Every Morning!

Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on Your altar and watch for fire to descend. (Psalm 5:3, MSG)

Have you ever noticed how much harder the gym is the morning after eating fried food and a heavy dessert?

When I eat "clean" (lean meats, fresh fruits, berries, seeds, fresh veges) I hardly miss a beat hitting the gym the next morning. But when we go to a party, eat fried food and a heavy dessert, it takes me longer to get in the swing of it the next morning at the gym.

Our mind can be the same way. Letting sinful nature control the mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control the mind leads to life and peace. (Romans 8:6) It is easier to keep the mind clean than it is to clean it up after getting "dirtied".

I go to the gym around 6:00 a.m. because generally it is very quiet that time of day. But during the busy seasons there are a few gym goers. I'm amazed at what people will watch (fill their hearts and minds with) on t.v. at 6:00 a.m.

Yesterday morning, I was alone in the gym when a lady came in and turned on the t.v. to some sort of drama. There's a reason there is a movie genre labeled, "dramas". A word to the wise, avoid all drama. Many have asked, "Well then Genice, what DO you watch on television?" I always say, "Not much."

The drama was a series about a mental ward. Some of the scenes were very ugly. I was thankful I didn't have my girls with me. And I was thankful I couldn't hear the t.v. over the music on my ipod because I'm sure the sounds would've only added to the creepiness. The t.v. was directly in front of the elliptical (where I was) so I mostly stared out the window which was on my right until my neck got tired then I closed my eyes facing forward to give my neck a rest. I considered asking her to change the channel and if I'd had my girls with me, I would have. But I thought, hey...just let the woman workout to her show and I tried to avoid the t.v.

I'm not sure about everyone else, but what I do early in the morning sets the pace for the rest of my day.

Even though I had already filled my heart with godly things prior to going to the gym, for the rest of the day I "fought" the images from the t.v. show that kept popping into my mind. There was only three but they were extremely gross.

Do you think other gym goers would see it as odd if I wore a sleep mask on the elliptical? Don't be concerned that was a facetious-itical question. *grin*

My prayer for every reader today is to fill themselves full to the overflow of God's Word the very first thing every morning! To dig in scripture and ask God, what do You want me meditating on today? To lay out the pieces of their lives on Your altar and watch for fire to descend! I ask all these things in the name of Your precious Son, King Jesus! (John 14:14)

Flying Solo

Last week, I took several inter-island flights. I flew from Kauai to Maui and from Maui to the Big Island.

Generally when I fly, I fly alone or Mike flies with me. This was the first time I've flown with our girls but without him.

Flying without him showed me just how much I appreciate flying with him. Since I was flying without him, I had to insure we got to the airport on time, return the rental car, uninstall/install a very heavy carseat, make sure our girls were fed, everyone made a pitstop to the potty, get us through security (Including but not limited to a pat down and my 9 year old thought it would be funny to scream, "She's innocent!" Making me burst out in laughter; however, not at all amusing the TSA agent.), get to our gate, and entertain our girls during the wait/flight, etc.

None of which was difficult; however, it taught me just how much he "covers" me.
Generally when we fly, I "zone out", read, nap, and listen to praise music while he does everything else so these flights were quite different. By virtue of our relationship, there are things that never even occur to me that need to be addressed.

It reminded me of how much more my Heavenly Father covers me.

He never leaves or forsakes me! (Hebrews 13:5)
He rebukes the devourer for me! (Malachi 3:11)
He always hears me! (Psalm 91:15)
He always answers me! (1 John 5:14)
He always desires good for me! (Jeremiah 29:11)
He protects me! (Psalm 28:7)
He knew me before I was born! (Psalm 139:13)
He withholds nothing good from me! (Psalm 84:11)
He loves me enough to send His only Son to rescue me! (John 3:16)

Thank You Father, for always covering me!

My prayer for every reader today is to realize His covering and thank Him daily for covering us, in the name of Jesus! (1 Thessalonians 5:18, John 14:14)

Outside the Hedge

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Over the past month, Mike and I have been bombarded with a lot of “stuff”. Thankfully, all of which has been indirect through work, extended family, and close friends. We’ve helped with divorce court, child custody, and we also had to replace a manager, which was long overdue but never easy.

And although none of it directly affects us (our children or our marriage…thank God) the "stuff” affects us indirectly and has a very real impact.

Mike came home about an hour early from work yesterday. Our girls were outside playing so we put everything aside, actually sat down together and really talked. As I listened to Mike, I thought, we haven’t done this in almost two months….how DID that happen?!

My day was very uneventful (praise God!) so it didn’t take long for me to catch him up. He had quite a bit more to deal with than I and as I sat listening to him I thought, “He looks so tired.” And not the kind of tired that a quick nap would alleviate but weary, the type of weary from carrying heavy burdens.

We love our extended family, close friends and the people we work with (employees, customers,and suppliers alike). When we love people, we mourn when they mourn. (Romans12:15) We have a heart to help others and we praise God for allowing us to be light in dark places. (Matthew 5:16) But we have to be mindful to not allow the enemy to distort gifts God has placed in us and become imbalanced; thus, robbing us and others of those gifts. (John 10:10, 1 Peter 4:10)

We threw together a very easy dinner and went to bed early. At 4:00 a.m. God woke me up and said, “You’ve got to get back inside the hedge.” (Psalm 91)

THANK YOUFATHER!

• Thank God there is a hedge!
• Thank God for telling me to get back inside the hedge!
• Thank God for showing me how to get back inside the hedge!
• Renew our thoughts and attitudes with His Word! (Ephesians 4:23)
• Stay in His will! (1 Thessalonians 5:18) 
• Rest in Him!(Matthew 11:28)

My prayer for every reader today is to stay in the hedge! Protect your heart and mind and stay close to the vine bearing much good fruit, in the name of Jesus! 

(Proverbs 4:23, John 15:5)