What hinders you?

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entagles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the auther and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12: 1, 2

This was one of the verses that our preacher used in his sermon yesterday. His emphasis was that not everything that hinders us from fully serving God is wrong - it just hinders us from fully serving. So then, I had to ask myself: what hinders me from doing what God wants me to do? I made a list!

• lack of energy
• lack of enthusiasm
• laziness
• too much time on the computer
• too much time on the computer
• too much... (okay, you get the idea)

When I look at the time I spend on the computer, I mostly spend it in a forum related to one of my hobbies - geocaching. I enjoy commenting and posting and interacting with other people. It's because I am so motivated by other people's approval. WANTING OTHER PEOPLE'S APPROVAL is standing in the way of doing what I need to do.

The lack of energy, enthusiasm and general laziness can be traced easily to two things: not eating right and not getting enough exercise. I have ignored my Type 2 Diabetes now for over a year - and it's showing in more ways than one.

So, I need to throw off the things that are hindering me and throw off the sin that entangles me. It's time to take some action steps:

1. less time on the computer - I really think the blogging thing is good for me. I will limit my visit to the forum to ONE time a day.
2. eating better - I went and bought some veggies today and I'm going to start eating by the quarters on my plate (I'm sure there's a better label for it:) one-fourth of the plate protein, one-fourth starch, and two-fourths (yes, one-half for you mathematicians) vegetables.
3. exercising - uggggggggg - I think I'm going to make myself start walking at school again, a couple of times around the gym. I need to do this. At home, I need to walk up and down the streets here, once around to begin with.

Well, that's my plan. If I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and remember that following Him is a joy, I will want to honor Him by taking care of myself.

So, what hinders you?