...web of chaos

Okay, so this weekend we did our Memorial Day camp-out at my pastor's farm (and as usual, I slept in my friends room INSIDE the house instead of a tent because I'm not an outdoorsy kind of gal! haha. So anyways, I have a couple friends from church who used to be personal trainers and another girl who actually trained me for a couple months a few years back but it all fell though. Well, I've found that by asking for ideas and/or help, it's just spinning a bigger web of chaos. Seriously, the trainer at my gym tells me to do cardio on an empty stomach - all I should intake is caffeine. Then my friend Kim counters with, "That's ridiculous, is he trying to make you have a heart attack???" The personal trainer at the gym tells me CARDIO, CARDIO, CARDIO, yet another says, "No, you have to do weights - multiple reps at lower weights," yet today this guy says, "OH NO - you wanna do higher weights and it's not enough weight if you are able to do more than 10." One person tells me I should eat all fruits high in water for breakfast (watermelon or canteloupe) yet another tells me I should have a small protein such as yogurt. One guy tells me I should have AT LEAST 2 protein shakes a day without fruit or milk because it's unnecessary calories, yet another says I should avoid them since they often have added carbs. My competition leader tells me I should replace two meals a day with a shake and only eat one meal. AHHHHH.....CAN I SCREAM!?! I even had someone say I should NOT EVER drink milk, as it was not meant for us to drink. His exact words were, "Cow milk was meant for baby cows, not for humans. You wouldn't drink milk from another nursing mother would you???" WOW! It was a pretty graphic picture that grossed me out quite frankly...so now I'm scared of milk. haha. I was driving home and the scripture about God bringing them into the land flowing with milk and honey came to mind and I was like, "Wait a second...why would God bring them to a place "flowing" with it if we weren't meant to drink it. AY! Bible Study, anyone?

Then I started to think about how a persons way usually seems right until someone comes and challenges, refutes or brings evidence as to why it is incorrect. You can get caught up in all the madness and come out with a big mess of NOTHING! This is true for so many things in life...the one thing that sticks out to me though is faith. There are tens of THOUSANDS of different faiths and variations of faith out there and that's why it's imperative to use discernment and really know the truth. It says "the TRUTH will set you free..." We have to know the word and have to have an existing relationship with the Lord or else we have nothing to line the differences of opinion up with at the end of the day. You can't say someone cheated in a game if there was no rule book - there would be nothing to back your claim against. The word of God is our FIRM foundation and with everything that is fed to us throughout the years, some true, some evil and some flat out man-made, we HAVE to know what to base truth on.

The scripture for today is actually something God brought to my attention a few years ago as I was reading and it really stuck out to me. I began thinking about witnessing and sharing my faith with others and how if I'm not faithful to open my mouth and be used as a willing vessel, there are some who may not otherwise know truth as God's word presents it. The Bible says "We've all like sheep gone astray," and I know each of us searches for direction and that "one piece" of ourselves that is otherwise missing which can superficially be filled by everything from family, work, "religion," friends, addictions and even our own ideas - but we're never truly satisfied with those. There are so many 'ways' that seem right to a person because that's all they've ever known as truth - but that doesn't mean it's right. I can raise a child to absolutely believe that the color purple is BAD and until someone comes along and challenges that idea - my child is going to be convinced that purple is indeed bad.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Before I was really introduced to Jesus, I was convinced that my form of religion and being a "good person" person was just fine although I was constantly unsatisfied with my day to day life passing by. It took someone coming and actually presenting the Bible to me for me to see these written truths. Not only that, but it was presented with an absolute confidence and assurance that probably wouldn't have been effective had those speaking the words not really beleived what they were quoting. It took the Holy Spirit stirring me and bearing witness in my heart that this was real.

Verse of the Day:

Proverbs 18:17 (NKJV)
17 The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.