"The Stronghold of My Life..."

"God is our dependable stronghold"

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?... One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him on His temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock...Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek His face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Psalm 27-1, 4-5, 7-8 NIV

As we are already in the second week of the New Year (2014) Many of us are still running our race to commit to doing whatever resolutions we made for the year. The most popular resolutions perhaps on everybody's list are wiser planning on their finances; (living within their means/under your means) a leaner /healthier body; and I bet, having better relationships with family, friendships and to ourselves...

On the other hand, some may have already "fallen out of the wagon" maintaining their stance on their resolutions. I know it's hard but if you're not going to persevere and endure for your own cause and get tempted to the clutches of the ordinary, familiarity and the same scenario of your old life, then you're really stuck.
Why don't you challenge yourself to do things differently, for a change?" Make a "truce" with yourself that nothing else will keep you from doing better at life this time. Surround yourself with people that are more fierce and committed at resolving new goals. Dare to be tough and be different; you owe that to yourself. Read/listen other people's testimonies on how they went above their circumstances and became victors not victims.

Just envision yourself to have lost the desired pounds you've set to accomplish within months; that my friends is one to celebrate. When you're healthier, it's less medications that you take or you can toss them out; less visit to the doctor's office; and you gain more stamina in combatting almost anything. These are just of the few tangible rewards of a healthier you. The most important thing is that you have broken the yoke of making excuses for yourself...

And when you feel better about yourself, other areas of your life also begin to take root like in your finances and your relationships with others especially with your family. I only have one mantra on spending money: never use your credit cards as a substitute for solving your problems. Delayed gratification is always noteworthy. Buying some things you don't need or things you can live without is a better choice than having financial issues that will lead to depression; causing your relationships to suffer because of unwise purchases. We're all guilty of misspending but it's different when spending becomes an addiction. And when you're addicted, you're wired-off so dependently it's a big mess.

Oh well, we have a God of second chances...And if you dig deeper into your hearts, you'll discover that the best resolution one can make this year without a doubt I hope is the prayer of getting more understanding of how fearfully and wonderfully we are made by God. Once, we get it, there's no telling of the wisdom and His grace will be in the overflow...Then you'll know that He's with you when you're running your race, your battles, the joys of believing out of fear...

God Bless...Till tomorrow