Why Do I Struggle so Much When I Know What to Do?

Why do I struggle so much when I know what to do?

That is the question I have been asking myself a lot over the past few months.

And this morning God reminded me, 

I can't do this alone ~ He is here to help me each and every day.

Duh.  Now to pay attention.

To put action to what I know in my mind/heart.

This is not a "Start Over" for me.  It is another Ah ha moment.

You know, the first big AH HA was the mild heart attack on August 27th.

Oh I have been doing my exercising every day since Sept. 11th 

except for one day.

And YES I am proud of myself for exercising every day.  

As they say, no turning back.

Since 8/27 to 9/30 I have lost 8.6 lbs.

I have 16.6 more pounds to lose to reach my first goal.

And I will do it.

One step at a time, one day at a time.

In my time with the Lord I use a few tools.

They change over time..

Right now I am using the Open Windows, that I get at our church,

The Sanctuary by David Jeremiah,

and the Women of Faith Bible, which has a daily devotion for every day of the year,

and currently am doing a prayer/study with our friends David & Janet.

And as usual I am amazed how God brings each of the tools I use in my quiet time together.

This morning it began with the Open Windows devotion where I was reminded that 

...I have been Picked by God.  Chosen by God, Adopted by God.  

That's pretty darn special!  And we all want to feel special.

...I have a Purpose.  It is to LOVE one another.

He tells us that in John 15:17

We are not to choose who we want to love...we are to love one another!

All the time!!

...And God Promises to help me; I just have to ask.

Matthew 6:33

And that as I focus on changing my health to the better

I need to focus on

the inside as much as what I look on the outside.

I need to change how I look at food,

the food choices I make,

making good choices which begins with thinking 

good thoughts.

I remember one time in a counseling session with Tom how Ron said I was constantly rearranging our furniture, sometimes 4 or 5 times a week and how he just wanted to come home and find the couch in the same spot two days in a row.  I laughed because I loved to rearrange the furniture plus I knew the house was really clean when I did that.  Tom replied, Alice rearranges the furniture so often because I can't change the inside of my heart/my feelings/my thoughts in a split second and changing the outside made me feel good on the inside.  We have laughed many times over this because when we moved into the motor home there is no rearranging of the furniture.

Finding peace in my heart allows me to be peaceful on the outside.

What gives me Peace?

My time with the Lord, studying His Word

Being in quiet/serene surroundings ~ like yesterday on our hike to Waterfalls Trail 

(blog post on that to follow later this week),

sitting on the deck in the early morning hours, seeing God's beautiful creation

But most of all Peace for me comes from 

Being right with God, right in my relationships

Erasing the clutter/noise from my life.

Having Peace in my life helps me to accomplish the Purpose God has for my life.

And He Promises me that over and over in His Word

Sending the Holy Spirit to guide me and give me wisdom

Blessing me with friends and family who love me and encourage me.

And He helps me in so many ways

And for that I am Thankful!!

Thankful for a God who loves me, chose me and will never leave me to face this life alone.

Today my prayer is that as I take each step, do each thing I need to do, plan our meals and go through my day to make the choices God would have me to choose.

And I pray for

...our nation

...God to become real and important to those leading our country,

...my family and friends as they face different struggles in their own lives

and most of all for me to give Him the glory for all

He has done in my life.

Have a Blessed Day!!