Yoga- good for the body, great for the spirit

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28 

Yoga has recently become one of my favorite hobbies. If you haven't tried it, I am telling you now - go do it!! You never know, maybe it will change your life the way it changed mine...in a few ways. Not only do I leave feeling physically satisfied, but recently, spiritually satisfied. I will be the first to admit, my priorities need some re-arranging. Here lately God has been way too far down on my list of priorities. Tonight, Jessie (my oh so amazing yoga instructor AND best friend) read the verse I have written above.  I have heard this verse a million times, and thought I knew exactly what it meant. But as I laid on my mat, completely exhausted from my workout and thinking of nothing but what mom was making for dinner...I breathed this verse in and it was almost like a lightbulb went off. (Don't you love those moments?!) When I am at the end of my rope, and I feel like one more move (in this setting, yoga pose) will break me, I can literally lay my burdens at the feet of Jesus and He will give me rest. In yoga, a well-known resting pose is known as "child pose." Ironically, you are brought to a position in which one looks as if they are bowing down and praying. As I took this pose, I began to pray and not only was my body stretching and healing, but so was my spirit. I want to thank Jessie for her willingness to share verses and spiritual words in her yoga sessions, because tonight it spoke right to my heart. Before I tried yoga I really thought it was for a bunch of tree-hugging hippies who thought of nature as an actual person....NOT TRUE, AT ALL! Some people go to church to feel spiritually fulfilled, for me, it's a yoga session. Not saying that it's ok that I've been to church once in the last 3 months (like I said, my priorities are real messed up) but I'm saying that we don;t have to find praise, prayer and worship in a building with a steeple. I found it on a monday night, sweating like a pig, face down on a yoga mat. I am so grateful that Jess showed me the similarity in Yoga and God. I am so excited to continue my yoga journey, but even more excited to see what God can reveal to me in these yoga sessions. Please pray for me as I begin to rearrange my priorities and make God number one, instead of number 20-something. 

There is Hope when My Faith Runs Out

God has humbled me tremendously in the last few weeks, I have been pulled to me knees and to the point where I must put my trust completely in Him. I am thankful for these low, dark points because it brings me to a point where I am looking fully into the face of God. I am stripped down to my most vulnerable self and drawn to the light at the end of the tunnel. God has a way of bringing our hearts back to him at just the right time. Granted, we should always be in a constant conversation with God but it's when we are at our darkest point that God shines His brightest down on us. My aunt always said "don't forget about God even when it's sunny and life is perfect," and that is something I have failed in doing. God longs for our attention, love and desire at all times, not just when things are bad. I have really been struggling with this idea of trying to please everyone and low and behold I open my devotional and that is exactly what it talked about...God is funny like that, right? The author described herself as a vending machine, every time someone different came to her she immediately changed to be who that specific person wanted her to be. She could not be more spot on with how I've been feeling lately. For once I just want to be real, and I've been putting on a show to please everyone for too long. I mean to the point where I can no longer tell someone "no," I just keep putting myself in these miserable situations because I am "scared" of making someone mad by telling them "no." I've dug myself into this hole and these people just keep throwing the dirt in on top of me! Well, enough is enough and God says He will give us favor with people if we ask Him to do so AND put our trust in Him. I don't have to beat myself up pleasing everyone, if I just seek God first He will create these wonderful relationships FOR me. I have always been the type of person who doesn't like confrontation, I don't like to feel like someone is mad at me. It bothers me when I cannot make someone happy, or can't make someone appreciate me. Well, I guess I've found the resolution to this problem, all I have to do is ask and trust. In closing, I want to quote my devotion tonight:

" If God can make a river flow in a specific direction, surely He can change someone's heart toward us. We wear ourselves out trying to do what only God can do. "