A quick bullet style update:
* Spent most of yesterday re-organizing all the books in the house - all 4 bookshelves now look great with room to spare ;-)
* Getting ready this week for our trip next week - I'm going to get to see Baby Grayson again. I'm so excited to see him and his mommy, Adrian. We should have time to see all the family too and I can't wait to just get away and be happy with them all.
*Starting my 2009 inspiration journal - I'll be sharing some of it here and some at my creative blog (that's way overdue for an update).
*Felt a lot more joy lately...unexplainable joy. In a word...it has been LOVELY !
* Took the Scripture memorization challenge over at the LPM blog. I'll post about this on the 15th when we change to another scripture.
* Going to the gym for the first time on Friday. I'll be spending a couple hours there and vow to not be too hard on myself.
* Have a home appointment with a friend from church on Friday - I'm doing a one on one session teaching her how to knit. I'll be going back in two weeks to see her progress.
*Now I'm off to do my bible study and quiet time while taking a nice long bubble bath....well just as soon as I figure out what music I want to listen to on the CD player in the bathroom. LOL.
Blessings...
~*Melody*~
BTW, I've finally narrowed down my goal list for 2009 and plan to list it soon. Oh and you remember that thankful entry I never posted last year. Well it'll be ready soon too, possibly in multiple parts. I took a long time to reflect on it and found that God blessed me more than I even had realized. I think it's been a healing process for me.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Oh So Out of Shape !
I just finished an excruciating workout. Goodness, I had no idea I was that out of shape until midway through the exercise DVD when my heart was pounding so hard and I felt like I was surely going to vomit. Oi, I can't believe that my body is in such poor shape. It's a wake up call for sure.
I've went walking for the past two Mondays. Last week I walked 2 miles in 30 minutes and this week 2 miles in 20 minutes. The first week I walked by myself while listening to my MP3 player. I suppose that I sped up and slowed down depending on the song that was playing. This week my husband, RL walked with me and we talked while walking. He walks at a bit faster pace than me and I did my best to keep up with him. So I guess he made the time difference.
If the weather and my asthma would co-operate, I'd walk outside more. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. So I'm planning to start going to a local gym at least twice a week to walk on the treadmill and elliptical machine. I'd love to go to some of their classes, but until my endurance levels rise the only classes I'll be doing is water aerobics.
I didn't really exercise at all last year because of my health issues. I was giving my body proper time to heal on its own, so that I wouldn't have any more bleeding or pain issues. My goal for starting back with exercising is to help manage my PCOS and to tone up some. The weight I loose will only be a healthy bonus. It's our hope and prayer that the exercise will help my ovaries and improve our chances of conceiving. Admittedly, I do want to feel better for my upcoming high school reunion too.
So I need some encouragement here people ! Anyone else joining me for this wellness challenge?
~*Melody*~
P.S. In case you missed it, there's an entry before this filled with some thought provoking faith-based questions.
*EDIT* Please say a prayer for me if you would. Maybe the exercise was too much for me, I'm having almost doubling over pains in my lower stomach. It feels like my uterus is pulsing. Ugg, I guess it's just back to walking for me.
I've went walking for the past two Mondays. Last week I walked 2 miles in 30 minutes and this week 2 miles in 20 minutes. The first week I walked by myself while listening to my MP3 player. I suppose that I sped up and slowed down depending on the song that was playing. This week my husband, RL walked with me and we talked while walking. He walks at a bit faster pace than me and I did my best to keep up with him. So I guess he made the time difference.
If the weather and my asthma would co-operate, I'd walk outside more. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. So I'm planning to start going to a local gym at least twice a week to walk on the treadmill and elliptical machine. I'd love to go to some of their classes, but until my endurance levels rise the only classes I'll be doing is water aerobics.
I didn't really exercise at all last year because of my health issues. I was giving my body proper time to heal on its own, so that I wouldn't have any more bleeding or pain issues. My goal for starting back with exercising is to help manage my PCOS and to tone up some. The weight I loose will only be a healthy bonus. It's our hope and prayer that the exercise will help my ovaries and improve our chances of conceiving. Admittedly, I do want to feel better for my upcoming high school reunion too.
So I need some encouragement here people ! Anyone else joining me for this wellness challenge?
~*Melody*~
P.S. In case you missed it, there's an entry before this filled with some thought provoking faith-based questions.
*EDIT* Please say a prayer for me if you would. Maybe the exercise was too much for me, I'm having almost doubling over pains in my lower stomach. It feels like my uterus is pulsing. Ugg, I guess it's just back to walking for me.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
God Seems Far Away, But Where Am I ?
Yesterday a dear friend of mine wrote about feeling far away from God and in a low place spiritually. My heart went out to her as she explained her recent struggles. I know those struggles well and have been there many many times. There are days that I feel like I'm so close to God, yet others when He feels so far away. I began thinking about my own struggles as I read her entry. Why must one feel this way? Is there some reason behind feeling that God is far away. Then this question entered my mind: God seems far away, but where am I?
In reality God is anything but far away. Could it be that actually we are far away? Could it be that our hearts are so cluttered by the darkness of this world or our own personal darkness that we can't see or feel God?
I began searching the scriptures for some explaination at why we as Christians go through these dark times. My mind instantly went to Job. Most of us think about Job when we think of suffering and personal struggles, but do we really relate with Job? I mean, not many of us can say that everything we held dear to us has been taken away. Job had lost all his children, servants, livestock and his health. He had everything and then had nothing within a very short period of time. The only thing God allowed him to keep was a nagging and doubting wife and a few friends who didn't understand what he was going through. We may have not suffered on the same level as Job, but we are human just as he was. We struggle with some of the same feelings he had: grief, anger, confusion and frustration.
So let's look at Job 23:9-11 (NKJV)
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
In this passage, Job was questioning God's whereabouts. Job couldn't understand why God seemed to be so far away. But what I notice most about this passage is that God was working on Job the whole time, yet Job couldn't see God. If you look at this scripture in the Message version, it shows Job's anger with God. Yet in the end, Job had to honor God and not turn from Him. He knew that God would bring him from this extreme low; an extreme low He even called deep darkness later on in the chapter.
Let's go on and look at 1Peter 1:6-8 (NKJV)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
God is looking for a genuine faith. These low times, times of testing and "various trials" are needed to improve our faith; just like fire is needed to purify gold. Rest assured when you go through these lows that God is proving you. As difficult and frustrating as it may be, God is leading you through this so that he can deepen your faith and trust in Him. I hope you can find some comfort in these scriptures. I believe that God spoke to my heart as well through them.
~*Melody*~
On a side note.....
Jeremiah 23:29 (NKJV)
29 “ Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD,
“ And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
I also found this scripture as I was reading last night. In my deepest darkest times, I feel like my heart grows hard, much like the rock mentioned in this verse. The answer to breaking through that rock.....the fire of the Word ! How awesome is that !
In reality God is anything but far away. Could it be that actually we are far away? Could it be that our hearts are so cluttered by the darkness of this world or our own personal darkness that we can't see or feel God?
I began searching the scriptures for some explaination at why we as Christians go through these dark times. My mind instantly went to Job. Most of us think about Job when we think of suffering and personal struggles, but do we really relate with Job? I mean, not many of us can say that everything we held dear to us has been taken away. Job had lost all his children, servants, livestock and his health. He had everything and then had nothing within a very short period of time. The only thing God allowed him to keep was a nagging and doubting wife and a few friends who didn't understand what he was going through. We may have not suffered on the same level as Job, but we are human just as he was. We struggle with some of the same feelings he had: grief, anger, confusion and frustration.
So let's look at Job 23:9-11 (NKJV)
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
In this passage, Job was questioning God's whereabouts. Job couldn't understand why God seemed to be so far away. But what I notice most about this passage is that God was working on Job the whole time, yet Job couldn't see God. If you look at this scripture in the Message version, it shows Job's anger with God. Yet in the end, Job had to honor God and not turn from Him. He knew that God would bring him from this extreme low; an extreme low He even called deep darkness later on in the chapter.
Let's go on and look at 1Peter 1:6-8 (NKJV)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
God is looking for a genuine faith. These low times, times of testing and "various trials" are needed to improve our faith; just like fire is needed to purify gold. Rest assured when you go through these lows that God is proving you. As difficult and frustrating as it may be, God is leading you through this so that he can deepen your faith and trust in Him. I hope you can find some comfort in these scriptures. I believe that God spoke to my heart as well through them.
~*Melody*~
On a side note.....
Jeremiah 23:29 (NKJV)
29 “ Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD,
“ And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
I also found this scripture as I was reading last night. In my deepest darkest times, I feel like my heart grows hard, much like the rock mentioned in this verse. The answer to breaking through that rock.....the fire of the Word ! How awesome is that !
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