Monday, July 7, 2008

30 Day Catch Up...

Whew... And here I thought this would be easy! For whatever reason, July has turned out to be a really busy month. I guess that tends to happen when you start something new that you're excited about. You get wrapped up in everything and life decides that it has everything for you to do, but what you really would like to do!



One Month to Live - Day Five
(if you're interest, check out the website http://www.onemonthtolive.com/)

"This is your life. Are you who you want to be?"
~Switchfoot
Oxygen Mask
Breathing First
**Get Physical**
"If you knew you only had one month to live, how would you treat your body?"

Make It Count Moment
What's the biggest physical challenge you face? Weight? Body image? Injury or disease? What would it look like for you to take better care of your temple? What one step can you take today toward improving your physical health?

My biggest challenge is following through. I start exercising and eating right & always end up back with the same ol' habits. I'm on sparkpeople.com everyday logging my food & exercise and so far this has held me accountable for my physical health. My goal is to drop 8 pounds by the end of this month!

**How Do You Feel?**
"A huge part of maturing, of growing up, is learning to acknowledge and experience our emotions without being controlled by them."

--"For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control" 2 Timothy 1:7.

Make It Count Moment
How do you usually handle powerful emotions? Do you tend to boil over or slowly simmer? Think of the last time a feeling overwhelmed you--fear, joy, disappointment, excitement, jealousy, or anger. How did you express it? What do you wish you'd done differently?

I'm an introvert to my heart & tend to hold in all emotions. So I would say that I'm a slow simmer. Not really a good thing because I allow things to pile & pile until I can't take it any longer & then I explode on everyone. I can get a very nasty attitude when I'm angry.


Make it Last for Life



1. How would you rate your health in each of these four areas - spiritual, physical, emotional, relational - from one (terrible) to ten (fantastic)? What's the greatest challenge to improving your health in these areas? What can you do to work through this challenge?

spiritual (6); physical (6); emotional (5); relational (5). My greatest challenge right now is balance.

2. Spend time journaling about a specific goal for each of these four areas that you can pursue during the rest of this month. Make sure the goals are practical and measurable.
I did this already - see side bar

3. Connect daily to www.OneMonthToLive.com and spend fifteen to thirty minutes working on your spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational health.

I went on the website & they seem to be gearing up for a big global one month to live challenge. Very interesting with tons of information.

DAY SIX

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure of nothing." ~Helen Keller
Monkey Bars
Risking Greatness
** "Each and every day I have to come to the place where I realize I can't control everything in my life, and I have to let go and surrender to God. He always catches me, and that's when I feel His presence and strength in the stressful moments of life."
Make It Count Moment
What are you clinging to right now that you need to let go of in order to move forward in your life? What keeps you from trusting that God will catch you?
Control. I have an extremely hard time letting go of control of my life. I like to sit in the driver's seat and I end up thinking that my way is best. Of course I know in my heart that God's way is far better than anything that I could possible do, but I still have a hard time just handing over the reigns to Him. Right now the hardest thing for me to let go of is preconceived notions of how I expected things to be.
Make It Count Moment
In which ways are you more likely to take a risk--personal, professional, relational or spiritual? In which areas do you tend to play it safe? Why is it easier to take risks in some areas than others?
I shy away from risk in pretty much everything. I've been trying this year to not live in fear but to live in FAITH! To get out of my head so much - hence the "Don't be Reasonable" title of this blog. In this same book, the authors talked about how David defeated Goliath when everyone else thought that he should be "reasonable", but David went after Goliath with "ridiculous" faith!
Make It Last For Life
1. Make a list of the items, resources, gifts, and opportunities you are presently entrusted with stewarding. Beside each one describe how it came to you ( for instance, you were born with it, someone gave it to you, you worked for it,) and then note how much control you had over how it came to you. Finally, jot down how you think God would like you to invest each item on your list and how you can pursue this investment.
Right now the only gift that I'm concentrating on is (well 2) being a good wife and mother. I would have to think long and hard about how the Lord would like me to invest in each, outside of the norm.
2. When have you been disappointed by God? How did He not come through for you the way you wanted Him to? How did this affect your relationship with Him? How can you exercise trust in Him as your loving Father even when you feel disappointed? Spend some time in prayer today relating your disappointment and asking Him to help you trust Him more fully.
Of course when I didn't get what I asked for when I wanted it. I always felt disappointed, initially, but that never detered me away from the Lord. I always know in my heart and in the forefront of my mind that I can't do ANYTHING without Him.
3. Write down one risk that you believe God is calling you to take presently in your life. Describe your fears about taking this risk. Describe the worst-case scenario if you take this risk and fail. Pray that God will help you face your fears so you can do what He wants.
Tithe... And by tithe, I mean give the full 10% of gross. This has been a constant struggle & one of my control issues. But also something that's been weighing on my heart for me to do. The worse case scenario is that I wouldn't have enough money to cover expenses. But I know I need to step out and have that ridiculous faith that the Lord will provide!!

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