Ok, so I really feel like perseverance has been the theme that the Lord has been speaking to me over the last couple of weeks. Every time I get discouraged or frustrated with any piece of this journey, that is the word I keep hearing from that still, small voice. I think that there are so many times when we are going through a trial that a lack of perseverance is the one thing that keeps us from having that breakthrough.
We live in such a microwave society. What I mean by that is that we even have a hard time waiting the minute and a half for our favorite high sodium, processed snack to finish cooking in the microwave. That makes it really hard to wait weeks, months, or even years for a victory in our trials. I think that is especially applicable in weight loss. Think about new year's resolutions. It is so common for people to make a weight loss goal after the guilt of overindulging during the holidays sets in. However, after a month or even a couple of weeks how many people stick to it? We want instant results (and by we that includes me). We think if we go to the gym for 20 minutes that we should have 6-pack abs and a tiny hiney. At least thats what I think sometimes.
Perseverance. We have to go through the wilderness before we can enter the promised land. If we don't learn the lessons that we are suppose to while we are in the wilderness, we will just keep going in circles until we do. Just ask the Israelites ; ). God wants our total dependance. We are to seek him first, and not in some legalistic way. He wants us to come to him with a child-like faith. That is something that I struggle with tremendously. I am always trying to make things more difficult than they have to be. There is no magic formula, if we depend completely on God, he will guide us in the right direction. You notice how I said the right direction, that doesn't mean it will always be in the direction we think we need to go. Just like the story I told you in the last blog post about my crazy career path. I thought I knew what was best and when the rug was ripped out from underneath me it devastated my world. I remember many occasions of praying the "why God why" prayer. I am sure you know the one I'm talking about. However, hindsight is 20/20 and now that I am on the other side looking back I see how God's hand was in every single step in that process. He had even helped us prepare financially. About a year before I got laid off, my husband and I had gone through Financial Peace University with our church small group. Although we weren't rolling in the dough, we had a little bit of savings and had a good budget that we were able to adjust to just his paycheck for a few months. What a huge blessing. Now I know without a shadow of a doubt, that I am exactly where I am suppose to be at this point in my life. Who knows what the future will hold, but with God's help, I will keep listening and persevering.
I heard a song tonight while I was jogging (believe it or not just started week 3 of the couch to 5K program) that really hit me. It is one of my favorite Christian songs right now and it is called One Thing Remains by Kristian Stanfill. I wanted to put the lyrics because they are simple, but so profound.
Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
One thing remains
Your love never fails it never gives up it never runs out on me x3
On and one and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never ever have to be afraid
One thing remains
In death and in life I'm confident and covered by the power of your great love
My debt is paid there's nothing that can separate my heart from your great love
Monday, August 12, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Perseverance
If I had to pick one word to describe the journey I have been on over the last several years it would definitely be perseverance. This perseverance is not just speaking to my weight loss journey, it applies to every area of my life (and anyone's really). We as humans so many times want to jump onto easy street and get from point A to point B with little to no resistance. However, that is often not the way it goes. Sometimes God has a different idea of how we should get from point A to B, and more often than not, that can include hitting a few other points first. Now does he do that to just watch us squirm and hear us whine? I don't think so. Not by a long shot.
There are so many times throughout the Bible that we are called "Children of God". I like to take that in a very literal sense. I truly believe that God is our Father, and as such he only wants what is the very best for us. He doesn't allow us to enter into a situation without already knowing the outcome of that situation. Just as an earthly parent will bend over backwards and stand before a bullet for their child if they need to, I believe God will (and has, think Jesus on the cross) do anything possible to only allow only the best for his children. Now, does that mean that we are never going to have issues or problems in our lives? Absolutely not! In my opinion there are two kinds of trials that we might find ourselves in: trials that we bring upon ourselves through going against God's best will for us (comes from our sins or by simply ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit), and trials that we have absolutely no control over. I believe that regardless of which kind of trial we may find ourselves in, God has a way out of it. Here is the catch: although there are times where God will miraculously get us out of our problems, more often than not he is going to help us through our problems.
When I graduated college in 2006 with a degree in Agricultural Business, I landed an awesome job where I would be doing the exact thing that I wanted to do which was to buy grain from farmers (I know I am a hick what can I say). I loved my job. I got to work with farmers directly and I got to dabble in the commodities markets, It was a blast. Of course, it had its challenges and I definitely did my fair share of griping anytime we had a policy change (we humans hate change don't we), but as a whole I really enjoyed that job. However, after having worked for a little over 3 years, I got word that the facility I worked at was being shut down. I was absolutely devastated. I either had to move to keep my job, or I was going to be laid off. My husband and I talked and prayed about it and really didn't feel any peace about moving so decided that I would just search for a new job. Talk about a period of questioning God! I went about 2 1/2 months (very long months) before I landed another job. Definitely a period of perseverance as I finally resorted to simply cold calling every single business that I thought I might potentially want to work at. I got a job as a office manager trainee at a local feedyard and once again I was pretty excited at my new position. However, within about a month's time I realized that being stuck in an office doing the same thing day in and day out was not really something I enjoyed. Talk about discouraging. I even kept quiet about my feelings toward my new job for a little while, I didn't even tell my husband, I thought maybe I just needed to give it time. Of course, my attitude toward this new job didn't get better. I felt like I had totally missed the mark. I must not have been listening close enough to what God wanted for me, at least what I thought. I had been doing a lot of thinking during this time and finally talked about it with my husband (which I probably should have done a little sooner). I started to feel like maybe I was suppose to be a teacher (drastic career change, I know). After another month or so of hating my job I decided to start working toward my teaching certificate. I was so determined to get out of the job that I hated that I finished my online courses in about 5 months time and, thanks to a husband who was already a teacher, I landed an interview for the position I have still today, an 8th grade math teacher. As you can probably figure out, I got that job. I gave my 2 weeks notice and started substitute teaching for the last 1 1/2 months of school, then taught summer school before starting as a full time teacher the following fall.
Why do I tell you all that? Well, now that I am able to look back on that extremely financially tight, emotionally draining, frustrating, tiring year, I know that it was a huge blessing. God was guiding every single step of that journey. Even the job that I hated was at least a way of paying the bills until my real job opened up. That was one of those "out of my control" trial periods. I persevered through that time because of a couple of things; 1) I never lost my faith, I may have gotten frustrated or discouraged but I always came back to my faith and the knowledge that God is my Father and wants only the best for me, 2) I took steps of faith to change my situation (i.e. finding a new job and taking the teacher certification classes), and 3) I had a husband who let me cry on his shoulders from time to time.
Now, when it comes to my weight loss journey (you knew I would get their eventually), I look at that situation more as a trial that I have brought on myself. There is no denying my love for chocolate, what can I say! However, even though I have a great deal of the responsibility in my situation, God still wants only the best for me (remember the Heavenly Father deal). He wants to see me get through this and learn from it. I can honestly say that going though this journey has been a blessing, although I can still pray for that miraculous size zero, right? I feel like I am learning and growing every single day because in times of weakness or when I just want to give up, rather than turning to the coke or candy bar, I am starting to learn how to turn to God with my troubles. I think that as a parent, that is what he desires. Just like when our own earthly children are going through something, as much as we may just want to fix the problem for them, we know that sometimes it is best for our child to learn for themselves, with us standing on the sidelines guiding and encouraging them.
There are so many times throughout the Bible that we are called "Children of God". I like to take that in a very literal sense. I truly believe that God is our Father, and as such he only wants what is the very best for us. He doesn't allow us to enter into a situation without already knowing the outcome of that situation. Just as an earthly parent will bend over backwards and stand before a bullet for their child if they need to, I believe God will (and has, think Jesus on the cross) do anything possible to only allow only the best for his children. Now, does that mean that we are never going to have issues or problems in our lives? Absolutely not! In my opinion there are two kinds of trials that we might find ourselves in: trials that we bring upon ourselves through going against God's best will for us (comes from our sins or by simply ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit), and trials that we have absolutely no control over. I believe that regardless of which kind of trial we may find ourselves in, God has a way out of it. Here is the catch: although there are times where God will miraculously get us out of our problems, more often than not he is going to help us through our problems.
When I graduated college in 2006 with a degree in Agricultural Business, I landed an awesome job where I would be doing the exact thing that I wanted to do which was to buy grain from farmers (I know I am a hick what can I say). I loved my job. I got to work with farmers directly and I got to dabble in the commodities markets, It was a blast. Of course, it had its challenges and I definitely did my fair share of griping anytime we had a policy change (we humans hate change don't we), but as a whole I really enjoyed that job. However, after having worked for a little over 3 years, I got word that the facility I worked at was being shut down. I was absolutely devastated. I either had to move to keep my job, or I was going to be laid off. My husband and I talked and prayed about it and really didn't feel any peace about moving so decided that I would just search for a new job. Talk about a period of questioning God! I went about 2 1/2 months (very long months) before I landed another job. Definitely a period of perseverance as I finally resorted to simply cold calling every single business that I thought I might potentially want to work at. I got a job as a office manager trainee at a local feedyard and once again I was pretty excited at my new position. However, within about a month's time I realized that being stuck in an office doing the same thing day in and day out was not really something I enjoyed. Talk about discouraging. I even kept quiet about my feelings toward my new job for a little while, I didn't even tell my husband, I thought maybe I just needed to give it time. Of course, my attitude toward this new job didn't get better. I felt like I had totally missed the mark. I must not have been listening close enough to what God wanted for me, at least what I thought. I had been doing a lot of thinking during this time and finally talked about it with my husband (which I probably should have done a little sooner). I started to feel like maybe I was suppose to be a teacher (drastic career change, I know). After another month or so of hating my job I decided to start working toward my teaching certificate. I was so determined to get out of the job that I hated that I finished my online courses in about 5 months time and, thanks to a husband who was already a teacher, I landed an interview for the position I have still today, an 8th grade math teacher. As you can probably figure out, I got that job. I gave my 2 weeks notice and started substitute teaching for the last 1 1/2 months of school, then taught summer school before starting as a full time teacher the following fall.
Why do I tell you all that? Well, now that I am able to look back on that extremely financially tight, emotionally draining, frustrating, tiring year, I know that it was a huge blessing. God was guiding every single step of that journey. Even the job that I hated was at least a way of paying the bills until my real job opened up. That was one of those "out of my control" trial periods. I persevered through that time because of a couple of things; 1) I never lost my faith, I may have gotten frustrated or discouraged but I always came back to my faith and the knowledge that God is my Father and wants only the best for me, 2) I took steps of faith to change my situation (i.e. finding a new job and taking the teacher certification classes), and 3) I had a husband who let me cry on his shoulders from time to time.
Now, when it comes to my weight loss journey (you knew I would get their eventually), I look at that situation more as a trial that I have brought on myself. There is no denying my love for chocolate, what can I say! However, even though I have a great deal of the responsibility in my situation, God still wants only the best for me (remember the Heavenly Father deal). He wants to see me get through this and learn from it. I can honestly say that going though this journey has been a blessing, although I can still pray for that miraculous size zero, right? I feel like I am learning and growing every single day because in times of weakness or when I just want to give up, rather than turning to the coke or candy bar, I am starting to learn how to turn to God with my troubles. I think that as a parent, that is what he desires. Just like when our own earthly children are going through something, as much as we may just want to fix the problem for them, we know that sometimes it is best for our child to learn for themselves, with us standing on the sidelines guiding and encouraging them.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Weight Loss...Totally An Algebra Problem ; )
I feel like I am in such a different place in this journey than I have ever been before during different times that I have lost weight. I am really trying to focusing more on the getting healthy part of the journey more than I am a number on a scale or a clothing size. I really feel like changing my focus has been so helpful for me to stick to this. I think sometimes we are just focused on a number so much that when we hit that number, or even just get close to it, we let go of the habits that helped us to lose the weight and go back to doing what we did before. I know that is what happened to me. When I graduated high school I lost quite a bit of weight before going to college. I managed to keep it off for the entire time I was in college, however, once I graduated I was traveling a lot in my new job and bad decisions and lack of exercise took over. I went back to bad habits that had gotten me in the situation where I needed to lose weight in the first place. I am trying to remember that this is a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix.
In one of my very first blog posts I mentioned that one of my favorite books on the spiritual aspects of how we treat our body is a book called "Made To Crave" by Lysa Terkheurst. About a week ago I decided to start at the beginning and read through it again. I am so glad I am going back through it. I am really getting a whole lot more out of it than I did the first time through.
I had to laugh when I was reading last night because the chapter I was on was a perfect fit for this math teacher. She talked about how one pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Therefore, losing weight is really just a simple math equations, burn more than you consume. However, she made such a good point when she said that rather than it being a simple math equation, she looked at as more of an algebraic equation. In algebra you don't only use numbers, you also use letters that are called variables. There are variables in losing weight and, for women especially, some of those variables can be emotional. We need to be able to identify those variables to really be able to get the most of our weight loss journey. Whether you are an emotional eater because you have hurts in your past or present and are trying to fill a void, or maybe you just like to snack when your bored (I fit in that category), it is so important to identify that so that you can change it.
I really hope that if you are serious about getting healthy that you are seeking God on your journey. You cannot separate the physical from the spiritual, as I am learning. I also challenge you to take a look at the book that I have been talking about for yourself.
In one of my very first blog posts I mentioned that one of my favorite books on the spiritual aspects of how we treat our body is a book called "Made To Crave" by Lysa Terkheurst. About a week ago I decided to start at the beginning and read through it again. I am so glad I am going back through it. I am really getting a whole lot more out of it than I did the first time through.
I had to laugh when I was reading last night because the chapter I was on was a perfect fit for this math teacher. She talked about how one pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Therefore, losing weight is really just a simple math equations, burn more than you consume. However, she made such a good point when she said that rather than it being a simple math equation, she looked at as more of an algebraic equation. In algebra you don't only use numbers, you also use letters that are called variables. There are variables in losing weight and, for women especially, some of those variables can be emotional. We need to be able to identify those variables to really be able to get the most of our weight loss journey. Whether you are an emotional eater because you have hurts in your past or present and are trying to fill a void, or maybe you just like to snack when your bored (I fit in that category), it is so important to identify that so that you can change it.
I really hope that if you are serious about getting healthy that you are seeking God on your journey. You cannot separate the physical from the spiritual, as I am learning. I also challenge you to take a look at the book that I have been talking about for yourself.
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