Wednesday, August 3, 2016

CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

It has been said that our lives are the sum result of all the choices we have made. I liken it to a set of blueprints that reflect our life experiences, one layer at a time.

How many times have you caught yourself saying, "I could never do that" or "I always struggle with..." or "People who do that always drive me nuts", for example? Would you agree that these statements have arisen out of a cycle of experiences you have had, and that you have just come to accept that is just the way it is?

In October of 2007, a woman showed me a picture that would change my life forever for the better, so I wanted to share that with you here:


This picture shows a model of the continuous cycle of how our experiences lead to us making up our minds about what we experienced. And once we have made our decisions, they begin to solidify into strongly held beliefs, which drive the way we speak and behave in our daily lives.

The "Ah ha" moment for me was when trainer, Dani Johnson pointed out the almost comical way American's routinely make New Year's Resolutions and within a matter of weeks or days, have already given up on them. At first, we get all psyched up to lose weight, improve our financial situation, or whatever. Yet, shortly after, we allow life to get in the way and it is no skin off our back to let go of our "goal".

The problem with this approach is, many of us think that to get a different experience, we have to change our behavior, right? For example, in order to lose weight, I have to go on a diet or start going to the gym. Problem is, we often don't make a genuine decision or commitment that our goal is worth it and fully achievable. The bible defines faith as being fully convinced or persuaded about something. The measure of our faith is a result or the evidence of our decisions.

What I am enjoying about the BMSW experience is that it is evidence of our collective decision that our past experiences will not define our future success in living a healthy lifestyle. Our showing up every morning and pressing in and pushing through the discomfort, shortness of breath, and sore muscles is evidence of our commitment. Our ability to make it this time is becoming what we believe. And our behavior - what we think, say, and do - is now producing new experiences that we may have never thought possible.

During our 40 minute walk on the path this morning, I caught myself talking to my walking partner, Mike, about how I can't even see myself completing a 10k. Yet afterward, Holy Spirit gave me a revelation that we walked the path 4 times in about 40 minutes, which is a little more than 2 miles. Then He showed me the math, that had we continued to do the same walk just two more times (for a total of about 6.6 miles in 120 minutes), we would have walked a 10k! O glorious God who always leads us to the truth and shows us things to come, this is Good News!

I am so proud of our team, from the coaches to the participants and the sponsors. Everyone's commitment is feeding our faith and that is the one thing the bible says is pleasing to God. It brings Him glory. Our commitment to trusting Him through this process is beautiful worship.

Master this process of making new decisions about long-held beliefs based on experiences, and you become equipped with a life changing tool that will prove that "You can do ALL THINGS through Christ - the living Word of God - and be strengthened in the process". (Gavin's paraphrase of Philippians 4:13).

Blessings to all of you, in Jesus' name!

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