Revealing Me: Changes

Wow, I have actually committed to a blog series and have finished my 4 points! Now it is time for this promise I made in my introduction: "And then I will reveal what changes I am making or have made in my life this year that I truly believe are going to help me to draw closer to God."

Changes I have made. To start, I have had to make a lot of changes from a few years ago. From this series you can sort of see that there was a time when I was on a 'spiritual high' then came a spiritual low which made me try to find other ways to feel 'high'.

God is amazing, He has saved me from myself so many times. Not only did He send Jesus to die for our sins so that we can go to Heaven, He keeps saving me everyday from the world.

I'm just going to focus on the changes that I have made this year, to keep the post shorter ;)

I think something we are all guilty of is that we try to fill our lives with 'something'. We make the mistake to think that God can't fill all our needs. Especially when it comes to instant gratification. God isn't always going to 'satisfy' us instantly because that's not how He rolls ;)

In my time away from God, I made a lot of new friends and basically all we had in common was alcohol. Do you have friends like that? Friends that you only visit over a bottle of wine or at a bar? Well, my husband and I basically only had friends like that.

I have an addictive personality, and growing up, I was taught that alcohol is socially acceptable. So for me, this lead to drinking more and more. At first my husband said we can only drink when we go out and not have alcohol at home. I eventually convinced him it was ok to have a beer or glass of wine after work every day. After a year or so he finally gave in and we started to have wine or beer at home together. Eventually this lead to a bottle of wine or a few beer. When my husband got a job out of town, I found myself drinking wine at home alone and sometimes a bottle a night. I wouldn't say that I was addicted, but I did have the craving and I definitely don't know when I've had too much.

I don't know what changed in me. But Dec 30th we went to a friend's birthday party. I got drunk, and was hung over the next day. It was that day that I challenged my husband to join me on a mission to not drink at all, for 1 year.

A few reasons I know why I made this choice: I wanted to be healthier, I didn't want to waste days being hung over, I didn't want to waste money (we were spending more on booze then food a month), I didn't enjoy being drunk (didn't like myself when I'm being stupid), and most importantly, I knew this was a major area of my life that was keeping me from God.

To be honest, it was really tough at first. And there have been times where I've thought of having a drink, but we haven't.

Many of our 'friends' have not asked to hang out with us as often so we've had a chance to start to make other friends who do not drink.

This change has made me feel healthier, I feel like I am not wasting my days, and we are saving money, making new friends, so it has been very rewarding. I don't know if I will drink after the year is over, because I don't want to go back to how things were, but I wouldn't mind a glass of wine with dinner every now and then either... I guess that is something I will need to pray about this year.

Another change we've made is a budget. I love Gail Vaz-Oxlade and she has some great tools to make budgets & a cash system on her website. http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/

We've been struggling with this change, this Saturday I am attending a Financial Seminar at my church so hopefully it will inspire me to get back on track. But this change has made us more aware of our money, it has helped us to manage our debt and start saving. We have many aspirations for the future, and without paying off debt and saving, we'll never get there. Some of our pre-2010 friends are very bad influences when it comes to money. They are people without budgets, living for the day. Budgets were never something I was taught when I was growing up either, so the whole idea is very foreign!

The third change I've made is to 'try' and exercise more. This has been the hardest of the 3 to do but it's no surprise to me. I have a very inactive job so getting some exercise is important. "Exercise creates endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people just don't kill their husbands" - Elle from Legally Blonde. One of my favorite quotes!! It's true though, for our mind, body & soul, we need to take care of ourselves in all aspects. No toxins, lots of sleep, exercise, laughter, etc. For everything to work properly, we need to treat our body as the temple that it is! I've started swimming, which I really enjoy, so I think that exercising is going to be easier for me from now on.

Another change: My husband and I have been going to church every Sunday. That has been such a blessing for us. We've also tried to be involved with church events, seminars, etc. My husband is not a Christian, so I am thankful that he has been supporting me in this way. It has also created a lot of interest in him, because he wasn't taught anything about God growing up. I am praying that he will be saved this year!

What changes could you make in your life? What do you do that makes you feel ashamed? Maybe write a list of everything you are doing now that could count as sinful or foolish. Then think about what could happen if you stopped doing those things. Think about what you could do instead of those things! Are you living for God, or for yourself?