A Transformed Life...

How goes it, my blog framily??? I know you all have to be in shock about these consecutive posts this week, but I meant what I said.  God willing, I'll have a post every day this week! And though they may not seem to go together, I promise that there is an underlying theme that runs through each and every post I make and I hope that someone gets it even as I write to not only encourage myself but to let someone know that they are not alone - we are on this walk together!  

So as you know, I'm a member of Club 40.  Within the next 3 weeks, I will be joining the mid-40s club actually (the last year before my "bracket" changes - you know, when you fill out those forms and they put your ages into groups?  Well, mine is changing...).  A lot of my friends have really been bitten by the fitness bug (myself included, but kind of more in a lackadaisical not really committed way) and most speak of healthy living/exercise as not just a fad but a way of life.  A transformed way of living, if you will.  And I'll have to be honest with you - I'm not totally there yet.  I mean, I'd love to shed some of this here extra love handlage (yes, I just made that up) but I'm not committed enough at this point to go to the gym 6/7 days a week or get up at 3 am to go to the gym.  Nor am I about to drink a bunch of green goo or eat stuff I don't really like.  Because I just happen to like food.  In other words, I'm not that chick!  And that is why I haven't been able to shed those last stubborn pounds!  I mean, I've lost some weight, and I'm very pleased with it, but I could stand to lose a bit more, but I'm not ready to make the commitment to transform my eating habits 100% or force my way into more exercise to do it.  Not at this juncture, but stay tuned!!!

It kinda works like that with being on this faith walk too. For all of my believers, you know that living a transformed life is the hallmark of the Christian faith.  Before I get into all of my thoughts on the subject, I want to share my notes from Pastor Singleton's sermon on April 17th, "The Miracle of the Transformed Life."  *Note:  the material that follows is a summation of the notes I took during service*  

The text was from Romans 11:33-36; 12:1-2.  The crux of the sermon was this:  the transformed life begins with a changed mind; an unchanged mind cannot comprehend. Whoa, right???

Pastor Singleton opined that it is not whether a person can be changed, but moreso, how is it done?  He offered three reasons that a person's mind could be changed:  (1) facts, (2) events and circumstances, and (3) sometimes it is the power and presence of God Himself. The first step in spiritual transformation is for YOU to change your mind (repentence) before God can transform your mind.  To transform is the changing of the nature of a thing by natural or supernatural means.  Transformation of one's mind is an inward thing; it is what God does "in" you.  Some scriptural references on transformation in the Bible:

• 2 Corinithians 11:14
• Romans 12:2
• Matthew 17:1-3
• 2 Corinthians 3:18

Transformation is part of the sanctification process for believers, and there are  3 stages:

1) positional - - you are taken out of darkness and set aside by God;

2) progressive - - you enter into a partnership where you are walking and living for God;

3) perfect - - when we get to heaven.

How we think is guided by what's pressing on our mind; we are either being shaped by the things of the world or by God.  And I'm just gonna leave that right there...

Another great sermon, right?  So, as much as I am not very motivated to transform my fitness life, I am absolutely motivated to transform my spiritual life!  I've been on this faith walk for some years now (I'm a church girl, was brought up in the church so I've never been too far from it; however, I have at times been waaaaay to the left of it all), and guess what? I still don't have it together.  Even when I think I'm doing well, there will be something that comes up and reminds me that I still need some work... What can I say? Oh yeah, you know what I always say, "Work in Progress."  The thing is, God knows that we are human and that we will fail and miss the mark.  A lot.  A whole lot.  A whole lot more than we care to admit. And it's actually ok. Really, it is.  Pray for God to order your steps and keep your eyes on the mark.  At the end of the day though, I say this:  I may not be where I want to or ought to be, but I'm so glad I'm not where I've been!  I made a commitment to rededicate myself to my faith walk in January 2015 and I can tell you that it hasn't been easy!  There have been some tough times and some huge sacrifices but there have also been some blessings, both big and small. I won't talk about all of this here, because that is for another post, but if you've been following me then you know some of the things I've been going through, no secret at all.  And honestly, some of those things have been enough to make me quit this thing once and for all!  But you know what?  Number one, I wouldn't know what to do with myself because I'm just a church girl on the inside (one of my high school friends called me a "goodie two shoes" - I never saw me that way, but I'll take it).  Number two, and most importantly, I choose to believe.  Period, point blank.  I choose.  And I also choose to continue transforming my life so that others may see Him in me... (hopefully some of that is coming across through these posts).

So Framily, what say ye?  How has your walk of spiritual transformation been treating you???  Or even your physical transformation, I need help y'all!   Holla @ Darvi and let's talk about it!  As always, be blessed! xoxoxo

I don't like change...

Happy Friday to you all!  This weekend I am looking forward to celebrating my friend C-Rob's entry into Club 40!!!  She is such an awesome person and I hope she has the best birthday ever!!! 

I remember when I turned 40.  For the two years leading up to 40, I was so looking forward to it, planned a HUGE celebration and was looking forward to the next chapter of my life.  Until the week of my actual 40th birthday came.  That week found me super down, doubting myself and the many life choices I had made up to that point, and just dreading my birthday.  I felt like I wanted to go to sleep on the eve of my birthday and not wake up until the day after.  I had planned all this stuff and I didn't want to see anybody.  I just wanted to curl up in my bed and watch television.  That's when it first hit me - I don't like change.

I have never been fond of change, yet I've had to endure constant change during my life.  I had to change houses when we had a fire at our house when I was 8 and move to my grandparents house.  I had to adjust to wearing glasses in the 4th grade when rarely anyone else did.  I had to change schools in 6th grade to go to a new school, with new people, in a new neighborhood and take a bus.  My whole world changed when I went off to college.  My world changed again when I graduated from college and came back home to attend law school.  My world changed yet again when I got engaged, got married, bought a house and had a baby.  You get the idea.  Change happens. And yet, I'm almost never prepared for it and fight it every step of the way.

What is change?  Change is defined on dictionary.com as "to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion."  See the full definition here.  So I suppose it would look something like this in picture form:

Now, I'm not a moron. I understand that everything changes and everything has to change.  It just takes me a while to adapt to it and I don't like it.  I also don't like reprogramming my kids for whatever new change lies ahead.  It simply makes me tired...

Let's take moving as an example.  In my life, I've moved 16 times (this includes moving each year for college).  In the past 6 years, I've moved 2 times and am gearing up for another move now.  That's a lot of packing and unpacking.  It's also an adjustment to a new neighborhood, a new house and leaves me feeling unsettled.  I think that's the part that I dislike the most. 

There's also changes like watching your kids grow up.  That is the hardest pill to swallow.  When they are babies and small children, you just love them to pieces and pour everything into them.  Then you have to watch them grow up and change into tweens (and that is more than a notion if you have a daughter), then into teens and then prepare yourself for them leaving you and going off to college.  That's where I am now; the Teen is entering his junior year, so the time for him leaving the nest is close at hand.  And I don't like it one bit!  As much as I want him to grow  up and experience life and everything that comes with it, part of me still longs for the little boy who was my pride and joy, my baby.  In short order, I will go through the same thing with the Tween and I can't even begin to process THAT yet! 

But, when the time comes, I will adapt.  That's one of the two things that happens when change comes; you either adapt or you wither and die (not literally, but figuratively).  I just ran across a quote that I think befitting:  "The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists."  ~ Japanese Proverb  I'm striving to be more like the bamboo than the oak.  One of my favorite songs is Everything Must Change by Oleta Adams.  Others have sang it, but her version is my favorite.  She has a beautiful voice; you can listen to it here. 

So as I gear up to enter yet another new season in my life and the inevitable change it brings, I hope to embrace it rather than resist it.  At the end, I want it to look something like this:

 

I hope you will pray for me and wish me luck.  My mantra for this time of change is the serenity prayer; maybe it will help you as you go through your own seasons of change.

Am I the only one facing change?  Holla @ Darvi! Be Blessed and have a great weekend!!!