Tag: Faith

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Fitness & Training Health Coaching Spiritual Health Uncategorized

The Competitive Mind Trap

Girls Compete

The other day I shared a video on my Facebook business page, A.Wright Fit, of an interview of one of my favorite actors, Will Smith, going into a pretty in depth explanation on his work ethic, motivation and ultimate success in his life and in the movie making industry. To see the video and to see what I posted, click HERE.

You can see by watching the video he is deeply inspired and seems to be rooted in a very strong competitive mindset about who he is and what he can do.

As I explained on my Facebook page, because I like Will Smith so much, I wanted so badly to be inspired by this great actor, but I realized in the last couple of weeks since first seeing this interview, that I was not inspired by it at all. In fact, I disagree with the source of his motivation and mindset toward success.

Specifically, when Will Smith says of himself and his success, “The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me, is that I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked. You might be smarter than me. You might have more talent than me. You might be sexier than me [

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Goal Development Spiritual Health Uncategorized

BREAKING-UP IS POWERFUL TO DO, PART DEUX

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do II

 

As life would have it, I am finding more and more of my true calling in this effort of writing, blogging and health coaching.   It came to me a while ago, but I have realized that my Greater Purpose of this calling of writing these articles are not just for you (although I earnestly hope that you do get some sort of lesson or inspiration out of them) but really a lot of this calling is about ME and gaining some necessary wisdom in my life.

So, as it naturally happens, as I start to put pen-to-paper, or more aptly, fingers-to-keyboard, I start to expose more and more things that I need to focus on and work on.

As was the case when I started to write the blog last week that was just posted yesterday. I have always been so aware of the power that my husband’s and my history holds. I love our love story. I have fully embraced the convoluted, roller-coaster-ride rollercoaster of loveof our history as part of what makes our relationship so powerful today!

I can fully embrace the imperfect ways that we tried and tried to get it (W)right to no avail only to finally, FINALLY, realize what was the missing issue the entire time ——-> BIG MAN himself, G.O.D.

I spoke yesterday that I clearly placed Howard and my relationship ahead of God when I would obsess and worry and try harder and harder.

And as I was journaling these thoughts in our story for yesterday, it all of a sudden hit me like a dagger right between my eyes.

 “Consumed with thinking about it all day, everyday.”

“Obsessed with trying to be enough.”

“Trying harder and harder and holding on tighter and tighter.”

These are the EXACT phrases that I could easily put into place regarding my relationship with my body and food as well.

It’s not so shocking, of course, because I’ve already admitted to this behavior, especially when it was at it’s peak as I was training to do a bikini competition.

But I can admit now that these SAME feelings and obsession with my body were still very present  when I was planning for my wedding. It was another BIG DAY and I had a lot self pressure to look the best I’ve ever looked, naturally.

I am proud of myself that I did NOT resort to extreme tactics this go round and still treated my body in a much more health-centered way.

 But the truth is that mentally, I was just as consumed (if not more so) with worry and fret as I have been before. I hired not 1 but 2 health coaches myself, hired a personal trainer, logged my food every day, paid for extensive body fat measurements and the whole bit.

wedding-day-weight

 Again,

 “Consumed with thinking about it all day, every day.”

 “Obsessed with trying to be enough”

 “Trying harder and harder and holding on tighter and tighter”

The results were just about the same as those 6-years of dating Howard. I could try as hard as I wanted but it wasn’t going to change much.   I lost maybe 5 lbs and a few body fat % in the entire year that I was working toward my wedding body. For a WHOLE YEAR, with literally thousands of hours logged with worry, obsession and fret,  and all I lost was a measly 5lbs.

(Can someone make a t-shirt with that on it perhaps?   “I spent 1,000 of mental hours and 1,000 of dollars for this body and all I lost were these 5lbs?”)

Don’t get me wrong, I am quite pleased with how I looked on my wedding day, but I was a little exhausted that day too from all that build up and WORRY, which I have to admit was 80% about my BODY more than about the wedding itself!   Also, don’t EVEN get me started on the fact that it took a full 10-minutes and 4 women to zip up my gosh darn dress?!  How’s that for a confession?! UGHHHHHH.  Literally, I. Can’t. Even.  I can't even

 

But, I digress….

So, it’s been almost 6-months since my wedding day, and I have been trying to pinpoint this emotion that I’ve been feeling ever since.

For the first time, in a long time, I am not obsessing over my body, I am not logging my meals, I am not tracking every workout and measuring the # of calories I’m burning or consuming.

But all of this new behavior has me feeling a mix of emotions. I feel relief that I don’t have to obsess so much any more, and yet, I’m kind of sad and lost unsure of this new phase with my body and relationship food and workouts.

 AND SO IT’S HIT ME……

 I’m in the middle of a break-up!

It’s not the same as what it was when Howard and I broke-up because I can’t physically break-up with my body.

But I realize now that I’ve broken-up with the relationship I had with my body!

Subconsciously and now more consciously I have exposed that I STILL have a tendency to put many things (i.e. idols) ahead of my relationship with God . These tendencies seem to manifest themselves in my mind the exact same way.

 I obsess, I worry, I try harder and yet it doesn’t produce the results I want.

But, for the first time ever, I am not treating my body the same way as I always have. I have some other things that are taking precedence (namely, my time with God, my husband and this business) over my workouts, body obsession and food.

This has meant that my workouts are much shorter (usually about 30 minutes, 3-4 days per week). I also don’t track my eating like I used to (simply because I don’t have time). I am not weighing myself very often at all. I am not even looking in the mirror as much anymore!  It’s kinda just “weird” for me.  It’s a me I don’t quite recognize and don’t know quite what to do with myself….as odd as that sounds!

This relationship I had with my body was around for much much longer than the relationship I had with Howard, so I’m expecting this break-up to take some time.   And just like it was when he and I broke-up,  I don’t know if I’m meant to get back together with that old me, or if I’m going to find a whole new relationship with my body that is a much better fit!

images

Either way, I know I’m at this in between phase of this break-up right now and I need to STAY IN THIS PHASE until I have clear direction.

THE POWER IN THIS BREAK-UP:

Now that I am conscious that I am in the middle of this “break-up” with the relationship with my body, I can offer you some insight into what this means for me. What I DON’T have is the actual lessons I’m going to learn. The reason is because I’m not over it yet and I’m feel as though I’m still healing.

But if you’re in this place with me, perhaps realizing that you too have a “bad relationship” with your body, food, or working out, then there ARE some things that I can offer.  Things that I KNOW within my soul that are helping through this break-up phase.

1. Doubt Gives Way to Faith:

The power of our idols is incredibly strong. Everyday that I think I have a God-centered, “healthy” relationship with my body, I will all of a sudden find myself in the pantry binge eating some fruit clusters and other treats and then immediately feeling the affects of guilt and mental punishment the rest of the day.  Sugar Addiction (or any food/drink/substance addiction) can be a very real idol that we serve before we serve God.

But what I know is that just when I doubt I will ever be strong enough to beat my sugar addiction, in comes these waves of Faith that I know that God is stronger than anything and everything in this world.   God over EverythingI can put my trust and hope in God and He will help me beat this body idol and reengage in a new relationship with my body.  I can remember all the other hard things I’ve had to give up (anyone read my WINE-O series?!) and how much God has truly pulled me through once I SURREND’hered it to Him.

2. Fulfillment comes from God alone:

Just like I had learned the hard way from my break-ups with Howard, I am seeing this pop-up again in my break-up with my old relationship with my body. I was trying to find fulfillment from my body and my health instead of truly finding fulfillment from God. I know that this break-up will serve as the necessary time for me to reengage with God as my sole provider. To SURREND’her more and more to Him. To truly make Him the center of ALL of my life, not just part-of my life.

3.These Feelings of “Falling Apart” are what is going to lead to the Spiritual Break-Through I need:

[Full Disclosure] I am very, very uncomfortable in this ‘break-up phase’ with my body. A large part of me feels like I’m really GIVING-UP on my body.  410461022227339120_1382633488I have fear that it’s going to all go down hill. I have so much guilt about not working out as much or dieting as hard core as I used to and fear that all this is going to lead me to be a big fat hypocrite on this forum of “speaking about health” all while looking chubby. I am still struggling daily with the feelings of how I should be “trying harder.”

But, what I’m doing about these fears is not “trying harder,” I’m just praying harder. I’m journaling a ton and praying all day long about this body and this life and asking God to use me in these new ways. To heal my mind and body and soul. I know this is exactly the right course.

I am encouraged by the signs that God is giving me for motivation to keep “praying through”. One such sign is from the book I keep talking about, The Circle Maker. The author Mark Batterson gave me a very strong reminder when he said, “If you want to experience a super natural break-through, you have to pray through. But as you get closer to the break-through it often feels like you’re about to lose control, about to fall apart. That is when you need to press in and pray through.”

Pressing-on and praying through is what I intend to do!

4. I’m Grateful for my Imperfections:

I can find joy and gratitude in every difficult thing that I encounter in life. My very struggles in life are the things that keep me leaning on God and keep me looking to Him more and more. My imperfections are the gateway to the true blessings that I’ll receive from this relationship I’m building with God. I know I will never be perfect and this battle with my body and with food will be a lifelong battle. But I can be grateful for that because it means that I will always stay close to God. I can “sacrifice of a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:17)

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5. I can Praise Him NOW for what will be:

I can also know that because I’m giving Him this problem He has already answered my prayer. He has already delivered me from this idol of my body and food and He has offered me a new relationship with my body that better serves my Greater Purpose. I can Praise Him for answering this prayer and just wait for this answer to be revealed to me. I know there will come a time and I’ll “just know” what direction to take and I’ll keep taking steps that He leads me.   Thank you God for this.

So, while I do wish I had more answers for YOU I hope you don’t mind me opening up more about my struggles and how I’m really not much of an “expert” yet on how to enter into a healthy relationship with your body.

What I do encourage you to do is to self-assess your current relationship you have with your body too!

Q: How do you see your body?

Q: Do you put part of your quest for health or your body before God?

Q: What are the mental cues that recognize as your blocks (i.e. do you obsess, worry, avoid, abuse, or hate your body?).

Q: Can you find ways to use God in those areas and “pray-through” this barrier it plays in your heart and soul.   Think of the best ways that you can give this to God (prayer, friends, journaling etc)

Also, I do I highly suggest reading The Circle Maker the_circle_maker_zv_largeand journaling a lot more to expose some of your own idols in your life! It might not just be your body or health, it is likely quite a few things! Give them ALL UP! Keep SURREND’hering .

 

In Love and Healing,

 

Amanda

 

 

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Fitness & Training Goal Development Health Coaching Spiritual Health Uncategorized

Life is Bootyful

So, if you’ve never met me, you might not realize all that I have going on….

Meaning, I have a pretty big butt.

Woman Booty

As a matter of fact, my booty is a flotation device! Yep, when I swim it somehow stays above water the whole time. Don’t ask me how. It’s rather embarrassing, and one strong reason why I am NOT a fan of swimming. I received quite a few chuckles about it when I was young, and can see how cute it must have been back then.

Now it’s just a little alarming. So unless you’re my 2-year old stepdaughter, don’t expect me to hop in the pool much with you.

Yes, the Lord blessed me and my Momma (and my Momma’s Momma) this-girl-got-it-from-her-mamawith this “S-Curve” action. (Despite what my husband thinks) I am white and grew up in a pretty white town, so this was not something I loved about myself growing up.

As a matter of fact, when I shared the story of my childhood and how I started to develop deep insecurities about my body aaaallllllll the way back in 2nd grade, it was because I had this big ol’ booty and I got teased about it all the time.

While growing up, I would honestly pray that God would help me lose weight in my booty. Well I think he misheard me, because whenever I lost weight, it was right from my boobies….not my booty. The opposite of my request!!

We all have prayer requests. The bible tells us that no prayer request is too big or too small.

So my prayer to lose weight in my booty isn’t technically too small of a prayer for God, but it was just pretty “small minded” of me! There were certainly things I was in need of in a spiritual sense, more in need of than a smaller butt!

Nevertheless, even though it was always my workout goal to “get a smaller butt“, this goal and this prayer went unanswered. I had to learn to live with the big “bootyful” life I had.

youre-bootyful-85186532Luckily I did.

Fast forward to me, 25-years old, working as a waitress in La Jolla, CA, at a nice steak house called Donovans.

In walks this tall drink of mochacino man that literally gave me heart palpitations.

I walked by him……he looked at me…..I smiled at him….he gawked at me. I was unnerved and was thanking my stars I wasn’t his waitress! I would walk by his table on the way to the kitchen and try not to look his way. I was hanging out at the bar, and in order to completely avoid looking in his direction, I completely turned my back and was pretending to watch whatever sporting event was on the TV above me.

This move gave him the robust view of…..you guessed it….my large derrière!

This is what we call a HOOK, LINE, and SINKER for my man. original_hook-line-and-sinker-valentines-card

Within just a few moments, his waiter was handing over his business card to me telling me, “the talk guy at my table is into you“. On the back of his card was “Dinner Sometime?“(what a line, Wright!)

And as the saying goes……….the rest is history!

photo (5)
Left: October 2007 when we first met…Right: October 2015 on our wedding day

As my husband describes it, his first attraction was to my face. But what got him to literally “play his cards” right was my big ol’ booty.

So, all those years, God didn’t answer my prayer to help me lose weight in my butt. He knew that this big booty would literally help me get the man of my dreams!

This perspective has helped me love and understand my body goals so much more!

Along with my butt, I have always struggled with the necessary “thunder thighs” that help support my booty.

strongwomanBut now I see my big, stroooonng legs as maybe purposeful. God willing, I’ll never have to lift a car off of a child, or carry my 6’8″ husband out of a burning building. But, I’m (probably) strong enough to do those things. I think that’s kinda cool.

I see the naturally, slightly higher body fat and estrogen hormonal structure unique to my body (pear-shaped as they call it) being purposeful in creating a human life. That might be cool one day, if that is what God has in store for me 😉

Body-shapes

And clearly if I’m ever in a boating accident, or airplane crash over water, I could just be used as a, “flotation device” with my buoyant-behind, meaning I could survive to speak to legal help after a crash. (Again God, if you can please make that NEVER have to happen, Amen).

As good as this would be in an event of an accident, such as one in an airplane, I don’t think my “floatation device” would be able to help me cover the costs of any loss of earnings or medical bills, as I’m sure that I would definitely need to have some emergency treatment. That’s when a law firm similar to lamber goodnow would have to be contacted so they could help me in the steps that I would need to complete next. But I’m hoping that it will never come to this.

I see my curves as pretty great not just because my husband loves them, but because they are unique to me and they are what God designed! He is a master crafter! Everything can have a Purpose!

So yes, I still have body goals. Yes, I still pray for God to guide me with my body goals. Yes, I make sure I am staying fit and healthy instead of using this perspective of “loving my body” as an excuse to be lazy or not strengthen it.

But I’m no longer praying for God to magically change my “flawed features”, because I see that there is truly Purpose in each and every ounce of my body.

img-thing

I concentrate on being STRONG’her in body, WISE’her in how I think about my body, and certainly continue to SURREND’her curves up to God so they might be used for you Greater Purpose.

I invite you to do the same in taking part in my 7-Step SURREND’her Goal Development Workshop! It will help you define the (W)right fit of goals for your life. Balance your health goals to empower yourself towards true health and provide you with 7-steps to make your goals a life long commitment!

The emails will be sent to you between April 13-April 20.

There is no extra gimmick. Nothing to sell. Just me, striving to help you reach your goals!! There are limited spaces…. so act fast!

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Goal Development Health Coaching Spiritual Health Uncategorized

{Public Service Announcement} YOU are WORTHY

I have to admit, every time I contemplate opening up and writing about certain spiritual moments in my personal life, I get very nervous and unsure if I should.  But today, I feel as though this is too powerful and too necessary of a message that I can’t let any fear hold me back.

So here it goes……

As directed, I was standing in the quiet solitude, opening the posture of my heart and wondering if this was really going to work.  Pastor Alan Kraft was praying over us in the congregation and was speaking to the areas that we might be “thirsting for MORE of the Holy Spirit”. 
Thirsting SoulHe asked if some of us might be contemplating “an area of risk or feeling God might be asking us to step out of our comfort zone in some way.”

He instructed those of us that were feeling this area of “thirst in our souls”, to ask God, in the quiet of our heart, to give us a word or a phrase that He wanted us to know. 

In moment, the word that filled my heart was….

“Worthy”

Pastor Alan is the lead Pastor of Christ Community Church in my home town in Greeley,CO.  I just so happened to be back in town and of course always love to attend the church where this Pastor  played such a significant role in reawakening my soul and therefore my life as I now know it.  There is no amount of money or tithe that I could possibly repay this church, and that humble man, for the impact he has had on my life during some of my darkest days (I’m talking about every break-up I ever faced!).  It was a divine gift that led me to that church when I did.  I am so grateful for this blessed impact.   

This day would be another example of God’s wondrous miracles and His abundant grace pouring down on me in this Church.

This word “Worthy” brought me to tears immediately.    

It was as though with just the small prick of one simple word, the entire ho- air-balloon 
Hot Air Balloon-sized amount of guilt, fear and true UNworthiness I had been feeling for SO long was completely deflated.

This would not be the first time a single word would have such a huge impact on my life.  About 4-years ago now, I was living with my parents just after moving back to Colorado from California and was really unsure what I was “supposed to be doing.”

I was watching an Oprah Winfrey, Master Class, about the star herself (see video link).  She was speaking about the time she was jogging, literally at a fat farm, and so upset about not getting the role she thought God had called her to get  for the movie, The Color Purple.  She was tormented by this and in her grief, finally started to spontaneously sing the hymn “I Surrender All”, reminding herself that she needed to just Surrender this expectation and her life to God.  She describes it as just words at first, but the more she repeated that chorus and the more she started to pray on it, the more she was truly able to SURRENDER herself and be ok with not getting that part. 

Oprah Surrender

The second she got to that place in her Spirit, someone came running out to let her know she had a call from Steven Spielberg himself, offering her the role she had dreamed of.  It all happened the moment she truly “Surrendered”.

But the word, as she said it, seemed to leap off her mouth on the TV and smack me upside the head. 

“Surrender”

It was, as she would certainly describe it, an “aha moment” of magnitude 10. 

As you might have guessed by my repeated use here and now trademarked version of my, SURREND’her, this word became my mantra for living ever since that day. Just as Oprah describes it was just merely a word to me at first, but the more I prayed it out or I wrote it down and repeated it to myself, the more I was able to truly Surrender my spirit more and more.  istock-purchased-surrenderIt was so freeing to think that I could loosen the tight grip of all this life choices I thought I was going to have to create for myself.  That I did not need to control my own destiny, that I could surrender it all to God and trust that He would take care of it. 

Just as he has with Oprah, God has blessed me with the life of my dreams, and I know I’m only getting started!   It led me to several life changing experiences and challenges!  I have been able to accept and embrace things in my life that I never would have dreamed like step-parenting, forgiving, moving, and world traveling!   But here I am , Surrendering to it still now, and loving EVERY. SURREND’hered. Moment.

So now, this new word…….WORTHY.

I realized I had been feeling so UNworthy in so many ways. 

UNworthy of God’s presence in my life and for his debt that He paid for my sin.

UNworthy or guilty of the blessing of being back with my fiancé, now husband, Howard and all that we were planning to do and a wealth of opportunity I never had imagined for my life. 

I also felt very UNworthy of the calling I had been starting to feel in my soul and all of THIS….

THIS dream, of this very website and the possibility of writing or speaking publicly about my health and my faith is is huge step out of my comfort zone.  But I am strengthened only by God’s presence in me.

 I had an intense amount of fear that was causing me to procrastinate and divert my attention to other menial tasks, instead of starting this project and site.  Even now, there is intense amount of fear that surfaces again and again with each post because it is an extremely vulnerable thing to talk about not just my life, but my Faith.   I have always felt very private about my faith mainly because I never, ever want to offend anyone and don’t want to make anyone think that I am trying to force a religion down their throats.

But in this moment, God called me WORTHY and it is now imprinted on my heart.  I wear this worthiness like a badge of honor to play this “worthy” role, even if my fears want to try to talk me out of owning it.

Just like I did with ‘Surrender”, I put this word every where! It’s on my Vision Board, on a custom sign I’m having made for my desk and I write it down as often as I can, especially when I’m journaling or feeling especially emotional and fearful. 

WORTHY
My Office Shelf with my Vision Board titled WORTHY

This word ‘Worthy’ truly became the daily reminder that God is telling me I’m worthy of this all and I’m worthy of His love and blessings He wants to bestow to me if I am obedient to His calling.    I should not hold myself back from all of my hearts desires because of the LIE of ‘unworthiness’ I had been feeling for so long.

THIS WEEK…..

I am reminded of this word this week as I have talked to more than one close girlfriend who are also fellow Christians, but are struggling in different areas of their life, like we all are.

Both of them confided to me that they had been feeling “UNworthy” of all of their blessings in their life too.   They used that exact word…”UNworthy”….

I realized when speaking to these friends that they too were caught in the fear and the lie of this feeling of unworthiness and it is stalling them in taking the next step they need to take on their path for their Greater Purpose. 

And now it’s hit me. 

Really, this word was never just MY word to now use.    

No, this word that God gave me on that September day was always intended as a gift for you.  You, whoever you are, reading this right now. 

It is a miracle that you happen to be reading this very blog this day because God has something very special He wanted me to remind you.

worthyYou are worthy of it all.

You are worthy of your blessings.  You are worthy of His Grace.  You are worthy of His forgiveness.  You are worthy of YOUR calling to YOUR Greater Purpose. You are worthy of the
price Jesus paid when He died for your sins.  You are worthy of your dreams.

You are worthy of your health. 

You are worthy of His love.

He wants you to wear this word of “Worthy” like a tattoo on your heart because you will never be rid of your worthiness.  

If you feel that you have been holding yourself back from your dreams (whether they are dreams about your health, or dreams about your calling, or anything!) because you have been feeling deep down inside that you are somehow UNworthy of the true blessing God has planned for you, then TODAY is your day to step out from behind those dark shadows and lies of UNworthiness.

FEAR IS A LIAR

FEAR is a LIAR.  Your feeling of UNWORTHINESS is a LIE straight from Satan himself that has plagued your spirit and has caused you to hold back from fully committing your life to your Greater Purpose.  It is holding you back from SURREND’hering it ALL to God, not just some of your life. 

God has created you for a Greater Purpose and you are WORTHY and capable of every step ahead of you!!

If you are feeling unsure about the next steps in your life and unsure if you are living out a life of your WORTHY calling, then I would be honored to help you decide what your WORTHY goals should be! 

I am hosting a 7-part/day series called 7-Steps to SURREND’her Goal Development where I am going to take a limited number of participants through the program I developed that I use personally every day and I use with each of my Health Coaching Clients.

You will be creating and designing goals for your life to help you fulfill your Greater Purpose!  To put action to this call of urlWORTHINESS and to start the action steps to accomplish ALL God has called you to do. 

You will get the chance to learn how to achieve goals in ALL areas of your True Health (or life!) including Body Goals, Mindset Goals and Spiritual Goals to become….

a wright fit tag line

It will be an incredibly rewarding time of self-discovery, visualization and action steps to achieve all God is calling you to achieve!!

The series will start on Monday, April 13 and will be emailed to you for just 7-Days.

For YOU, I will offer this service for FREE because I think you are Worthy of achieving any goal or dream in your heart. 

To take part of this 7-Steps to SURREND’hered GOAL Development click HERE and share with as many people as you think are WORTHY as well.  

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Spiritual Health

The Art of SURREND’her & Your Health

Water Rapics_Final

“I am just so frustrated because I am doing everything right, but I’m not really seeing any changes to my body.”

This is a common quote from any one of my health coaching clients, or frankly, from my own mind from time to time.   I usually hear this type of remark about 2 weeks into developing new habits and rituals into the daily life of a woman attempting to get the body and level of fit that she desires. 

We think that getting the body we want, we will get the life we want.

We think by achieving optimal health, we will live comfortably.

We think that if we are uncomfortable or struggling in some way with our health, we’re doing something wrong.  That we must just need to try harder.

We grow impatient quickly.  We grow weary.

Some of us at this stage will just give up and say, “Well, it’s just not meant to be.  I’m just not meant to be fit.”

Others will start to take things into their own hands by beginning to “micromanage” their health.  Assuming the more control they have, the more they’ll see results and the less risk of getting to an “uncomfortable” place again.  They will start to rely on just themselves again.

For some reason, so many of us take God out of our goals for health.  We put God in the “Spirit” category of life.  He can come to church with me; He can help me find a new job and career; He can help me find a mate; He can help me repair my relationship with my (mom, grandpa, coworker etc.).

But our weight loss and eating habits?  “No, no, we need to do this on our own.  We can’t bother God with something so trivial!”

This is especially the case for those who don’t have much of a problem with their weight, but still have fitness goals.   They’re not fighting anything like obesity, diabetes, or cancer that would require more prayer.  But those who live in a pretty normal or healthy weight range but would still like to lose those few extra pounds will often leave God completely out of such category as fitness. 

What if I told you that your HEALTH, no matter how big or how small your health goal is ABSOLUTELY dependent on your relationship with God. 

In fact, your health, just like every other aspect of your life is a process to be SURRENDERED to God if it’s going to be a blessing to your life.

To Surrend’her means that you don’t give up, but you give UP.  You stop trying to steer the boat yourself, but you don’t abandon your boat either.  You stay in and you flow with God. 

My sister-in-law, Laura, and I were talking the other day about some visions that God had given her.  She said she kept picturing white water rafting, which is something she has never done before.

She said, “The beautiful thing about white water rafting is that in order to stay in the raft and handle the waves and rapids, you actually have to sit in the middle of the raft and not hold on to the sides or anything.  You just have to trust and relax your body as much as possible and let your body bounce with the raft as it hits the rocks and waves.  You have to surrender to it, just like we have to surrender to God.”

It was a beautiful analogy and I believe God was sending her a clear message that I was rewarded with too (as are all of you!). 

I see God as not only the raft that is taking you down your “river of life”, but I see God as the water itself, the rocks you hit, and the other underlying creatures below the surface causing your life to be quite the ride!  God is ALL of it and it all has purpose!

The key is, the more you surrender to the raft, the higher the rapids you can handle and the faster you can go.

Our bodies are so complex and our health goes so much deeper than what we can see in the mirror.    Our metabolic systems run just like the rushing white water rapids down a river.  They are constantly changing direction and moving according to the various hormone responses, food intake, weight, muscle mass, exercise exertion, water, vitamins and minerals and many more factors than that! 

There is NO WAY that you can completely control and manipulate your metabolism, just like there is NO WAY you can control a raging river.

In your health, there comes a point that you just have to sit in the middle of the raft and surrend’her to it all.   It takes an incredible amount of trust and faith to do this every day.

But, trusting the process of health IS trusting God.

Sarah Young in her book, Nearer to Jesus, reminds us “You can achieve the victorious life through living in deep dependence on (Jesus).”

Victorious life. Not “safe” life.  Not “always comfortable” life. Not even “successful” life. 

Victory in God means you have won the battle by giving up the sword.  You put your hope in the Lord and you trust the process he has put before you.  There is a process of nurturing and taking care of your health and your metabolism.  There are choices you can make at every meal of every day that will help keep all systems running as efficiently as possible.   

If you are struggling, seek the information you will need to learn about your body.  Once you have the information, start making the changes in your life and trust that it will all be for Good.  God can provide you resources for all. 

As you start to make changes to your health, you accept every stumble, every fall, every wave, and every rock as signs that you are indeed doing something right.  Because each stumble requires more and more dependence on God. 

This is what He wants from you.  He wants a relationship with you.  For you to bring ALL things to Him, even something as trivial as weight loss. 

For even in your discomfort, even in your failings and even in your shortcomings, you still have the Joy of the Lord when you keep Him by your side. 

You do not give up. 

But you sure do Surrend’her. 

Categories
Health Coaching Spiritual Health

THE Miracle Moment | My Road to Becoming WISE’her

2015-02-21 17.52.58

Sitting here, steeped in the richness of beauty that is Maui, I cannot help but be in awe of what God has done, is doing, and will do for this us and this great earth. You see tiny slices of heaven in the way He decorated this Island and majesty in the volcanoes, rainforest and gorgeous turquoise waters. A true wonder.

For all that God has done for this earth, He has done much much more within us-within me. The way he can decorate your soul is of far greater beauty than anything we can see.

I see it now so clearly. The color of Love within me is bright and beaming and shines through my every pore. Reminds me of the passage:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.” Matthew 6:22-23

My eyes have been shown a new light and it can’t be hidden nor forgotten. It came at a brilliant moment of clarity that after a week of relaxation, I feel I am ready share openly.

Here it goes…..

***************************************************************************************

“What are you so afraid of?” he asked.

The question caught me blindsided. Almost immediately, the tears started flowing down my cheeks.

“He” was Pastor Miles McPherson from The Rock Church in San Diego, CA. I was with my husband and the Pastor meeting in his office in a brief introduction for the first time. After 15-minutes of chit-chatting between he and my husband (who had known each other from years ago as young athletes in San Diego) we were heading out to let him get to his second of five sermons he would give that day.

As we were heading toward the door, he asked what I did for a living? I told him briefly about my virtual health coaching and the blog I was intending to start (i.e. this one) that would include not just the body (i.e. exercise and nutrition), but having a strong mind and also creating a stronger spirit with God at the center. I said something like “I’m really scared about it if you would pray for me.”

Hence, his question.

I was immediately overwhelmed because the question was more accurately “What am I NOT afraid of?”

I was afraid that I was a fraud. Afraid that I still didn’t look the part that people would respect. Afraid that I wouldn’t be good at writing. Afraid that I would put my faith out there and offend people…. or get made fun of…. or not taken seriously. I was afraid of failing. Afraid of disappointing God. Afraid that God had chosen the wrong person for this calling of writing. Afraid that I was still too heavy and I need to just keep focusing on losing weight first.

This place of fear and insecurity was not new for me, oh no! But with the tears came such disappointment and shame that this fear bubbling up yet again, in front of my Pastor and husband no less! Especially since I had been working SO hard trying to change my mindset about my body and really thought I was making some headway!

The other week on the blog, I shared what I would call a pivotal moment of my career in health. What Malcolm Gladwell would call a “Tipping Point.” After mentally torturing myself and my body to compete in a body building Bikini Contest for the purpose of finally feeling “accomplished” and “good enough” to be in the fitness industry, I was met with the most empty and sad feelings I had ever felt about my body. What I had expected to happen by getting the “perfect body” was almost the polar opposite of the feelings that I actually had when it was accomplished. (If you missed it, check out my last blog HERE)

This was what I know for sure as an experience in the wonder of God’s grace in life lessons. Love so richly poured out in the form of tough consequences when we don’t listen to His guidance. Consequences that certainly get our attention because they’ve just smacked us right in the face, and consequences we need in order to learn the lesson He wants us to.

As they say, “When you know better, you do better” and I decided that this experience of the competition was going to propel me to “do better” things for my body and in my practice of teaching others about health.

I knew I needed to change the way I thought about my body. I knew there was something not healthy about my thoughts and something overwhelmingly negative about how I saw myself. This was an epiphany for me because I have largely felt as though I was a very positive and kind person. But as is often the case, especially in women, where I am positive, kind and uplifting for others, I was begrudging, judgmental, and harsh on myself.

Being that I have always been a good student, I naturally set out to learn more about how I can improve my way of thinking. I began to devour blogs, online articles, magazines and books in search of some wisdom.

I learned a tremendous amount of information from fellow bloggers, notably Jen Comas Keck, Jill Coleman and the rest of the Girls Gone Strong group of women who all had very similar stories to mine of trying for years to “look the part” of something they thought they should be in the fitness industry, only to come out on the other side realizing there is so much more to life and fitness than that.

I also read countless books by authors with incredible insight and acumen. One very noteworthy example is the book Playing Big by the incredibly smart and talented Tara Mohr. Tara was the first to introduce me to the concept that we all have what she calls an “Inner Critic” which is the is the voice in our head that is critical, discouraging and keeps us “playing small”. I took it to mean that there was this natural negative side to all of us! It was a powerful book for me because I realized I clearly was not the only one that had this voice in my head that would discourage me from taking risks in life. Her booked helped me tremendously in taking more steps to writing this blog, even before I felt completely “prepared enough” to do it. Now, I feel like I could even be ready on starting to look at how to publish a book… Although I very well might need to get writing some more for that!

These great resources and clear knowledge I was learning from all of these women, I felt were slowly helping me finally learn to love my body and manage my insecurities. I thought I was making some great headway!

But, it was clear that just by one simple, yet profound question by Pastor Miles that day, I still was dealing daily with my battles of fear, insecurity, body image and some self loathing.

“What are you so afraid of?”

Although I mentally had a list a mile long, I of course didn’t say any of those things to Pastor Miles, but did stammer out something about “not knowing if I was going to be good enough or capable enough.”

Miles, with a strong sense of divine intuition, sat us both back down and started trying to get to the bottom of where all these fears had come from. He gave me a few rounds of questions trying to figure it out:

“Did your parents ever make you feel you were not good enough?”

Oh no, my parents are perhaps the most supportive and loving people I know.

“Do you have a learning disability or anything that really holds you back?”

Oh no, I’ve always been a good student, actually.

“Do you not like the way you look or something?”

Well no, not most of the time.

“When did you first start feeling this way?”

(Without much pause) Since second grade.

“Second grade??”

Yes, second grade.

I still remember it vividly. At eight years old, I was on the playground with two of my best friends. As a tall girl, I was always a head taller than everyone but I was also pretty curvy, with this bubble booty I have always had! One of my friends brought up my weight and the fact that she weighed 45 lbs-I weighed 60 lbs. And.That.Was.It.

That was the first time I felt huge and the first time I didn’t like that I was so much “bigger” than everyone else. In a funny way, it was not about my height as I didn’t mind being taller. It was always about my weight and being heavier, curvier and more noticeable for it all too. I got teased some, sure, but never really bullied severely. I became my own bully. I began desiring to “lose weight” starting in elementary school.

Pastor Miles looked at me and said, “You realize that this is how the devil works right? He gets inside our heads so early in life that you didn’t even know he was there. Since then, you have been living under this LIE in your head that was planted so very long ago. A lie you have been passively accepting as your truth because the devil is that good that he preys on the things that will get us the most.”

Wow, I had never thought about it that way.

This specific LIE of being “too big” and “not good enough” was not just not just any kind of insecurity- it was THE insecurity from which all others have stemmed. Was he saying that this lie was not from me or something that I created in my head, but it has been implanted by the enemy? It was not my fault?

Pastor Miles went on to explain that we actually have the power over the evil one in our thoughts. It is a power that God gave us but a power we must choose to engage. To cast out any lies or ways of thinking that is not from God. To put the evil back where it belongs.

He said what I was enduring my entire life was not a mental battle, but a SPIRITUAL battle!

Then, he and my husband took the time to stand and pray over me and pray out any thoughts of evil, pray out any more lies that I had been passively believing and that my soul might be restored to it’s rightful owner, God.

As they prayed over me, I was able to truly surrender my body and spirit to this new awareness and accept the prayer over me.

All of a sudden, I could feel the physical presence of God within me. It surfaced as small twitches in my eye. This physical sensation I have felt several times since, usually while praying, and a gift I am humbled to receive from God.

[Reflection: I feel that whenever I pray and I feel these eye twitches, God’s presence is doing this to “open the eyes of my heart” so I can see Him and see life through His gracious lens. It is a miracle and truly extraordinary, if not shocking, to experience. ]

Later that day, I thought back to all the roads that this LIE of being “too big” had led me down.

I remembered feeling big in my volleyball outfit and it affecting my play. Choosing friends growing up that I thought were better than me so I could feel more confident around them. Choosing bad guy after bad guy to date and expecting them to magically cure my low self-esteem. To periods of depression, eating disorders, and emotional bursts. To obsessing about food and thinking about my body literally all-day, every-day for as long as I can remember.

But on this day, for the first time in a long-time, I felt whole, complete and at peace. It dawned on me that this “inner critic” or negative voice of lies is not actually ME at all. There was no battle between the “bad” version of me and the “good” version of me.

I am good. In fact, I am “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139)

Embracing that love and embracing that fact turned on a light inside of me that had never felt so pure and so bright. This warming love spread through each capillary and nerve.

What was remarkable, was that it all mades sense now-intellectually speaking.

I “got it”. More than just an “aha” moment,

I had wisdom.

Each lie in my head had been acting as a brick building up a tall wall that was preventing my mind from fully understanding the depth of love God had for me and thus my ability to embrace the depth of love I have for myself.

Again, “But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Words of Jesus, Matthew 6:23)

The best part is that this battle was not mine to win. It is a battle that is Gods. It can all be changed in a moment–with a simple prayer. God has given me the strength all this time, but I just needed awareness and prayer to be able to do something about it. The same goes for you.

It is not quick fix. As pervasive as the enemy is, often times I revert back to my old ways of thinking without a blink of an eye. But that WISDOM I gained that day does not leave me and I am able to choose Faith again.

It is my choice to either believe the lies and go on living them, or to choose to live by Faith the way God truly made me. I pray daily that I might see myself clearly the way that God sees me. I pray that “Thy Word will be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105)

For those that might be reading this and don’t quite get it, or quite see why it was such a big deal to me, I completely understand your skepticism. I had been where you might be for over 30 years. There was even a time that I didn’t really believe in evil or the “devil” because I thought we are all responsible for our own sin and it was just our own ‘human nature’. But that’s exactly what the enemy wanted me to think. That it was just another thing that I did that wasn’t “good enough.” He might be smarter and trickier than me, but the Bible says that he doesn’t have more power than me.

” I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19)

On this day, I seized that power. A true miracle.

But there’s more……..

A week later or so, Pastor Miles went to a big church in Dallas, Texas and delivered a sermon on this exact topic. If you would like to watch this funny and incredibly gifted pastor give this message, I have attached the link. (Fast forward to 37:18 for those that don’t want to watch the music)

http://www.daystar.com/ondemand/video/?video=3979777751001#.VMZT-dPDXjc.gmail

You’ll notice toward the end that he actually makes mention of a girl who had been “believing lies since 2nd grade.” He was talking about me.

See this was another miracle that God gave me. He was already using my story through Pastor Miles to help others. I was humbled by this mention but it made it even more clear that God was calling me to continue expand and tell my story. That where my mind exists so does countless of others out there. So I officially stated this blog and had some true Wisdom to share.

I surrendered my soul, gained wisdom and now understand my true strength in LOVE I have for my body.

STRONG’her | WISE’her | SURREND’her

YOUR TURN | JOURNAL

I would like to challenge you take the time to think about your biggest insecurities and go back in time when those thoughts might have originated.

Some of you may find that the lies just popped-up one day in your innocent little mind. Others might have a voice or person attached to the lie from a parent, bully, or other real life critic. Even if the lie has a face and a name doesn’t mean that the lie didn’t come from the enemy.

I encourage you to think deeply through your life and begin to question–WHAT IF ALL THIS TIME I’VE BEEN BELIEVING A LIE?

If you realize you have been believing 1 or 100, you can pray a simple prayer to take your power back.

“Dear God,

I command that these thoughts of evil be cast out of my mind in the name of Jesus. I release my burden of these thoughts to your love and power you, God. I accept the love You have for me in exchange for this lie I have believed for so long. I believe that you have given me the power over these lies in my head and that I can exercise this power over them every time I pray in Love and acceptance of your love. Protect me God and renew me in your strength of love. Give me a stronger body, mind and soul so I may live our the Greater Purpose you have planned for me.”

I would love to hear from anyone or pray for any one of you that could use some extra prayer!! Please reply to this email with any prayer requests you have, regarding this topic or otherwise!

In Good Faith,

~Mandi

Categories
Fitness & Training Food & Nutrition Health Coaching Spiritual Health Uncategorized

“I just want to fit into my skinny jeans” and other ways we fall short


One of my health coaching clients sent me an article she received from her gym in New York City.   Coincidentally, it was also an article about overcoming the urge to quit and she asked me what I thought about it.   A couple days ago,  I debuted my first blog also on ‘not quitting’ (which I purposely chose the positive affirmative of “Tips to Keep Climbing”).  If you didn’t see it,  check it out HERE!

This other article was written with the intention of  helping keep people from already giving up on their New Years resolutions, which as we all know is very common around this time of year!  Just 1-month in the New Year and a large population of people have already forgotten those new habits they were so determined to get right this year!  Like many in the Health and Fitness Community, this gym came up with a very concise and straight forward list of tips:

1. Remember the reason why you started
2. Speak Positive Truths
3. It’s Just A Valley  (ie. don’t quit from the challenge)
4. Play It Loud (get new music)
5. “They” expect you to quit (do it to show others they’re wrong)
6. Look at the ladies (or guys) for motivation
7. Eat Well (don’t cut too many calories)
8. Go To Bed (sleep)
9. Picture the New You (imagine your success)

They are all friendly reminders and with good intention behind it.   I am not bashing the intention of this article at all and on the surface, they are all great tips. 

But that seems to be my biggest issue with the way the Health and Fitness generation is trying to teach health.  Everywhere you look, you are given tip after tip after tip!  Often times, they are contradictory too and more confusing than anything. 

But the reason why I feel I am called to this platform writing and expressing my view of health and why God is calling me not only to write my truth but to also question the truths that I have long been accepting from “experts”.  My whole life I have been trying “harder” to follow ALL the tips at once, and feeling defeated when I couldn’t sustain any of them for very long.    

It wasn’t until I dug deeper into my health in my spirit and my mind that I was finally able to have real impact on my body’s health.  I believe that we as a society need to GO DEEPER in order to invoke any real change in the trajectory of our health both as individuals and as a nation.

We can see all around us that we have a health epidemic on our hands.  Our nation is sick, literally dying from health related causes.  Our kids, our elderly, our poor and our rich–it doesn’t escape anyone.   Our health has everything to do with much more than what’s on the surface too.   Ironically, there have never as many Diet and Fitness Experts in society as there are today too. Thousands of them out there that will give you a thousand different “Tips” on how to lose weight and meet your goals.  And YET, if you look around, all these “experts” aren’t really having any impact. 

To Me, most people will fit into one of three categories:

A. Yo-Yo Dieters— hopping on and off the health bandwagons in an “all or nothing” fashion  

B. Apathetic— that choose not to pursue their health and quit before we even start, seeing that the struggle is not worth the fight  or it’s just “how they’re built.”           

C. Extremists— The Uber fit, overdoing our goals to meet some unrealistic body image that doesn’t actually exist for long-term health. 

As I read the list from the New York City gym, I don’t disagree with any one of the tips.  But I also find the list to be very shallow in motivation and severely lacking in the DEPTH or any real CONVICTION behind it.

For example, if I were the old me and thinking about my New Year’s resolutions of years past, for Tip #1:  Remember the Reason Why You Started?, my answer would have been something like:

“I want to fit into my size 6 skinny jeans so I can feel confident and better about myself!”

And I would log hour after hour at the gym until I reached my goal!  Then, yes, as I slid on those size 6 skinny jeans I would feel really good about myself…….for about a week.  Maybe two. 

Then I would need another “motivation” or new “goal” to keep me going further otherwise I would just go back to drinking and binge eating and soon the skinny jeans wouldn’t fit so well any more. 

That is literally how I lived the majority of my life.  I was a “new goal” junkie, just creating more and more goals to get me “fitter” and “fitter.”  Never having actually felt fit at all.   Making small-time goals and reaching them, only to not feel as great about them as I thought I would.   Most of the time I actually felt disappointed by them!  Something was lacking.  There was no “Joy” in my success.  There was no real success!

The type of True Health and thus True Goals I am talking about are much deeper than this.  To make goals based on FAITH and not FEAR. To use GOD and not GUILT.   Tying our goals to our Greater Purpose makes the reason why we get-up-and-going to be a much deeper and much more life changing.    

My True Health Goals look something like this:

I want to feel loved, fit and good enough no matter what my jean size is.  I want to go to the gym and increase my strength and power so that I know if God calls on me to do something great, I will be physically strong enough to do it.  I want to be a shining example for my kids, my friends and  my family and I want to show them that anything is possible at any age.  And, I know I can do this because I know “I can do all thing through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13)

Doesn’t my WHY resonate SO much deeper to SOULFUL level?  Doesn’t the above goal not just hit what I want for my Body, but also my Mind and my Sprit too?    Doesn’t it sound like the kind of life-changing conviction that will change my whole life and keep me motivated for longer?  Not just help me with some small-time skinny jeans goal for the New Year? 

So what if we turn that list into something with more DEPTH?  Take their great tips and just add some Greater Purpose thinking behind it?    

I think it would look something like this: 

1. Remember why God is calling you to be fit, how does it tie to your Greater Purpose?
2. You are able to speak positive truths because you are perfectly Loved
3. Valley’s are purposeful so you always must rely on God. Embrace the challenge and draw nearer to Him.
4. The Music Lives Within— No matter what beat you hear, the movement will come from within you.  Tap into that beat.
5. “Do Not Judge or You Too Will Be Judged” (Matt 7:1)- Think about ways you can support others in their goals and you will find that they will support you back.
6. Look to your soul for motivation and the men/women will come in the right time.
7. Eat Well to sustain your fuel for your Greater Purpose.
8. Find REAL rest to renew your body, mind and soul.
9. Picture Yourself Living Out your Greater Purpose!

Journal/Thought Provocation: 

What are some of the goals that you have made so far this year?  What are some ways you can re-frame those goals to serve your Greater Purpose?

If you are struggling with knowing what your Greater Purpose is, I invite you to sit and pray about it.  Even if an answer doesn’t come to you immediately, the act of listening will be rewarding for you soon enough.  What God might be telling you is that your Greater Purpose for right now is to do exactly what you are doing, but do it in a way that would bring honor to Him.  Do it with integrity, courage, faith and love.   Their is purpose in everything we do, so do it well and do it for Good.  

In Good Health,

Mandi

Categories
Fitness & Training Spiritual Health Uncategorized

DON’T MISS THE VIEW FROM THE TOP: 5 TIPS TO HELP YOU KEEP CLIMBING!

HikeScaled

I am originally from Colorado and thus I have always loved hiking. So naturally, when my husband and I were taking a road trip from our home in San Diego,CA to Phoenix, AZ, I was all about the Camelback Mountain hike! Now that we’re more experienced, we can go on more challenging routes and we even forage for berries and check on campingfunzone.com to check they’re safe to eat! We have so much fun and spend hours trekking through the area.

We set out on the terrain on busy Tuesday morning. For those that have ever been near Camelback Mountain, or have ever done one of the two trails on the mountain, you’ll know it really doesn’t waste anytime going up! It goes from a flat-ish land to boom….mountain! A thrilling challenge! For anyone looking to start rock climbing in Colorado, it may be worth checking out these colorado rock climbing guides, for example, to learn more about it. This can be a pretty exciting hobby for many people! Plus, who doesn’t love a challenge?

Midway through out trek, we came upon a particularly rocky incline and a woman who was stopped in the middle (see pic). Treks like this often throw some hazardous obstacles our way to overcome; the trick is to be prepared! Having essential equipment like a ham radio for survival can ensure thay you’ll be able to stay in contact with other members of your group should you require thier assistance.

I trudged ahead and my husband followed suit and as I approached her, she asked me, “Have you ever done this hike?” I told her that it was our first time. “Oh I was just wondering if the rest of this hike is going to be as rocky as this part?”

I replied that I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I made mention to, “Use the rocks in your favor. They are steps that help you keep your balance.” and I moved ahead.

I believe she took my advice and promptly turned around!

The rest of the hike, I was in deep thought, wondering about this woman that gave up on her journey because she was afraid it was going to be too hard.

It got me thinking about how many people do that all the time in their life and on their quests for health.

I believe God has placed a mountain before each of us, and if we accept his path, it’s not just taking us onward, but it’s taking us upward! Just like we are hiking!

As this woman noted- when hiking, you really can’t tell what’s ahead. False peaks and winding paths block your view to the top. So it takes quite a bit of trust, courage and perseverance to keep moving onward and upward.

What I see in our society, is that so many of us quit before we even start the hike, deciding we are not sure about this whole God thing to begin with. Others, think they want to follow in God’s path, but quit before reaching the top as they see the challenges.

In terms of your health, I believe that God calls us all to follow Him in ALL things in our life and that includes our quests for better health. I believe we are all here to serve a Greater Purpose in life, and our health is certainly a factor in whether we can do that to our highest potential or not. Our true health doesn’t mean “skinnier” like society might seem to make it, it means healthier in our body, our mind AND our soul. Healthy in the sight of God. Not healthy in the sight of Man.

Many of us face huge mountains ahead of us as we seek true health. There is a real struggle that we face and many times we quit. Thinking that our body’s health or mindset of health is just not able to face this mountain.

But what we miss by quitting or stopping short is the amazing view from the top. What I would term a fully realized blessing from God. A view that is breathtaking and so beautiful that you don’t even remember any struggle along the way, all you can do is sit in awe of God, thankful that he has blessed you far greater than you could ever imagine.

So as I thought about that woman who quit, and I think about all of you out there on your own quests for health, I wanted to share:

5 TIPS TO HELP YOU KEEP CLIMBING!

1.) REMEMBER, Reaching the top is not a matter of WILLPOWER, but a matter of FAITH

So often in life, when we have a set-back on our path and we think, “Oh, if I just had the willpower to keep going!” If we are wanting to get healthier and lose weight, we think it’s all about having enough WILLPOWER to diet and exercise and stay the course.

But, this is not a willpower issue, this is a FEAR issue. We are afraid of what we don’t know.

Some (like me) think we are motivated by fear:

Oh, I HAVE to workout 2-hours a day so I don’t gain the weight back! I have to obsessively measure all my food and count every carb so I don’t gain body fat!

Others are paralyzed by fear:

I can’t even start the idea of working out, because I’m too afraid I’ll fail and be even more disappointed in myself.

It wrecks havoc on our lives.

For those that are motivated in fear, it might mean that we blindly run up the path as quickly as possible, only to realize in our hurry, we missed the shortcut path that God had laid out for us. For those that are paralyzed by fear, it stops us cold in our tracks rendering us unable to move at all.

The solution is not to willpower yourself out of it, but to simply refocus and reframe your thoughts to that of Faith. Look for the next step of what you CAN do.

Looking up at the top, you think, “Oh God, I can’t make it all the way up there!”

But if you look at the next step ahead of you, you probably CAN make the next step.

In your quest for health, you CAN start by walking every day around your block. You can focus on just feeling better, not performing better. You can just create one healthier habit and focus on implementing that, not everything all at once.

In your quest for health, don’t get too caught up in the mountain you have ahead of you, think about that next step that you CAN do and faithfully take that step. God will show you what step to take. Have Faith in HIM, not just faith in YOU.

2.) REMEMBER, THOSE ROCKS ARE STEPS!

The woman on the trail, thought, “Look at all these rocks on my path! No thank you! It’s far too rocky for me.”

What she didn’t see was that the rocks were there for her not against her.

Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Had there been no rocks at all and rather just sand or dirt, the hike would be significantly harder. You would take a step up only the slide back down

The rocks in your journey for health are things like finding time to exercise, finding the right foods to eat, a demanding life, work, kids, stress, relationships etc! Many of us see these rocks as blockades, that are against us.

But really, God uses them STEPS to take you higher. Each rock he has placed there, he has done so for a reason. Take a look at all of the rocks and ask how God might be using this rock as a step?

If the rock in your way is you are struggling with finding time to work out and spend time with your family? Maybe God is trying to tell you to workout with your family. Doing push-up challenges, races, jump rope or just exercises during the commercial break of your favorite TV program. Don’t let the rock let you quit. Find a way to use it as a step.

3.) REMEMBER, YOU ARE ABLE, SO STOP SHOULD-ING ALL OVER YOURSELF!

I will be honest, just as the woman had feared, the hike did get harder at some points and had areas that were a challenge!

But, I can tell you that she could have still finished. I had watched her as we were following her for some time and she was in plenty good shape.

God will not put us on any mountain that we are not able to climb.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.”

It doesn’t mean that it won’t be challenging, quite the contrary. But he says he will not allow you to have more than you can handle.

The reason this woman couldn’t see that was because she was should-ing all over herself. She was thinking things like, “I should be in better shape to do this.” Not realizing she was more than able just the way she was.

If you stop thinking in terms of what you should be doing and instead focus on what God has enabled you with, it will keep your focus on that next step.

4.) REMEMBER, COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY:

Besides being afraid, I’m sure this woman stopped short because she was intimidated by the other hikers on the path. She was self conscious in her ability to “keep up” with the others.

You have some avid hikers can literally RUN that trail. They are advanced. It can be really intimidating for the average person!

But, comparing your journey to theirs, you are robbing yourself of the joy and the view from where you are.

In reality, those that are running up the hike, might be doing more harm than good. Sure, they might look all fit and in good shape, but check back on their knees cartilage in about 5 years! Check-in on them when they thought they had their footing and instead slipped and fell. Just because something looks glamorous in the health and fitness community, doesn’t mean is the smartest thing for a person to do. A lot of times people are doing crazy things from a place of insecurity themselves.

But another view point is that maybe God is surrounding you people for a reason. Maybe the people around you are there to help you and motivate you, not make you self conscious. More than one person on that hike gave me a helping hand to help me up on a steep step. They were there for a reason. But it was up to ME how I viewed them and used them.

See the others around you on your path to health in the same way. Don’t try to “keep up with them” or compare yourself to them. But use them to help you when you need it. What you might find is that you are there to help others too!

5.) REMEMBER, THE FALSE PEAKS ARE GOOD FOR A VIEW, BUT NOT TO STOP:

Often on hikes we think we are reaching the top only to realize that there’s still more to go! It can be such build-up and let down.

Many people take these false peaks as the “good enough” parts of their journey. They think, well this view from here is beautiful and good enough. The next leg of the journey seems like too much of a hassle to get the energy to get there again.

Similarly in our life we think:

“Church on Sundays is enough. I really don’t have enough time to read the bible or to sit a pray.”

“My exercise routine that I’ve been doing for the last 2-years is good enough. If God is asking me to do any more, I’m just not willing to try something new.”

“This one vegetable I like to eat is good enough. I’d rather just stick to the one thing I know then to try something new.”

We get comfortable with mediocrity. We think our effort so far is good “enough”. But by doing so, we are limiting ourselves from our fully realized blessing! We convince ourself this is all that God has to offer and it takes too much sacrifice and won’t be worth the effort.

Don’t get me wrong, the view that you see from the false peak is beautiful. It should be celebrated and viewed as a blessing! But it’s not the place to stop and quit.

The FULLY-REALIZED, 180° view from the top, kind of blessing is going to be far greater than anything you could ever imagine.

The woman that quit early had NO idea how beautiful it was gong to be! She had no idea what blessing was in store for her and the feeling she would feel from such an accomplishment. She could have done it, but she’ll never know.

You have no idea how wonderful the blessing from God is going to be for your life either! But expect something miraculous! If you’re on the trail, just keep going! If you have quit, get back up and try again! It’s ever too late to follow God’s calling and find that view.

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