Religion. Jesus hates it. No, REALLY! He told the religious leaders of his day that they were hypocrites, white washed tombstones that looked clean on the surface but inside were full of dead men's bones....he chided them to wash the inside for cleanliness rather than focusing on ceremonial washing. A radical thought then and now! It's easier to follow a set of rules than to give ourselves to developing a relationship and millions of people do it every day, around the globe. Are you a rule follower or a relationship builder? Which am I?
Here's the down low. Religion is all about the outside and how to clean it up nice and pretty so it looks good. Do this and don't dare do that! Go here but don't go there! Make friends with these people but avoid those at all costs and on the list of rules goes. Lean in friends.....grasp with me, once again, that God is interested in relationship....not rules!
The one who is forgiven of much loves much, Jesus said. As we learn to know God and realize the grace he freely offers us, through his Son's atoning death on a cruel cross, our devotion should grow and we will want to love him more in our comings, goings and doings...not so as to follow a set of rules but from a heart of gratitude and devotion to the One who loved us and gave himself up for us. I want to love him more!
Follow after relationship, friends, not rules. A good reminder for my own heart today as it is prone to follow a set of rules and wander from the joy of relationship.
Still Climbing,
Cher
Saturday
My Need His Grace
As I was taking my power walk this morning, I was reminded of my need and God's grace in my life and I began to talk to my Heavanly Father about the people I love. As I poured my heart out to God for this one and then another, I began to ask that "Sammy" would see his need...his need to know the God who created and loves him and that, as he sees his need, God would reveal and extend his amazing grace to meet that need.
We know that in order for Sammy to make any genuine change, he must first feel a need to do so and once he feels the need, he must see some way to make the change.
The problem is, In Sammy's world, little to no time is taken for quiet reflection but every waking moment is filled with noise and distraction and this makes it highly unlikely Sammy will recognize his need unless something happens to get his attention.
Still, there is power in "standing in" for Sammy who hasn't yet seen his need. The One who created him knows how best to speak to his need for rescue, for redemption, for a restored relationship with his Creator. It may be at 3:15 AM in that quiet hour where "the knowing place" inside Sammy is alert for a brief window of opportunity or it could be in an encounter with a stranger that shows him something of his need. Whatever the situation, our place is to pray for the need to be recognized and met.
Talk to God about the ones you love, today. Ask him to reveal to your "Sammy" his/her need - and if you know some of the specifics of the particular need in that person, share your heart with God and ask for the grace of our loving God to meet the need. Then walk in faith knowing the God "who desires all men to be saved" will create opportunities and whisper in those quiet moments an offer of amazing grace.
We know that in order for Sammy to make any genuine change, he must first feel a need to do so and once he feels the need, he must see some way to make the change.
The problem is, In Sammy's world, little to no time is taken for quiet reflection but every waking moment is filled with noise and distraction and this makes it highly unlikely Sammy will recognize his need unless something happens to get his attention.
Still, there is power in "standing in" for Sammy who hasn't yet seen his need. The One who created him knows how best to speak to his need for rescue, for redemption, for a restored relationship with his Creator. It may be at 3:15 AM in that quiet hour where "the knowing place" inside Sammy is alert for a brief window of opportunity or it could be in an encounter with a stranger that shows him something of his need. Whatever the situation, our place is to pray for the need to be recognized and met.
Talk to God about the ones you love, today. Ask him to reveal to your "Sammy" his/her need - and if you know some of the specifics of the particular need in that person, share your heart with God and ask for the grace of our loving God to meet the need. Then walk in faith knowing the God "who desires all men to be saved" will create opportunities and whisper in those quiet moments an offer of amazing grace.
Sunday
Passion....Not Perfection!
Girlfriends!!
I know how busy you are - just grab your cup of coffee and join me for a few brief minutes to unwrap an important message I feel inspired to share with you!
For those who have been reading my blog or have visited my facebook page, ChersFit4Life, you see alot about living with passion! Today, I want to tell you what living with passion is NOT. Living with passion is NOT living with a standard of perfection! Should you find you are continually reaching for perfection, and no doubt being disappointed with the outcome, you will miss out on a truly passionate life! While there are a few commonalities in the definitions of passion and perfection, such as excellence and determination, passion is distinctive in that it energizes with enthusiasm and can produce a happy outcome. It is entirely possible and highly advantageous to live a passionate life...without the burden of achieving perfection. BUT try to live a life of perfectionism and see how well you maintain your passion! While passion gives energy, perfectionism invites fatigue! Check your energy level!
Girls, there are many areas where this might show up in your life and mine. I remember one particular Easter. I wanted everything perfect! Didn't all good moms feel this way? There were the baskets, eggs to color and hunt and all the festivities to make it a perfect day! I made a rabbit cake for the "fun" factor and picked a book to help emphasize the true meaning of Easter. Well....as I was reading the Easter story, the boys became restless and began to agitate each other and then started fussing and laughing over the cake and who was going go get what piece. Before I knew it, my cake was smashed right in the bunny nose BEFORE I got a picture of it! There were 3 pair of eyes looking at me for my reaction and mine began to fill with tears of defeat and disappointment. I can imagine how my boys felt at my distress, due to their mischief. Today, I can see that if I had been living with passion, rather than perfectionism, I could have laughed and preceded on to enjoy the rest of the holiday fun. I'm not saying a scolding of some sort wasn't in order but perspective could have put me in a more gracious state of mind. I could only think about how my special plans had been thwarted! Passion, Girls, NOT perfection!
I can offer one more very simple example from just two nights ago, with a better outcome: CONFESSION! I ate a couple of bites (nice size bites) of chocolate cake AND tiramisu AND cheesecake AND some other 4-layer cake I can't even remember the name of at a lovely dinner hosted by some of our dear friends AND I enjoyed every single bite! :-0 What a glorious night - a "cheat" night - woo-hoo! Make no mistake, after such a night, I am right back on my clean eating plan. I have my egg whites, salad, grilled chicken breast, apple and protein shake mix all prepared for today's fare but...it sure was fun! I didn't let one evening of less than a perfect diet de-rail me with disappointment! It's called having a passionate NOT perfectionist approach to being healthy and fit that allows for a deviation from the norm, on occasion (just not too many occasions!) so as to be truly Fit4Life, not just living Life 2 B Fit!
Have a great week and whatever your hand finds to do...I encourage you, choose to do it with passion that energizes rather than suffering the drain of perfectionism!
Still Climbing,
Cher
I know how busy you are - just grab your cup of coffee and join me for a few brief minutes to unwrap an important message I feel inspired to share with you!
For those who have been reading my blog or have visited my facebook page, ChersFit4Life, you see alot about living with passion! Today, I want to tell you what living with passion is NOT. Living with passion is NOT living with a standard of perfection! Should you find you are continually reaching for perfection, and no doubt being disappointed with the outcome, you will miss out on a truly passionate life! While there are a few commonalities in the definitions of passion and perfection, such as excellence and determination, passion is distinctive in that it energizes with enthusiasm and can produce a happy outcome. It is entirely possible and highly advantageous to live a passionate life...without the burden of achieving perfection. BUT try to live a life of perfectionism and see how well you maintain your passion! While passion gives energy, perfectionism invites fatigue! Check your energy level!
Girls, there are many areas where this might show up in your life and mine. I remember one particular Easter. I wanted everything perfect! Didn't all good moms feel this way? There were the baskets, eggs to color and hunt and all the festivities to make it a perfect day! I made a rabbit cake for the "fun" factor and picked a book to help emphasize the true meaning of Easter. Well....as I was reading the Easter story, the boys became restless and began to agitate each other and then started fussing and laughing over the cake and who was going go get what piece. Before I knew it, my cake was smashed right in the bunny nose BEFORE I got a picture of it! There were 3 pair of eyes looking at me for my reaction and mine began to fill with tears of defeat and disappointment. I can imagine how my boys felt at my distress, due to their mischief. Today, I can see that if I had been living with passion, rather than perfectionism, I could have laughed and preceded on to enjoy the rest of the holiday fun. I'm not saying a scolding of some sort wasn't in order but perspective could have put me in a more gracious state of mind. I could only think about how my special plans had been thwarted! Passion, Girls, NOT perfection!
I can offer one more very simple example from just two nights ago, with a better outcome: CONFESSION! I ate a couple of bites (nice size bites) of chocolate cake AND tiramisu AND cheesecake AND some other 4-layer cake I can't even remember the name of at a lovely dinner hosted by some of our dear friends AND I enjoyed every single bite! :-0 What a glorious night - a "cheat" night - woo-hoo! Make no mistake, after such a night, I am right back on my clean eating plan. I have my egg whites, salad, grilled chicken breast, apple and protein shake mix all prepared for today's fare but...it sure was fun! I didn't let one evening of less than a perfect diet de-rail me with disappointment! It's called having a passionate NOT perfectionist approach to being healthy and fit that allows for a deviation from the norm, on occasion (just not too many occasions!) so as to be truly Fit4Life, not just living Life 2 B Fit!
Have a great week and whatever your hand finds to do...I encourage you, choose to do it with passion that energizes rather than suffering the drain of perfectionism!
Still Climbing,
Cher
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