Thursday, February 24, 2011

Getting a Grip


It has been a week!  I feel like I have squeezed a month into this one week and the truth is if I gave you my "to do" list you would probably think what is the big deal.  I finally had to get a grip after awaking early one morning nearly having a panic attack.  There are very few things in life that require that level of stress and my little life over the course of this little week certainly does not qualify as a big deal, but I made it a big deal.  It was my fault alone and I had to say ENOUGH! 

I have been reading through Psalms over the last couple of weeks and God brought to mind a verse I read recently.  Psalm 46:10a in the NASB version reads, "Cease striving and know that I am God".  Some of you may be familiar with the NIV version that reads "Be still and know that I am God".  I love that the footnote for the NASB teaches that ceasing to strive means to relax.  That is exactly what I needed to do this week!  I needed to relax and think on God, reflect on His Word and remember who He is and what He is doing for me.  It is hard to be stressed when you posture yourself before the throne of grace and call out to the Lord for His help.  After I got a grip and basically got over myself and began to focus on God, my stress faded and my joy increased.  I can truly say this week has ended well thanks be to God!

It is rather interesting to me that with my journey this week as described above, that at Arrow Meltdown Boot Camp this morning our exercise was Tai Chi.  I can definitely see how there are  benefits from this exercise and while I did enjoy the experience today it must be said that the roots of this ancient form of martial arts do not reflect my belief system.  I doubt that Tai Chi and I will be a match beyond the experience today.

The three things I learned this week:

Good things come to those who wait...and wait.  After such a low weight loss last week, only .20 lbs., I just did not know what to expect this time.  However, I took the advice of our dietician, Vicki Mascagni, and lowered my daily caloric intake and increase my cardio exercise by 15 minutes.  I am pleased to report I lost 3.0 lbs. this week bringing my total to 5.7 lbs. over three weeks.

I (we) already know what to do, be we just don't want to do it.  Mrs. Mascagni said this to us this morning at boot camp and you know what...she's right!  It is not that I am ignorant of what it takes to be healthy, but I have resisted the idea of change.  I have been unwilling to exercise self-control and self-sacrifice until now.

One size doesn't fit all.  When it comes to dieting and healthy living, opinions and methods are in abundance.  I know people who would get up in the early morning and exercise from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m., others who quit eating carbohydrates, others who would only eat 800 calories daily and so it goes.  The truth is we all have to find what works for us.  The only commonality is we all need to eat healthy foods and we need exercise, but how that looks like in my life will be different from how it looks in your life.  We are all journeying towards good health, but our paths to it cannot and will not be the same.

4 comments:

  1. Some of you have said that you have had trouble posting comments on the blog page. Other options for commenting: For you tweeters go to www.twitter.com/celestecade, my Facebook friends can comment on my post or just send me an email at celestecade@gmail.com.

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  2. You are doing great. We all have our own issues for sure. I gained this week. No one told us it would be easy if so they wouldn't call it a challenge. I also recommend you read Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. She talks about how we are made by God to crave, but to crave him and we fill that crave with everything else.
    1 Corinthians 10:23 (New Living Translation)
    23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”[a]—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
    Hope this helps you as it did me. Keep your head and heart pointed up. I am praying for you.

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  3. Heather you are an inspiration. You have had some set backs, but your press on with an amazingly encouraging attitude. We would all do good to follow your example. I will be praying for you this week as you face this challenge head on and we will hope for encouraging results. Blessings to you!

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