Taking a good look at myself....

Well I went for a small hike this weekend and decided I am seriously out of shape.
It did not take long to get out of shape as just a year ago I was plugging along pretty well, at least better then I am now.

You know the 64,000. question? Why is it so hard to get in shape but so easy to get out of it?

Anyway, with all the work we did on our new home all summer and moving etc. I did not spend anytime at all walking or doing anything remotely relaxing or what I would call exercise. Sweating in three digit temps working on a house is not getting in shape on any level.

Now I know no one really cares about what kind of physical shape I might be in but I thought it was a good way to start this post off. I often think my physical life is a very real indicator of what is happening to me in my spiritual life.

When I do not take time to relax and care for my body...be it walking, hiking or just chilling in nature, I know I am not taking time to connect with my Maker on much of a healthy level either.

I spent so much time trying to get this house ready to move into I was too exhausted to even think about communicating with anyone much less my Creator.

I am not saying I did not pray or talk to the Father..I always do that as it is like breathing. But what I did not do was just take the time to chill with Him...you know bask in His love and presence find out what He wanted me to do etc. I feel guilty about that as He has blessed us so much.

I did notice however, that blessings often come in the guise of a lot of work. So do not overlook what a blessing you might have, because you do have to work so hard for it. Just thought I would throw that in for good measure.

Anyhow.... I am trying to assess where I am on both the physical level as well as the spiritual and for sure I am not satisfied with either one. So that means change...

I need to make some serious changes in my life and I need to make those changes now. Putting them off could mean a heart attack or stroke in the physical and it could mean a horrible separation from my Creator with me floundering around on this crazy planet and my life having no direction or meaning. Both are unacceptable.

It really does not take much time to get in a funk and let yourself go....physically and spiritually.

So I think I will end this post with a most timely word from Gentle Shepherds...

Love & Prayers,

Judy

OASIS IN THE DESERT

(Exodus 15:27)



Most of life seems like drudgery. If we are not trying to get through what seems to be the usual boring activities of the day, we are just trying to survive the tedious exercise of emotionally surviving each day. Some of us would like more excitement, others desire peace in the midst of ongoing uncertainties and conflicts, while others would like to rest from what seems to be increasing weariness, and then there are those who would like to run away from all of it.

In my life, it seems like I spent most of the time in the wilderness. I either found myself in a state of leanness, where I knew there was more, but had no idea as to how to discover it. Even though my life seemed full, I wondered how much of it represented activities that were not significant. As for excitement, I had long ago chalked that up to a matter of immaturity. I became acutely aware in recent years that what I preferred was not excitement, but peace and rest.

Through the years it dawned on me that most people do not know how to rest. They do not know how to emotionally land or come to a place of being still in their spirits. As you follow the children of Israel , it was obvious that after 400 years of slavery they did not know how to rest. However, God brought them out into the wilderness, where leanness could take hold of their lives. This was important if they were going to learn to rest from the labors of slavery.

I don’t know about you, but I realize much of my discontentment is due to the fact that my life is often full of that which represents vanity. There is no real substance to so much of what is demanded of me in this present world. Therefore, it is up to me to recognize the oasis God has provided along the way to get my spiritual bearings as to what I must do and what I can turn aside from to redeem my time.



Thought: People fail to realize that the greatest discontentment in their life is caused by that which enslaves them to partake of that which has no meaning or eternal substance.



©2010 Rayola Kelley, Gentle Shepherd Ministries. Permission is granted for
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