Not Perfect

BLOG.  There it still stares at me in bold letters.  It is a large part of my dream board, but evidently it hasn't ranked high on the priority list.  The rest of my aspirations illustrated in my board have also taken a backseat to the mundane tasks of everyday life.  The passion, the spark, the zeal to see them accomplished has waned as the year progresses to it's halfway point.  The spirit of a new year has worn off, and the patterns of existence have made their impressions.  Well it's time to WAKE UP!

It is time for me to put my "big girl" pants on and DO something starting with a blog post.  Now what am I to do?  What do I want?  I want to be happy doing something that I love.

I love and hate to write.  I love writing and posting on my blog.  I enjoy the creative process of putting my thoughts and feelings into words.  I used to write in journals and need to get back to that practice.  What I hate about writing is my perfectionist tendency rears its ugly head as I try to compose the perfect post or deliver my message in such a specific way that it can sap the joy right out of it.  I also have noticed that many of my posts have good advice in them, but I currently don't apply much of that advice in my own life.  I want to post more on my blog, but I want to apply and live what I post.  So rather than post my thoughts and ideas that I don't apply to my life.  I avoid writing and posting altogether.  My original purpose for my blog got lost within the first few posts.  It became an online journal of sorts of thoughts and lessons that I now realize that I should apply to my life.

My renewed purpose for my blog is to chronicle my journey to health and wellness.  I have shared my story and want to actually put my advice into practice.  I battle with fear and want to replace it with faith and love.  I want to build positive consistency in my day to day interactions and routines rather than drifting without direction to an unknown destination.

My first and major goal is my -100 pound party.  I have been trying to reach this goal since 20011 at least.  It is now 2016.  I have come withing 4 to 5 pounds of this goal, yet my scale has never read 140 pounds.

UGH...the struggle is real.  I am trying not to post what I am going to do (because I know full well that it is very unlikely that I will do it.)  I want to post what I actually do to reach my -100 pound party.  

So here goes, today started well with an awesome Wildberry Herbalife shake.  It ended with me over indulging in the ingredients of healthy desserts that I made from over ripened bananas. I did swim and enjoy fellowship with friends as well.    

I need to believe that I will get there and just do it.  

Fighting Well

I had the privilege to watch an amazing movie entitled War Room this weekend.  This movie had me in tears of conviction within the few opening minutes.  I learned that many people today know how to fight but not well, not with strategy.  As a Christian, I need to find my own personal "war room" (a quiet place to pray), a place to engage in the spiritual battle against Satan and his workers of darkness.  I have to allow God to fight for me.  I must surrender control and pray allowing God to do His work in and through me.  I pray that I apply this message to my life. I also pray that many others that see this movie will be spurred to action.  I pray that a mighty army of prayer warriors will arise and stand up for Christ and share Him with others.  I have been convicted to put aside distractions as well.  I have disconnected from social media at the moment, and I plan to distance myself from spending time in front of the TV and computer.  I still plan on going after my goals of good health, reading more, learning Spanish, and writing.  I may resort to recording my journey in my journal rather than my blog.  I will touch base when I can, but as of right now I am taking a break from media and the distractions they tend to bring.  Please pray that I become the prayer warrior God wants me to be.  I highly encourage you to go watch War Room.  It will change your life if you let it.

For the Glory of God,

The Little Things

The little things do add up.  I started the day with a war with the snooze button yet again.  This time it won.  I got up and ditched my workout.  I headed to work and the first thing I hear from the audio book I've been listening to is that we need to glorify God through daily exercise and good nutrition.  God can use us best when we are physically fit and rested.  "Thanks, Lord," I prayed with acknowledgement and a bit of sarcasm.  I also gave into a few bits of chocolate and drank my calories with some lemonade at a luncheon at lunch. I had 73 calories left for dinner :(
-100 pound party
Logged my food
Drank SOME water-32+ ounces
Ditched my AM workout but burned a few calories bowling for about 30 minutes on my lunch break
Reading
I finished Laboring in the Harvest on my commute home.  It was a very powerful book about becoming a laborer for Jesus Christ and reaching everyone with the good news of Jesus,  I did not get around to reading my written books.
Spanish and Writing
I didn't get around to either.
I did, however; clear out some teacher stuff in my room.  I also created a cute "ziploc bag windw" to display artwork in my classroom :)
I will get there.  One step at a time.

 For the Glory of God,

Weeding out Distractions

Today went pretty well in regards to my health goals.  I got up (after hitting the snooze twice...oops) and did a few Revelation Wellness videos,   I had my cinnamon roll shake with a dash of Mexican vanilla as I hurried out the door for work.
-100lb party
Logged my food, check; water, at least 50 ounces (when you count pineapple coconut water); and exercise, check.  I stress ate a fair share of animal crackers.  I had planned to have a shake for dinner but came home to a healthy dinner of chicken, broccoli and rice.  I had to control my portions or I would have overdone it.
Reading
I completed disc 2 of Laboring in the Harvest.  Audio books are definitely the way to go especially in the car.  I spend a significant amount of time in my car, so I will listen to my Bible app and now books.  This book has been very convicting as to what a true laborer for God's kingdom really is and what they do.
Spanish and Writing
I made no time for practicing my Spanish or writing.

Distractions are what zaps me of precious time.  I tried to tell myself that watching a movie and preparing for work at the same time would be efficient.  That's a lie.  I got only a portion of what I wanted to accomplish completed.  I catch myself spending a few minutes which end up turning into hours mindlessly scrolling through social media or getting TV hypnotized rather than carving out even just 10 to 15 minutes to read, write or practice Spanish.  It is time for me to schedule these activities and take advantage of the windows of time that seem to disappear without a second glance to reach my goals.

This week I was given a one and a half hour lunch break.  That gives me more than enough time to eat.  I need to use this time wisely rather than let it slip by.  I have more than enough things such as reading or exercise that I can accomplish during this time. I can also prep for work at work rather than take it home with me.

It is time to weed out the distractions, get close to God, and allow Him to work in and through me to accomplish my goals.

For the Glory of God,

The Snooze

The Snooze button is one of my all time foes.  I set it several minutes ahead in order to actually accomplish things like exercise and my supposed to be daily quiet time.  About 9 times out of 10, I eat up those precious minutes with one more push of the button.  The time I allowed for exercise slips away as I grab just a few more minutes of sleep.

Today, I pushed it once instead of multiple times.  I also barked a not so happy explanation to my daddy as to why I was up so "early" (5:20am to be exact) because I indeed did not want to get up.  I did complete about 15 minutes of cardio. Yay!  That is progress.
-100 pounds party
Exercise, check.  Food logged, check, Water, Check
I logged my calories and went over about 200 due in part to that darn bread on my Subway sandwich. I made my water quota as I chugged the last bit of my 2nd liter of water on my commute home after playing volleyball at church.
Reading
I listened in the car to an amazing book entitled Laboring in the Harvest.  I have completed disc 1 of 3.  This book is powerful and cuts to the quick and quickly.  As for reading my hard copies, I did not successfully read 1 or 2 chapters.
Spanish
I did bring my computer to work with my Rosetta Stone on it and accessed it but did not complete any lessons.  I plan to find a comfy spot where I can do the speaking parts without looking crazy.
Writing
No attempt on that front today.
I look forward to what tomorrow brings.  It is time to establish good routines that will stick with me throughout my life.  When I reach a goal.  I can't resort back to my previous patterns or all of my hard work will be wiped away.

For the Glory of God,