How does God See Me?

John 1:12

I am a child of God

1 Peter 2:9

I am a part of a royal lineage

Romans 8:35-39

I am loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love

I am a conqueror

Ephesians 1:4

I am chosen by God

Colossians 2:13-14

I am forgiven and my sin/debt has been paid in full

Philippians 4:13

I am strengthened for all tasks to which God calls me

John 14:16

I have the Holy Spirit in me

Romans 5:1

I have peace with God through Jesus

Hebrew 13:5

I am never alone; God will not leave me

Romans 5:1

I am justified

Romans 8:1

I am free from condemnation

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I am established, anointed, sealed by God

Philippians 1:6

I am confident that God will complete a good work in me

John 4:24

I am a truth worshiper

2 Corinthians 5:17

I am a new creation!

Mark 16:17-18

I have the ability to perform miracles

Ephesians 3:12

I have the ability to approach God with freedom and confidence

Ephesians 1:11-12

I am blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven

Colossians 1:13

I am delivered from dark powers

Hebrews 13:6

I am safe

1 Peter 5:10

I am strong

Song of Solomon 4:10

I am beautiful

1 Peter 2:24

I am healed

What other identity promises can we claim?

“I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun- Not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else.” -CS Lewis

As a little exercise, look up these verses and take some quiet time to pray and ask God what He wants to reveal to you about yourself. Write down 10 or so things that He loves about you. Then do the same with the ways He would use to describe you. You will be surprised at what He tells you compared to how you actually feel.

This week, I sent a video out to the members of my business (I own a fitness club) and told them they just had to watch it. While I'm normally against any sort of forward or stupid youtube video, I felt pretty overwhelmed with the emotion of this one. So while this has nothing to do with our identity in Christ, it makes a very valid point about perspective and how often, the way we see ourselves is not our true identity:

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

more on this later...

We are human BEINGS

 I've been working on leading a discussion with my young adults group on identity. Why is it so important for us to understand who we are; especially at our stage in life? 

The purpose of realizing your identity is to help you understand who God created you to be. You will be better equipped to step into your calling and recognize your dreams. You will be able to launch well into the next season of your life (marriage, career, education, etc). But it also helps us build the Kingdom and not the church...let me explain that one briefly:

So many people think that our sole mission is to grow the church. But as Pastor Jamey oh-so-eloquently put it last Sunday, "churches are just sheep shacks." They are simply buildings meant to build us up and equip us to go out, not caves we are meant to dwell in. God has already built the church and has given us the keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:18), so now it's time to go out! We are meant to set people free in their identity in Christ. So isn't it so very important for us to be solid in who we are? Back to identity...

  

What does it mean to have your identity in Christ?

It's not just a matter of claiming Bible verses for yourself. To have your identity in Christ means that you're placing your confidence for life and eternity in the Lord. It means that you're learning to do all that you do with and for Jesus. It means that people will see Jesus when they look at you. To have your identity in Christ means that you are being formed more and more into the image of the Lord.

Identity revolves around who we are, not what we do. Your calling is not your identity. Your commission is not your identity. Business owner, pastor, burger flipper, school teacher, evangelist, etc are descriptions of things you do, they are not who you are fundamentally. Your vocation is an expression of who you are, not the root. (Ever meet a workaholic who lost their job and lost motivation in life?) Have our priorities as Americans helped us or hindered us in this way? In eternity, it's your character and identity that will remain, not the life you built for yourself. 

Who are we in Christ? Did you know...“In Christ” is referenced 160x in the Bible!

Romans 8:14-17
-We are sons of God

-Closest form of intimacy with Father

-Fellow heirs with Christ

1 Corinthians 3:21-23

- As co-heirs with Christ, we literally have been given all things because Christ was given all things. Think about that...if it was given to Christ, miracles and signs and wonders, WE GET TO DO IT TOO!

Ephesians 5:22-33

Revelation 19:7

- Bride of Christ

- Closest form of intimacy with the Son

- We have all of Him

1 Corinthians 6:19

- Temple of the Holy Spirit

- Closest form of intimacy with the Spirit

- He dwells within us in intimate communion

In all instances we have the closest relationship to God possible without becoming part of His Godhead. We lack nothing and the outflow of our identity should be to "enjoy God and be enjoyed by Him" (John Piper). Oh, and you don't have to do anything to "be" these things. It wouldn't be identity if you did. We are human beings not human doings.

Ask God to surprise you with who He created you to be, not with what He created you to do. You won't be able to fully come into your calling without first understanding who you are.

To be continued...

Trust.

There's a tall ladder. At the top of it is your destination; the deepest desire of your heart. But where are we on that ladder? How long until you get to the top of it? What happens when God seems to be illuminating only the next couple of rungs?

Psalm 37 has been coming to mind all week, and then Pastor Jamey went ahead and did a mini sermon on it this morning! I love how God will confirm the direction He gives us.

Psalm 37:3-9
Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath, do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

The message is clear. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Just as He has provided for us thus far in life, and gives us encouragement through fellowship with other Christians, we should be releasing control, listening for His voice to give direction, and then walk in confidence in the direction He gave.

You know what Christian circles say about asking God for patience? Jokingly we're always reminded NOT to do that! Why? Because God will give us circumstances that will test our patience. He is really good at never giving up on us by always giving us situations that will test our trust in Him. Even when we fail, His grace and mercy remains. He picks us back up and provides another chance. We will never reach full potential on this side of Heaven, so this message is true in all seasons of life.

This is all easier said than done, I know, but it doesn't matter if we can't see past what is in front of us. God said the fulfillment of promise will come to those who trust in Him and wait patiently.

We release control and give Him our trust.

Life is an Adventure

I'm in love with places I've never been and people I've never met. 

I went on a business trip last week to train the new owner of a club. My friend Kevin (check out his blog here) gave me this encouragement before I left on my trip: "Remember Who you represent and look for opportunities to be blessed by sharing His love with those you meet ." 

I met an old man staring at the moon. 

With binoculars in hand, he was staring at the moon like it was his long lost love. I smiled as I stood next to him and looked at the crescent moon, trying so hard to see what he was seeing. Without talking, he handed me his binoculars. I took a peek. They must have been strong binoculars because you could see everything. Even though most of the moon was dark, you could still make out the craters and shadows. He whispered "beautiful, isn't it?" and I agreed. He took his binoculars and I wished him a good night as he simply smiled and walked away. 

As I was driving home the next day, I was thinking about it: "Look for opportunities to be blessed by sharing His love." God uses our experiences with the people around us to bring US as much joy as we bring them hope. As we are obedient and walk in His direction, He puts situations that we can both minister to another, but that also will minister to us. God doesn't ask us to tirelessly work for Him. He loves us; He wants to bring us joy. As I thought about my friend in the parking lot of the hotel, I prayed that God would bless him and meet him wherever he was that day. However far away from home he was, that he would find himself not alone.

Life is an adventure, it is never the same two days in a row. There are always new and different circumstances and the people you meet can bring you either closer to God or pull you further away. I want to be the kind of person, even if it's just planting a seed of kindness, to draw people closer to God.

I'm in love with places I've never been and people I've never met. When I do go there and meet them, I am blessed.

Friends, Fellowship and Forgiveness

Wow. It's been just a little over a year since I began this crazy journey. It's amazing how life never ends up the way you imagined it would. So here we are, a year later, and a completely abandoned plan. The first thing I thought when my blog crossed my mind today was that no one has questioned me, no one has encouraged me to keep going, and basically, no one would know.

Overcoming difficult circumstances seems to have become the trend in my life. I spent the majority of 2012 living with my aunt and getting upset about things out of my control. I began 2012 with the yearning to humble myself by ridding my life of excess in order to become more Christ-like and gain a better understanding of who He is. Two months in, I quit when I was suddenly without anywhere to live...but God kept working. Funny how He does that. Instead of continuing my crazy year long fast, I was instantly without most of my possessions and living on a mattress on the floor. All simply because we didn't find a house to buy by the time we had to leave the other one.

In September, I found a great little house, bought it, and moved in with a month to prepare to host Christmas. (hosting and Christmas are 2 of my favorite things!) So in the end, God quickened to me the same lesson I was trying to reach on my own; but He did it in His own way. Instead of me being in control of my story, God gave me the perfect opportunity to put 100% of my trust in Him, because there was no other way to go. And then he gave me an incredible blessing for my obedience... in spite of my grumbling! I started last year by posting this verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." Boy wasn't that made 100% clear to me last year.

My friends Heidi and Sam began 2013 in a time of fasting; much like I began last year. But it wasn't until my lunch with them this week did I realize that I still have a desire to complete the task I started. Both Heidi and I are in a similar state of "blooming" is what we called it. She is anxiously awaiting the birth of her son at home, except she thought she would be working by now. I am at a professional crossroads with no direction once more.

This morning, Pastor Jamey talked about prophetic words over our lives. It's interesting to hear how people react to a prophesy. Some people will take it and hold on for dear life. Some people will disregard it unless it happens to come to fruition. And some people just laugh at the idea of prophesy. Did you ever consider, and this is the profound part, that the prophesy could be true but our lives aren't ready to receive it? He made an analogy about farming: In the fall after the harvest, farmers will till their soil to allow the left over pieces of plants give nutrition to the soil. After the ground has thawed, they sow their seed. But if they hadn't prepared the ground months and months before, the seed would never produce a usable crop. woah.

I've naively never considered that I might be the problem when things spoken over my life don't happen. I always believed it would all happen in "God's Timing" but could it be that my heart has not been prepared to produce a successful crop. The seed has been sown, but it's time to till the soil.

So if I still have a great desire to fast in order to seek God and "till the soil" then here I go.

Details this week.

Month Two: Spending

So after praying about it for awhile and deciding between covering the topic of clothing or spending this month, I am confident it's time to work on spending.

I'd like to think of this as something I may adopt from here on out and not just work on it for a month only to go back to my "normal" way of living after. But seriously, sometimes I wonder where half my money goes. I even budget; only to find that I have to shift money around at the end of the month to come out even on my budget. A few years ago a friend of mine loaned me her cd's of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to help me get on track...I'm not terribly off track...but I could be more comfortable if I had some of my debt paid down. School loans, a credit card, my business debt...just a few things. But I still find myself living from paycheck to paycheck. Mostly, I'm assuming, because I don't track the little things that add up by the end of the month. I haven't used a credit card for 1.5 years, only my debit, so I am proud of that. But if I could only work on those little things, key word would be CONSISTENLY, then possibly I could feel that I'm stewarding my money the way God wants me to.

Like I said before, my brother and I are looking to purchase a house together hopefully within the next month and how awesome would it be to have some cashflow to make the place awesome. How great would it be if my savings account started to become a little more than just an emergency fund!

Here are the details:
I will be spending money in only 7 places throughout the month.
1. Online bill pay...phone, credit card, insurance, student loans
2. Gas (gas only) at Holiday
3. Tithing at church
4. Lakewinds/Whole Foods (they are basically the same thing, just in different cities)
5. Target
6. buying a house
7. everything I would be spending anywhere else goes straight into savings
Yes that is all. Yes that includes bills and gas. March 19-April 18

So no lunch after church, no quick coffee on the run, no meals out because I don't feel like cooking, no new clothes, no random purchases at the mall, no Redbox movies, no treats at the Twins game...and here's my goal: nothing I don't NEED. I could sustain most of my life at Target, but most people know when you go in to Target to buy 2 things, you come out with a $40 reciept of stuff you swear you have no idea how it got into your cart. Wants are put aside this month, and only necessities will be bought.

Thank God I have no children or a husband that I will force to suffer through this month...

Day 24

One week left! I feel great! My energy is up, my pants are falling off, and I am SO ready to be done with this month. haha

There's something about a rainy day that makes me extra productive; I suppose it's because I don't feel that I should be outside or something. I love rain, it's so soothing. So I thought I'd post today since I just know the creative juices are flowing...

I was really challenged in Bible study last week. Phil 3:16 Let us hold true to what we have attained As I was sitting there thinking about the next 6 months of this fast, I was instantly convicted. Let us hold true to what we have attained. Why am I always looking toward the future and what it holds for me, or striving for the next stage in life, when I haven't quite finished the work in front of me?

I'm just finishing up my month of a food fast. And instead of going over what I've learned and applying it to my life, I've just been focusing on what comes next. We can't be making judgements today on what our future holds when we haven't experienced the journey to get there.

Is it just women who fantasize about the next stage in life? Somehow I can't see men yearning for a white dress or little feet running around the house...hmmm

Regardless of the fantasy, I think we are all yearning for what comes next. We don't want to be obedient to what we know, but if we don't use what we know and just continue searching for what's next, we will never truly grow. Matt Chandler challenged us: Do we need to stop and repent before we can move forward? Complacency is not the high road to success. 

It's time to start applying the basic truths to my life consistently! More prayer, more time spent in the Word, more awareness of what is going on RIGHT now. Less less less time worrying about what the future holds and less time focused on what I can learn to benefit tomorrow. It's about NOW

Day 19

This is hard. I knew it would be hard, and I've slipped up a few times, but I didn't really realize exactly how hard it would be. I love experimenting with food and flavors...being so limited is a nightmare. It's hard to live in a society that centers around food and going out to eat when there isn't much that you CAN eat. Boy am I thankful that I don't have any health issues that cause me to stay away from certain foods.

I am constantly reminding myself that this is only a few more weeks and asking God to keep me motivated to continue. At least God understands our shortcomings and the end result will bring growth!

James 1:2-4. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers [and sisters], whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Day 10: To live is Christ and to die is gain

My young adult group at church has been studying Philippians with Matt Chandler. It's been a completely refreshing perspective and I've felt he teaches in a way that clearly gives us opportunity to take things away and apply them to our lives.

This past week has been every kind of stressful you can imagine. Put this fast, extra-curricular activities and the promise to write to you all as often as possible on top of it, needless to say I sleep pretty hard. Last Thursday (and yes I'm just getting to writing about it today), our study reminded me of why I feel that this mutiny against excess is so important to my walk with God. It was complete confirmation that I had made the right choice in doing this fast, and it was encouragement that the end goal will be worth the issues it is creating in my immediate existence.

Here is what we studied and the notes I took:

Philippians 3:7-12
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

In Phil 3, Paul intensely outlines the reasons to pursue Christ and then how to pursue Him.

We pursue Him because we are broken people with issues in our lives that will never be able to be fixed with any earthly effort.

In our darkest moment, in our deepest sin, God chose us. Cool thing is...there is never a day that we don't fall short, yet He still wants us to chase after Him! God rescues the dirty to the praise of His glorious grace. What do we have in our lives that is blocking us from pursuing him?

We are imperfect people chosen by a perfect God, our priority should lie with pursuing Him. Nothing can compare to the riches of His grace!

To live is Christ and to die is gain. Amen. 

Day 4

Uneventful. Probably a good thing since work has been ridiculously crazy, but still. I wish I had something amazing to report...

Well except for the unapproved meal on day 2. I spoke at a women's luncheon at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN on Tues and sat down to a beautiful table. Only half-way through eating did I realize that there was not one single 7-sanctioned food on my plate. Shoot. It was possibly nerves that I didn't realize it, but it made me think about how we go through life. Are we on autopilot half of the time, most of the time? Do we just go to work and church, do our devotions, and follow the same routine's day after day without being purposeful? Do we drive home and forget how we got there? We are creatures of habit, or so I've heard...


Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life refers to us being able to change our autopilot:


Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think Your first step in spiritual growth is to start changing the way you think. Change always starts first in your mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. Paul said "There must be spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes."
To be like Christ, you must develop the mind of Christ. The New Testament calls this mental shift repentance, which in Greek literally means "to change your mind." You repent whenever you change the way you think by adopting how God thinks-about yourself, sin, God, other people, life, your future, and everything else. You take on Christ's outlook and perspective.

God I pray that you would begin to transform our minds. Teach us to think like you so that we can live in a way that is purposeful and in line with Your Will.

Day 1

So yesterday I was in a little bit of a panic. I waited until the last minute to go grocery shopping for the week, and then the grocery store didn't even have everything I needed! Who is OUT of sweet potatoes? Since I have only allotted myself 7 trips to the grocery store, I wasn't too thrilled with having to use up a second trip just to get one item. Anyway, I didn't think too hard about what exactly I was going to cook for the week; waiting for divine inspiration often times ends up with a run to subway or munching on random junk that's sitting in the pantry...so I was feeling a little overwhelmed.

Low and behold this morning, my friend Beca, (the amazing woman who introduced me to Jen Hatmaker's book in the first place...follow her fasting from excess blog here) showed up at Curves with a ten pound bag of sweet potatoes! "Thought you might need these, we are definitely not going to be eating them anytime soon!"

Let's just be honest, we live in America, never did I think a bag of sweet potatoes would be an answer to prayer, or even a prayer I thought about leaving my lips. But oh how cool that was, and just in time for me to run home on break and cook a few of them up.

Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

It's cool that God cares about stuff like sweet potatoes. God is good.

The Makings of a Plan

So I'm sure you are all waiting on pins and needles wondering what in the world I'm going to attempt on Monday. Well...without all the details, they will definitely be coming soon, month one will focus on FOOD.

I chose food as my first endeavor for a few reasons:
1. Curves just put out a new program in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic to help women have the strength, and ALL the tools they need to combat the obesity epidemic. My members, my mom, and myself have been wildly successful on the program. I have a club of 320 members who are completely changing their lives, and not just incorporating exercise into their lifestyle. EXCITING! You just watch, I truly believe that we have positioned ourselves to be pioneers and envisionaries in this industry in ways that no other company has; but that is beside the point. So, as a certified coach, I teach my members ways to actually be healthier...not just telling them to diet to lose weight...food and how our bodies respond to what we feed them, is ALWAYS at the forefront of my mind.
2. I have eliminated almost all high fructose corn syrup from my diet, I eat relatively organic and mostly unprocessed foods, but I still struggle with excess. Buying too much of this or that and then letting it sit in my fridge until it expires because who wants to eat the same big tub of greek yogurt all week when there are so many other choices. Limiting my choices will help to reduce my waste AND my bottom line...and maybe even my waist and bottom as well (I have never used the word bottom before in my life HA)
3. Eating out. Americans have such a weird sense of community around food. Almost all cultures gather around food, but few gather FOR food. There's a difference between enjoying an amazing meal and great conversations with your friends, and not knowing how else to commune with your friends unless it's around food or drink. I experience both, but needless to say, I spend too much money on going out to lunch, dinner, coffee...a snack in the middle of the day... None of those things are necessary to have any kind of relationship with me, so why do we feel so obligated to gather soley around food?

I laugh when people talk about eating to live and living to eat, but really, as clique as it is, it's a legitimate concept. Why do you think "they" say it's so important to eat dinner as a family as opposed to separate or in front of the tv? It's because the aspect of being together solidifies our existance as relational beings. We give our attention to those relationships and food becomes the point of nourishment. When we're sitting in front of the tv or computer, it becomes about what do I want to eat right now that will satisfy whatever emotions I'm feeling...had we been present with our families, we would have nourished that primal relational desire we simply cannot quench by texting and tweeting.

Americans focus too much on food; or at least they take for granted the abundance that we have here. I'll admit, I'm an absolute foodie. I would rather cook to relax than take a bubble bath. So that is why I know this first topic is going to be baptism by fire for me, but where my allegiance with food lies will change as I let God and His Word become the food to nourish me.

Psalm 107:9
God satisfies the thirsty and the hungry he fills with good things.

What is enough?

A little over a month ago, I spent some time-off in London with my best friend, her sister and brother-in-law. It's a gorgeous city full of history, a melting-pot of culture, and the odd drunkard that stumbles across your path in the middle of the day. The city is well educated and many people are very well off. I wasn't doing missions helping the poor; this is a first world country. So why did I leave with such a desire to stay there and a completely changed view of how we live in America?

Chris and Sarah live in a small-by-American-standards flat above a hairdresser in Greenwich. Greenwich is a 20 minute commute to London Bridge or London Cannon Street, which is then another 30 minute or more commute by tube wherever else you want to go. Chris and Sarah have one bedroom, a second bedroom that serves their couch and tv, and a typical European kitchen with a bathroom off the one end of it. It's tight, and it's smaller than all of my friend's apartments in the States, but it's got this amazing character and homeyness that you fall in love with immediately. Any typical American would walk in and immediately judge the size and layout and wonder how they function in such a small space (thank you HGTV). But truthfully, the four of us functioned pretty well for the week.

I've been blessed with never having more than a 10 minute commute to work, never having to wonder where I will sleep or where I will fit all the crap I own, and never wondering what I will do if the tube is delayed and I miss the last train back home. All of these things were challenges we had to prepare for every day in London. I am aware that being tourists in London is pretty low on the list of eye-opening experiences, but being out of your own culture in anyway can trigger your mind to contemplate your own circumstances.

I didn't come from a wealthy family, but I have more clothes than I can wear in a month, food in my fridge, a car and gas for it, health insurance, and all the bells and whistles that comes with life as an American. I became a business owner at 23 and I've worked really hard to get where I am today, which I suppose you can joke with me and call it the American Dream. But then, why do I still feel like it's not enough? What is enough? Don't get me wrong, and ask anyone who knows me, I am not a shopaholic or high maintenance, but that doesn't mean I can't struggle with emotions that all of us have at one point or another. My question is what am I going to do about them.

Not too long after coming home from London, my world was turned upside down in a housing issue that was beyond my control. As I'm in the process of purchasing my first home (yay!), I am biding my time on the couches of friends and family who generously put up with an extra person in their home. In the midst of this chaos, I had dinner with some new friends who had just finished a book called 7: An Eperimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. They had me over for a great ham and sweet potato dinner and then explained why the food was what it was...which I never questioned in the first place...but I am grateful that they shared their experience. (here is her blog about their family's journey)

This is a good explanation of the book straight from Jen Hatmaker's blog:

God, if too much stuff is standing in the way of your kingdom coming in our lives, then help us break up with it. If it has stolen our allegiance and hijacked our obedience, give us the courage to wage war against everything that is ruining us for your gospel, substituting comfort for bravery, acquiring for sharing, appearances for obedience, personal glory for worship.

A seven-month experimental mutiny against excess, tackling seven areas of over-consumption in the spirit of a fast; a fast from greed, irresponsibility, apathy, and insatiability. Each area boiled down to just seven choices for a month:

Food.
Clothes.
Possessions.
Media.
Waste.
Spending.
Stress.

Only seven foods for a month. Only seven pieces of clothes for a month. Give away seven things we own a day for a month. Eliminate seven forms of media for a month. Adopt seven substantial habits for a greener life. Spend money in only seven places. Practice "seven sacred pauses" a day and observe the Sabbath...a deeply reduced life to find a greatly increased God.

It's all kind of come together for me. I have too much. I waste too much time. I spend too much. But of course I can not be fulfilled with things, I know this. I am a go-getter and I enjoy being in charge. So this breeds the feelings of inadequacy when I can't meet my own needs which then can only lead to two conclusions: will I depend on God for all the things I need, or will I try everything in my own power to provide them for myself? 

So all of that to say, this is MY experimental mutiny against excess in order to re-prioritize my life, put first things first, and grow my relationship with God to a level that I depend on Him more than myself.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So here I am Lord, purposefully being weak so that I can learn to have YOU as my strength.

I will be done with the book in the next couple days and I will begin the first month of mutiny next Monday!