New Year. New Beginnings?? Be a better you! Really.

So here it is. January 3rd and I've discovered that the blog I was sort of started about 8 months ago, the blog that I thought I never fully finished, the blog I thought I deleted is here. Here it is. You're reading it. So, I guess that's my cue to keep it going. I know this thrills you.

Remember in the days gone by when you would type out a HUGE, long status update and the friendly facebook police would tell you that your status was over 423 characters so it was unable to post? Well those days are gone, and I've been going through some major personal changes that fill up a few paragraphs each time I begin to update my status so I think a blog just. makes. sense.

"A new year. A new you" -- It's all over the news, blogs, facebook, commercials, etc. I have a problem with that. I guess b/c I just don't understand why you should wait until a new year to start or change. I guess it's a lot like someone starting a diet on a Monday morning rather than a Thursday. You want the last few days of the week to eat like a pig and not feel guilty. By November we are in full swing of "holiday mode" and we are eating ourselves silly and we figure that there is no point in starting until we finish the holiday fudge, cookies, pretzels and various other sugar coma inducing sweets. So I guess that is why everyone starts a diet on New Years Day. I'm talking about a spiritual change that needed to be made though. And the problem with waiting for Monday, or a new year is that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. You can't waste time when you know you need to make a change. My "new beginning" started about 3 months ago.....

I began getting up at 5:45-6:00 every morning. I've never been a morning person, so there have been many mornings of puffy eyes and pots of coffee that have died at my shaky hand. I began to read the devotion book called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I read the scriptures that went along with it and then I finished my time by writing all my prayers in a notebook. I journal my prayers b/c if I don't, I will find myself thinking of what to make for dinner 20 minutes later b/c my brain works that way. Anyhow....one morning I came across Joyce Meyers on t.v. I'm not really one for t.v. preachers b/c well, they kind of make me sick. So many of them are like sharks. I hate the way they tell you to send your money and reserve your spot in "the prayer closet". What? I'd love to call in and ask what version of the Bible they found the verse at to support needing to PAY MONEY for prayer......I'm losing track again.....ok, so I grew up watching Joyce Meyers with my mom and I really relate to her b/c she was, and sometimes is still, a mess. She's honest about being a mess and she speaks from her heart about how God continues to work on her, even to this day. Then I found this other preacher, his name is Kerry Shook. He preaches from the Bible and believes that the Bible is the absolute truth given to us by God. So began my 2 hour morning "quiet time" with the Lord. Coffee. Check. Bible. Check. Notebook. Check. Devotion Book. Check. Morning preachers. Check. Finding out I'm a bigger mess than I thought. Check. What? Wait. What? What?

I'm a mess?? Really?? I mean, every Christian knows that we are in need of Christ to cover our sins, but don't we all, at some point, think that we will get to the point where we can kind of just, ride it out, coast a bit? I've been married almost 13 years (more on that later) and most everyone on his side of the friends and family has always said how lucky he is to have married me, how I was an angel sent to him, how I changed him, etc, etc. But you know, as I started growing closer to God, studying His word and seeking His will for my life, I realized how much I still needed God's help with. When my husband would hurt my feelings, I would hurt his ten fold. When he would not do something I asked, I would make sure he didn't forget it for a month. When he wouldn't let me have my way, I would make sure that he suffered. Surely that is not what friends and family referred to as LUCKY?? My attitude. My heart. The inside of me was still in desperate need of change!! And that is just what my quiet time with the Lord has done. These past few months have been a new beginning for me. A new spiritual year. This has affected not only my spiritual walk, but everything. The way I think, the way I treat others, even the amount of laundry I can get done in a day. This is not a joke. You're laughing. But I'm serious. Growing closer to God has helped me gain control of my messy, disorganized home. But I'll save that for the next post.

I'm on a journey, come back and read my blog if you want to tag along with me. Who knows, maybe your new year can start on a day other than January 1st.

God Bless You All.

Rachael