Carter's Corner: Habits of Contentment

*Carter's Corner posts are articles I wrote for our Monthly Church Newsletter.  

Are you content with your material possessions?  How about your paycheck? Marriage? Health? Relationships? Job? Retirement? Politics?  We all tend to be discontent from time to time and that can lead to complaining.  We complain because we simply are not happy.  Be honest with yourself. What area in your life do you tend to be the most discontent?   
I have an obsession with gadgets and as of late, specifically cell phones.  There is a phone that hasn't even been officially introduced, nor will it likely be available on my carrier but I’ve been keeping up with the rumor mill on this phone since April.  My habitual checking on this phone slowly breeds discontentment.
 What habits do you have that breed discontentment in your life?  Habits of discontentment can be focusing on the past, making comparisons, or focusing too much on self. Just as certain habits or actions can breed discontentment in our lives we can replace bad habits with actions that will lead us to contentment .  

Focusing on God

“There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.”  (1 Samuel 2:2, NASB)

When we realize who God is and what he has done for us, what else could we possibly desire or want?  When we focus on God we also desire for His will to be done and not our own selfish will.  We submit willingly to His will.  We understand that God’s way is best.  One of the best ways to focus on God is to laud and magnify His name.  You can do this in prayer, song, or conversation.  

Serving Others

“Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4, NASB)

A root cause of discontentment is a focus on self.  We spend a lot of time on our “own personal interests.”  We eat, sleep, and work all as a part of serving our own personal interests.   We need to use our time and resources to serve other people.  You can’t successfully serve someone else, unless you stop thinking about yourself and look to meet the needs of others.  

Counting Your Blessings

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations. (Psalm 108:3, NASB)

No matter what you your lot in life, you are blessed.  We are blessed by simply being introduced to the gospel of Christ Jesus.   Just consider the blessings we have in one chapter of the Bible. In Romans 8, we are told that we are free from sin (1).  We have the spirit of God living in us (2). We are co-heirs with Christ and our future glory does not compare with our present shortcomings (17-18).  God is working all things for our good (28). The Almighty King of the Universe is on our side (31) and that nothing can separate us from the love of God (39).

When life gets rough and discontentment rears it’s ugly head, may we focus on the blessings we have in Christ and beyond.  May we see clearly those things that we often take for granted that God has already given us.  May we identify habits of discontentment, repent and replace them with habits that will lead to contentment in Christ.   

What the debt ceiling debacle reminded me about my diet

Well the government shutdown is over and the debt ceiling has been lifted.  While our Congress continues to be rather incompetent on both sides of the aisle, I think we can reflect on this latest debacle to think about our diet.  

    Republican, Democrat, Progressive, or Libertarian all agree that the enormous amount of debt our country has is not a good thing.  There is one reason we have to raise the debt ceiling, deficit spending.  Every year the government spends more money than it ever could receive in revenue. 

   This parallels America's obesity epidemic.  We are consuming too many calories than our bodies could ever use.  I had a very clear head about this when I started on MFP (MyFitnessPal) back in February 2011.  I hit my goal weight by December of that year and was regularly exercising.  After hitting my goal weight I stopped logging regularly, yet I kept losing weight.  In June of 2012 I had nerve damage in my leg and was told it might take a year for the damage to be repaired.  Since I couldn't run I didn't do any exercise.  I got even more lackadaisical in my calorie tracking and eating habits and the weight went up.  As of today I am 24.4lbs up from my lowest weight.  

     Don't exercise to lose weight.  This is the principle I forgot.  When we are eating so many calories exercise alone won't make the difference.   People used to ask me, how did you lose the weight?  I would always answer, calorie tracking.  I wouldn't even mention exercise because I was clear headed about what made the difference.  However, as time has passed I have forgotten.  


    I have run the past 6 weeks and gained 2lbs.  How is this possible?  I didn't track my calories.  Exercise is vitally important and is essential for achieving our fitness and wellness goals.  However, do not rely on exercise alone to get the pounds off.  Just as America is spending more money than they could ever bring in, Americans (including myself) are consuming way more calories than they could ever burn off.