Ally's World

This semester I am taking a class called Exercise Physiology, and I will learn all about how the body moves. I already know that the Lord will give me many ideas to blog about and a deeper understanding of how the body represents spiritual principles, and I am excited to share with you what I am learning. This week I studied how the body utilizes the energy inside of it, so I am going to share with you about a process called ATP production.

According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can be neither created nor destroyed, which is true in our bodies. Therefore, the body uses substances inside of it to create movement. ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate, and it is the primary form of energy the body utilizes. Three ways exist to form ATP, and they operate as a continuum, meaning that all three are working at the same time, but one of the ways is dominant during a specific time. To begin, the ATP/Creatine Phosphate System utilizes stored energy in cells, which only lasts for three seconds! After three seconds, creatine phosphate attaches to a premature energy compound to give the body six to nine more seconds of energy. In short, the ATP/CP dominates for no more than twelve seconds.

After twelve seconds, a process called anaerobic respiration takes over, which essentially takes stored carbohydrates and converts them to ATP through a series of reactions. This process lasts for about five minutes, then a different mechanism called aerobic respiration dominates for the remaining time after the first five minutes that the body needs energy. This process is another series of reactions that takes fats and proteins and converts them to energy. Although the actual steps and reactions fascinate me, the most amazing part of ATP production is that we do not have to tell the body when to do it. We don’t have to tell the ATP/CP System to relax or the anaerobic respiration to take over. We do not demand for aerobic respiration to dominate over anaerobic respiration after five minutes or for the body to convert carbohydrates to energy when needed. In fact, probably most of us have no idea about what is going on inside of our bodies! I didn’t until this week!

My point being, can you imagine if you had the responsibility of ATP production in your body? If I had this job, my life would be a mess to say the least! I would be telling carbohydrates to convert to ATP, then I would undoubtedly get distracted by the people around me or other tasks at hand. If I had this job, I don’t think my body would move! In the same way, God calls us to submit wholeheartedly to Him and His power. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves to God.” To submit means “to yield to the power or authority of another.” Taking from the example of the ATP production, in order to obey the Lord and live a life full of peace and joy, we must let the Lord work as He may, just as the body runs efficiently on its own. When I try to take control of my life, things often do not end up as the Lord intended. Just as we think it would be so very stupid of us to control our bodies and tell every mechanism when and what to do. Physically, there is no way we would survive if we did that! Spiritually, we are the same way. When we desire to be in control, we fail.

Romans 9:20 tells us, “But indeed, o man, who are you to reply against God? Well the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay.” Physically, we subconsciously believe this verse because we never think about manipulating the mechanisms in our bodies.  However, spiritually, sometimes our actions state that we do not fully trust in God’s power. He is the Creator, and His plan is unimaginably better than our plans. But it takes trust. We trust our bodies to function properly because we honestly have no choice! And we must trust Him to work in us and through us spiritually just as He pleases!

What He has to offer you for your complete trust in Him is peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Why would we settle for anything less than the peace that passes all understanding! I want to invite you to trust the Lord in a new way today, more than you ever have before, and I promise you will find the Lord and His peace in a refreshing, transforming new way!

In physiological terms, resistance training is defined as a method of conditioning designed to increase one’s ability to exert or resist force, and an example of this training process is weightlifting. Although weightlifting seems like a macho man exercise, much variety exists in this area, and a mode of resistance training exists for every individual. For example, weight machines, free weights, body weight exercises, stability balls, and elastic cords all are ways of resistance training. Within four weeks of consistent resistance training, your muscles will grow, you will have more power in your movements, your tendons and bones will be stronger, and you will see improvements in blood fat levels. Clearly, resistance training positively affects the body and is essential for optimal health.

Just as we need resistance training for optimal health and overall wellness, we also need to practice resisting the devil and the temptation he brings in our spiritual lives. James 4:7 states, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” What a promise this verse brings us, that if we resist the devil, he has no choice but to flee from us! Resisting the devil seems like a vague, unattainable task; however, the Bible gives us specific instructions for how to combat the devil’s deceptive schemes. Ephesians 6:10-20 describes how we are to fight the devil- through putting on the armor of the Lord. God has given us specific tools to use to resist the devil through this passage.

These tools are the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, readiness from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. I am just going to focus on the last three because they have come to mean the most to me. To begin, Ephesians 6:16 states, “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Most times, the devil attacks us when we are lacking in faith, so to counter the devil’s attack, we must increase our faith in the Lord, knowing that He is there, He is fighting for us, and He is in complete control. By acknowledging His Lordship and by simply saying His name, we extend a shield of protection for ourselves that literally squelches the devil’s attack.

Next, through salvation, we can claim victory over the devil because our Savior has eternally defeated him through the cross. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death; but, the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you’re reading this and you have never made the decision to follow Christ and have a growing relationship with Him, now is the time! Satan is violently attacking you, and you need Christ’s loving hand of protection over you through the helmet of salvation.

Lastly is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Ultimately, Scripture provides the most outstanding defense toward Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus in Luke 4, Jesus quoted Scripture, and the devil fled, which gives us a perfect example of how to combat Satan. We must know the Bible inside and out, and we absolutely must be reading it and memorizing it every single day in order to be the most effective soldier for Christ we can possibly be!

Just as you must lift weights and do other resistance training techniques to get stronger physically, you must be active in your spiritual walk to grow stronger spiritually and to effective resist the devil. Maybe you spend a lot of time working out and lifting weights. Do you spend that same time building your relationship with Christ? Although being healthy and enjoy a life of wellness is important, having a growing relationship with Christ is so much more important.

In 1900, infectious diseases ruled as the leading cause of death in the United States, with pneumonia and tuberculosis killing the most people. From 1900 to 2000, the leading causes of death shifted from infectious disease to chronic disease, such as heart attack, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Chronic diseases overall prove to be more dangerous than infectious diseases, and today chronic diseases are ferociously attacking our country.

Since we have a growing population with a higher life expectancy, chronic diseases have creeped in and taken millions of lives in our country. Seven of every ten deaths come from chronic disease, and heart disease and cancer account for more than half of all deaths in the United States. More than seventy-five percent of total health care costs come from chronic disease as well. Without a doubt, chronic disease is taking a toll on the majority of people in our country.

Luckily, only one risk factor for chronic disease is unmodifiable-genetics. Unfortunately, genetics cannot be altered, and it holds one of the top risk factor positions of chronic disease. However, ALL other risk factors for chronic disease can be modified and changed, such as diet, physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, and stress levels. So, why if all but one of the risk factors are modifiable, does chronic disease keep increasing?

I believe that this issue intricately reflects the immediate gratification mindset that prevails in our culture. Immediate simply means instant, and gratification means a great reward or satisfaction. So, these two words together suggest instant satisfaction, which is something our culture excels at offering. So, in terms of chronic disease, we want to have the “quick fix,” even if it is not the best long-term option. For example, if going to the gym were easy and results were instantaneous, would you go more? If you could lose five pounds by eating healthy for one day, would you? Of course you would because immediate gratification has invaded and taken over our culture.

In the same way that chronic disease has overpowered the health of our country, I also believe that immediate gratification has changed the way we view our relationship with the Lord. We desire the blessings and answers the Lord has for us NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, and not next year. NOW. However, this is certainly not the way the Lord works. Our God is a God of perfect timing, and often that timing is not what we envisioned for ourselves. His perfect timing almost always involves us waiting. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he had to wait forty years for the people to When Paul was in ministry, he had to wait in jail for God’s perfect timing. Clearly, immediate gratification does not often happen for those individuals fervently seeking the Lord.

All throughout the Psalms, we see the Lord peacefully tell us to wait on Him. Wait on Him expectantly knowing He will answer, yes, but still to wait. Psalm 130:5 states, “I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” What an incredible example this passage is. His whole being waits, and he puts his hope in the Word.

When we wait on the Lord, His rewards and blessings are unimaginable. Ephesians 3:20 claims, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” Our God has no limits, and clearly His reward for obedience to Him will outweigh anything we can do for ourselves. Today I want to challenge you to wait patiently on the Lord, on His timing, and on the blessings that follow.  My hope and prayer for you is that you will find your satisfaction solely in the Lord so that you will not even be tempted to be filled or satisfied with the evil in this world.

Our bodies need a variety of different vitamins and minerals to function properly and exist in a state of optimal health. Today I am going to share with you about Vitamin D. Vitamin D promotes absorption and use of calcium and phosphate for healthy bones and teeth. In other words, our bodies depend on Vitamin D for tough bones and teeth. Clearly, we need vitamin D to survive. Unlike most other vitamins and minerals, we gain Vitamin D from UV rays. We absorb most other vitamins and minerals from a food source, but Vitamin D comes directly from SUNSHINE! Basically, when UV rays hit our skin, they react with a chemical called 7-dehydrocholesterol. Then, these two components create Vitamin D.

Take a moment to really think about this fact. How cool is it that the Lord created us to need sunshine! Maybe He did this so that we would see His glory in the sunshine. Or maybe this was His way of encouraging us to love being outside. Perhaps He knew that sunshine makes everyone happy, including the chemicals in our bodies! Although we’ll never know the reason for sunshine being the source of Vitamin D, this is just another reason that we can praise and bring glory to our indescribable Creator.

As the sun shines the light, our bodies have an internal reaction to it. When the UV rays hit our skin, the 7-dehydrocholesterol forms Vitamin D, and our bodies will continue to function as normal. In the same way, when Christ’s light shines in our lives, our souls react in an irreversible way in such a way that our hearts are enlightened, our eyes radiate with His glory, and our souls are solidified with His majesty. When He shines on us, we should never be the same. When we soak in His light, He forgives our sins. He gives us purpose. He fills us with joy so much that we overflow. He shares His peace with us in an incomprehensible way. He satisfies us completely, in a way that no other thing on earth can.

In John 14:6, Jesus claims, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” You see, when Christ’s light shines on us, we are saved. Along with saving us, He also brings out the light around us, even in dark situations. Psalm 36:9 states, “In your light we see light.” Psalm 18:28 says, “My God turns my darkness into light.” John 1:5 declares, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Christ’s light CANNOT be overcome. By anything.

This week I want to encourage you to soak in the light. Christ’s light is shining all around us, all the time. However, it is our job to open our eyes and see it and to expose our bodies to the light so that we can feel it. What exactly does it look like to soak in His light? Just as we can feel sunlight in a variety of different ways, such as sun bathing, tanning beds, swimming, running, etc., we can also soak Christ in through several ways. Without a doubt, reading the Bible allows us to feel the light of Christ. Along with the Word, prayer and being in His presence allows us to soak in His light greatly. In addition to these three ways, seeing the glory of the Lord through nature allows us to soak in His light. Lastly, by spending time in quality fellowship with individuals that are in relationship with the Lord, the Lord shines His light on us.

But really, these are just my favorite ways to experience the Lord and soak in His presence. I want to challenge you to soak in the sunlight this week, in order for your body to function physically and spiritually. Take a walk in the glory of His sunlight. Notice the sunset when you’re driving. Enjoy a moment of peace while reading the Word. Go to Starbucks and sit outside with someone you love. Clearly, there are so many different ways to soak in the light! But I know that when you do, the Lord will immensely bless you! Next week I’m going to write about shining the light that you have soaked it, so be looking for that!

In my Health Promotion Program Planning class, we learn about the business side of health promotion. Basically, as a health professional, my goal will be set on selling health, and this class equips me to do so. Last week we focused on the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and it functions as a strategy to make a business unique and marketable. Today I want to share with you what I learned about opportunities through this class.

In a health promotion business, it is essential to keep up with current trends, strategic alliances, and emerging activities, as well as changes in technology, policies, and demographics in order to fully maximize opportunities. In the business world, you must always ask how you can take advantage of your strengths and eliminate weaknesses so that you can open the door for more opportunities. By prioritizing your opportunities and optimizing each one, you can take advantage of strengths and eliminate weaknesses.

On the same day I heard this information in my class, I read about the parable of the talents in my quiet time earlier that morning. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus describes the following scene. The master gives one of his servants five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his own ability. In biblical times, a talent equaled a significant amount of money. The servant who received five talents went out and made another five talents, and the servant with two talents gained two more. But the servant with one talent buried it for fear of losing the talent and did not gain any more.

To the servants who gained more talents, the master applauded them and said,  “Well done, my good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” But to the servant who buried his talent, the master called him a wicked and lazy servant.” At the end of this parable, the master states, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

At my church in Norman, my pastor preached on this parable, and the Lord opened my eyes to several things. To begin, talents can be compared to opportunities. The Lord gives us opportunities based on our ability, just as the master gave his servants talents according to their gifts. When the Lord gives us opportunities, He expects us to make the most of every single opportunity. When we are faithful in the opportunities before us, He gives us more and more and more. And we have the distinct privilege of experiencing Him work more and more and more.

Webster’s defines “faithfulness” as the quality of being true to one’s promises. It also describes faithfulness as “constant, reliable, and thorough in the performance of duty.” To be faithful to the Lord, we must complete the tasks He has set before us. So, for a minute, I want you to think about what opportunities the Lord has placed before you. Opportunities exist in all forms. Personally, the Lord has laid on my heart some of the following opportunities: loving someone unconditionally, praying for someone in need, sacrificially giving up time to help someone or volunteer for something, serving in the organization I’m involved in, encouraging my friends, shining the light in the darkness, and taking time to develop my relationship with the Lord by reading the Word and prayer.

If you noticed, most of the opportunities in my life revolve around people. I believe that people are our purpose on earth, and the Lord calls us to be FAITHFUL to love and serve the people around us. Just as the SWOT analysis teaches us, we must prioritize and optimize the opportunities around us in order to grow. Colossians 4:5 tells us to “make the most of every opportunity.” That is my encouragement to you today! Who can you love more? Who can you serve? How can you grow closer to the Lord? How can you start a deep relationship with the Lord? I want to challenge you, and myself to open your eyes and look at all the opportunities that the Lord has given us. Be faithful to them, and He will give you more and more!

Over the past three weeks, I have been thinking where I want to take my blog for this semester. The purpose of this blog is for me to share what I’m learning in my Health & Exercise Science classes with what the Lord is revealing to me through those classes. Last semester I took Human Anatomy, which opened my eyes to a whole new world of things, some of which I definitely did not want to see! But this semester, I am taking classes that are in the core program of my major, along with Medical Spanish. I feel called to continue with this blog, for I know the Lord has a divine purpose in it. Also, this semester, I am going to incorporate my Medical Spanish vocabulary words into my blog, which I think will be a cool addition. But as for today, I am just going to share a personal story that I hope the Lord will use to speak to you.

For about a week now, I have been battling a cold. This cold developed after this past weekend when I might have stayed up a little too late in combination with experiencing temperatures with wind chills well below zero. The Spanish word for a cold is el resfriado. So to say, “I have a cold,” would be, “Tengo un resfriado.” On Monday morning, I thought I was going to pass out in my 8 AM class. Not only was it so ridiculously early in the morning, but I would get hot, then cold, and I was dizzy. Honestly all I could think about was taking every cold medicine ever created and taking a nap! Now it is Thursday. So since Monday, I have been faithfully taking medicine and drinking vitamin C, but I just cannot seem to escape it. Although it’s just a silly cold, the Lord has actually taught me several valuable truths through it. Last night when I was getting ready for bed, I washed my face. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a rash all over my face. Without a doubt, I started slightly freaking out because I thought something could have been wrong with me! The rash on my face was just the icing on the cake that reminded me that I must listen to my body when it is trying to tell me something.

Certainly, it is a gift that our bodies tell us when something is wrong. My body has been telling me something is wrong for four days now, and I am just now listening to it for the first time. Why have I not been listening to my nose tell me it’s running or my throat tell me that it’s sore? Simply because I do not want to miss a thing or skip a beat. I don’t want to miss a funny moment with my friends, an opportunity to encourage someone, or an adventure in the snow. But what I’m learning is that if I don’t stop while I’m ahead now, I will really miss more in the future. As I was writing this post, I thought about my days as a ballerina when I was in high school. Whenever we had an injury, my ballet instructor would not let us take any pain medicine because when we took medicine, it just temporarily fixed the problem, and it was actually more dangerous. We would want to dance, even if we were injured. But my dancing on an injury, it would actually get worse. Similarly, if we ignore what our bodies say to us, often times the condition will continue to worsen. More importantly, if we disregard what the Lord is telling us, we will sink into the sin of the world.

In the same way, the Lord is ALWAYS speaking to us. In my last blog post, I wrote about our ears and how we must listen to the Lord, so I am not going to repeat what I stated in that post. What I really want to focus on today is why we choose to not hear the Lord. Why do we not open our Bibles more? Why do we refuse to acknowledge when He is speaking to us? Why is it hard for us to get up and go to church on Sunday mornings? Why do we ignore our friends when they speak truth to us? I think it’s probably the same reasons that I wouldn’t listen to my body telling me that I have a cold: I don’t want to change anything. Often times, I don’t want to change my life because I’m comfortable and I don’t want to alter my normal routine. However, the Lord is teaching me that if I do not conform to His way and His plan now, it will damage me in the long run. Changing and conforming to what the Lord has for us, even if it is hard, is always better than our way. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.” God’s thoughts and ways are always better than our ways, but we must take the time to listen to what He is saying.

Today I challenge you to take a minute to search your heart. Psalm 139: 23-24 states, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Dig into your heart today and listen to what the Lord is saying. As I am writing this, I am challenging myself to do the same thing, physically and spiritually. I know that I need to rest and get over this cold before school starts next week. And this morning in my quiet time, I could feel the Lord trying to tell me something, but I still haven’t quite heard what He is saying. So I will leave you with Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Take time today to be still and listen to the Lord.

Just as our eyes enhance life tremendously, our ears also greatly enrich our lives. For a minute, let’s think of what our lives would be like if we couldn’t hear. How would we communicate? We would not be able to talk on the phone or carry on a conversation. Learning would be much more difficult. We could not learn in the typical lecture setting or hear as a teacher shares about a topic. Similarly, we could not enjoy the sounds of nature, such as birds chirping and the waves crashing onto the shore. Along with these parts of life, we would also miss music, which is one of life’s most precious elements. Life would be muted without the ability to hear, as we would miss out on the sounds of laughing, crying, and talking. Clearly, the ability to hear allows us to appreciate life on a higher level. Today I am going to share with you the different parts and structures of the ear, as well as what it looks like to hear the Lord’s voice.

We divide the ear into three parts: external, middle, and internal, each of which possesses different structures and functions. To begin, the external ear consists of the auricle, which is the earlobe, the auditory canal, and the external acoustic meatus. Collectively, these three parts funnel sound into the ear, as well as keep foreign objects from entering the ear. This part of the ear is also where earwax can be found. Although earwax seems annoying and rather gross, it actually keeps pests from entering the ear and inhibits bacterial growth! To continue inside the ear, we find the middle ear, which essentially transfers sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. As an interesting side note, we actually have two tiny muscles inside the ear, the smallest muscles in the body in fact, that protect the ear when abnormally loud noise is heard so that our ears do not explode when we hear sounds that are too loud. Past the external ear and middle ear comes the inner ear. The inner ear functions in balance, hearing, and converting sound waves into nerve signals, which allows the brain to read and respond to sound waves. Without a doubt, each part of the ear is essential to its overall function in hearing and balance, and the ears truly are one of the Lord’s most unique creations.

Day to day, we hear a plethora of different sounds and different voices. So many various voices float about in our minds, and at times it proves hard to distinguish which voice we should listen to. The world is LOUD, and it distracts us from the voice that truly matters. Our ears are a gift, and we must train them to hear the Lord’s voice. Now, I want to share with you what I have learned about hearing the Lord’s voice because ultimately, His voice is the only one we should strive to hear. In order to properly hear God’s voice, it helps to understand the different circumstances in which the Lord could speak. My junior year of high school, I did the study Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby with my accountability group, and this study opened my eyes to how the Lord speaks.

Although you may think that the Lord only speaks by writing words on a wall or audibly speaking out loud in a dark room, the Lord actually speaks in several different ways that happen in daily life. To begin, God often speaks through prayer by His Holy Spirit because that is the part of Him that lives inside of us. Secondly, the Lord reveals Himself through His creation, which is why studying the body allows us to grow closer to the Lord. The Lord’s majesty is clearly seen in His creation! Next, the Lord communicates with us through His Word, which demonstrates why we should actively seek Him by reading the Bible. Along with these ways, the Lord also reveals Himself through our circumstances. Lastly, the Lord reveals Himself through His Body and His people. More importantly, the Lord will often use multiple ways to speak to us, and each of these ways will line up perfectly. He will not tell us contradictory statements!

Certainly, the Lord is always speaking. The question is: are we listening? Just as we can hear noise and never comprehend what it is saying, we often see and hear how the Lord speaks without ever truly hearing or responding. Listening to the Lord is difficult because it requires being still and blocking out the world’s noises. Psalm 46:10 provides wisdom in this situation when it commands us to “be still and know that I am God.” I want to challenge you today to listen to what the Lord is saying to you. Not to your family, not to your friends, not to your spouse. To YOU. I encourage you to take time out of your day to sit and listen to what the Lord is saying to you. He might be calling you to trust Him for the first time. He might be asking you to take a step of faith and adjust to His Word. He might be showing you the plans He has for your life. Whatever it may be, He has a message specifically for you.

A brilliant, colorful sunset stretches across the evening sky. The words of a thrilling book. All the attributes of the ones you love. Your reflection. A movie. The view from the top of a mountain. Waves crashing along the shore of the ocean. Colors. Words. Creation. People. Life. This is simply a short list of what we see through our eyes. Our eyes truly are marvelous, and our lives would certainly look different without them. Today I am going to describe the anatomy of the eyeball and sensory functions of sight. These next three blogs are going to connect sensory organs to a spiritual principle, and I hope that these parts of the body will allow you to sense the presence of the Lord.

Although the eyeball seems rather complex and definitely is, I’m going to describe it in three layers. To begin, the outer layer of the eye consists of the sclera, which creates the “white” of the eye, and the cornea, which is the avascular transparent component of the outer layer. Next, the middle layer is made of three components, which are as follows: the iris, choroid, and ciliary body. The iris contains the pigments that determine eye color and the pupil, which houses the central opening for transmitting light. Just as an interesting side note, the less pigment that your eyes hold, the lighter color your eyes will be. For example, if you have much pigment in your eyes, they will appear as dark brown, but with less pigment, they will appear light blue or light green. Along with the iris, the ciliary body functions in holding the lens in place.

Moving from outside to inside, the eyeball becomes more delicate, and the inner layer contains the light sensitive structures of the eye. Let’s begin with the retina, which has a light receptive layer and a pigmented layer. Then, rods and cones allow the eye to distinguish between colors, as rods see only in dim light and cones allow the eye to see vivid colors. The inner eye also possesses a structure called the macula lutea, which functions in acute vision, and the center of the macula lutea is entitled the fovea centralis, which provides the area of sharpest vision. Without a doubt, these are only a few of the many structures that create the eyeball and allow us to properly see.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created mankind in his own image. Therefore, just as we see through our eyes, the Lord has called Himself El Roi, which means “The God Who Sees” in Hebrew. Proverbs 3:15 further develops this concept when it states, “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere.” This name of God describes His omnipresence and omniscience. The Lord’s omnipresence means that He is always with us. In Hebrews 13:5, the Lord promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” He sees where you are, and He is right there with you, one hundred percent of the time. Along with this quality, El Roi also insinuates the Lord’s omniscience, which means simply that He is sovereign. This is one of my favorite attributes about the Lord, and the following verses are some of my absolute favorites. Psalm 115:3 states, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases Him.” The Lord always acts in a manner that pleases Him. In Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah declares, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”

In every situation, the Lord’s eyes penetrate into the heart of each circumstance. El Roi sees what we do not see, which is why He is sovereign, and we are not! El Roi sees the future when we can barely even see the present, which is why His plan is perfect. El Roi sees us as His creation, while we question why He made us this way. El Roi sees the strengths and gifts He gave us and uses us accordingly, even though we feel entitled to certain positions or jobs that are outside of the Lord’s plan. All in all, El Roi SEES! He sees everything, which is why we should trust completely and solely in Him. Are you holding El Roi’s hand? Are you depending on His perfect plan? He sees you, loves you, and is sovereignly providing in your life, whether your human eyes can see it or not.

Often times, we fail in seeing the Lord at work in our lives. El Roi sees everything, yet we can hardly ever see Him. How does this disconnect happen? In writing this post, the Lord has shown me that we cannot see Him because we are not setting our eyes on Him. We are zoomed into the affairs of this world, and we focus on the present, instead of the eternal. In looking only at what the world has to offer, we miss the Lord! Today I want to challenge you to look for and see the Lord working in your life, because He is there. The following verses truly struck me, and I hope the Lord uses them to speak to you as well. Psalm 16:8 says, “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” When our eyes are on the Lord, nothing in this world will shake us! Psalm 141:8 declares, “But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.” Are your eyes fixed on the Sovereign Lord? Do you take refuge in Him? Isaiah 40:26 states, “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Take a moment today to see the Lord work in His creation! Lastly, 2 Cor. 4:18 encourages us to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

This is the challenge I want to leave you with today. I want to encourage you to use the physical structures in your eyes that I discussed in the first part of this post to see the unseen and eternal elements of this life. Sight is a divine gift, and I want to encourage you to use this gift to see the Lord work in your life. In doing so, I know that you will be blessed beyond measure!

This week in Human Anatomy, we have what is called a “brain slice” quiz, which as the name states, is where we study actual slices of the human brain. In our lab, two of the eight brains are sliced, and we learn all the structures on there. Fun stuff, let me tell you! In spite of the horror of sitting in the lab and studying for hours upon hours, the brain holds so many unique structures, two of which particularly caught my eye.

There are two main parts of the brain- the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The cerebrum encompasses the large, main part of the brain, while the cerebellum lives on the underneath side of the brain. In the cerebellum, I saw two structures that astounded me. To begin, we have what is called the arbor vitae in our cerebellum. Let’s pick apart that word. Arbor literally means tree, and vitae signifies life, which put together means the tree of life. A slice of the cerebellum actually looks like it has tiny white trees around the entire edge of the cerebellum. Little did we know that we have a forest in our brains! Along with the arbor vitae, we have folia. In context of arbor vitae, what could folia mean? That’s right, foliage! Folia are structures that appear to grow off of the arbor vitae, just as foliage develops off of trees.

Certainly, the Lord reminded me of some incredible principles when I was studying for this quiz that I want to share with you today. To begin, let us take a moment to stand in awe of our Creator. He intricately formed every part of our bodies, and His glory is seen through these structures. Next, how cool is it that we have trees of life in our brains!! Although physically significant to our survival, these symbolize so much spiritually. Spiritually speaking, do you have a tree of life inside of you? Are you in touch with the One who created you? Have you experienced the love, power, and grace that He has to offer? In John 14:6, Jesus claims that “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but my Me.” He alone can instill the tree of life inside you, and He alone is the source of our life.

Not only is the arbor vitae significant, but the folia grow directly with the arbor vitae. From the tree comes growth, development, and fruit, which reminded me that although we may have the tree of life in our lives, we are responsible for growth from the tree. From the outside looking in, just as I looked upon the brain this week, can someone see leaves growing from your tree? Can an unbeliever see the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Can someone who doesn’t even know you see the hand of the Lord in your life? Our brains wouldn’t function properly if the folia didn’t grow alongside the arbor vitae. In the same way, our lives do not have near the significance if we do not have fruit stemming from the tree of life. John 15:8 states, “By this My Father is glorified, that you near much fruit.” Clearly, the Lord commands us to bear fruit and be growing with Him.

So wherever you are spiritually today, I want to challenge you. If you don’t have the tree of life, Jesus Christ, inside of you, now is the time! He loves you and deeply desires to have a relationship with you. If you are saved, but are not growing, now is the time to actively seek the Lord through the Bible and prayer. If you are already actively seeking the Lord, there are always more ways to bear fruit. Ask the Lord to reveal those to you today. Also, it is your role to encourage and share with those who are not seeking the Lord! This is a short post because I have to go to class now, but the Lord pressed in on my heart this morning to write this post. Now, it’s your turn! I didn’t have much time to tie in Scripture and other principles, so let me know what you think! Please comment and share verses that you feel are pertinent to this topic, and as always, let me know if you have any questions!

Last Monday my hands touched, held, and thoroughly studied the human brain. Some would consider this task a distinct privilege, as I certainly did, while others might be quite disgusted by their fingers actually coming into contact with the brain. In Human Anatomy, they save the brain and head for the last unit of the semester. Up to date, I have seen and studied every single structure, artery, nerve, vein, and muscle in the human body that is below the head. But, to me, the brain is the most fascinating. Not only is it a significantly sized structure in the human body, but it possesses essentially every conscious part of a person’s character- memory, experiences, knowledge, personality, decision-making, all senses, storage, processing, and intellect. The brain includes so much more than only surface structures and entails great depth, which sets it apart from every other human structure. Today I am going to enlighten you on some of the secrets that are hidden in the brain, as well as challenge you with how you take care of your mind.

Externally, the brain is rather complex, and I would even dare to say that it is the most complex part of the human body. The adult brain is divided into five sections, but I am only going to walk you through one of those divisions. The first division of the brain is entitled the telencephalon. Yes, this is a giant word, but this part of the brain contains four cerebral lobes that are named for the bones that are beneath these lobes. These lobes control conscious thought, intellectual function, memory, storage, and processing. To begin, the first lobe is the frontal lobe, which contains the primary motor cortex, and controls skeletal muscle movement, personality, decision-making, and verbal communication. Without a doubt, we use this lobe probably every second! Alcohol use also inhibits this lobe, which demonstrates why you cannot make coherent decisions when under the influence. Next comes the parietal lobe, which enforces conscious perception of touch, pressure, vibration, pain, temperature, and taste. Basically, this lobe deals with the senses. Therefore, every time your fingers come into contact with an object, this lobe is stimulated. Along with the parietal lobe, we have the occipital lobe, which houses the visual cortex, and this part obviously allows us to see. Lastly is the temporal lobe, which accommodates the auditory cortex and olfactory cortexes, and these parts of the brain deal with hearing and smell. Surprisingly, these four lobes only put a dent in all the complex parts of the human brain. Although our brains may only seem like something floating around in your head, it is astounding how intricate and detailed our Creator made them.

Although our brains orchestrate pretty much every movement and mechanism in our bodies, they also contain the spiritual aspect of our heads- our minds. Webster’s defines the mind as “the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.” Essentially, the mind is the spiritual side of the brain, and our bodies respond just as much to our minds as it does to our brains. Just as the heart possesses so much more depth than the coronary arteries, ventricles, and the aorta, the brain is monumentally more than four lobes and white and gray matter. Speaking of the heart, the mind and heart often go together in Scripture, and the heart and mind are intricately woven together spiritually speaking, which implies that the mind just as  much influence on us spiritually as our hearts do.

I think that one way our minds express themselves are in terms of our thoughts. For a minute, think about your thought life. What does your mind dwell upon? Work. School. Yourself. Love. The future. Stresses. Uncertainty. Money. Fame. Popularity. Parties. The to do list. The list could go on and on. If you were to rank your thoughts, where would the Lord fall? Matthew 22:37 commands us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” We are called to love the Lord with ALL of our minds.

To love the Lord with all of our minds directly contradicts with what the world demands of us. But to know the Lord’s will, which should be one of our highest priorities requires going against what the world says. Romans 12:2 states, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” How do we renew our minds? What does is mean to love the Lord with all our minds? How do we fight against the harsh standard that the world presents?

Colossians 3:23 provides our answer: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In order to have a mindset that pleases and glorifies the Lord, we must live with an eternal mindset that dwells and meditates on the things of the Lord. What does a mind that meditates on the things of the Lord think about? 1 Peter 5:8 describes why having a mind that pleases the Lord is so important: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Without a doubt, Satan is on the prowl, so do not let him devour you! What does this renewed mind think about? A mind that glorifies the Lord ponders how to share the gospel, not what to wear to the party tomorrow night. It meditates on how to love the unlovable, not how to convince that cute boy to like you. It deeply considers what the Bible really means, not stress over that hard class or business deal. It dwells on the character of the Lord, not on every aspect of yourself. Clearly, this is a challenging concept, but as 1 Corinthians 2:16 says, “We have the mind of Christ,” and all we have to do is claim it!

From our thoughts flow every action that we will make, which demonstrates why the state of our mind is ultimately key to our spiritually vitality. This is a message that deeply challenges me, and I ask for you to challenge yourself with these truths. Do not coast through your thought life, but instead abide and dwell in the Lord, and your life will be transformed.