"And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  ~2 Corinthians 10:5b (NIV).

Taking captive EVERY THOUGHT.  Every thought meaning every single thing that passes through our brains.  Good and bad.  Right and wrong.  When we have any sort of thought, put it to test of whether it is obedient to Christ:  "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  ~Philippians 4:8 (NIV).  

When I begin to think about how I feel I need new clothes, I will take these thoughts captive, and turn them into obedience: I have plenty of clothes that are in good condition, and scripture tells us, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?...And why do you worry about clothes?  Se how the flowers of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith?" ~Matthew 6:25, 28-30 (NIV).  Whenever I begin to think about how I "need" to go shopping, I will stop and remember these verses, and will turn my focus back towards God.

When I begin to feel lonely, or miss an old relationship, I will take these thoughts captive, and turn them into obedience: God led me to where I am in life right now, and I listened for His guidance when making decisions in past relationships.  Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths" (ESV).  Whenever I begin to think about how I miss someone or miss a relationship, I will stop and turn my focus back towards God.

Empowered!

For Week 1 of our Online Bible Study on "Made to Crave," our word of the week is #empowered.  Just saying the word to myself makes me feel stronger!  The Google definition of "empowered" is as follows: "Give (someone) the authority or power to do something; make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights."  I LOVE this definition!  God is the only one who can always help us feel stronger and more confident, and who gives us power over the things in our lives that seem to have control over us (including our thoughts and choices).  He is the one who empowers us, if we make the choice to seek Him.

For this blog post, I recorded a couple of times throughout this week that I have remembered the word of the week, and how it affected me.

Monday morning - started a new job.  I felt so many emotions: fear and anxiety of the unknown, mixed with excitement for a new beginning and hope for a fulfilling career.  The training that morning was overwhelming, and I was beginning to feel completely unsure of myself and my abilities.  Even though all my new co-workers were friendly, I really missed my previous co-workers, who had become my best friends and confidants.  I doubted I had made the right decision to change jobs.

Over lunch, I went and prayed and poured my heart out to God over a cup of coffee (Starbucks can help everything, right? :)  He reminded me that through him, I am EMPOWERED.  Alone, I WILL feel insecure, fearful, and anxious; but with Him I can get through anything!  He also reminded me that He has great plans for my life and directs my paths (Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 3:6), and He led me to this new position.  Thanking Him for this reminder and for His comfort, I went back to work and had a much better afternoon.  It was still overwhelming at times, but everything went well and I enjoyed my time!

Tuesday morning - nine degrees outside.  My cat was snuggled up tight, and I did not want to get up and go for my run before work.  I remembered that God has given me good health, and that I need to maintain that and take care of this earthly body He has given me (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  He empowers me and gives me the strength to get up and face the cold, and this helped me get up and go run!

I pray you feel #empowered by God often!  Seek Him and you will find Him and His strength!  God bless :)

Cultivate

For the upcoming new year, I have chosen one word that I will focus on, that will help drive my resolutions and goals.  For 2014, my word is CULTIVATE.  In order to cultivate new things, or to grow, change is often required - YIKES!  I have continually told myself throughout 2013 that change is good, and through a lot of prayer, faith, and help from my friends and family I have been able to make a LOT of major changes over this past year: where I live, relationships, and now career changes.  I could not have done it without my faith and all my incredible friends and family!!!  

I chose "cultivate" specifically because it deals a lot with growth, and growth is something I want to achieve a lot of in my personal and professional life over the next year.  I specifically chose cultivate because I want to grow, but I also want to nourish other things in my life: 

• Cultivating relationships:
•  With family and friends:  Continuing to stay close to my family and friends, and learn more about how to support and encourage them.
• With myself:  Learning to love myself, and embrace who I truly am.  Also taking care of myself with better eating habits (i.e. not an entire tray or package of cookies in one day!), regular exercise, adequate sleep (not currently a problem!), and relaxing.
• With Christ:  Continuing to learn about Him and grow in my faith through regular worship, Bible reading, Bible studies, and serving.  
• Cultivating professional skills:
• Work on my adjusting skills
• Work on my chiropractic knowledge  

I also want to cultivate other things such as love, hope, happiness, good habits and health, contentment, peace, awareness, optimism, joy, hospitality, and generosity.  "Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress." ~1 Timothy 4:15 

I LOVE this image from LifeHack.org:  

 I LOVE the phrase "design your life," because we are responsible for our lives, and we have the power to create the life we want.  I also love the visual of all the brightly colored paints, and the idea of them being painted onto a blank canvas!  While we try to "paint" our lives exactly how we want it, sometimes there are splashes and splatters that end up on the canvas unintentionally, kind of like many of our life situations.  However, when we stand back and look at the whole picture, it tends to look incredibly beautiful (even if it's not what we imagined!).  

Some other great images from LifeHack.org: 

I truly hope I make 2014 my year to shine, and I hope you do too!!!  I pray you achieve everything you want to over the next year, and that incredible blessings come your way!  God bless :)