I've been doing a lot of yoga lately. I find it helps me slow down, relax, be silent. I feel as though i'm beginning to live the words of truth "Be still and know that i am God." This seems so hard for us to do, especially in our over-booked society. One of the first things we do in class is "set our intention" and pick a word to bring us back to the moment if our mind begins to wander off into never never land. I love this!! I think i need this everyday! To be intentional is to be purposeful and one definition even says "pointing beyond itself". If our intention is set on Him during this journey, we shall surely find more of Him and more of ourselves - in HIM.
My specific word for the intention of the yoga class has been "integrity." It just keeps popping up in my head and now i can't get away from it!!! Last night as my mom and i were watching "Food, Inc.", one of the farmers was talking about how most farming is corporate now and many have lost integrity. The more dishonest it has become, the more unhealthy our food is and now we are beginning to pay the price. This organic farmer said that his goal to see people healthy would never be compromised by a need for more money. This made me think even more about the domino effect of justification. Sometimes we can justify things so easily without understanding or caring about the long-term effects. Not only this, but we don't even think about what God might think. It mostly comes down to trusting that He will provide for us what we need.
B90: (Genesis 14-26:35 )
Today, I even read about integrity as Abram and Sarah chose, several times, to come up with their own solution rather than waiting on God's best. So not only did they not trust, but they sinned out of their impatience and justified it as an "honorable" thing. I love how God continues to pursue their hearts which ends up in quite a redeemable story. Sarah ends up bearing a child after all! And...If you read Chapter 22 carefully you see that Abraham knew God was going to pull through when He's asked to sacrifice His only son (sound familiar? read the "xtra bonus" at the bottom)... He even tells his men that they will be back and tells his son that God is providing a lamb. Over the years i just assumed that Abraham was lying so that Isaac would keep walking. I saw a God that might ask me to do something awful if I gave my life to Him. But looking deeper, it's as though Abraham was completely calm. Another interesting is that it doesn't mention anything about Isaac trying to squirm off the alter, scream out for help or run away. He trusted His Father and His Father's Father. We will always have "opportunities" to lie, cheat, worry, fear, panic, run away and distrust. And most of this can be easily justified. But as our journey moves on... and we grow through our failures and mistakes... we then have the opportunity to trust Him. If we trust Him and see His heart for us then integrity comes almost natural. If we fall we understand His grace, we get up and RUN to Him WHOLE-heartedly. But if we loose sight of who He really is and how much He loves us, then it becomes a chore to try and "do the right thing"... and when we fall it's easier just to stay down, give up, and be defeated. Even so... He STILL pursues our hearts and is not intimidated by our journey.
P90: Loved the little 15 min ab workout and finished off my day with hot yoga downtown jonesboro... I'm really loving that community I have there and seeing God begin to work powerfully in peoples lives!! Exercise is another way to develop relationships with people and show them the love of Christ!
Nutrition: All day long I constantly found my flesh creepin up on me. There were many times i almost justified something that I said i wouldn't eat during this time. I wanted to cheat so badly and it's only the second day! Oh my goodness. Thankfully, this word "integrity" keeps coming back up, refocusing me, and re-setting my intention.
XTRA BONUS: Alright, this is a cool little story I learned about last time I was in Israel... thought you might enjoy it! Apparently Golgotha, where Jesus (God's only son) was crucified, used to be attached to Mt. Moriah where Isaac (Abraham's only son) was to be sacrificed before God provided the lamb. Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice and so did Jesus. Isaac had to trust in His father and so did Jesus. The similarities continue, but it's interesting how God was almost providing a moment of foreshadow to what was to come. During Abraham's hard journey up the mount, He had no choice but to trust God... and God provided a ram. Wherever we are in this world we are making that same journey in a way, with opportunities to justify our reasons to walk back down and turn our back on our pursuer. But the whole time, He was providing the innocent lamb for us... that sacrifice that would've/should've been us, was now Himself. It's also pretty important to note that Abraham named that mountain "The Lord will provide". That He did.
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