Making Things a Little Bit Better...

  So it has been a long standing notion of mine that God calls us to something better... not an entirely specific statement I know, but still it is something that I think can do a lot to inform ourselves on the priorities that we set for our lives.  Something better than this... it in no way says that things are not good it just makes us look at reality and take some pride in what I actually want to accomplish rather than the things I have settled for.

  I really got pumped up on this topic a few months ago with the burden that I had been carrying around for over a decade, which was smoking.  It all stated when I kept coming to the revelation that I needed to step out and have a smoke regardless of where I was and what I was doing.  Don't get me wrong, I loved smoking and found it to be relaxing and a great 5 minute break in my schedule to consider what was coming next and kind of prepare for it.  The rub came when I felt the need to smoke when I was enjoying something else and it wasn't time to transition to the next thing.  Honestly speaking I had a lot more transitions built in so I could smoke rather than smoking being the relaxing next step.

  So the conclusion I came to was this... God wants something better for me.  I wasn't free I was being chained down to a desire and it may have been relaxing but it was taking me out of my life and, as everyone knows, killing me for it.  It hasn't been easy but I am at 5 months without a cigarette and feeling like I can take on the world with God by my side.  Not sure how many people will read this post but me being a Pastor would shock a few people, and that definitely added its own negative pressure on quitting.  I think it is important to remember that I didn't do it for my church, I didn't even do it for my family, I did it because God loves me and wants the best for me... and smoking wasn't the best.

  Now I just have to lose the weight that came with quitting smoking.  Because God wants something better for me and I am worth the effort it will take to do that.  Do you know that God loves you?  What could be better for you?