As most of you consistent readers have probably gathered by now... my "90 day" blog has been in somewhat of a holding position over the past few months. My original intention was to do this wholeness challenge in 90 days flat. Before too long I began to realize that the blogging portion was taking up 1 to sometimes 4 hours a day. This was in addition to the nutrition/exercise/and reading the bible part. I still think the challenge is do-able, even with a "demanding" schedule, but what i'm realizing is that it forces you to reevaluate the "demanding" parts of your life and ask yourself politely what could be removed from it. This is something I've been gently forcing myself to do this year.
This season has been packed with research, experiments, casual interviews picking ones brain, experiences, meditation, and revelation. I feel as though I've learned so much from God through the word, nature, other people, and my own imagination. This has been an incredible time of sorting through and holding on to the source of truth in all things. I'm very excited to share all of these things with you in the coming year!
In addition... God is leading me to get a few more certifications while I'm home in the U.S. before stepping into the long-term vision. For the first time ever... I finally feel as though I'm truly walking out God's destiny for my life. Although the foundation of His will for all of our lives is to know the character and nature of God, love Him with all our hearts, minds, soul... BE a son/daughter of the King, and follow Him wherever He leads - loving and serving those around us... I also believe that He has put desires, hopes, dreams, passions and gifts in all of us! Not to use these things for ourselves to climb a ladder, but to use them for the body!!! And when we are in unity as the body- seeking the WHOLENESS of who God created us to be, then can you imagine the impact that will make on our relationship with Him and His relationship with the world????
So where do we begin? Well, for myself I've decided to use this day to purge, simplify, detox, and clean. I'm spending this day before 2012 begins to ask God to come into my body, mind, soul and give me a fresh start. Just like every cell in our body must be detoxed before it can be nourished... I want EVERYTHING to be empty so He can fill it! I want to make ROOM for God to move in my life and in the world!
First practical step: CLEAN out the closets. (If you do this try not to just throw stuff away... there are more sustainable ways of handling this process, haha... suggestions: check out pinterest.com, look for places/people you can donate too, or save it for the garage sale "Families Outreach" is having in march to raise money!!!) Not only does this simplify your life, but it's known to remove clutter in your mind too!!!
First REAL step: PRAY and worship... repentance is the best detox one could possibly do! But ask God to come in and hit the reset button for you today. As you clean out your life...ask that He clean out all of you :)
Step two: I've already written down 3 main things that are apart of the make-up of me. Example: Justice, Photography/Journalism, and Health and Wellness. This is how God made me. These things stir up a passion in my soul that cannot be quenched. You get me talking about them and I can hardly stop! Haha. As I've gotten older and traveled a bit, I now see how God is using them for the body and the world. If we do not take part in the things God knit into our soul then i believe pieces of us begin to die and we become depressed. Once I wrote down these things I began to make goals for the year that fit into these categories. My goals/visions are not limited to these things but sure do help me stay focused! When we are able dream with God on these things with a self-less attitude the possibilities are endless!!! Something God created inside all of us wakes up! Then when we can work together on things... how much more beautiful is the outcome. Some of my goals this year involve things to create, things to learn, areas to get certified, missions to go on, "wholeness" weekends to facilitate, and half-marathon's to run!
Step 3: Whole Body Detox. As I'm finishing up the "90" day blog I'll be doing a real body cleanse. I think that when we do things in the physical it directly effects the spiritual and vice verse. I also believe that in order to be strong and fit to do what God has called us to do... I need to make healthy lifestyle decisions. What better way to kick off the new year!!!
There will be about 10 days left of this blog and then I'm moving into "spiritual disciplines". I'll explain more on that later, but the basic idea will be to focus one spiritual discipline at a time to really study, understand, and experience it. I want to see God's heart and design for us walking those out. I will be going through the "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster if you'd like to join me.
If you haven't read the bible through, you might want to try the "90 day" challenge I just did. And of course, you have complete freedom to do your own version of that. Keep in mind the "wholeness" perspective and look into adding pieces that create a healthy atmosphere and challenge for your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.
I'd love to hear from you all!!! I'd love it even more if you want to join me in any of this! I am so excited to share more with you very soon on what God did in New Zealand the past few months... and what is in store for 2012. I am SO grateful for ALL of your prayers, thoughts, encouragements and support!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AND HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!!!! God's got a LOT in store for you and the world, we are so blessed to be a part of it!!!
