Praise the Lord for this day! We are preparing for New Year in the Lord and just thankful for the opportunity to go to church service tomorrow and see the New Year in by praising the Lord and just being able to be in His house.
Well onward to the topic of today….
Step 8 – Diligently Practice What is Right…
Hummmm knowing what to change, praying about it, knowing what the word of God says is a great step but not until you put it in motion will it make any difference. This is where we have to put in practice the things that we learned in the word related to what we want to change or felt led to change in us. One statement in the writings was “God does not promise change will be easy, but He promises it is possible if we work diligently according to His word.”
God is with us and truly blessing us in His word, and we must be doers of His word…we can be doers of His word if we just listen to His word and be diligent in seeing it through! God is there for us to keep us in each step of our lives and keep us mindful of the things that God has for us. Praise His name for all that He is doing for us. (1 Corinthians 15:58, James 1:22-25, Romans 6:1-23, Matthew 7:21, Luke 6:46)
Step 9 – Substitute Good Habits for Bad Ones
This step is easy enough to understand but man is it hard to do! We have to really walk in the spirit and not in the flesh to do this one! I love Ephesians 4:22-23 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
To be able to put off the old man and take on the new man – you have to renew your mind to the new thinking which means stepping out there and do what is needed to rid yourself of it. (Ephesians 4:22-32, Matthew 12:43-45)
Step 10: Avoid Temptation
One of the words under this step was “You cannot change a bad habit while continuing to run with the “crowd” that caused the habit. Changing the habit will require changing your friends because the “friends” are part of that habit.” One thing that I hear from many sisters who are trying to keep away from situations that cause them to slip back into their old ways is thinking they are strong enough to deal with the situation on their own.
For example, sisters are always telling me how they know that a certain man is really not the one for them, but they just cannot seem to stop being ending up in his arms or bed. Well as hard as it can be, walking away from him by NOT taking his call, by NOT returning his text and doing something else when he crosses their minds. Yet as always, the determination needs to be there and truly knowing the Lord is one way to keep fresh in staying away from temptation in the world. (Matthew 6:13, Romans 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:33, 1 Peter 4:3-4, Proverbs 13:20, Exodus 23:2, Psalm 26:5, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Ephesians 5:11)
Step 11: Face One Day at a Time & Step 12: Be Patient
Matthew 6:34 (NIV) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Praise the Lord…Steps 11 and 12 – hummmmm the hard part. Our flesh wants immediate gratification and things to come instantly. It starts from the time we are born and we struggle with it from that point on. Yet we tend to forget that everything is a process and nothing worth having is easy. (Matthew 6:33-34, Romans 2:7, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Galatians 6:9, 2 Peter 3:18)
As I looked over these steps and see things for me in this change that I am going through with the Lord….time to release and let it all out! LOL Of course I have to share my walk with each of these steps and with the thing that has been my biggest battle…MY WEIGHT!!!
I am sure there are other sisters out there who can struggle with this…now to my sisters who are still able to bend over and tie your shoes without struggling…you are blessed and you just need to exercise…sorry but there are some that say they are fat and are not fat, they are just somewhat overweight but not obese or considered a health risk as we are. I am not saying your struggle is not a struggle, but it is a little different than the struggle of the overweight by obesity…it just is…let me explain it better.
When I was young, I was a chubby in my early teens, but when boys entered the picture the weight came off. I lost a lot of weight when I got sick from colon cancer and was really thin. I was so used to being a thick girl, I was a size 16, and I was not fat but just not thin…I lost all that weight and did not even realize it. In my mind I was still fat, I was a size 3 still wearing size 16 clothes, not seeing that they were falling off. As I think back on it, wow I would tighten the belt and had to add more holes to get it to fit. Hummmm…wow…such low self esteem at that time. Yet, my mom got me to see that I was finally skinny enough and to eat. I had stopped eating and I was really not sure how to start again. Well since I was that skinny, I started eating again. I found the “perfect” weight but because I was still young and very active. But all of this came to an end in 1995 as I started putting on weight and could not figure out what was going on…it was my thyroid…it was throwing my weight all around…up and down…up and down…then there come Lupus and the meds – weight going up and up. With the thyroid and Lupus, I did not know if I was coming or going. I could not move around like I wanted. I gained more and more weight. I was unable to exercise and then I started being up late and eating late. I went through bouts of depression which made things even worse. In a five year time period, I went from 165 pounds to a whooping 304 pounds! I got on the scale the other day and just wanted to pass out…ugghhhhh…my highest weight ever! How can I do this to myself? I have enough health issues; I do not need to make it worse. I am a borderline diabetic, who has thyroid issues, and fighting lupus…now I have to fight this weight. Jesus help me!!!
So what have I decided…IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE! I am the cook of the house, I am in charge of that kitchen and it is time for me to take it back! It is time to stop taking the easy way out and start fighting for my entire health! So here is where I am…
Step 1 – Change your purpose in life – I am motivated…I can no longer stand to run out of breath from walking a flight of stairs; I am tired of looking at the flab on my arms and legs. I am tired of the weight and I am tired of clothes not fitting me at all. I am motivated to live healthy for Jesus and to do as His word tells me to do. I know that some of this is based on my own bad choices and some on my health but I know that in Jesus this too can change.
Step 2 – Believe you can change with God’s help – I know that the only way I can do this is in Jesus…I know that in Jesus I have my strength. He has blessed me to know that He has brought me through so much already; He has delivered me from cigarettes so I know He can deliver me from this.
Step 3 – Study the Bible about your habit –Hummmmm…there are many scriptures fueling me – first one is “1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” This is really the key scripture keeping me going and doing what I need to do. I am thankful to the Lord for his word…I know that gluttony is against the Lord and this is where I am with this, just eating to eat, kind of like I did with smoking. I am not going to deal with it on my own, but with the word of God. I am really dealing with things in His word as this is where I get my help from.
Step 4 – Repent of Sins– I had to go to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness for allowing myself to get this far with the weight and not trusting the Lord to bring me out of the pain of my past in Him. So now I have to rely on Him and trust in Him. It hurt so much to go before Him and admit my errors and to cry out to Him and to allow myself to hear Him speak to me and direct me. It was painful because this is something that I have done. I know that God is working on me and bringing me where I need to be in Him. I am a blessed woman in God and I know that God will keep me!
Step 5 – Develop a Plan of Action – When my husband came to me and said that he had to do a 40 day fast, did I want to join him…my first response was – HECKS NO!! It was what I literally said to him…no way…God called you not me. Well then, as I rolled over, the Lord started speaking to me and telling me that I was to join him and to follow the fasting schedule that He has given us. As I started calling out to the Lord, as I did not want to do it. I wanted to keep doing what I was doing. Yet the Lord has blessed me to see that this is the beginning of changing our eating habits…which is our issue here in this house. I am thankful for the conversations with the Lord with His direction on getting this plan together for this change and in the end becoming closer to Him.
Step 6 – Pray Regularly – Determination is truly needed for this step. The enemy will try to make us think that we do not need to pray regularly, yet we do. I have made it clear to my flesh that regardless of how I feel – I will keep to my praying schedule. It is not easy to do but I figure nothing worth doing is easy to do! Yet as I keep doing it, the Lord strengthens me, gives me the time that I need to hear from Him and works it all out. I take advantage of my drive home and to work, I take advantage of the moments in the house when no one is talking to me to talk to Him. I have been known to walk through my house praying aloud. It is what we must do to walk in Him and if we are trying to change there is no other way to do it outside of Him. I know that I have to include my eating habits and lifestyle in my prayers now that I am moving towards this change in my life. It is not just to lose weight but to change how I living my life in Jesus. It is to place all my cares upon Him in my prayer life – as I talk to Him turning it over to Him. From resisting snacking to watching the words that come out of my mouth…it is all in Jesus if I let myself do it!
Step 7 – Seek Help from Other Christians – Seeking help from others sometimes is hard for me to do, sometimes. This is not one of those times, even though I am set in my plan and my direction in this, it is still always helpful to receive encouraging words and tips to help. We should always be open to receive, some stuff is not really meant for us but to know the voice of the Lord is to know what we keep and what we do not keep to us. I think that is where a lot of people get their feelings hurt because they are not realizing what to keep and what to toss away. It is truly how we hear from the Lord that will make the difference, knowing who is coming from God and who is coming from self! Yet there is a point of accountability when we open ourselves up to others. I know that sharing this with each of you, means that I have to stay on my toes and in constant prayer because it will bring me strength knowing that I have places this out into the world to read which means I have to live up to it in Jesus. I know that God will never fail me and He will bring me through…this is just another step to take to stay in Him! AMEN!
Step 8 – Diligently Practice What is Right – Well practice what I preach is what I need to do here. I was sitting around yesterday and wanting to snack, so did things to change my focus. It is just the fact of not being able to do so now the wanting to do it is strong, so what shall I do…change my focus when I want to slip. It is not easy to do but to call on the Lord will change my thoughts and to change my focus when it hits me will work. I remember doing all of this when I quit smoking so I know that I can do it now too!
Step 9 – Substitute Good Habits for Bad Ones - Oh this is a lot easier said than done. One thing that is getting us to change is this 40 day fast that we are on…we have no option but to follow the menu plan as part of the fasting. It was not until yesterday did I realize how fast we go down to just smaller meals and less food daily, while increasing the word of God we are reading and prayer time to the Lord. It is awesome to see how He is speaking to me about what NOT to do and reminding me that He has done this for me before, now I just need to return to the ways of Him and hear what He is saying to us. We are at 3 meals a day but no snacks and as our drink we are only drinking water and 100% juice. It is something as I am not used to eating breakfast and lunch, I am not used to just drinking water and juice – I am a sugar drink addict and truly wanting lemonade or sweet ice tea – yet the Lord is with me and this water I am drinking is good to satisfy me! AMEN!!
Step 10 – Avoid Temptation – Run Sister Alissa – Run!! I was making my lunch for work on Sunday night – the first night of the fast and change of eating lifestyle, and we have eliminated snacking. Well as I was cutting the ham for my salad, I had to resist putting a piece in my mouth; I had to resist eating a cucumber I cut up. It was not easy some thing so small, but as I stood there, I kept telling myself NOT to do it, not to place it in my mouth. I had to hurry up and get done drinking water as I finished making my lunch. I confessed to my hubby how hard it was so that I can release that too. I felt better and just relaxed. Yet then it dawned on me…do not make your lunch late, make your lunch right after eating dinner this will eliminate that temptation to eat while you are preparing your lunch for the next day…duh!! Thank you Jesus for your direction when I am blinded by my fleshy desires, as you know that my spiritual desire is to be closer to you and this will bring me closer to you!
Step 11 – Face One Day at a Time – While we are going through this change of eating habits, one of the things I can not do is focus on what we will be doing tomorrow or next week. First none of us are promised tomorrow so I am not going to worry about it, but two, when I am having a weak moment, I can not be thinking about in two weeks we will be on veggies only…this will do nothing but discourage me or even make me quit thinking that I can not do it. It is easy to fall to the way side, but it is best to stand in Him. So I am determined to stand and take each day one day at a time, may the Lord bless our walk in Him and may we continue to live according to His will and way!
Step 12 – Be Patient – In this walk that I am doing, I have to be patient and know that I will see a difference in time, that it takes work and time to get where I want to be, not to be discourage if I fall short but to be encouraged that the Lord hears my cry and comes to my rescue for He is God and God alone. It is not always easy to make change in ourselves but it is truly the love of the Lord that brings us to this change and if we continue to seek Him and His direction…NOTHING WILL FAIL! It will be all right in the name of Jesus…so stay tuned for those pictured of a skinner face and a less wide body!!
Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. It has fueled me to move even closer to the Lord and to stand taller in Him! My prayer is by this time next year to be closer to my goals for myself than I am right now. Praise the Lord for the growth in Him! AMEN! Until tomorrow…God Bless and remember that in Jesus change is awesome! Love your sister in Christ, Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord! Here we are another awesome day in the Lord that we are blessed with. It is the last Monday of 2008 – it is awesome to see that we are coming to the end of one year to start a new one! How blessed we truly are. My prayer for all of us is to have joy in the Lord for all eternity especially for this year!
Well onward to change….remember I am not making this up but taken from Gospel Way
Step 5 – Develop a Plan of Action
Awwww….one of my favorite things…planning….the best laid plans are nothing without all those steps before it…yet the outcome is nothing without a plan. I am the queen of planning, we have to plan things out. It is clear to me at least for me, I can get nothing done without some kind of plan or at least an outline of things before I get started doing anything at all. I mean sometimes even to get through my day; I have got to have it kind of outlined in my mind. I know to some it seems a little over the top but it keeps me in line and able to get things done in the Lord. It keeps me where I need to be in Him and keeps my mind where it needs to be! God is moving and it is sometimes hard to keep up…LOL so I keep a plan of things. Yet as the writings said, “Many people fail to change to please God because they never planned to succeed. They did not plan to fail, but they failed to plan.” AMEN!! (Proverbs 14:22, Ephesians 3:10-11, Romans 8:28, Hebrew 8:5, Genesis 12:1-7, Luke 14:26-33, Daniel 1:8, Psalm 17:3, Acts 11:23, 2 Corinthians 9:7)
Step 6 – Pray Regularly
Dummy me…I thought this went with all the steps…LOL Yet it is truly a step in itself for many do not really know how to pray. Some of us think that praying is just calling out to the Lord, some think it is just to pray for others, some think it is just for themselves….yet prayer is so much more than that…it is our relationship with the Lord. When we are praying we are talking to the Lord and we need to realize that it is what keeps us going.
When we talk to the Lord, it is what we need to do to hear from Him. It is our conversation that build our relationships with others, what do we think it will do with the Lord? It will bring us to the point of truly knowing His will in our lives.
Now this step in the change says that prayer is essential for forgiveness and God’s help in changing. This is so true, how can we change if we are not asking God to direct us in our change…how do we know what He wants us to do…prayer is essential. He will continue to hear our call if we continue to call Him. It is so important to not only want to change but to hear what the change should be…talk to the Father without stopping is the way to do it.
Praying without ceasing is a lot easier than we make it. As we go through our day and talking to ourselves, stop talking to ourselves and talk to Him…call on Him and seek His voice when He answers…know the voice of God and know that He is talking to you always – sometimes it is shutting up that will allow us to hear from Him. LOL Even in prayer, sometimes we just need to shut up and hear Him speaking to us…it is truly a soft voice that we need to be quiet to hear. (Mark 16:16, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Galatians 3:26-27, Romans 6:3-4, 1 Peter 1:22-23, Acts 8:22, 1 John 1:8-10, Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 6:12-13, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Colossians 4:2, Matthew 26:36-46, 1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6-7, Ephesians 6:11-18)
Step 7: Seek Help from Other Christians
Praise the Lord…I can live and talk this step without even thinking…LOL it has become second nature to me as the Lord has really pressed on my heart to reach out to others to help and to see the help of others as I walk in this life with Him. He has tons of scriptures that tell us to be servants to others and in turn this helps us too. We are also to reach out and seek help from our sisters and brothers in Christ.
When we are going through things alone and without the support of others, it is hard to achieve the goal that we want to achieve. We can do it for all things are possible in God, but the encouragement, guidance, knowledge, wisdom and support of those that have been where we are is truly a valuable asset in our walk in the Lord.
It is really something if we would really let go and move according to the words of God and follow James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
We have to take that to heart and understand that it is our duty to know that God is really working in our lives and start listening to Him in whom we are to be open with. When we keep the walls up around us and trust no one, then our growth in Him is haltered and hindered, it is necessary to not hold things in and share…you never know who you may bless just by sharing!! (James 5:16, Galatians 6:2, Matthew 5:23-24, Hebrews 10:24-25, Hebrews 3:12-13, Ephesians 4:15-16)
Well until tomorrow…
Remember that in every change that we endure, the Lord has blessed us even more!
Have an awesome and wonderful day in the Lord!
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
Praise the Lord! I am thankful for this day…as we are ending the year 2008 and headed into 2009, the cutesy sayings are coming out and everyone is making New Years Resolutions, yet there is one thing that my thought is…every day is an new day to make a difference in our lives and those that we come in contact with daily. Yet, for some knowing that the New Year is approaching, they are using that as a mark to start making a difference. If that works for you…great and I pray that you are successful in your changes, yet remember that even when we stumble…tomorrow is yet another day if we are blessed to see it.
I was looking for a scripture on change and came across a web site that had a section called…”How to Change Yourself: A Bible Pattern for Self-Help and Self-Improvement”, even though I do not really “agree” with the title of section, the information was really good information. The site is Gospel Way, and I have not gone through the entire site so I am not endorsing it but wanted to give a nod to it due to the fact that I am about to talk about their site.
They have some really valid points that I wanted to point out as we are all striving to be more like Christ and some of us are having a hard time making the changes that God is calling us to make.
Ephesians 4:22-24 22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
There is a point that we must remember when going through change…”knowing what changes to make is not enough. We also need to know how to make them. Changes does not come easily….God’s word is the best source of guidance for self-help and motivation for self-improvement.” As I read that…I was so ready to shout...change is HARD…yet as I stated yesterday – there are awesome benefits from change. It is really something as we have to “prepare” ourselves when we make up our minds to make a change. I like the aspect that this web site set up change…
Twelve Steps to Change:
Step One – Change Your Purpose in Life
Step Two – Believe You Can Change with God’s Help
Step Three – Study the Bible about Your Habit
Step Four – Repent of Sin
Step Five – Develop a Plan of Action
Step Six – Pray Regularly
Step Seven – Seek Help from Other Christians
Step Eight – Diligently Practice What Is Right
Step Nine – Substitute Good Habits for Bad Ones
Step Ten – Avoid Temptation
Step Eleven – Face One Day At A Time
Step Twelve – Be Patient
How simple all these steps sound – but as we know each day is a step of walking in….I feel as if for the next couple of writings to tackle each of these steps in my own walk in my Honesty Today writings. God is good and I am thankful for finding this site as to give me another opportunity to learn more of the Lord and to grow closer to the Lord.
Okay…Step One – Change Your Purpose in Life
“Before people are willing to act, they must be motivated” Okay that was a mouthful right there…you can want to change but if you are not motivated to do so, there will be no change. I guess that is why I no longer do New Years Resolutions, but daily changes. We have to be motivated to do so. When I wanted to stop smoking after years of my family getting on my last nerve about quitting, it was not until I was motivated to do so was I able to take it to the Lord and leave it there. It is the motivation and determination to make the change that helps fuel the beginning of change.
As I read what the site was saying, they gave the titles Love/Dedication to God, Imitation of Christ, and Desire for Eternal Life, not Eternal Punishment under this step. WOW…okay the reality of it all is most of us do not have the desire to change the things in us that need to be changed on our own, we want to but…it is not until our relationship with the Lord is started that we start to even think about attempting to change. It is in His word that says we are a new creature in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:16-18)
Now for me it was when I came to understand that my ways were not His ways and that my ways were not working that I turn my heart over to the Lord with the desire to be changed in Him. I had a lot of pain and hurt in my life and it was just a mess for me to live the way that I was living. It was really hurting me to live that life and I knew that I needed a change. Jesus was that change, so the start for me was my love and dedication to God and living as He wants me to live. It was in His love that I saw I needed to be more like Him and less like me. So I started to see that I needed to imitate Him and to be like Him so that I did not have eternal punishment for I want and still do want Eternal Life. I did not want to remain the same; I wanted to live for life – Eternal Life with Jesus. I knew growing up that hell existed and I knew I did not want to go there. I knew that I was headed there AND I knew that if I did not/do not change…I will end up there.
As I look at my walk and the things that have happened, I received a desire to live for Him because of my pain and hurt…I really believe that His burden is light! I know that for me all things will be better, it is not just something that I read, but I believe it in my heart without a shadow of a doubt…it is important to believe it…which is Step Two – which we will discuss tomorrow! Praise the Lord for the lessons of change for in it we will be more like Him! AMEN! Let us embrace the thought of change as our first step to changing – embrace change as a new possibility and outlook in life for the better!
The scriptures that they gave for this step are: Ephesians 4:22-24, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 8:5, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 16:24, 1 John 5:3, I John 4:19, 1 John 2:15-17, Matthew 10:34-37, Matthew 22:37-40, John 14:15, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
So as I close out for today…if you are looking to make a change in your life, stay tune…but to start this change…start looking at your personal walk with the Lord – start looking at if you are really walking with Him. Try reading the scriptures above and hear what He is saying to you in them. Step forward to start to make those changes that He wants you to make.
Until tomorrow,
Love your sister in Christ,
Sister Alissa Lynne
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