by | Health & Wellness, Life Application
A year ago next month I completed one the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. That thing was the Table Rock Freedom Center, which is a 12-month discipleship program for women with life-controlling issues.
For 12 months I lived in the same house with between 4 and 10 women, depending on who stayed and who didn’t. We shared a closet, a bathroom, the dinner table, and pretty much everything else. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner together at the same time everyday. We went to church together. We rode in the same cars together. The only time we weren’t together was during the eight hours of sleep every night. But guess what? We slept in the same room together!
Perhaps you’re thinking, that doesn’t sound that hard. Maybe you’re right. Picture this for a second: If you’re married, imagine never leaving your husband’s side 24/7 for one complete year. Could you do it? If you’re not married, imagine never leaving your nagging mother’s side 24/7 for one complete year.
Still not convinced?
Every day we faced the haunting issues of our past. We cried. We grieved. We screamed. We fought. We learned to forgive. We learned to stop hating those who had hurt us. We learned to acceptance forgiveness from others. We learned to forgive ourselves. We learned to love. We learned to receive love. We learned who we are in Christ. We cried. We grieved. We screamed. We fought.
But at the end of the day we sat in our room and prayed together. Nothing brings unity in a house full of women faster than prayer.
I could write a book about the things that changed my life during the course of that year. Oh wait! I am writing a book about that. Seriously though, it maybe have been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it was worth it. God changed me behind the walls of The Table Rock Freedom Center. And now I want to give back.
TRFC has an opportunity to win $50,000 from Giving of Life and they need your help. They need votes. They need ALOT of votes.
This amazing Christ-focused, non-denominational program operates strictly on the donations of others. The cost of providing for one student each month is $1500. Imagine what $50,000 would do.
Please take the time to go here and vote, then pass it onto your friends.
Interested in blogging about this organization, interviewing the students and more? Send me an email at info[at]sundijo[dot]com.
Thank you for your votes!
by | Life Application
Photo Credit: flickr (Creative Commons)
I recently read a guest post from Todd Henry, founder of Accidental Creative, on Michael Hyatt’s blog. I’ve had to go back several times and digest it. It was/is powerful!
In his post Henry tells a great story about a friend of his. The friend asked if he knew what the most valuable land in the world is. Where would you think? Todd’s guess was the diamond mines in Africa or the middle eastern oil fields. Neither guess was correct.
“No,” our friend replied, “it’s the graveyard, because with all of those people are buried unfulfilled dreams, unwritten novels, masterpieces not created, businesses not started, relationships not reconciled. THAT is the most valuable land in the world.”
Read that line again. Does it give you chillbumps like it did me?
Henry went on to say that his goal is to “die empty.” What exactly does that mean?
“I made a commitment that if any given day were my last I wanted to die empty, having completely divested myself of whatever insight or work was in me to share on that day.”
I had to ask myself, Do I die empty at the end of each day? Unfortunately, my answer was no. There are nights I close my eyes to go to sleep wishing I would have written that one blog, called that friend I haven’t talked to in four months, written part of the ebook I want to work on, went for a walk, laughed more with my family, made someone smile. The list goes on.
Reading Todd Henry’s post and thinking on the unfinished things in my life made me realize that I am in control of what I do. Now don’t misunderstand that statement. God is in control of everything and sometimes our plans change. But He puts the desires on our hearts. He puts the creativity in our minds. Don’t you think He expects us to do something with it?
God didn’t make us to have unfulfilled dreams. He made us for more.
I don’t want to make the graveyard valuable. I want to make my time here valuable.
I wan’t to die empty each day.
What can you do today to take a new step toward fulfilling a dream in your heart?
by | Life Application
Photo Credit: flickr (Creative Commons)
Do you have those people or things in your life that are like a toothache? The pain won’t go away and you can feel your pulse beating in your gums. Not only is it extremely annoying, but it hurts like crazy.
In one way or another we have all been trained to deal with pain. If you get a toothache you don’t usually rush to the dentist and get it removed. You take Tylenol, put some Ambesol on your gum, or stick an ice pack on your check.
What should we do with these toothaches?
Dr. Henry Cloud says in his book Nine Things You Simply Must Do, that it’s necessary to pull that tooth.
Why?
- They are a brain drain. Successful people deal with energy drains quickly, not slowly. When you have pain that means it’s a signal of a deeper problem. Pain tells us something is wrong. God gives us the knowledge to do something about it. Consider doing an inventory of your life and asking yourself what the brain drains around you are.
- How do I deal with the brain drain? Make sure it’s the right place and the right time. Try your best to take care of the problem before the crisis comes and the pain becomes unbearable.
- Where are you spending your time? Are good things come from the places you are? If you are still on level one, it’s time to move up to the big leagues. Those playing in level two realize quickly that something bad is going on in their situation. If it’s a relationship for example, they don’t toss it aside, but they deal with the brain drain quickly and get to work on the problem.
- What if it’s not working? Make sure you have confronted the problem quickly and to the point to try and resolve the toothache. If that doesn’t work, bring others in to help. If the problem is a person, use the Matthew 18:16 principle.
- Do I let go? There is a time, after you have done step four, and there are no other objective reasons, making the problem unresolvable, then you can let it go. Pull the tooth.
Cloud says “The best way to fix a problem is to not have it.”
Do you struggle to confront the problems in your life before they become toothaches?
by | Health & Wellness, Life Application
Photo Credit: tanakawho (Creative Commons)
I am on day three of a 21-day cleanse, provided by Standard Process. Yes, for the next 18 days my life will revolve around shakes, fruits, and vegetables.
I am actually very excited about the health benefits of doing this cleanse, even though it won’t be the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Perhaps I will share a blog post after all is said and done, with the incredible results I have experienced and hope to continue.
The Standard Process cleanse involves staying away from processed foods, tap water, caffeine, and more. Organic fruits and vegetables and preferred, but not required. Since I am avoiding many foods that are harmful to my body, I thought I would share with you some of the worst foods you can come in contact with.
Here is a list of the 5 of the worst foods:
1. Diet Soda – This contains the secret ingredient Aspartame, also known as AminoSweet. Many people think because it doesn’t contain sugar it’s not bad for you. That is far from true. Aspartame is an extremely harmful ingredient and has been linked to many diseases, including multiple sclerosis and cancer. No more diet coke!
2. Donuts – I used to make home made donuts. Yummy! I would fry biscuits in grease and then cover them with chocolate icing. The average donut contains about 300 calories. That could be why I weighed 330 lbs.
3.Hot Dogs – Watch this video. Need I say more? I couldn’t get the video to embed, but it’s worth the watch. Simply click the link.
How It Is Made Hot Dogs
4. Pizza – All piza may not be bad, but the frozen ones should certainly be avoided. The dough is made from bleached white flour.
5. Ice Cream – Everyone loves ice cream, I know. The artificial colors, fats, and other toxins make this soul soothing food dangerous to your health? It’s not the end of the world though. Consider frozen yogurt. I’m addicted to TCBY!
Here is a rule of thumb I have learned. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
What are some other foods you think should be on this list?
by | Life Application
Big Changes And Your Chance To Win
I’m excited to announce and introduce you to my new website! It has been a goal of mine to update it for a while, and God has opened the door for the opportunity to do so.
Who’s responsible for the new look? That would be the folks over at Standard Theme. I’ve had my eye on this theme for a while now thanks to Michael Hyatt. I still have some work to do, but I’m pretty happy with the current outcome.
What do you think? It is now much easier for you to share posts via social networking and make comments. I love your comments so please post them frequently.
Child of God Lightbox
In celebration of the new kick-off of my website, I want to give something away FREE. This is something I hope to do frequently.
Today I’m giving away this Child of God Lightbox provided by Dayspring, where you can find Christian-themed cards, card sets, decor, and more. Stick this constant reminder of God’s love for you next to your bed or on your desk and wake up everyday with a fresh dose of encouragement.
Follow these easy steps for your chance to win:
- Fill out the entry form here
- Tweet this contest and share with your followers. Copy and paste this easy message: Enter to win a Child of God Lightbox today via @sundijo: http://wp.me/p1GLwZ-Co (Don’t have Twitter? Just tell your Facebook friends about the contest.)
- Leave a comment below and share why the Child of God Lightbox would be perfect for you
It’s that easy!
I will select one random winner on Friday, July 15th.
Good luck and welcome to the new website!
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
Calling All Toll-Free Peeps
I was visiting a friend recently and we were watching one of the Christian broadcasting stations. There was a gentleman promoting his latest music cd. As I watched closer, something stuck out to me like a sore thumb.
As video clips promoting his latest and greatest compositions played in the background, the toll-free number flashed across the screen. Of course there was the obvious, “But wait.. buy now and receive the kitchen sink for free.” (Exaggeration mine)
He closed out the promo by asking viewers if they needed prayer. So, perhaps you’re saying to yourself, “Get to the point already.” Okay, here’s the catch: the phone number for prayer requests wasn’t toll-free. Is it just me or does something about that situation seem backwards?
I sat back and wondered to myself just how many people tune into his show on a daily basis who perhaps aren’t in the financial situation to make a long distance phone call. I know it’s hard to believe, but not everyone uses cell phones. I just wonder how many people were held back from making an important prayer request.
It may seem like something small and I almost didn’t blog about it, but I changed my mind. Nothing is small when it contributes, or doesn’t, to the Kingdom of God. I have since been asking myself if I have my priorities in line. Am I focused more on myself or the needs of others? Do I offer more to people when I know I will receive something in return? Who are the toll-free people in my life?
Perhaps it’s something for all of us to think about.
Who are the toll-free people in your life?
