my wings are made of faith

Pushing Back at Life

For many of us, life comes at us fast.  We have busy schedules with many demands and responsibilities.  All of these things are fine as long as we have balance.  

If you have every watched a wrestling match, you have seen a wrestler bend his knees and get ready to fight back.  This proper stance assures him that he will have a better chance for victory against his opponent.  

The enemy will try to catch us unguarded or unprepared and wrestle the daylights out of us, but we don’t have to live this way.  We are not victims in Christ: we are over comers.  We can make time to spend time in the Word and renew our minds.  We can prepare healthy meals so that our bodies are fighting against disease.  We can schedule times to relax and spend with our families.  These are all examples of pushing back at life.  Each of these things puts us in the defensive position against the enemy’s schemes.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says,

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

In other words, life’s stresses are expected, but do not have to be tolerated.  Our challenge is to push back at life with healthy strategies.

My Prayer:  God, show me when life is pushing me into unhealthy decisions.  Give me courage to change some things so that I can push back victoriously.  Thank you that through Jesus, I am not a victim.  Holy Spirit, remind me when I’m flying too fast and guide me through the process of renewing my mind, body, and spirit.  I pray boldly for those who feel like they are trapped.  Give each of them the courage to gird up in a defensive position to take care of their precious lives according to Your Will.  Be very specific in changes for each burdened person with a clear message that comes from you.  In Jesus Name!

A Winning Team

Throughout the past six years in my walk with the Lord, I have become thoroughly convinced in the necessity of having a winning team surrounding me.  By the term “winning team,” I mean a group of solid believers who will support my journey.  

Over the past ten years, the Lord has graciously blessed me with friends who live Christ centered lives.  Women who study God’s word and apply it every day.  These sisters are not perfect but are motivated to become more like the Lord.  Along with their Godly walks, I see women who are not afraid to speak the truth in love, even when I don’t necessarily like it.  My friends live all over the United States, but are there for me with just a phone call or email.  

Friendships like this do not usually happen overnight but take months or years to develop.  These particular women have not led perfect lives and have all had struggles, heartbreaks, or strongholds but search for God’s hand every day in the midst of life.  We laugh, cry, and pray with one another carrying each other in prayer and love.  My sister chicks are on my team.

The other part of my team that has developed over the past two years is my health care team.  The Lord has led me down paths to find several excellent doctors who are all Christians and understand my need to pray and petition before taking medicine or having medical procedures.  I believe these medical professionals hear my concerns and value me as a human being.

As I’ve gotten older, I know that I need doctors who will listen to me and want me to be healed, but understand who the “Healer” ultimately is.  They view themselves as a facilitator of healing.  The health care providers I choose are on my team.

As Christians, I believe it is crucial that we develop a support group composed of friends and doctors who always point us to Jesus and cheer us on through our journey of sanctification.

Ephesians 4:1-6 says,

 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

My Prayer:  God, thank you for the winning team you have placed in my life.  I pray for those who don’t have a support group today to reach out to you and that you would begin to develop a Godly covering.  Lord, thank you  for being with us, but we praise you that you don’t expect us to walk through our lives alone.  In Jesus Name!

  

 

Eating Healthy—an Act of Worship

If you've been frequenting this blog for awhile, you know my passion for health and nutrition. i stand firm in that if it weren't for God's grace and nutrition, the stress would have killed me the last three years. Fight or flight mode was normal, sleep was scarce, and the stress was over the top—but i never got sick and my health was good. 

Eating whole, unprocessed foods, just as God created is a very, very important key to good, physical health. Despite all the medical technology that is being created every day, the overall health of America is declining. Popping pills temporarily relieves pain or masks symptoms, but does not get to the root of the problem. 

Eating right, exercising, and taking good care of our emotional and spiritual health are all key components to being truly healthy. All of these things take real discipline. i know it's easy to pop a pill, eat fast food, buy junk food because it's cheaper, skip out on prayer time, and suppress the hurts we experience in life. But taking the easy road now when it comes to this stuff, means that eventually we will have a rather difficult road to healing, and an expensive one at that!

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.—1 Corinthians 6:19-20

God calls us to treat our bodies with respect and care. Just as you would clean up and take care of your home before guests arrive, we need to take care of the home where God lives. Taking good care of ourselves is an act of worship. When we eat healthy, excercise, pray, and detox emotionally, we essentially say, thank you God, for giving me this body.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.—Romans 12:1

There's a lot i could touch on in this post, but today i really want to challenge you to evaluate how you are taking care of your body nutritionally. Are you eating foods that are wholesome and nutrient-dense? 

Food Matters, an excellent film, is online and available to watch for free this week only. i pray you will take 60-90 minutes of your time to see what is happening to our food supply and what is being done to the good soil and good food that God has given us. Click here to register and watch this movie for free. Watch the trailer for a little sneak peek:

 

You really are what you eat and your health is a good reflection of the food that you're putting in your body. It is never too late to make healthy lifestyle changes and to be appreciative of the life that God has given us. 

Link Between Autism and Use of Cells From Abortions in Vaccines?

Good, informing article, yet sad to think that this is even happening!