Sneaky Exercise

Saturday, October 02, 2010

I read someone's blog just a little while back and in it they said you exercise because it's necessary not because you may want to. I f you want to and like to then that is just an added benefit. That really hit home with me. I don't exercise because I don't enjoy it. It is a chore to me. I just don't have the right attitude towards exercise yet. I do however, park further from my destination to where exercise is not an option. When rinsing my hair in the tub, I force myself to use my stomach muscles. When I pick up laundry from the basket I do not bend my knees so that I stretch the muscles in the backs of my legs. I have to sneak exercise in to my day so that it doesn't feel like exercise. I love doing the calf stretches while I am waiting in line at the post office too. I have changed my attitude some while here at Spark. I have a long ways to go, but I am making at least some effort. I love to be reminded, as in the member's blog, how necessary it is and it's just a fact of life, like it or not. Today I will do some crunches, just because!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

3CATSLEP 10/3/2010 9:14PM

That's about the same way I look at exercise too - it's necessary! Report Inappropriate Comment

BRANLAADEE1 10/2/2010 9:49PM

You just need to find something you enjoy. Exercise doesnt have to be about running, lifting weights or hitting the tread mill. My husband and I started hiking this year and we love it. It's exercise, but it doesnt seem that way to us. And yes, every little bit counts! Keep up the good work. :) Report Inappropriate Comment

IUHRYTR 10/2/2010 8:22PM

Just like cleaning out clutter, exercise a little at a time adds up. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

BOBBIENORTHERN 10/2/2010 3:09PM

You have the right mind set and great attitude and will do all that you need to do to get to where you want to be. Just dont ever quit, dont ever give up and dont ever cave in. Enjoy your weekend Report Inappropriate Comment

The Word

Friday, October 01, 2010

The Lord is calling His people back to the Word. I hear the cry in my own heart. I have been taught by many wonderful people through the years and have stored up a lot of the Word. Because of that I think I know the Word. But I can go days or weeks and sadly sometimes even months of not studying it on my own. We cannot survive on yesterday's manna. The Word is living and active. Doesn't that mean it is on the move? If the pillar of God moved, the Israelites had to move with it to have His protection and provision. I am no different. If I want to know what God is doing today, I must spend time getting a personal word daily for my life. This can be reinforced by what others are teaching. To be able to recognize a counterfeit piece of money they spend hours upon hours with the real thing. I should do the same. There are many who appear good on the outside, but are full of rottenness on the inside. Along the way they deceive and sidetrack many. I want to be so intimately aqcuainted wit the real thing that I am not taken in by an imposter. In the last days Satan will try to deceive even the elect of God. The only way to guard against that is to be intimate with the real thing. For that we have His Word.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

IUHRYTR 10/1/2010 11:36PM

I, too, liked the example of the money. It does seem easy to skip reading and studying our Bibles but there many terrific stories in there among all of the begats and such. Keep up the good messages. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

3CATSLEP 10/1/2010 8:47PM

I love the example of the counterfeit money! Love you blogs! Report Inappropriate Comment

WISEONE68 10/1/2010 12:37PM

AMEN! Report Inappropriate Comment

Laws, Laws, Laws

Thursday, September 30, 2010

We all have many laws that we have to obey on a daily basis or suffer the consequences. There are traffic laws for one and it is a rare person who has not, at some time in their life, broken one and gotten caught. We seem to not understand, though, that there are spiritual laws as well, and we break them so many times a day. When we break those we will experience the consequences as well. Because we cannot see spiritual things for the most part, we tend to put spiritual things in another category. Out of sight is out of mind in so many ways. We sometimes tend to give them less importance just because we cannot see them, christian and non christial alike. That does not mean that we do not recognize the importance of spiritual things, it's just easier to deal with what we can see, like a stop sign. There are constant reminders of things here and now like speed limit signs, but we seem blind to the spiritual signs because they are invisible. The consequences of ignoring the spiritual laws are far greater than ignoring the black and whites as we speed along through life. The spiritual laws govern life and death themselves. The effects are eternal, whereas the things we see are so very temporary. Should we not give the spiritual laws far more significance in our lives? Today let us seek to have the law of life fulfilled in our lives for all to see so that they might be drawn to the Giver of Life. Let us move from Romans 7 and into Romans 8! :) Have a good one everyone and I hope I got you thinking!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

3CATSLEP 9/30/2010 2:48PM

Written so well! We have been doing a Bible study on just that - obeying laws until they come in conflict with God's will. His spiritual laws are of the utmost importance for our eternal reward! Have a blessed day! Report Inappropriate Comment

JANETLP 9/30/2010 1:08PM

Remember- even Paul wrote in Romans 7 the battle he had with the law and trying to obey it. Then in chapter 8 he starts out with one of my favorite verses that I depend on, often! "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me FREE from the law of sin and death." And then at the end of the chapter Paul reminds us of how wide, deep, high, and strong God's love for us is. Nothing we do will separate us from His love. Paul or God didn't leave us fighting against that sinful nature, Christ Jesus has set us free - we Trust Him to help us obey those "laws!". Praise God for His Love and Provision! Report Inappropriate Comment

PURPLELVR7 9/30/2010 11:35AM

Awesome blog! Of course if we listen to our spirit, we do get warnings but it is all to easy to ignore that warning Report Inappropriate Comment

Fight to Win

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Have you ever really thought about how if we did not know what sin was it wouldn't have the control over us it does? My son and others have said you can't have evil without having good as well. In other words if someone didn't create bad then you wouldn't know it was bad . They use this to say that man created the need for religion or something to that effect.Read chapter 7 of Romans and give me some feedback here. It addresses this very issue. Sin seized the opportunity to gain control over us as soon as we knew it was bad. It even says that we were sold under sin. It is the sin that lives inside us that causes us to become its prisoner. How would we have even know we were a prisoner if we did not recognize what sin was? I remember a time in my early life as a christian that I kept reverting to my old ways. It upset me so much because I really didn't want to. I felt as though I had no defenses. I understood clearly verses 15 through 18. Out of my mouth came, "Daddy, Daddy Daddy I love you" in response to that. My spirit called out to Him letting me know, too, that the spirit of adoption had made me His daughter.We struggle with sin because of its hold on us. It truly is a war for us everywhere we turn and we do not fight against flesh and blood. So let's fight the good fight and if we do not grow weary we shall reap a reward well worth the fight.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

IUHRYTR 9/29/2010 9:57PM

Sin is like a strong rip current trying to always pull us away from the safety of the shore. It takes a determined swimmer to escape the current and return to the haven land offers. Every day we need to be determined to overcome sin's temptations. Enjoyed the message. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

BOBBIENORTHERN 9/29/2010 11:56AM

His Grace changes our hearts and His love changes our actions. Just walk in the word which is walking in the spirit and you will not full fill the lust of the flesh. The word of God washes our old way of thinking and doing things and making decisions that go along with the worlds way to doing and thinking and decision making. When we renew our minds each and everyday we are slowly being made more and more with each passing day into His image and likeness by lining up our lives and our way of thinking and doing and decision making with what His word says. The corner stone of Christianity is confession of the word of God because when we speak His word we are then establishing His word into this earth and then He causes His word to come to pass just so long as we keep speaking His word and keep on renewing our minds every day with the word of God. Have a great day. Report Inappropriate Comment

CHALL345 9/29/2010 10:35AM

I'm applying that statement to my faith that I will loose wt and I will keep trying to overcome. Thank God for another day to keep trying!!!! thank you for sharing it! Report Inappropriate Comment

Fanatical

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

I have changed since coming to Spark. I now read nutrition labels which I totally ignored beforehand. It is so bad that I went to Costco with a good friend the other day. The whole time I told her, "Choose this one over that one. Look at the fat content, or the sodium content or all the sugars." She told me that she wasn't going to let me come with her next time because I wouldn't let her get all the foods she wanted. She said she would take my husband instead who is 100 pounds overweight! She was kidding of course, or at least I hope she was! Those things have become so important to me now. Or take the conversation the other day with co-workers. One said they love Red Lobster. I told them I used to, but now I can't afford to go there. My choices had nothing to do with the monetary values, but rather the cost to my nutrition. They all looked at me like I was nuts. It's them that's nuts, they're still eating there! Don't even get me started with how I talk to my husband! He gets a running commentary on almost every bite. Not really, but I'll bet he would have a few words to interject here. Health and nutrition are now extremely important to me. And yes, I do get a bit fanatical about it. I was letting my life go down the tubes with every bite I put in my mouth. I knew I should eat more vegetables, but didn't. I knew fat was bad for me, but hey, it made things taste good and I was going to enjoy life and that meant my food! I thought I ate a lot of protein until I came to Spark. Now I understand the value of balance in my life starting with what I eat. I have struggled with it, but at least I am doing it knowing what I am doing now. I have learned to make wise choices nutritionally, intentionally. I make my choices carefully with the big picture in mind rather than just eating blindly. Now I love vegetables because I can eat a lot of them and still have calories to spend in my calorie bank account! I am creative with what I eat during the day. Now though many of my choices are calorie centered, I am really eating better. I want to be around for my daughter's wedding, and believe me she isn't getting any younger either! I want to watch my grandchildren graduate from high school and college, unlike their grandparents. I love life and have a lot I want to experience and my health is the first step to doing that. I know that I am not the only one. Everyone has many of the same dreams. To have the answer and not share it is tragic. Now the nutritional labels on foods have become my greatest friend. I enjoy every bite I eat. I have missed nothing and still occasionally eat the high fat foods, but in smaller amounts. I am making deposits that have lasting benefits. I want others to be around for the important things in their lives because I know the pain it has caused our family to have missed those things. How can I not tell others?

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

IUHRYTR 9/28/2010 10:46PM

You can't. When we are passionate about something we want to share that excitement with everyone we meet. Keep up the good effort. -- Lou Report Inappropriate Comment

3CATSLEP 9/28/2010 9:07PM

It's kinda like "Spreading the Good News!" (All puns intended!) Report Inappropriate Comment

BRANLAADEE1 9/28/2010 6:00PM

I know what you mean. I am sure my husband is sick of me talking about food. LOL Report Inappropriate Comment