How is your New Year's Resolution going?

I am beginning to think it is best not to tell anyone about your New Year's resolutions, not alone publish them on my blog! Some of the areas I wrote about are going very well, but the one thing I really wanted to work on has become harder than I realized. I proclaimed I would eat healthy and exercise and the weight would just fall off! I forgot to factor in the times we would find ourselves eating out at a restaurant or invited to someone's home for a delicious meal! Don't get me wrong, it is always on my mind and yet when that delectable piece of pie or cake is served, I forget about all of my resolve to lose weight and there goes the diet! St. Paul in the book of Romans has a similar dilemma when writing about sin. He writes, "I cannot even understand my own actions. I do not do what I want to do but what I hate." So, it is a very human condition to fall, yet I know with the Lord's grace I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Today is a new day and a new beginning, so back to working on the healthy diet! I sincerely hope all of you are having success with your New Year's Resolution. God Bless!

New Years Resolution!

Christmas has come and seemed to be over in a blink of an eye! Now I am making a list and checking it twice for New Year's resolutions. I have discovered from my many years of making lists that I am better off if I stick to one good New Years resolution instead of trying to work on a miriad of things. So here is my plan: I write down everything that comes to me that I feel I should change in the year 2012. Then I choose the one that glares out at me with a red blinking light that says "work on me". The following are some of the areas I would like to improve on or change: Lose weight, eat a healthy diet, exercise, don't ever judge anyone, think positive, restore a lost relationship, make out a budget and stick to it, pay only with cash and leave the credit cards at home, watch less tv, read more, etc.
The above are all worthwhile resolutions and most of them I am already working on but would like to improve, so the one that glares out at me with the blinking red light is: Eat a Healthy Diet!
If I resolve to eat healthy and leave all sugars and carbs alone then I will lose weight and feel all around healthier. I will then have a more positive attitude about the things that come my way and cause me not to judge anyone or indulge in shopping. I will have more energy so I will want to exercise more and get out of my lazy boy and watch less t.v. Isn't it amazing how choosing just one resolution and sticking to it will reverberate and bring about changes in the other areas of my life and help me to accomplish the many goals I wrote down in the first place. How do I know this? Well, two years ago I began a healthy eating plan and all of the above took place, but then I began to indulge in sweets a little here and a little there and soon put on ten pounds. Then I didn't have the energy to exercise and that caused me to sit more and watch more tv than I know is good for me, etc. So if you like my plan I urge you to give it try and see what wonderful results will come about. I plan to keep you informed on this blog how it is working for me! Stay tuned and have a Happy New Year!

Whiter than Snow

In the early morning, it is such a beautiful sight to pull up the shades on the window and look out to freshly fallen snow! It reminds me of the scripture in Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us set things right says the Lord. Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow" What a beautiful promise from our Lord that we too can have that purity we see right after the snow has fallen and can pray like the Psalmist in Ps 51:9 "Wash me and make me whiter than snow". God is such a forgiving God and all we need to do is ask for his forgiveness and he grants it. Are we that forgiving with one another? I believe if we truly desire to be pure and white as the new fallen snow, we must forgive as Jesus forgives. We can still be ourselves, but we will be transformed into a much more caring, loving and kind person if we strive to be whiter than snow! The following is from my book "Living Waters: Writings from the Heart of a Christian" and is found on page 19. "Your sins are forgiven. Your guilt is covered over by the blood of the lamb. You are set free from past sins and burdens. I remember them no more and neither should you. Be free my child! Be carefree and happy! Let my spirit soar within you, filling you with my love and grace". May the Lord Jesus bless you and help you to become whiter than snow!

A Time to be Thankful

This is definitely the week to pause and think about what you are thankful for. In fact one should give thanks to God everyday and not wait until Thanksgiving Day. I thank God each morning for another day to live for him and to do whatever he asks of me. I thank God for the day whether it is warm or cold, sunny or snowy. I thank God for the food I have to prepare and eat and the way it is provided. I thank God for family and friends and whatever the day offers. I thank God for good health and the ability to move about and come and go as I please. I thank God for a warm home and my husband that shares it with me. I have many many more thanks that I offer unto God and I know that you do too, so together let us praise and thank the Lord for all that he has provided and for the love that he showers us with each and every day! Have a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving Day!

Heavenly Light

Are you aware that Jesus wants to fill you with his living waters? He also wants to fill you with his Heavenly light so that you can dispel the darkness around you! Jesus is the light of the world and as his disciples we can bring light to areas that are groping in the dark and stumbling and falling. When a person sees the light, they can then begin to see the path ahead of them more clearly and begin to walk the straight and narrow road. During these times of turmoil and uncertainty it is more important than ever to be able to see spiritually; so my advice is to call upon God to come and help you and he will deliver you from the darkness. Remember also that angels are round about you protecting you. You cannot see them for they are spiritual beings sent by God to watch over you. Call upon the Lord and he will answer you! Repent and believe the Good News that Jesus died for your sins so that you might have life, life aboundant. Be ready my readers for you know not the hour or the day that you may be called to leave this earth! I invited Jesus into my heart when I was 33 years old and have always been so happy that I made that decision. God loves you more than you can ever imagine!

Snowy Scene reminds me of love

As I looked out our patio door this past week I beheld a winter wonderland! For some reason it reminded me of a scene in the movie Dr. Zhivago. I haven't viewed that movie in many years but the snowy, cold scenes have never left my memory. As the sun sparkled from the snowy, glittering trees, I was remembering how very much God loves us and the many ways he shows that love in the outdoor scenery we view and that is why the movie came to my mind. Russia was in the midst of great turmoil and upheaval , yet love still permeated among the people and especially with young Doctor Zhvargo and his wife. We are going through times of turmoil in our own country and it is felt strongly by many who are out of work. We all experience the price increases when we go to the grocery store and when we put gas in our vehicles. Yet Godly love doesn't change and it is always there for us to warm our hearts and help us through these difficult times. So as I gazed out my door that snowy morning, I thought of love (not shoveling snow or the other things connected with a snow storm ) for God's ray of sunshine was sparkling on the trees and I knew it also sparkles in my soul and yours!
The first chapter of my book "Living Waters: Writings from the Heart of a Christian" is titled love and gives an indepth view of God's love for us. The following is an excerpt from one of the messages in Chapter I. "My child, you are my precious dear one. My love for you is everlasting and endearing. I long to show my love to you in many ways. Open your hands and your heart and receive what I have for you. It pleases me to see you delight in my love, to bathe in it as a person bathes in the morning sunlight. Take my love and share it with those you hold close to you."

Birthday prayer

Tomorrow I celebrate the day the Lord chose to have me enter this world. I truly believe God knows everthing about me and watches over me. He has a plan for my life and I try and be obedient and follow that plan, however sometimes the road gets a little bumpy and curvy and then I wonder if I am on the road that brings about His plan for me. Whenever that happens I realize his great love even moreso, for he is always by my side cheering me on. God is all forgiving and forgetting and not like us humans who tend to hold back and not totally forgive or still on occasion bring up that offense that hurt us. My birthday prayer is that the Lord God will grant me the grace to not look back but keep my eyes on the present. I am very thankful for my life and all that has transpired in my seventy three years. I realize more and more that God's hand has been guiding me and leading me and I praise and thank him. I thank him for my life and for all life, for he is our creator and we are all made in his image and likeness. May his peace surround all of you this day and all of the days to come!