God at Work

"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Clearly God has been at work...for I survived swim suit shopping today! That's worth celebrating! I tell you, the lighting in those Walmart change rooms is VERY unflattering! I didn't get the same effect when trying on my purchases at home...

Anyways, today's shopping trip was another reminder of TW day 5's lesson on loving, accepting and embracing this body God has blessed me with. I picked out swimsuits, with little care about sizes! That is a step in the right direction! I simply wanted it to fit right. This step reflected for me the increasing peace I'm experiencing with regards to my body. I also did not pass condemnation on myself for the many bulges and stretch marks and such that I could see staring back at me in the mirror (which Walmart lighting truly accentuated!). I didn't let what I saw determine who I am.

I am feeling more and more at peace. I can accept what I look like when I know that I am seeking to surrender myself to the Lord and glorify Him. I know that I won't get things perfect and will never have a body like a magazine model, but I will keep seeking Him allowing Him to do His good work in me (whatever that looks like!)...for peace is found in His presence, as I keep my gaze stayed on Him.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

Thank you Lord for Your peace and Your constant presence.

This post got me thinking about a beautiful song...so here it is if you want to check it out.

God's Perfect Peace

I was watching the news this morning and an author was interviewed who had wrote a book about decision making. The point pondered was whether we should make decisions based on emotion or logic. And the answer is it needs to be a combination.

This flowed interestingly into what God has been speaking to me about the past few days in regards to my mind, my heart and God's perfect peace.

I've been feeling a bit caught up in the busyness of life. I have been longing to get my thoughts sorted out and processed. Putting posts together on my blog is one way of processing everything. I've been itching to get here to post! So this is a big treat for me right now!

As I think about the way my anxieties plague me, how my to-do list grows, how I sweat the small stuff, I plead for God's perfect peace. Oh how my emotions (heart) and logic (mind) can get all mixed up and upside down sometimes! I wanted to just quiet my soul and rest at His feet. A verse that has been really sticking with me lately and resonating is Isaiah 26:3.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (NIV)

This is a powerful verse. It reminds me that I can experience God's perfect peace in my heart even in the midst of tumultuous experiences if my mind is focussed on the Lord. I asked myself what it means to have a mind that is steadfast. And the King James Version of this verse shed a little light on what that means.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is STAYED on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (KJV)

A steadfast mind is a mind that is STAYED on the Lord. Focussed on Him. Fixed on Him. Trusting the Lord. As I began to do a quick search on verses that speak of the mind, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses lately...

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

Transformed by the renewing of my mind. How do we do that? is my next logical question.

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Col. 3:2

"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31:33

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:37

I think the root of renewal and steadfastness of mind can be summed up in this verse:

But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor. 2:16

As I approach the throne of grace with confidence in the the blood of Jesus poured out for my sins (Heb. 4:16), and as I set my focus on things above (Col. 3:2), seeking to love God with all that is in me (Matt. 22:37) and get to know him through his law, the bible (Jer. 31:33)...then I have the mind of Christ and I begin to be transformed and renewed.

So what difference does this make to the state of my heart or my emotions? Well, if my mind is STAYED on the Lord, trusting Him, steadfast...then He renews me and transforms me and also begins to pour out His perfect peace in my heart. It begins to spill over.

I couldn't help but think about this familiar passage:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

This is getting down the nitty gritty of experiencing God's perfect peace. I hadn't really zoned in on the word "mind" before in verse 7 where it says: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Hmmm.... Very interesting! And the main message of the whole passage is all about keeping our focus STAYED on Him and our mind being steadfastly fixed on thankfulness and prayer and excellent and praiseworthy things from above. And even greater then that the promise that the Lord is NEAR! Oh to be in His presence!!! (and to not forget that no matter what we're feeling!) God's perfect peace flows out of all that.

I know this is a very quick and incomplete look into these verses. Yet God has been stirring a longing for His peace within me. And I began to connect some dots in the past few days! I see how it is connected to my state of mind. Beliefs, what fills my mind, keeping God's truth foremost has been a big part of my growth in the past year. I realize the importance of ensuring my mind is fixed fully on the Lord, not allowing any lies from Satan to permeate my mind, not allowing my focus to shift away from the Lord's perfect and pleasing will... I must keep my mind steadfastly stayed on Him alone and I WILL experience His perfect peace.

Thank you for your perfect peace, Lord. (Is. 26:3) My soul clings to You. Your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:8) I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation. (Psalm 5:3) Your name and renown is the desire of my heart. (Isaiah 26:8)

Another Three Days (and a weigh-in)

Well, another three day time period has come and gone. I have felt so thankful for this challenge to push myself to focus on a three day stretch at a time. It really helps me to not see temptations as "just this one time" because it is part of a three day chunk of time.

I felt like eating 0-5 was almost like breathing the past three days. It felt like it just fell into place wonderfully and came naturally. I hope and pray this continues. I know God helped me through a few tempting spots as well...one of them being when my husband was eating ice cream late at night and I didn't join him as I wasn't hungry. Praise God.

I stepped on the scale as I'd felt prompted to do on this day. I'm a little discouraged because the scale reads 151 lbs. However, at the same time I'm not letting it pull me down or derail my progress. I think the #'s may reflect a bit too much dessert at night. I think I've been a little greedy in that regard.
And then I also haven't been hungry as early in the morning as I used to (used to be hungry by 7:30am...but lately it's been closer to 9am). My observation from this is that I'm probably eating a bit too much at suppertime (particularily in the sweet department). I need to re-examine my #5 for suppertimes.

For some strange reason I just feel at peace right now despite not seeing progress (even a couple pounds up) reflected on the scale. I know that I'm in the place I want to be in regards to eating, exercise and most importantly in my relationship with God. I also know that I don't want the scale to be a central part of my journey. I'm not really sure when I next want to step on the scale, but I'm leaning towards the end of next month. (in some ways I want to discard it until xmas! but that seems a bit too bold at this time! i'll see if I continue to feel led to that!)

So I continue pressing on. I want to continue with these three day challenges and focus on dealing with temptation head on. I also can see that I need to focus on not being mastered by sweets. (I've had a lot of ice cream and mini coffee crisp bars this past week) Praise God for helping me through each moment though! I'm really thankful for His presence, provision, pardon and power! So I continue on....onto another three days:-)