Fit for the Kingdom—Where do You Want to Be?

And finally, Fit for the Kingdom. I guess I was busy writing this newsletter!

Many people begin the New Year by making resolutions on changes they want to implement in their lives. At the beginning of 2014, I was a couple of months shy of my 40^th birthday, and I began asking myself questions in all the areas of my life. I would have 40 years under my belt, and I had to really think about how I wanted the next 40 years to look.

One area I knew I had room to improve in was the area of health. Yes; I did a lot of walking. Yes; I ate relatively healthy. I rated my health as good, but the big question I asked myself was how the

80-year-old me was going to look back and think about the health choices the 40-year-old me made.

As background, I have a family history of high blood pressure and diabetes. I know that part of that is diet, lack of exercise, and being overweight. Still, knowing my family history, I knew I had to make changes now to get and stay healthy and fit, especially as I age.

My vision for my latter years has always been to be active and healthy. I want to be able to travel with full use of my limbs. This would not miraculously happen overnight. It needed to start now. Once I decided where I wanted to be in 40 years, it made figuring out what I needed to begin doing easier.

So I began a fitness journey in January 2014. One of the biggest things for me was making sure I started a regimen I could maintain easily. I did not want to do a drastic lose 20 pounds in one month approach because I knew that I would probably not sustain the behavior I did to lose the weight.

I began seeing a personal trainer twice a week, which has helped tremendously. Yes; it was an extra expense, but I needed to invest in my future. I also try to walk 60 minutes every week day. This seems like a lot, but as a bus rider, it is a little easier. If I catch a certain bus, I can walk to/from the bus stop to/from work and get in 30 minutes roundtrip. Then, if I walk for at least 30 minutes during lunch, I can get the full 60 minutes in.

I have always parked my car far away from store entrances to get in extra steps. Many nights I will catch a different bus home. The bus drops me farther from my house for ten extra minutes of walking. If I do that five days a week, that is 50 extra minutes a week. Now if only I could make myself walk up stairs more.

I have also set new fitness goals. For example, in November, I walked my first half marathon. I felt extremely proud when I finished! I am also keeping my eyes open for 5Ks and other half marathons I can participate in. I am not a runner, but walking is something I can do quite easily.

I bring fruits and vegetables to work to snack on during the day. By the time I get home, I have had at least five servings. I have been trying to “eat” my calories, so I try to only drink water. At dinner, if I am still hungry, I try to have more salad. I have not cut anything out of my diet. I just try to be more mindful of portions. If I want something, I eat it. If I go overboard, I try to add in more steps that day.

The results? It’s been a little less than a year, and I have dropped some pounds. I sleep better, my mood is better, and I feel better.

So, where do you want to be health wise? Take the time to visualize how you want your health to look now and in the future. This visualization makes all the difference in the world.

Your Money Matters—Where Do You Want to Be?

The financial section:

The beginning of the New Year is a great time to chart new financial goals. Finances are a hard area. It’s hard to balance month-to-month obligations with paying off debt, building an emergency fund, long-term retirement planning, and saving for college tuition while actually getting to enjoy the fruits of your labor with family vacations and the occasional splurge. It seems like an impossible feat!

I remember walking to my bus stop with a coworker many years ago. We were talking about savings, and she mentioned the amount she likes to keep in her savings account at one time. My eyes got big, and at that time, it seemed like such a lot of money that would be impossible to save.

However, it did inspire me to begin getting my own financial house in order. Having that goal was an important first step, and I began to visualize how I wanted my financial house to look. I discovered Dave Ramsey, who has Seven Steps to a journey to financial peace. To me, his steps are very practical, and they are steps I feel like I can get through if I focus.

Step One: Establish an emergency fund of $1,000

This fund is for the unexpected events of life like needing new tires or a new car battery. These events will happen. It is just a matter of when. The fund will help you to not add to any debt when they do happen.

Step Two: Pay off debt

This includes listing all of your debt but your mortgage. His method is the snowball effect where you pay off the smallest amount (by paying more than the minimum payment) first regardless of the interest rates of your debt (just making the minimum payment on all other bills). The quick win gives you momentum. Then you move on to the next smallest and so on until all debt is paid off.

Step Three: Have three to six months of expenses in savings

This money is for emergencies and should be kept liquid in a money-market account. Then when the unexpected happens, you are prepared.

Step Four: Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAS and other tax-advantaged retirement accounts

In this step, your mortgage is your only debt. You are able to begin saving toward your retirement.

Step Five: Create a college fund for your kids

Look into things like Education Savings Accounts and 529 Plans.

Step Six: Pay off your mortgage

If you have any extra money, put that toward paying your mortgage off early.

Step Seven: Build wealth and give

With this step, you can think about leaving an inheritance for your kids as well as give liberally to the many charitable organizations in abundance.

None of the steps preclude the giving of your tithes and offering or giving to charity. At Step Seven, you can just give more abundantly.

The process can be a little painful. As I go through the steps, it helps improve my financial health. Like any process, you have to adjust it to fit your needs and reality. For example for me, being able to go on vacations is important. Yes; I could use the money toward investing in my retirement fund or paying off my mortgage, but living in the here and now is also important.

I have a plan and a vision to be financially healthy.

Men of the Bible—King Josiah

Men of the Bible

Name: Josiah

Meaning: Jehovah heals

His Character: King Josiah was a good king who was one of Judah’s strongest spiritual leaders. He was devoted, obedient, humble, and had a repentant spirit.

His Sorrow: Although King Josiah tried to get Judah back on the right track, his people did not support his reforms in their hearts and judgment would come to Judah.

His Triumph: The northern tribes were influenced by his reforms.

Key Scriptures: 2 Kings 22, 23; 2 Chronicles 34-35

King Josiah’s father and grandfather were both described as wicked. It is believed that his mother, Jedidah, was a Godly influence to the young boy. Josiah was a mere eight years old when he became the 16^th king of Judah, and he ruled Judah for 31 years.

King Josiah was a king who did what was right in the sight of the Lord and is said to have been like his great-grandfather, Hezekiah. Both had close and personal relationships with God. Both made attempts to bring the people back to God through reforms. Both lived during times when the people were disobedient to God.

During the eighteenth year of his reign, renovation work was being done to the Lord’s Temple. King Josiah had the high priest, Hilkiah, go to the temple to count the money the gatekeepers had collected from the people at the temple. The money was then to be entrusted to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the temple. While there, Hilkiah found a Book of the Law, and the book was sent to King Josiah. When the court secretary read what was written in the Book of the Law to King Josiah, he was greatly despaired. He knew that his ancestors and people had not been doing all they could do. There was a great gap between his efforts to lead the people back to God and what God expected from them. The people knew so little about their spiritual and cultural heritage that even the Passover had been forgotten.

King Josiah sent messengers to the temple to inquire about the words written in the scroll and whether it was authentic. Unfortunately for King Josiah, the scroll was authentic and the words were true. The disaster the Lord spoke of in the scroll would come to pass because the people had abandoned God and worshipped other idols. God’s wrath would be felt. But because of King Josiah’s love for God, his willingness to obey God, his repentance, and his despair, God’s punishment would not happen in his lifetime.

King Josiah spent time destroying and cleaning up what did not worship the true and living God. He was a man who was at awe of God’s holiness and tried to expose the people to this holiness. The people did respond but more out of respect for Josiah as king than out of true understanding of who God was. So we know that sweeping outward reforms are no good if there are no changes in our hearts.

King Josiah was a man who knew who he was in God. He realized that there was a gap in the kind of life God wanted him and the people to lead. This gap is true for us today. How can we even begin to fathom God’s holiness? King Josiah had it right. Because he was humble enough to seek after God, God responded to his repentant and humble heart.

2 Kings 23:25, sums up the essence of King Josiah’s life perfectly. It says, “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”

 

Women of the Bible—Huldah

The Women of the Bible section:

Name: Huldah

Meaning: Weasel, mole

Her Character: Despite the idolatrous time she lived in, Huldah was a righteous woman who had the gift of prophetic insight.

Her Sorrow: Huldah had to deliver the news of the punishment that was to come.

Her Triumph: Huldah was able to truly and freely act in her gift of prophecy.

Key Scriptures: 2 Kings 22:14, 2 Chronicles 34:22

Huldah was alive during the time of King Josiah in 7^th Century B.C., and she was a much respected prophet in Judah. Her husband was Shallum, who was the keeper of the king’s wardrobe.

During the reign of King Josiah, the king had his high priest, Hilkiah, go to the Lord’s Temple to count the money the gatekeepers had collected from the people at the temple. The money was then to be entrusted to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the temple.

While at the temple, Hilkiah found a Book of the Law and the book was sent to King Josiah. When the court secretary read what was written in the Book of the Law to King Josiah, he was greatly despaired. He knew that his ancestors and people had moved far from God’s Law.

King Josiah sent messengers to the temple to inquire about the words written in the scroll and whether it was authentic. These messengers included his high priest and the scribe of the temple. These distinguished messengers were sent to consult with the prophet Huldah, who was a prophet that could still hear from God. The fact that she was sought out by the king and a high priest shows how well known she was in the kingdom and how respected her gift was.

Before and during her lifetime, many people had abandoned God and many of the priests were ignorant of God’s Law. The book that was found clearly highlighted how far the people had moved from God’s Law. But Huldah stood as a righteous woman with the gift of insight and the love of God in her heart.

Unfortunately for King Josiah, the scroll was authentic and the words were true. The disaster the Lord spoke of in the scroll would come to pass because the people had abandoned God and worshipped other idols. God’s wrath would be felt. But because of King Josiah’s love for God, his willingness to obey God, his repentance, and his despair, God’s punishment would not happen in his lifetime. Huldah’s words gave King Josiah the confidence he needed to fight evil in his land. He made a covenant to walk closer to God.

As a prophet, it was not always popular or safe to be the bearer of bad news, but Huldah spoke the words God gave her with no fear or fencing. Huldah is to be admired. She was able to keep and maintain truth during a time of much idolatry and a time many were ignorant of God’s Law.

Huldah was a woman who was well regarded in her time. Like Miriam and Deborah, she did not let being a woman get in the way of fulfilling what God called her to do in her life. Huldah knew who she was in God, and she did not let anyone control or change the truthful way she ministered to the people of God. Depending on the tradition, Huldah either taught publicly in school or she taught and preached to women. Regardless, Huldah was a woman who lived very close to God.

 

Word of the Quarter—Who Do You Want to Be?

Here is the Word of the Quarter.

Last quarter, we began writing from the overarching theme of “Becoming the Authentic You.” This is a theme that will run through four issues. The first step to becoming the authentic you, which we wrote about last issue, was acknowledging where you were and taking stock in where you were. We hope that you took the time to do so and are ready for the next step in the process of becoming your authentic self.

Now that we have a gauge of where we currently are, the next step is figuring out who we want to be, or more importantly, who God says we are. It is an important step to know who we are and who God says that we are. When we know this, we can begin to visualize who we are becoming and what needs to be done to get there. We can focus our attentions and efforts to becoming that person and align our focus and priorities to achieving our goal of getting there.

And let’s face it; there are plenty of distractions around us. We have so many different roles and responsibilities in our lives that it is often hard to just be in the moment. We have different people wanting different things from us and expecting us to be who they need us to be at that moment in time.

We also have many voices telling us who we are and who we are not. These voices have shaped us since childhood, and they have impacted what we think we can achieve and accomplish. People have told us what we can’t do, and quieting the voices and sorting out the layers of damage the voices have caused is a feat in itself. But you are more than you know. As the Bible says, you are more than a conqueror.

In a scene with the disciples, Jesus asked them, “Whom do men say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.” Jesus then asked, “Whom say ye that I am?” Then Peter succinctly stated who Jesus was. Peter was able to get to the heart of who Jesus was because he was intimate with Christ. And who better to tell you who you are than the person who created you. The person who invested gifts and talents in you. Talents He wants you to use in His Kingdom.

Part of knowing who you are in God is becoming more intimate with Him through prayer and studying the Word of God. The Bible tells us exactly who we are. As we learn more, we become freer. And this freedom allows our gifts and talents to flow. You can live out your gift and call.

As we continue in the overarching theme of becoming our authentic selves, we invite you to move closer to God. The closer you move toward God, the more you move toward who you really are. And that person has amazing gifts and talents that are needed to help others in their journeys.

Editor's Corner—Who Does God Say You Are?

Here is the article I wrote for the Editor's Corner of my church newsletter. This issue began year 14!

We tend to have a lot of opinions about everything. These opinions also extend to who we think others are. Unfortunately, some of the time, the opinions are slanted in a negative angle and come with judgment. From that viewpoint, recognizing the potential and contribution of others is limited.

We make opinions of strangers based on their race or age. We make opinions of strangers based on how much money we perceive the person does or does not have in the bank. This could be based on what kind of car they drive, what clothes they are wearing, and what side of the tracks they live on (or grew up on).

It’s not only strangers. We hold opinions about our families and friends based on their childhood or past mistakes. Regardless of where they are now, those childhood or young adult mistakes still find their way into the judgment of whom that person is today or who they will ever be in the future.

Truthfully, I say we are in good company. Just look at some of the main people in the Bible. Let’s start with David. We could say that David was an adulterer and a murderer, but if you asked God who David was, that would not be His answer. David was God’s beloved. We could say that Jacob was a liar and deceiver, but if you asked God who Jacob was, that would not be His answer. Jacob was Israel who was triumphant in battle. We could say that Peter was arrogant and rash, but if you asked God who Peter was, that would not be His answer. Peter was the rock in which the foundation of the church was built.

So who does the Bible say you are?

* You are a new creation – 2 Corinthians 5:17

* You are a royal priesthood – 1 Peter 2:9

* You are not condemned by your present or past – Romans 8:1

* You are His workmanship – Ephesians 2:10

* You are a child of God – John 1:12

* You are the righteousness of God – 2 Corinthians 5:21

* You are a friend of God – John 15:15

* You are a citizen of heaven – Philippians 3:20

* You are the salt of the earth – Matthew 5:13

* You are an heir of God – Romans 8:17

* You are chosen by God – John 15:16

In the end, it doesn’t matter who me or anyone else says you are. You have one creator, and He thinks very highly of you. You are who He says you are. So anytime you are feeling inadequate or inferior, remember what God said about you, which can be summed up as this: You are fearfully and wonderfully made! You were made for a purpose that only you can do. It’s time to walk in it.