I Don't Eat Breakfast

I don't eat breakfast.  Gasp! I don't and I don't feel guilty about it.  I used to and I would force myself, or I would start the day feeling like a failure. But I finally came to the realization that sometimes I have to just do my best and feel okay about that.  So I don't eat breakfast.  In fact, I don't typically eat anything until after noon. Maybe eventually that will change, but for now, I'm focusing on eating good foods in good amounts at the times I DO eat and feeling okay with that.

For a long time I worked out at night.  I know what "the experts" say. But at night after my kids were in bed was the time I felt most motivated.  So instead of pressuring myself to get up earlier and workout first thing, I worked out at night and it worked really well for me. Recently I've started working out first thing in the morning.  Not because the experts tell me to, but because at this point in my life, I am motivated to do that. 

The thing is, there are so many voices telling us what we should be doing.  Or telling us how we should do it.  A lot of these voices will tell you that if you don't do things a certain way that you might as well not do them at all.  But I think that way of thinking does more harm than good. Yes, it's probably best to workout for at least 20 minutes, but you know what?! Any amount of time that you spend NOT sitting on your backside is good and beneficial. If you can't spend 20 minutes...spend five and feel good about that.  If you feel good about that, you'll eventually feel motivated to do more.  If you feel guilty because you only spent 5 minutes instead of 20 you are likely to quit. 

This theory applies to Bible reading too! We all start the year off determined to read it through in a certain period of time and that is AWESOME. It's a great goal.  But sometimes we get behind.  And then it gets overwhelming trying to catch up.  If you can't read 15 chapters every day, read one.  Do what you can do RIGHT NOW.  And learn to be okay with that.  

We all have goals. We all have a place we want to be.  But we can't all wake up with a never ending supply self discipline after a lifetime of severely lacking.  This life is about growth.  Not perfection.  

People who run marathons don't just wake up one day and say 'hey! I'm going to run a marathon today'.  They spend months and months training for it.  They prepare.  They start off running (or walking) one mile and they slowly build up to more until they build the endurance to run 26.  Can you imagine seeing someone training for a marathon and walking up to them and saying "you only ran 10 miles, you're such a loser!" NO. Nobody would do that.  Because we all understand that it takes time and training.  So why do we do that to ourselves when it comes to things like eating healthy, working out or reading our Bibles? 

It's a process. It's training for our ultimate goal. It's about growth. 

So I Have a Confession to Make...

I started blogging because I felt "led" to.  I started with the understanding that my writing is mediocre at best but it seemed that God was laying things on my heart and they had to go somewhere.  Maybe it was just that I needed to process God's work in my life and blogging presented itself as a means to that end.

But I have a serious problem with comparison.  I see how well someone else writes or how many followers they have and mine is so small in comparison that I start asking myself questions like "why are you even doing that?! I mean, really, WHO DO YOU THINK you are?"

I guess the problem is that I seek approval from people instead of God.  I actually kind of correlate the two. If others don't approve then God must not either...right?! No. Not right at all. The Bible is full of examples of people who did exactly what God wanted them to do but who were not accepted or even wanted by society. Okay, so am I comparing myself to people like Elijah? No. Absolutely not.  I'm just using those stories as support for my belief that I don't need the approval of others to have the approval of God.

Yes, I hope this blog encourages SOMEONE.  Yes, I want God to do something amazing through me.  But even if I'm the only someone it encourages.  And even if the only amazing thing that happens here is like a grain of sand on a huge seashore that nobody even notices...it's STILL amazing because that's a million times more than I could ever hope to accomplish on my own.

When God gives me something to write, I'm going to write.  For HIS glory.  Not for my own. And not so that anyone else will approve.

I'm going to say yes to God, even if He's the only one that hears it. :)

Sissy Stuff!

So I've done some pretty tough workouts.  I'd already done some before I joined Crossfit.  But then I joined Crossfit.

And then I unjoined Crossfit.  I loved the workouts but I didn't enjoy parting with that much cash every month.

So after I unjoined Crossfit I kind of took a hiatus from working out. I hadn't done that in several years.  I would occasionally do something. But I would try to workout at the level I had previously worked out at and I would end up puking and feeling like I was going to pass out and not able to finish.

Because after doing those awesome workouts where I felt strong and awesome...well, honestly I mostly felt whipped and like throwing up but after I got over THAT I felt strong and awesome...stuff like walking just seemed like 'sissy stuff' (btw, I totally hear the rabbit from Disney's Robin Hood saying that!).  And since my body could no longer handle the tough stuff, I would brood the fact that I had allowed myself to regress so much and just do NOTHING.

It's hard to start over.  It's hard to admit that I've let myself get back to the point where I have to.

It's necessary though if I ever want to actually get back to and go beyond where I was.  Which I do. It's time to let go of the past, learn what I can from it and press toward the future.

The thing is though I'm starting over, but not from scratch.  I'm wiser.  I've grown.  And not just in size.  I know that I'm more than a number on a scale, my deadlift one rep max or my dress size. I'm a daughter of the King.  A sinner saved by the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.  I have been set free!

So while I'm briskly walking along, I'll be thanking God for the progress I'm making and for the opportunity to start fresh...and giving myself grace for the necessity of it!

Have you ever had to start over? Is there something you need to 'start over' with?

Thursday Thirteen: Books and Blogs I Read Over and Over Again

In no particular order.

1.  Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti.
     I had kind of always thought God stood up in Heaven not really interacting much with us here...but these        books completely opened my eyes to new possibilities.

2.  Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

3.  The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers

4.  Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund

5.  The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

6.  Three books by John Ortberg If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat, The Life You've Always Wanted and The Me I Want to Be

7.  Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

8.  www.passionatehomemaking.org
Lindsay technically isn't even blogging  anymore but here are some of my favorite posts...even though there are so many more than I could post here!
     Can Natural Living Become an Idol?
     What is the Purpose of the Home?
     And all of her posts on hospitality!

9.  www.heavenlyhomemakers.com
I have gotten a ton of recipes from here! I've made homemade graham crackers, poptarts, Cheeseburger Soup, and Cheesy Beef and Rice.  Her recipes are economical and use real ingredients! And she also offers a lot of encouragement about being hospitable!

10.  www.tammysrecipes.com (this website is no longer available)
Tammy posts a lot of economical and real food recipes from this site! She also hosts Kitchen Tip Tuesday. She has a lot of her own recipes but she also creates at home versions of restaurant favorites.

11.  The Little House Cookbook
        I have always loved the Little House books.  As a girl I loved Laura but as a grown up girl I love Ma and Mrs. Wilder.  I love reading about how they "made do"...either economically or technologically. It inspires me!

12.  Proverbs31Ministries Devotions

13.  www.weareTHATfamily.com
Because we are THAT family too and it makes me feel better. Also, she has a lot of good things to say that challenge me!