Knitting as Meditation
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Pride Flair!
3 months ago
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Starting over
I'm starting over with SparkPeople and have even gone so far as to order the new book which just came out. Here's a friendship quote I found on the website:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Four classes left
It's getting down to the wire now. I have four classes left to take and then I can graduate from Liberty. I think I need to take a break from school for a while, at least traditional school. Daniel/Revelation is next which should be very interesting.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Dieting? Choose Guaranteed Success
Today I ate a 3 inch sub for lunch (which is a long way from the 12 inch subs I downed in former years), and for supper I ate a baked potato with the works—veggies on the side. That’s the way I’ve become accustomed to eating now: smaller portions, without skimping on the flavor. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about this month, because God has laid something very different on my heart, which is the topic of taking every thought captive: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. But since I write Live Well, which is mainly about diet, I got to wondering what the link between a healthy diet and captive thoughts would be. And why would God choose this particular portion of scripture for us this month? Then I turned on my computer, and started to read Sunny’s interview with Jennifer Rothschild, our cover girl this month, who said, “God began to show me when I was in my twenties the damaging effect of what I was saying to my soul and that if I didn’t control my thoughts, my thoughts would control me. He showed me the best way to control my thoughts was to make them truthful. I went on a journey going from destructive self talk to constructive, life-giving soul talk! Once I learned how to recognize lies I was telling myself, I refused them into my “Thought Closet,” relabeled them with truth and I’ve repeated the habit for years now.” (Read the entire interview here) That’s when the pieces started coming together, and I realized that self talk doesn’t only keep us obedient to Christ, which is foremost important in our lives, it can also demolish strongholds by tearing down the inner arguments we often support with negative self talk. You might think that self talk is something other people do, but if you stop and think for a minute you may remember a little voice not only suggesting, but also encouraging you to drop your diet when temptation set in. I hear it all the time, and sometimes that self talk slips through my lips when I say, this is the last one, one more, or this is so delicious, I can’t stop! That’s all self talk, either encouraging or discouraging you along your journey. Imagine the power we could have had if we strongly suggest persistence, and then continue to suggest it until we persuade ourselves that it is the best choice to make. That’s taking our thoughts captive. Until we determine that turning back is not an option we’re destined to slip up. But when we run the race with unwavering determination we are guaranteed success. Keep running the race ladies, and till next month, Live Well! ©2009, Darlene Schacht
- 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NIV
15 Motivational Thoughts to Keep Your Diet on Track
While speaking at the recent “A Women Inspired” online conference, I was asked if I have any motivation to press on, for those who are struggling with their diet. I was reminded of the many times that I’ve personally stared down at the scale looking at yet another plateau. I happen to know how frustrating that can be, and how hard it is to fight negative thoughts. So in order to combat those feelings I’ve put together a list of 15 motivational thoughts and ideas to keep you on track. ©2009, Darlene Schacht
Give them a read when you’re starting to feel “Mrs. Give-Up-and–Eat” moving in, and then kick her whiny butt out the door!
Long time no see
I haven't posted in quite a few months. I've been so busy with school work that I haven't had time to do much of anything else. I'm scheduled to graduate in May 2010 (YAY!) and after a few months of recovery, I may be ready for more "learnin.'"
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Labor to Enter His Rest
Do you trust God enough to enter His rest?
Take a look at this verse, and let it soak in for a minute:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:10-12 (NIV)
Not only did Paul know that he would share in the sufferings of Christ, he WANTED to share in His sufferings, becoming like Christ in his death.
What was Christ in His death? Shannon Woodward shared a few sobering words in her poem this month based on Isaiah 53 listing them as: grief, fear, shame, regret, hunger, thirst, wrath, terror, judgment, and death.
Paul’s vigorous journey to the cross reminds me of the verse in Hebrews 4:11 which says, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
Rest and the cross—can the two be compared? Absolutely—let me explain why. When we enter His rest, we give up our fight. Like the shell of a puppet His hand takes over and begins to animate our life. It’s not easy to put down our will so that His can be done. It’s not easy to face shame for His sake or judgment or terror, but we might when we chose God’s will over ours for our lives.
What about hunger and thirst? Do you know that hunger is a running theme throughout the scriptures? God fed the Israelites on Manna for forty years to teach them that He alone sustains life. Complete dependency on Him is the eternal lesson we all must learn. Dependency = rest. Again we see this complete dependency from Jesus himself in John chapter 19:
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:27-30, NIV
When I look at lessons like that, my diet—my struggle to eat less and move more, to stop when I’m full—pales in comparison. It just one thing of many that I need to hand over to God in my life.
Let me paint a scenario. You’ve eaten a good dinner, stopped when you were satisfied and feel pretty good about the choices you’ve made. 30 minutes later the TV goes on, and the family starts rummaging through the kitchen for a television snack. Suddenly you get the munchies. Your brain starts off slow, and then goes into a wild frenzy of arguments giving you every reason why you deserve to eat more than you should. Telling you that you can break the rules “just this once” even though you know that last night, and the night before that, and the night before that, were the “just once” days too.
Say “No.”
What’s the worst that can happen? You suffer a little internal sting, while others around you indulge. As Paul said, make every effort to enter into His rest, which includes the resolution that God, and only God can sustain us.
Getting through the little lessons like these help to strengthen us for the tougher ones: grief, fear, shame, regret, wrath, terror, judgment, and death. It’s not easy to put down our will so that His can be done, but I promise you this, it will bring peace to your life.
©2009, Darlene Schacht
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