Guiding Principles #1-3

Sadly I have come to realize that I still require boundaries in my adult life. I work better, I eat better, I live better if I have rules and regulations set forth for my day. At camp we used to call the camp rules "GP's-Guiding Principles." Who knew that in my adult world I would still require a few GP's to live by.

I have been teased by Jeff over the recent months because of my new found love for a regimented schedule. I finally got tired of the taunting one day and asked him in a not so kind and gentle manner, "Don't you see a difference in our house and in my overall attitude when I am following these simple guidelines?!" And of course, his reply was a muttered, "Why yes, yes I do."

Now I am all for guidelines but I have also learned that we have to be flexible to allow ourselves to go as the Spirit moves us, so to speak. I am almost embarrassed to admit this next thing to you. Even though I love a good routine, I am horrible at keeping them. Horrible. I have way too much down time these days and the old saying "Give them an inch and they will take a mile" seems to apply to me and how I handle free time. I will run with it, if it means that I can goof off at my own pace-I run like the wind. Maybe that is why I am always working late into the night or feeling like I never have enough time in my day. Because I am not disciplined enough to use my time wisely.

But it is those days that I wake up early, workout, eat a nutritious breakfast work for a long period, blog for an hour a day, watch an hour of TV or no TV at all, read, cook a balanced meal, a load of laundry a day and so on and so forth. It is in these days that I go to bed happy and satisfied with all I have accomplished. And let me tell you, for a girl who struggles with depression this is a good feeling, no make that a great feeling.

So imagine my surprise when God started showing me scripture that matched up with my desire. Did you know that God can use scripture to transform us? (I am being funny here but seriously did you know this?!?!) The Word of God is an amazing tool for setting up GP'S.

And today's GPs comes from Ruth 2:7

"She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."

Indulge me while I break it down for you, myself and anyone else who has read to this point on the blog without getting scared away.

1. She started work in the morning
2. She worked steadily
3. She only took one short break

Point # 1 shows me that she didn't sleep late-she rose early to start her day. This shows me that when I wake up earlier I tend to get more done in my day

Point #2-She was not idle throughout her day. She worked steadily.

Point #3- She only took one short break. Friends, I love break time. I take one every hour. Yes, that's right-work 45 minutes take 15 minutes off. But remember when I said the old saying above. Well my 15 minutes turns into 30 minutes than to an hour and sometimes more. So no more, my GP's for today are the three I listed from Ruth2:7

1) Wake up early
2) Work Steadily throughout my day
3) Only take a short break during my work hours-not 5 to 10, 30 minute breaks

By the way, this deep thinking is brought to you today by Nancy Leigh Demoss, God bless her! So you can catch her full series on Ruth by clicking the nice words that says click here!

And stay tuned, I will share my GPs as God shows them to me. Doesn't mean I will be perfect at them or have them down pat but atleast I am taking the first step. And didn't God send His Son to die on the cross so I didn't have to worry about perfection? Yes, I think He did!

Thank ya Jesus!