Thought for the Day.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Weekend Fun!

I had a really fun and relaxing weekend with my husband and some good friends!

At one point on Saturday, though, I got so overwhelmed by all the things I needed to work on: cleaning the house, writing thank you notes, filing taxes, organizing the office, cooking dinner, paying bills...and the list goes on. It made me totally forget that I had had such a great first part of the day. Don't you hate when that happens? Man, it irritated Mike. He reminded me of all the fun things we had done that day.

Mike's gentle reminder helped me gain correct perspective. See, I've been dealing with this "all or nothing" mentality. "It's not a good day unless I get everything on my list finished." Or, "it's not a good competition unless I win first place." See, these things will probably not happen, but it can't discount the good things that did happen. That cognitive distortion (that's the technical term) is not helpful, and it doesn't encourage a healthy attitude on life. It makes me spiral into an undisciplined life where I eat whatever I want, act like a slob, and feel blah. Today I choose to walk with a healthy attitude and outlook on life. I've got a really great life, and a husband who loves me; I've lost 15 pounds; and my parents are visiting this weekend!

So, here's part of what made last weekend so fab. I went on a walk with a friend, and we talked about some important stuff. I'm so thankful for her! On my way home from my lovely walk, I got a phone call from Shelby, the happy bride to be. She asked if I would go with her to try on bridesmaids dresses. Such fun! Then, my amazing husband took me to lunch (with a coupon, of course). On our way home, we vacuumed the cars. Hooray...because our cars were GROSS!

A Reminder to Myself

This morning I woke up frustrated with myself. I ate in an "unfocused" way yesterday, and part of that is just because I don't believe I can lose any more weight. It stinks that I believe that. I haven't consistently weighed what I am right now since my freshman year of college.

While I do want to be focused and goal-oriented, isn't this whole change about living? I want to LIVE more than achieve. I want to experience life's goodness and wholeness more than I want to meet a goal. Today, this is my reminder. Live. Enjoy. Experience each moment. That's what I'm for.

Refocus

Today is the day to re-focus on my goal! The optimist in me loves that I can have a new beginning and refocus my determination and attitude. As most of you know, I am participating in a Biggest Loser Contest, and I've been determined to win. I found out on March 1st that I am currently fourth in the contest. Errr...

My goal is to lose 15% of my body weight. At this point, I am half-way to my goal. Unfortunately, I only lost one pound last month. One pound!! I lost focus on the bigger picture. So, this month I need to loose 13 pounds to meet my goal. That's a big goal, but doable...3 lbs/week. It's going to take so much determination and focus.

"If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules" 2 Timothy 2:5. I can't be cheating this month. There are no short cuts or quick solutions in this contest. Why is it that my heart & mind wants...expects...that I can accomplish this end quickly?

Mind over Matter

So, I've been meaning to share all about the 5K I ran at the beginning of February. I can hardly believe it's been a month!

Mike and I , along with my friend Paige, ran a 5K on Tybee Island on February 6th. It was amazing and tough at the same time. The day started off super early and rainy. We drove to Tybee and didn't know exactly where we should register for the race...and of course went to the wrong place. At that point, I was nervous, cranky and ready to quit. Who wanted to start a race late? Who wanted to run in cold rain? Why did Mike agree to run a 5K in February?!?!! We were never going to make it to the other end of the island in enough time and find a parking spot.

Well, we made it! We registered and put everything back in the car before the race began. Whew, our first victory. After all the initial, pre-race jitters, we started the run. For the first leg, I ran with Paige...well, Paige ran with me. (I'm much slower than her.) Just after the first mile I was ready to start walking (Paige had already run ahead at her own pace). It was tough, and I was tired. Then, this amazing thing happened.

Mike caught up with me. (He started a little after us to give himself enough time to use the port-a-jon and pin his number on his shirt). Mike was a constant encouragement throughout the race. He didn't let me walk. He kept my pace up and steady. He set small goals for me. All the right things.

Then, with less than one mile left, there was this nagging voice that started saying, "You can't do it. You're never going to make it." It was awful, but I believed it. I believed that voice instead of myself. Will there ever be a day when the voice in my head says, "Yes! You're almost there. You're doing great." I hope for that day. I hope for a day when I can live, walk and RUN in the truth!

It reminded me of how much this journey is more about my mindset than any other habit pattern. "Do not conform any longer 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." Romans 12:2. It's a daily process of renewing my mind and being transformed by Jesus.

I finished the race in record time. Amazing. I didn't reach my goal, but I was victorious! For that, I am more than satisfied.

Wanna join us for our next race? It's on March 20th. Click here for more information on the Dawg Trot in Athens. :)

Fridays, Oh how I love Thee!

Okay, so I know it's not Friday...it's Tuesday. Here's my confession, I started this post on Friday, but didn't finish it. AND...maybe I'm just ready for Friday again...so, I didn't want to change the title.

The weekend was really wonderful. We didn't do anything! Well, we ran a couple of errands, but not too much. It was great just staying home together and resting. We both were sick, sick, sick, and it was nice to take care of ourselves; we watched a couple of movies and tried a couple new recipes. Some of which were delicious and another that we will not do again. We caught up on past episodes of Heroes. It was a lazy, lazy weekend.

On Sunday, Mike and I had a wonderful conversation about the "hard news" I posted in a previous blog. Basically, we are deciding what's next with our careers and life. Mike, because of lack of funding, had to go to very part-time ministry work, and we are left with him looking for a second job. The past two weeks have been tough. We've had fights, cried, and loved each other through it. As a result of Sunday's great talk, we feel like we finally have some semblance of direction, which is so nice and reassuring.

Today, I was reminded that our souls are still raw from the part-time business. Even while there's this feeling of hopefulness and direction, we can still be in a hard place. It's still a tough place; there's still a lot of hard work to be done. I can't rush into this new direction and forget that my husband is still processing...that I'm still processing. Does this make sense? It's like I want to say because we feel like we have a direction, we're all better now. The truth is the Lord is healing us, but we (mostly I) have to actually walk through the process. It's not an instantaneous fix.

It's such a good reminder about life...that there can be goodness and hopefulness in the middle of a desperate and tough spot. We can keep moving forward because God is giving Mike and me the strength to take one step at a time. That's all we can do really...

Hard News

On Thursday, Mike and I got some really hard news. I mean, hard. (I'm not going to go into what it is, but you may ask me in person). It leaves us with some tough questions and decisions. We're frustrated, angry, sad, and a bit fearful. At the end of the day, we are left in the hands of Jesus. Trusting him. Needing him. Asking him to do a miracle. Say a little prayer for us.

How does all of this affect this whole "being healthy" goal? It all comes down to discipline. When we got the news, I didn't open the fridge and go for the ice cream. On Friday, I did have a grilled cheese for lunch (a major comfort food for me), but I didn't de-rail from the path. I decided to exercise on Saturday, even though we're out of town for the weekend. I joined my mother-in-law in a great spin class at her gym in Raleigh. She was gracious enough to let me use her guest pass. It's been a good and comforting weekend to be with family and friends this weekend.

In the past, when I've gotten tough news, I stopped doing things that were healthy for me. I stopped exercising and mostly eating right; it was like my motivation was gone. This time, I am more motivated to stay the course. It's almost as if I can stay physically healthy that it will help me be healthy in other parts of life. Trust me friends, in the coming weeks, I'm going to need every little extra motivation I can get so that all areas of life are healthy and in correct perspective.