Lessons from Boot Camp: Installment #1

One of my instructors at the gym is training for a competition. She encouraged the rest of us to join her during the preceding four months to get at fit as we possibly could. The ultimate goal would be losing pounds, particularly body fat percentages, and gaining both strength and muscle. Her husband, Joe, kindly offered to start teaching boot camps during this time to help us towards our goals. The challenge started back in December and will continue until April so we are more than half way through. To motivate us further we gave our group an identity and named the challenge, "Operation Bikini"; our goal is be the best we can be by swimsuit season. So far, I have lost 10 pounds and >3% body fat.

My church is just finished a sermon series called "Hallmark: When you Care to Live Your Very Best." The inspiration for the series came from Psalm 24:
Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
   Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
   who does not trust in an idol
   or swear by a false god.
This series challenged us to examine our hearts in some key areas so that we can live our very best for God. We looked at having hearts that draw God's attention. We examined what scripture says about living without offense, without stubbornness, with a sense of urgency and finally today being fully alive by dealing with un-forgiveness. Our goal has been to cleanse our hearts of anything that is holding us back from our best so we can ascend to what God has in store for us; the series will be capped off by a night of worship aptly entitled "Ascend." I will be singing with the choir.
 You are probably wondering where I am going with this. Back to boot camp. When we first began the challenge, the group was quite large. Many people joined with good intentions. The fact of the matter is that boot camp is hard work....just like life. Some of what we are asked to do, both physically, and spiritually is not fun. Right from the beginning there were folks who would say "I Can't do that" without even trying it yet. They spoke defeat into their circumstance and sure enough they couldn't achieve it.God reminded me what I already knew in church today. Our words have power; giving them breath means giving them life. Negative thoughts that are then put into audible words will affect your future. The truth is, that they actually counteract what God is trying to accomplish in your life.

• "It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."Matt 12:37 MSG
• " Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
     And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
     Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
     Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide" Eccles 10:20 MSG

I realized today that part of what might be causing me to 'wait on God' in my circumstances to accomplish his desired end in my struggles is....me. I am working against what he wants to accomplish with my words; the bible clearly says that even conversations that Greg and I have in privacy of our home can affect my success. Not unlike boot camp, what I speak over my circumstances, has a huge impact. This is sometimes harder than it appears. So as Beth Moore says, FAKE IT UNTIL YOU FEEL IT! If you can't find positive words in your heart, then speak scripture (God's words) over your situation. Eventually the feelings with follow as you get stronger than you  thought you could be. It's kind like when we would run at boot camp and say, "skinny jeans" through pants of breath.
Greg and I had a great conversation after church. We have made a commitment not to complain, speak negatively, or curse our circumstances or the people involved in causing it, even in the privacy of our own home. I may still have to wait on the Lord to change my circumstances, but I certainly don't want the hold up to be me. Amen.