I woke up this morning feeling much a part of the DCC (Discouraged Christian’s Club). In truth I wanted to pull the covers over my head when the alarm went off and let the day go on without me. I’d gone to sleep with discouragement as my stony pillow. I did shrug off the desire to stay in bed and got up to ready myself for the day.

As I worked through the morning the Lord has also allowed me to work through the discouragement. I thought about my God. I am reminded that He cares for me. (I Peter 5:7) I remember that “Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.” (Psalm 60:12) I already have victory because of the cross of my Savior. It is God that worketh in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13) He can give me new strength today to live for Him and to stand for what is right. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. (II Corinthians 10:4)

I have also given some consideration to my enemy and what he is like. He hates me and doesn’t want me to succeed in my Christian life. His tools are deceit, lies, hatred, and death in relationships, fruitfulness and spiritual growth. Satan would love it if I would do what my flesh wants to do this morning – hang it up! Quit! He uses the things that are closest to my heart to move me to a place where I would be useless to the Lord today.

However, by God’s grace I am not quitting. I stand with Joshua and Caleb facing the giants of the land armed with the promises of God’s Word. I’m smart enough to see that during a week of revival meetings the devil would love to cause trouble, and what a good place to start – in the pastor’s home! At a time when some good decisions have been made in the hearts of our family I realize that my enemy is lurking, prowling, and hungry being the roaring lion that he is likened to in Scripture. I’ve found myself singing the song I taught my girls when they were little:

That old devil is a sly old fox,
If I could catch him I’d put him in a box,
Lock the lid and throw away the key,
For all those tricks he’s played on me!

Thank the Lord for the victory we have in Christ. If discouragement is breathing down your neck or lurking in the back door of your house today, be encouraged – Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4)

I just read a great little article by Real Simple Magazine entitled, “15 Ways To Get More Fit.” They gave great ideas to keep exercise a part of your daily routine. Curious? Here are a few of their suggestions:

• Exercise in quick spurts. A new study has found that people who did just four to six 30-second sprints reaped the same heart-health benefits as those who logged a moderate 40- to 60-minute workout. Two ways to get your heart racing: Jump rope for three minutes, or sprint to and from the mailbox three times (ignore the neighbors’ curious looks). If you live in an urban area, sprint blocks sporadically (just pretend you’re running for the bus).
• Make your home a fitter place. To help you flex your muscles more often, leave a set of dumbbells near your microwave and do curls while heating up dinner. Hang a resistance band on the bathroom doorknob and strength-train while the tub fills up.
• Inconvenience yourself. Instead of always doing things the easy or fast way (standing on escalators, using valet parking), rethink the services that curb your activity level. Even tiny changes can make a difference. So don’t have someone else run upstairs to grab your sweater, for example; fetch it yourself.
• Don’t let travel derail you. Instead of returning from vacation feeling flabby, plan a week filled with hiking, biking, walking, or an activity you’ll train for.

Tip: Have a friend meet you at the gym to help keep you accountable.

We could use these strategies to stay fit spiritually and aid our memorization of Scripture. How about:

• Memorize in quick spurts. Work on a memory verse while driving, walking, or sitting waiting for an appointment. Write the verse on a card so you can go over it quickly throughout the day.
• Make your home a place for memorization. Write the verse on the bathroom mirror in dry erase marker so you can review it while drying your hair or brushing your teeth. Keep a card at the sink where you wash dishes.
• Inconvenience Yourself. Instead of memorizing just a single verse, work on a passage, several verses from a chapter, or the whole chapter. Take one verse at a time!
• Don’t let travel derail you. If you keep your verses in a small notebook you can take it with you so you can continue to review the verses on the plane, at the motel, at the oceanfront (take me with you!). Don’t let vacation make you flabby spiritually!

Tip: Have a friend keep you accountable. Say your verses to someone else at church or in your home.

Like physical exercise, spiritual exercise such as Scripture memorization takes planning and discipline, but these tips can help each of us get fit!

Yesterday while it was so gorgeous outside I heard my flower beds calling me. Droopy stems from Day Lilies, dead leaves, dandelions and dangling branches was the name of my garden when I began! Why is it that the things that are undesirable flourish? They come back like unwanted ants at a family picnic. The undesirable element in my garden was wild onions. Everywhere I turned they were there, dancing in the wind and laughing at me while I tried to get to their roots and yank them from their residence. If this was edible food I could have fed the neighborhood.

I have recently entered the world of Skype. For those of you that don’t know, Skype is a long-distance calling system whereby a person can talk to their contacts and also see them via a web cam while they are conversing! It is such a blessing to be able to have a virtual visit.

Several weeks ago my husband experienced severe back pain. He was on steroids and muscle relaxers to help alleviate the discomfort (hello Lala Land!) He was helped some, but was still uncomfortable. After a week or so of suffering, someone gave him a back brace to wear. He was surprised at the relief it brought him. It gave support and strength to his lower back that was so weak.

On this Monday morning I’m thinking back to last week and the “brace” that the Lord gave me during my dad’s illness. During his six day hospital stay he received a defibrillator and had cardiac ablation, helping his heartbeat to beat regular once again.

It was hard, as his daughter, to see my dad have to go through these things, but the brace the Lord gave to support me was Psalm 31:24 – Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that trust in the Lord. Of course, we were asking the Lord to strengthen my dad’s physical heart, but the greatest need for each of us was that He strengthen our spiritual hearts. That happens when we run to the Word and obey it. Our courage was not in the doctors, though we are thankful for the wisdom the Lord gave them. Our courage was not in the fact that we are Christians, for we know that God’s children will experience trials so He can strengthen them. Our courage is stated in the last part of the verse – in the Lord. We knew that we could trust Him to do what was best for my dad. We were reminded that He is sovereign and would do the right thing. I’ve asked the Lord to make me strong and not let me fall apart in times of trial. His Word is my brace. It strengthens the weak places of my fearful heart.

One special thing that has happened as a result of my dad’s illness is that this verse has become special to me as I’ve claimed it. It’s now listed in my Bible memory book under the category “Trust” so I can go back and review it and keep it tucked away for future reference. I know I’ll need it again…my heart will be a good place to keep it. It’s a brace that will help me to stand strong and rest in the Lord.