The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over, expecting different results. I must admit, according to that definition that I have acted insane too many times to count!

We often repeat things in our lives.  For most of us, our life revolves around themes. Some are healthy and promote growth and peace, but some are not healthy and promote what we know as “drama” and chaos. Themes are so ingrained in us that we don’t realize that we are habitually repeating something over and over, developing patterns that do not lead us to our best life or best self.

When called on the carpet for these things we often defend ourselves and deny the presence of any wrong. We most likely get defensive because we don’t like to be told we are wrong, because after all…we KNOW our hearts. We justify that our hearts are good and well meaning. In our hearts, we never intended the repeated offense to cause any trouble at all.

What if we don’t have a “heart” issue as much as a “habit” problem. Yes, our hearts might very well be in the right place, but still fall back into old  habits of response to situations and life. For instance, my heart really is set on eating healthy and combating the heart disease I have been diagnosed with, but my habit of running to sugary foods when tired or stressed often seems to win over. Why? Is it because my heart is not right? Or, could it be that it’s been a habit to use food in this way when I am stressed? Perhaps it is the habit that needs to be addressed.

What about you? What are you struggling with that is repeating itself like a theme in your life? Did you know that The Bible tells us clearly that our hearts are deceitful and that we have trouble discerning our own hearts?

Jeremiah 17:9 ” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The word deceitful here is from the original, aqob, which can be translated to be: slippery and polluted. Whoa!

If that is the case, then what do we do?

We must get into the habit of going to God with our hearts.

Psalm 139 “Search me and know my heart, see if there is any thing offensive in me and lead me in your ways.”

God can untangle our hearts and give us self-control and discipline to deal with unhealthy habits and patterns. But, we must be aware, get aligned with Him, and be open to the changes He desires to make in us.

For today…ask yourself what theme might be running through your life and take that to the Lord. He desires to change us and it is His plan to use us according to His design. Sometimes, our habits, get in our way. Jesus is the deliverer, even of our unwelcome habits…from smallest to largest.

I pray today that you will align yourself with the God who loves you most, giving him your heart and habits.

with joy,

Debbie

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Some years are really good and some are really hard. I know many people who had a very hard 2009. I can relate. For me, it was the presence of physical illness and the ongoing frustration of failing health, a new diagnosis of heart disease and relational issues that just about pushed me over the top.

Add in adult kids growing fully and leaving the nest, transition and change in ministry, the hurt of feeling misunderstood…and the sum is a  hard year indeed.

But, the question that is rolling around in my little head today is….Is hard  really bad?

The immediate answer is probably, YES!

We don’t like hard. We are conditioned in life and culture to go for easy. We like easy routes, easy assignments and quick fixes. How can we help it? It is part of the fabric of the culture that we were raised in. So hard seems intolerable and we do whatever we can to get out of hard and find our emotional easy chair…soft, comfortable, non-confrontive. We long to be happy. We long to feel fulfilled. We long to have our every need met. We long….yes we long….for unrealistic levels of personal fulfillment and physical blessing.

The truth is, life is sometimes hard…and, hard can be very good. It is in the hard places of life that God gets our attention and we give Him ours. It might not happen at the first pass of a hardship, because it’s in the first pass that we try with all our might to make hard go away. We try to fix things and when we can’t fix things we distract ourselves with other pleasures….food, drugs, alcohol, relationships, activities, material things. Some of us even hide ourselves  by distracting ourselves with “ministry work”. It , as the other things, can medicate the pain for a time.

But truth be told, God uses HARD. God has hard places within the journey of human life. He could of left us in paradise, but he didn’t. He placed us in a world that is imperfect, with people who are imperfect, and uses the whole environment of life…to draw us back to Him and His power, His majesty and His ability to be the overcoming power  in  our hearts.

I will leave it with the words of Jesus. Ponder them, allow them to speak to you. Memorize them. Let reality sink in and then live your life, today, as if God’s reality is the truest most trust worthy reality that exists.

“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” John 16:33 The Message

Now from James: 1:2-4 The Message

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. you know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

So…I’m thinking. Looks like from a spiritual perspective, hard is good and even a gift. I should not try to wiggle out of hard too soon, but instead learn from it.

Praying God’s blessing on your day and new perspective on your “hard” places.

with you In Christ,

Debbie

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Sometimes we forget that there really is an “old” self and a “new” self.

We live on autopilot and determine how to live and respond to life based on our own natural way of thinking  and reasoning.

It’s easier this way because we are simply moving to the rhythm of what comes natural to us.

But, just because something is natural does not necessarily mean it is God’s intended best for us. In fact, usually what comes natural to us is formed from human tradition, family of origin, or life habits and patterns that we have picked up along the way.

God has a better way for us, then our way. It takes thought and concentration…something that we would rather not bother with. Most of us are busy and like auto pilot. But are you becoming all that Christ has planned for you while living in autopilot? Is your familiar space causing spiritual growth or stagnant living?

Do you want God’s best for you?

Yeah…me too…

Today’s Truth: Ephesians 4:17-32

Read the passage above and note the instruction to live differently.

Here are the first four foundational points to get us going…

• You must no longer live in the futility of your thinking
• You are taught to put off your former life, “old self”
• You are to be made new in the attitude of your mind
• You are to put on the new self, created to be like God

Let’s stop with these four points. Think about them, pray about them, be honest with yourself about them. Are you living new or are you settling for the old?

• Define futility of your own thinking.
• Describe living in your former life
• Imagine what a new attitude looks like
• Believe for the new self that was actually created to be like God.

Father, make us more like You, created in You, to bring You glory!

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