Rejoice! Lessons from my 2015 focus word...

A friend of mine introduced me, at the end of 2014, to having a focus word for the year. 2014 was the year that I really began to delve into scripture. By God's grace He took care of me, navigated me through the Bible to where I....well I could enjoy it....grasp it. It was a year of big change also & I was kind of trying to bring my JOY back, but at the same time knew that sometimes JOY would not be present. Reading through scripture the word REJOICE stuck out to me. What also stuck out to me, is that a lot of times the word REJOICE would show up in reference to struggle or hardship. Here are some examples:

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." 1 Peter 1:6 (This book talks a lot about persecution & suffering & that we should expect  it in our earthly walk.)

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12 (This chapter in Romans starts talking about how mature Christians should try to live. To me it is dying to our fleshy self & carrying our cross where God is calling us, while on earth.)

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3 (I am drawn to this book in the Bible. James encourages us to put our faith into action.)

Luke 1:26-38 doesn't use the word REJOICE in it, but I believe that is what Mary did. This passage is about the angel coming to Mary to tell her that she is going to give birth to Jesus. I encourage you to go read it & then put yourself in her shoes. I think "confusion" would be putting it mildly. She had questions & the answers she got, probably didn't make sense to her either. She sat in faith & hope, for what the angel was telling her.

SIDEBAR....JUST FOR A MOMENT: Several of my friends have shared their struGGLE of 2015 & how they are ready for a new year & new opportunity. When I was first reading those messages I thought.... I LOVED 2015. Lots of pretty cool things happened. And then I remembered...there were some REALLY tough things too. Maybe some of the toughest I've faced in at least 10 years....from a....well...just some of the toughest.

So to recap what the year 2015 taught me about the meaning of REJOICE.... (Life & the divine guidance of The Holy Trinity through scripture has shown me this.)

Sometimes it's about small victories. Sometimes it is about hardships that are just the beginning of a journey to a blessing that no one else could give you but God. Sometimes it is being so pissed off at the enemy that all you can do is REJOICE because you KNOW God will win. Yes...even in the midst of death & disease & perversion & terrorists & extremists...God will win. The fact that all God wants us to do is trust Him, love Him, love His people, submit to His will (which is better than ANYTHING we could dream up), & keep seeking Him....keep seeking peace - is reason to REJOICE!

There are people that face situations that make me cringe....make me sad...make me angry....disgust me... How can they rejoice?

Someone...somewhere on this earth has been touched by each and every person God created. We all have purpose. From the point of conception we are affecting someone & we keep affecting people the longer we are here....and more people. Others need what we have. We may not know who they are, what it is, & at times we may not even understand the affect someone has on us & vice versa, but The Holy Spirit is moving & working among us. God does not waste anything....not a thing.

REJOICE is a verb & after a year of meditating on it, I believe, it is a verb powered by our hope & faith. We have to choose to rejoice & we are able to rejoice in any situation & in any circumstance.

Buck Up Baby & Ride With Jesus! It is not easy, but if you choose to, He will GIVE you MANY, MANY more reasons & fuel for REJOICING!

My focus word for 2016 is RELATIONSHIPS. I want to focus on developing the relationships God has blessed me with. My focus Bible verses will be: "I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you. It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognize you as my disciples." - John 13:34-35

OPERATION GET HEALTHY: Day 9

Something The Daniel Plan Journal said today was: "our brains aren't computers; they can't run different programs simultaneously." I'm pretty sure I operate thinking they can. I'm serious. You can probably ask almost anyone that talks to me even, semi-regularly....I TOGGLE back & forth and too & fro from "one program" to the next. Then I wonder why I lose my train of thought.... I mean... Here's a screenshot of me... RIGHT NOW. I've got LOTS of programs running.

That is 13 programs & 2 images. I'm OBVIOUSLY not working on ALL of them right now...

This journal entry tells us how important it is for us to learn to FOCUS & be MINDFUL of what we are putting into our body....& I have learned....that NEEDS to carry over in ALL aspects of your life for you to get any real PURPOSEFUL success out of them. I bet it EXHAUSTS some of you...just looking at this picture. 

Surprisingly (all those programs open or not) I have learned to hone focus in some areas of my life. I have to REMIND myself quite regularly, but....BIG strides from where I used to be, Now...I just have to work on my FOCUS on what I put in my body...

Today I had a lunch meeting....at a MEXICAN Restaurant of all places & I TOTALLY stuck it! I ordered chicken fajitas for one, told them to keep the tortillas & ate grilled chicken strips and onions and peppers...right off the skillet. It was pretty stinkin' good honestly. It probably helped that I finished my meal replacement shake (that was supposed to be for breakfast) like... 30 minutes before I got there. It's tough for me to get those down. In fact...I felt like I consumed SO MUCH stuff before 2:00 that I didn't have room for much more....and I skipped a snack (between breakfast and lunch). I am looking forward to life after this cleanse...just to see how I'll actually be when I don't have a guideline of what to do. 

My prayer for everyone (including myself) tonight is: Dear Heavenly Father, Allow The Holy Spirit to guide us to a more focused, mindful, and purposeful life. We are here to do the work of Christ Jesus, using the gifts and talents you've given us. Help us to FOCUS as much of our energy on that....in all areas of our lives. We can not do it without your DIVINE guidance. Thank you. I ask this in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

OPERATION GET HEALTHY: DAY 7

Today was a different kind of day. I had to go to Austin for a training. I had originally planned to meet some people for lunch, but I was running a little behind and wasn't positive where I was going. So...I had lunch in my car. LUCKILY I planned ahead in case that happened, so I didn't have to either:

A) Hunt for a place I could find something healthy & probably be late OR

B) Not eat & then me SO hungry I could barely stand it.

Now...I was movin' when I walked out the door & had to b\pack enough for a couple snacks too, so it was not the most delicious lunch: Planters NUTrition Heary Healthy Mix, jalapeno cheese stick, and some sun-dried tomatoes. Sometimes...you gotta work with what you got. I brought a banana along for snack. The fam was getting ready to eat supper when I called, so I thought...CRAP. I'm HUNGRY & what am I going to find. So I thought......Taco Bell! They have a Fresca Menu.....negative. No wheat tortillas & I totally could not even see the Fresa menu on the drive-thru (at least the one I was at), so I found the nearest Subway & got me a small sandwich. So I did it. Ate healthy, on the go. PREPARATION is the key to making this whole thing easier....just gotta get there.

Today The Daniel Plan Journal urges us to throw out anything in our fridge or pantry that has ingredients that we do not recognize as food. (I wish I knew how to insert a smiley face here with those HUGE eyes). We got a lotta stuff that oughta go. We've got some Little Debbie, some SPAM, some Manwich, some Ramen.... I'm tellin' ya... It ain't lookin' good in there, BUT we didn't buy any of that the last two times we went grocery shopping & after reading a few articles, some of that food is going straight into the trash. Seriously... The Food Chapter is long in The Daniel Plan, but totally worth reading - just so you can see how much certain foods can help you & how others work against you.

Since I have one sick little one & my allergies were bothering me the other day, I've been trying to drink all the recommendations for Spark & add the Rehydrate, that are part of the Advocare plan...mainly to get more vitamins in my body that can fight away the flu. Well...I have to tell you... Since I've been eating better food & drinking drinks with vitamins in them and not sugars my clarity was for real. I'll sit through training classes & about 30 minutes in: feel tired, have trouble focusing, not really listen & I was literally ALL-IN. The last time I remember being that vocal in a class was Mr. Chilton's English class at Blinn. I was asking WAY more questions than I normally do. I mean.....I learned a lot today & I know it was because of how engaged I was. Also....even though that lunch I had wasn't the most mouth-watering meal I've ever eaten...I was satisfied. So satisfied that I didn't really feel like I needed that banana, but they brought the cookies out & I just did my best to not even look at'm and ate it, so I wouldn't think about it. I really like those sweets. Now the BIG question for me is if I can REALLY continue this journey PAST the 40 days? I have HOPE that I can & enough FAITH to get me there...and the SUPPORT.

One question it asks us in the journal is: "How do you need to change your thinking so that your health is more important than your convenience?" My answer: Look at my body & my family members' bodies as long-term investments...& the most important ones at that.

I think everyone's answers will be different based on the way they think & visualize things. I get real caught up in the business tasks that I know need to get done, & learning the things that I want to know, so I can help my clients....BUT I'm learning fast...that I'm not helping anyone to my full potential, if I don't MAKE AN EFFORT to keep this vessel moving & keep it moving for as long as my body & The Good Lord will allow. The more you learn about how so many chronic conditions can be CURED by a better diet...the more you realize that the POWER is still in our hands. If we can't change our habits overnight, what makes us think doctors can change hundreds of people's habits, by putting a band-aid on it. They can treat us & they can even do miraculous things, but there are some things they wouldn't have to fix, if we didn't take ourselves there.

BUCK UP BABY & Ride With Jesus! He'll go with you as you open that pantry door & chunk it!

OPERATION GET HEALTHY: Day 6

Well...today I succeeded staying on the plan, without a hiccup really. I had to do more planning the night before & as I packed my lunch, Kylee packed hers. As a parent...it is pretty cool to see your kids adapting. I know one of the things that always hindered me from really trying was thinking about how it could be a battle with the kiddos over some things, but it hasn't really been at all. Now...it was a little bit of a bummer that everyone had an ice cream cone after dinner, besides me....but that's just for a little while.

It will be extremely hard for me to TOTALLY cut EVERYTHING out, that I ate before, but I can make it through the challenge.

The journal entry in The Daniel Plan Journal...urges us to take things one day at a time. It is obviously focusing on our journey to better health, but I am applying to ALL areas of my life.

My son has the flu, so my husband and I are doing some juggling, so we hold as many of the commitments we already made - yet have one of us here to love on him & take care of him. I'm tellin' you...moment by moment life changes & plans change....

That's how I'm gonna take this journey....day by day. One thing the journal asks is "Why do you think God wants you to take it one day at a time?" My answer: Because he doesn't want us to get overwhelmed and discouraged. It then asks us to make a list of all of our concerns pertaining to our journey to better health. Then it asks us to trim that list down to what needs to be done TODAY. I had a list of 4 & only 1 was something I could do today. Really try and zone in your focus.

My prayer for myself & all of you today is that we invite God into our lives...every avenue of our lives...to transform us into the people that he wants us to become...to carry out our God-given purpose. Help us to focus DAY to DAY & show us how it will all fall into it's pre-destined place. Cover us with your love, allow us to find strength in Christ Jesus, & unleash the power & mystery of The Holy Spirit into our lives, so we STRENGTHEN, NOURISH, & CLEAN out our lives... In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I introduced my kids to a pomegranate tonight. It has been 13 + years, since I've had one & Kyle never has. We ate half. Kylee tried it, then tried a second bite, but didn't come back for a third ;).

Also... the REHYDRATE made me feel pretty good today. Putting all those extra vitamins and electrolytes in my body will hopefully help fight against catching the flu.

Buck Up Baby & introduce some new grub to the fam!! God bless!