Christmas Eve

For my family, today is Christmas Eve. Since we are traveling tomorrow, we will open gifts early tomorrow morning before heading out. Therefore, today is, for me at least, the llloooooooonnnggest day of the year. Seriously, it goes on forever. I can't wait until bedtime because, in this sense, I'm just as excited as a kid. I'm the mom that wakes her kids up at 5:00 on Christmas morning while every other parent is telling their kids to go back to sleep because it's too early. We are that family. Tonight, I will prep breakfast, clean the kitchen and living room to perfection, organize the gifts to hand them out speedily, set up the go-pro to video our excitement, and last but not least, lay out my husband's Bible to read the Scripture of Luke 2 over breakfast. For me, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

For many, Christmas Eve is stressful, awkward, sad, lonely, and long for other reasons. For many, it's just another work day, and for others, it's the day they're reminded yet again, that there's an empty chair at the table this year.

Christmas was, no doubt, all of the above for Mary and Joseph. The night their first child was born was exciting, awkward, lonely, uncertain, and long. People they didn't know crowded in to see their child, and they had to be at least a little curious about why (and how) these people came. Only to be told a little later that King Herod was after the baby's life. Mary had just given birth when she had to run to protect His life. This wasn't what she had in mind when she said, "May it be to me as you have said," to the angel. Several years later, the Magi of all people came bringing strange gifts, and Mary had to wonder. In fact, the Scripture even says several times, "But Mary treasured all these things in her heart."

I'm a little like Mary. At least, I imagine her reaction through the lens of what I know I would think/do. Outwardly, I would roll with the punches, but inside, I would ponder. Hmmm... I would "discuss" the obstacles with Joseph, and I would eventually ask God to help me deal. But most of all, I would prepare. I would plan. I would make all the preparations we would need for the next day, and I would sleep confidently, knowing that things would be much less chaotic in the morning.

But life with Jesus often doesn't work that way. We want smooth sailing, no bad surprises, no obstacles, and no stormy weather. God never promised Mary that being a mother to Jesus would be easy, but He did tell her, "You have found favor with God." Wow, she found favor with God! And she lived the life of a truly favored woman.

I don't consider myself more than an ordinary woman, raising ordinary children, and being an ordinary life. But for some reason, I feel favored. I am blessed beyond what anyone could measure, and I live life walking in fellowship with that baby boy born that Christmas night. I have obstacles, stormy weather, and hiccups happen along the way, and no amount of planning can account for those things. But I can choose to life a life, knowing I am favored, and I can say, like Mary, whatever plan you have for me, I will live it and glorify you in the process.

Fit Faith

I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the success of my new Book Fit Faith. I wrote it with the desire to share Scriptures and truths that helped me through my weight loss journey, in hopes that it would inspire others as well with what God can do. You can order your's too through the link to the left on Amazon.

Expensive

It’s too Expensive

Read Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. NLT

My co-worker was exasperated. She had just gone to the grocery store and was shocked at the price of fresh produce. She had recently become interested in a life-style change but was frustrated quickly after her first grocery shopping trip. “I can’t believe how much it costs to feed my family a healthy diet for just a week! My bill this week was 30% more than I normally spend, and I just don’t have that every week,” she said. She was discouraged. Desperately wanting to model better habits for her children, she had committed but was worried she just couldn’t keep it up.

Many people blame their poor food choices on the opinion that eating healthy just costs more. In reality, this isn’t always the case. Need a quick snack? A candy bar costs roughly $1.29 versus $0.50 for a lunchbox apple. Didn’t have time for breakfast? Forget the $3.00 you would normally spend at the donut shop and opt for a $2.25 bowl of steel-cut oatmeal at Starbucks. For dinner, try using ground turkey instead of ground beef and save $1.00/pound, as well as about 50 calories and several fat grams per serving. 

There are also other factors to consider when changing your eating habits. Eating at home is always healthier and certainly saves on the pocketbook over dining out. As you lose weight and gain muscle, clothing choices will explode and the price tag gets smaller! As you become healthier, doctor bills come less often and premiums for health and life insurance decrease. When looking at the bottom line, it all comes down to looking at the return on your investment.

Matthew’s Gospel records the Parable of the Three Servants who were entrusted with their master’s money. Two of the servants invested the money entrusted to them, and one dug a hole and just hid the money in the ground. In the end, the first two servants doubled their’s while the third merely held onto his initial endowment. The Master was quite pleased with the first two servants, but threw out the third servant, angry that the servant didn’t even make an attempt. 

God has given us gifts, in today’s case, our physical bodies to care for and nourish. When we fill them with unhealthy food, chemicals, and processed substances, we have not profitably invested in the body that God, our Creator, has entrusted to us. We will not see a profitable return on our investment if we continue to make unhealthy food decisions and refuse to burn the energy that our food provides. Like the master in the parable, our Master expects us to use our body to glorify Him, and that takes an investment. Remember also, not only has He created us, He has purchased us with His blood. 

How will you invest? Investing the time and treasure to living a more pleasing lifestyle to honor God with our body will ultimately pay off in the end. The investment in the temple that God has created you to be will earn great rewards.

Encouragement for Today:

Proverbs 28:26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. NLT

Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. NIV

Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. NLT



Here is a quick list of healthy foods under $1
Eggs
Yogurt
Apples
Bananas
Individual Portions of Nuts
Carrots
Onion
Sweet Potatoes
Garlic
Tea
Cabbage
Individual String Cheese Sticks
Beans
Lentils
Chicken Breast (Per Serving)
Canned Tuna
Canned Salmon
Milk (per Serving)
Wholegrain Pasta
Brown Rice
Quinoa
Popcorn (No Butter of course)
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Watermelon (per Serving)
Pears
Oranges
Tomatoes
Lettuce (an entire head)
Squash
Broccoli
Water
Coffee