How Do You Measure Up?
Good Morning Girls! It has been my experience that once I respond to the Lord and "fast" something......He will follow up with another request. I don't know if you all remember but a couple of years ago when I was on a sugar fast, by the end I was off of diet pop, aspartame in general, sugar free gum......and coffee! You have no idea how often I look to the sky these days and say "Oh dear God, please not my coffee again". I say it partly joking.....mostly serious. The funny thing is, I really can do whatever I want to do......it's not like God blackballs us if we do not follow his promptings. It's not that I am afraid He will be mad at me. It's just that I know that if He tells me to put down the coffee, it is because it is what is best for me. Deep down I know that.....but I don't want it to be what's best for me. I want it to be best for me to have my hot cup in the morning as I write to you all. I even point out to him that really prominent preachers like Joyce Meyer are adamant about not giving up their coffee....and if they can drink coffee, why can't I? I guess I never really matured past the age of 6 did I?
So far it has not been suggested that I should give up coffee. Though by my previous paragraphs rantings I can see I may have a problem.......but thank you Jesus for giving me time to work that out. He has however told me to get rid of something else. It is something I had previously given up before.....but somehow re-introduced to my life (I am seeing a pattern here). It is something I used to preach strongly about. It is something I have known deep down is not good for me. It has control over me. It has the ability to make or break my day. It can cause me to smile....but often causes me tears of frustration. It tells me whether or not I am good, or bad. The worst part is, it is often inaccurate, unpredictable, fickle, and inconsistent.......yet somehow I found myself going to it every morning for validation. Can you figure out what it is?
One of my closest friends and I have a very similar history of weight "issues". We both have vivid "chubby kid" memories. We both have tried as adults to get to that place where we can look in the mirror and feel good about what we see. We share the same pain, frustration, challenges, and moments of victory. The majority of our conversations often center around our weight. Whether it is good or bad......what we ate or didn't eat. What we want to eat. What workout we did or didn't do. We go to each other because we understand each other. We know when to give encouragement, when to be firm, and when to joke around and lighten the mood a little.
The other day I said something to her (in the form of a text) and she responded saying that I sounded like some yogami or someone sitting on top of a mountain. The next morning she e-mailed asking me what words of wisdom I had from the mountaintop for the day. I thought I would be funny and respond with some made up "Confucius says" words of wisdom. It was all in fun. However, as soon as I hit "send" I got that shot to the heart feeling that I get when I realize the Holy Ghost has just spoken to me. All three of the "Confucius says" statements were statements of truth from the Lord......and they were meant for me (and possibly one or two of you).
So what did the Holy Ghost say to me as I thought I was being a witty little zenmaster? We will deal with one at a time. The first one was: Girl who measures self with scale-is using wrong tool!
My question for you is: Are you measuring yourself with the wrong tool? For some of you it may be the scale. For others it may be another person, like a sibling or close friend you measure yourself against. Perhaps is an image you hold in your head of who you should or should not be. Or maybe the world has filled you with demands that though you know are unrealistic, you find yourself trying to achieve. If only you could measure up to all these people....in all these areas.....then you will be happy.
Girls, deep down in our hearts, we know that the only tool we should measure ourselves by is our relationship with Jesus. If we hold Him dear in our heart, if we do our best, to be found living at our best, we have measured up.....in the only way that matters!
Love, peace, and thanks to you all,
Jen
So far it has not been suggested that I should give up coffee. Though by my previous paragraphs rantings I can see I may have a problem.......but thank you Jesus for giving me time to work that out. He has however told me to get rid of something else. It is something I had previously given up before.....but somehow re-introduced to my life (I am seeing a pattern here). It is something I used to preach strongly about. It is something I have known deep down is not good for me. It has control over me. It has the ability to make or break my day. It can cause me to smile....but often causes me tears of frustration. It tells me whether or not I am good, or bad. The worst part is, it is often inaccurate, unpredictable, fickle, and inconsistent.......yet somehow I found myself going to it every morning for validation. Can you figure out what it is?
One of my closest friends and I have a very similar history of weight "issues". We both have vivid "chubby kid" memories. We both have tried as adults to get to that place where we can look in the mirror and feel good about what we see. We share the same pain, frustration, challenges, and moments of victory. The majority of our conversations often center around our weight. Whether it is good or bad......what we ate or didn't eat. What we want to eat. What workout we did or didn't do. We go to each other because we understand each other. We know when to give encouragement, when to be firm, and when to joke around and lighten the mood a little.
The other day I said something to her (in the form of a text) and she responded saying that I sounded like some yogami or someone sitting on top of a mountain. The next morning she e-mailed asking me what words of wisdom I had from the mountaintop for the day. I thought I would be funny and respond with some made up "Confucius says" words of wisdom. It was all in fun. However, as soon as I hit "send" I got that shot to the heart feeling that I get when I realize the Holy Ghost has just spoken to me. All three of the "Confucius says" statements were statements of truth from the Lord......and they were meant for me (and possibly one or two of you).
So what did the Holy Ghost say to me as I thought I was being a witty little zenmaster? We will deal with one at a time. The first one was: Girl who measures self with scale-is using wrong tool!
My question for you is: Are you measuring yourself with the wrong tool? For some of you it may be the scale. For others it may be another person, like a sibling or close friend you measure yourself against. Perhaps is an image you hold in your head of who you should or should not be. Or maybe the world has filled you with demands that though you know are unrealistic, you find yourself trying to achieve. If only you could measure up to all these people....in all these areas.....then you will be happy.
Girls, deep down in our hearts, we know that the only tool we should measure ourselves by is our relationship with Jesus. If we hold Him dear in our heart, if we do our best, to be found living at our best, we have measured up.....in the only way that matters!
Love, peace, and thanks to you all,
Jen
Proverbs 20:23 (Amplified Bible)
23Diverse and deceitful weights are shamefully vile and abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good.
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