#131 - Google or God? - Part 2

Good morning! It's been one of those mornings.... you know, those morning where you sit down and then you have to get up like 20 times to do something or get something. Argh! All is good though... because finally upon sitting down for GOOD.... the Holy Spirit was and is continuing to reveal some good stuff! It's UH-MAZING that He is able to turn a "not great" morning into an AWESOME one! Just by one word from Him. Just even by instruction or direction! I'm excited because he told me to take a nap. I pretty much don't ever take naps (with the exception of Sunday after church).... so... a nap, wow! That will be a treat!


So... today, we are going to get part 2 from the first devotion, Google or God? I wanted to give you an update on the devotion... I wanted to tell you how specifically things turned out by following God versus following what I could have found on Google. Let's first look at the Word: 

Psalm 25:3a-5 - Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed .... Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

Psalm 25 talks about those who SEEK the Lord being fulfilled... not being disappointed by the answers that HE will bring. That is exactly what happened earlier in the month for me. If you remember.... the devotion Google or God?, I was tempted when I had a question to just pull up my laptop and Google it! That's almost like a "verb" now. Need an answer? Just Google it! Well... in the past, it has been all to easy for me to do that. I would say that Google has a lot of value, but if I have a specific situation that I really want CONCRETE answers on, GOD definitely has a better answer than google. 

So.... here's the situation.... here's the follow up. What was I frustrated about? Well... over the holidays, not only did Tyler and I go on an anniversary ski trip, but also spent the holidays with both our families. Like most people, it's almost a constant time of grazing, eating stuff that you don't normally eat, and allowing a bit more freedom than you normally may. Well... I was no different. I got home from our travels and realized that my jeans were uncomfortably tight. I wasn't too excited about that. Following the Fitness 4321 (10 minutes of exercise), and using some Nutrilite products, after Tyler Junior was born, I got down to an all time weight low of 125. I was JACKED! I felt great! Was eating good. Exercising consistently, so I was excited! I mostly stayed around 127 though. Well.... after the holidays when I got home I weighed 134. I wasn't too thrilled, primarily because my jeans felt tight. PRAISE GOD that we can ask the HOLY SPIRIT ANYTHING AND get answers! So.... as a follow up to "Google or God?", so instead of "googling" for answers, I asked the Holy Spirit.... he laid out 6 steps for me to do... here's what He said: 

1. Bump your calorie intake down to 1000 calories until your body levels out and gets used to you not breastfeeding. (How would I have known that?!)
2. Increase your water intake dramatically. Get the big (34 oz) cup & fill it up twice per day!
3. Eat often. Have yogurt, fruit & snackable vegetables redily available. Fruit smoothies are a great choice too. 
4. Since you are not breast-feeding, begin taking your Nutrilite Slimmetry, Nutrilite CLA. That will help, & take Nutrilite Invisafiber. 
5. Continue doing what I instructed for Fitness. 4321 - 7 x's/week.
6. Follow this & don't weigh yourself for a week!

OK.... Ey Ey Captain! I went about the next 7 days following the plan that HE laid out. Not just any plan, but THE SPECIFIC PLAN for me. He knows my body, He knows my genetic make-up, He knows what I need! The following Tuesday, I jumped on the scale after a pretty easy week, none of the steps were real difficult... I went from 134-130 in 1 week! 4 pounds! If you ask me, that's pretty good! And, I've kept it off. The last week, I've continued to follow what HE laid out, and I've lost a little more. I'm going to continue until my jeans feel perfect again. :) 

Google could not have told me this. God could. Your jeans may not be fitting tight but maybe there is something else that you need answers to. Maybe it is a nagging pain. Maybe it is your finances. Maybe a relationship. Maybe you want to do something different for work. Whatever it is.... if you ask, God can tell you. Google will be great at providing a lot of opinions... some facts.... but if you don't want to have to sift through all that, I recommend letting the Holy Spirit lay out a STEP-BY-STEP plan for your situation too! He'll do it if you will take the time to ask. 

If you ask AND listen... I promise you won't be disappointed. 

Google or God? I choose God. 

#123 - Google or God?

Hello! It feels like "Good Morning" still.... but it is actually "Good Afternoon." Here in South Carolina it is like everything is SHUT DOWN! We woke up yesterday to snow, and STILL have it on the ground, roads, cars, houses....and since Columbia isn't really prepared for clearing a large amount of roads with snow-plows, most of Columbia is just shut-down. Canceled. Closed. It's all good to me. It's kind of fun. I like my husband being home.... snowed-in, if you want to call it that! :) HA! It reminds me of the days in High School when we had school canceled because of snow. Wow! It was so great! It was the "Mother-Load of Greatness!" MOG! ha! I said that the other night, "Mother-Load of Greatness" and was laughed at because of the combination of words I put together. Our friend, Chris, even wrote it down and now it is coined MOG. :) 

Anyways... let me get going.... 

Proverbs 11:27 (KJV) - He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour...

Psalm 71:3 - Be to me a rock of refuge in which to dwell, and a sheltering stronghold to which I may continually resort, which You have appointed to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress.

Procureth - to win, to obtain, to secure. To secure favor. By seeking good, we can secure favor. By having a heart after God, after His will, we can secure favor into our lives. That is good news. 


Let me tell you a story. So... this morning I sat down and was journaling.... just journaling some thoughts that have been going on in my head and journaling the 'happenings' of the last day. I was also specifically writing about an area that lately I've felt that I was "borderline" obsessing over. I don't want to obsess over anything, unless it's my degree of being radical to the Lord and relationship with Him, listening to Him, etc. But, any other area in life, I do not want to obsess. I would like to keep a healthy balance. Even with a healthy balance, sometimes the Holy Spirit has me spend focused amounts of time on specific areas, but if HE is directing it... I'm OK with that! 


So... I'm sitting here and was just journaling some concerns about a specific area of my life.... this thing I've felt maybe I've been close to obsessing over. Right as I was journaling that, I thought, "Ooooh! I could look it up. I'll just grab the laptop and Google it!" Right? Tell me, have you done that before? "I'll find it. Surely Google has the answer!" 


lol. I'm sure I'm not alone in this one. So just as I was going to reach for the laptop, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, "OK. Are you going to consult Me? Or the 'Almighty Google'?" the Holy Spirit chided.  I knew I was busted! I felt like consulting the Holy Spirit would be more "work" for my answer than just "googling it"! I just wanted a quick answer and was sure Google would have it. 


Well, reluctantly when the Holy Spirit said that, I said, "OK! You!" 


And then... do you know what happened? He laid out the FULL answer to my question down to minuet details. As I was quickly writing what I felt like He was revealing, He first laid out to me the "WHY." Why this specific challenge was occurring. Well, obviously, that was good to know. And then He laid out 6 very specific steps to get this situation back in line. Wow! 6 very specific steps that GOOGLE could have NEVER told me! Why could Google not have told me? Because the steps were specific to MY EXACT SITUATION! It was amazing. Actually kind of humorous. A very good lesson to me. 


As I read Psalm 71... it reminded me that I want the Lord to be my constant ROCK. I want HIM to be my fortress always. I want to run to HIM when I have a problem or question. Not some Internet portal that has opinions of EVERYONE in the world. If I want answers, I want to rely on HIM, the ALMIGHTY Creator of the Universe! The Creator of Heaven & Earth. The Alpha. The Omega. My Jehovah Rapha. My Jehovah Jirah. My Healer. My Provider. That is Who I want to run to. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to NOT ask..... so I prolong the asking and try to deal with it myself... when all along, if I would just take a few minutes, HUMBLE myself, get quiet and ASK, HE will reveal to me answers. He will reveal to me the next steps. He desires that I seek Him. And His Word says in doing so that I WILL OBTAIN and SECURE HIS FAVOR! Having Him answer my question and give me COUNSEL from the All-Knowing God, that is FAVOR! Having an ANSWER that is the RIGHT answer and not a guess, THAT is FAVOR! 


So.... do you have a big question? Have you been just going it solo? Doing it on your own? Who will it be? Google or God? I hope you choose God. He has a great answer for you!

__________________

Want to hear the results of listening? 

Check out the rest of the story: Google or God Part 2