 |
|
 |
 |
6/22/2007 - Close Your Eyes
Earl
Close your eyes. Think of your best friend, your significant other, or someone who is dear to you, and knows you well. Someone who you may tell anything to, call them at 3:00am in the morning if you need to, and not only will thy not be mad, they’d stay up and comfort you in a crisis. This person has always told you the truth, even when you don’t want to, and/or not ready to hear it. They have been through the mud with you, and celebrated your victories and milestones. Got that picture yet? Good. Now think of a family member who has mentored you, shown you the value of working hard, telling the truth, controlling your spending, temper, etc. Think of someone who has always loved you no matter if you got angry and stop talking with them, if you have done something you regret, if you were sick or well, good or bad. Got that one yet?
Okay. If you are feeling grateful at this moment, that’s very good. You should make time to tell the person exactly how grateful you are. I say make time, because honestly, there just doesn’t seem to be enough of it anymore. If you are like most people, you probably wear a lot of “hats.” I have my work hat, my husband hat, my musician hat, my martial arts hat, my friend hat, and my parent’s son hat. Like I said, you probably wear a lot of “hats.” There is one hat that I wear around my heart, and never take off. Yep, that’s right. My Christian hat. Being a Christian is the one thing that most people will judge all your other hats or actions on. No matter where you go or what you do, God will always be with you, and people will watch you to see how you deal with things. Remember the person you thought of a minute ago? Consider that God is all of those and more to all the world, God always has time for you, loves you, and will never leave you. He loves us so much, he sent Christ to die for us, even though we didn’t deserve it. (Deuteronomy 7:9, Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Kings 8:57, Romans 5:8 **I didn’t put the verses here because I want to encourage you to read your Bible ? )
That’s a lot of love, and that’s just for starters! Take the time to tell God how grateful you are for his love, and make it a point to show that love to others through your actions, speech, and attitude, no matter what hat you may be wearing.
 COMMENTS
|
|
|
6/8/2007 - Our Body is the Temple of God
Earl
I recently started a new lifestyle, eating healthy and working out. Some of the main things that are stressed in the particular approach are when you eat, think about what you put into your body – control your portions; when you are exercise, concentrate on slow, controlled movements instead of quick bursts; and above all – build muscle to burn fat.
I have to admit the healthy eating part has proven to be the most challenging. There is not one day that I am not tempted to eat Krispy Kreme donuts when they are brought to my workplace, or fresh baked cookies in the café during lunch. Not to mention the late night cravings for sweets and other foods. Ironically, those foods did not seem as readily available when I was not concerned with a healthy diet. One thing I have noticed is that working out so often and putting so much effort into changing my body and habits encourages me to reach for the carrots instead of the carrot cake, and gives me strength to say no to high calorie, fat filled, or high cholesterol foods.
Our body is the temple of God, and the same principle that applies to eating right and exercis | | |