When Jesus taught us
to pray he taught us to ask that God forgive our trespasses. The Psalmist of Psalm 51 shows us what it looks
like to examine yourself and realize that you have fallen short and then to cry
out for forgiveness. With that
forgiveness comes action on our part.
June 11th I had a moment where I took a hard
look at myself and said Whoa what is going on here? My house looked like a tornado had run
through it. My weight was out of
control. I was putting stuff into my body that wasn’t good for it. I was reminded that my body is God’s temple
and that if I was not healthy I could not fully live into God’s call on my
life. If my body was not healthy I
couldn’t fully fulfill my other roles.
My role as parent. My role as
friend. My role as Pastor. My
surroundings reflected the condition of my body and I wasn’t taking care of either. I
reached out to the health and fitness coach I had been talking to for the last
two years. She had been so patient with
me. For two years I would jump on the
bandwagon for a week or two and then I would disappear for a while. This cycle would repeat. She recommended a book to me by Joyce Myers: Making
Good Habits: Breaking Bad Habits. In this book Joyce Myers states that our
bad habits are a result of some emotional trauma we have suffered. We tend to stuff those emotions with bad
habits. It may be food. It may be compulsive shopping. It may be cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.[1] It may be sitting mindlessly in front of the
television or in front of Facebook.
Insert your habit and it is likely that there is some emotion you are
stuffing with that habit. She then goes
on to name 14 good habits to develop.
When we spend time developing good habits it takes away from the time to
indulge in the bad ones. Rather than
focusing on quitting the bad, we cultivate the good. I finished reading the book around June 20th
and I decided on 4 habits that I wanted to institute immediately. They didn’t necessarily fall into the 14 she
mentioned but there ones I knew I need to develop and develop now. First, I needed to cultivate my relationship
with God. I had found that as a pastor
most of my time spent in the word and with God had become sermon
preparation. While that feeds me
tremendously, it wasn’t time I was intentionally spending with God for the sole
purpose of spending time with God.
Secondly, I wanted to get my body healthy and I made a decision to
immediately change my eating habits, to create a different eating lifestyle. Thirdly,
I wanted to develop the habit of blessing my home every week at the same time
through the normal routine of changing sheets, sweeping, dusting, mopping and
gathering the trash. As I go throughout
the home I pray for who and what is represented by each room. Lastly I wanted to give more attention to my
appearance and how I was carrying myself and caring for the body that I currently
have.
It has been 6 weeks
since this began. I am happy to report
that I have only missed one day of devotional time, I have lost 22 pounds, I
have been successful with my weekly home blessings, and the affirmation I have received
from paying more attention to how I present myself has been incredible. What is even bigger is that those things I
stuff my emotions with have diminished tremendously. This week I am adding new habits to
develop. Myers says it takes about 30
days to develop a new habit and for it to stick. I made it past the 30 days and am ready to
add a new one. It feels wonderful. It is nice to celebrate some wins in the midst
of chaos and confusion. The only way I
could accomplish any of it though is through the fact that God is present with
me daily! Thanks be to God!
What emotions are
you stuffing? What are you stuffing them
with? How is that effecting your quality
of life and the quality of life of those around you?
Pray the prayer of
Psalm 51 and then get to work! You won’t
regret it!
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