My Hope Is Found-Owl City

What a beautiful tribute to Jesus by Adam Young of Owl City.

-"I can't brag about my love for God because I fail Him daily, but I can brag about His love for me because it never fails." Adam Young.

Burn the Ships!

I have lost 53 lbs. this year of 2011, so far. How exciting it was to load up 6 shopping bags of clothes and take them to the Good Will a few weekends ago. It was a difficult step for me. One that I did not think I'd be able to take. I have always held on to my "fat" clothes "just in case". But, this time it is different. As I sorted through the clothes and packed them up, the thought would enter my mind, "I really like this outfit. I'll just keep this one, just in case...". I asked myself, "Do you really want to go back there?" Immediately, I would answer, "No!". Reminiscent of Cortes in the year of 1519, I decided to "burn the ships", so that there would be no turning back this time!

As of today, I am about a third of the way to my weight loss goal. May my prayer be as Cortes commanded his men that day so long ago, "Let the Ships Burn". There is a Steven Curtis Chapman song that sings, "Burn the ships, I'm here to stay! No going back to the life I once knew, when I've come this far by faith. The One who led me here is never going to leave me. Let the ships burn!" I think Steven Curtis used this song to sing of the commitment to marriage, which I absolutely love, but I have applied it to this aspect of my life, as well! "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin." Romans 6:6-7 KJV I thank God that now that I know this truth, I don't need to physically burn my clothes, like Cortes and his men burned the ships. Because of the cross, I can now walk in the freedom and newness of life what Jesus accomplished for me that day.

Losing My Life!

"And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Mark 8:34-35 KJV

I made a decision the beginning of this year, 2011, to embark on a journey to weight loss. In reality, it has been an ongoing one and it has been long journey. I have not always been successful on this journey, I have failed many more times than I care to count. But, this year is different. I decided not to let failure keep me down, but to get back up, dust myself off and continue on the path to my goal. As I have traveled on this "journey to weight loss" this year, I've realized one thing. I've realized that it really isn't the ultimate goal. The weight loss is an added bonus of what is truly taking place in my life. The true goal is to realize what it means to lose my life in Christ. I have realized that the 150 plus pounds that I've carried around for many years has allowed me to hide and make excuses for not being everything I can be for Jesus. This year, I have made losing this weight a priority and to allow those layers to be peeled back and discover what Jesus intended for my life. This blog is a journal of that journey.