Day 112 of 365 Days of Transformation

Last night, I sat down with my journal for a now rare moment of alone time. I began to think about the last 111 days of this journey. And I wasn't pleased with what I found. I don't think that I've made very much progress. Joyce Meyer said that when God begins to put His finger on an area that He wants you to surrender to Him, it will be painful before it's pleasant. But once I die to myself in that area, the devil can no longer use that area to tempt me or oppress me because it's dead. With that knowledge in hand, I began to set about defining what the next 254 days were going to look like starting with today.

When it was all said and done, I had seven areas that I wanted to specifically see change in. And while I do not want to give myself room to back off, I did realize that there will be times when I will want to tweak and further define the terms of change that I would like to bring about in myself.

So here they are:

1. I want to see what will happen, who I will be, and what my relationship with God will be like if I commit to spend two and a half hours a day with Him in some form or fashion every day for the next 254 days. I know that some days I will have to get up earlier than usual. Some days, God may lead me to do something different from my usual routine. And I know without doubt that there will be more than one occasion when the devil will try to throw a hindrance in there, whether it is time constraints, family interruptions, etc. So, I realize that this one will be a tough one to see through. Up to now, I have to be honest and say that I'm a very lazy Christian when it comes to putting God first. I want to change that about me. And I can only believe that when the next 254 days (counting today) are over, I'm not going to be the same. I like that idea.
2. I want to see what God will do in the lives of my family if I consistently speak His Word over each of them. A friend gave me a copy of Joyce Meyer's The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word. It is one of my prized possessions. I carry it everywhere. I try to confess certain Scriptures over our children, our grandchildren, my husband, and myself at least once a day. Why? Because I believe that the Scriptures are God-breathed and I believe that as a creation with the breath of God Himself in me, when I speak His Word, power is loosed into the lives of those I speak it into. So, yes, I do expect to see radical changes in the lives of my loved ones after the next 254 days. I've not been faithful to do this everyday up to this point and God has already shown me evidence of His Word working in our family and in me. Will this make my family perfect or keep trouble away from us. Nope. Jesus promises that we will suffer trials and tribulations but to be of good cheer because He has defeated the world. What do I expect? I expect to see changes. I expect protection. I expect to see God's love revealed to me in ways that I could never imagine. That's what I expect. 
3. Where will I be physically if I stick to my eating and exercise plan daily? I don't think that I will be looking like Cindy Crawford or such. But I do expect to feel stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally. If I'm going the extra mile to take care of myself spiritually, it only makes sense that God would want me to go the extra mile to take care of myself physically. He gave me a strong, healthy body. It's my responsibility to be a good steward of it.
4. How well will I be able to speak Spanish if I work on my Rosetta Stone lessons every Monday through Friday for the next 254 days? I think that I might actually be fairly fluent or close to it.
5. Where will my book be if I write five pages every Monday through Friday for the next 254 days? Probably will be finished. Will it publish? Don't know. I would just like to finish it so that I can say that I wrote one. My brother threw it up in my face one day that I just needed to finish something rather that talk about it all of the time. So, here's my chance. 
6. What if I limit my television viewing to no more than two hours a day Monday through Friday? I'd definitely get more done. LOL
7. What if I put Rob second only to God every second that we are together for the next 254 days? What do I hope happens? I hope that we are closer friends and that he will learn to trust my intuition more. I hope that our romance has grown to a blazing inferno that inspires other couples around us. But, mostly, I hope that we become more entwined so that it is impossible to tell where one lets off and the other begins. I want him to feel cherished and revered as a husband and the head of our home and family. I want him to feel safe in our relationship. I want him to know without doubt that I am loyal to him without question. That's what I hope to see happen over the next 254 days.

As I said earlier, time will reveal flaws in my plan and I reserve the right to tweak and refine these definitions. Hmmm, this journey itself could be the book, the story, that I've been wanting to write all these years.