Homework from First Place June 2009

Thursday, June 25, 2009
I am not sure where to begin. I have many ideas and thoughts that I have been praying about. When writing these, I find that I ask myself how deep are you really willing to go? Will you share all or hold back what hurts too much? Well we will see what ends up on this piece of paper.

The first thing for me to address is that I did pretty well this last book. I did most of the study, came to most of the meetings, and ate well. A few things that I would like to improve on is snacking in the evening, snacking during events (camping, retreats, movies, parks, etc), memorizing scripture. I did not do that this entire book :0(.

The next thing for me to address is working out. Working out is so important to me. It is good for my body as well as my mind. The first couple of weeks in June I did not go to the gym. I really could not afford it so I was going to cancel my membership and exercise at home. Nath and I rode our bikes, but the work out was not the same. A couple of weeks ago someone paid for Nathalie and my membership and told us that it was from the Lord. I believe this to be true. The Lord knows that we need this membership. He also knows that we need to be good stewards of our money. By doing so he blessed us. I am so grateful that the Lord looks out for me. Getting back into the swing of going to the gym has been hard. I was thinking about it today and realized why. When we first started going to the gym it was our desire. Then we took a “vacation” from it and upon returning it became “work”. I am praying that the Lord will help me with my mind set and change it back to a desire. I will persevere for I know that is what the Lord wants from me.

I have personally found that scripture memorization has been a huge uplift for me. It helps me to keep my mind centered on the Lord. There are times that I repeat memorized scripture to myself to help me thru situations that I would have previously made poor decisions regarding food. One scripture that continues to speak to me is 1Cor 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will provide a way out so that you can endure it. I used this scripture last week when I was in my mind convincing myself that it would be okay for me to have a marshmallow. NO TEMPTATION has taken over me!

The Lord speaks to me in so many ways.. One of the way is through music. Recently I was listening to David Cook sing “The Time of My Life”, the words to the song just penetrated my soul…

I’ve been waiting for my dreams to turn into something
I could believe in
And looking for that
Magic rainbow
On the horizon
I couldn’t see it

Until I let go
Gave into love and watched all the bitterness burn
Now I’m coming alive
Body and soul
And feelin’ my world start to turn

And I’ll taste every moment
And live it out loud
I know this is the time,
This is the time

This Song inspires me in so many ways. It was not long ago that I was not willing to cry out to the Lord for anything because of my own guilt, disobedience, and lack of perseverance. I remember going to the Lord on my knees and saying… Help me. I have lost sight of you and lost sight of your presence, I am hardly hanging on and I feel myself slipping. This journey felt helpless.

Now I can relate to this song.. I am tasting every moment, coming alive, living out loud, watching the bitterness burn, feeling my life start to turn. I am praising the Lord for what he has done for me.

He is changing me. What I have learned:
• I am as close or as intimate with the Lord as I want to be
• He is always there
• Being obedient has brought me closer in relationship with the Lord
I am thankful for our group. You encourage me and help me to stay in line. I am excitied to see what the Lord is going to do with our group!