My challenge today is to take you from a story about "mooning" my husband (which we all agree he deserved) to being excited about our potential to be salt and light in this sorry, dark ole' world.
First, God has been so good this week. When we have a group in for training, there are large amounts of food available all of the time. We keep chocolate, mints, hard candy, anything individually wrapped that can be left on a table as a snack. We've gone to dinner in the evenings, and lunch has been catered each day. I am usually tired during these days of training because I give it 200%. When the mind is tired, a body is "bone tired." Yet, each day I had the fortitude to get up early enough to walk or do Zumba when I got home in the evening. Either one is difficult during normal weeks for me. During a training week, it is not possible except for the resurrection power of Jesus Christ available to me when I realize His strength is made perfect in my weakness. (Whew - great truth, right?)
I "try" not to weigh more than once a week. When I weighed this morning, I had actually lost; and yes, I am thrilled, but I am thrilled about something far more eternal this time around with weight loss than just loosing fat off of my body. You might be thinking "this time around - how many times have there been?" Well, maybe you aren't thinking that. That was my enemy sitting on my heart trying to remind me of past failure. By the way, when those thoughts come, I need to recognize the source. My sweet Savior never throws past failures in my face. When they are under the blood, He "remembers them no more." He doesn't even know they happened. So, "get behind me Satan." The neat thing is, that sentiment only takes a whisper, even a thought, because it is said with the power of the blood available to me as a child of the King to the defeated one. OK, now I might have to shout. I hope you don't mind my sharing thoughts as they come. It is a joyful thing to share with others what the Lord is doing in my life, but to be able to share as it happens is beyond the pale of a "bucket filler." No pun intended.
While I know that any good thing that happens in my life is a gift from the Lord, I believe the greater benefit to the pounds lost was what I achieved spiritually. The natural result of burning more calories than I consume is loss of weight. The supernatural result of staying my mind on the mind of Christ, making a choice because His Word is strengthening my will, and carrying through because I want to please the One Who gave Himself for me, is life changing. I have sung all of my life the words, "I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown." Those words are life changing when we actually act on them. May I challenge anyone reading this today to be sure you are actively "clinging" by reading the Word, memorizing it so you can "pray it back" to the One who promised it. He is the only One who will never fail to keep His Word. When we deliberately learn His Word, prayerfully repeat it back in worship and supplication, actively use the promise of those Words in our every day lives, we "pay it forward" in every interaction we have with others, because we have been with Jesus and are walking in the light of His Word. That's the way we become salt and light.
Now, was I really excited about weight loss? Yes. Is my heart rejoicing because of what He is teaching me by focusing on Him, a thousand times yes. The resulted weight loss is minuscule to the empowered relationship with Christ.
Did I do ok moving from mooning to salt and light? Make this a fabulous day.
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