Keep on moving, but keep it in perspective.

So, I’m not a good accountability partner, motivator, or leader here. You may be floundering, like me, and I’ll pat you on the back and say, it’s okay!  I probably would do that even if I were excelling in my own endeavors, because I’m one of those people who have a very hard time not saying something encouraging, even when you need the hard words of truth. But, today, I’m likely saying that, because I need a lot of grace myself, and I’m trying to not be discouraged and give up.

Thank you, Jodi, and Marina, for speaking up and reminding me today/yesterday.  Thank you, Mary, for speaking from your honesty last night at Girl Time.  I had to laugh, as I was sitting with Kayla, and said, “she told me she wasn’t going to let more than a day go between workouts “, but desperately needing to be reminded, as you were, that the physical exercise isn’t the priority, though it is good and important.  But some days, even if it’s just not working your way, and even when you WANT to exercise, it’s not happening…what you NEED is the Lord.  God is not to be our ‘top priority’, but rather EVERYTHING…Whom EVERYTHING centers around…Who is to be in EVERYTHING we do.   Such a healthy perspective.  So, girls, if you’re discouraged, as I am, lets get our lens focused here, and get refreshed.  We’ll do what we CAN, and surrender the rest.  If we spend what remaining energy we have on WORRYING about what we DIDN’T get done, we are missing the point entirely.  So, let’s #1: let His praise continually be on our tongues, and #2: celebrate what we DID get done.

It has been a few days since I worked out last. I decided to tackle this ceiling project (which even now is probably about half-way or slightly less done), on a weekend when I should have been doing my bills, getting to the grocery store, cleaning the house, going to the bank to open a business account, winterizing my roses before we dip into another freeze, cleaning up the nasty yard, and getting ready for the out of town guests who are coming Friday.  Wasn’t thinking about the fact that we’d have rehearsal Sunday evening, an unexpected visitor from out of town Sunday afternoon, be at service for both services so Andy could fill in at the coffee bar (and hence, I got drafted to assist with worship team), an impromptu date with Andy Saturday night, Girl time last night, and then only 3 evenings to get all the other stuff accomplished before our company comes in town…then we’ll have them here Friday through Sunday afternoon, Bible Study Sunday evening, and then we’re having friends for dinner Monday night that we’ve been trying to have over for, mmm…probably since we moved into our house over a year ago, so even though it’s at the end of a very busy weekend, we’ll take it!  Wow…I’ve been trying to keep my to-do list straight in my head, but now seeing it written stresses me out even more!  FYI, on top of all that, yesterday, I went in to work early so I could get off early, so we could go sell the Honda, before going to Girl Time at 5:30.  I ended up working an extra half an hour, and didn’t have time to take a lunch, so I grabbed Taco Bell (not so good, but OH SO GOOD!).  And we didn’t get home until after 10:30 from Girl Time. Today, I slept in a little (hey, sleep is as important as exercise, and I’m not just saying that as an excuse), then went to work, then home to make a grocery list, to the store, back to make dinner and then to work more on the ceiling so I can get the bulk of the mess it has left EVERYWHERE cleaned up (actually, another reason I haven’t worked out: all my tools and cut up ceiling tiles have been in my workout space and everywhere else).  Aaagh. Enough justification. Suffice it to say, I’ve not had a lot of down time this weekend/week.

BUT, it’s no excuse to not keep working at it all, and that is was I want to encourage you with. I don’t know if I can do the exercise, at least over the weekend.  I will try to get in 20 minutes tomorrow and Thursday, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it if I don’t. And my food goal is going to be not to overeat, and keep the indulgences moderate (while we have our visitors, that is…until then, going to do things weight watcher style, though I may not take time to count points, just stick to the foods I usually eat when I AM counting points.)  So you can definitely hold me accountable with my food choices.  As they say on The Biggest Loser when they have an injured contestant, if you can’t exercise, your nutrition has to be spot on.  I’ll do what I can!  Which leads me to need to confess that not only did I eat Taco Bell yesterday, but at Girl Time, the ONLY thing I ate was dessert!  I DID have a tiny bit of rhyme and reason, which I’ll not delve into here, but it gave me an upset stomach and MORE, so I did pay the price. So, yeah, gotta get the nutrition back on track!

Mostly I just want to say that keeping an intentional mindset is crucial. I have a tendency to throw in the towel completely when I have a week like this, and plan to “start over” next week.  I end up eating WAY over, because I figure I’ll try again next week, so I’ll just not care this week.  And that is how progressively you put on 10 lbs in 6 months. So, if you’re having a really busy couple weeks, like I am, recognizing that we aren’t even into the thick of the busiest season of the year, yet, definitely don’t stray from your commitments: we need to set goals and stick to them.  BUT, when it’s just not happening, despite your best intention, go to God first, and then control what you CAN control. And keep talking about it.  It’s when you shy away, hiding from your accountability, that it gets forgotten!