Saturday, March 31, 2007

Starting a New Journey

So, here's the deal..........I have another blog where I post things about my family and funny stories about the kids, and sometimes some even fairly profound thoughts. It's a great blog, you should read it. If you do that and look at my posts from January you will see some of what my goals for this year are. I've been working on some of it, and some of it I haven't. A full quarter of the year is gone and I find myself thinking, "All this time, and I've made no progress." So, now I have this blog to help me.

As the title implies, I do believe that my body is a temple and the the Spirit of God has residence there. And....he deserves a nicer place. At first thought (back in January) I felt like this was going to need to be a mostly exterior remodel. Clearly this particular house is a little larger than it needs to be and I know that staying that way will make it fall apart before it's time. In the last month, however I've realized how much more so I need to do an interior remodel as well.

For those of you who have known me a while, you know that I have battled depression in my life. Pretty severe depression if we're going to be honest about. Suicide is a word that is still hard for me to say, but there was a time in my life when it was a thought that was frequent. God healed me of that and I have been "well" for several years. As of late, however, I have been recognizing some things in myself that seem frighteningly familiar. We can call it negative thought patterns, or stinkin' thinkin', or cobwebs in the attic. However you call it, I know that Satan if working hard to destroy some of the relationship I have built with my Savior and God. Today, I'm fighting back.

Why this blog? I need some accountability. I need to have a place that each day I can check my progress. Why not keep a regular journal? Because I think there are others out there that need a full remodel and maybe what I'm going through can help them. Also, I have precious loved ones in my life that I know will check in on me via this blog and send encouragement, prayers, and even call me on my crap when I need it. (sorry, I don't say crap much anymore since we had kids, but it really is what I need to be called on.) So, how's this going to work?

Well, my plan is to post daily. Parts of my posts will be boring. Basics like, how my eating was for the day, what exercise I did, etc.... Parts, while still possibly boring, will be a bit less tedious. I want to post daily about my quiet time with God, what I'm learning from scripture, what I'm learning from whatever book I'm reading, what lesson God is teaching me on that day. That sounds kind of daunting to me because I know I will need to be actively searching for the answers to those things daily. That's not something I've been in the habit of doing.

How can you help me? Check on me when you can. Leave comments here so I will know you checked in on me. Call me at 6:45 AM and encourage me to get out of bed and have my quiet time. Just know that if I don't answer the phone I'm either having that quiet time and don't want to be interrupted, or still in bed - but seeing your name on caller ID will certainly convict me and I will get up. (I'm just not much of a talker before 9:00 am) Then check my blog because I will comment on it in that day's post. Mostly, you can help me by praying for me. Pray that I will put God first in my daily life and not just my "global" thinking. Pray that I learn daily. Pray that I'm a better wife to my husband, mom to my kids, and friend to my friends. Pray that I remember that the battle between good and evil that rages around all of us has already been won. Death has been defeated. I am a conqueror in Christ Jesus, and Satan doesn't stand a chance. Pray that for me, and for yourself.

So, tomorrow I will start posting my daily journey. Check in, say hello, and say a prayer.