Ridding Yourself of Toxins

With everyone and their mothers being on a health kick, detoxing has become a very popular trend. People spend their free time drinking liquids that rid their bodies of the things that drag them down. They believe that they will feel better, more joyful, more light on their feet, if they get this stuff out of their bodies. Maybe that works for some people but for others it is not their physical bodies that are so bogged down. Ever thought it might be your physical surroundings? I'm talking JUNK! 

Junk can affect our entire lives. It sneaks its way into all the nooks and crannies of our homes and it will not go away without some TLC. Drawers are filled to the brim with pocket change, notes, receipts, all the pests from our pocket books and weekend get away bags. Junk is toxic. Random built up of things that are no longer useful or interesting can make us feel like the walls are closing in on us. When you move in, your home seems so much larger than 10 years down the road. You escape your home that you used to love for a get away from all the crap you've collected. Sitting at home is not longer relaxing because it reminds you of all the things that you should, could, and would be doing if your body felt like moving. As an Interior Design student, I have studied how the environment we live in affects our moods. What I've learned through school and my OCD self has changed the way I work. 

Many people don't even know what is affecting their mood. For me, as an organization freak, any amount of clutter can put me in a mood. I will be so grumpy and begin to build up so much anxiety sitting in a messy room. I'm not a clean freak, I'm a neat freak. When the stresses of school and work begin to overwhelm me, do you know the first thing I do? You would think that I would begin to outline what needs to be done in these areas and get to work right away - but that is not what I do at all. For me, the best way to lose this feeling is to clean. Clean isn't the right work- I rid. I make my space I will be working in completely spotless - Not one item out of place. Then I get to work. Sometimes I will completely throw everything out of my closet, make a donation pile, make a trash pile, re-organize everything that is left, and put it all back together. After that, my school work can begin. It sounds crazy, but it works for me. I mentally feel 100% better, I feel like I accomplished something, and I can then focus on what is pressing on me with no distractions. 

Organizing your life can reduce your stress level an obscene amount. When you are ready to begin a project or just homework, not being able to find your things takes up half your time, raises your blood pressure, and stresses out those around you as well. It's not worth all the time searching for a pen, a hammer, socks, whatever. Next time your life is feeling overwhelmed consider the source.

Worried About Many Things?

Every day in my life is hectic. I have so much going on that I cannot even keep my thoughts organized. This is why I live by my planner. I have to write down all the things that I have to take care of each week in order to get them all done. Being a college student, an active member of my church, involved in 2 professional organizations, and president of a student organization, a lot of time is taken up. That is not even including social activities with friends and family. 

Sometimes even when I do get a break, I can't even relax because I am so focused on the other things I should be doing. 

In a crazy world, we need to learn how to let loose, how to relax, how to breath. 

And don't even get me started on studying God's word. I already have to study for tests at school. Who has time for that? 

I read a quote once that says "If you do not have time to pray and read scriptures, you are far busier than God ever intended for you to be." I try to remember this whenever I feel so overwhelmed, but obviously it is hard to cut back when we are already committed to so much. 

What gives me peace is knowing that Jesus understands. He doesn't want us to be so overwhelmed with all of these worldly things. He wants us to only look to Him. He wants us to sit by His side with peace.

A great example of a woman in the bible that seems to have too many things going on is Martha. 

Martha had Jesus over for a dinner. She was shuffling around getting everything ready as Mary was sitting by Jesus side. Martha got mad at Mary for not helping, but Jesus response to her surprises me. He said "Martha Martha, you are worried about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41 & 42)

Wow. He did not tell Mary to get up and help her sister because Mary was already doing what she needed to be doing. She stopped what she was doing to sit with her Lord. There's a huge lesson for us to learn here. We should set aside our worldly concerns to sit with our Lord as well. 

In Martha's defense, she thought she was doing the right thing. She saw herself as working for the Lord. She was making these preparations for Him and her heart was in the right place. She just got a little too distracted. 

In a sermon I heard just a few weeks ago, I was taught that often times we run from God or we run for God while we should be running to God. I was surprised to hear that God did not want us to run for Him. What the speaker meant by this is that we feel like working constantly at church functions, being a Sunday school teacher, or helping the needy will prove to God that we are worthy to be called His children. In the back of our minds we have a nagging sense that we are never doing enough for Him, but in reality that is not exactly what He wants from us. Yes we will be judged by our works, and we should work for the Lord, but our focus needs to be on the right things as well. If we are running for God, we will become exhausted. 

Therefore, what God wants from us is to run to Him. We need to be like Mary and sit by Jesus' side. We need to simply run to Him and let him give us strength when challenges come our way. God desires a relationships with His people. Say yes to relationship. Move from good to grace and live with your new identity in Him. 

Instead of living by my planner, I need to learn to the live by the Holy Word of God. I need to be able to set my focus on things above and to stop worrying so much about college, my career, my friends, etc. I can continue to make these things a priority in my life as long as my relationship with My Lord is number one. 

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Trinity is made up of three beings: God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It seems that each member is talked about today, but the Holy Spirit is often just forgotten. Many Christians do not fully know the purpose or the power of the Holy Spirit, or how this being is still relevant today. If you research the Holy Spirit a little more closely, you will see just how important He truly is in our daily lives. He is mentioned 312 times in the New Testament. Those mentions are not there to just be ignored. Luke 12:10 states that anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. It even goes on to say that one can blaspheme the Son and be forgiven, but not the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28,29 & Matthew 12:22-32). He must be a pretty important being for this to be said of Him by Jesus Christ. 

So, what does He do for us today? 

Christians are filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Upon baptism the Spirit enters us, and gives us the access to His blessings (Acts 2:38 & Acts 11:16-18). From then on the Spirit stays with us daily. Romans 8:26,27 - "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows that mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will (NIV). The spirit is with us when we pray. He helps us to know what to pray for and searches our hearts to make our requests known of God. Wow! Its amazing to think that He is there to help us pray. Sometimes, even if we don't know what to say, I believe the Spirit is telling God without us even knowing that it is happening. 

This spirit knows our thoughts and our needs. 1 Corinthians 2:10b,11 - "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." The Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God. 

The Holy Spirit is not only with us during the times mentioned above, He is with us at every moment. He is with us and aids us in our repentance (Titus 3:4,5).He gives us each our own spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4). He helps us know what to say when we are speaking to someone about the will of God. Jesus tells his disciples that when they are charged by the councils, not to worry about what they are going to say because the Holy Spirit will be speaking through them (Matthew10:20). Ins't that comforting? To know that the Spirit speaks through us when we cannot decide what to say. I've seen this first hand before when replying to someone who had questions about salvation. My answer just came out. I didn't even think. I had answered spot on and I was proud of myself, but it wasn't me who answered. It was the Spirit through me. Other great examples of the Holy Spirit speaking through us are found in Mark 13:11 & John 14:26. 

Jesus had to go home, but it is so amazing that He left us with the Holy Spirit to help guide our steps. 1 Corinthians 6: 19,20 says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Immediately after this verse, Chapter 7 goes into a discussion on marriage and sexual immorality. This leads me to believe that honoring God with your body is referring to honoring him by being sexually pure and not participating in sexual immorality. If the Holy Spirit is with us always and lives within our bodies, then He is also with us during those times as well. We need to be respectful of ourselves and of Him. Sexual immorality is a sin against our own bodies. 

Galatians 5:22 lists the fruits we are given by the Spirit. These include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All of these character traits, as they are often called, come from the spirit. He gave them to us. If we live by the Spirit, we have these traits and please the Father. This proves that all Christians are capable of possessing these fruits. We have no excuse not to love, not to have joy, not to have peace, and so on. 

Isn't there comfort in knowing that someone so powerful is with us every step of our journey? Someone who stayed here on earth when Jesus went to Heaven? He is with us. He gives us the words to speak. He will also give us the words to speak on the day of judgement. He helps us give an answer. He helps us in our prayers. He gives us gifts and helps us live the life according to God's word. He is not just a Ghost people often fear. He is a living, dwelling being and He is here specifically for you. I don't know how I did not know all of these things about the Spirit my whole life. To me, he was another part of the Holy Trinity. I had no idea what he did or how to have a relationship with Him, but now I do. Through this study I have developed a new respect for the Spirit. I now know that He is there for me and with me all the way. We need to talk about Him more, and let others know the importance of his love. 


Thank you for reading and sharing,

A Little About Me

Even though I was born and raised in Chattanooga, it took me a long time to appreciate it's beauty and charm. Until I traveled many places, I never noticed how mountains are always in the background in the Tennessee Valley. I never took in the amazing river that runs through the city, and I definitely never paid attention to the variety of architecture that makes this city unique from many others. It seems that no matter what your interests are, you can find your place. For me, that place is the country side, and this is a recent discovery. One of the most amazing things about Chattanooga is that you can live anywhere from downtown in the heart of the city, to a compact subdivision, to a wide open field in the country. 

I am an Interior Design student in Chattanooga. I am obsessed with organization, "do it yourself" projects, space planning, and home decor. I love my major. I love my campus, and most of all I love Jesus Christ. 

A few years ago, I was so enveloped in school that I never appreciated the outdoors... at all. I grew up riding motorcycles, hiking in the woods, and climbing trees. Being an Interior Design student, you spend countless hours in the studio. Although I love my major, this was a huge shift for me. I never thought about anything but school. This put important things on the back burner including my relationships with people and more importantly my relationship with God. Now, I want to make up for lost time. I want to spend my time outdoors, engrossed in the word, and spending time with those I love. As I go on this journey, I want to write about it. I want to share with you any devotions, events, or school projects that I am handling and hopefully help others appreciate their daily lives as well.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you enjoyed,