My PCS of Faith

Both my husband and I grew up as military brats. If you are one, you know exactly what this term defines. It is not so much about an attitude or level of behavior, it is about a lifestyle. Children of military members understand things like code of ethics, sacrifice, and duty from a very young age. They also understand that duty takes precedent over comfort and often this requires frequent moves. Most military families pick up and move every 3 to 4 years; it's called a PCS or 'permanent change of station'. I actually liked it when I was a child. Although it meant saying goodbye to familiar friends and surroundings, I always looked at it as a new start. Somehow I had convinced myself that when I got to our new location I could "start over" and create the ideal relationships that somehow lacked in my current location. I could re-create myself, if I so chose, and the fresh start always seemed appealing. The problem is....that is not how life or moving works. Why you ask? Because a move involves movers, and when you get to the new location you have to unpack your stuff. We all bring baggage with us.
I'm watching some folks around me who basically are trying to create what they believe is a fresh start for themselves. They are essentially quitting their current life in an attempt to move into some kind of new one. The problem is, that apart from God this is impossible. Doing it in your own strength, will only produce the same results. You can't expect a different outcome, if you keep going about things in the same manner.
Solomon, who was the richest man in the world with everything he could want or need, said it this way in the book of Ecclesiastes..."Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labors for which they toil under the sun? What he meant was, that a life here on Earth apart from God (under the sun) is meaningless because all your self improvement efforts are in vain. Anxious toil is exhausting and I would suggest that is why most of us want to quit. What we are really seeking is relief from our circumstances and the hard work it is going to require to fix them; the path of least resistance seems somewhat like a military move. Just pick up and go somewhere else. Oh, yeah...the baggage.
That's why we have to live life "above the sun"...with the big picture that only God gives. This only happens by staying connected to him on a daily basis. Brave Christians who want to grow in their faith are willing to ask themselves tough questions. This is something I am currently learning especially as it relates to the things that make me anxious. But I will tell you one thing....I am not going to quit, despite what the current rumor mill might suggest. My life has undergone a lot of change in the last six months, most of which I would not have chosen. But my walk with God is stronger than it has ever been as I turn to him daily for the perspective that I need to get through it. As we try to sort through our house in Niceville, getting ready to put it on the market, the process seems overwhelming. That is exactly how our enemy wants the process of change to feel...overwhelming, so that we will chose to quit rather than push through the mountains of baggage to achieve what God has in store for us. At times it certainly does seem easier, and appealing, to just walk away from everything I am dealing with. I'd rather have a little discomfort now knowing that I'm on my way to the blessing God has in store for me, than have to live with the lifetime of regret that accompanies the believer who chose to quit rather than persevere.
God wants us to move too, but only when we are willing to go through the processes of change that will make us more like his Son. Change is how God moves you from glory to glory. (Read that one again! and meditate on it for a second.) It really is a permanent change of your station (PCS) in life.  If that is true, then quitting would be the worst thing to do. The question to ask yourself is, "Am I resistant to change?" The answer for most of us, is yes.
Only God makes things new. Only God can release you from the baggage that causes us to labor in vain. Looking at your circumstances through worldly glasses will always encourage quitting. But seeking God's perspective on the matter will take your faith to the next level.
"So from now on regard no one with a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if any one is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come." 2nd Corin 5:16-18

You Are What You Eat

The last six months have presented a lot of challenges for me. As a result, I have thrown myself into working out with higher intensity and frequency. There is definitely something to be said for natural endorphins and all of those chemical reactions in the brain that accompany exercise. I firmly believe that exercise has dramatically affected my ability to deal with my current circumstances; it also has the added benefit of making me feel better about myself, gain some control of my circumstances, and God has used it to illustrate some key ideas in scripture. I haven't been running as much (waiting for it to cool down!), but I have been doing Zumba 5x /week and since February I have also had a personal trainer. My trainer has changed several times due to circumstances at the gym. I'm actually on my third trainer as the case may be; but, I believe God saved the best for last. I'm making a lot of progress.
My new trainer, Sergio, has a unique outlook about training and he really tailors his approach to each individual. Because we like him so much, he is actually training my whole family.  He strongly recommended the use of supplements. Recently, he really got on me about my diet. At first I was defensive. What, you're going to take away one of my joys? Ice cream, really?!! That's downright uncalled for. You see Sergio will be leaving the gym soon and moving back to Chicago. So his goal is to accomplish as much as we can during this season that he and I will working together. This can only be accomplished if we focus not only on the building of muscle, but the fuel we use for the machine as well. For Sergio, it's all about protein as the primary fuel. As a result, my whole family has changed their diets. This whole mindset of food as fuel, and not simply something for our enjoyment and entertainment, got me thinking about another seasonal dietary change that has occurred for our family.
Our family has changed churches. Since February we have been attending Destiny Worship Center in Destin. I felt very strongly led by the Holy Spirit that I was to attend this church. Then when circumstances occurred at my job that have made it nearly impossible to spend time in Niceville, the decision became a logical one. We haven't changed our membership, but for now know that this is where we are supposed to be. At first, it was very hard to not be a part of NUMC. We have been members there for over 13 years. What I have discovered however, is that God wanted make sure I had the right kind of fuel for the spiritual training that I would be doing during this season of life. EVERY week the message is exactly the one I needed to hear. As Greg said once, "If I hear another message on the fact that God will fight your battles for you...." Of course, what he meant was, that during this season of life there were particular promises in scripture that we were going to need to know and God has made sure to repeat a few of them. God placed us where we would hear those particular messages needed to fortify us for this particular challenge. This last week I was feeling discouraged and tired. I said to Greg, "What am I fighting for?" The message this week was about being bold and not quitting because what we are fighting for is the name of the Lord. (Psalm31:3) Ok, I got it.
Just like different believers have different callings, so do different churches. It has seemed to me that my church in Niceville puts a lot of emphasis on new believers and the un-churched. There is nothing wrong with this and it certainly has it's place. To stretch our faith, God needed us to move out of our comfort zone. If we wanted to grow in our faith, and build new spiritual muscles, especially in circumstances where they are going to need to be flexed (Like now!), we couldn't  keep eating the same diet just because it's become a regular choice.We needed to trust him and that included the spiritual food needed for our training.

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:12-14

There are several instances in scripture where God refers to spiritual immaturity as infants feeding on milk. When we need to grow in our faith, as our circumstances demand, we need meat. We need spiritual protein. God knew I was going to need the fuel to look at my situation through his eyes, not how the world would demand me to. He knew that I would need to take a stand and be bold in my faith, flexing muscles I hadn't used before because I had never been challenged on my knowledge of God's promises. He made sure I would have the spiritual meat to build those kind of muscles by placing me where I would hear those kind of messages and feast on that kind of truth. For this season of life, that place is Destiny Worship Center. If God requires us to elevate our spiritual intake, based on our challenges, can you imagine what would happen if your diet only consisted of worldly offers? Not only would you fail in having the fuel you needed to rise to the challenge, I'll speculate you wouldn't even have what it takes to keep the faith. The world offers you a fast food diet for your faith; quick to satisfy, but ultimately bad for your spiritual health.  This is why it is so important with what inputs we surround ourselves with and what truths we choose to internalize; you are what you eat. When fortified with God's promises (the ultimate supplements) and living a righteous life (making choices based on what God's word says and not what the world says), you are building some serious spiritual muscle that God can use. I want to be ready when that challenge comes and by God's grace I am discovering that I am.

"Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.You are still worldly." 1Corin 3:1-3.

Training is hard work whether it is physical or spiritual. You need the right fuel for both. To build muscle you need protein...or meat as the bible puts it. I am thankful that God has placed me where I can be fed with the right type of fuel to sustain me during this season of life. Thank you God for all that you continue to do to work for my good despite my circumstances (Rom 8:28); it's what your word promises and that's something I can really sink my teeth into.