Well Day 21 and I am so full of emotions as I write this journal. So twenty one days ago I started this journey of 21 Days of concentrated obedience. This was the best journey I could have taken at this time. Obedience is so very important in this walk. I had lost sight of what true obedience. I knew that God wanted me to be obedient in every way but I still pick what areas I would obey. I pick how and when I would obey. I mean let's be real... no matter how you slice it, I wanted to be in control. I allowed fears, worries and doubt rule my life. Now I just want God to rule. I have learned to move out of the way. Now I have to put it into practice. It's time to walk it out not just because of this journey but because God has so much for me to do and it requires my COMPLETE obedience.
So let's talk about how I did on this journey... Here are the things I wanted to do on this journey:
1. Reading the word, not just studying it for sermons and counseling.
Well, I began a "Walk through the Bible" which means I am reading each book of the bible and really getting acquainted with the nuggets in the Bible. You know those things that you over look because when you are studying a certain topic you are concentrated on that thought process. Just reading the Bible for me opens me up to enjoy every morsel. It's been a while since I have just read the Bible for reading sake. I am finding a new love of the scriptures. Not only that I have notes and notes of things that popped out to me that I need to go back and study more. So the word is still speaking LOUD and clear to me. It's been very refreshing.
2. Eating right and losing some weight
As you know the first five days of this journey, I was fasting but now I am learning about eating foods that nourish my body and helps it operate as God intended. By the way, I also lost 10 lbs in the meantime. Yeah, Go Linda Go Linda. I was supposed to go to the Gym but I hate going alone so I never made it. however, I feel bad about it so I have decided to put myself on a 21 day to better exercising. Which means I will start going to the gym and doing some form of walking/cardio each day. Ya'll pray because it is alway easier for me to choose to do something different. 10K steps Monday - Friday. Here we go!
3. Forgiving those that have wronged me and seeking forgiveness from those that I have wronged.
Now this one was a bit harder for me. No one wants to admit they are wrong but I have had to take a long hard look at my actions and repent to God and those I have offended. More than that I had to release some grunges and resentments of my own. As God brought up things in my heart I had to face them and make them right. I thank God for his mercy and grace in this. I have never felt so much love from above than when I was dealing with forgiveness. Letting go is the best thing anyone can do. I noticed when foriveness is real, even my complexion and weight reflect it.
4. Staying faithful to my writing schedule
Another hard thing for me. I seem to let fear reign in this area a lot. Even writing these blogs have been a struggle for me. You know what it feels like when you have so much to say but you are not sure that people want to hear it. Then there are times I feel that I have nothing to say. My fear has paralyzed me in this area for years. I can always find reasons not to write. During this journey, I faltered in this are a lot. LOL do you remember the blank post? I had to go back and redo them... IJS! the fear is real ya'll. I had to repent almost daily. Even now I feel the tears coming to my eyes. However, I have resolved to plow through my fears and make this happen even it it means taking drastic measures. I will obey God in this area. I will, I will, I will, I am.
5. Being more consistent in every area of life
Prayer is the key. Seeking God and acknowledging Him regarding big and small decisions. To me trust was an issue for me. Trusting that God has it all in control and that He was concerned about what concerned me. During this process I now know that He is. He sees me. He chose me. So since I am chosen for this life, I can make it work. Through all the trials and hard times, I will be victorious. I will be exactly what God wants me to be and it will glorify Him. Jesus is truly the reason for this new season. It is a season of living a life of obedience and a fresh anointing is flowing my way to be an obedient child to my Lord and savior.
6. Being faithful to accomplishing daily, weekly and monthly goals
I learned several years ago, that goals have to be written or they are just dreams. The other thing I learned is you must do something everyday toward your long term goals or you ill never reach them. So setting daily, weekly and monthly even annual goals s always a hug part of my life. Where I really lacked was in time management. You think you can manage time until you have to manage time. I now now that I put alot of me and I really set myself up for failure because in 24 hours, most things I want to get done cant get done in the time alotted. So I would get overwhelmed and would just give up. Now I am learning less is more. But I also need to aks for help. Asksing for help is hard for me. However, giving up and failure is not an option... So i will learn how to be faithful and I will learn how to ask for help when needed. As a matter of fact I am looking for a personal assistant to help with my many projects and keep me on point. I also need an accountability partner. IJS!
7. Not watching anything that is contrary to my Christian beliefs
This was another hard thing for me. Because I like some shows that when you ask yourself waht it is promoting... I had to shake my head. In this area, I found that I had to just read a book or dosomething different. Now I am working on this because like I said, there are some shows that I love to watch. I may not be a groupie but when i catch them I look at them. Especially these ratchet reality shows... LOL I just saying. However, I no longer make excuses. I know as time goes by... they will become less and less and I will be free from the lure of it all. So keep me in your prayers. Because I will do as God says do in this area. He has not told me to stop watching TV altogether but I have started watching it less and less. Which I was already not watching it a ot anyways. But even my Prime, Kindle Unlimited and Netflix watching is curbing.
8. No gossiping/venting
Now to be honest there were some moments that I DID vent. However, I made sure that it did not overstep the boundaries and become gossip. I am learning that I have alot to work on in this area. Because when someone does something you dont agree with, it really is human nature to want to talk about it. Not take it to prayer and make sure tht everyone knows how you feel. the wrong part of that is that now I have bought others into my situation. They give their thoughts and in many cases they begin to feel some kind of way about the people i am talking about. So ehrn I forgive them (the person i talked abut) they may still be in that place of holding a grunge. In this process, God showed me how I have to not only forgive but ask for forgiveness from the person and the people I spoke to about it. It's just not the best thing to do especially in anger. So I am working on this. I have to know when to speak and when to just hold my peace and pray.
At the beginning of this, I challenged myself to take a long hard look at me and make a change. To be different. Here are the questions that compelled me to step up to the plate:
What would happen in my life if I actually followed through with God's daily direction?
How much spiritual fruit would I bear and what would be its quality?
What if I actually practiced daily and followed through with my dreams?
Who would be blessed by what I produced from what God has given me?
What would be the impact in my businesses; if as an employer I demonstrated Christ’s love in my actions and responses?
What if my food choices were Spirit-inspired vs. gluttony driven?
How much weight would I really lose, or better yet, how healthy would I really be?
What if my exercise decisions came from courage rather than a lazy aspiration that leads to me to do as little as possible?
How much more could I physically do for the kingdom?
If I got proper rest regularly, what would be the quality of my daytime energy?
How prepared would I be to face each day’s challenges?
How much more would I enjoy life’s delights?
What would be the effect if we Christians forgave instead of begrudged when faced with the choice?
How much more would our children trust God or even us if we gave them our time instead of our disapproval?
What if we really added more of our mornings’ first energy to worship versus self indulgces?
These questions will continue to drive this journey in my everyday life. This journey may end here but actually, it's only beginning. A life of concentrated obedience. So I may not journal everyday and share with you all my progress but should the Lord say I need to share something with you I will. It is my desire to be pleasing in His sight no matter the cost.
Father, I pray that you are glorified in my life. That you are lifted high above all my issues, circumstances and moreover my flesh.
In my life Lord
Be Glorified
Be Glorified
In my life Lord be Glorified
Be glorified today
Be Glorified, Be Glorified
Be Glorified, Be Glorified
Be Glorified in the heavens
Be glorified in the earth
Be glorified in this temple
Jesus, Jesus
Be Thou glorified
Amen
This journey is just beginning....
You are Bound No More.
Pastor Linda Hillman
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International
Booklindahillman@gmail.com
Get Your Copy Now
Will You Be Made Whole
In The Meantime
So let's talk about how I did on this journey... Here are the things I wanted to do on this journey:
1. Reading the word, not just studying it for sermons and counseling.
Well, I began a "Walk through the Bible" which means I am reading each book of the bible and really getting acquainted with the nuggets in the Bible. You know those things that you over look because when you are studying a certain topic you are concentrated on that thought process. Just reading the Bible for me opens me up to enjoy every morsel. It's been a while since I have just read the Bible for reading sake. I am finding a new love of the scriptures. Not only that I have notes and notes of things that popped out to me that I need to go back and study more. So the word is still speaking LOUD and clear to me. It's been very refreshing.
2. Eating right and losing some weight
As you know the first five days of this journey, I was fasting but now I am learning about eating foods that nourish my body and helps it operate as God intended. By the way, I also lost 10 lbs in the meantime. Yeah, Go Linda Go Linda. I was supposed to go to the Gym but I hate going alone so I never made it. however, I feel bad about it so I have decided to put myself on a 21 day to better exercising. Which means I will start going to the gym and doing some form of walking/cardio each day. Ya'll pray because it is alway easier for me to choose to do something different. 10K steps Monday - Friday. Here we go!
3. Forgiving those that have wronged me and seeking forgiveness from those that I have wronged.
Now this one was a bit harder for me. No one wants to admit they are wrong but I have had to take a long hard look at my actions and repent to God and those I have offended. More than that I had to release some grunges and resentments of my own. As God brought up things in my heart I had to face them and make them right. I thank God for his mercy and grace in this. I have never felt so much love from above than when I was dealing with forgiveness. Letting go is the best thing anyone can do. I noticed when foriveness is real, even my complexion and weight reflect it.
4. Staying faithful to my writing schedule
Another hard thing for me. I seem to let fear reign in this area a lot. Even writing these blogs have been a struggle for me. You know what it feels like when you have so much to say but you are not sure that people want to hear it. Then there are times I feel that I have nothing to say. My fear has paralyzed me in this area for years. I can always find reasons not to write. During this journey, I faltered in this are a lot. LOL do you remember the blank post? I had to go back and redo them... IJS! the fear is real ya'll. I had to repent almost daily. Even now I feel the tears coming to my eyes. However, I have resolved to plow through my fears and make this happen even it it means taking drastic measures. I will obey God in this area. I will, I will, I will, I am.
5. Being more consistent in every area of life
Prayer is the key. Seeking God and acknowledging Him regarding big and small decisions. To me trust was an issue for me. Trusting that God has it all in control and that He was concerned about what concerned me. During this process I now know that He is. He sees me. He chose me. So since I am chosen for this life, I can make it work. Through all the trials and hard times, I will be victorious. I will be exactly what God wants me to be and it will glorify Him. Jesus is truly the reason for this new season. It is a season of living a life of obedience and a fresh anointing is flowing my way to be an obedient child to my Lord and savior.
6. Being faithful to accomplishing daily, weekly and monthly goals
I learned several years ago, that goals have to be written or they are just dreams. The other thing I learned is you must do something everyday toward your long term goals or you ill never reach them. So setting daily, weekly and monthly even annual goals s always a hug part of my life. Where I really lacked was in time management. You think you can manage time until you have to manage time. I now now that I put alot of me and I really set myself up for failure because in 24 hours, most things I want to get done cant get done in the time alotted. So I would get overwhelmed and would just give up. Now I am learning less is more. But I also need to aks for help. Asksing for help is hard for me. However, giving up and failure is not an option... So i will learn how to be faithful and I will learn how to ask for help when needed. As a matter of fact I am looking for a personal assistant to help with my many projects and keep me on point. I also need an accountability partner. IJS!
7. Not watching anything that is contrary to my Christian beliefs
This was another hard thing for me. Because I like some shows that when you ask yourself waht it is promoting... I had to shake my head. In this area, I found that I had to just read a book or dosomething different. Now I am working on this because like I said, there are some shows that I love to watch. I may not be a groupie but when i catch them I look at them. Especially these ratchet reality shows... LOL I just saying. However, I no longer make excuses. I know as time goes by... they will become less and less and I will be free from the lure of it all. So keep me in your prayers. Because I will do as God says do in this area. He has not told me to stop watching TV altogether but I have started watching it less and less. Which I was already not watching it a ot anyways. But even my Prime, Kindle Unlimited and Netflix watching is curbing.
8. No gossiping/venting
Now to be honest there were some moments that I DID vent. However, I made sure that it did not overstep the boundaries and become gossip. I am learning that I have alot to work on in this area. Because when someone does something you dont agree with, it really is human nature to want to talk about it. Not take it to prayer and make sure tht everyone knows how you feel. the wrong part of that is that now I have bought others into my situation. They give their thoughts and in many cases they begin to feel some kind of way about the people i am talking about. So ehrn I forgive them (the person i talked abut) they may still be in that place of holding a grunge. In this process, God showed me how I have to not only forgive but ask for forgiveness from the person and the people I spoke to about it. It's just not the best thing to do especially in anger. So I am working on this. I have to know when to speak and when to just hold my peace and pray.
At the beginning of this, I challenged myself to take a long hard look at me and make a change. To be different. Here are the questions that compelled me to step up to the plate:
What would happen in my life if I actually followed through with God's daily direction?
How much spiritual fruit would I bear and what would be its quality?
What if I actually practiced daily and followed through with my dreams?
Who would be blessed by what I produced from what God has given me?
What would be the impact in my businesses; if as an employer I demonstrated Christ’s love in my actions and responses?
What if my food choices were Spirit-inspired vs. gluttony driven?
How much weight would I really lose, or better yet, how healthy would I really be?
What if my exercise decisions came from courage rather than a lazy aspiration that leads to me to do as little as possible?
How much more could I physically do for the kingdom?
If I got proper rest regularly, what would be the quality of my daytime energy?
How prepared would I be to face each day’s challenges?
How much more would I enjoy life’s delights?
What would be the effect if we Christians forgave instead of begrudged when faced with the choice?
How much more would our children trust God or even us if we gave them our time instead of our disapproval?
What if we really added more of our mornings’ first energy to worship versus self indulgces?
These questions will continue to drive this journey in my everyday life. This journey may end here but actually, it's only beginning. A life of concentrated obedience. So I may not journal everyday and share with you all my progress but should the Lord say I need to share something with you I will. It is my desire to be pleasing in His sight no matter the cost.
Father, I pray that you are glorified in my life. That you are lifted high above all my issues, circumstances and moreover my flesh.
In my life Lord
Be Glorified
Be Glorified
In my life Lord be Glorified
Be glorified today
Be Glorified, Be Glorified
Be Glorified, Be Glorified
Be Glorified in the heavens
Be glorified in the earth
Be glorified in this temple
Jesus, Jesus
Be Thou glorified
Amen
This journey is just beginning....
You are Bound No More.
Pastor Linda Hillman
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International
Booklindahillman@gmail.com
Get Your Copy Now
Will You Be Made Whole
In The Meantime
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