New Year...New Start

Every year people all over make New Years Resolutions that they vow to keep. They get all excited and are fully motivated to start fresh & make this the year they finally follow through. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10 those well intended resolutions are short lived and the end result is feelings of defeat & despair. I think the most important change we can make is the change in our minds. Once you find your center, that place of peace, everything else will fall into place. Once we have our thoughts in line with the scriptures, we can rest assured that there is nothing that can overtake us.
I was so tested over this holiday, and the thing I realized more than anything, is that the thing that changed most is my attitude. I no longer feel like food controls my every thought. I feel more like I can accept my choices, and accept the consequences, and stop beating myself up over my mistakes and just be grateful that I can learn from them.

After the many tests I sustained over this holiday, there is something that has changed for me for the very first time. I no loner feel defeated by my love for food. I understand that it really is ok for me to love food. And I understand that there are choices that are much better for me, that bring me life and energy, and that I like the way I feel when I eat them. I also understand that there will be times that I will choose something that is not as good for me, and those choices will make me feel more sluggish. It is up to me to make the choice on any given day to feel the way I want to and to accept the consequences of those choices. The most important thing is for me to realize that these choices do not make me a loser or a winner, they are just choices, plain & simple. They have no power to destroy me unless I give them that power. Even Paul says "All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive." (1 Corinthians 10:23) In 1 Corinthians 6:12, he says the same thing, only he adds something really key to it. "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything." The key is not to let anything master you, and in the past, I have allowed my desire for food to master me. Over this holiday, the truth of Romans 12:2 really sunk deep into my spirit, and I think that is where the seed of change was planted. It says: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

I feel like my mind has been renewed and I no longer let every mistake I make allow me to feel like a loser or allow me to feel weak and that is a freedom I've never experienced before, until now. It's really amazing!
This is just the beginning for me, that I know. Since I started this quest, I have seen many things change in me, and nothing has been greater than this, my change in attitude. It's amazing the power that your attitude has over you. I desire my mind to be renewed in much deeper ways, more than I ever have before. I know & understand everything I need & all that I need to do. I've known that for such a very long time, long before I even started this quest for freedom. Most of us do know what we're doing wrong, and at the same time we know what to do to fix it. The problem is, as sinners we enjoy our sin far too much and we do not discipline ourselves to bring our minds into submission, or as Paul says: "beat my body to make it my slave" (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Once again I'm reminded of the power of the fast. The discipline it produces is just wonderful. I know of no better way to get in line than to fast, even if it's not food but whatever it is that draws you away from Christ. For some of you that will be television, or the radio, or the computer or games. There are so many things that we make "gods" and all of them are designed by the enemy to take our focus away from Christ. That is, however, his ultimate goal.

I pray each of you reading this now will allow God's word to transform your mind, and perhaps join me on whatever kind of fast you feel the Lord is leading you to. Remember, where two or three are gathered in His Name, there He is is the midst of us!
God Bless!