Carnal vs. Spiritual - Principle One

Day 1 - 2 Nephi 9:39 " O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal."

"We often think of the word carnal as applying only to those people who appear to be very wicked. Look up the word carnal in the dictionary. Think of its definition as it applies to our efforts to solve our problems. Write about an area in your own life in which you are guilty of being “carnally minded” in regard to seeking solutions." (pg. 13)

Carnal = Relating to the passions and appetites of the body, worldly, temporal.
Spiritual = Concerned with or affecting the soul, relating to God, sacred.

I noticed that Satan doesn't have to engage us in some big, obvious evil.  All he has to do is make us ineffective, neutralize us and he's won almost as much as when we really fall into sin.  This has been on my mind lately, how much I spin my wheels and get involved in habits and activities of no lasting consequence, of no enduring substance or purpose.  Like wasting time on the internet (Facebook anyone?)  One of my girlfriends just inactivated her Facebook account.  It was too much distraction.  Something I need to think about doing.

The other 'carnal' habit I'd like to snap my fingers and make disappear is avoidance.  Not just procrastination, but outright avoidance of housework.  Avoidance of anything that RESEMBLES housework.  And it makes me miserable.  Because I like a clean house.  So it comes and goes in binges.  I find I turn to little pleasures like eating, internet, shopping, etc just to keep from jumping in and tackling something around the house.  The ironic thing is, whenever something does get taken care of and cleaned up, it feels so good.

However, I've recently discovered I can do almost anything for 15 minutes, knowing I'll only torture myself for 15 minutes.  So now I have a list of 15-minute tasks.  I even set a timer and cheer when it goes off, and move onto something else and come back again later in the day, or the next day for another 15 minutes.  And when I've done several 15 min things in a row, I reward myself with some small activity I enjoy - with no guilt.  And cruddy jobs eventually get done.

I've also noticed that when I take time out for my spiritual self in the morning, before most events of the day, with reading, pondering and prayer - I have more strength and willpower than at other times.  Prayer and desire do work well together.  Today it is my prayer that I can climb my mountains, the mountains in my own life, mountains of my own making...because my sister-in-law and brother-in-law are coming.