Improvements Needed

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1 What areas do you need to improve upon? I have to admit when i got to this part of the challenge i lost some of my enthusiasm. In my stinking perfectionist thinking i hear the word improvement and my first thought is, "You're no good.". Now perfectionism can affect a person in one of two ways: it will either push you into over-achieving or cause you to shrink in fear that you will never be good enough. I fall into the latter category. So number one on my list of improvements to be made is my way of thinking. Instead of looking inward i need to be looking upward. Number two on my list involves the use of time. I can be very selfish with my time. After homeschooling in the morning, cooking and cleaning in the afternoons and washing throughout the day all i want to do with whatever time is left is check my email, look at Facebook or blog. Most days that is how i "connect" with others. When i feel lonely, anxious or depressed i turn to food to numb these emotions. One way or the other i feel like i am going to explode. At least an escape to the computer keeps me out of the kitchen...for awhile. Guess you have figured out number three! Number four would probably be learning to be still. That's another hard one for me. I have been accused more than once of having ADD and OCD. What does that tell you? Organization also comes to mind. I have never been accused of being organized. People with organizational skills astound me. How i wish some of that skill would rub off on me! And number six? Getting to bed earlier! All these improvements require discipline-number seven. This is where perfectionism can kick in and i can throw my hands in the air and say, "I'll never get it!". But i don't want to do that anymore. Instead i will refer to a church sign i spotted yesterday as i drove home from an errand, "When you are through improving, you are through". Could this be what the writer of Hebrews was talking about? If we are to finish this race on top aren't we continually making the necessary improvements to get there? Life is about improving but we can not make those improvements on our own. God shows us where we need to improve and then He says, "Let Me help you." Thank you, Father, for showing me, Your child, the areas of needed improvement in my life. Help me to run this race with endurance.