This morning, I woke up late, grabbed an Atkins Advantage Dark Chocolate Royale Shake, and frantically drove to the wrong court house before realizing that I needed to be at my destination an hour later than I thought and in a completely different location on the other side of town. Getting to the courthouse, I drove right past the hotel that I was in last August and my heart began to sink but I speed past it and made it to the courthouse with 20 minutes to spare. While seated, I began to calm down and I pulled out my index card that I had in my Stephen Covey laptop handbag and read:
You measure spiritual maturity not in head knowledge, but in character development (love). Maturity is not about how much doctrine you know, but how deeply you love. St. Paul says, “If I have not love, I am a clinging cymbal.” Jesus did not seclude himself. He was at the party. He deeply loved sinners. Be a friend of sinners as Jesus was.(From 8 laws of Spiritual Growth by Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, February 9, 2009)
I have always believed that at any given moment, God speaks to us. When I open the bible to a page- that is the message that God will have me to learn today... So, when I read this to myself, I had to stop and think about it for a while and try to understand what was the message that God had for me TODAY. Then, it dawned on me, "... character development..." There I was, waiting outside of courthouse #3 awaiting to be seen by the judge for a misdemeanor traffic violation, embarrassed because I am a school teacher and nervous because I have never been in trouble before.
Reading further, I was tripped up over the comment about Jesus not secluding Himself and not only being a friend to but loving sinners... This makes a lot more sense to me now, today than the day I wrote the note. Primarily because I isolate myself and I avoid being in the company of "sinners"...
I was nervous because I had sinned and I was going to go in the courtroom to plead "No Contest" and did not know what the consequences of my behavior would be... Luckily, the judge was merciful. He judged me to be "... very intelligent..." and let me go with only a $50.00 court fee to pay and kindly sent me on my way.
It takes involvement in 5 Purposes to Grow spiritually: fellowship (small groups), discipleship, worship, ministry (evangelism) and mission (service). You grow warmer thru fellowship, deeper thru discipleship, stronger thru worship, broader thru ministry, and larger thru mission...Don’t emphasize one at cost of the others. 5:23PM The Fresh Market Shopping Trip
Eating healthy and staying on my nutrition plan is very challenging right now, but not impossible. I stopped at the Fresh Market to pick up the follosing specialty items: Almond Butter, Tri-tip, and Whey... I still didn't get the Whey, my guess is I need to go to the Whole Foods market for that... At any rate, For the EVOO (Extra Virgin OLive Oil, Tri-Tip, Almond Butter, and Mild Sunset Salsa I paid a Grand Total of $29.23.
The butcher cut the Tri-Tip for me into 4 0Z strips (I bought 1.41 LB @ 7.99/LB and he even gave me a tip on another cut of beef that is also very lean. "Bill" is my new butcher now (smile)- No more driving all the way to Oakland Park to visit the butcher or fighting the crowds at Penn Dutch.The Almond Butter was 29% off today and I was able to sneak a photograph of the grinder used to make it. One of the store employees, a manager I believe was in the nut isle behind me, arranging items and keeping an eye on me...
I simply smiled after I snapped the photo and said "I'm blogging" and went straight into the checkout line. I don't think he was too pleased about that but I got the shot! ~I would have loved to have watched the almonds being ground into the grinder or have ground my own but I just took one of the pre-packaged instead.6:28PM What I ate today:
-Breakfast and lunch was an Atkins Advantage Dark Chocolate Royale Shake (meals 1 & 2).
-Meal 3 today was Egg Whites with a Roma Tomato.
-Meal 4 is a Tri-Tip steak with 1/2 serving of Almond Butter (1 TBL) and Green Beens and a small Roma Tomato, sliced on the side.
