Jumping Hurdles

Recently I have been reflecting on the things in my life that continually hinder me. I feel that there are several things getting in the way of my completely fulfilling Christ's purpose for my life right now. But two which stand out as MAIN OBSTACLES are: 1) my weight and 2) Facebook. These are really unrelated, but they are the two highest hurdles I MUST get past if I am going to WIN this race I am currently running.

My weight has been an ongoing hindrance to me for many years, but lately this has been more true than ever before. It has become a spiritual stronghold. It is beginning to take hold of me in a very negative way. This has happened before. In high school, I was so unsatisfied with myself because of my weight, that I began to deeply hate myself and to doubt the very worth of my life, even my life in Christ. I can see that creeping back in now-ever so slowly, but it is there- and I am uprooting it even as I write this. I do not say this to shock anyone, to have a pity party for myself, nor to give place to the devil. I say this to proclaim that I have identified my enemy's using this against me, and I am going to rise against it- against HIM- again, in a new way, with all that I've got- and with Christ as my Help. I am declaring WAR. And I will fight it with prayer, supplication, Scriptures, my elliptical machine, and my calorie counter! :)

I believe that if we truly and WHOLE-HEARTEDLY seek God's work in ourselves, we WILL receive REAL ANSWERS to our "questions". But the answers He gives are not always the answers WE would choose. So we find different answers that better suit us. Then we wonder why we stay in the same ruts- or get into worse ones. We sometimes grow very attached to our own hindrances, mentally and emotionally. And we begin to think we'll never change. So we give up. When all along, the Lord was there to help us, but we didn't let Him- because the way He wanted to "help" was not our way, not our ideas. I have done this in regard to my weight. And I have also done it in regard to Facebook.

This morning I heard a great message about idolatry- the gods we "worship" in this life. And I was asked to identify anything that might be taking the place of GOD in my heart. And this may sound silly, but FACEBOOK kept coming to mind! I already thought God was telling me this- for awhile-and I had pretty much ignored His still small voice. But today He confirmed this without question. I need to get off Facebook for awhile.

I see nothing wrong with Facebook, but for me, it lends itself to excess. There are many times when I choose to spend time on Facebook when I should be doing other things. It is difficult for me to ignore Facebook, even when I have coursework to complete, dishes to do, lessons to plan, not to mention a family to be with. I feel lately that I MUST cut out everything that distracts me from doing what I'm CALLED BY GOD to do, and Facebook does that. So I am taking a break from it, for awhile, to focus on my more important tasks at hand. I'll still write on Paint the Truth- hopefully more because I really enjoy it. And I will focus on finishing my Master's program, exercising, and preparing for my 4th amazing year at King's Way. I will devote more time to my husband, my children, and my Lord.

Today is a good day! **Now initiating project hurdle jump**