I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will
Isn't it interesting how the various areas of our lives intersect each other? Recently in school we have been learning a phrase from a former educator named Charlotte Mason. Miss Mason was, and still is, renown for her methods and techniques used in children's education. The saying we have been learning is "I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will." Each line in this phrase is intended to be seen as a step on a ladder that leads to development of the will and maturity. It was shared on a website as the following:
- I am a child of God. I'm very valuable because God made me.
- I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. God has made me able to do everything that I have to do.
- I ought to do my job so that I will be obeying God, my parents, and everyone in authority over me.
- I will resolve to keep watch over my thoughts and tongue, and choose what's right even if it's not what I want.
Obviously this is a tool to be used when instructing a child how to develop their will. Yet I quickly realized I need to learn the use of these steps as much or more than my children. One area I need to apply these steps is in the area of physical fitness.
I can't be a mother who is always ready for adventure and whatever fun her children and family come up with while sitting at my computer in a body stagnating from lack of use. It isn't the excess fat on my body that is keeping me from actively living life. It is my decision to engage in passive activities rather than physically active ones that allows excess fat to gather on my body. Age and hormones may make it easier for me to get fatter and more out-of-shape, but it is my willingness to remain fat and out-of-shape that keeps me this way. It is my refusal to make different choices for my physical well-being that determine my present state of body.
I am able to move. I am able to choose activities that require more motion. I am able to make choices in diet and exercise that balance hormones. I can make decisions to do so. I can live full and healthy. I can be active. I can make hard stops during the day for exercise and prayer. I can choose healthy. I ought to provide an example of a restfully active life for my children and others around me. I ought to show my gratitude for the abundant life God has blessed me with by choosing to live abundantly in every area of life.
What will I do? What will I choose to think? These are the questions being answered today. If you are considering walking more fully in total abundance, a journal or notebook might be useful for jotting down thoughts, prayers, and answers to questions asked along the journey. There will be questions and suggested journaling activities included at the bottom of each post for anyone who might want to dig a little deeper or go a bit further. Thank you to everyone who is walking along beside me in this. It is our first day in! Here we go!
Extra thoughts, questions, and journaling:
- What area(s) of my life do I need to be honest with myself about?
- In the above area(s), use the I am, I can, I ought, I will statements to document your honesty. Feel free to take another look at the paragraph in the post where the statements are used in regards to my physical fitness as an example.
- Remaining in a brutally honest mode, prayerfully answer the questions of What will I do? and What will I choose to think? in regards to the chosen areas from number 1.
- God is our truth authority. Go to the Bible and find scripture verses that correlate to the I am, I can, I ought, and I will statements shared in the post. For example, Psalm 139 could be used for I am a child of God....
- Remember that this is a journey. Learning what complete abundance in Christ is will be a process. We will be learning new ways of seeing, hearing, and thinking about ourselves and others. Let us follow the example of our Lord Jesus and show ourselves mercy and grace as we learn to be more like Him.
- In a journal, list five things that cause gratitude to rise up within.
- Tell, write, sing, draw, or express in another personal way that gratitude to God.
Living one step closer to God's Abundance,
Abundantly Blessed