Heartfelt - Devotions for Common Sense Living

With the weeks leading up to Christmas, we are starting a new series of inspirational devotions. Brenda Wood has graciously offered us her devotions from her new book, Heartfelt – 366 Devotions for Common Sense Living. Enjoy!

My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-2- The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters (KJV).

The buffet line was longer than my entire house. Did I want family food? Italian? Sushi? Chinese? Chocolate-covered, cream-filled desserts? YES! My knees weakened at the chocolate line. That’s when I recognized that my long-lived love of food had become an addiction. As a recovered bulimic I knew that I was capable of eating fifty thousand calories or more at a sitting.

Blessedly, Psalm 23 began to run through my mind. I certainly was in a green pasture. I could eat all I wanted and more, (only $9.99 with beverage extra)! But if the Lord is my shepherd, (and He is, I muttered to myself), I shall not want! I could lie down (a little loose translation here!) in this place and be satisfied. I prayed for strength, turned and stumbled back to my chair with only one serving of woman-losing-weight food. And the waters of greedy, poor me stilled.

What is yelling over the quiet, still voice of God? Is it an overloaded credit card? Does our smoking, eating, or gambling desire whine to be fed? Whatever our “feed-me-more” consider that the Lord is our shepherd. Rest in peace, knowing that we shall not want.

Prayer-Shepherd God, still the waters of our riotous minds and fill us with Yourself. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


: from Heartfelt, 366 Devotions for Common Sense Living,
-the modern devotional for today's woman-
by Brenda J. Wood

Staying Fit While Sitting All Day

Exercises & Stretches

Benefits of Exercise

* Elevates mood * Improves balance and mobility
* Maintains a healthy weight * Increases energy level
* Builds strength and tones muscles * A pure motive delights God

Discover the many benefits to exercise including feelings of accomplishment and wellbeing, increased energy, reduced stress and improved sleep patterns.

Stretches

Back
· Lean over and put hands on front thighs, curve your back upwards
· Keep head turned down, arch back up

Wrist
· Face palms together in front of chest
· Keep palms together, with hands in stationary position, slowly raise elbows upward as high as possible

Eyes
· Look away at distant things and blink frequently
· Imagine that you are looking at a clock; roll your eyes up to look at 12:00 o’clock, then move to each number on the face until you’re back at 12:00 - repeat counterclockwise

Neck
· Turn your head as if to look over one shoulder
· Hold and repeat for the other side

Shoulders
· Stand, arm behind your back, hold wrist with other hand
· Bend elbow and gently pull your arm across your back
· Hold and repeat for the other arm

Chest
· Stand, bring arms behind back
· Clasp hands together and gently pull arms back and up

Calf
· Stand in an upright stride position with right leg forward, right knee flexed
· Keep both feet flat on floor, slowly press back heel into the floor
· Repeat to opposite side

Exercises

Shoulder
· Stand with arms by your sides, palms facing side leg.
· Lead with bent elbows and slowly raise your arms out to your sides to shoulder height without rotating the arms.
· Your palms should face the floor at the top position with arms parallel to the floor.
· Pause briefly at the top of the move, then slowly lower to the starting position.
· Slowly raise your arms upward and forward to just below shoulder height.
· Pause briefly at the top of the movement, then slowly lower to starting position.

Shoulder
· Stand with arms comfortably hanging by your side, palms facing thigh.
· Keep your body straight, and lift the shoulders as high as possible.
· Pause at the top of the movement, then lower slowly to starting position.

Legs
· Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
· Keeping your body weight over your heels, bend forward at the hips and bend your knees in a squat until your thighs are as close to parallel to the floor as possible.
· Straighten your legs to the starting position without locking your knees.

Chest
· Stand in front of a wall, place hands in front of your shoulders on the wall with fingers pointing forward. Keep legs together and elbows bent.
· Push up from the wall by straightening your elbows, without locking them and keep the entire body in a straight line.
· Pause momentarily and slowly lower your chest to the starting position.

Wrist
· Extend and stretch both wrists and fingers as if they are in a hand-stand position
· Straighten both wrists and relax fingers
· Make a tight fist with both hands
· Bend both wrists down while keeping the fist
· Straighten both wrists and relax fingers
· Hang arms loosely at side and shake them for a couple of seconds

Eyes
· Close eyes and breathe deeply
· Cover eyes with palms, without pressing on eyeballs
· Uncover eyes after a few seconds
· Open by fluttering them and blinking

Hands
· Make a tight fist and hold for a second
· Spread fingers as far apart as you can for five seconds

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My Friend, My Mentor

You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17, The Message)

Attributes of a Mentor

Understanding Accepting Supportive
Involved in the community Good listener Open-minded
Positive Genuine Empathetic
Trustworthy Approachable Honest
Committed Respectful Sense of humour


Developing the Relationship

· Listen without interrupting
· Identify and reflect feelings
· Frame things from a positive perspective
· Use humour selectively and appropriately
· Follow the conversational “lead” of the talker
· Maintain eye contact, without staring or glaring
· Avoid using judgmental words like “you should” or “you shouldn’t”
· Using “I messages”, for example: “When you said ___ , I felt ___ .”
· Be yourself and share without completely switching the focus to you
· Help to identify options, pros and cons instead of giving advice
· Remain interested and focused on the person speaking
· Avoid dramatic or disapproving reactions
· Use “active listening” techniques

Luke 6:40
“A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”


Effective Mentoring

? Who has acted in a mentor role before? If so, can you describe the experience?

? Who has had a mentor before? If so, what was that like?


Equipping Mentors

· The partnership is fully confidential
· Mentors may take on more than one protégé at a time
· May have an opportunity to be a mentor in one partnership and a protégé in another
· Mentoring relationship will be as unique as the personalities, gifts and needs brought to it


Activity

Think about how you personally can make a difference in the lives of other women. Consider:

Whom could I be a mentor to?

Where might this mentoring process take place?

How much time am I able to devote to this?

How long am I prepared to be a mentor?

Now write down one thing, an action step, that you can take to begin the mentoring process.

Food for Thought

Just as eating healthy foods nourishes your body, Bible study nourishes your spirit. There are many similarities between healthy eating and Bible study:

Healthy eating and Bible study are both activities that you need do every day. They give strength and increase energy.

There are different ways to perform each. You may eat healthy at home or at a restaurant. You may enjoy different food groups. Similarly, you may read your Bible at home or in a group. Also, there are many Bibles to choose from.

Both build healthy relationships. When eating, you can enjoy the company of your family and friends. When reading your Bible, you can build a healthier relationship with God.

With a pure motive, they both delight God.

(Taken from Fit for Faith – 7 weeks to improved spiritual and physical health)

Recipe for Success

1 Book
Reading the ___________ provides you with wisdom, instructions, and comfort – “nutrition” which helps you stay spiritually healthy. The Bible is food-for-thought and as with eating food, it is also important to “digest” God’s Word.

8 cups of water
When the body gets the water it needs, it will function optimally. Water boosts your __________, suppresses appetite, increases short-term memory, prevents fluid retention, improves concentration, maintains skin, relieves constipation and rids the body of waste. The recommended water intake is eight to 10 glasses a day. Drinks containing ______________ do not count because they are diuretics, which increase water loss. You need to drink enough to keep your urine clear, light-colored and plentiful. A dark, gold colour urine may mean you are dehydrated.

4 tbsp of garlic, 4 pounds of chicken, 4 tsp of sesame seeds
Try not to eat the same food within a _____________-day period. Enjoy many different kinds of foods to get all the energy and nutrients you need. God created a variety of foods that you can enjoy to meet the needs of your body.

½ tsp each ground cumin and paprika
Focus on ______________. Add chilies, hot mustard and salsa to your meals, instead of high fat butter, rich cream or cheese sauces. Try non-fattening flavorings such as lemon juice, herbs and curry powders. And try low fat cooking techniques such as baking, broiling, steaming or boiling.

1 cup each chopped onions and red bell pepper
Reduce the amount of processed foods you buy. If you really want to be healthy, get back to the basics with ____________foods. Try to eat food the way God made it or as close to it as possible.

3 pounds of fat-free tortilla chips
________-_______ snacks may include pretzels, light microwave popcorn, vanilla wafers, fig bars, dried fruits, low-fat bran muffins, graham crackers, angel food cake and frozen yogurt.

Answers:
Bible; Energy; Caffeine; Four; Flavour; Whole; Low-fat



Plan of action

Can you remember a time when you may have had an intense yearning for something meaningful? Did the void feel insatiable? Did you turn to food to fill this void? If you feel like you still have this feeling, than your relationship with food has to change. It can no longer be looked to as your comforter, but instead you can look to the true Comforter. When you are feeling that emptiness, you can turn to your Bible and read the Word. That empty space can only be filled with God. Instead of giving into the craving, realize what it is: a deep call to spend time with God. Only God can fill the void.

Bible study cleanses your spirit. The word Bible means “the books”. It is the product of one Master Mind. The Bible itself internally claims to be God inspired and is something more than literature or history, it is God’s Word. It is the best-selling book of all time.

Bible study is not boring or irrelevant with over 40 different authors from all walks of life including priests, fishermen, prisoners and doctors. The writers came from a variety of locations and different eras. They used different writing styles including psalms, love songs, history, biography and letters.

Not just one big book, the Bible consists of 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament for a total collection of 66 books. 400 years lapsed between the writing of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The writing of the Bible spanned over 1500 years, surviving cultural, geographic and political changes.

Benefits of Bible study
Provides insight and wisdom
Details God’s interaction with people
Instills peace
Promises hope for the future
Builds a relationship with God
A pure motive delights God

Examples:
I plan to cut fresh vegetables and keep in a container in the refrigerator
I plan to participate in at least one Bible study each year
I plan to keep a water bottle with me at all times
I plan to read my Bible daily for fifteen minutes before the kids return from school


Your turn:
· I plan to:
· I plan to: