Media fasting & slow starts

Good morning! I'm FINALLY blogging again. We decided to take a media break for a couple of weeks at the first of the year and it's been the longest 14 days of my life! Who knew how much I feel connected to the world by our social media outlets? Do we remember life before? I probably got a lot more done.

In other news...I've had a slow start to the whole it's 2012 - make a new you. I could give you my laundry list of excuses but the bottom line is... IT'S NOT EASY OR CONVENIENT. There, I said it. It takes a lot of work & effort. But I've also come to a conclusion, NOTHING from the Lord has ever been easy or convenient.

My marriage is a precious gift from Him and, oh dear, it's not easy. I love my man like crazy but I don't like his dirty socks in the floor. I think he's about the cutest thing ever, but I don't always think his decisions are cute. I have to choose to die to myself EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and let go of the things that don't matter. Then I have to die to myself and choose to not be selfish in the things that do matter. We're people, we have different views and thoughts on everything. This marriage has molded and shaped me in my walk with the Lord. It's caused me to be stretched and grown unlike anything else. It's shown me how selfish I really am and how childish I can behave. Here we are though, celebrating seventeen amazing years this month. We've stayed the course, done the work, struggled through the hard stuff and WE LOVE EACH OTHER EVEN MORE. See how that works? We value the things that require all our effort.

Parenting is the same. Need I say more? You all were like "uh-huh, I love those little raggedy people but I could hurt them at any moment." Don't worry, I wouldn't REALLY hurt them because,in spite of their selfishness, I adore them! They are WORK though. When they're babies you are solely responsible for their very lives, without you they would starve. As they grow, you are responsible for their character, their behavior, their needs, their desires, all of it. And don't think that every single second they're not watching you so you have that added pressure. WHEW!Mostly, they're watching to see if you are who you say you are. Do you actually depend on the Lord? Are you the same person in public and private? How you treat and respond to other people. Talk about growing me up in the Lord! I have had to cry out to Him to be filled with the Holy Spirit! "Oh Lord, mold me, use me, teach me. I want to be so dependent on you that they know you."

You know what? I wouldn't trade a single second of either. They are both precious gifts from the Lord and both make me want to hurt myself stretch my faith and dependency on HIM. They enrich my life. They make me want to be a woman after God's own heart. They spur me on.

So, how does that relate to this weight thing? MOST GOOD THINGS ARE NOT EASY AND REQUIRE MUCH FROM ME BUT THE REWARD IS GREAT. Stay tuned for how He is using this part of my life to draw me near to Him. But that will be a post for tomorrow because I'm going for a run. RIGHT NOW! You go too.