A Journey To Healing Begins With a Single Revelation 30 Day Challenge Day 11

We never know where our revelation is going to come from. Sometimes it is one obedient act in seeking God's grace, goodness, help, or mercy that will lead us to that revelation. We could be reading the Word, talking to our best friends at breakfast, or sitting in church listening to a message. God is not trying to hide anything from us. He wants us to get IT. Whatever your IT is. He wants you to know. Can We Talk?!

This week we spent some time talking about the "how to" of living healthy lives to honor God. I wanted to make sure that we also talk this week about the "want to" of living healthy and why it is so important for us to maintain this way of living for ever. Forever? Is this possible? I only signed on for 30 days! I hear ya. But, no, 30 days is only the beginning. It's the beginning of your new healthier life in Christ.

In the book, Crave, that I mentioned at the beginning of the challenge, the author is talking about defining ourselves by the numbers on a scale and she writes "Define your week by obedience, not by a number on the scale. The scale can only measure how much your body weighs. ...So I had to stop and ask myself the following questions:

Did I overeat this week on any day? No.
Did I move more and exercise regularly? Yes.
Did I feel lighter than I did at this time last Wednesday? Yes.
Did I eat in secret or out of anger or frustration? No.
Did I feel that, at any time, I ran to food instead of to God? Nope.
Before I hopped on the scale, did I think I'd had a successful, God-pleasing week? Yep!
So why oh why do I get tied up in a stupid number?"

So friends as I mentioned before there are lots of ways "how to" lose weight, stay in shape, reach certain fitness and health goals, but our "want to" must come from a desire to be obedient and to please our Father. She also writes in the book "Numbers on the scale are an indication of what your body weighs, NOT an indication of your worth". I hope this helps you settle some inner feelings you might be dealing with in your own journey to a healthier you.

Know that God loves you right where you are right now. He is not waiting to see if you can lose any weight or get through this 30 days without any mistakes before He loves you. Thank Him that! He knew you before you were born and His love for you is infinite and never failing. It is not predicated on the numbers on the scale, your waist size, or anything! Nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. God just simply passionately loves you, period! I want you to love you and never let anybody make you feel that you are unworthy or unlovable because of the numbers on the scale.

      
Today we have not so much of a question as a testimony and revelation from a sistah in our community who is learning some of the "how to" by calorie counting. Please remember to pray for one another as we journey together.

Dear Aqua

I tried to start right today. I only have 680 calories out of 1400 for today :(
Inst oatmeal 2 pks plain #cal = 220
Yo crunch lowfat strawberry-banana yogurt 6oz #cal = 180
Cashew pieces 2 oz #cal = 320
(220 + 180 + 320 = 720) OMG - I spent 720 cals on this food.
16 oz H2O. Only 680 cals rest of day. Really an eye opener. Revelation!!! for me. WOW & OUCH.
I'm learning something. Still got my training wheels on. One meal at a time.

M
 I am so glad that you are learning to track your calories. When we first start out it is a good idea to right them down and count them religiously. Once we get better, reach weight and fitness milestones we can eyeball the meal, add the calories then we can move to tracking which is less stringent.

I am also loving the revelation! You could have had more filling meals for 720 calories. Nuts in general are good for you, but make sure you don't over indulge. Have your nuts in a healthy trail mix. Add Cheerios to mix to decrease the calories even more. Try to keep your snacks at no more 200 calories.

We have to know how many calories we are consuming each day if we are going to reach our goals. If you splurge one day on a sweet treat, you should account for the splurge in your dietary totals.

As you move through this process you will learn more about your body and what kinds of modifications work for lifestyle. Ask God to always be your compass so that you can make good choices for your temple.

I am proud of you and thrilled for you. Press on 20 more days to change your life!

Remember that revelation without action is just information. The important step to revelation is the action applied to the information that causes you to move, change, grow and BECOME in Him!

Your body is the temple of the Living God! Live Well in His Name!

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To Eat or Not to Eat?...Before A Workout

God day! Just a quick question and some encouragement for you today. I hope the weekend was awesome and restful. The weekend can often be one of the toughest times of the week for us to stay motivated and committed to our new lifestyles. On weekends we tend to have a more relaxed schedule so our planned eating and execise often falls by the wayside. Be careful of this trap. I hope that you are staying active and keeping up with your goals. What, you say you have no goals?? Can We Talk?! We have to set goals for ourselves for health and fitness just like we do for everything else in our lives, our careers, our families, our finances, our ministries. You get where I am going! Remember if you don't know where you are going, how do you know when you get there? Set some measurable goals. When you reach them we'll all celebrate with you. Deal?

Here's our question. Remember if you want to add a response to the question feel free to leave a comment on the blog or at the email address DearAqua4HisTemple@gmail.com

Dear Aqua

If I'm going to work out in the am, should I eat breakfast first?

Dear Operation...

That really depends on you, your schedule, what you hope to accomplish. If you work out in the morning and eat breakfast first, you need to wait about 30-45 minutes before working out. I worked out in the morning, but didn't have time to eat and wait the full duration of time. So for me working out in the morning meant working out on an empty stomach. If you choose this make sure that you at least drink water prior to workout. 

There are arguments in the literature for the benefits of both (eating before workout and working out on an empty stomach) it just depends on which school of thought you follow. School #1 Working out on an empty stomach to burn more fat OR School #2 working out after a low calorie meal (with carbs and protein) to preserve muscle mass. A protein shake is also a good alternative to a full meal prior to exercise.

Whenever possible I try NOT to work out on an empty stomach. I have seen people work out on an empty stomach get into trouble. They might experience nausea, dizziness, and hypoglycemic episodes. Where experts do agree is never work out on a full stomach. That is probably the take away point. As you get stronger and more fit and learn more about your body, you will find out which strategy works best for you.

Your body is the temple of the Living God! Live Well in His Name!



Red Hot Smoldering Unforgiveness

Last night I decided to light a fire in my fireplace. The fire was warm, inviting, and relaxing in this unusually cold Texas weather. As all of the wood was being consumed, the fire began to smolder; all that remained was the red-hot embers, white-hot embers, and the glow of the fire on the wood, but no flames. I gazed into the fireplace and noticed how intense, purposeful, and consistent the fire smoldered to consume all of the wood until only cool white ashes remained. I remember thinking that must be how unforgiveness smolders in our lives and our hearts consuming all of us (time, emotions, energy, attention, heart, and money) until only ashes remain. Ah…forgiveness…a great topic to begin a new year! Let’s talk!

If an accelerant (like gasoline) were added to the burning embers of a fire, the fire would likely reignite or at least blaze up quickly once again. Our unforgiveness acts much the same way. Someone says or does something that triggers (adds accelerant to) our unforgiveness, manifested through pain, grief, resentment, bitterness, hatred or, anger and we ignite. We act out in many ways when we hold on to past hurts and offenses. We might live our lives distant and angry, fearful, resentful and bitter, deciding to stop interacting or speaking to the person(s) who hurt us, or even plot revenge for their demise. None of these actions is beneficial to us. They only serve to fuel the red-hot smoldering, causing the embers to burn hotter, and causing our pain, hatred, bitterness, resentment…to intensify.

Forgiveness is not easy, but it is a required of us and necessary for us to live in peace (in our mind) and freedom. Forgiveness may not “feel” good at first, because forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. Some of us do not want to forgive, because we cannot imagine letting the person who hurt us off the hook or giving them a get out of jail free card. Forgiveness is not really about their freedom, it is ALL about our freedom.

Unforgiveness is the resentful, angry, hateful nurturing of our grievances – it is a harmful transgression against our own being. We hurt ourselves more than we hurt the person who we choose not to forgive. Release THEM and YOU will be set free. (You are probably asking, how does that work?)

Unforgiveness is a blessing blocker that binds us to the person(s) and the event(s) that caused us pain. We unconsciously relinquish control of our emotions, actions, and healing to the person or people who hurt us. They may not physically be in our lives, but emotionally we are trapped in the place where and the time when the offense took place. If we are going to move to forgiveness and live in peace and freedom, we have to acknowledge the pain, (yes, it happened) forgive the people involved, allow God to heal us, and DECIDE to move on.

Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

The red-hot smoldering of the fire in my fireplace eventually stopped. All that remained was cool white ashes that could be touched and handled to clean the fireplace. Once we forgive, all that remains is cool white ashes of the past, easily touched and handled, unable to hurt, burn, or hinder us any longer.

This time of year, people are making resolutions to lose weight, save money, quit a bad habit, or start exercising and eating right. All of those are great resolutions to make, by the way. Unfortunately, more people will fail at keeping those resolutions as early as the springtime then those who will be successful. (This is one reason I do not make resolutions. I seek God’s guidance, make plans, and set goals to change my life). New Year’s IS a time for new beginnings, a time to begin fresh and new, to wipe the slate clean, to start from scratch, to “do-over”, to start over (I know…enough with the clichés already).

A more productive and fulfilling resolution is practicing forgiveness in our lives…leaving the past in the past and not allowing the past to control or dictate our future. Interestingly, change is constant in our present lives; but one thing that change cannot affect is the past. Nothing can change the past. We can change how we view the past and how we let the past affect our lives and we do have the power to change the future by letting go of the past.

As the New Year rings in, make a plan to forgive. Make forgiveness part of your life. As you practice forgiveness, you will learn to forgive in the moment. Yes, that means in the moment the offense occurs, you will have the power to forgive and move on with your life, refusing to be held hostage by the offense or the offender. Do not take anything with you into 2010 from 2009 (2008, 2003, 2000, 1990, 1986, 1970, 1967…you get the picture) that could contaminate your new year’s success, health, blessings, and prosperity.

Happy New Year friends!