Power Surge

I have finally found the time/the discipline to blog today. I am going to start with what I read in the book One Month to Live. This morning after reading the Bible I read Day 4 of the One Month to Live book. (I know, my progress in this book is slow but I have a lot going on and I'm trying to balance it all and not push myself so hard that I give up.) Like they say, "Slow and steady wins the race" (Whoever they are...haha)

The title of Day 4 is Power Surge and the basic premise was, In order to sustain changes you have to be connected to a power source that doesn't leave you in the dark. The power source being Jesus Christ. The chapter goes on to discuss the importance of spiritual health and how to achieve it. They discussed the versus John 15:1-5, which says that Jesus is the vine of a vineyard and we are the branches. If you know a little about vineyards than you know that without the vine the branches can't bear fruit. The most powerful part of these versus for me was at the very end, "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5. WOW! This is something that I know to be true but reading it always causes me to reflect in amazement of how awesome God is.

The most important take away for me from this lesson is that when I rely I on Him he will reduce my stress and allow me the freedom to be fully engaged in life. And that in order to rely on Him I have to strengthen my relationship with Him. If you have been reading my blog than you know that strengthen my relationship with Him is my primary goal. I have been following through with the goals and I will update you on my progress later in this post.

Here is the Make It Last for Life section from today's reading:

1. What are the current barriers to spiritual health in your life? In other words what keeps you from connecting to God as your primary source of spiritual life?

Right now I would say my biggest barrier is time management. Being in graduate school and also being a wife can be very time consuming. I made a goal (haha, no big shocker there) to stay on top of my reading for school this semester. Usually I wait to read until right before a test and as one can assume it is not a stress free process. So far this semester I have kept up with my reading and that takes up a lot of time that I could be in the Bible, praying or even finishing this book.

There are 2 more questions in this section but believe or not they are a little more personal than I would like to go on this blog so just know that I answered them and if you really want to know what they are maybe we can discuss them in person. :)

UPDATES:

I am on day 17 of my 365 day Bible reading plan which means I have completed 4.4% of my reading. Although I have fallen behind a few times I caught up and am now back on track. I have also been to church every week and was especially moved by last week's service. (I'll talk more about that later) I have been praying everyday but I would like to work on spending more time praying/meditating. I also received an email about volunteering at church and should be on the schedule soon. God also blessed me with an invitation to a women's Bible study at a First Christian Church. It fits into my school schedule and I was invited by two women that I respect and can learn A LOT from! That Bible study begins on Wednesday and all of my women readers are also invited to join! I will write about that experience when I get the chance.

As far as my other goals go I think I am also making progress with them. I am trying very hard not to cuss and it feels great to not have those words flying out of my mouth all of the time! On becoming a better wife...Travis would probably have to update you on that one. I am trying to be patient, giving, and encouraging. For guidance in this area I turn to Proverbs 31. It is a passage in the Bible that discusses: The Wife of Noble Character. It is a lot to live up to and I am not quite there yet but I hope to be one day! On being a better friend and family member. I think I am doing better in this area. I am trying to make time call/text people back and also just be there for my friends and family. I booked a flight to visit my parents and my brothers in D.C. next weekend. My nephew is turning one and I can't wait to see him again! I almost didn't book the flight because I knew it would be an inconvenient trip, it may cause me to fall behind in my school work and Travis can't come but I did because I knew my mom really wanted me to come!

Travis and I have also continued to seek God's guidance when spending the money he has blessed us with. Last week we only ate out once and we spent some money bowling with friends. On Saturday night we went to a friend's birthday celebration and ate at the house before we left! We are going to keep trying to do things like this and balance our spending so that we can save and pay off debt. Travis will get paid tomorrow and I will tithe our 10% first and then pay our bills. I still haven't been able to get any substituting jobs but I will keep trying. I have however applied for many jobs for after graduation and I ask all of you to pray that I find one!

Okay, I think that pretty much updates you on my goals progress. (Oh except that I also have not drank since I started this whole process and I do not miss it at all) The last thing I would like to discuss in this post is the great service at Experience Life this weekend. This past weekend was the 3rd week of the series, 30 Days to Live. I cannot articulate how moving this sermon was so please go to www.experiencelifenow.com and watch it if you get a chance! The premise of the message was forgiveness and saying what you need to say to the people you love and care about most. The sermon came from Matthew 18:21-35 where Jesus calls us to forgive as often as someone sins against us and ask for forgiveness as often as we sin against someone. Chris Galanos, our Pastor, called us to reconcile with the people in our life who we have hurt or who have hurt us. Travis and I both thought of people we need to reconcile with and we will be attempting to do it.

I felt called to reconcile with some of my family members. Both of my mother's parents passed away last February and unfortunately a lot of drama surrounded their passing. I am going to attempt to reconcile with some of my cousins. I am only putting this on my blog so that I can be held accountable to doing this difficult task. Pray for me and pray for openness from both sides when I try to reconcile these relationships.

Okay, it feels good to blog! I hope this finds all of you well! Remember that we can't do anything without Him! Rely on Him today! Jesus, the best I know how, I commit my life to you. Amen