Numbering My Days

 In years past, September has been the month in which I shop

for a replacement to the calendar that I carry with me most everywhere.

The ones I have been using include the last 3 months of the current year

along with the 12 of the coming year.

For some reason, I had difficulty finding one like them this year.

I settled for this one...a bit wider, minus some note pages

(which I seemed to not use anyway

 thinking I needed to save them for something "important").

My search turned into a comedy of sorts beginning in a Meijer store,

moving into Walmart, and ending in an Office Depot 

which sadly was closing its location nearest us.

In the end, it was THIS feature - two pockets - that sold me on this particular calendar.

I'll just finish out this year in the 2016 version

and wait to begin the new one in January--

which makes sense anyway!

I have been using the calendar on my cell phone more regularly

but can't quite divorce myself from a paper version just yet...

 Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.
Psalm 90:12

 All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. 
~J.R.R. Tolkien

Numbering My Days

Psalm 90:12  Teach us to number our days carefully 

so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. (Holman Christian Standard Version) 

For many years, I've been journaling in this format

in journals purchased at Barnes and Noble.  This one has larger squares than previous ones.

(I prefer the smaller ones.)

As I open the journal, I write on the right side.  

When I get to the end, I flip it over and write on the right again!

I've been dating entries as shown here from this morning.

Date, time, a cross representing my commitment to Jesus,

and an arrow which indicates moving forward.
(Sometimes, I write in a specific goal I'm aiming for
at the arrow's point.)

Today I scribed: "82". 

I'm numbering my days!

Following a doctor appointment 82 days ago,

I recommitted to a lifestyle/food plan that had served me well in the past.

It is doing so today.

The International Standard Version translates Psalm 90:12 this way: 

 ...teach us to keep account of our days so we may develop inner wisdom. 

I'm learning.

I'm keeping account.

I'm numbering my days.

My goal is to develop inner wisdom.

He is teaching me.

Confessing and Repenting

A view of our newly painted front porch-totally unrelated to this post!

This morning I quit "confessing" and actually REPENTED.
Thirty minutes of walking in circles --
living room to library through eating area and around the kitchen island.

If you click on those words, you'll see they were written in December of 2015.

Now - six months later - I'm repenting again!
For the past sixteen days,
I've returned to a pattern of self-control when it comes to food choices and exercise.
I used to feel guilty about how many times I have "started over"
in this and a few other areas of my life.
But this morning as I walked in circles once again, 
I realized that - based on the definition that follows-
it's realistic to expect I'll need to repent DAILY.
And sometimes several TIMES a day!

Definition:  to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life

"The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works."
"In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You."

"If you excuse yourself in confession, you shut up sin within your soul, and shut out pardon“

--these three by St. Augustine

"The want of proper examination, true contrition, and a firm purpose of amendment, is the cause of bad confessions, and of the ruin of souls."  (And ruin of bodies, I might add!)

-St. Benedict Joseph Labre

This quote on Twitter this morning:
Whatever we fail to repent of we are destined to repeat. (Crawford Loritts)
and this:
 Q: How can you recognize repentance? 
A: Action not words.
The prodigal didn't sit with pigs saying "I repent" – he went home! Luke 15:17-24
(James MacDonald)

Begin. Again.

I recently read a quote (but failed to copy it exactly).  

The gist of it was "Don't look back; you're not going that direction."

So I'm not going to look back.

Besides, I'm not sure how far back I'd have to look!

January 2014?  Or January 2015?

Either way, my intention was to write a new song every week.

I have little to show for that intention.

The photo above shows that I may get my inspiration just about anytime.  

Anywhere.

The challenge for me is to DO it.

I have the equipment.

I have enough skills to compose and record simple songs.

So.....there's no time like the present to begin.  Again.

Some Challenges are for a Lifetime

 

 Only now would I be "courageous" enough

 to again admit to writing this book.

Published by Victor Books, then a division of Scripture Press,

it was one in a series of Bible studies for women.

Self-discipline has always been a challenge for me.

Once again, I've achieved a goal in the weight loss department.

But reaching the goal is only the beginning--
maintaining it will be the proof of the pudding.

The book has been out of print for quite awhile. 

I had kept no copies for myself,

but I stumbled on this one awhile back in a thrift store.

I brought it home to put on a bookshelf.

  Occasionally I pull it out to remind me of where I've been, 

where I am,

and that some challenges are for a life-time!

Fasting and Feasting

I think a few of you  know that since February I've been following a food plan that has resulted in significant weight loss AND a blood pressure reading within "normal" boundaries.  (This is maybe the HUGEST benefit of the discipline I've been practicing.)

It's called Fast-5 by some and is a form of  Intermittent Fasting. While I don't like the word "fast" (it doesn't FEEL like fasting), it does describe what I do for 19 hours every day.  The other 5 are considered my "window" to eat.  

There's another kind of fasting that I want to incorporate into my life - with even MORE determination than I have been applying in my eating habits!  I copied it quite awhile ago from a Lenten meditation which I failed to document.  I want to:

Fast from judging others; feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from the darkness around me; feast on the light of Jesus within me.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from actions that pollute; feast on deeds that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from pessimism; feast on hope.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from guilt; feast on freedom.
Fast from complaining; feast on complementing.
Fast from stress; feast on self-care.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from selfishness; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from apathy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from idle gossiping, feast on spreading the good news.
Fast from being so busy; feast on peaceful silence.
Fast from being in control; feast on letting go. 

(I just realized as I reread these that practicing THIS kind of fasting 
should ALSO help my blood pressure!)

Seriously now!

With  I Corinthians 6:15-18 as his springboard, Ray Ortlund wrote:

"Your body matters.  Your body belongs to Christ.  Not to you, to follow your impulses, but to Christ, to exalt His glory.  Not just your soul, but also your body.  It is the humblest part of you, but Christ says it matters to Him.

Epictetus taught that the mind and soul of man had divinity, but man’s body was something in common with the animals below.  Paul taught that both soul and body belong to Christ above.  He is present as our Lord and Savior in the whole of what we are, including our sexuality."

While I sometimes "cross train" in my various blogs, THIS time I'm almost duplicating my post in Power, Love and Self Control. It definitely fits there, but I think it fits here, too...

(Do YOU ever do that?  "Cross-train," I mean?)

I found Ortlund's second paragraph above especially interesting.  I, along with many other Christians, would not dispute its truth.  If we "stumble" at it, I think it's because we limit its implications to sexuality.

There certainly are other ways to abuse one's body.  For me, one area was in overeating, eating food  that had no nutritional value, and eating food that was downright harmful to my body and its various systems!  

Clearly there are distinctive and unique physical ramifications of sexual immorality or else God wouldn't have been so specific about it.  But the principle of our bodies belonging to Jesus applies to my food choices and eating habits  (and many OTHER issues related to my physical body). 

He (Ray Ortlund) said it SO well.  

"(My) body belongs to Christ.  

Not to (me), to follow (my) impulses, 

but to Christ,  to exalt His glory."

It's WONDERFUL to belong to Jesus - body, mind, soul, spirit - 
HOWEVER you want to put it!

Candyless

One "hug" per person at our luncheon yesterday

After Christmas 2011, I wrote the following on my Power, Love and Self-Control blog:

• Just because the mini Hershey bars are 1/2 off, doesn't mean I have to buy them.
• Just because I bought them doesn't mean I have to eat them all in one night.
• Just because they're still 1/2 price and they're just about gone doesn't mean I have to go back and buy some more.

I have a feeling I might need the reminder in the middle of next week. 

My strategy is to heed the FIRST one so I don't have to fall back on the last two!  

I'm attempting to keep my Valentine celebrations candy-less this year.
I treated myself to a bare island (kitchen)
and clean, uncluttered counter-tops yesterday.
Better than candy ANY day.

1/2 Price Christmas Candy

 I was so (self)-impressed with my post on my diet/health blog,
that I brought it over here to remind me.

• Just because the mini Hershey bars are 1/2 off, doesn't mean you have to buy them.
• Just because you bought them doesn't mean you have to eat them all in one night.
• Just because they're still 1/2 price and yours are just about gone doesn't mean you have to go back and buy some more.
• Just because I've posted this doesn't mean I won't...

Ouch! I Needed That!

This was at the end of an email Kathy forwarded to me. Often I don't read the mass-forwarded email messages I receive. This time, I did. It speaks to me at MANY levels. (See my recent posts at Power, Love and Self-Control.)

Don't ask the Lord to
guide your footsteps
if you are not willing
to move your feet.

Coffee after Noon = Sleepless Nights

We stopped at Meijer around 2:30 p.m..  There was the Starbucks rep. offering a free cup of coffee if we would take the "taste test" (could we detect which of the two was their new instant product).  We took the test.  I drank the free 12 oz. cup of coffee. 

I am one of those people that coffee affects with sleeplessness.  I should have known better than to drink the coffee after 12:00 noon.

I woke up during the night and couldn't get back to sleep, so I turn on the radio.  Maybe I was SUPPOSED to be awake to hear these two unrelated (but applicable to me) statements which I remembered this morning.

"Be well to do good."  (This is the best motive to take care of our bodies - not for vanity or self fulfillment, but to DO good!)

The second statement was something about being between "that's over and what's next".  (Now WHY was that so profound - and WHY can't I remember the exact words?  It certainly kept me awake vacillating between "I should get up and write it down" and "No.  I will remember that.")

The bottom line:  Rebecca, you KNOW you shouldn't drink coffee after noon!

Where I Lost a Pound

This was a SIGNIFICANT pound, too! See my Power, Love and Self-Control blog if you're interested....

Three Hershey Bars Later

Curious? Then you'll have to see Power, Love, and Self-Control entry for today, June 10th.
I don't think I could bear to type it out a second time.