Bible in 90 Days

I am still doing the Bible in 90 days, pretty sure I got a bit behind this week, but I am still moving through, I am up to Judges! WOOT! The thing I want to talk about today goes back to Deuteronomy, I want to talk about Moses.

Oh Moses, he lead those whiny, ungrateful Israelites for 40 years in a desert, and he still did not get to enter the promised land. This is a story that I am so familiar with and still when I was reading this time I found myself hoping the Lord would change His mind and let Moses enter, but that doesn't happen. God tells Moses, you will not enter because you broke your faith with me in the presence of the Israelites, and did not uphold my holiness. This is what I love about God here though, He told Moses that he would not get to enter, and He told him why, and then He took Moses to the top of Mount Nebo, and He allowed him to see the land the Israelites would inherit. What a precious gift for Moses, the thing that he had worked so hard to provide his people,and the Lord who had forbade him to enter it still let him see its beauty. I can just picture them there together with the Lord pointing out each portion of land and who it will belong to. Then telling Moses this is what I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, my promise fulfilled! Then Moses died there in Moab, just as the Lord told him he would and then do you what our loving God did, he buried him, buried him! What a fitting tribute to Moses to buried by the Lord!

I am just amazed all the time by theLord and what He reveals to me during my readings. That this Lord of Moses is still the Lord of today. This Lord that took compassion on a man that let him down, and still let his eyes see what his feet had longed to stand on, the Lord that fulfilled His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This Lord still fulfills promises today. I think about myself and my prayers to the Lord, the things I ask for, and then I have to wait, and my goodness if God takes more than a day or two to answer me, well, it is kinda like my excecise I am ready to throw in the towel. I have a hard time waiting for 40 minutes Moses waited for 40 years! I serve a God who answer prayers and fulfills promises, maybe not always the way I wish, but always in a way that is the best! I serve a God who shouts answers like thunder and a G0d who sometimes speaks in whisper. I pray that I slow down long enough to listen, to hear the thunder and especially the whispers. I pray that I can really learn to leave everything in His hands, I know His plans are best, and I pray I learn to be unselfish and let go of my own plans. If I could do these things, take my problems and requests to God first and not after I have tried on my own and totally messed things up. If I could do this I would have a lot fewer messes, and so many more blessings! Praise God, though that He will clean up messes too, especially a big old mess like me!

Okay...

I have two posts today, aren't the four of you that read my blog so lucky! First I want to update on the weight loss working out etc... I got so frustrated last week, I wanted to make that scale move so badly and it would not budge! I felt like just giving up throwing in the towel and going back to eating whatever the heck I wanted because what difference did it make! Can I just say how glad I am to have reconnected with so many old friends on facebook, because when I vented my frustrations so many of you rallied to cheer me on. I cannot thank you enough! I have no idea what I have done for God to bless me so much with such encouragement but thank goodness He did! I had set a small goal for myself last week, I wanted to get under a mark I had not been under in awhile, and I only had to lose 1lb to do it, I think that is where some of frustration came from! But as of yesterday morning I hit that goal and then some, Thank you Lord! So, for those of you that posted encouragement and told me to keep going, I cannot thank you enough!

Okay, Couch to 5K workout, started Week 2 yesterday, oh my, it was hard, I had to slow it down before the full 90 seconds a couple of times. Hoping it gets easier as the week goes on, but if I am still having trouble on day 3 I will be staying on week 2 for another week. Still walking on the treadmill on off days, but just walking no running. I am also doing the Biggest Loser Boot Camp workout on those days. As of right now I am not taking any days off, hoping I can change that as I progress, but right now I need the exercise. OH, and I also found a way to satisfy my chocolate craving with cookies! Gonna share the recipe here because it was really good, and my kids ate the fire out the cookies so it is not just my opinion! Thanks again for all the encouragement!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 box yellow cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumkin
1 cup chocolate chip

Mix all ingrediants together and drop by the tablespoon, on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, bake at 375 degrees for 18 mins or until golden brown!

I was really afraid you were going to really taste pumpkin in these but I honestly couldn't tell at all, I am taking them to church pot luck Wednesday so we will see, how that goes over, LOL!

Next post coming soon!

Can You Praise God on the Treadmill?!?

This was something I was pondering today as I was slaving away on my treadmill. I hit a mark today where it just wasn't fun for me any more, like it ever was?!?! LOL I knew I had to get on there I knew I needed to do it, but man oh man I was NOT happy about it. I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone so to speak. Our church bought new hymnals and I had been trying to learn some of the new songs by listening to the tracks on the website. So, I plopped my lap top on top of the treadmill and was listening to music. Can I just say it made such a difference for me today. By the time I got to Agnus Dei ( the songs are in alphabetial order) I was literally crying out to God for a miracle. I know I have a lot of work to do, to get to where I want to be physically. It has taken years to put on this weight, and I know I cannont lose it all overnight, although I would take that miracle Lord if you are willing to give it! I also know that I cannot do it by myself, so I prayed for help, and do you know I walked an extra 30 minutes today, and my body before I prayed hurt it was rebelling against the activity I was putting it through. I didn't think I was going to be able to go 5 minutes much less 60! Thank you God for walking with me every step of the way today, and I pray you will meet me on that threadmill everyday! So, yes, you can praise God on the treadmill, and today that is exactly what I did!

Update on New Year's Resolutions

Okay here is a little update.

90 days to read the bible is going well. I am finished with Leviticus, and am set to start Numbers tonight.

Diet is going okay not losing as quickly as I would like, but hey I am losing so that is good. I have lost as of right now right around the 5lb mark. Hoping it starts coming off quicker but heck if I can lose 5lbs every two weeks that is 10lbs a month, and my first goal is 20lbs, so just 15 more to go! Not really following any plan just eating like I did when I was doing Weight Watchers, just not figuring points and such. Also watching portion sizes and planning meals. Planning is really important for me because if I don't have the stuff here and planned out I am tempted to get fast food and let's face it there is no good for you fast food!

Exercise, we got the treadmill from my mom's house on Saturday, and I have managed to get on it everyday since then. Most days I have done right at 2 miles. One day I did 60 minutes 30 in the morning and 30 that night, I was bored! LOL Hoping I can stay motivated and hoping it makes a difference on the scale soon!

Lastly patience with the kids, well, I am not going to go into this because let's face it we can't have it all!

Bible in 90 Days- Day 8

I have persevered through my reading, and I have made it to the book of Leviticus. Okay can I just say right now, not my favorite of the books of the bible, and I am so very thankful that we are living under a new covenant with God rather than the old covenant! I just don't know how they could keep all the rules and regulations straight, and goodness the usual punishment for not following them was death! Man, I should finish up Leviticus here in a day or two, and move on to Numbers. I wish I had more to offer, but not finding much writing material, hopefully meatier lengthier blogs soon!

Bible in 90 Days

Still plugging along, just have blogger's block. Still learning new things everyday! Will try to write something this week sometime.

Bible in 90 Days

I am still on track, praise the Lord! I just haven't been posting. It is just such a wealth of information I am having trouble narrowing down. Plus Genesis goes into lineage a lot, which I love learning about but man on man does it make a girl's head swim trying to keep it all straight. So I am just going to hit a few points from the last few days readings.

Again, I am going to focus on a character for just a moment rather than a specific verse. Can I just say I loved reading about Joseph! This man faced so much adversity and the way he relied upon the Lord, it is just awe inspiring. Of course we know his brothers out of jealousy sold him into slavery to the Egyptians. While a slave, Potiphar's wife took quite the shine to him(and not in a good way, in a I am going to try and seduce you way) and when he did not take a shine to her, she told awful lies about him that caused him to be thrown in jail. Eventually, he becomes a dream interpreter for the Pharaoh, and I love what he tells him when he is asked to interpret Pharaoh's dream for him...

" I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." Genesis 41:16.

Oh my, I love this and it still true today, there is very little that I can do but God can do so much, through me if I will only allow it. May I strive toward Joseph's example. All these adversities and I never once heard him complain or become bitter about his circumstances, and he gave all the glory to the one who truly deserves it, God! I could go on about Joseph, but I wanted to touch on a few other things.

I have moved into Exodus in my readings. We start to learn about Moses here. Oh , Moses, sometimes I would just like to give him a big shake, and then I think how alike he and I can be at times! I kinda feel like he always had a little bit of doubt about the calling God had given him, and while he trusted in God he always let that seed of I am not good enough creep into his thoughts and poor guy after all the wandering in the wilderness I think it was this doubt along for some other things that caused him to be forbidden to see the promised land. I think how often I rebel against God's calling thinking there is someone better for the job, but the fact is if it is a job God has called you to do, you are the someone better!

I am excited that I have made it through Genesis and am enjoying my trek through Exodus, looking forward to continuing the journey and learning what God has for me to learn!

Bible in 90- Day Two

Okay, with today's scriptures, I thought instead of looking at verses I would take a look at one of the characters.

Here's day two's scriptures- Genesis 17:1- Genesis 28:22

Now if you are familiar with these passages you may think that I would be looking at the character of Noah, Abraham, or even Lot, but the one I am going to focus on is actually pretty minor. I mean she didn't even get a name. She is just referred to Lot's wife, but I learned a lot from Lot's wife.

Let me set the scene for you a little bit. Abraham and Lot have parted ways and Lot was living near the city of Sodom. God had spoken to Abraham and told him of his intentions to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now Abraham knew his nephew Lot was living near Sodom, so he pleads with God if they can find just 10 people in the city who were not wicked would he spare the city. God agrees to this but we all know that there were not even 10 righteous people to found in the city. So, his angels were sent to destroy the city.

Now this is where Lot's wife comes in, Lot and his family are allowed to flee the city, they must leave quickly. Now, I am no biblical scholar, so this is just my opinion, but I figure there was no time to pack. Just this city is about to go down and you all better high tail it out of here or you are going to go down with it. The only instructions they were given is where to go Zoar and go there quickly, and do not look back! They had just almost reached the city of Zoar and poor Lot's wife just couldn't keep herself from turning around and looking back. Why did she do it, was she curious, she just had to see what was happening to the city. Maybe. I think though that for her she looked back on all the things she left behind. How often do I do that, look at things left behind, whether it be sin, people, things, the past. I take my eyes off the here and now, and look back at the past and everything left behind. This cost Lot's wife her life and could very well, cost me mine, not in a physical sense but in a spiritual one. At the very least this tendancy to dwell in the past can hinder my relationship with Jesus here in the future. They were just things Lot's wife left behind, I am sure it was things that took them years to aquire, but things none the less. How often do I let things get in the way for me? Whether it is trying to acquire them, wishing I had them, or getting them and being unsatisfied by them. She took her eyes off the one thing that could save her and it cost her life, Lord please help me not to make that same mistake! Let me keep my eyes on things of purpose, and not look back and wish for things of the past. I don't want to be a pillar of salt!

Bible in 90 Days- Day One

Okay, I am just gonna touch on a few things that I read that stood out for me personally. If you would like to take this journey with me, you can find out all about it here!

Today's Readings Genesis 1:1-16:16

One of the verses that I came across that spoke to me was Genesis 1:31 God has just finished creating everything including man, if you notice after each creation God steps back and looks at his handiwork and declares it good, but when he creates man he steps back and looks at this creation and deems it "very good"

"God saw all that he had made and it was very good..."

Out of all the beautifully amazing things that God created on this earth the only thing he quantified was man! How awesome is that, that he looked at man as his most prized creation. The one He was most proud of, the only one he deemed very good! How treasured that makes me feel, how awesome to know that I am his prized creation! WOW!

The 2nd verse is a partial verse in Genesis 3:9, Adam and Eve have just eaten from the tree of knowledge, and they have hidden themselves and God calls out to Adam Where are you? That is what I want to ask myself Robyn, where are you? Where are you in life? Where are you in your walk with me? Where are you as mother, wife, daughter...Where are you? I know where I want to be, but am I there. Not hardly. Can I get their on my own, IMPOSSIBLE! Do I have someone to help, absolutely! Do I have someone to rely on, you betcha. All I have to do is seek Him out, and that is what I plan to do.

The last verse I wanted to touch on was in Genesis 15:1 God is speaking to Abram

"Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."

Oh my, do not be afraid, I am your shield, your very great reward! Gosh is that not just awesome, doesn't that sum up life pretty much. Don't fear this world or the things of it, I am here I am your protector, but not only your protector, but if you walk with me I will be your very great reward! Nothing in this life will compare to the reward I can receive in heaven, why spend time looking for validation here, it is fleeting. I cannot have, buy, receive etc... enough things to make me happy or feel fulfilled here on earth, but I can make deposits into a bank that repay me for all eternity, in ways that I can't even imagine!

Lord, help me draw nearer to you, this year, help me to stay grounded in your word and your work. Help look for things that have value in eternity and not value here on earth! Let me lay up treasures in heaven not here on earth, and help me to seek a more intimate relationship with you! Be my shield and protector, help me not to fear, and help me realize that YOU are my very great reward!!

New Year's Resolutions

UGH, I hate these, nothing like looking back at the end of next year and seeing all the things I failed at doing, but alas once again I am making a few resolutions. I am optimistic this year though I really think these are some things that I can do! So here it goes.

1. First and foremost I am doing The Bible in 90 days. Which is a lofty goal for me considering I was going to go through the bible in a year last year and made it to about March. Which consequently is about 90 days, so I should be good right? I hoping this spurs me on to stay on top of having my quiet time with God. It is something I really need to be better about doing. I am going to try and post some of my observations, each day on here, but we all know how good I am about keeping my blog updated, but I am gonna give it try.

2. Get healthier this year. I hate having to put this goal down every year, the fact is about 2 years ago I lost about 40lbs, which was a drop in the bucket of what I needed to lose, but was a huge accomplishment. I have now gained back a little over 20lbs of what I lost. So, here is to 2010 being the last year I have to put this resolution down.

3. Get my house in order and keep it that way, I am going to do some major purging of junk! Get rid of stuff I am tired of redo a few rooms. I need some projects! Get it clean and keep it that way. I have such a bad habit of when things get out of control I become so overwhelmed I don't know where to start, so I don't! Bad idea! So no more of that this year.

4. Exercise more, not sure what this is going to entail, but for right now just moving my behind more!

5. Have more patience with my kiddos! I love them but man oh man can they push my buttons at times! It won't hurt me to have more patience in general. So, here's to a kinder, gentler Robyn in 2010.

I know there are more things, I hope to accomplish this year, the least of which is figuring out what I want to be when I grow up and going back to school, but just the things that I have written down have got me a bit overwhelmed so I am going to stop there for now! Here's to realizing all my goals in 2010! What's on your list?