TEMPTATION

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

I was invited the other day to speak to a church group about losing weight and my journey. When I was asked to speak in front of the group I had to say yes even when my mind was telling me “no, you are not a speaker, you like to write and you sure didn’t make the grade in speech class.”

 
As the day approached, I prayed because I knew that I could not do this on my own. My palms were sweating (even though it was freezing outside)! The group leader, Andrea Conn, was and continues to be a great inspiration to me. She told me that the group is striving to get their temples in shape. She made me feel welcome and the whole group made me feel this way as well. I loved the idea that they are promoting healthy living as a group. I also found some of their tips thought-provoking as well. The group has a jar that they put money into each week. For working out in the week they add twenty five cents to the jar. The same goes for drinking 64 ounces of water a day and losing a pound. When the program is over, the person who contributed the most money to the jar gets the money jar. However, they do not keep the money for themselves. Instead, whoever wins the jar gets to choose a group or someone to donate the money to. In this way, it carries on the blessing.

Andrea explained that her pastor promotes the idea that if you receive a blessing in; you are to give a blessing out. It does not get any better than this! I love this idea, and I love this group. They have inspired me to keep carrying on in my journey and to get my temple in shape.

I enjoyed all of these wonderful ladies’ stories; stories that are very much like my own. I was so excited when Andrea read a story that included a Bible verse. That very same verse is what I had written down when I prayed for God to give me a verse to focus on and read to the group when speaking at the program. After Andrea read this story and the same verse, I knew that God was in the house!

I think about what I would have missed out on if I had told Andrea that I wasn’t going to speak to the group. I am glad I did not listen to the negative voice inside my head. If you are presented with a challenge that you are scared to take a chance on because you think that you do not have the “required” gift or talent, throw that out the window. You will be missing out on a blessing.

Julie