Sunday Morning

Yesterday was a great day! I went to my old Kempo class at my church. I havent taken the class in 4 months because we thought we were going to move. Yesterday I finally got my butt up early enought to get everything gathered up and out of the house. The class is 3 hours long.. and starts with a fantastic half hour of stretching. Then one of the other ladies in the class had just gotten sparring gear.. and I had my old gear from 15 yrs ago when I was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Karate. So for the first time in 15 yrs, I got to put all my pads back on and actually fight someone. It was fantastic!! I was out of breath after a full minute of fighting... which is pathetic.. but it still felt good... .and what a workout! I am actually sore in many places this morning! I think I am going to try and make the class every other weekend... only because it takes up such a huge chunk out of my saturday morning with the family.

I have to keep it short this morning because I have a late start in getting the girls and I ready for church... but I did want to share todays devotional...

Learning Hope

O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemys exult over me. -Psalm 25:2

When Pandora opened her box, all the troubles in the world darted out. They attacked and stung her , and then flew through the door to trouble everyone else on earth. Afterward, one quiet little creature kept crying out from inside the box, and what weeping, wounded Pandora finally released was hope: God's gift to humanity.

It isn't always easy to keep a spirit of hope alive when magazines show me pictures of delicious food in living color, and every model on television looks like she weighs twelve pounds. But recently I saw a program that showed photographers gluing food together and enhancing its color with dyes and inks, and other camera people using a computer to shave inches off the waistline of the world's most famous model! Am I going to let photographers and computer artists deprive me of hope?

Hope has to be realistic. I can't hope God will appear like a wizard, waving a magic wand to make me thin and self disciplined. But I can hope God will give me the wisdom to deal with overeating or any other aspect of my life.

For Further Reflection

1. What guides you most: Hope or Guilt?
2. What can you do when you begin to lose hope?
3. Are your hopes realistic?

Prayer

When I lose hope , Lord, I'm not keeping faith with You. Catch me before I fall!! Amen

Have a Blessed Day