Phew, life has been busy. It’s kept me on my toes and re prioritized a few things which unfortunately meant pushing my blog to the wayside temporarily. I have been keeping up with my goals though in all aspects, physically, mentally and spiritually. I even picked up a great book while in Red Deer that encourages the exact same fitness lifestyle that I’m already striving for and that has been a huge help and resource for me.
Moving forward I think it is important for readers to be able to see not only how I’m doing my goals and struggles but also hear specifics about what I’m doing. So here it goes bear with me because for me this will expose and reveal deeper into me, my thought processes and into my life more intimately.
Physical:
I am happy to report that this is going extremely well and I am on my way to reaching some of my physical goals although I am certainly not their yet. My goal was to be able to complete a trial triathlon at the end of this summer as well as to improve my overall strength and fitness. Their are things I am doing and constantly changing to help get me to my goal. First from a food perspective I have gone from binge eating whenever I please because I “workout” and therefore can to moderating my food in take and spoiling myself only on occasion primarily on weekends. I have limited my carb consumption and drastically reduced my sugar consumption also. I have smoothies twice a day during the week one for breakfast and one for lunch with small snacks throughout the day to keep me satisfied. This is creating a regular intake of calories for me and therefore keeping my blood sugar more even throughout the day. My dinners have been primarily protein and veggie based focusing on lean proteins like chicken fish and pork. On the weekends I like to indulge. This doesn’t mean I go crazy but I will allow myself to have a couple beer, have take out/ greasy food and perhaps an extra bit of dessert. All of this is with the understanding though that I am continuing to work out both during the week and on the weekends to maintain a happy balance of calorie intake to calorie out put. My workouts primarily include biking right now thanks to the beautiful weather we have been having so nearly every day I am biking a minimum of 20 KM . I also continue to play basketball and go for regular walks with my dog. All in all this ensures that my calorie input to calorie out put is either equal or I have a higher out put than input. This has given me more energy a leaner more muscular body and better overall health. Only downside I have found is that when I do indulge because my body is not used to those style foods as frequently I do tend to feel fairly ill after, which I suppose is for the best because I am less tempted to indulge at all.
Emotionally:
This is where things have been a struggle as of late. My physical health has definitely increased my over all mood and ability to cope however life has felt quite busy, hectic, stressful and downright discouraging at times and I have struggled to move forward with a positive attitude and outlook. Luckily this negative feeling is not an all the time occurrence I do still find myself at times able to relax and feeling emotionally refreshed and able to handle the stress in life as it comes up, but on occasion it does become over whelming and cumber sum and that is the part I continue to combat. There is a season for everything and I believe that this season too will pass and allow for easier happier days to come. In the meantime I am learning how to cope with the emotional turmoil. The things I have learned will and have been beneficial in all facets of life from home life to work to friendships. The first thing I learned is to stop and listen. Sometimes that can be one of the hardest things to do because we all think our opinions and our thoughts are more important and should be voiced immediately however this is not always thee case. When I have taken the time to stop and listen it helps me understand those around me better and what they are feeling and relate and respond in a way that is more compassionate. Emotionally this helps me to feel more balanced and more full because I have taken the time to be a “good friend” and a listening ear to someone who may have needed it. I believe the next step to further help my stress levels is to one get more rest, two continue to take things on item at a time instead off taking on multiple things all at once, three be more open and talk about my feelings instead of bottling them up, and four accepting that I can not control everything.
Spiritually:
I feel here things have been smooth sailing no hiccups or bumps no significant changes or growth. This is not always an ideal situation as we are warned against being lukewarm and I fear that perhaps I have allowed myself to become lukewarm.
Revelation 3:16
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
In an attempt to combat that I have taken it upon myself to be more intentional with my own faith and spiritual growth.
Step one be more intentional with my praying and time with God. Too often I get caught up in the routine prayer, a quick prayer before each meal and a thankful prayer each night before bed but I am not taking the time to listen and truly express my heart to God.
Ephesians 6:18 – 20
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Step Two as we are currently learning about in church I must put on the full armor of God this means taking up the Sword of the spirit the bible and putting the words to memory so I will be slowly learning and memorizing bible verses.
Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Step Three becoming more involved with the church and the church body. I often have felt I don’t have time or am to shy to participate in church activities but we have recently been informed that our church would like to start a young adults drop in basketball night. How perfect is that! this means I can go and interact with people my age, Christian and non, and play the sport that I have grown to love. It also means that I will not only be able to gain friendships and interactions that will be spiritually beneficial for me but I also may be able to gain spiritually from others.
Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
I am ever hopeful that these changes and adjustments will continue to create a healthier, better more rounded me and allow for me to perhaps help and be actively involved in supporting more people around me.
Jillene~a~bean 