A New Task

Nothing worth doing is ever easy.

Yet, it's worth it.

For a very long time, it seems like many years, Kevin and I felt convicted to change completely our way of living.  We felt as if God was asking us to become debt free so that we could be living in His will and so that we could give more freely.

It. Was. A. Battle.

Even with being debt free, it's still a battle.  So many things beg for our attention and it's easy to slip into a pattern of buying or doing just because we may have funds available at the moment.  We are fighting against that and still living frugally so that we can work towards bigger goals for our family and for the direction our hearts are moving in regards to missions.

Now that we have tackled that "request" for obedience, we feel as if He is asking us to tackle our health.

Ok---that's been a conviction for a long time---but we have finally made the commitment to stick with some goals.

It. Isn't. Easy.

Yet, we know the rewards far outweigh the discomfort in the moment.

Not buying things was hard and saying no was hard while focusing on our financial freedom.  The baby steps worked and the rewards have been immeasurable.  It takes effort to maintain that goal.

Losing weight, getting fit, ridding our bodies of things that we know aren't designed to be in it, and embracing our health and bodies as the "temple" God intended is....hard.

But the rewards are immeasurable.

I'm learning to run.  Despite the obstacles.  I may not ever run a long distance.  Gosh, I may not even make my goal of running a 5K (not walking---I can EASILY do that on a daily basis), but I won't go down without a fight. I will keep at it despite my aging body and the effects of lupus.

We had some wake up calls both physically and spiritually about the time to do this BEING  now. We are listening and we are committed.  We are in battle mode.  I recently learned that I'm not as young as I thought I was (ha....still 20, right?) and I'm entering new physical seasons of life that I wasn't quite prepared for this "young". We are relatively in good health, but we know we aren't as healthy as we should be.

It isn't about the number on the scale (but I do JUMP FOR JOY when it moves in the correct direction). It isn't about the number of calories we've eaten or burned.

It's about that we are treating our bodies more in line with what God wants from us.  Placing value on our health (inside and out).

I've said goodbye to diet coke and caffeine.  We lived through it.  (Though I do plan have them on special occasions or in extreme moderation).

I have even mostly weaned myself away from pasta and chocolate.  They were my life-lines. Now they are meant for treats.

We are living on fresh produce and literally can't get enough.  I'm visually drawn to colors and it truly makes me smile to see a rainbow on my plate.  Kevin has been AMAZING in keeping things prepped and ready to eat (because when I'm overwhelmed and stressed I turn to fast food).  Fast food is something we rarely turn to these days.  The van has finally learned to not automatically turn in a drive thru or hit up my favorite gas station for my mega diet soda habit.

The results go far beyond the scale and tape measure.

We feel vibrant.  We feel blessed by God for being obedient to Him and it's trickling down into many other areas of our lives.

It isn't a sprint.  It isn't a race.  We are in this for the long run.  We are preparing ourselves to be one step closer to be ready for what His ultimate purpose and call on our lives may be.

THAT is way more important than the momentary bliss of chocolate.  Right? Ha!Ha!

Learning to focus on decisions that concern today and right now, not looking at the huge task ahead (as in 70 more pounds to go....yikes!). Every day is a decision.  Every day is made up of countless decisions.  When those little decisions combine together, they make a huge difference.  Just like the baby steps in becoming financially free.

Committed.  On board.  Ready to go.