Alpha Omega Check-in (01-24-09)

[BelovedHeather]

Sisters:

Good morning! This has been a stressful week, and I have been spending more time in prayer and worship and less time on the forums. Y’all have been in my thoughts and prayers even though I have not been checking in this week.

Tuesday was a stressful day at work. I let myself get too tired and hungry and ate half a bag of Guiltless Gourmet chili lime tortilla chips after work before I knew what hit me. I had to stop, refocus, and remind myself to feast on the Bread of Life. Food will never satisfy the longings of my heart. This is one of my favorite verses:

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him" (Psalm 34:8 NIV).

He is good indeed. He satisfies my hungry heart without calories or fat! I am an emotional eater. When I am tempted, it helps me to listen to praise music, pray, feast on the Word, and remind myself to find satisfaction in Christ instead of running to the refrigerator. I passed the test this time. The rest of the bag went in my trash can! Make no provision for the flesh!

One of the guys on our praise team at church sang "I Can Only Imagine" Sunday morning while we watched this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpFVJ_JX3DU

I am so homesick for heaven after seeing that! I am a worshiper at heart, and I can only imagine what it will be like to finally see Jesus face to face and worship Him forever!

I am so happy that the weekend has finally arrived! I am looking forward to a restful and relaxing day with a segment of Stretch Max. Hopefully, it will warm up later so I can go for another long walk to practice for my 5K in one week! I have not checked in since Sunday morning. I enjoyed a fun week of favorite workouts from recent years:

01-18-09 a.m. 4-Day Split LIS/HIS double cardio premix
01-18-09 p.m. one-rep max tests (4-star and 5-star biceps and triceps)

01-19-09 a.m. Butts and Guts (leg blast premix)
01-19-09 p.m. Zumba class
01-19-09 p.m. Butts and Guts (abs)

01-20-09 a.m. Body Max 2 (cardio and weights premix - abs)

01-21-09 p.m. 4-Day Split Kickbox (cardio premix) + Butts and Guts (abs)

01-22-09 p.m. Drill Max (cardio leg blast premix)
01-22-09 p.m. Zumba class

01-23-09 rest

Christine, I hope it is okay for me to start the check-in this morning! Thanks for the reminder of who I am in Christ!

Karen, it is good to be checking in with you again!

Becca, I have the Living Beyond Yourself workbook, but have not done that Bible study yet! Beth started her career as a group fitness instructor at her church before God called her to write Bible studies, and she still speaks about Christian fitness from time to time. I highly recommend Beth’s CD series from one of her Living Proof Live conferences called The Lord God Made a Woman: Living Fit and Free:

http://www.lproof.org/store_list_collection.asp?collectionID=5&offset=40

These are powerful lessons on choosing balance and moderation in health and fitness and avoiding food-related and body image obsessions in a culture of extremes.

Penguin, welcome to our check-in!

Iris, I am keeping you in my prayers.

Linda, have fun with the birthday party today. Happy birthday to your daughter!

Blessings,
Heather B.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).

 

[lifeverlasting78]

Hi Heather!
We must have been posting at the same time, too funny! I don't mind at all if anyone wants to start the thread. Thanks for doing it!!

Thanks for your scriptural encouragement. The more we taste of the Lord, the more we hunger & thirst for more of Him, and the less we spend on the world!

I'm sorry to hear of your struggles on Tuesday, but you are back on track with the Word of God!! You are such an inspiration! I struggle with these moments myself because I have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). If I wait too long to eat, or become TOO hungry, I will just devoure everything in sight because I start getting anxious, instead of reminding myself that if I just stay calm, focus on God, and eat the right things, my blood sugar will come back up eventually! I panic and look for the quick fix, which makes me feel horrible later on!

Your workout scheduled looked really fun for the week! I need to start focusing on doing more fun workouts that I enjoy, instead of worry about following strict rotations.

Thanks SO MUCH for that link to Beth Moore's study, it sounds like something I'd really be interested in reading! Thanks also for the video for "I Can Only Imagine", I love that song! That video was so powerful, it brought tears to my eyes! I loved watching him dance with his wife!

God bless!

 

[patchworkpenguin]

Heather, thanks for the welcome! I had no idea Beth was a fitness instructor before she started writing Bible studies. My quilting buddy and I are reading through Breaking Free together; we started last year with Praying God's Word. I hadn't read anything by Beth before this but am looking forward to reading more from her.

Iris, thanks for the welcome! I liked your story about "kicking the cat"; its easy to let little things get in the way and affect our perspective. I like it when I gett the same verse over and over, it really proves that God is working in my life.

Forgive me if I post sporatically. Today's workout was Leslie's 5K with a Twist. 3 miles with jogging intervals at the end of each mile and a brief stretch at the end. Today is supposed to be a rest day but I couldn't resist. It arrived in the mail yesterday.

Waves to all!

 

[lifeverlasting78]

I just wanted to copy and paste what I wrote earlier, since Heather and I started the thread at the same time.

____________________________________________________________________________


Hi everyone!
I hope you are all enjoying your Saturday so far!

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I love this verse, in a world of such uncertainty! I pray it touches those who read it today!

Penguin - I'm so glad you posted and shared your story with us!! I don't think it's ever by accident that we come across scripture completely relevant to what is on our minds, or what we are going through. I've heard from several Pastors that if you hear the same scripture more than once, pay attention because God is speaking! I know the passage you referenced from Psalm 139 can be hard to believe when we are feeling low about our bodies. But just keep reminding yourself that what God is telling you through that Word is the TRUTH, and your thoughts are lies. You may feel a certain way, but the truth about your body is found in God's word! When I find myself struggling with weight gain my mind goes to a negative place too, I think we can probably all relate to that on some level. I've found the importance of dwelling on God's word to "transform" my thinking. I recommend you look up all passages related to who you are in Christ and dwell on that! You may not "feel" better at first, but the truth will be more deeply planted into your mind and there will be no room for lies! Also, ditch the scale for a while. Give each day with your thoughts and plans for weight loss to God. He will help you!! I have struggled with this myself, and still struggle! God bless, I hope you post more! Also, there is a Christian Social Group that is separate from this check-in, I'm not sure if that's what you were referring to.

Linda - I know you have a very busy Saturday planned, so have fun! I hope your massage therapy appointment goes well for your hand.

Iris - I used to teach step classes and regular aerobics (think "hi/lo" segment from Cathe's Maximum Intensity Cardio or Step, Jump & Pump). It was fun, but it was an investment of money and tons of time. It took up TOO much of my time. It was okay when I was single, but when I met my husband and we started making wedding plans and plans to buy a house, my priorities changed so I gave it up. I do miss it sometimes, but I think if I kept doing that I never would have found Cathe! So, everything happens for a reason! That's great that you were able to get a good, uninterrupted workout in, and be back home in a flash! I'm sure after a few workouts you will get used to the group atmosphere. I say go for it! Did you decide on a membership yet?

Okay, yesterday I did 30 Day Shred, plus Maximum Intensity Cardio (hi/lo only). Shred was a pretty tough 20 minutes, but I needed more cardio. Today I did 30 Day Shred again, plus select portions of Butts & Guts. I was toast after that!!

To Lynn, Becca, Karen, Heather and all who follow, have a blessed day!

 

[beccajanern]

Hello all! I just finished 4DS LIS as filmed. My exercise ADD is acting up again and I wanted to do something fun. I am going to stick with 4DS for the next 3 days, subbing running for cardio on occasion. I think I am just getting restless for STS! Hopefully it will be in our hands this time next week!

Heather, sorry to hear that you had such a stressful week. I remember you mentioning that Beth Moore study about fitness. I really need to take a look at that one. I am loving Esther right now. I just finished week one and it is awesome! Good stuff in there. It sounds like your workouts have been fun! Good for you! I can't wait to hear that you completed your first 5k next weekend!!!

Christine, your hypglycemia sounds like quite the challenge. I hope that you are careful with it. Good WO today and yesterday. I would probably have to add on to Shred, too. I don't feel like I worked out unless it's at least an hour.

Penguin, welcome to our little group! Nice to see you here! Breaking Free is a wonderful study. I think it is one of Beth's best. I still go back to it when certain situations come up in life. I think everyone should do it.

Linda, Happy Birthday to your DD! I hope she has a great party! Let us know how things went with the massage therapist.

Hello to Iris, Lynn, Karen and everyone else! Have a very blessed weekend!

 

[Iris_g1]

Hello Ladies,

Heather it's soo nice to see you posting again. I've missed reading your inspiring posts. The youtube video clip of "I Can Only Imagine", had me sitting here choked up and crying. My kids always laugh at me because I cry soo easily, but that video is really powerful. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Hi Penguin, it's ok that you post sporadically, but you may find yourself checking in more often now

Hi Christine. I'm a thinker, and after giving the gym membership a whole lot of thought, I finally did the math, lol. I couldn't believe when I realized that taking the 36 month membership at $29.95 was more economical than the 12 month one. There is a cancellation clause in the contract that allows you to cancel at anytime for a 10% early cancellation fee. It's hard to believe that even with the 10% fee, it is still cheaper than $49.95 per month for 12 months. So, after all my thinking, the decision was easier than I thought it would be. This is an woman's gym, and it's kind of small, but offers good classes, and even better yet, they will let me bring my 13 year old daughter for free. I think she'll enjoy using the Treadmill, Eliptical, and taking the Zumba classes. I'm looking forward to sharing my love of fitness with her. I won't pressure her to go, but hope she likes it enough to want to go.

I know what you mean about the cost of keeping up with teaching classes. I also hear you don't really make a lot of money teaching classes, and sometimes it costs money to teach, with having to purchase insurance, etc.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me. My husband is finally off, first Sunday since I can't remember, and he said he will go to church with me. I am praying he doesn't change his mind. We used to go to church as a family all the time, and a few years ago he switched jobs to one that rotates his days off, so even when he's off on Sundays, he claims they are his only days off and he wants to rest. I decided I need to start going again and he will follow, so that's what I've been doing.

Have a great weekend ladies. Chat with you later.

 

[patchworkpenguin]

Iris, I have noticed with my Hubby that if I start something he will join me or, even better, do it for me. Such as if I start doing the dishes after a meal he will sometimes notice {LOL} and finish them for me. This approach has never worked with exercise however. I was a regular church goer until I got married, Hubby didn't really want to go so we didn't go, I realize now that I should have gone without him rather than let him keep me away. We both go regularly now but somedays its a struggle for both of us.

Becca, I wish we has started with Breaking Free and then progressed to Praying God's Word. I don't think they HAVE to be read in order but I think it might have been better for me, personally.

Christine, {my sis is named Kristine} I used to think it was 'cute' when I got one verse over and over, but now I sit up and take notice. And in this case that was just what I needed to hear. In 06 I lost 70lbs. Since then I'm putting the weight back on about 10lbs a year dispite exercising. I think my diet is responsible for most of it. I get so frustrated because I worked so hard to 'fix' myself and now I find I'm trying to 'fix' myself again, without the success I had the first time. I've even tried several Christian based eating programs but the weight keeps coming. I feel like I've failed because I haven't kept the weight off and now I feel I've failed God because I didn't succeed on the Christian plans. Wow, where did all THAT come from. Sorry to rant and rave.

Hubby just got home from the hardware store, back to the bathroom renovation.

 

[hortyhoos1]

Hello everyone,

Heather, great to hear from you. I've read many of your posts on the forums, but I love when you let loose for us who are riding the same wave of freedom in Christ. You really know how to put your thoughts into words, and God has given you a gift in that respect. When others read inspirational thoughts, it changes hearts and minds. So never underestimate what a difference words can make to someone who is hurting or searching for truth. You wil be just fine Heather, you are a chosen one of the Father as we all are. We are so blessed!!

Linda, I hope your therapy went well today. I've been thinking about you and pray that the pain and discomfort will subside and allow you to exercise to your heart's content.

Christine, thanks so much for leading us in scripture every day. What a heart you have for the Lord and your sisters in Christ. Your energy and enthusiasm is contagious and I absolutely love it!!

Iris, glad you made the decision for the gym membership. And the fact you can take your 13 year old dd is a huge plus. She will be great company for you, and you will enjoy the fact she has such a wonderful role model teaching her ways to a healthy mind and body. I hope it works out great for you.

Becca, I did not order STS but I can understand the waiting game for anything that is "Cathe." I have every DVD she's made, and maybe down the road this will be added to the collection. You will be buff and pumped in no time.

Penguin, you can NEVER fail God. His love is beyond this type of thinking and whether we succeed or fail, He is lovingly waiting for us to come to Him. I believe He absolutely loves when we humble ourselves and crawl back into His arms. As with any child, He just smiles and takes us back in again broken and ashamed. Isn't he so cool like that??

Ok, so today I did Step Blast and Supersets. I have not done SS in a looong time, so it was nice for a change. It's not too tough but it's good for days when you're not up to par. Yesterday was my off day.

Love and Blessings friends,
Karen