Scenic Sunday: Change Before You Have To

This is my second "Scenic Sunday" post, where I gather up my Sunday inspiration to take with me into the coming week. When I write things out, I remember them better. So...

The current sermon series at church "Change Before You Have To" (based on Rob Ketterling's book by the same title) has been challenging and practical, as usual. It's the kind of message that leaves you feeling like a hypocrite if you don't do something about it...which I kind of love. I know I can be a better person. We all should know that about ourselves. But I love learning practical steps on how to be more of who God created me to be.

Here's the 4 phases of change that Pastor Peter Haas presented today, which are necessary for complete change:
1) Acquiring information (truth) about an area of your life that needs change
2) Recognizing what inferior substitutes you've been allowing in this area of your life
3) Making sure you have friendships/community that will support the changes you need to make
4) Maintaining those changes

I'm going to be transparent about the two things that I need to change right now: sugar and reading.

Using sugar as an energy booster or a reward for a long day is definitely a very poor substitute for good sleep, good eating and exercise. There must be something better for me than running to the cupboard for another handful of chocolate chips! In Spanish we say, "Una vez al año no hace daño" (Once a year will do no harm). But once every hour will! :)

And reading is not something I need to quit, it's something I need to do more! I'm in a stage of parenting that has definitely increased my level of prayer (ha!), but I know that there is much wisdom just sitting pretty on my bookshelves that I could be learning from. (HGTV, my frequent down time companion, isn't going to teach me any of that.) So what if I can't finish the book? Every little bit helps! I know by now that there are many methods, opinions and styles of parenting. But I have also learned to discern what is simply Bible-based and I know that it works! So I need to be filling my mind with these words of wisdom and fresh ideas on a daily basis, because I know I'm tired of hearing my own overused phrases that are obviously having no effect on the little people in my house. :)

So off to do some reading before bed...