Bite-size lessons

Recently I have challenged the ladies of our church to add 64 fluid ounces of water to their daily diet. We are calling it our “Summer Challenge” but ultimately I desire for it to become a pattern of life. I believe and know from my own experience that once you begin to pour into your body this necessary water, your body will eventually desire more and begin to refuse the other liquids in our diet that bring absolutely no nutritional value.

As we began the challenge on June first, I offered some important tips. The first was not to give up anything  I’ve noticed when I tell my flesh NO it immediately begins to rebel; that’s just human nature. If I tell my flesh it's getting more, I can conquer the challenge and gain victory.

Another tip I offered was not to bite off more than they could chew. Let's call it the “bite size” lesson. If you look at 64 fluid ounces of water as a whole you will immediately get discouraged; more than likely you'll not even conquer one glass. I shared with the ladies to start with 8 ounces. As I began receiving results after just two weeks, a great number of ladies commented on how effective this simple tip of “bite size” amounts helped them conquer the goal each day.

This tip is one of the most effective for life in general. As a wife, mother of two and one who works outside the home, life can get overwhelming quickly. Taking my tasks in “bite size” amounts, I am able to gain victory day to day, week to week, month after month.

When I look at the entire task as a whole, say cleaning the house, I get discouraged and end up not doing anything. This not only frustrates me but also my family. When I made a simple plan of discipline, such as one load of laundry a day or vacuum rugs on Tuesday,

I began to make “bite size” victories. By Saturday, my day off, I can enjoy my family instead of being consumed with the entire chore of cleaning house.

Now hear me mommies, I put to work my family in this effort because it's harmful for you and them if you do everything and they contribute nothing. One of my most dreaded tasks, ironing, can be conquered as I discipline myself to iron for 10 minutes a day. By the end of the week I have ironed for almost an hour; I stay on top of it and the mountain does not pile up on top of me!

In the Old Testament, Joshua was challenged by God to go and possess the land. God desired for His people, the Israelites, to gain victory over a large portion of land, but He had them do it by conquering one king at a time. In taking these “bite size” challenges they were able to possess the entire land.  They experienced a setback right away with the second challenge. Joshua began to retreat with discouragement, basically having a pity party, when God came and challenged him to get up and press forward. He had Joshua address the issue of what caused him this setback so that he could press on toward the goal. Once the Israelites addressed this setback, they were able to press forward to gain more land. But remember, they still possessed it one king at a time.

I want to challenge you today to take our summer challenge. Just like Joshua, I am certain you will experience a setback, we all do, but I encourage you to not allow the setback to become a way of life. Simply allow it to cause you to step a little higher to victory. You will be the one to gain in the end.

Jackie Vaggalis, wife of Destiny Worship Center’s senior pastor, Steve Vaggalis, is the mother of two boys, and her hobbies are shopping, golf and spending time with her family. She can be reached at jackie@destinyworship.com