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All caps, all bold and large font. Okay, how hard is that? So raise your hand right now if you always read the instructions before use. Okay, now raise your hand if you read part of the instructions before use? Okay, now raise your hand if you read the first sentence and then say yeah I got it!

Can you think of anything that we possess that does not come with instructions? I know I am stretching this thought, but bear with me as I get where I am going. So most new parents say, I wish this baby came with instructions. A new puppy owner may say the same. Well, honestly, there are some “ instruction “ books out there that lay out what to do, when to do and why to do. Today with all knowledge at our fingertips we can seek answers and instructions on just about anything. So now I am back to my opening questions. Are you one that for somethings think, Oh I don’t need the instructions. Well……As God so often does he gently reminds me that instructions are important and in a simple moment, He is able to use my stumbles for so much awareness that it takes my breath away. So as He has encouraged me to, I must be vulnerable. Treat me kindly.

So, a friend gave me a couple of samples of a product that she endorsed, for anti-aging. Yeah I know that I have already aged and I am ok with that, but hey, I will go for it. So, the next day, so excited I pulled out the pack with all these cute little tubes that had suns and moons on them, and I remember her pointing this out to me. Of course, I barely took in what she was saying. I am a seasoned adult!. My eyes quickly scanned the first sentence for the first tube: Gently massage in circular motion, got it! UMMMMMM, ok as I dressed grabbed all my daily essentials and headed out the door, my face feels “heavy”. Well it must be the anti-aging agent with a lot of work to do!!! So when I ran into her during my day, I was proud to tell her I was trying the product and used the same phrase, “it feels heavy”. She said oh. Didn’t think another thing. All day long I kept thinking, can’t wait to get home and wash this off and put the next tube on, this really doesn’t feel that great. Finally, jumping into a hot shower…..ahhhhhh, as I had the hot steamy water running over my face I felt bubbles appearing, oh, Oh, OH!!!!! Yep as I dried off, lotioned up, dressed for bed, sat down, I read the directions!!! The last word of the first sentence that I didn’t read (because I didn’t need to, remember) was RINSE (I capped and bolded this to make the point). Then you proceed to the next tube and then the next and there are directions for each one and they all work together for the good of the person! So lets go back for just a moment so we don’t lose this: I went through out my whole day with cleanser on my face that should have been rinsed off. And I must add, I wore it proud, although it felt wrong.

Oh, that last sentence, Jesus took the keyboard….. I wore it proud, although it felt wrong. So let me pull that new parent back in, did the baby come with instructions. Well, yes. We have been given instructions on how to live our entire life. Have we read all instructions, well maybe. Are we as professed Christians pulling the first sentence of a particular part and wearing it proudly because the instructions said this, but we didn’t include the last word or the next sentence? Are we reading the first sentence: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, NLT) and the last sentence: “May the Grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people” (Revelations 22:21, NLT). There is a whole lot of uh oh and ok and well,I didn’t know that and wow, that makes sense, if we fail to read the all of the instructions! There are all kinds of do’s, don’t’s, examples and “instructions” in between those two verses. So often we try and just pull one thought out that applies to us right at that moment in our life. Unless we add the before and the after or the next or the last we get lost and miss the whole. Maybe if we skim through and get the middle of the instructions are we able to reap the benefits? Google says that Psalm 103:1,2 (KJV) is the middle verse of the Bible “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”. I must note here that since there are many interpretations of the Bible this middle verse can be different. So as I look at this book of instructions, I see the beginning, who created me, I see the end that God’s Grace is given to me and the middle, not to forget his benefits on me. What are all his benefits on me? Hey, I guess I should read the whole in between and from the first and the last. God’s mercy and grace is so untwined into the instructions for our life “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). “Teach me, and I will be silent: And show me how I have erred.” (Job 6:24). (Topical Bible) I know that some may argue with me if the Bible is an instruction book, as for me, yeah I believe it is and for me, I need every word in my life. As I walked through my day with soap on my face and remember “felt so proud”, I was reminded by God’s nudging that I was about to miss the whole benefit, because I did not read the instructions. Oh, I can live without an anti aging face, yes, I am one that will say I have earned every wrinkle, dark spot and blemish, but to live without all of God’s grace that He has for me would be so very…. Not even a word that could capture that thought. And I challenged myself, what am I wearing proud? To wear God’s Grace is to tuck it into every bit of my life that He has given me, and it is tucked into every word from beginning to end. No more just skimming for me! (But I did have a clean face 😳) #stopwastinggrace , #readtheinstructions , #Godsgraceoverflows , #dontforgetthebenefits

Stop wasting grace journey update……so in Feb i started this journey. Because, neither me or my trainer wanted to test our crisis responses, we waited until I had my physical…well that went well, with just a few additional follow ups, then Nana mode became more important so another week, before i really started sessions with her. She had me doing some 30 min twice a week at least and had me start on the nutrition part. Well, both were come and go, however I am proud to say, NO SWEET TEA since 2/1/19! and maybe one 8 oz of soft drink since 2/1/19!! I will wait while everyone stops cheering… oh was that just me? I believe that alone has just changed so much in my body. I did follow the nutrition for the most part, with some ups and downs. For Feb, since I really was on stall, (except for the sugar) I gave myself a lot of pardons. So March roars in and 3/1/19 began the real push. I have had two really good workout sessions. I am pushing myself to find the time during the day to get out and walk whenever I can and nutrition, well, I am following the guidelines but I am not eating enough. Really? Yes Really. First its figuring out what I can grab and go, the thoughts of what I have in my refrigerator or cabinets don’t really sound great at 6:30 am. And then its, what drive thru will offer good choices. Then dinner, nope, I am officially debriefing from my day, I would rather not eat, then have to cook and I am on point on what’s legal to eat. Yea, Yea, Yea… I know food prep, done it, can do it, don’t want to do it (except when it was for my baby girl getting ready for baby Collins). So this Friday I whined like the biggest baby there is to my trainer. “I don’t want carrots and celery, I don’t want to fix dinner, I don’t want to give up my Sunday to cook all day”. God Bless her… she said ok and made notes in her notebook. As I took my sweaty body and hair to my hair appointment (Sorry Jennifer!). I had the time to think. Boy was I ashamed! You know how you relax as your head is being shampooed by someone else and then they comb, cut, blow dry….. ahhhhh. Nope not today, God gently tilted my chin up and without the whisper I usually get, He let me just soak myself in and it was not so pretty. The first thought…YOU…`made this commitment. If not YOU, then WHO. I felt gut punched by every “I don’t or I can’t” that I had uttered that morning. I spent the rest of the day, scanning through cookbooks, Pinterest, the list she sent me, scribbling, scratching out and ripping up lists to start another. By 9 pm, Walmart had its marching orders and I had a week planned! I realized that my first stumble is….getting out to shop for groceries… that was fixed quick! Sure not going to order,pay and then stay away, letting go of this week’s grocery fund. I was committed to picking up my good, clean, fresh food. Natalie being here, got me excited about crafting and that scared me that I would decide not to eat lunch and then not fix and eat a healthy dinner. Well, I stayed committed. My can’t (which is really I won’t, I don’t want to) turned into I did!!! Made a beautiful Deep Dish Pizza Casserole! Delicious! Legal and fresh!!! Phillip was right on board too. Of course he got two helpings to my one. But it was just right… Goldilocks. In that moment on Friday examining myself, while I at least had clean hair… without the whisper…God got me right back on track…

“So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.” (Philippians 13:15-16) MSG.

Yes, I have Sunday to get up and get on the right track and get it done. Food prep ready, and why am I going to? Because I can, because I want to, because I will and because if not me then who?