Lessons from Naomi

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Last night at church, our "Women of the Word" group, began a new Bible study on the Book of Ruth. For this first week, we focused our study on Ruth 1. I could not believe how much was jammed packed into this amazing narrative. It was exciting, because as a group, we had so many different things to discuss.

The Book of Ruth opens with Naomi losing her husband and then her two sons. These losses left Naomi alone with her two daughters-in-law. At the end of chapter 1, Naomi's depression and grief overwhelm her to the point where she even wants to change her name to Mara, which means bitter.

"She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”"- Ruth 1:20-21 [ESV]

Here a just a few things I learned from Naomi in her moment of despair. 

1. Naomi cries out to the Lord in her distress. She isn't running to people to try to help her make sense of what is going on in her life. She's not calling her BFF to complain. She knows that help comes from the Lord and so even in her frustration, Naomi goes to God first.

2. Naomi is honest before the Lord. This woman of God has lost so much. However, as she talks to God, she doesn't act like she has it all together. She is honest about her feelings and pours them out before the Lord, hoping that He can make some sense of them. 

3. Naomi's faith remains strong in the face of uncertainty. In the short passage above, Naomi refers to the Lord as "the Almighty" two different times. Once, as she begins to talk to the Lord, and again as she closes her prayer. Naomi's faith in the Lord stays strong, because she knows that the Lord is the on who allowed these horrible things to take place in her life. Even as Naomi's circumstances overwhelmed her, she continued to have faith in the Lord Almighty!! She kept her eyes focused on Him!! 

Little does Naomi know, the Lord is about to pour out His gracious mercy and plan of redemption for her life.

In our own lives, we need to remember these lessons from Ruth 1. God does not allow hard times to come so that we fail. God allows our circumstances to overwhelm us, so that we will sit back and watch Him be God!! God will never receive glory, if we are constantly trying to fix our own problems.

"“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”" 
- Psalm 46:10 [ESV]

Learning to Accept Help

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A few weeks back, my friend's Mom, Diane, offered to help me clean my house. Diane said that she would be willing to clean my house every other week and help me with whatever needed to be done around my house.

I'm not going to lie to you that it took me several weeks to warm up to the idea. I am such a proud and it is hard for me to accept help from others, especially when I know that I could clean my house on my own. After wavering back and forth over what I would do, I finally talked to Jon and he encouraged me to contact Diane and accept her offer.

So, reluctantly I texted Diane and asked if her offer was still good. Almost immediately, Diane called me back. She was thrilled that I had gotten a hold of her in order to take her up on her offer. We talked and decided that yesterday would be the perfect day for her to come by and deep clean my house.

I was so nervous all morning waiting for Diane to arrive at my house. It was raining pretty hard and I wanted to call her to try to back out of all of this. Then after Diane arrive, it was so hard to sit in my house and focus on my work while someone else cleaned up my mess.

Do you know what? I survived. It did not kill me to accept help from another person. To be perfectly honest, I felt so blessed yesterday, after Diane left my house. I am so thankful to this woman for being willing to serve me and my family in this incredible way.

Do you know what else? Diane will be back in two weeks to help me again! I hope and pray that every time she comes to my house, I will become more willing to accept help from others.

What about you? Do you willingly accept help from others? What areas in your life you need to begin to accept help from those around you?

For me, it was all about my dirty floors, but maybe for you it's regarding your weight loss journey. Or maybe you need to accept someone's offer to be your workout buddy. Or maybe you need to ask your family to begin to help support your new healthier lifestyle.

So let's not wait any long!! The time to learn to accept help from those around us is now!!

As my husband said, "Praise God there are people our there willing to help stubborn people like us".

Weekly Weigh In - One Amazing Day

Lifetime members and staff holding a 50 year Weight Watchers timeline! Do you see Olivia with me?

This past weekend, I worked at our Weight Watchers One Amazing Day event. The event took place all day at our Weight Watchers store. It was so encouraging to hear other members and staff share their weight loss stories!

My favorite part of the day was when I shared my own weight loss success story with Weight Watchers members. Honestly, I never thought I would be asked to share my story, because I am in the process of losing my baby weight. However, that didn't matter, because I was asked to share my story anyway! 

As I shared my story I could not help but get emotional! I was overwhelmed with thankfulness, because of all that God has done in my life through my weight loss. I needed to be reminded of the freedom that God has brought about in my life through my weight loss journey! 

On Sunday, our Pastor spoke about bringing your reality into the light! Today, I am coming out the darkness and into the light, because I have bought into Satan's lies about me for too long!

 

The truth is...I did not gain the "perfect" amount of weight while I was pregnant. I gained too much and for months I have been beating myself up about this. Yes, I ate a lot while I was pregnant, which I do not regret, because my baby girl is healthy!

The truth is...I have not given up on myself and my healthy lifestyle! I did not let myself go gain all my weight back. Not to mention that when Olivia was six weeks old, I was back on Weight Watchers.

The truth is...my weigh in this week was so frustrating, because I gained back the 0.6 pounds that I had lost the week before! Am I struggling to lose this baby weight? Yes, but I am not giving up!

It feels so good to be honest about these things and bring them to light. I feel like I can really start to focus on losing my baby weight, because I have taken time to be real with God about where I am at.

Are there things in your life that you are hiding from God? What lies have you been believing? Maybe you need to take time to be honest with yourself and God, because only then can you be set free!

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The Best Worst Thing

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As a new Mommy, it's been very hard to make time to read my Bible and spend time with God. I make a lot of excuses, trying to justify why I am not able to get up in the morning for some quiet time with God. It's not that I do not want/need to spend time with God. I just have not made my relationship with the Lord my #1 priority.


As a result, of not spending time with God, many areas in my life are suffering.

Like my blogging.


It is hard for me to blog when my relationship with God isn't right. It's almost impossible for me to be inspired to write blog posts, when I have not spent time with God.

I use my blog, Living a Changed Life, to help me process what God is teaching me. I use them as an outlet, because I often do not have time to sit and journal all of my thoughts like I want to do. Instead, I blog and share my thoughts with all of you, because maybe you are struggling with the same thing I am and you need to know that you are not alone.



Yesterday, before my work day began, I sat down and read the Proverbs 31 Ministries Devotional, "The Best Worst Thing" by, Lysa TerKeurst.


It felt amazing to start my day off in God's word. I must confess that this blog post was inspired by that devotional, so you should read it before going on.


A few months ago, I was talking to Jon about all of the different ministries at our church that I have tried out. I was sharing my frustrations, because I have felt like such a failure. You would think by now that I would have figured out found my passion.

After the frustration passed, God helped me to take a step back  and realize that it was important for me try different areas on ministry at church so that I could find out what He has not called me to do. I needed time to evaluate what I don't like doing, so that I could narrow the ministries that I should be involved in!


Yesterday, I was so encouraged by Lysa TerKeurst, because she has tried a lot of things too! Toward the end of her devotional, Lysa says, "He can take our worst and add His best. We just have to make the choice to stay with Him and keep following Him through it all."


I don't know exactly what God wants me to do for the rest of my life. However, I do know that He will take my worst and add His best to do something amazing.


Maybe you are like me and you are not at your best right now.

Give God whatever you have, no matter how small it is, and He will give you all that you need to accomplish His purposes!

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV 1984)

Election Reflections

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Preface: I don't normally write about politics, because I don't know much about it. These are simple reflections that I wanted to write out for myself. I hope and pray that they encourage you this morning.

Last night, President Obama was re-elected. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were filled with posts of all kinds of reactions and responses. Some people were excited and bragging about their victory. Others were so mad that they want to move to Canada. I'm not sure that either candidate was the "perfect" choice.

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord SEATED on a throne..." Isaiah 6:1

For me, the most important thing to remember is that God is on His throne and in control. I am so thankful that this fact never changes! God was in control yesterday and He is still in control today.

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:14

Next, this past Sunday my Pastor preached a sermon called, Sitting in the Gate of Sodom. Pastor Keith shared about how we as Christians need to live our lives based on Biblical principles. He said that it's time for Christians to stop taking a passive approach to sin and that revival needs to start with us. 

Pastor Keith reminded me that it is important for Jon and I to lead our family in righteousness. As many of you know, Jon and I long to be missionaries overseas and we have been frustrated that God has not shown us where we should go yet. However, as my heart breaks for the state of my own country I can't help but wonder if God wants us to stay here for such a time as this.

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." - 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Finally, it's critical to remember that our President is not our spiritual leader. That being said, we must pray for our President, whether we like him or not. I hope that you will join me and committ to praying for our country and President Obama as he serves another four year term.

The 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

Happy Halloween!

Not this past Saturday, but the Saturday before last (October 22, 2011), Jon and I attended our 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party! Every year our Sunday school class has a pumpkin carving party. This is the 3rd year that Jon and I have attended the party and we always have a great time! Here are so pictures from the party!

{Thing 1 and Thing 2}

Jon and I before we left for the party.

Jon as Thing 1

Me as Thing 2

{Pumpkin Carving}

Our pumpkin before we carved it.

Ben and Kimberly gutting their pumpkin.

Jon working on carving our pumpkin.

Courtney working on her pumpkin.

I'm getting ready to carve our pumpkin.

John and Elise hanging out with baby Memphis.

Jon and Miller

{The Finished Pumpkins}

Ben and Kimberly's pumpkin

Courtney's finished pumpkin!

Our pumpkin!

{The Costumes}

Shane and Courtney

John and Elise

Bob and Janet

Ben and Kimberly

Jon and me

Sexy Christians

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Preface: I blog about what’s on my mind and this I have been thinking a lot about sex and self-image. Blogging helps me to process what I am thinking about. So, try to bear with me. Thanks!

Last week, I listened to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s The Peasant Princess sermon series. This sermons series took an in depth look at the book of the Songs of Solomon. I enjoyed Pastor Mark's preaching because it was to the point. He does not beat around the bush, but simply tells you how it is which I appreciate. At the end of each of his sermons Pastor Mark would give you questions to ask your spouse so that you could begin to talk about some of these issues.

This past weekend I tried to talk about some of these things with Jon. We had some good talks! When I was all out of questions Jon surprised me with a question of his own. He asked me, "why don't you feel sexy?" I quickly tried to come up with an answer, but the truth was that I nothing was good enough. I am not sure why I do not feel sexy, but it is just a fact.

I began to wonder, "can Christians be sexy?" I’m talking married Christians in a Godly covenant relationship, can they be sexy? Well, of course they can! However, what does that look like? What does it look like to be a sexy married Christian? 

Our world and culture do a good job at telling us what they believe is sexy. But why does the church stay so quiet about such an important issue? Shouldn't Christians be examples of what is means to have a healthy understanding of sexuality?

The Lord has not given me any divine revelations about my questions, but if He does I will let you know!

So...what do you think?

Speechless

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For the first time in a very long time, I don't know what to blog about. I am speechless, which is extremely rare for someone like me.

I want to be honest with you about where I am at, so let me try to explain.

Do you remember me telling you about my church's woman's conference that took place this last weekend? If not, you can check it out here.

It was incredible! God used each speaker to speak the truth of His word to my heart. God has shown me several areas in my life that I need to work on. It is exciting to know that God wants to make me look more like His son, Jesus. However, I have not had an opportunity to process everything that I am learning. My mind is full and heavy thinking about a lot of different things God is showing me.

I am simply at a loss for words. I do not know what to share with you, because there is so much I could share!

However, the most important thing I can share with you is the word of God. I want to share a verse with you that God used to encourage me this morning.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you."
- James 4:7-8

Longing to be like Mary

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"“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”" Luke 10:41-42

I am a Martha, longing to be a Mary.

This weekend our church is hosting it's annual woman's conference. It is a very busy weekend for me. This is the biggest event our church sponsors and it draws in over 2,000 women. I am on the conference committee and have several things that I am responsible for this weekend.

It is a joy to serve on this committee and help plan and host this conference. What I was not anticipating was that I would be sick last week! There are a lot of details that I needed to get done last week that have been put off until the last minute, because I was not feeling good. I have been so stressed this week. I haven't even been looking forward to the conference, because I have been so concerned with getting my "stuff" done.

The Martha side of me has come out in full force. My To-Do List has become my priority over praying for this event and that God would touch the lives of every woman that attends. I have been so distracted by what I need to get done, that I have forgotten that this weekend is really about the Lord!

God always uses conferences and retreats to speak to my heart in a special way. I am expecting God to speak to me this weekend. However, I will miss what He wants me to hear if my mind is filled with a running list of everything I "need" to get done. Satan is cunning and quick to distract me from what God has to say to me.

Starting right now, I am going to make a change. No longer will I be a Martha, longing to be a Mary. I am praying that for this weekend, God let's me be that Mary I want to be.

I have begun to pray (which is what I should have been doing in the first place). First confessing my sin and Martha ways to the Lord and giving up my plans. I am praying that God will help to give me the time to get everything done and that whatever does not get done will be okay. I am praying for the speakers and musical guests, that God would be preparing their hearts as they lead us into His presence. I am also praying for each woman that comes to the conference and that they will be able to lay aside their Martha ways to be a little bit more like Mary for a weekend. I am praying that God would prepare my heart to receive what He wants to teach me this weekend.

Do you need to lay down your Martha ways? If so, do it today! Don't wait! Jesus is longing for us to come, sit comfortably at His feet, and take our concerns right to Him!

Please pray for this conference this weekend and that each woman would be able to leave her troubles at the door and truly embrace their Lord Jesus.