Time to kick some ______ !

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've brought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!” -Dr Seuss.

Hi everyone! In my last post I decided it was time to start giving a hoot about all the things I'd been ignoring in life-problems that are too big, issues that need addressing, and good intentions that need to be planned on purpose in order to be achieved! I'm sure you all know what I mean! But before focusing on individual things, I thought a list might be in order... does anyone else out there love lists too? I know I do!! If you are doing this with me, it's time to do an inventory too. What things do you want to see change in? What things do you want to achieve for your own personal growth or health, or to enrich the lives of those around you?

Proverbs 20:5 says "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out."

We can have so many desires and intentions for good milling around inside our heads and hearts, but oftentimes we find we are not very focused, and as a result, we accomplish little. I believe that as we begin to draw out our intentions, plan how to achieve them, and act on them, we will begin to see new fruit- growth, change and maturity in these areas of our lives!

So here goes... These are some of the things I have been feeling convicted about:

• My own health- adopting a permanent healthy way of eating and using food, and a permanently more active lifestyle!
• My family's health- doing what I can do to help them with health challenges, and be an example for them/encourage them in the adoption of a healthy lifestyle too!
• My relationship with my husband- there are many things I know he would love me to do, perhaps I could do more to bring a sense of wellbeing and togetherness in our marriage!
• Being on time- making whatever changes I need to make to help me and my children be consistently early or on time to things! No more lateness!
• Caring more for my appearance- No. I'm not talking about expensive beauty treatments every week, or designer label jeans (although praise God if you have these!), I'm simply being convicted about taking more care over what I have- caring for my skin, for instance! I feel it's time I stopped taking what I have for granted, and started purposefully caring for what I have. It makes me feel happier and more lovely, sets a good example for my girls to follow, and makes my husband feel more positive too! (But more about that in another post!)
• Being a better steward of my finances!

Over the coming weeks, I will look at these one by one, and no doubt, add more along the way! I hope you'll enjoy the journey with me! Sadly, I have to make a dash now- it's time to go to Bible Study! Have a great week, and I'll see you again soon!

Blessings,

Give a hoot!

Loose living... it's a phrase I've always associated with bawdy saloon wenches, or numerous other seedy and salacious characters! But lately, God has been opening my eyes to the fact that we can all be guilty of living loosely.
For many years, I've eaten whatever I wanted, ignoring the fact that some of my food choices are negatively impacting my health. Plenty of times, I've made split-second financial decisions without care for the consequences. And in most things, I've adopted the ostrich strategy- stick the head in the sand, and pretend the problem doesn't exist. These are all examples of how we can live loosely in our personal lives. The results of this kind of living are unfruitfulness, decay, lost opportunities, pain and regret. In extreme (although not rare!) circumstances, neglect can even result in bankruptcy, disease and death.

Well, it seems God has taken my desire to be "Not the Same in 2008" very seriously, and has jumped on board with me to help me change inwardly, to begin to 'give a hoot' about the things God has given me. Each day, I'm thinking about things which I need to give a hoot about; things which I've previously relegated to my two hefty baskets. (One basket is labelled 'To Do... One day!' The other is called 'Too Hard!') God is challenging me that it's time for me to take action, and to begin to care about the things that are in the 'too hard basket'.

The book of Proverbs is a good reminder of the values of diligence, prudence, self-control that God wants to grow in our lives. Over the coming weeks, I will look in detail at some of the things I am being challenged to care more about. If you, like me, struggle in this area of your life, I challenge to come with me on this journey. Let's delve into the scriptures, and our daily life challenges, and begin to really care for what God has placed into our hands.

After much fiddling, I've come up with a little button for our blogs. Now let's see if I'm clever enough to give you the right code to not only paste the button on your blogs, but to link it back to my own!! Here we go...





Link to Give a Hoot!

<a href="http://notthesamein2008.blogspot.com"><center><img src="http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/julietfiel/hoot.jpg" /><a href="http://notthesamein2008.blogspot.com"><br/><br/></a></center><br/><br/> <br/><br/></a> <br/><br/>

I will be posting again soon on my first topic... we'll see what comes up first!
Until next time, think about the many things God has given you, and how He wants you to care for them!
Blessings,