavery and prefer it to the hard times of breaking free?  I WANT to lose weight and be in shape - just like those Israelites wanted to be in the Promised Land.  So what's all the whining about?

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves.  And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect." Leviticus 26:13

You Can’t Marry Mr. Darcy!

Reposting another great article from Girls Gone Wise…

At sixteen, you think you have it all figured out. I did! I knew exactly what kind of man I was going to marry. Taking every male in every Jane Austen novel I've ever read and throwing in a few verses, I had come up with every "standard" needed in my future husband. But in my naivety, I had fashioned a man that didn't exist, that couldn't exist, namely because Mr. Darcy was neither biblical nor real. But shouldn't we have standards? Where do we find the balance between being as picky as Tyra and dating every bad breath that asks us out? What's the difference between having ideals and having standards? Ideals put God in a box and you above God. When what his favorite TV show is or what his height is affects what type of guy you're willing to date, you've successfully derailed what God could potentially do in your life and placed Him in a box. The God of the universe, who created you (Psalm 139:13), who intimately knows everything about you (Psalm 139:1-3), who knows something as inconsequential as how many hairs are on your head (Matthew 10:29-31), knows what's best for you, His daughter. But ideals fashioned after movie characters, Jane Austen novels, or even someone great like a father, can tie the hands of God in your life and block out a truly great dating relationship. There are character traits that you may not even realize you need; character traits that God in His divine knowledge knows about and has orchestrated. Ideals can stunt this, because they cause us to cross off any guy that comes around, simply because he's not the "ideal."  When you have certain criteria set in stone for your future husband, you've assumed the position of God's authority in your life. Standards keep you anchored to the Word, trusting in the Lord, and in a state of prayer. One of the biggest differences between ideals and standards is focus. While your ideals keep you locked on celebrity news and focused on so much of the outward appearances, your standards can keep you fastened to and guided by God's Word. The Bible is your source of evaluation. Characteristics describing a godly man taken from Scripture create the questions to ask about the guy you are dating, or even thinking about dating. There is a huge element of trusting God that comes into play when a woman is ready to burn The List. We must remember that God knows us better than we know ourselves (Psalm 139:1-4). He's looking out for our best interests (Romans 8:28-29). Ideals are often things we hide behind in an effort to protect ourselves. Some of us may cringe at this, because it's exactly why we have these ridiculous ideals…they serve as a shield behind which to hide. For some of you, that 70 foot wall around your heart you call "standards" is your crutch, your safeguard, your first line of defense. But what you don't realize is that you are isolating yourself, not protecting yourself. And you're potentially missing out on what God wants to do for you. Standards allow safety in the dating scene. Having biblically-based standards in dating is your best option for protecting your heart from devastation. Because much of the journey is based on prayer, guidance of the Holy Spirit, and wisdom from Scripture you can have confidence that as God is leading you into the relationship, He's also safeguarding your heart. Even if you don't end up as husband and wife, there can be some amazing lessons learned from dating biblically. So where do you go from here? Am I suggesting that you date the next guy that asks you out? No. But a balance needs to be found. How do we formulate these standards if we can't base them off of Chris Pine and his dreamy eyes?              1. Keep it simple. Standards should not be long and exhaustive; instead keep it short. Keeping your standards short does a few things for you. First, it leaves room for growth in both of your lives. Secondly, keeping it short allows you to memorize your standards, and memorized standards allow you to think clearly when Dreamy McDreamerson gives you that wink.              2. Keep it biblical. Having a portion of Scripture that coincides with each standard not only legitimizes the importance of that standard, but also anchors it to the very thing that should be guiding your life. Keeping your standards biblically-based allows you to evaluate him by basing them on something tangible and not your emotions.              3. Keep it in prayer. The power of prayer is of utmost importance when it comes to navigating through the labyrinth of dating. It's essential in developing your standards, as well as in keeping them. Since dating eventually leads to marriage, it leads to one of the biggest decisions of your life. It should take priority in your prayer life. Valentine's Day is here, and unless you plan on developing a time warp that can shuttle you into the world of Pemberley, I very much doubt you'll be dating the ideal Mr. Darcy. You could, however, be dating biblically and dating someone who fits godly standards. Related posts: Mr. Right or Mr. Right In Front of You? Why Women Love Jerks Sexual Purity Means Using Protection

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If American Evangelicals are Stingy, It is Because They Attend Churches that are Even Stingier

Wow – here's something to think on!  Reposting this article by Eric Foley from Transformational Giving… 

 

Andrea

 

Christianity Today posted its annual beat-down article on Christian stinginess this week, lambasting evangelical Christians for giving just 4% of their income to churches (compared to their even stingier mainline counterparts, who give just 2.43%, according to the latest empty tomb, inc. research). The article quotes Ron Sider as being particularly scathing in his denouncement: For Christians in the richest nation in history to be giving only 2.43 percent of their income to their churches is not just stinginess, it is biblical disobedience—blatant sin. We have become so seduced by the pervasive consumerism and materialism of our culture that we hardly notice the ghastly disjunction between our incredible wealth and the agonizing poverty in the world. Over the last 40 years, American Christians (as we have grown progressively richer) have given a smaller and smaller percent of our growing income to the ministries of our churches. Such behavior flatly contradicts what the Bible teaches about God, justice, and wealth. We should be giving not 2.4 percent but 10 percent, 15 percent, even 25 to 35 percent or more to kingdom work. Most of us could give 20 percent and not be close to poverty." True, that. And yet none of the commentators in the story posit a connection between the purported stinginess of Christians and the graph on overseas mission giving by denomination that appears in the same CT issue. That chart shows how much of each denominational dollar received goes to missions: Christian and Missionary Alliance: 11 cents Church of the Nazarene: 6 cents Southern Baptists: 2 cents Lutheran Church Missouri Synod: 1 cent …and so on Terry Austin from Generous Church notes that "ninety-seven percent of all money that people give to the church is spent on the people who give it." Why would stingy churches and stingy denominations be producing generous Christians? No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. –Jesus, from Luke 6:43-44

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My Life as a Biggest Loser - Pt. 2

Have you ever been a part of something that just drew you in?  Immediately felt connected to something that was bigger than yourself?  As a Christian - that's how I feel about the Body of Christ.  No matter where I go - I have family.  There is a camradery and a kinship that comes from striving toward the same goal. 

My Biggest Loser journey is a bit like that!  Everywhere I look, I see spiritual analagies of how the body of Christ is meant to operate.  In fact, there have been several times when it seemed the Church could stand to learn a few things from the Biggest Loser approach... here is one example:

Team Pink - "Before" Picture

Overweight, out-of-shape people tend to stay away from the gym.  Why?  Because gyms are filled with "fit and healthy" people - and that's intimidating.  Makes me think of people that I know who are spiritually out of shape that won't grace the premise of a church.  The BL program makes a safe environment for the unhealthy to come learn about being healthy.  And NOT by plopping us among all healthy people and expecting us to figure it out.  Instead, we are on teams of other folks who are at the same place, but with seasoned trainers who guide us and help us.   The closest to this idea in churches that I've seen is the small group format.  Especially when there is a small group that is a "starter group"...  One that focuses on the basics.

That's what Lisa and Kaaren do each week for Team Pink.  We learn things - some of us already know some of the information - but we practice what we know and keep adding to it.  When we are "ahead", we encourage those who lag behind...  When we are "behind", we lean on those who are strong. 

Oh, how I'd love to see this same thing taking place more frequently in our churches.  Somewhere along the way, we started believing the lie that Faith is a personal, private matter.  We've been shamed into keeping our mouths shut about it.  But the Body of Believers was always meant to be a group activity.  "For the body does not consist of one member but of many... God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose." (1 Cor. 12:14, 20)  

Spiritual Fitness tip du jour

Part of abiding in Christ is staying connected to Him through His Word...  but when you read your Bible each day - don't just breeze through the passage, with the end goal of "checking the box."  Instead, take time to look at the passage... ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and to help you understand what you are reading. 
Also, ask questions such as:

• I wonder why they did that? 
• How would that look in my life? 
• Is there a command in this passage I need to follow?
• Are there things in my life that I am doing or thinking that don't line up with what God's Word says?
• What does this passage tell me about the character of God?

Some have found it helpful to journal as they read... capturing key thoughts and answers to the questions above.  God desires relationship with us - and this process helps us to interact with God through prayer. Seek the Lord with all your heart and you will find Him!