Last week I determined to live in the freedom that God has granted me.  This means choosing the right way instead of the easy way.  I got up Monday morning and I worked out for 30 minutes. I got up Tuesday and worked out for 45 minutes. I continued the schedule (alternating between 30 minutes and 45 minutes) for the whole week. At this point I am concentrating on aerobics exercising and getting my heart rate up.

I also have been keeping up with my eating - only eating when I have a physical growl in my stomach and trying to stop before I’m satisfied (think “first date” eating).  I have had a few slip ups along the way but things are feeling good!

This morning I got on the scales - I usually way on Wednesday but the scales were already out so I thought “why not.”  The number on the scale was higher than it had been on the previous Wednesday.  It was frustrating!  Then I remembered how I started my week.

I am FREE!  Christ came to earth to deliver me.  I am FREE!

I can choose to live my life as a free woman or as one locked into the weight, the scales or the calorie charts.  So I pushed the scales away and reminded myself that I will make good choices today.  I will work out so that my body is fit and healthy.  I will eat when I am hungry and stop when I am satisfied so that my body has the right amount of fuel to power me for the day.

The weight is coming off. The inches are falling away. Putting in the effort and knowing that the results are coming is my part and the rest was accomplished on the cross. I will not live a life of bondage any more.

I AM FREE!

Teaching kids about the true meaning of Christmas can be tough these days. Their minds are bombarded with images of self indulgence – even the emblem of the Santa Claus is focused on giving the good little girls and boys the wishes on their lists. It’s all about what I can have!

It may be tough overcoming the attitudes being thrust on the children but it is worth it. Teaching kids how to focus time and energy (and money) on those less fortunate and those around them will teach the kids that life is more than just “what’s in it for me.”

1. Volunteer to help with a Christmas dinner at a local church or shelter. Your kids may be too young to actually help serve but they can help set up and clean up and be smiling faces for those who stop by.

2. Have them pick at least one gift of their own that is going to charity. Make sure that they understand before hand and even let them pick it out before you buy it. Take the gift toys to a shelter as a family.

3. Go through toys, closets and shelves before the holiday season is on top of us. Set aside those things that are still nice but that the kids just no longer play with any more. Donate these to the toy drive in your community.

Helping others will give your kids a new way to look at Christmas. It will take the focus off of the getting and help them to see that the best gift that can be received is the one that comes from helping others.

I was created to be passionate. There is a unique (and some might say peculiar) twist to me as a person that directs my interests and my excitement in one direction or another. It is that ministry or service opportunity that lights up my whole face when I talk about it.

Passion will NOT be denied. If a God given passion is not able (or not allowed) to be filled then it will be filled in another way. In my life it has been food and television (in some other person’s life it might be alcohol, business, games or any number of things). Satisfaction will be found.

Although I thought I was walking the path that God wanted, I had a rude awakening this weekend. “When passion is ignored it will be filled in other ways.” That was what I was doing. I was ignoring my God given passion – because there was no chance to teach at church, because no one had asked me to write a book or bible study, because . . . I have plenty of excuses. The why is not that important but the what is important. My actions or inactions were forcing my passion in a direction other than the path God has set forth.

I changed that yesterday. I made a point to fast off the two things that my passion veers towards the most (sweets and television). It is something I intend to do for the rest of the week. But even more important I REPLACED those items with others. I went outside and played with the kids, I got up and danced when I just HAD to have a break, I read my scripture and did a bible study in the middle of the day.

When the urge strikes me to do something – anything – I have started asking myself “where is my passion?” I want the things that I do, see, read and hear to amplify the passion that I have for God’s purpose and for it radiate to the world around me.

Most kids have trouble sleeping the night before some big event. The anticipation of Christmas morning or the vacation stirs up excitement that keeps them from relaxing enough to rest.

This has to be what pushed the Proverbs 31 woman to rise while it was still dark and to be awake while everyone else was asleep. Excitement and passion for the things that needed to be done were a driving force for her life.

I don’t want to be like the Dunkin Doughnuts guy, stumbling around mumbling “I gotta ____________” (fill in the task of the day). I want to be like the kids on Christmas morning that stay in bed only long enough to be able to get away with saying its morning.

The only way I know to get that enthusiasm is to discover a relationship with God. As I grow in my knowledge of Him through time in His word, as I spend time talking with Him in prayer and as I take time to just sit and enjoy the blessings that he has poured into my life I will begin to get a picture of where I need to be and what I need to be doing in His will. It is there that I find my joy.

I have no more excuses or I guess I should say that I’m releasing the excuses. It is more important to me that I find my place and walked boldly in it than I find a reason to stay where I am.

It is my hope that my enthusiasm for discovering and following my passion will spill over on to all those that I encounter, but even if I am alone in my journey I know that Joy will make it a pleasant one.

Everyone is created with a passion – a heart to do something unique to that individual. It doesn’t matter what church you attend, what denomination you come from or what gender you are – you have passion.

The problem for many of us is that the God given passion is being crushed. Cares of this world (a fear of being hurt or ridiculed or a fear of what might happen) keeps us from stepping out into the passion that drives us to do and to be more. Instead we settle for a worldly replacement because passion will not be denied.

Addictions – to food, to television to alcohol – is an attempt to fill this passion. But the worldly substitutes leave us still wanting and empty and ultimately in a worse place than we began.

It’s time to quit settling and to reach for the passion of God. Step out into the thing that you truly want to do regardless of how peculiar, strange or weird the people around you think you are. If the church blocks your passion then you should just reach out to other avenues – even Jesus wasn’t accepted in His home town.

Become all that God has called you to be – reach for His passion and dare to live the life of hope and joy that He has called you to.

It was easy to sleep last night and I even went to bed early. My normal routine for elections is to stay up until the wee hours of morning to see what will be facing me for the next four years. This year I didn’t need to do that. My peace about the whole process is so perfect that I STILL don’t know who won the election.

I have a plaque that hung at my desk (where ever my desk might be) for many years. It was a little swallow on a branch: “I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow.” It is with that knowledge that I went to sleep last night.

The outcome of the election was something that was not easy to miss this morning. I knew it would be there when any of my electronics turned on. Although it was not the results that I voted for, there is still hope for tomorrow. There is always hope.

It is time for me to make a change – not so much in the way THINGS are but in the way my heart is. I need to pour my positive thoughts and prayers over this country. One person can make a difference and I intend to be that person. Join me in this new direction and together we can heal this nation.

My Prayer for Barack Obama and the Congress:

Lord, please forgive me and my lack of support for the people that you have placed in these offices. The ways of the Lord confound the wise and I have thought myself wise for far too long. Forgive my arrogance and give me the words and consistency to humbly pray for Your servants.

The youth at church were going to a concert this evening. After reviewing the website of the place they were going I decided not to send my crew. There was nothing that was hazardous to their health – per se – but the website left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

There seems to be too much compromise in the church for my taste. It is particularly prevalent with the youth. After all, you have to give them what they want to get them in the door. Forget holding up the bar higher, you have to lower your standards or the program is going to crash.

That just seems wrong. If I remember correctly it is the Holy Spirit that draws people. The best music or most dynamic teacher may get them in the door, but it won’t stick if the Holy Spirit didn’t draw them. If the Holy Spirit is in the place then the rest will just be gravy.

I talked to my oldest son before we canceled the trip. I asked him if he felt like this was the way that Jesus wanted to be advertised (so to speak). He said “no way.” My eleven year old son then asked if he could call his youth leader and explain to her what this group was doing.

We had to have another talk about how our views are not necessarily shared by others. Too many people believe that to get the people in the doors they have to dumb down the message that they are putting out. I just don’t believe that this compromise is the right way – as for me and my house . . .

The last few days have been a great opportunity for me to recharge and re-attack my goals and objectives. It seems that after a struggle, this new vigor usually shows up. I almost feel sorry for those that get caught in the overflow ;).

Yesterday it was the Sunday school teacher. It was just him and me in the class for a few minutes, so I began to discuss the changes that he was making in his own life. Then I began to encourage him to go farther – to take his passion and his heart – and to follow those into the purpose that God had for his life. By the time the rest of the class showed up I was on a full roll and getting more excited by the word.

I am following my passion. It has been my dream to write since I was a young girl. The passion may have been pushed aside for years, but it never cooled. Today I am a writer (and each time I read or hear those words my heart flutters just a little). It makes me want to go to work, to do more and to try more without complaint.

It is my desire that every one else be able to live this way. It is possible for each and every person – it just takes some thought, some prayer and sometimes a little sacrifice (that usually turns out to be not so much a sacrifice in the end).

1. Write down your hearts desires. What would you truly want to do if money wasn’t a factor (making or spending)?

2. Write down all of your gifts, talents and skills. Anything that you utilize when you work or play should be included on the list.

3. Pray about your lists. Ask God to open your eyes to a path that you have not seen before. Let your imagination and creativity wonder through the lists to see what can be uncovered.

There are so many different directions that each one of us can take with our gifts, talents, skills and passion. By taking them to the Father, we can find His purpose and fulfill our passions. That is His desire for each of His children. He wants you to live a life so full of joy that it spills over to all those you encounter.

Find and follow your God given passion.