It's All About the Action
I might be addicted. I can't help it...it's just there....so whenever I find myself bored or waiting for someone, with smart phone in hand, I tap the little red "P" and find myself soaring joyously through the minds of the creatively gifted, the fashion connoisseurs, the DIY champions, the yoga virtuosos and the decorator extraordinaires. None of which I am. I'm only creative with my pen and some lined paper.
Lately, I've noticed that I am pinning a lot of stuff to my "Healthy Me" board...stuff like the 30-day Squat Challenge, 100 Reason to Work Out Today, 4 Steps to a Better Butt, and 12 Yoga Exercises to Get Your Thighs and Hips in Shape. So, why I'm struggling to button my pants is a complete mystery to me. I even pinned a "Weight Watchers Taco Soup" recipe last night...but it didn't help either.
Does that strike you as funny? It should. We all know that pinning exercises to a Pinterest board isn't helping my thighs get any tighter. Quite honestly, all this sitting at the counter staring at my computer is making my hips spread (not to mention giving me a bad case of 'waffle butt' from the sea grass bar stools) and causing my back to hunch over like that guy from the Disney movie, Esmerelda...some guy from Notre Dame.
So, to be clear, I'm not really an idiot. I don't believe for one second that "what you think about, you bring about" really does much if you're not 'being about' it. I can sit in my kitchen, snack in hand, and look at these extremely fit people, doing yoga poses that look absolutely unnatural, and think about doing it...and think about doing it....and think about doing it.... but until I put my body in motion and start doing something, it just won't happen.
**disclaimer** I'm not saying we shouldn't think about positive things!! I'm just saying that thinking about it, usually isn't enough. (I have thought, for years, what I would do if I won the lottery...but thinking about it - without buying a ticket - isn't going to do a thing to help me win.)
God and I had a private chuckle last night, as He was speaking this to me...or at least I was chuckling, until I realized that He was speaking to ME. Ehh..hemmmm. It's just like staring at the pages of my Bible. Sure, that's a good place to start. Read it. Think about it...but until I let His words engrave themselves on my heart, and let them CHANGE ME, it all seems rather pointless.
Have you ever met someone who was down right despicable, and heard them profess, "well, I read my Bible every day!" (Insert 'are you kidding me right now' face.)
This is what second grade teachers refer to as reading comprehension. You can read the words all day long. That alone won't help. The word of God has to get into your bones. You have to become a sponge and soak them up. Picture a dry sponge and a tub of water. A dry sponge floats unntil it begins to absorb the water. As the water is absorbed, the sponge changes. It's density changes, making it heavier than the water and it sinks. Something changed. The water began to dwell inside the sponge.
Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the words of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom..." I could not find anywhere in the Bible that instructs us to hang scripture verses in pretty fonts with pretty trees or sunsets, on our walls or to tattoo scripture on our bodies as a means to life change. (another disclaimer *** I do have scripture verses tattooed on my body...so I'm not judging, just saying "THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.")
In the 119th chapter of the book of Psalm, the author (who is believed to be either David, Ezra or Daniel) spends a lot of ink talking about what to do with God's words... he uses verbs like walk, keep, obey, consider, learn, live, hide, recount, follow, meditate, delight, see, and on and on. But not once did I see the word 'read'.
One of my favorite verses in this book is verse 103, when the author says that the word of God is sweeter than honey to his mouth. I love the food analogy. In Jeremiah 14:16, the prophet says that "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight..." Everything we eat changes us. It breaks down inside of us and spreads through our bodies to perform a task. Whether it's sugar for energy or calcium for stronger bones, when we consume something it helps us. We can't get calcium to our bones by staring at pictures of milk and cheese. We have to eat it. Consume it. Let it dwell in us. Let it change us.
So, the moral of my story is that if I'm going to have a better butt, I'm going to have to get up and actually do some squats. If I'm going to get some calcium in my bones, I'm going to have to drink the milk and eat the cheese. If I'm going to experience the fullness of living IN CHRIST, I need to consume the word of God and make it a part of who I am.
It's all about the action.
Be blessed!!
Lately, I've noticed that I am pinning a lot of stuff to my "Healthy Me" board...stuff like the 30-day Squat Challenge, 100 Reason to Work Out Today, 4 Steps to a Better Butt, and 12 Yoga Exercises to Get Your Thighs and Hips in Shape. So, why I'm struggling to button my pants is a complete mystery to me. I even pinned a "Weight Watchers Taco Soup" recipe last night...but it didn't help either.Does that strike you as funny? It should. We all know that pinning exercises to a Pinterest board isn't helping my thighs get any tighter. Quite honestly, all this sitting at the counter staring at my computer is making my hips spread (not to mention giving me a bad case of 'waffle butt' from the sea grass bar stools) and causing my back to hunch over like that guy from the Disney movie, Esmerelda...some guy from Notre Dame.
So, to be clear, I'm not really an idiot. I don't believe for one second that "what you think about, you bring about" really does much if you're not 'being about' it. I can sit in my kitchen, snack in hand, and look at these extremely fit people, doing yoga poses that look absolutely unnatural, and think about doing it...and think about doing it....and think about doing it.... but until I put my body in motion and start doing something, it just won't happen.
**disclaimer** I'm not saying we shouldn't think about positive things!! I'm just saying that thinking about it, usually isn't enough. (I have thought, for years, what I would do if I won the lottery...but thinking about it - without buying a ticket - isn't going to do a thing to help me win.)
God and I had a private chuckle last night, as He was speaking this to me...or at least I was chuckling, until I realized that He was speaking to ME. Ehh..hemmmm. It's just like staring at the pages of my Bible. Sure, that's a good place to start. Read it. Think about it...but until I let His words engrave themselves on my heart, and let them CHANGE ME, it all seems rather pointless.
Have you ever met someone who was down right despicable, and heard them profess, "well, I read my Bible every day!" (Insert 'are you kidding me right now' face.)
This is what second grade teachers refer to as reading comprehension. You can read the words all day long. That alone won't help. The word of God has to get into your bones. You have to become a sponge and soak them up. Picture a dry sponge and a tub of water. A dry sponge floats unntil it begins to absorb the water. As the water is absorbed, the sponge changes. It's density changes, making it heavier than the water and it sinks. Something changed. The water began to dwell inside the sponge.
Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the words of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom..." I could not find anywhere in the Bible that instructs us to hang scripture verses in pretty fonts with pretty trees or sunsets, on our walls or to tattoo scripture on our bodies as a means to life change. (another disclaimer *** I do have scripture verses tattooed on my body...so I'm not judging, just saying "THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.")
In the 119th chapter of the book of Psalm, the author (who is believed to be either David, Ezra or Daniel) spends a lot of ink talking about what to do with God's words... he uses verbs like walk, keep, obey, consider, learn, live, hide, recount, follow, meditate, delight, see, and on and on. But not once did I see the word 'read'.
One of my favorite verses in this book is verse 103, when the author says that the word of God is sweeter than honey to his mouth. I love the food analogy. In Jeremiah 14:16, the prophet says that "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight..." Everything we eat changes us. It breaks down inside of us and spreads through our bodies to perform a task. Whether it's sugar for energy or calcium for stronger bones, when we consume something it helps us. We can't get calcium to our bones by staring at pictures of milk and cheese. We have to eat it. Consume it. Let it dwell in us. Let it change us.
So, the moral of my story is that if I'm going to have a better butt, I'm going to have to get up and actually do some squats. If I'm going to get some calcium in my bones, I'm going to have to drink the milk and eat the cheese. If I'm going to experience the fullness of living IN CHRIST, I need to consume the word of God and make it a part of who I am.
It's all about the action.
Be blessed!!
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