i am finding myself less and less tolerant of others' complaining. i wonder, "where is my mercy and grace for others?" when all i want to do is direct the whiners to worse things in the world than their petty crap. especially when that petty crap is something that can be changed. i find myself inwardly rolling my eyes when people tell me they "do not have the time" to workout, when they spend hours watching TV or scrolling through facebook. i cringe when people say "eating healthy is so expensive" when they choose to spend their money on other things that either negatively affect their health or eat out at restaurants or fast food or drink expensive coffees or get really big tattoos that cost hundreds of dollars......and then proceed to tell me about their latest diabetes sugar reading that was 200+. i personally, have no tolerance for people who put themselves down but refuse to do anything about it and instead tell ME that i'm getting "too skinny" or "ew, i could never eat that" blah blah blah. i find myself wanting to lose it on people who talk about "God" but really just believe in some santa in the sky and get upset when things don't go their way and blame Him for not doing something about it.
am i claiming perfection here? DEAR HEAVENS HEAR ME WHEN I SAY I AM SO NOT PERFECT!!!!!!! i fail, i get down, i get super anxious about things to the point that my chest tightens and i cannot breathe. i miss workouts, and don't always eat healthy 100% of the time. there are days i do not read my Bible or utter one word in prayer. I SCREW UP. i have about 2-3 trusted people i "complain" to about life when it gets too much and those 2 typically include my mom and my husband. I AM HUMAN! BUT THAT DOES NOT GIVE ME AN EXCUSE TO STAY KNOCKED DOWN! i recently got back from a cruise where i ate until i looked like i was nine months pregnant and only worked out one time in 6 days. but i picked my butt right back up this week despite lack of motivation and cravings out of this world, and i'm back to working out at 5:30am and eating clean!
life is killing me right now in some areas but i am not going to talk to everyone and their mothers about it and whine and stay down and fuss and fight and stay stressed. NO, that is not me! life hurts, it's hard...whatever!! i have a BIG BIG God who is way BIGGER than my problems. i recognize the things that are in my control and i change them...and leave the rest to my Father in Heaven.
you want change??!! BE ABOUT CHANGE.....STOP YAPPING YOUR MOUTH AND BE ABOUT CHANGE!!!!!!! eat something healthy, take a walk, open your Bible, start on your knees and pray. just. do. something.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
motivation-->results--.>motivation-->results-->motivation
it is said that if you dont give up on something, then the results of that something will be your motivation to keep going at it.
for example, when i started lifting weights, i didn't see results right away, but i felt great! ..... so i continued because the feeling was motivating. after several weeks and i could tell the littlest bit of progress, i kept going because my results were my motivation. now, as far as my muscles are concerned, i am never satisfied, but the changes in my body and my strength are my motivation to continue what i'm doing. and i just keep on keepin' on.
it's kind of like that in my relationship with God too. when i first started my journey with Him, i was quite young. it wasn't until years and several heartaches later that my life really began with Him and i started to learn to trust Him more and more. in those first weeks and months of quiet times and lengthy prayers, sometimes i didn't feel "results." i just knew that i was doing what i needed to do to get those results in my life, i.e. joy/peace/a relationship NOT religion/belief system with the One who created me (and you!). but i became "addicted" to it, to His presence, to hearing from Him, to knowing i was a part of His plan for such a time as this. and i wanted more. never satisfied, always continuing to go back for more. then i started noticing my spiritual muscles growing. something in life outta left field would hit me, and a Bible verse would come to mind. or i would think, "i'm not worried, my God is bigger than that problem." etc. or maybe i had a friend or family member going through something, and i would have the just the right wisdom to give them...wisdom straight from God's Word. i was no longer "weak," allowing the storms of life to toss me to and fro.
in seeing those results from my time spent with the Father, it was motivation for me to continue in doing what i was doing. i don't want to have spiritual muscle atrophy. i only want my muscles of faith and courage to grow...because all the biceps and triceps and abs in the world can never get me to where i wanna be spiritually.
sometimes i'll pray, read the Bible and feel "off." but that doesn't mean God isn't listening and my spirit isn't growing. sometimes i'll go to the gym and have an "off" workout. but that doesn't mean my body won't respond to what i'm doing. i keep going. i keep praying. i keep lifting. i keep reading. i keep eating healthy... i keep doing what needs to be done to get me where i want to be.
so let the results you see out of your relationship with the Creator of Heaven and earth be the motivation you need to continue in a relationship with Him. don't give up, those muscles will grow...that weakness will go away, and the strength you find in Him and His Word will be sufficient for you.
spiritual fitness > physical fitness
for example, when i started lifting weights, i didn't see results right away, but i felt great! ..... so i continued because the feeling was motivating. after several weeks and i could tell the littlest bit of progress, i kept going because my results were my motivation. now, as far as my muscles are concerned, i am never satisfied, but the changes in my body and my strength are my motivation to continue what i'm doing. and i just keep on keepin' on.
it's kind of like that in my relationship with God too. when i first started my journey with Him, i was quite young. it wasn't until years and several heartaches later that my life really began with Him and i started to learn to trust Him more and more. in those first weeks and months of quiet times and lengthy prayers, sometimes i didn't feel "results." i just knew that i was doing what i needed to do to get those results in my life, i.e. joy/peace/a relationship NOT religion/belief system with the One who created me (and you!). but i became "addicted" to it, to His presence, to hearing from Him, to knowing i was a part of His plan for such a time as this. and i wanted more. never satisfied, always continuing to go back for more. then i started noticing my spiritual muscles growing. something in life outta left field would hit me, and a Bible verse would come to mind. or i would think, "i'm not worried, my God is bigger than that problem." etc. or maybe i had a friend or family member going through something, and i would have the just the right wisdom to give them...wisdom straight from God's Word. i was no longer "weak," allowing the storms of life to toss me to and fro.
in seeing those results from my time spent with the Father, it was motivation for me to continue in doing what i was doing. i don't want to have spiritual muscle atrophy. i only want my muscles of faith and courage to grow...because all the biceps and triceps and abs in the world can never get me to where i wanna be spiritually.
sometimes i'll pray, read the Bible and feel "off." but that doesn't mean God isn't listening and my spirit isn't growing. sometimes i'll go to the gym and have an "off" workout. but that doesn't mean my body won't respond to what i'm doing. i keep going. i keep praying. i keep lifting. i keep reading. i keep eating healthy... i keep doing what needs to be done to get me where i want to be.
so let the results you see out of your relationship with the Creator of Heaven and earth be the motivation you need to continue in a relationship with Him. don't give up, those muscles will grow...that weakness will go away, and the strength you find in Him and His Word will be sufficient for you.
spiritual fitness > physical fitness
Thursday, February 28, 2013
starving
while typing this, i am baking a turkey tenderloin in the oven.
it has been 4 months since i've written on here, and lately i've been inspired to write again. which...may or may not be a good thing. ;) during my hiatus from the proverbial pen and paper aka keyboard, i have thrown myself head first into the fitness world. i work out 6-7 days a week, and am extremley strict on my nutrition. it is a lifestyle, not a diet....and by doing this, i have trained my body to know when i'm hungry, and when i'm not.
i no longer eat when i'm bored, when i feel like snacking, or emotional binge on oreos like i used to. :) i eat when my body tells me it's hungry. and when you work out intensely with weights like i do, sometimes your muscles are the ones that tell you when it's time to eat...not your stomach. it is a hunger that is deep, on the muscular level. a hunger that says, my entire body needs food or i will not be able to even move.
is that starvation? well, technically no. "starvation mode" happens after 24-48 hours of fasting with no water or food at all. but actually starving?? well, i think very few of us reading this have ever experienced real hunger, or wondered where our next meal was coming from.
even at my poorest as a single mother working 3 jobs and eating frito pies to survive, i never worried about when i was going to eat next. i have been to mexico, haiti and africa and i've seen what real food deficit does to the human body. heck, i've been to my local homeless shelter during their grocery give-away day and seen what people in my own community struggle with! people are hungry, starving even....all over the world. some in your own backyard.
i'll never forget attending a nutrition course in college and the instructor speaking of senior citizens who can only afford their medications, so they buy dog food to eat because it's cheaper. needless to say, when one of my daughers says, "i'm starving!" i'm quick to reply with, "no, you're just really hungry."
hungry. starving. thirsty. well, a lot us are okay in those areas right? in today's western culture, we're hungry...we eat, almost immediatley. in other parts of the world, they know that hunger is a part of life. but what about spiritual hunger? how many of us are starving at a spritual level?
can you feel it? that hunger and hole that you can't seem to fill? or maybe the void is filled...but it's devoid of any nutrition? do you feel like something is missing, depressed, a sense of "nothing can satisfy?" are you angry, but don't know why? do you feel emotional or mental pain you can't pinpoint? are you hopeless? afraid? then yes, you're spiritually hungry. maybe even starved.
i know when i experience spiritual hunger and thirst. i have wrong thoughts, (i've not renewed my mind), i say the wrong things (i've not allowed His Word to infiltrate and tame my tongue), i am weary and irritable (i've not cast my cares upon Him). the only way to feed my spirit is to spend time in God's presence, in His Word and praising Him with a heart of worship. i can feel my physical hunger almost immediatley, but my spiritual hunger is something i only feel when it's too late. but then i can't get enough. of Him, of praise and worship music, of the Bible....i stuff myself with spiritual food until i'm full....but see, then i want more. i'm full, but i keep going back for seconds. i HATE being starved and thirsty spiritually. it is a dangerous place for believers to be...and even more dangerous to be completely empty for non-believers.
Messiah knew what He was talking about when He was telling us how to pray, telling us to be thankful for daily bread. see, back then, it was all a person had was THAT DAY'S supply of food. no refrigerator, just if they could afford food that day, then they got some. if not, no eating. but DAILY BREAD is MORE than our breakfast/lunch/dinner. daily bread is the meat of God's Word, His instructions, His comfort, His wisdom. without it, we'd be starved. we need spiritual food daily to survive just like the food we put in our mouth!!!! and sadly..so many in america are in a state of spiritual-anorexia where they do not feed their spirits. and then we look across the globe, and see hungry people emaciated from no food...and yet so JOYOUS because they believe in God and love Him with everything...they are spiritually full always! that's the kind of fullness i want to know. while we are fat and happy and satiated on food, they are spirtually fat, happy, and satiated on the very bread of God, the Bible.
and now, my turkey tenderloin is done. and my body will be fed. then i will feed my spirit with the Word (i love the Psalms). and i'll go to bed not starving, and not hungry. but what about you?
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6
it has been 4 months since i've written on here, and lately i've been inspired to write again. which...may or may not be a good thing. ;) during my hiatus from the proverbial pen and paper aka keyboard, i have thrown myself head first into the fitness world. i work out 6-7 days a week, and am extremley strict on my nutrition. it is a lifestyle, not a diet....and by doing this, i have trained my body to know when i'm hungry, and when i'm not.
i no longer eat when i'm bored, when i feel like snacking, or emotional binge on oreos like i used to. :) i eat when my body tells me it's hungry. and when you work out intensely with weights like i do, sometimes your muscles are the ones that tell you when it's time to eat...not your stomach. it is a hunger that is deep, on the muscular level. a hunger that says, my entire body needs food or i will not be able to even move.
is that starvation? well, technically no. "starvation mode" happens after 24-48 hours of fasting with no water or food at all. but actually starving?? well, i think very few of us reading this have ever experienced real hunger, or wondered where our next meal was coming from.
even at my poorest as a single mother working 3 jobs and eating frito pies to survive, i never worried about when i was going to eat next. i have been to mexico, haiti and africa and i've seen what real food deficit does to the human body. heck, i've been to my local homeless shelter during their grocery give-away day and seen what people in my own community struggle with! people are hungry, starving even....all over the world. some in your own backyard.
i'll never forget attending a nutrition course in college and the instructor speaking of senior citizens who can only afford their medications, so they buy dog food to eat because it's cheaper. needless to say, when one of my daughers says, "i'm starving!" i'm quick to reply with, "no, you're just really hungry."
hungry. starving. thirsty. well, a lot us are okay in those areas right? in today's western culture, we're hungry...we eat, almost immediatley. in other parts of the world, they know that hunger is a part of life. but what about spiritual hunger? how many of us are starving at a spritual level?
can you feel it? that hunger and hole that you can't seem to fill? or maybe the void is filled...but it's devoid of any nutrition? do you feel like something is missing, depressed, a sense of "nothing can satisfy?" are you angry, but don't know why? do you feel emotional or mental pain you can't pinpoint? are you hopeless? afraid? then yes, you're spiritually hungry. maybe even starved.
i know when i experience spiritual hunger and thirst. i have wrong thoughts, (i've not renewed my mind), i say the wrong things (i've not allowed His Word to infiltrate and tame my tongue), i am weary and irritable (i've not cast my cares upon Him). the only way to feed my spirit is to spend time in God's presence, in His Word and praising Him with a heart of worship. i can feel my physical hunger almost immediatley, but my spiritual hunger is something i only feel when it's too late. but then i can't get enough. of Him, of praise and worship music, of the Bible....i stuff myself with spiritual food until i'm full....but see, then i want more. i'm full, but i keep going back for seconds. i HATE being starved and thirsty spiritually. it is a dangerous place for believers to be...and even more dangerous to be completely empty for non-believers.
Messiah knew what He was talking about when He was telling us how to pray, telling us to be thankful for daily bread. see, back then, it was all a person had was THAT DAY'S supply of food. no refrigerator, just if they could afford food that day, then they got some. if not, no eating. but DAILY BREAD is MORE than our breakfast/lunch/dinner. daily bread is the meat of God's Word, His instructions, His comfort, His wisdom. without it, we'd be starved. we need spiritual food daily to survive just like the food we put in our mouth!!!! and sadly..so many in america are in a state of spiritual-anorexia where they do not feed their spirits. and then we look across the globe, and see hungry people emaciated from no food...and yet so JOYOUS because they believe in God and love Him with everything...they are spiritually full always! that's the kind of fullness i want to know. while we are fat and happy and satiated on food, they are spirtually fat, happy, and satiated on the very bread of God, the Bible.
and now, my turkey tenderloin is done. and my body will be fed. then i will feed my spirit with the Word (i love the Psalms). and i'll go to bed not starving, and not hungry. but what about you?
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6
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