The evening is more of the same. A hearty belly-scratch when I walk in the door to acknowledge his presence. Put him outside, give him some food, but never really interacting with him while I fiddle around the house.

Tonight on a whim I sat down on the floor to play. Kenny went nuts. “Oh, Oh, She’s gonna play with me.” He went tearing through the house in search for his ball.

It’s sad how often I treat God like that. Acknowledging His presence but not really interacting with Him. Then picturing Him like Kenny boy when I do take time to pray. “Oh, Oh, She’s gonna talk to me.”

I should be the one to always be available – laying at the feet of the Master, waiting for Him at the door, excited to hear a word from Him.

Two trips around the house, several times fetching the ball and Kenny was spent. He curled up on my lap, safe, secure, comfortable, loved.

It would be good for me to remember that I am the dog and God is the Master. It is my purpose to serve Him, to lay at His feet, to get excited in His presence, to be content to curl up in His love.

The gist is that metabolism is nothing more than the number of calories burned during activity and while the body is at rest. While at rest, the body burns calories by breathing, heart pumping, eyes blinking… and by having muscles. Lean muscles are ‘active tissues’ which burn calories just by existing. So the more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism. (see WebMB)

So when you do strength (resistance) training, you increase your metabolism by moving today. But you’re also building muscle which will increase your metabolism tomorrow and the day after and the day after… even when you aren’t actively exercising. How cool is that?!

Isn’t that like prayer time, when you set time apart to focus on God, to purposely quiet your mind, to offer praise and thanksgiving, to grow closer to Him, to “Be still and know I am God.” What a wonderful way to start (or end) the day.

As I grow in closer relationship with God through regular, consistent quiet times – in theory – I will be better able to handle all that life sends my way. Not so much that my spiritual muscles will be strong, but that I will be closer to the Source of my strength and calling out to Him will be a natural, first instinct in times of need. Not a “I’m at the end of my rope. God! Help!”

As I grappled with Hosea 14:9 in preparation for Bible study last week I was struck by the thought of multiple paths of the Lord. We’re taught that there is one way to God. We often act as if all Christians must think, act, believe in the same ways. But Hosea says ‘the paths’ – multiple paths.

While thinking this through, I started thinking that there are multiple ways one can lose weight, yet every weight loss program comes down to one core concept – consume fewer calories than you burn. Even within Weight Watchers there are many paths to success. Eat every point available to you (including activity points and weekly points allowance), never use any “extra” points or somewhere in between – Eat a big breakfast and a light lunch/dinner or eat a light breakfast and a large lunch – Snack throughout the day or close the kitchen unless it is mealtime. The beauty is that every option works. You just have to figure out what works for you then do it.

So how do Hosea’s multiple paths and Jesus’s statement that “I am the way…no one comes to the Father but by me” fit together? Here’s what I’m thinking (and I’m open to discussion.) There are many ways to meet Jesus, to know Jesus, to worship Jesus and none are more ‘right’ than the other. So if ‘burn more calories than you consume’ is the bottom line, the core concept behind losing weight, what is the core concept, the bottom line to living a Christian life?

Could it be that the bottom line is the ‘greatest commandment’ – that we are to love God with all our our mind, strength and soul and to love our neighbors as ourselves? (found someplace in the new Testament) So, in my mind, that means that the denomination – Catholic, Mennonite, United Methodist, Baptist – immaterial; a capalla, organ or drums and guitar – doesn’t matter; singing from a hymnal or words on a wall – who cares. You need to find out what works for you, what gives you the motivation and inspiration to fulfill the greatest commandment to love God and neighbor completely.

When we realize all this ‘stuff’ is immaterial, quit judging each other and start spreading God’s love – how cool is that going to be?

Oh my armpits hurt!

Twenty-two measly pushups-”girl’s pushups” at that- and I had to take a rest in between sets-and my pecs really hurt.

Last fall I began the 100 pushup challenge, a free, online 6-week program with the goal of doing 100 pushups. First day I did 18 pushups-and paid for it dearly with sore pits. But by week three I was up to 44 pushups total. I felt so much stronger. Then life got crazy and I stopped. Amazing how quickly one loses muscle and strength when one stops working out consistently, purposely. I’m basically back to where I started four months ago!

Isn’t that the same way it goes with our Christian walk? Just like quickly losing muscle when one stops exercising, how quickly we fall away from God when we stop making it a priority to consistently, purposely spend time with God in prayer, Bible study and/or meditation.

It shouldn’t be – but it is a challenge to make time to meditate – at least it is for me. Just like it can be a challenge to find the time/energy/desire to work out. It’s all a matter of our priorities. We will find time for what is truly important to us.

Ouch! Now that hurts too.

Sunrise

Don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

Galatians 6:9

Forgive me – it’s been nearly four months since my last post.
Last fall I started to struggle with “Who am I to try to offer inspiration, motivation and encouragement to others on the weight loss and Christian journey? I’m no role model. I struggle to maintain my weight and to continue on my Christian walk! What am I doing?”

Then, this winter has been tough – on both journeys. Which served to confirm the “Who do you think you are?” thoughts running through my head.

On the weight loss jourrney, I’ve set a “happy range” for myself. Instead of a specific weight, I have a weight range where I want to stay. For the first time since making “goal” in Nov. 2005, I hit the uppermost limit of my “happy range.” Which was not such a happy place

Progress along my Christian journey was about the same. I’ve been going through the motions. Bible study, prayer, church – just things on my to-do-list. Not that they always got crossed off as completed.

So why blog now? I guess it feels like something I’m supposed to do. Why? That’s in God’s hands. Maybe to force me to put my thoughts and feelings into words. Maybe to encourage just one person to perservere… that it’s OK to struggle… that you are not alone… that daylight will follow the dark of night… that if we don’t give up we will be blessed when the time is right…

So, join me and together we’ll keep on keeping on. Together we’ll put one foot in front of another and come one step closer to reaching our destination.

But there’s a scene where the navigator, “Rabbit,” has led them down this road that becomes a narrow country road, and then a dirt road. Helen Hunt’s character calls back and asks “are you sure we’re on the right road?” to which Rabbit replies “Rabbit is good, Rabbit is wise.” Soon after this statement, the dirt road becomes a cornfield, but the team continues to trust and forge ahead. Then suddenly they end up on the main highway right where they wanted to be.

The moral of this scene – with a reliable navigator, you can trust the map and the road you are on to get you where you want to be even when it appears that you are totally lost.

An example from the weight loss journey: programs such as Weight Watchers sets out the map – the good health guidelines, helpful habits, ways to track food and exercise, etc. Now, there are times that I’ve ditched the map and tried to wing it on my own. (Note: it’s not a good idea to ignore the map if you want to get to your destination.) But there have also been times when I’ve followed the map perfectly, only to feel hopelessly lost in the middle of a cornfield. The key is to stick with it. Just like our friends in Twister, keep going and suddenly the cornfield will make way for a highway and we’ll be right where we want to be. So I guess you could say “Weight Watchers is good. Weight Watchers is wise.”

But then there is life. Life does not always go the way we want it to. Kids get sick, parents get old, accidents happen, diseases happen, once strong economies falter, people get “let go.” (OK, I’m depressed now.) Please understand, I’m not saying that disease, death and poverty are in God’s plan. That’s just life.

But God’s plan will get us through these tough times, will bring us out of the cornfield that life throws us into and onto the safe highway – we just need to be patient and stick with the program. I’m reminded of the ending of the Footprints poem: 

“Why during my darkest hour did you leave me? My child, that is when I carried you.” Thank you dear Jesus for guiding us – through good times and bad.

Last weekend I drove my folks to Kentucky to visit with my brother and his family (including 4-year-old twins and a-soon-to-be 7-year old daughter.) It was a good weekend; but as with all long visits with family, it was not without its bumps along the way.

We usually try to go do something as a family on Saturday afternoons when we’re all together. I came up with the brilliant idea to go shopping and fill three shoeboxes with gifts for Operation Christmas Child (one for each niece/nephew.) Well, we had a late lunch and the twins needed to take a nap before we went shopping. McKenzy snuck a huge bag of Halloween candy into their room – so while they were supposed to be laying down, they were getting all sugared up. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, they finally went to sleep. Then by late afternoon we had to wake them before they were ready to wake up so that they would go to sleep at night. Ah the joys of life with toddlers. It was 5 p.m. (suppertime for Mom & Dad) when we were finally ready to go shopping!

At this point I’m borderline frustrated with the whole idea of what I thought would be a fun afternoon – so instead of splitting up into three groups and each group buy for one box – we decided to just all stick together and just fill two boxes. What a zoo. My dad, who has recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons, was using the cart as a walking aid. The twins both climbed on one side of the cart and tipped it over. We had five adults and three kids throwing stuff into the cart with nobody really keeping a mental tally of how much we were spending and whether we had too much to fill two shoeboxes. I tried. Didn’t work.

By the time we made it through the necessities area (toothbrush/toothpaste), the toy section and to the crayons and coloring book area, I was way past trying to control what went into the cart and was more to the point of ”Just get it and let’s get out-of-here.”

So we’re finally ready to check out. We walked out of Meijers with four bags of stuff to fill two shoeboxes. Then, I’m following my brother back to his house and he skated through a nearly red light, which I stopped for.

It was then that my cell phone rang.

A couple weeks ago our son and his girl were hanging out at the house and we were fiddling with ring tones for my phone. A s we’re going through the sounds, we decided upon the Trace Adkins hit “You’re Gonna Miss This.”

So, at that opportune time in Lexington, Ky., the phone rings, “You’re gonna miss this. You’re gonna want this back. You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast. These are some good times…” 

Oh yea, God is good.

Through Weight Watchers, we’re told that drinking six 8-ounce glasses of water a day aids in our weight loss. I believe it. During my weight loss journey I didn’t read the fine print and drank six 12-oz. glasses of water a day. I can be an over-achiever. There were weeks when the only change I made was to really focus on drinking my water and I would have a loss.

Every place I’d go I’d carry my classy Ohio State mug that I got from the Kid. Setting it down and forgetting where I put it was, shall we say, traumatic! Carrying that mug was a constant reminder of the journey I was on. Donuts at the staff meeting weren’t as enticing when I had my water with me. (noticed I said AS enticing – not that they were not enticing!)

I’ve read that Americans don’t drink enough water. We go through our lives semi-dehydrated and don’t even realize it. Often when we think we’re hungry, what our body really needs is water. Next time you find yourself scrounging for a snack, pour yourself a tall glass of H20. Oftentimes it will satisfy. 

A gal I used to work with swore by the powers of water to ‘flush’ out impurities and either kept her from catching as many colds, or lessened the severity of the colds she did catch. In a quick search on Google, I could not find confirmation of that. But I can say I’ve not been sick near as much since I started my weight loss journey. Coincidence? (this site suggests eight 8-ounce glasses daily for health benefits.)

I propose that prayer is the spiritual equivalent of water. So basic, elemental, yet indispensable. Here – I’ll admit to not being an over-achiever. It is something I strive toward.

But think about it. When we are scrounging around, trying this job, this hobby, this new thing… looking for something, anything to satisfy; could it be that creating a connection with our God is what we really need?

We are told in scripture to pray without ceasing. What that means is to have God at the forefront of your mind; that He is the first one you celebrate with when things go right, and the first one you cry out to when the computer crashes or other things go wrong. That constant connection with God helps to remind us of the journey we are on.

Prayer helps to fill the “God-shaped void” in each of our lives. It also helps to ‘flush out’ the impurities. If our minds are on God and heavenly pursuits, we’re not thinking about other not-so-good things. (And as we learn in the book of James, our thoughts reveal our desires, our thoughts lead to action, which when not focused on God, leads to sin.)

So focus on the journey, be filled with water and keep your mind on God…

And then to gather with a group of  people with the same goals (to lose weight/be healthy), the same struggles (changing patterns to eat healthier, move more), the same celebrations (scale and non-scale victories alike) is truly priceless. For that hour, they are your cheerleaders, and you are theirs. There is no condemnation, no game play, just the comfort of being supportive fellow travelers along the weight loss journey.

Following my Walk to Emmaus weekend (Greater Findlay Area Women’s Walk to Emmaus #74, Table of Naomi.) we were encouraged to join a ‘share group,’ a group that gathers regularly to provide encouragement along the Christian walk. While my group has not yet met, I imagine these share group gatherings, like a Weight Watchers meeting, will be an hour when they are your cheerleaders and you are theirs; no condemnation, no game play, just the comfort of being supportive fellow travelers along the Christian walk.

Should be what church is like. But sadly too often it is not. We tend to put on our Sunday persona along with our Sunday best dress, slap a smile on our face… But do we ever let our guard down long enough for others to see how we are really doing? I’m the same way. 

Too bad there isn’t some sort of scale when you walk into church. A confidential, non-judgemental accounting of your progress that week; a reminder that we’re all on the same journey complete with struggles and celebrations, and that even when/if you meet “goal” you need to continue working to stay at “goal.”

That would definitely scare some people away, just like weighing in can be a traumatic thing. But the ones who are ready to make a change, who are really ready to accept a new way, they’ll be there, ready to face the scale and do what needs to be done so that next week will show them to be one step closer to Jesus.

My husband and his dad have been working their tails off in our yard finishing landscaping projects that have been pending for months, in some cases years. I get a text tonight from a very pleased-with-himself-hubby (as he should be) asking how I liked the yard. How do I burst his bubble and say the first thing I noticed was the still unfinished raised flowerbed? How do I? I don’t! Because I then looked around and saw all that they did get done. “It looks great – can’t wait to see it in the daylight.”

Why don’t we offer the same courtesy to ourselves – and look past what is yet to do and celebrate all that has been accomplished?

I often see it at the weigh in table. “I only lost .4 lbs this week.” “Well holy cow girl, add that to the 32.6 pounds you’ve lost since you started the journey… you’ve lost a small child!”

There’s something about the Christian faith that encourages us to focus on our failings. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” I guess when the measuring stick is perfection – how can we help but focus on where we’ve gone fallen short.

However, in my humble opinion, I think we can take this focus too far. When our focus is solely on our shortcomings, on the amount of work yet to do, how do we muster up the motivation, the will to press on; heck, to even get off the couch?

It’s at those times that we need to focus on the journey and leave the ‘big picture’ stuff to the Man upstairs. Do as much as you can do, and on occasion push yourself to see if you can do just a little bit more. Like the young man walking the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean… it will matter to that one, and that one, and that one…