The USDA today released a shocking recommendation on how to lose weight: eat less. Stop the presses. Why didn’t anyone tell me this before? I wonder how many millions or billions of dollars of research went into that hidden jewel of knowledge that only our government could have discovered?
In somewhat related news, this week Brea and I are fasting from television. We started Sunday and won’t watch anything until the Super Bowl.
We’ve both been watching way too much TV recently, which has been distracting us from spending time reading, studying the Bible, and doing other non-TV type things. We want to spend less time on unimportant things to devote more time to what’s really important.
Tonight, instead of watching tv, we started a Bible Study from Max Lucado on Acts. There was a quote in it that jumped out at me:
God gave manna in limited portions.
God sends spiritual food the same way. He opens the heavens with just enough nutrients for today’s hunger. He provides, a command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there (Isa. 28:10).
Don’t be discouraged if your reading reaps a small harvest. Some days a lesser portion is all that is needed. What is important is to search every day for that day’s message. A steady diet of God’s Word over a lifetime builds a healthy soul and mind.
To be honest, this is something that I really needed to read today. I’ve been evaluating my daily Bible reading plan over the past few months and wanting to make a change. For the last few years, my reading involved simply reading a large chunk of Scripture everyday. Which meant that at least a few times a month I ended up reading 2-3 days worth of readings to get caught up.
It’s been a good discipline for me to get through the whole Bible, but had become too much a rote process that I’ve gone through. It was more a religious obligation than an attempt to improve my relationship with God.
So what’s next? I’m not entirely sure, but I know I’m going to slow down and savor smaller morsels of the delicacy of God’s Holy Word. One thing I’ve considered is focusing on one book of the Bible at a time, possibly per month, and diving deeper into understanding and applying that book’s truths to my life.
How are you applying the power of less principle in your life?
[image by joiseyshowaa]
I am not sure where I can say doing less but this will make me think for sure about what I can do! Great thoughts!
I think it’s just as much about focus as it is doing less. For me I’m finding the need to slow down and process what I’m reading in Scripture right now.