Are We Christians Limiting Ourselves?!?!

I was at Bible study last night and the speaker made a comment that has been ringing in my ears ever since.  He was speaking on making the impossible possible in our lives, just the type of message I love to hear. While in the middle of building our faith he challenged us to not be like most Christians that;

Think too small...

Aim too low...

and Quit too soon...

The statement was hard to swallow as I began to ponder the way I think.  I began to wonder if I was one of those people. Then I decided instead of pondering if I was I would purpose to never be again.

You see, most of us who believe in God and trust in the name of Jesus fail to realize the limitless ability that we possess.  We have the creator of the universe, the almighty God living on the inside of us, and there is nothing too hard for our father God. We profess to know that Jesus died for us to bring us into right relationship with God, but we often stop right there. We often fail to associate the benefits of the death of Christ and the blood that he shed for us, with our ability to succeed right here on earth, and skip straight to heaven. Without a doubt Christ died for our salvation and that will get us into heaven,  but the truth is Christ died for us to have an abundant life here and there (John 10:10).

We have to begin to renew our minds and think big, we have a big God and a larger than life helper called the Holy Spirit.

We have to begin to aim higher, if we are truly Heaven bound then we should be aiming to accomplish things on the way to heaven which is on high not down low.

And we have to begin to stay in Faith and persevere until we see the promises of God come to pass in our lives.  We are Christians, people of Faith, we are not quitters.  When life throws us a curve ball we use our faith and hit that thing out of the park.  We don't quit, we don't get weary in our well doing and give up because we have Faith that in the end we will win (Gal 6:9, 2Cor 2:14)

So to my main point, we as Christians are the ones limiting ourselves. Stop blaming the devil, he doesn't have the power to stop you, all he can do is deceive you. Definitely don't blame God, he already said he gave you all things that you need for life and godliness (2Pet 1:3) along with the countless other promises he has given us that enable us to live wonderful lives. It is us, we are limiting ourselves through our ignorance, laziness, selfishness, and other ways God has given us the ability to overcome.

We need to snap out of it and pursue all that Christ gave his life for us to enjoy.

An Ode to My Wife on Her Birthday...

I don't know why I would title this blog Ode, when I don't posses a hint of poetic ability, but it sounded cool so I went with it.

Anyway, today is a monumental day in my life's history, it is the birthday of the wonderful, beautiful woman that God has blessed me with, Crystal Bianca Williams.


I tried to find a poem on line that summed up my feelings and I couldn't, i tried o find a verse of scripture to do so and I couldn't find one small enough to not make this post unbearably long, so I decided to just write what I felt.  So here we go;

Crystal,
You are a blessing from God in my life, he has truly shown me favor by blessing me with you. I know I have not perfected showing my appreciation for you, but yet you are still here loving me nonetheless. I know we were meant to be because of how God is using each of us to make the other better, and because I don't think there is anyone better suited to put up with someone like me. By the grace of God I am going to give you all that he desires you to have, and more than you could ever want. My love for you is unspeakable and I am grateful to God for this day and the many more we will share together. You have been a friend, a mother, a coach, a supporter, and of course a lover beyond what I deserve or have earned and I am grateful to you for that.

Love,
Your Husband

PS
I was going to throw some Song of Solomon scriptures in here, but they weren't G rated enough...LOL

Moving Forward: My Fitness/Workout Dilema, I think I've figured it out....

Okay so I need to lose some weight, and if you know me personally this is no surprise to you, you might have even said it to me at one point or another. I am by no means obese, but I am overweight and that is neither healthy or a good witness to the abundant life Christ died for me to have.

That being said, I was doing a good job for a while. I was eating less and working out more, and I lost about 15lbs, then I plateaued and now I have gained a few back. I know a part of the issue is my eating habits, sometimes I eat too late and most times I eat too much.  I love food. I love to cook.  These are two facts I have had to face, but they do not make my weight loss impossible, because I have learned that with Christ I can do all things including eat better.

My main problem has been working out.  I go to the gym for a while and then I stop, and then I start again, and then I start again.  I have yet to really get a good consistent routine going. But I realize why now. Whenever I am on that darn treadmill, all i can think about is getting off.  From the moment I program the workout and take that first mechanical step all I want to do is be gone.  Why you may ask? Well if you know me well you know its not because I am lazy and desire inactivity, I am a go go person.  I am always moving, and my energy level is crazy high. The treadmill problem is that I am a forward motivated person and their is no real forward movement on a treadmill. I cant stand walking and going nowhere, looking at the same things in front of me for 30 minutes to an hour while simulating movement.  It is unbearable to me.

So yesterday for the first time in a long time i did my exercise walking outdoors, and it was great!!! I was able to set a goal for where I wanted to walk to,and I couldn't quit because once i got there I had no choice but to walk back.  It was such a refreshing experience to me, and a great workout at the same time. I told my wife yesterday that I would no longer be attempting the gym workouts, as long as weather permits I will be outdoors making forward progress in my fitness effort.

God is so good, and his timing is so perfect. Yesterday at church a prophetic word came forth that said "God is flashing the green light in front of us to say go forward." That simple word has infected and effected me in so many ways already.

• I am going forward in the things of God.
• I am going forward in my pursuit of God's next level in my life and for my family.
• I am going forward in my pursuit for fitness.

Christians and Tattoos.....

I have always been pretty set in my thoughts on Christians and tattoos.  I thought NO WAY!!! I myself have a few tats but they were done before I had a relationship with Christ or pre-salvation. 

Well I watched this video today by Pastor Craig Groeschel, of http://www.lifechurch.tv/ and it has me thinking about my stance. 

I am not saying that I am thinking of running out and getting a tattoo, I am just prayerfully reconsidering how I might counsel others when I am asked in the future.

Take a look at this video and let me know what you think....