No more excuses...

"Eliminate the excuses that keep you where you are! Whenever you think of an excuse, ask yourself if there has ever been anyone in similar circumstances who succeeded in spite of them! If not, be a trailblazer! Excuses nail you to your problems! Freedom calls you."

~Bishop Dale C. Bronner

I read a post on my friend Emma's facebook. She has worked her butt off and lost 75lbs so far. She's gone hardcore too. I'm so stinkin proud of her. She's an inspiration to me. I've been talking about doing that.. but just haven't really taken it seriously - to the point of COMMITTING TO IT... until today.

Today my husband and I made a commitment to each other. We are taking our relationship to the next level. :) We are now going to be ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS! That's right. He and I both want 2011 to be the year that we change these bodies we're living in, into sweat loving, fat burning, healthy eating machines! This is exciting for me because for ONCE he's on board with me! He's never had an issue with his weight or health, until he hit 30 years old. :) (and still he's not really overweight) I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. I don't want to be consumed with fear or obsession about my weight. But, I'm not getting any younger... I want to enjoy my life for as long as I can. All the fad diets I've tried have failed me... and ruined my metabolism.

THE AGREEMENT...
Starting tomorrow, Keith and I will hold each other accountable to exercise DAILY - for at least 30 mins a day for 28 days straight. NO MORE EXCUSES.

CONSEQUENCES FOR BEING A SLACKER...
If either of us fails to exercise for 30 mins on any given day, we will not be able to use the internet until we exercise for an additional 30 mins to make up for lost time... or lose the day's internet browsing completely. (...that might kill me)

So... No Internet might just be the trick I've needed to get my butt in gear ...

GOAL
1) To exercise daily for 30 min increments by using, "The Biggest Loser" Kinect game - or "Dance Central exercise portion" or "walk/run" for 30 mins or more.

2) To lose 30 pounds by June 1st; 1-2lbs a week.

Totally doable.

What kind of a Life Coach will I become if I can't Life Coach MYSELF into successful, healthy habits?? Right?

At the end of the 28 days - we will re-access our goals/successes and create ANOTHER 28 goal/challenge.

I offer myself to you - my friends/family/general public to help keep me accountable to maintain this commitment.

Here goes nothin....

The Power of Vulnerability

Being vulnerable comes naturally for me most of the time. I've learned to push into the uncomfortable feeling. Sometimes it works out for the best and some of the time it doesn't. I love real connection. I love getting to know the REAL person underneath the masks and charades. If you know me personally, you'll attest to the fact that I don't like small talk and will push past all that to get to the nitty-gritty, no matter how uncomfortable or messy it gets... because I crave REAL connection. Maybe its because in my childhood, I longed for someone to know the dark secrets of what was happening in my home behind closed doors. I don't know.

On a side note; I don't understand people who would rather hide behind their masks than be honest about who they are. Seriously, people like that puzzle and frustrate me. I know its scary to be real with people. I know its hard to know who you can trust. But, the adventure and the outcome is worth the effort. The feeling of REAL connection is priceless and it will change you for the better when it happens. Figuring out WHO is trustworthy, can only happen as you become more and more vulnerable. All the while hoping you can trust that person with the deepest, most tender parts of your being.

I hope you'll take 20mins and watch this video below. Its pretty interesting; especially if you're a people person or enjoy digging into the psyche of human nature. Check it out...

"Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share."



If you are a person who has a hard time being vulnerable and real with the people around you; let me challenge you to step out into the uncomfortable place of vulnerability. Find a person that you think might care to know the real you. Start small. Don't dump your darkest secrets on them at first.. but test the waters. God created us for connection. We can't be fully loved until we're fully known.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

C.S. Lewis

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus...

First, take a minute and watch this video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's last speech:



It would seem to me, that this man had an encounter with his heavenly Father. The things he said point to a spiritual experience. If I were to guess, I'd say he had a God-inspired dream. God was encouraging him to not give up. Maybe God gave Him a glimpse into the future somehow?...Encouraging him that all his painful efforts would work actually work a miracle in this country. Did God tell him he was going to die? There's no way for us to know. But, the main thing that strikes me is the underlying confidence and faith he has. He was desperately trying to encourage his followers to not give up. He was trying to let them know that there was a higher power at work and the outcome they've been hoping and fighting for was on its way.

This is a man, who knew his Father. God saw his suffering heart and loved him so much that I believe God gave him a glimpse into the future. Encouragement for his weary soul.

There's a song from my childhood that I love. The sound of the congregation singing it acapella still echo inside me. It was a beautiful sound in my ears. The powerfully written words in this song obviously come from a person, like MLK Jr., who understood adversity and pain, but had a trust in Jesus that was unwavering.

"’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”


Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!"

Written by:   Louisa M. R. Stead, 1882

May we all, be inspired by the life of this great man; to love and trust our heavenly Father with all we are, to live courageously, to give generously, to love unconditionally and then to die and leave a legacy.

Angels in our Midst

How different would our life be if we were able to see what happens in the "unseen" world, for just ONE day?? I think it would change us forever.

I choose NOT to worry this year...

I've been reading a book by Max Lucado called, Fearless. It really has had me thinking.  With the new year and all the new things happening in my life - I've been pretty introspective lately.  This book is about fear.  Fear is something that all of us have to face in one form or another.  Whether its the boogie man in our closet or fear of rejection from our peers, we all feel it sometime, no doubt about it. I have had to face all sorts of fears.  Some I have conquered, and others I deal with on a case by case basis; making smaller strides to victory.

Something interesting happened before school yesterday morning that made me evaluate myself. The zipper on my son's backpack keeps breaking.  And this particular morning was no exception.  So, instead of fixing it, this time we pulled out an extra one that we had, packed his school books in it and told him he'd have to use this one until we get him another one.  Isaac began having an anxiety attack about carrying this thing with him to school.  To him it was hideous.  In his mind everyone was going to point and laugh at the ridiculousness of it.  To me...It wasn't an ugly backpack! It was just plain. Plain old navy blue. 

He hung his head and pouted all the way to school.  He probably continued to hang his head as he was walking down the hall.  I can even guess that his eyes shifted across the crowd of kids as he walked down the hall to his class, looking at their faces expecting to see someone to notice it.   The good news is…no one even noticed the back pack while he was at school.  He worried for NO reason.

This sounds silly at first glace doesn't it? I mean, its just a bag!! But how many times have we done this same thing?...even as adults.  Can we really gauge whether or not WE are actually letting the opinions of others rule our lives? Are we stressed out, missing the blessings of the present, because we are so focused on what we "don't have" or "should have"? Are we worried about something that hasn't even happened yet? How silly is that? I admit, I do this way too often.

This year, I am going to make it a point to stop worrying about things I cannot control and things I am not even certain are going to happen.  When I start to worry I will remind myself of this advice, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt 6:34.  

Happy New Year Everyone!!!  

Praying that this year is full of the blessing of many dreams fulfilled in our lives.

Fear of Not Mattering - Max Lucado

"Perhaps you don’t know,
Then, maybe you do,
About Stiltsville, the village,
(so strange but so true)

Where people like we,
Some tiny, some tall,
With jobs and kids
And clocks on the wall

Keep an eye on the time.
For each evening at six,
They meet in the square for the purpose of sticks,
Tall stilts upon which

Stilsvillians can strut
And be lifted above
Those down in the rut;

The less and the least,
The Tribe of Too Smalls,
The not cools and have-nots
Who want to be tall

But can’t, because
In the giving of sticks,
Their name was not called.
They didn’t get picked.

Yet still they come
 when villagers gather;
they press to the front
to see if they matter

to the clique of the cool,
the court of high clout,
that decides who is special
and declares with a shout,

“You’re classy!” “You’re pretty!”
“You’re clever” or “Funny!”
And bequeath a prize,
Not of medals or money,
Not a freshly baked pie or a house someone built,
But the oddest of gifts—
A gift of some stilts.

Moving up is their mission,
Going higher their aim.
“Elevate your position”
Is the name of their game.

The high-ups of Stilsville
(you know if you’ve been there)
Make the biggest to-do
Of the sweetness of thin air.

They relish the chance
On their high apparatus
To strut on their stilts,
The ultimate status.

For isn’t life best
When viewed from the top?
Unless you stumble
And suddenly are not

So sure of your footing.
You tilt and then sway.
“Look out bel-o-o-o-w!”
And fall straightaway

Into the Too Smalls,
Hoi polloi of the the earth.
You land on your pride-
Oh boy, how it hurts

When the chic police,
In the jilt of all jilts,
Don’t offer to help
But instead take your stilts.

“Who made you king?”
You start to complain
But then notice the hour
And forget your refrain.

It’s almost six!
No time for chatter.
It’s back to the crowd
to see if you matter.

Ah, there it is.  There is the question.  The Amazon River out of which a thousand fears flow: do we matter? We fear we don’t.  We fear nothingness, insignificance.  We fear evaporation.  We fear that in the last tabulation we make no contribution to the final sum.  We fear coming and going and no one knowing.”


Excerpt taken from Chapter 2 of the book,
“Fearless”, written by Max Lucado