I love to eat. There is nothing better than delicious food. But what I have found is the most delicious foods pack on the pounds. Now that I am nearing thirty years old, my metabolism has decided that its wants to take short breaks. So because I want to eat delicious food and also be able to fit into my clothes, I decided that I have to exercise 4-5 days a week. The last couple of months I have tried different classes at the gym trying to figure out what I could do repeatedly without getting bored. I was told by a lot of people that if you want to burn a lot of calories quickly, spinning is the ticket. Now spinning is basically riding a bike inside with various levels of intensity. Watching as a spectator, you would think this couldn’t be that difficult but when you get on that bike and increase the intensity, you feel like you’re in the last days. The class is typically filled with all skill levels. Some are awesome and going super fast at high intensity while newbies like me is struggling to stay in the game. People in class sometimes distract me. When I am in class, and if I start looking at other people, I will slow down or may even stop. One week as I was in class, I decided that when I am on a path that was really hard and unbearable, I would find a point and focus on it. I wouldn’t look to my left, to my right, or anyone in the class. I would just focus on that focal point. When I focused on my focal point, I always made it through but the minute I began to look around, I would fall off my routine. As I walked out of the spinning class, God began to deal with me about the lesson I just learned in class.

In life, there will be ups and downs. There are times when everything is great and times when you are struggling to make it up the hill. But those times that are defining moments in your life is when you are going into an uphill journey. It is easy to compare yourself and look around at other circumstances; however, that won’t get you up the hill any faster. In fact, it will probably slow you down. If you focus on the focal point which is Christ, he will guide you during the uphill journey. So what does focusing on Christ mean? Prayer, mediation, reading the scripture, and worship. Staying in fellowship with God makes him your focal point and makes the journey a lot easier. Philippians 3:13-14 says Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Today I challenge you my sister to make God your focal point. I challenge you to forget all the things and people around you and embrace your next journey with God.

Spinning with intensity and looking to my focal point,

Felicia Smith

Marriage has made me more domestic. I have learned to enjoy painting, doing yard work and all the sorts. One thing that my husband and I love to do is watch HGTV. HGTV is my go to network from Love It or List It, to House Hunters. A show I recently start watching is Property Brothers. Property Brothers is about two twin brothers who show couples how a house that’s in disarray can become their dream home. Once the couple chose a house, the property brothers will show them in 3D all the changes that will make the house perfect for them. At first, the couple is excited and ready to go. As time passes, the couples become impatient and begin to doubt that the property brothers can deliver what they promised. This concept always perplexes me because I can’t understand why they wouldn’t have faith in the property brothers to deliver. They saw the sketches; these guys do this for a living, and they have to be able to do something right because they have a show on HGTV! But forgetting all those things, the couples sometimes lose faith. At the end, it always works out, and the couples are in awe or shock at the work they did.

The concept of property brothers reminded me a lot of the relationship we have with Christ. At the beginning, we are ready to go. We pray, read the bible, and do all the things that a good Christians should do. God lays out the plans he has for our lives and promises us through prayer and seeking his word different things such as prosperity, excellent health, a spouse, and others. However, on our journey, we lose faith and begin to doubt the promise that he made to us. But why do we doubt him? The God that created heavens, and the earth, the God that promises Abraham and Isaac a child and delivered on that promised even when Sarah and Abraham thought it would not happen. The God that you saw pay your bills when you didn’t know how it would be paid. That God! Why do we doubt God? We must become people that are steadfast on the promises of God. We must not let time, and circumstances make us forget what he already promised. God is so faithful that no matter our mistakes or circumstances he still comes through because his word will not go void. Sisters, I challenge you today to trust God, stand on his word and believe in his promise. God is big enough to do what he said he would do, so don’t give up on God because he hasn’t given up on you.

Believing his promise,

Felicia Smith