BLT4ever

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
-  Philipians 4:13

I want to give all glory to God, because without Christ and the strength He gives me, I’d be right back where I was a few months ago.  As far as my weight was concerned, I was completely and totally hopeless. 

You know, I’ve tried loosing weight on my own so many times that I don’t want to think about it.  I have even gone through times where I didn’t even try because I’d come to believe it was impossible.  I became what is called an “avoider”.  I’d avoid confronting my situation at all because of the fear of not being able to beat it.  I’d tell myself that I don’t deserve to be thin because I can’t keep the weight off.  Being fat gave me an excuse to be depressed, and an excuse to avoid people and events in my life.  By avoiding my situation, and ignoring the fact that I am morbidly obese, I enabled myself to avoid failure by not even trying. 

God came into my life almost seven years ago, when my father died suddenly at the young age of 51.  That story is for another time though, because that would lead me off into a lengthy tangent!  When God came into my life, He began making changes, and those changes have been ongoing ever since.  He began working on my soul before he began working on my bad habits.  Essentially, He is cleaning house, and there is quite a bit of cleaning that needs to be done.  Slowly, but surely, it is getting done.  He is molding and shaping me into what He wants me to be, and I couldn’t be happier.

Once I let go, and gave God control of the reins, I learned that He can do remarkable things.  He can do things that I know I cannot.  He gave me the strength to quit smoking two years ago (I smoked at least one pack a day for 22 years).  He feeds my marriage, He has made it a tremendously fulfilling relationship….you might say He was the “missing ingredient”.  He has given me insight into the beauty of my children and all that they are, which has made me a much better parent then I ever thought possible.

When I began this journey of weight loss on January 7, 2007, I began it with Him in the lead.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  You see, Christ is not my co-pilot, He is my pilot.  Otherwise, things would get all screwed up with me trying to be in control.  As long as I follow Him, I know I’ll be okay.  It is when I stray and listen to my own yearnings that I fail. 

I am early yet in my progress, I have quite a ways to go, as a matter of fact, this journey is never ending.  There is no ending when I hit a certain number.  The numbers are merely a way to gauge my progress.  This is the way my life is, and will be from here on out, and I am so good with that.  My soul is content with this, all of me is content with this, because I am in good hands.  I am in God’s hands.  There is no better place to be.

My foot is a lot better again today, but it still isn’t 100%.  It’s still stiff and a bit painful, can’t quite walk right yet, so I’m not going to go for my walk again today.  But, will do my cardio on the elliptical bike yet again.  That is one heck of a workout, by the way!  I am sure that my weight loss this next Sunday will prove to be as good as usual. 

The bike is such a good workout that when I get back to walking daily again, I will still continue to do the bike three days a week on top of the walking and strength training. 

I’m actually very glad that I hurt my foot.  Sounds silly, I know.

But, it has shown me how strong I am on the inside now, and I am very thankful for that.  When I first fell, there was a split second there where I saw what was happening and clearly thought, “I am going all the way down the stairs.”  It was quite scary, so I screamed.  Thankfully my reflexes are still good and I grabbed the stair rail and only fell down the top three or four stairs.  In a heartbeat my husband and 14 year old son were there at my side, and a second later, there was my 5 year old son.  Thinking back on that now, my heart is full of love for those three of my men (my 11 year old son was asleep).

I sat there crying with thoughts running through my head.  Thinking “How am I going to workout now, how am I going to loose weight.  I may as well quit the Red Hotties until I’m better because otherwise I’m just going to let everyone down.”  Seriously, those were my thoughts, and I sat there crying, feeling like a failure.  That is when it hit me, NOTHING this minor is going to stop me!  I WILL NOT be a failure!  It’s going to take a lot more then a twisted foot to bring me down! 

So, my fellow Red Hotties that may be reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You are inspiring me and motivating me, and I love you all!

Since beginning to blog here, I have had the full intentions of only being positive here because being positive here will reflect on all my life and will help me to be positive in all ways.  Today I want to be positive by stating a few things I am thankful for this week:

1.  I am thankful for God and His love that is always with me.

2.  I am thankful for my family and their undying support.

3.  I am thankful for my Red Hotties Teammates, who inspire and motivate me.

4.  I am thankful for all my other Buddyslim buddies, who also provide their support and inspiration.

5.  I am thankful for what I am becoming, my life is GOOD!