Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Shape up!

Here it is, a new year, 2014!

So many people make resolutions to change things that are bothering them. Do you do that? Do you let yourself run amuck and then all of a sudden try to change EVERYTHING?

You know, like the new Christian who “tries” to be and do everything at once. They set up all these rules for themselves, usually ones they cannot attain. In other words they set themselves up for failure.
 
We have all done it. We “try” so hard. I used to set all these goals to improve myself every year. I never succeeded for an entire year. I gave up setting goals several years ago.  I still think about resolutions I just do not try to do it during New Years.

How about you? Do you set goals? What are they?

Here is a list of a few of the normal “resolutions”:
  • Keep a journal.
  • Read through the Bible in a year. (I admit these first 2 are more geared towards Christians but this is a blog on prayer.)
  • Exercise.
  • Lose weight.


I mean think about it, every commercial after Christmas is about losing weight. Ok, that was an exaggeration, some are about working out.

Recently, I realized my pants were getting tight. Having weighed WAY over 300 pounds at one time I actually pay attention (yes I will include a picture). We hike on the weekends but my body shape is changing so I need to pay attention or something.



Dieting is not something I do anymore. When I was fat I dieted a LOT. If I recognize I am gaining I usually look to see what I have added to my diet that is causing the weight gain. If I haven’t added anything, I check portion sizes. That is where I usually find the problem.

The tight pants situation caused me to reevaluate things. We have marble floors.

Purchase Yoga mat: check

My arms are starting to jiggle too:
Weights for wrists: already have just need to get them off the rebounder.
 
Bernie is trying it out.
Rebounder: time to stop using it to dry the swim suits and actually use it more than once a week.
This is what I want to look like.

This is probably closer to the truth.
Exercise ball (because It was cheap and I think they look fun): check



So here we go. I am REALLY limber. I can bend over and put my head on my shins. I start to stretch—oops. I can reach the floor but I am a long way from putting my face on my shins. A few of those is painful.

I start the side stretches. I used to be able to reach to the lower calf—how about the knee instead? Ok, this is not that bad.

I put my foot on the kitchen cabinet and stretch to the floor—well I look at the floor. It feels like I have a shrunken-no-more-elasticity rubber band in my leg—I am afraid to snap it. I did snap a ham string when I was 50 in a “splits” challenge. Still hurts often.

That ended up being the longest 25 minutes I have experienced lately—no I did not make it to 30 minutes.

The whole time I kept wondering how I let myself get this flabby. I am not fat. I wear a size 6 pants and only one of those are tight. But I have self-deceived in thinking that walking hard on the weekends for a few hours is keeping me in shape. This is versus the “several miles a day” I used to walk.



I think we do that in the spirit. I keep my armor on—I know my weapons—I teach on this a lot. What I have realized in this last week of sitting before the Lord is that sometimes we review who we are under that armor from past experiences, old tools, old realities (for example sometimes I feel fat, I mentally berate myself until I realize that is an old thought pattern and looking in the mirror belies the whole, “Youaresofat” thought. I WAS fat I am NOT now.)

Do you know what you believe and WHY you believe it?
Do you understand who God is? Is there a relationship or do you just know ABOUT him?
Do you keep in “shape” spiritually? Or, do you get into a rut of doing the same things over and over?
Do you take the time to listen? Then do you do what you hear or do you “think” about it?

It is a new year.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
I hear the Lord talking about what 2014 holds. Do you?
Will you be awake?
Will you see the direction He is moving?
Will you be alert?
Will you hear His voice?
Will you be ready?
Will you be quickly obedient?
Will you in “shape”?
Will you be able to run a good race and endure until the end?

Who will you intercede for this year?






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