Living on the Gulf Coast, one of our greatest challenges is mosquitos. People spend tons of money on mosquito spray, mosquito nets, screen enclosures. It is amazing the lengths people will go to in order to protect themselves from the attack of  these pesky insects.

What many do not know is we are under attack from something more dangerous and painful than  mosquitoes yet we do little to protect ourselves. This attack is the attack of the enemy on our lives. While people will spend loads of money on mosquito protection, Christians forget to put on Spiritual protection which is free!

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:11-18)

Belt of Truth: Historically the belt was the first piece of armor applied. It was used to hold other pieces of armor in place. In addition the soldier would tuck his shirt in the belt to allow more mobility and freedom of movement for his legs. As Christians we must put on the belt of truth which is the truths found in God’s word. Without the truth we would not be able to recognize the lies of the enemy.

Breastplate of Righteousness: The soldiers would put on the breastplate to protect the chest and vital organs. Righteousness comes from being in right standing with God. Therefore, to protect the vital organ; the heart we must stay in right standing with our Heavenly Father!

Sandles/ The Gospel of Peace: In Biblical days battles were fought on foot. Sandles were vital to protect the tender feet from rocks, thorns, and hot parched sandy grounds. Christians should walk and proclaim the peace of Christ by walking boldly in the Gospel of peace!

The Shield of Faith: Was used as both a defensive and offensive tool. Defensive to protect from the fiery arrows being hurled and offensive as a weapon slug at the enemy in the most vulnerable moment. By carrying the shield of faith we too can protect ourselves from the fiery darts hurled at us by satan.

The Helmet of Salvation: The helmet protects the brain and head in battle. Many of our battles become a battle of the mind. With the salvation of Jesus Christ guarding our thoughts we can win the battle!

The Sword of the Spirit: The sword was used to deflect the enemy’s blow as well as apply a blow to the enemy. We are able to use the sword to hide the word of God in our hearts or to attach satan when he attempts to attack!

God gives us a free protection daily but like mosquito spray…it will not work unless you apply it.

So, I ask…What are you wearing today???

Love Lee ♥

Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
The greatest portion of my workday is focused on processes. How are we doing it now? Can it be done differently? What are the steps involved.? What do we need to do to get different results?  The Methodology  used to evaluate processes is the Deming Cycle, or PDCA Cycle which is a continuous quality improvement model consisting of four repetitive phases and seven steps for continuous improvement and learning: Plan, Do, Check and Act. The PDCA cycle is also known as the Deming Cycle, the Deming wheel of continuous improvement.

I learned this model in 1992 as a brand new nurse fresh out of school but did not think to apply it to my own life. It has just been in the past three years I have applied this model to my life. I began to ask myself what am I doing on a daily basis that is making me crazy (doing over and over again and expecting different results). As I began to apply this to my personal life and began to tweak those daily tasks in my home that suck the life out of me things began to change.

Another area I applied this model to was my Spiritual life…Perhaps someone or something pushes my buttons and I find myself reacting the same every time and in return I get the same results… frustration, anger, dissappointment…I am sure you are getting the picture!

First I had to identify the root cause of  the negative emotion, pray, read my Bible, and seek God’s guidance on what I need to do differently to obtain a different result. Then develop a PLAN of action to ensure I do the right thing at the right time. Next, I need to DO the plan! Then, I need to CHECK to see if the plan is working…if yes–> then Yeah!!! Way to GO…If No then I need to ACT. I need to go back to the PLAN phase…Key to the success of this in my personal life is to include God in every phase SEEK His guidance and PRAISE Him for every success!!!

Life is full of opportunities for PDCA’s. So I ask…

What is making you insane?

The Deming Cycle:

PLAN 

• Define the issue/problem that you are addressing
• Understand the root cause of the issue – why is it happening?
• Develop the detail of what needs to be done
• Prioritize, to ensure that you do the right things at the right time

DO

• Do it! – implement your solution to the problem.
• You might do a test first or a pilot, or you must just ‘go for it.’

CHECK

• This is really the crucial step in PDCA. Check on the results of your actions. Are you getting the results that you expected? If not, why not?. What else can you do?
• If you’re online, this may involve using Google Analytics to measure your performance.

ACT

• Reflect on what you’ve learned in the ‘Check’ step.
• Understand what needs to be done differently.
• Act on the findings

STOP THE INSANITY….

Love Lee ♥