Steadiness

First things first.
I started this "boot camp" on Monday night...and...ouch. It was one exhausting hour! Now my legs hate me and it takes a good 3-5 minutes to get up a flight of stairs. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But it takes a long time. I've been kicking it into high gear over the last couple of weeks because these past few months have not been pretty. What is it about marriage that makes you eat whatever you want, whenever you want? I'm learning that lesson the hard way. Yikes. Something about my husband and his cuteness makes me want to cook all of these delicious dinners with incredible desserts. Then we eat. All of it. His "mantabolism" allows him to stay fit, while I... well, I either need to have some kids really soon to eat my food or befriend some bachelors who like to eat leftovers, because this is madness!

This week, I've been reflecting a lot on something Craig Groeschel said that my sweet friend Tabi shared with me. Don't quote me on these exact numbers...my figures might be off, but I do know the moral of the story. Trust me. He spoke about how when he was first a youth pastor, he shrunk his youth group from 50 to 10. Shrunk. While he was wallowing in this decrease, God spoke very clearly to him and said, "don't blame yourself for the decrease, because then you'll credit yourself for the increase."

Wow. How true is that?! Youth group gets down to 10 kids; youth pastor feels bad. God grows it to hundreds; youth pastor pats himself on the back for a job well done. It's so easy for us to fall into feeding our ego with compliments. I'll be completely honest- it feels amazing when someone comes to me after worship to tell me how great it was. I love that warm, fuzzy feeling that I get when people take the time to compliment my voice. But...do I do anything to deserve the compliments? Really? Nope. I just get up there and use the talent that God has given me, for something that He has called me to do. So, to Him be the glory. Not me. Right? Easier said than done. It's common to want to take credit for something that you do well- especially if you've worked hard at it! I think it's appropriate to be grateful that you accomplished what you did, but it's most important to remember that He said "my strength is made perfect in weakness." In our weakness. He never requires us to get down on ourselves when we mess up- it's actually quite the opposite! So, because we are to be secure and not let small failures discourage us, we should also not let the highs of successes go to our heads. It's He who has begun the good work in you, and it's He who will complete it (Phil 1:6). We belong to Him and we need to remain secure in that. We will mess up, and we will succeed. It's about not letting either of those places affect us. We need to be even-tempered, and not just in ministry! God has me completely in the middle of learning this right now. I'm learning to be steady in my emotion, in my life, and in my marriage. Right now, it's something that's very intentional...I have to work at it. Hard. Growing up in an Italian home allowed for short fuses and hot-headedness (I may have made that term up...). But, by God's grace and help, I think it will become second nature to remain steady and I am hopeful for that. Hopeful because He is faithful! 

xo,
Angie