As a Christ follower it always amazes me when God begins me on a path there are so many things that I cross that encourage, confirm, and strengthen me. I attended a Christmas Eve service at my parents church in Ohio and the pastor weaved this video into his message. The video is called God's Chisel and it is by a group called Skit Guys (www.skitguys.com). I had to share it with you all because it perfectly exemplifies what we've been talking about.
http://skitguys.com/videos/item/gods-chisel-remastered
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Check out this video and many others that they have on this site. They are awesome!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Finding the path.....to regular exercise
Throughout my almost 35 years I have had infrequent experience with exercise. If you knew me in high school you may remember that I warmed the bench during both volleyball and basketball seasons for a couple of years. That lasted until I got frustrated with my lack of natural athletic ability, gave up, and quit the team. There was a time in my early 20's that my girlfriends and I got into working out together and would do Tae Bo videos a couple of times of week. Those efforts were short lived and eventually ended. Then about four years ago my husband and I began to work out at a gym together in our attempt to get healthy. As a couple this season was our first real concentrated effort to regularly exercise. I remember getting on the elliptical for the first time and even though it totally kicked my butt....I loved it! It didn't hurt my knees at all, it was like running in the air, and for once I didn't suck at it. It was also in this season that we began to explore other avenues for exercise. You see my husband is a natural athlete; he was built for sports and has done some kind of sport the majority of his life. His natural abilities have always been quite intimidating to me when it comes to branching out and trying new things.
For example at this time we got the crazy idea to explore tennis together. We bought all the equipment we would need and top of the line none the less! Walking up to the courts on that first day I was excited, invigorated, and hopeful to find something I would love to do that would help me stay active. When we played I couldn't get a handle for the racket, the ball was going everywhere, I was embarrassed, got a terrible attitude, and within the first hour just gave up. Are you seeing the theme? So my first day of tennis would be my last.
Then there is the roller blading story. Growing up as a teenager in the early 90's I practically lived in the roller rink. I would go certain days throughout the week and spend the weekend there as much as I was permitted by my mom. I could roller skate forward, backward, race, and do the limbo (not too well but I did attempt on occasion). So as we considered exploring roller blading I felt confidence rise up within me that this was an activity I could master. You'll find as you follow this blog that my husband and I rarely give anything less than 100% of our efforts, good or bad. So we bought the skates and pads and ventured off....down the driveway. By the end of the driveway I was already getting discouraged. It may have been the 20 years since I had roller skated or possibly the dynamic challenges of using a blade instead of 4 wheels but something wasn't working like the good ole days. On our first day out I eventually made it half way down the street before plopping myself down in the grass of a neighbor, taking off the skates, and walking home in my socks completely defeated. PS. also as you get to know me you'll find that I would NEVER walk outside and dirty up perfectly white socks so that tells you just how desperate and deflated I really was. Our next time out led us to a local park with a smooth walking path. I began with elegance and confidence; maybe my rolling days weren't over, until....the path took a huge twist and just enough downhill momentum through me into grass a bloody and discouraged mess. As we walked back to the car I vowed to never roller blade again. If I'm being honest the fact that I attempted it the second time can probably be attributed to my acute awareness of how expensive the roller blades were and not wanting to waste the money more than any lingering interest in roller blading.
Four years ago our efforts to get healthy and exercise lasted in total about 6 months. It was not a total loss though as I did discover one area that I could enjoy well and that was working out at the gym. So as we move to the present the gym is where we started. If you recall from my first blog entry “Beginning the Journey" I had been on bed rest basically from June through August so once my doctor released me to exercise I began very slowly. I faced the natural battle that most of us do when trying to get motivated to exercise. I also faced remaining physical limitations from lingering medications and a healing body. This time I was determined to not quit! I decided with God’s help to explore a multitude of areas of activity until I found a few things that I would enjoy for the long hall. I have done the treadmill, elliptical, all kinds of machines. I have worked out with a personal trainer, gone swimming, played racquetball, and tried a bunch of classes. I went from working out a couple days a week to working out 6 days a week (because my husband & trainer are forcing me to at least take one day off). I can honestly say for the very first time in my life that I absolutely unequivocally LOVE to exercise. Maybe I needed to be lying on my back nearly motionless for 10 weeks to put down my defenses and really give it a chance. I have learned that I actually am good at several things and that gives me hope that there is so much more to explore. I have learned that Exercise is NOT Punishment. For years my perception was that I had to exercise as punishment for overeating. I have learned that even skinny people need to exercise. I have learned that exercise is a glorious gift from God intended by divine design to maintain good physical, emotional, & spiritual health. Yes you heard me correctly I making a bold statement here! God created the human body for exercise! In fact as we honor God with our body through exercise it is truly an act of worship and obedience. My exercise journey is by no means over and I do still struggle at times with thoughts of failure or discouragement. However, in those times I am learning to rely more on my Lord and “…press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil 3:12). I convinced that conquering exercise is part of God’s plan for life and it is only in allowing Him into this area of my life that I will truly reach my potential in Him.
For example at this time we got the crazy idea to explore tennis together. We bought all the equipment we would need and top of the line none the less! Walking up to the courts on that first day I was excited, invigorated, and hopeful to find something I would love to do that would help me stay active. When we played I couldn't get a handle for the racket, the ball was going everywhere, I was embarrassed, got a terrible attitude, and within the first hour just gave up. Are you seeing the theme? So my first day of tennis would be my last.
Then there is the roller blading story. Growing up as a teenager in the early 90's I practically lived in the roller rink. I would go certain days throughout the week and spend the weekend there as much as I was permitted by my mom. I could roller skate forward, backward, race, and do the limbo (not too well but I did attempt on occasion). So as we considered exploring roller blading I felt confidence rise up within me that this was an activity I could master. You'll find as you follow this blog that my husband and I rarely give anything less than 100% of our efforts, good or bad. So we bought the skates and pads and ventured off....down the driveway. By the end of the driveway I was already getting discouraged. It may have been the 20 years since I had roller skated or possibly the dynamic challenges of using a blade instead of 4 wheels but something wasn't working like the good ole days. On our first day out I eventually made it half way down the street before plopping myself down in the grass of a neighbor, taking off the skates, and walking home in my socks completely defeated. PS. also as you get to know me you'll find that I would NEVER walk outside and dirty up perfectly white socks so that tells you just how desperate and deflated I really was. Our next time out led us to a local park with a smooth walking path. I began with elegance and confidence; maybe my rolling days weren't over, until....the path took a huge twist and just enough downhill momentum through me into grass a bloody and discouraged mess. As we walked back to the car I vowed to never roller blade again. If I'm being honest the fact that I attempted it the second time can probably be attributed to my acute awareness of how expensive the roller blades were and not wanting to waste the money more than any lingering interest in roller blading.
Four years ago our efforts to get healthy and exercise lasted in total about 6 months. It was not a total loss though as I did discover one area that I could enjoy well and that was working out at the gym. So as we move to the present the gym is where we started. If you recall from my first blog entry “Beginning the Journey" I had been on bed rest basically from June through August so once my doctor released me to exercise I began very slowly. I faced the natural battle that most of us do when trying to get motivated to exercise. I also faced remaining physical limitations from lingering medications and a healing body. This time I was determined to not quit! I decided with God’s help to explore a multitude of areas of activity until I found a few things that I would enjoy for the long hall. I have done the treadmill, elliptical, all kinds of machines. I have worked out with a personal trainer, gone swimming, played racquetball, and tried a bunch of classes. I went from working out a couple days a week to working out 6 days a week (because my husband & trainer are forcing me to at least take one day off). I can honestly say for the very first time in my life that I absolutely unequivocally LOVE to exercise. Maybe I needed to be lying on my back nearly motionless for 10 weeks to put down my defenses and really give it a chance. I have learned that I actually am good at several things and that gives me hope that there is so much more to explore. I have learned that Exercise is NOT Punishment. For years my perception was that I had to exercise as punishment for overeating. I have learned that even skinny people need to exercise. I have learned that exercise is a glorious gift from God intended by divine design to maintain good physical, emotional, & spiritual health. Yes you heard me correctly I making a bold statement here! God created the human body for exercise! In fact as we honor God with our body through exercise it is truly an act of worship and obedience. My exercise journey is by no means over and I do still struggle at times with thoughts of failure or discouragement. However, in those times I am learning to rely more on my Lord and “…press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil 3:12). I convinced that conquering exercise is part of God’s plan for life and it is only in allowing Him into this area of my life that I will truly reach my potential in Him.
Thank you for allowing me to share my personal exercise journey with you today! If you’d like to collaborate on todays theme with me here are a few questions I had for you.
1. What experiences have you had with exercise in the past?
2. What is your greatest struggle in getting started or maintaining a healthy routine?
3. What were your thoughts on the statement I made “Exercise is NOT Punishment”?
4. Have you ever considered exercise as part of God’s plan for your life?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Finding the path.....to healthy eating
I am going to do three segments to get you guys up to date on the last three months of my journey. I'll calling them "Finding the path...." then one of three subjects: to healthy eating, to regular exercise, and to healthy sleeping & water intake.
The notion of healthy eating has been transformed in my mind over the last few months. In the past my mind would immediately associate those words with dieting. I want to make an important distinction here regarding my journey and purpose. I see dieting with a primary goal of losing weight. Whereas this journey for me is much deeper than getting the weight off. You see I'm not looking for a quick fix such as a grapefruit diet or one of the other fads that will help you loose a lot of weight really fast. I am looking for a complete and total lifestyle change that will last the rest of my life. Part of that lifestyle change involves allowing God into this area of my life to have a voice into my food choices. So weight loss as wonderful and beneficial as it may be is really a bi-product of learning to treat my body the way it was created to be treated. Treating my body in a way that honors God. If my heart is focused on the number on the scale I would be easily discouraged and more than likely give up. When my heart is focused on pleasing God with my food choices and staying in fellowship with Him I feel affirmed and fulfilled.
On a practical level I knew that I needed some structure and guidelines to help me, at least in the beginning because I knew that I wouldn't be successful without that. So I sought out, prayed about, discussed with my husband many options for healthy eating. When it comes to eating healthy I have never been a person to jump from plan to plan. I have done a few over the years but mainly I think I'd given up when it didn't work and blamed myself for failure. Self reliance has been a trait of mine since I was a child and it can be a huge strength and weakness at the same time. If I'm not careful I could completely isolate myself and not let anyone into what is really going on. That is partly why I'm sure my Lord has put it on my heart to write this blog. I have learned in my life that we were created as relational beings; we need relationships to survive & thrive. So right away in this process I knew that in choosing a healthy eating plan I would need some peer accountability, peer involvement, and peer support. For those of you who don't know my husband he is a wonderful, loving, & supportive man who is also on this journey of getting healthy. As good as that may sound it wouldn't be good enough. He (my husband) can't provide all that I needed for this intense journey. To further complicate the issue of finding a healthy eating plan I love to cook and am a self proclaimed foodie! So flexibility was also important because at this point in my journey if a plan didn't allow certain foods such as sugar or carbs I know that I would not succeed. I would become bitter and obsess over what I wasn't allowed to eat until I binged on whatever that food was. Our choice for a healthy eating plan came down to a few options and ultimately we chose attending weekly Weight Watchers meetings for support & accountability along with using their online tools and program for our food choices. I am in no way advertising or suggesting any healthy eating plan because I know there are many options available. For our home we made this choice based on a need for healthy guidelines, structure, support, accountability, flexibility, and the online conveniences. I think the important part is allowing the Lord to guide the decision and determining for yourself what works best for you based on your own personality and needs.
Another major influence on the healthy eating part of my journey over the last three months is a book called "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. During my illness the women's group at my church went through this book. I was not able to attend and one dear friend let me borrow the book about a month ago. This book is not a how to but another level of support and encouragement for the journey. The author is funny and transparent and she walks you through her journey of learning to let God into this area of her life. I read it once already and it hit home with me on so many levels. Over the next month I want to read it again and journal along with the questions in the back of the book. Lysa is a blogger and her ministry also has a 21 day challenge which sends daily emails with encouragement specific to this topic. I have listed the book, her blog, and the 21 day challenge websites below.
http://madetocrave.org/
http://lysaterkeurst.com/
http://madetocrave.org/21-day-challenge/
I want to surround myself with every possible avenue for God to speak into my life regarding learning to live healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So far choosing and working a plan that matches my specific needs at this time has really helped kick start this process. Also reading material daily that help me regain my focus and hear God's voice also help me tremendously.
So if you are taking this journey with me I have a couple questions for you to meditate on and post if you feel comfortable.
1. What specific needs do you have in choosing a healthy eating plan? I mentioned several above for myself and described the process that we took in choosing one.
2. What would empower you most during this season of transformation?
3. What resources do you have available to surround yourself with that will encourage you to stay on the path of honoring God with your body?
4. Maybe healthy eating is not your challenge, if so what area of your life are you holding back from honoring God?
I'd love to hear from you and thank you for taking this journey with me! Blessings to you!
The notion of healthy eating has been transformed in my mind over the last few months. In the past my mind would immediately associate those words with dieting. I want to make an important distinction here regarding my journey and purpose. I see dieting with a primary goal of losing weight. Whereas this journey for me is much deeper than getting the weight off. You see I'm not looking for a quick fix such as a grapefruit diet or one of the other fads that will help you loose a lot of weight really fast. I am looking for a complete and total lifestyle change that will last the rest of my life. Part of that lifestyle change involves allowing God into this area of my life to have a voice into my food choices. So weight loss as wonderful and beneficial as it may be is really a bi-product of learning to treat my body the way it was created to be treated. Treating my body in a way that honors God. If my heart is focused on the number on the scale I would be easily discouraged and more than likely give up. When my heart is focused on pleasing God with my food choices and staying in fellowship with Him I feel affirmed and fulfilled.
On a practical level I knew that I needed some structure and guidelines to help me, at least in the beginning because I knew that I wouldn't be successful without that. So I sought out, prayed about, discussed with my husband many options for healthy eating. When it comes to eating healthy I have never been a person to jump from plan to plan. I have done a few over the years but mainly I think I'd given up when it didn't work and blamed myself for failure. Self reliance has been a trait of mine since I was a child and it can be a huge strength and weakness at the same time. If I'm not careful I could completely isolate myself and not let anyone into what is really going on. That is partly why I'm sure my Lord has put it on my heart to write this blog. I have learned in my life that we were created as relational beings; we need relationships to survive & thrive. So right away in this process I knew that in choosing a healthy eating plan I would need some peer accountability, peer involvement, and peer support. For those of you who don't know my husband he is a wonderful, loving, & supportive man who is also on this journey of getting healthy. As good as that may sound it wouldn't be good enough. He (my husband) can't provide all that I needed for this intense journey. To further complicate the issue of finding a healthy eating plan I love to cook and am a self proclaimed foodie! So flexibility was also important because at this point in my journey if a plan didn't allow certain foods such as sugar or carbs I know that I would not succeed. I would become bitter and obsess over what I wasn't allowed to eat until I binged on whatever that food was. Our choice for a healthy eating plan came down to a few options and ultimately we chose attending weekly Weight Watchers meetings for support & accountability along with using their online tools and program for our food choices. I am in no way advertising or suggesting any healthy eating plan because I know there are many options available. For our home we made this choice based on a need for healthy guidelines, structure, support, accountability, flexibility, and the online conveniences. I think the important part is allowing the Lord to guide the decision and determining for yourself what works best for you based on your own personality and needs.
Another major influence on the healthy eating part of my journey over the last three months is a book called "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. During my illness the women's group at my church went through this book. I was not able to attend and one dear friend let me borrow the book about a month ago. This book is not a how to but another level of support and encouragement for the journey. The author is funny and transparent and she walks you through her journey of learning to let God into this area of her life. I read it once already and it hit home with me on so many levels. Over the next month I want to read it again and journal along with the questions in the back of the book. Lysa is a blogger and her ministry also has a 21 day challenge which sends daily emails with encouragement specific to this topic. I have listed the book, her blog, and the 21 day challenge websites below.
http://madetocrave.org/
http://lysaterkeurst.com/
http://madetocrave.org/21-day-challenge/
I want to surround myself with every possible avenue for God to speak into my life regarding learning to live healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So far choosing and working a plan that matches my specific needs at this time has really helped kick start this process. Also reading material daily that help me regain my focus and hear God's voice also help me tremendously.
So if you are taking this journey with me I have a couple questions for you to meditate on and post if you feel comfortable.
1. What specific needs do you have in choosing a healthy eating plan? I mentioned several above for myself and described the process that we took in choosing one.
2. What would empower you most during this season of transformation?
3. What resources do you have available to surround yourself with that will encourage you to stay on the path of honoring God with your body?
4. Maybe healthy eating is not your challenge, if so what area of your life are you holding back from honoring God?
I'd love to hear from you and thank you for taking this journey with me! Blessings to you!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Beginning the Journey
2011 has been a very interesting journey for me on both a personal and professional level. The theme of this year has definately been the word "transition". Beyond the new job & new church, the biggest transition was the decline of my health. I have had issues with asthma and pneumonia for the past four years but nothing would prepare me for June 2011. The truth is that over the last four years I have fallen into the pattern that many of us fall into, making choices to overload my life with work, school, internships, church & family activities - I made no time for my own health. Eating healthy, getting enough sleep, exercising, & drinking water were in no way a part of my regular routine. These four elements are critical to being healthly physically, emotionally, & spiritually. Coming back from a wonderful trip to my husband's home town in Massachusetts this summer we both had a cold. Of course given the overall status of my health this cold quickly developed into pneumonia but unlike past times it kept getting worse & worse. Long story short I ended up having a fungus in my lungs and was on bed rest for 10 weeks. This led to me being layed off from my job and being filled with shame, confusion, pain, and despair. Not to mention the weekly doctors appointments which included trips to the scale that slapped me in the face with the reality of just how out of control my weight issue had become. I found comfort in my relationship with an ever loving God and hope that somehow even in the midst of one of the most dire health situations I ever had He did in fact have "“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).
My blog will be centering on my journey to getting healthy physcially, emotionally, & spiritually. This journey began for me in June of 2011 and has caused me to come face to face with my own weaknesses, my own insecurities, and my own demons. I have had a problem with food for as long as I can remember. I have used food for comfort, stress relief, and even as a companion at times. I plan to be completely open about my fears, failures, and triumphs as I embark on learning for the first time in my life how to maintain a truely healthly lifestyle. This is a conversation that other Christ followers often over look. I have been following Christ for 10 years and have never allowed Him into this area of my life. My theme for 2012 is "Naked in the Potter's Hand". I will no longer hold this or any other area of my life from my Lord. Naked means many things including: uncovered, stripped away, or bare. I no longer want anything to get in the way of God's plan for my life. I see God as a Master Potter molding me into the final product he desires (Isaiah 64:8). I realize now that my journey to getting healthy doesn't just deal with my food choices, but it also encompasses how I spend my time, encorporating excercise, getting passionate about water, and protecting my sleep.
I'd love for you to take this journey with me. I plan to blog weekly and will be including things I am learning, recipes, tips from others, scriptures, and anything else that help me along the way. If you are also battling with some of these same issues I want you to know that you are not alone. This is a battle that many of us face and most of all God loves you and has a plan for you as well. I'd love to support you and correspond with you as you too allow the Lord into this area of your life.
My blog will be centering on my journey to getting healthy physcially, emotionally, & spiritually. This journey began for me in June of 2011 and has caused me to come face to face with my own weaknesses, my own insecurities, and my own demons. I have had a problem with food for as long as I can remember. I have used food for comfort, stress relief, and even as a companion at times. I plan to be completely open about my fears, failures, and triumphs as I embark on learning for the first time in my life how to maintain a truely healthly lifestyle. This is a conversation that other Christ followers often over look. I have been following Christ for 10 years and have never allowed Him into this area of my life. My theme for 2012 is "Naked in the Potter's Hand". I will no longer hold this or any other area of my life from my Lord. Naked means many things including: uncovered, stripped away, or bare. I no longer want anything to get in the way of God's plan for my life. I see God as a Master Potter molding me into the final product he desires (Isaiah 64:8). I realize now that my journey to getting healthy doesn't just deal with my food choices, but it also encompasses how I spend my time, encorporating excercise, getting passionate about water, and protecting my sleep.
I'd love for you to take this journey with me. I plan to blog weekly and will be including things I am learning, recipes, tips from others, scriptures, and anything else that help me along the way. If you are also battling with some of these same issues I want you to know that you are not alone. This is a battle that many of us face and most of all God loves you and has a plan for you as well. I'd love to support you and correspond with you as you too allow the Lord into this area of your life.
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