Grace

Good morning!!  My friend Brianne @ Body Revolution Beatdown has inspired me to #1. get my fitness on and #2. get my blogging back on! She's very disciplined, it's admirable!

Last week was the first time I really worked out in a very long time, it was amazing! I wanted to die, true....but I felt so good afterwards that I am encouraged to push forward. The workout I did was a boxing class, 1 full hour of cardio. I loved it because, I didn't have to think too much, I didn't have to be coordinated or make sure I was crossing my feet the right way. I just WORKED, and sweated, and breathed heavy and...thought about getting sick a couple times!

The past few weeks at work have been difficult for me. I am struggling with my own pride, getting into that space where I think that my opinions and thoughts are the only ones that really make sense and that I should be in charge of everything because I know better than most.

The Lord has certainly blessed me with a sharp mind for what I do at work. I have to remember each day to thank Him for that gift and use it for His glory, not my own. In my small group we are currently studying Galatians and this is a good reminder that it is by Grace alone that we are saved. Everyday in my actions, I forget this on some level. I am 'working' to prove myself as 'good' or 'smart' or 'better' than others.

Every day I have to remind myself that my sin and pride are worthy of death alone and that Christ paid that for me because of His immeasurable love for me (and all of us). When I stop for a second and think about that, being right at work just doesn't seem as important. I need to remember that it is relationship and community that is important.

1Peter 4:10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

I am so thankful to the Holy Spirit for these insights and for allowing my stubborn mind to see these truths clearly from time to time, even through my own resistance of them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

May God bless you!
Aubrey

True Joy

Throughout my life I have struggled, like many people, with all sorts of different things. I have been abused by people, neglected, ignored, abandoned. I have wallowed in self destruction and anger.

But, I find myself here in this exact place in my life filled with pure and true joy.

I want to shout it from the mountain tops!! 

Where do I find my joy you may ask? (or maybe not, but I'll say anyway) Jesus Christ!

Jesus has always loved me. He has stood firmly by my side when I continuously abandoned Him, ignored Him and denied Him.

He has blessed me with a job that I truly love. And it's not the mundane tasks that I love, it's the people He has purposefully set in my path, in my days, in my line of sight that I love. It's the fact that God has healed me from the blindness of disbelief and faithlessness. He has opened my eyes and healed my heart and my family. He has re-made me!

He has blessed me with new eyes in which to view my family and people around me that allows me to find joy in them and not have unrealistic expectations of them.

I love having faith in Jesus and seeing Him work in my life and the lives of people around me. He is a comfort to me every day.

I have a little plaque on my desk that reads "Trust. 'trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.' Proverbs 3:5.

Seeing this everyday helps me to remember that relying on myself for joy or other people for joy will always lead to disappointment and dispair. True joy comes from Christ and His ultimate sacrifice for my salvation. Not from the pain He suffered, but the unimaginable love He has for us. It's beyond my minds capacity to understand the depths of His love. My heart swells as I think of that.

I hope this encourages you too, to lean not on your own understanding, but have faith in God. Only He can bring you true joy.

May God bless you!
Aubrey