Living with disappointments...

Our Daily Bread
I titled this blog entry based on my witness below, and then found out that it fits with today's devotional!  Wow!

Living with disappointments can wear you down.  They are sort of like a chronic disease like diabetes or chronic heart disease.  The main difference is that we can turn over our disappointments to God for healing and wholeness (we can also turn over our heal issues as well, but that is a different blog entry!).  God wants us to be whole.  Whole doesn't always mean "in the best of health".  From my personal experience, I know I learned a lot through my health issues the past three + years.  Praise God!

I also know that these things wear you down.  I LOVE the passage from Isaiah mentioned in the devotional.  The last two verses carried me through many difficult times - Isaiah 40:30-31:

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.


Lord, I want to rely on your for my strength and hope.

Witness Wednesday
As I have been listening to God and reading his Word, I learned (very, very slowly) that living with disappointments is my own fault!  I didn't want to hear that!  hehehe  As I understand it, living with disappointments can be (but not always) attributed to being stubborn about what we really want or not being patient.  I will talk about the "but not always" statement in the next paragraph.  I am a stubborn guy that tries to get what he wants.  I go for things in life.  I have been successful at that in general.  I have a life that is not ordinary!  Praise God!  I can also "want" things that aren't what is best for me.  It could be a new gadget, a relationship, [fill in the blank for you], etc.  I let my self be disappointed because I want something I shouldn't have.  Doh!  Then there are the times that I know that God has something for me, but I act like a child waiting for Christmas.  I get so impatient!  God is helping me with that as well.  "Wait upon the Lord... He will renew your strength".  ;-)

Now the "but not always" discussion.  Sometimes life deals us disappointments.  There is really no avoiding that unless you are dead!  hehehe  We do have a choice in how we respond in these situations.  We can choose to live with the disappointments or we can choose to give them over to God so he can renew our strength.  Yes, it is hard.  Yes, God will be there for you.  There are not always lessons to be learned except for maybe how to turn everything over to God regardless of how strong or mature we are.

Other Stuff
I went to see the movie Real Steel last night after work, and then went to my walking buddy's house for supper.  We had a nice supper.  I helped them out with a computer problem as well.  We had a nice evening.

Going to the gym after work tonight.  I am going to try some interval training to bolster my weight loss.  I will see if the articles I read this week will help!  I am stuck at about 12 pounds lost so far.  My pants are already fitting better.  I have lots of pants that are about 10 pounds away from wearing again!  hehehe

Hang in there, my friends!  I will be upbeat and steady.  That is what I do...