Small Surrenders

This is a reading that came across my computer from a book called Small Surrenders by Emilie Griffin. It was such an encouraging reading I wanted to share it with my 3D friends. I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me today. Carol

Are we alert to the mercies that fill our days? -Kathy Coffey

ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL DISCIPLINES OF THE spiritual life is attentiveness: being alert to the simple, often subtle ways that God's grace enters our lives. Often, we have to set aside our anxious preoccupations in order to see that our days are filled with mercies. Or as one hymn puts it, "Morning by morning new mercies I see."

For several weeks now I have been watching an amaryllis plant grow. It is a potted plant, growing indoors from a bulb in an amphora-like pot. There are three of these plants near a window in the room where I write. The pots are made of some kind of plastic, but they look wonderfully like fired clay. On gray days, rainy days, cold days, cold nights, still this green shoot is springing up, and the buds are beginning to swell and bulge, reaching for the light. The green shoots seem to thicken, strengthen, turning into sheaths, with folded leaves pushing upwards. But these amaryllis flowers don't just burst into bloom; at least, not at first. For many days they seem to be on the verge of blooming, bright red petals poking free. Finally, the petals emerge, and there are not one, but four bright crimson flowers, four petals each. And that is only the first of three plants. Two more are beside it, struggling to blossom into life.

There is a small but lovely blessing in all this. The blessing comes not only when the flowers bloom, but when we notice them. To think we could have missed it! This exquisite beauty is right under our noses, but due to the stress and the demands of living, the phone calls, the deadlines, the schedules, the chores, the list-making-because of all these demands we could ignore the beauty within and inside of our daily routine.

Attentiveness is one way we appreciate God's mercies. But attentiveness is just a beginning. Beyond that is a level of reflection or interpretation. Beyond noticing these blooms, I can also compare these blooms to ourselves. First of all, their blooming begins in secret. And for the most part it continues in secret, hidden underground. Not only that, the germination takes time. When we compare ourselves to the amaryllis buds working toward their destiny, we understand the virtue of patience. Weeks, not days, are needed for the amaryllis to bloom. All the more so for us.

And then, one day, the flowers come blazing forth. Their petals are delicate and frail, but they are shot through with bold, imaginative color. They proclaim a kind of victory. They have made a risky journey and have come at last into the light of day. The blooming process of the amaryllis-with all its inner struggle and effort and risk-reminds us of our own journeys. Our soul's journey takes place mostly in hiding, in secret, but at some point it breaks through in visible ways. When I compare myself to the amaryllis, I see how inconstant I am. The amaryllis follows a path of simple obedience. But I am much more wayward. I am easily distracted, full of doubt, subject to discouragement, inclined to wander off track. Yes, I blame this on the human condition. But that's no excuse. When I can, I focus on the simple, straightforward nature of the spiritual path. Kierkegaard says, "Purity of heart is to will one thing." And Eugene Peterson has written a book with a title that speaks volumes about the spiritual life: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.

For me, the amaryllis plant is a sort of herald. First it reminds me to be attentive, then to be an interpreter of grace. The amaryllis becomes for me a metaphor of obedience and surrender. This flower follows a track that comes from deep within, responding to something encoded in its nature. Lord, I ask, let me follow the simple amaryllis. May I go the way of small surrenders, so my soul may come fully into your glory.

On Line 3D group Members

We are going to try a new effort to make contact easier between members. We do have a need to have your e mail address in order to be a part of the group. Pls e mail us at carolandmaggie@3dyourwholelife.com.

thanks so much

Discouragement

I remember a banner I saw with these words .." If you are discouraged about who you are, it only shows who you thought you were" .

I have thought about that banner many times. And I hear it reminding me of a truth I often forget. I am a pilgrim. I am a person who will stumble and fall. I am not perfect and never will be! Several of you have written this week about slipping off the mark. It is as if we think our grim determination will be enough. And then we want to believe that our prayers will turn the tide and make it easier. When we are in the process of turning our lives around whether it be by a change of eating habits, or by discplining ourselves to read a book or take a walk, or reading our Bible and praying we need to recognize that we are engaging in hard work. The results we should be looking for is a sense of peace inside, a sense of moving towards a new goal, a sense of gratitude that God has called us on to a new place.

Discouragement is not allowed----for longer than 10 minutes!

Scripture and what it can do for you.

A verse memorized can be an incredible tool for you for years and years to come. This week we are looking at the verse in Hebrews. "For the moment" it starts and that means that it isn't forever. It goes on 'all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant;' That's honest and its reality. Anytime we are trying to change something in our lives it is painful. Even having to discipline our children is always painful for us but we know the value of it. 'later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness' WOW what a promise. Who doesn't want peace and righteousness. And then it ends with 'to those who have been trained by it" . Training doesn't happen overnight. We just can't will to be different. We just can't stop bad habits because we want to. We have to submit ourselves to some training. Part of that training in Your Whole Life program is to memorize a scripture verse every week. If NOTHING else happened to you in these 12 weeks than the fact that you memorized and learned 12 scripture verses you will be a different person. Those thoughts and promises will be right there when you need them.
Week one taught us the words Be still and know that I am God. How many times in this very day have I needed to put those words into action in my thought life...............at least 10 times.
Blessings to you on this journey
Carol

Help!

I'm confused as to what do for these upcoming weeks. I have a pedometer and I can read daily. But as far as how much to excercise, how to excercise, and how and what to eat; I don't know where to go. I can devote 30 minutes a day to excercise--is the type of excercise up to me? Am I just supposed to document when and what I eat this 1st week? What about the living well? Loving God is not a problem. Sorry for the confusion--I just got the book last weekend. I'm a slow reader and I have a toddler. Doesn't mix well. What do you think. Feel free to contact me. Thanks!
KT

Katie
Don't be anxious.......it is all new and your questions are great. For the first few weeks all we want you to do is wear your pedometer and become aware of how many steps you are taking in an average day. Mark it in your journal. Yes, just write down everything you eat for this first week............don't try to moderate it or change it just write it down. Again, we are looking towards you seeing just what you are eating. Most of us are not aware of what we are putting in our mouths and this very important information that each of us needs in order to take the next steps. Wearing the pedometer is the first step in living well. The other suggestion is for you to put a fresh flower or plant on your kitchen table this week.
Loving God this week in the program means read your daily devotions and meorize your first scripture verse and write down 5 people you commit to pray for every day.
Hope this answers all your questions.
Carol and Maggie

Exchanges

HI, I am a group leader and we just started our group. I have a diet program on my computer that calculates calories etc and is very easy to use. I am having trouble using the ADA exchange program. I cook homemade soup and other recipes and use some more nutrious cereals that do not have the ADA exchanges on the package.HOw can I calculate the exchanges for myself. If it was just me I would use my Diet Power software and forget the exchanges. Can you help me?Margaret Brown

Maggie's answer to Margaret:

Hi Margaret,
I think it’s always more accurate to use nutritional software to calculate what you eat, but we realize that most of our readers do not have this. We may be able to have something eventually on our website to do this. But in the beginning we hope that you would just estimate how many cups of vegetables, for instance, that you eat, so if you have a soup with ¼ cup of cooked vegetables that would be half a serving. Many small portions or garnishes can add up to large totals at the end of the day. Some nutrition software does calculate exchange totals as well… I hope this helps!
-Maggie

Chocolate, Choices and Valentines

It's week 2 and keeping your daily food journal may becoming more of a habit by now. Since today is St. Valentine's Day you may have been given chocolate or have already eaten some. You may have noticed that there is no recommended daily portion guideline for chocolate although many consider it a unique food group on its own... If you are having chocolate and it comes with a label, take a look and evaluate where most of the calories are coming from. Usually the calories are from fat and sugar. In general, chocolate candy contains about 100 calories per ounce. The food news is that even if you are following the guidelines for 800 calories, you have 100 "Your Choice Calories" that you can use to enjoy a piece of chocolate. I don't recommend choosing candy for your extra calories on a daily basis but if you prepare and plan ahead, you will be able to fit in special foods occasionally and still manage your weight.
Maggie

Cover Girl

We had a wonderful experience here in the 3D office last week. I received an e mail from a young woman who found Your Whole Life in a bookstore. But the miracle of that is that she found it because the woman on the cover was her sister.
When publishing books the editorial/marketing staff takes weeks, days and hours to fit the cover to the book. Perhaps many of you are not aware that covers on books are often bought from photo shops on line. It is a long, time consuming process. And choosing the cover for Your Whole Life was an effort of prayer to say the least. Over 500 photos were considered. This particular photo seemed to say what we wanted to say......spiritual, health, free, love, joy, happiness, open ness. Even her red bracelet said she was concerned for others.
Then the real miracle opens. I contacted her after the email I received from her sister.
This young woman is a committed Christian who has struggled with her own self image and even with eating disorders throughout middle school and high school. Here is a quote from her "over the past several years I have experienced so much healing and renewal. Growing closer to
to the Lord and learning the Truth of His unending love gave me freedom from the sin that so easily entangles my mind. I pray that many lives will be touched through the message God has given you."
All of us were touched by this because we knew it was God who had helped us with the choice of the photo and then to find that the woman was a committed Christian was even more than we could of hoped for. Now we are confident that the cover will touch lives because of Nicole and we pray the words inside with continue the process of touching lives for God.
Carol

Here we go!

Congratulations! You've begun your first week of Your Whole Life: The 3D Plan for Eating Right, Living Well, and Loving God.

Here we go! We have members today from all over the country.........Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri and we are ready to assist you on your journey.

My first thought for you this week is to work hard at reminding yourself that you are NOT in a diet program. You are commiting to a learning experience in the three areas of your life.....how to eat right, live well and love God. We both will speak to all areas from our own points of view and in response to your questions. However, Maggie will more often answer the diet related questions as the nutritionist of Your Whole Life. Today take 15 minutes to just ponder where you are physically, emotionally and spiritually. But do not decide whether you are bad or good in those areas.............just accept where you are today and have faith that this journey will bring you into wholeness.
Carol

Start by observing what you are eating now by recording today's meals and snacks in your journal. What are you eating today?... Don't worry about exact measurements or what category the food items fall into... Just take time to notice what your usual food intake is like... don't get ahead of yourself and think about what you think you should eat... Be honest and objectively log just what you have been doing. That way you will actually have your own unique starting point. We will guide you in the weeks to come as to how to make new and better food choices.

If you are comfortable, you can weigh yourself on Day 7 and mark it in your journal. This is the first discipline that you will practice in this program... Slow yourself down, be patient and don't let the numbers on the scale discourage... This is just your starting point and it really doesn't matter to me where you are.
-Maggie

NO DIETING ALLOWED!

My co-workers want me to blog about my frustrations today so I hope you are ready to listen.
Calls are coming in about how to record a starchy vegetable as compared to a non-starchy vegetable, or what to do if in one place it says "1 cup" and another place it says "1/2 cup" is better. My dear friends, this is not where the issue is. Your struggles with weight and with food don't come down to whether you eat a cup or 1/2 cup. Your Whole Life wants something different for you. First and foremost I want you to know that God loves you. And secondly I want you to begin to like yourself and start to build some self worth. And neither of these things depend on what vegetable you eat. These first weeks in the new program I want you to get to know yourself--not who you want to be or hope to be in 12 weeks but who you are TODAY. And the way you can do that is just mark off the foods you are eating, wear your pedometer and see how many steps you are taking, and write down your thoughts, needs and feelings in the journal. PLEASE DO NOT DIET! Every day try to make a new choice from what you are learning from Maggie but DO NOT DIET.
You have my prayers!
Carol