#Bod4God God vs. Society

"I deserve this ... I've worked hard ... I am working out tomorrow ... Just one won't hurt ..." How many excuses, rationalizations have I used throughout my life to justify the choices I have made and continue to make. I rationalized several cake pops that Jessie and I made while Maggie was at a sleepover. I justified the bowl of ice cream at the Girl Scout Sunday event ("I'm going to the gym twice tomorrow, I can have this.") But who am I trying to fool? Other people don't really care -- in fact, they probably nod along, agreeing that it's okay for me to cheat "just a little bit." But they don't have to face my mirror in the morning, or the scale tonight!

In reality, that one bowl of ice cream or extra cake pop probably didn't make that much of a difference in what the scale will say tonight. And if I really wanted to, I could use all sorts of "tricks" to get that number to go down -- especially if I wait to have supper AFTER the weigh in. But one small bad choice leads to another, to another, to another that's just a little bigger and soon the choices are much bigger than I imagined.

Pastor talked about temptation yesterday and talked about how you need to make your decisions regarding temptation BEFORE you are in the situation. If I bring a healthy lunch to work, I'm much less likely to head for fast food. If I decide I'm only going to have 2 Girl Scout cookies before I open the box, I'm more likely to only eat the 2 I take. If I know where we are going to eat, I can decide before we get there what I'm going to order, so I can just avoid the photos of the burgers and fries. By making the decision first, I am taking away some of the power of the temptation. I can be one of those people with the will power to walk away from the french fries.

This is not what society tells us. Society tells us that we should do what makes us feel good in the moment; we shouldn't have to deprive ourselves of something wonderful which will make us feel good right now. It really hit me as I was reading some of the past devotionals in Lysa TerKeurst's "Made to Crave Devotional" book. Day 3 and 9 both touched on this. In day 9, she is talking about a situation with her son, but this sentence covers so many other indulgences:

"...had indulged in an area God wanted to preserve, yet the world told them they deserved." pg 36

And in Day 3, she writes about Acts 5:29 where Paul writes:

"We must obey God rather than man/society."

The addition of the word "Society" is from me. It's not just those that we know, which is usually what I interpret "man" to mean.  I changed the verse in my devotional book so I would remember to ask: What is society, media telling us me? Honestly, society gives us conflicting messages: we must look a certain way to be "beautiful", but we are also to indulge, to live for self, enjoy life. And haven't we also been told that God just wants us to be happy? So if God wants me to be happy, why not have that bowl of ice cream? 

My satisfaction, happiness, contentment in life is not to come from my body, how it looks or what I put in it. I cannot continue to define my happiness by what society tells me should make me happy. God has seen fit to put me here in this time and this place for his purpose, not to be "happy." Doing my best to keep this body healthy is part of my obedience to God, part of my stewardship of this world. As I continue on this journey, I will do my best to choose to look to God for my contentment, which will lead me to better choices.

#Bod4God Week ... something

The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur. Maggie's Girl Scout troop started cookie sales. We had a long weekend and Rocky & I went to see Alton Brown's live show (fantastic, wonderful, 3 hours that flew by AND I got my cookbook autographed -- even if I didn't get to meet him). I've actually been busy at work. It's been cold and snowy and COLD. I'm still getting up at 0'dark:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Body & Soul Boot Camp. I'm loving Piyo on Mondays. And I'm getting to about half of the Tuesday/Thursday Women With Weights classes. Rocky and I have also started working out with a personal trainer.

And I'm FINALLY seeing some results. My pants are getting looser. The scale is starting to move in the right direction (so so close to 10 pounds down).

It's interesting to me that it has taken this competition for things to really get kick started in my body. I had started the Bible study to be able to dig deeper into my relationship with God and hopefully find that lasting motivation. I don't know that I'm getting that from this study. This group seems more focused on the nutrition, exercise by bringing in speakers such as physicians, dietitians, a yoga instructor. And I'm not feeling connected with my group. Which is disappointing to me. I've been praying for godly friends. I'm frustrated and feel like I'm not getting anything out of it. And yet this is working for me. 

God is working in my physical body. He is working on my temple to make it a holy place for his spirit to reside. So even though I expected to see more of a spiritual change from this study, it's not what God has planned. He is using this time to make changes to my earthly vessel and teaching me that I can do this ... With Him. Trying to do this on my own was futile. 

And interesting that at this very moment, I finally get this week's memory verse:

"Each of you should know how to possess her own vessel in sanctification and honor." 1 Thessalonians 4:4

Only God can help me know my own vessel, to care and honor my body for him.

#Bod4God Esau and the Isrealites

One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew!" (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means "red."). "All right," Jacob replied, "but trade me your rights as the firstborn son."
"Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"
But Jacob said, "First you must swear that your birthright is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the first born.
Genesis 25:29 - 34

Short-sighted much? Esau was so short sighted, so into the moment, that he gave up his rights as the firstborn, essentially giving Jacob the entire inheritance of Isaac for some lentil stew. He could have at least waited for a steak! But, how often do I do the same? "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips." What have I been turning down because I would rather eat something tasty? With each decision I make that choice and, as such, I should take time to weigh the options rather than mindlessly going with what feels right in the moment. Take today as an example. I made the choice to not work out today. My husband invited me to lunch and, as we hadn't been to lunch together in sometime, the decision to spend time with my husband made much more sense. I made a healthy lunch choice and am happy. And I know it was the right decision overall.

This story of Esau has come up in both books I'm reading. So I decided to look into it a little more. [and I really want to dig into it further, but for now, an overview will do]. Esau was a man of the world; he spent most of his time hunting and very little time in his father's tents. To Esau, the real value was out in the wilderness, not sitting in camps. Isaac loved Esau best. Perhaps Isaac loved that Esau was everything he wasn't. And perhaps that bugged Jacob a bit, especially if he was listening to Rebecca who was doing everything in her power to put Jacob in control of the household. I'm sure she thought Jacob would be the son who would watch over her after Isaac passed while Esau would still be out in the wilderness, hunting. I wonder if she knew where her scheming was leading?

As a man of the world, Esau probably did not care much for the covenant that would come from the blessing. As a man of the wilderness, Esau probably did not see the entire value of what he was giving up by handing over his birthright for some lentil stew (seriously, this big burly man didn't even demand a steak??) He didn't even bother to look for another place for food. Isaac was not a poor man, surely there was somewhere else Esau could go to get food that wouldn't cost him so much. And Jacob was there to take advantage of the situation. [Though, if you look further down the story, Esau did get his inheritance as Jacob was no longer in his father's camp when Isaac passed.]

Esau's shortsightedness reminded me of another story where God's people were ready to give up on him because of a lack of food. Exodus 16 tells of when the Israelites were not just wishing they were back in Egypt, but wishing they had DIED in Egypt where they had meat and bread to eat [and were slaves]. They had not been away from Egypt for a week and they were ready to return FOR FOOD. I kind of get it. Think about the wonderful foods they must have had access to in Egypt. The Bible doesn't say what they ate, and one would think that as slaves they probably didn't have the best food, but whatever they did have must have sounded good after their supplies had run out. And I can assume there was some eye-rolling from Moses, who most surely had MUCH better food in the palace that he gave up when he embraced his roots.

I have never truly been hungry. I have claimed to be starving on occasion, but the fact that I am in a weight loss challenge makes it pretty clear that I've never wanted for much! I've been in positions where I've had to scrounge up a couple of dollars to buy milk, spaghetti and sauce so I could eat for the rest of the week. I've taken home leftovers offered to me by friends. And honestly, for both Esau and the Isrealites, I believe they were "starving" much like I was. A shortsighted starving.

So, the morale of the story? Be mindful about food. Think about what you are about to put into your mouth and decide "is it worth it in the long run?" Because if you decide it is worth it, you do not have to feel "guilty" about enjoying lentil stew or a Venti Raspberry Mocha with Whip.
       

#Bod4God A Super Bowl Workout

We are football fans in our house. So of course, we were going to watch the Super Bowl. We don't go anywhere or really do anything special, but we enjoy watching the game and the commericals. And this year the girls were excited to see the Katy Perry Half-Time show. I was excited to see Lenny Kravitz, but very disappointed he only participated in part of "I Kissed a Girl." There was more Missy Elliot than Lenny in that show! But I digress.

One of my workout buddies mentioned that last year she and her viewing friends found a "Super Bowl Workout" list -- quick bursts whenever something happens in the game. So I went to Pinterest to see what I could find. I found a couple and decided to give it ago. About half way through the first quarter, I realized that the one I had chosen was put together by either A. someone who knows very little about football, or B. someone who REALLY likes burpees. Seriously, 10 burpees for every first down. Rocky asked me, after the 2nd first down, if I was really going to do them for EVERY first down. I quickly switched to push-ups for each 1st down and then to every other first down. The game became more exciting and I rather gave up on the exercise part to watch around the 3rd quarter.

As I was thinking about this little exercise [pun intended], I thought I could come up with something better than I found. Though I do have several months to implement and perfect!

Touchdown: Push-ups equal to the points on the scoreboard
Extra Point: 1 burpee [because I don't like them, but I know they are good for me!]
2 point conversion: 2 burpees
Field Goal: 30 second wall sit
Safety: 2 burpees
Penalty: Full sit ups equal to the number of yards in the penalty [5 yard penalty = 5 full sit ups]
1st down: 10 push-ups
Interception: 6 banana/supermans
Fumble: 30 seconds high knees
Time Out: Squats until play resumes
Sack: Tricep dips equal to the number of yards lost

What would you add??

Why you can't trust a scale #Bod4God

Ah the dreaded scale. I've spent most of my adult life trying to avoid it. We don't have a scale in our home, I've never spent money to purchase one and have zero plans to. It was my least favorite part of my OB visits when I was pregnant, even though I never gained that much. And once I really began working out, I tried to stay away, though it's there, asking me to come over, just a quick check, no one will know.

Except me. And when I would go, what I saw wasn't exactly encouraging. It rarely moved. In over a year of increased sweating, that darn scale simply refused to move much. This is something that would have stopped me from returning in the past. But this time, this past year, I haven't stopped. For whatever reason, I've continued to go, always thinking that eventually, someday, it's GOT to start working.

And now here I am in a weight loss competition. I lost 3 pounds in the first week, which I was proud of until I found out what some others had lost. One lost almost 15 pounds in the first week! I felt myself slipping into the old thoughts of "if you can't be the best, you shouldn't do it." But why should I let someone else's success diminish what I did? Here I am finally, FINALLY, seeing the scale move after so much time and I'm feeling bad because it wasn't as good as someone else?? Someone who perhaps wants to lose a lot more than I do. Their success has NOTHING to do with me. I can't let other's successes or failures define where I am or should be on my journey.

So, back to this competition. My plan was to only get on the scale Mondays at Bible study. The consistency of the same scale would be a better measure of my success [or set-backs]. Except I let my curiosity get the better of me & I got on the scale before spin class. Once again, when I saw the number was less than before, I started letting it affect my mood. Which is exactly what I don't want this to do.

But here's the thing: while I'm happy the number is going down, for a number of reasons, that number hasn't defined me in a very long time. I'm still more about how my clothes fit, how do I feel and making sure I can keep up at Disney! I am more than a number on the scale; I am a child of the King.

#Bod4God Week 2

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

The lust of the flesh. I have always read this as referring to sexual sins. While that is the primary definition, Lust also refers to a "passionate desire for something."  Crave, cover, want, longing, yearning. Obviously that can cover more than sex, though with a negative connotation. The other night, we watched "Cutthroat Kitchen" and the first challenge was sliders. Man, those sliders looked good. And the next day, I wanted a slider. During my noon weights class, those sliders crept into my brain. Sliders. Hamburgers. I could smell the wonderful aroma in my head. And then we went to Cubby's (a sports bar) for supper. I didn't completely give in to the lust of my flesh as opted for a side salad with my plain cheeseburger. But it was lust. I lusted after a hamburger; it penetrated my thoughts when I should have been thinking on other things. And that lust took me to a place I hadn't planned to go that night. [How easily does lust do that?]

And there is that word again "Crave" A strong desire for something, to want greatly, to yearn for. No mention of food at all. So why do we immediately go to food with crave? There are other more important things I should crave: time with my husband, hugs from my daughters, walks with the Spirit. These are things I need and things I do have a strong desire for, things I yearn for. Yet it seems kind of weird, uncomfortable to say I crave these things. Is it because Crave seems to have a negative connotation, much like Lust does? Crave gives an impression of weakness. Can I use it for strength? I am weak without the Spirit. I need the Spirit to fill me so I can change my cravings for food and set my sights on things not of this world, of better and more important things.

On Monday, Cris asked us to come up with a one word reason for why we were there. 2 came to mind for me: Community and Crave. I ended up going with Crave. I think I chose it because I'm also reading "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. I've had this on my list for a while and finally bought it and a devotional companion. In the very beginning, this told me I picked up the right book:

Like I said before, I KNOW the stuff, but this is about finding my want to. And sometimes, it's just takes a little push.