So a bit of transparency for this Saturday... I hate feeling stupid. Or worse yet, looking stupid in front of other people. but occasionally it just comes up, and I must admit that while I don't like feeling uncomfortable, I do indeed like the feeling know that I have listened intently to what God has told me to do. Obedience has a cost.
So y'all know that just a few days ago I posted about feeling passionate about being someone in the Christian community who is learning self-control and gaining said control over the fitness & nutrition area of my life. I dove head first into Beachbody coaching and felt that this was a path that could help me help others in a number of ways. Well, last night, I was up late after drinking some coffee in the evening. Trace had already gone to bed, and I was up watching some Beachbody training videos and doing some planning. When I finally went up to bed, Halle started stirring. This is unusual for her, so I went into her room. Immediately when I would get in there, she was sound asleep. I prayed over her and went back to bed. Only seconds later she would call out again, "Mommy, hold you'. I would rush to her side to find her peaceful again. This repeated about 4 times. Finally I found my right mind to ask God what He wanted. I kind of felt like the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel Chapter 3 when God was calling him and he kept running in to Eli. And then I heard Him simply say 'No'. The voice seemed almost audible, and I looked back at Trace to see if he had heard it. He was still sound asleep.
I began to pray and suddenly felt this enormous wave of terror and panic wash over me. I felt like I was about to pass out or something. God's 'No' was one of those no's that I knew exactly where it was directed, like when I catch the littles doing something naughty and nothing more needs to be said. God was saying 'No' to Beachbody. Now, I don't feel like this path was a 'naughty' one =) just that God doesn't want me doing it right now. And as I acknowledged to Him that I would listen and hand it over, I felt a strange peace. And Halle did not wake up again- God knew that one of the few things to get me out of bed is my sweet girl.
I was up for a while longer praying and thinking about this whole thing. I still believe my motives were pure. I think that God wants me to help others find some peace in this area, and honestly I feel foolish for now having to go back and scratch the last week's work. I feel like an idiot for planning and even telling anyone about my new 'venture' because it makes me look a bit like a flake. But it's worth it. Peace is always worth it. And I love feeling that God talks to me and that He knows I will act on what He says. My whole desire is to be obedient.
With several girls from church this summer, I am leading a study called 'No Other Gods' by Kelly Minter. The study confronts modern day idols in our lives, or things that can function as idols and take the place of God. Kelly keeps having us write the two words 'Make Room.' in the margins. The thing with Beachbody hadn't become that (yet), but I think that it could have, had I given it that kind of leverage. And I don't want that! I distinctly get the feeling that the part that displeased God was the fact that He doesn't want me to make money from helping others in this way. So, the bottom line is this: I am still on the same mission. We deserve a God-given freedom from our poor self-images and food addiction! I will continue my other blog as a place of accountability, tips, and tools, just perhaps in a different capacity. I hope you'll forgive me for this craziness~ I feel so crazy and more than a little embarrassed about it all myself! Know, too, that I still wholeheartedly think that the products offered by Beachbody are fantastic, and I will recommend Turbo Jam til I die! =) You all are the best~ thanks for listening!
Showing posts with label Beachbody. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beachbody. Show all posts
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Learning Self-control
Well, it's up, but keep in mind that it's in the {very} preliminary stages... craftymommalovesturbo.blogspot.com is my new blog where I will share more about my health and fitness journey as well as about my Beachbody business. I only have one post up right now, but there are many more to follow. I just kind of wanted to get my feet wet, and I'd love for y'all to follow me over there and join in the conversation. We're all in this together, right?!
I will kind of fill you in on the process. After years of yo-yo dieting, I just really want to honor God by finally getting my whole-self together. I have known that there had to be some kind of balance, but I hadn't been able to attain it. Either I was ignoring my health altogether (and therefore getting bigger and bigger), or I was completely obsessing over every workout and bite of food. In the latter scenario I always got smaller for a time, but my methods were never healthy or manageable over any length of time. I have always been frustrated at my lack of ability to gain control over this issue but had failed to see the God connection.
Then several weeks ago, as our Monday morning Bible study group was wrapping up our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we came to the end: Self-Control. I am going to recap a bit what Beth talked about here, and I hope it helps you as much as it did me~ it was like my 'lightbulb/aha!' moment! (The thoughts in italics are mine...)
1. Deeply absorbing a biblical perspective of our physical bodies would free us from the horrific stress our culture has placed on us.
2. From a strictly biblical point of view (as opposed to medical), physical fitness is probably more about freedom than size (Galatians 5:1). Here Beth talked a bit about size, and I can directly apply her examples to me. I have been a size 4, but every moment of every day that I maintained a size 4 (and it wasn't long!) was consumed by focus on that size... staying that size... what I could eat, clothes I'd wear, how long I had to exercise every day. There was NO freedom for me in that size. I have also been almost a size 16 (several months ago). At that size I was also constantly focused on it but in a different way... depressed about it... eating to fill some kind of void... terrified that my clothes wouldn't fit when I tried to wear them the next day. There was NO freedom here either! For me a size 8-ish is typically where I can find freedom. I can be fit and confident but not have to obsess every second about maintenance. Now understand that this isn't about size! Your free place may be different than mine, and that is perfect~ the key is to find that place!
Keep in mind that extreme conditions call for focused measures. By this, she elaborated that for one to truly find freedom, there may be a period of time when we must focus like never before. For example, I am definitely not at a size where I can experience freedom, so for this time, I am intensely focused on my health and fitness so that I can reach that place of balance. The ultimate goal for most of us, however, is freedom from obsession so that God rather than a body can be glorified. This goal is most often realized through
I don't know about you, but especially point number 2 completely rocked my world. I want to be free! I began praying just that God would help me find freedom. And then it happened... I suddenly was looking at food differently. I started paying attention to the things I was putting into my body, seeing them as nourishment. And while I don't deny myself the occasional chocolate chip cookie, I'm not really craving them because before they were serving some other purpose. And I began looking at working out as a means to an end... I pushed play on my Turbo Jam dvds because the dancing and music could improve my mood while getting me healthier. And I started seeing results. Then I worked up the courage to go to a Turbo Kick class, and while the prospect of exercising in public terrified me, I looked forward to interacting with other people. I'm on my way... Glory to God!!
Okay, so I realize this is getting quite lengthy, but let me wrap it up if I can... In the self-control dvd, Beth also made one statement that stuck with me. She said that 'gluttony has become the accepted Christian addiction'. I couldn't get it out of my head, I think because it's so true. Around the time I started going to the gym, a friend on twitter got me plugged into the Team Beachbody website. The site has awesome tools to help with scheduling workouts, logging stats and tracking progress. With my coach's accountability I was more likely to keep that workout I had scheduled, and I think that has been key to my success. I loved the relationships I built online with several other coaches, and then just this last week I felt that doing this would be a way that God could use me to help others with accountability. Just logging onto the site helps, but Beachbody also creates so many products that assist in the journey (Remember my mentioning Turbo Jam? They're Beachbody, along with tons of others you've likely seen on tv: Slim in 6, P90X, Insanity). I would love to help you stay accountable to your goals, match you up with a workout program or even a nutritional supplement to help you get on track~ God wants us to find freedom here! You can join for free by clicking on the 'Join' button from my site on the link above, shoot me an email to mpfeiffer@beachbodycoach.com, or just leave it in the comments here. Have a great day!
I will kind of fill you in on the process. After years of yo-yo dieting, I just really want to honor God by finally getting my whole-self together. I have known that there had to be some kind of balance, but I hadn't been able to attain it. Either I was ignoring my health altogether (and therefore getting bigger and bigger), or I was completely obsessing over every workout and bite of food. In the latter scenario I always got smaller for a time, but my methods were never healthy or manageable over any length of time. I have always been frustrated at my lack of ability to gain control over this issue but had failed to see the God connection.
Then several weeks ago, as our Monday morning Bible study group was wrapping up our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we came to the end: Self-Control. I am going to recap a bit what Beth talked about here, and I hope it helps you as much as it did me~ it was like my 'lightbulb/aha!' moment! (The thoughts in italics are mine...)
1. Deeply absorbing a biblical perspective of our physical bodies would free us from the horrific stress our culture has placed on us.
2. From a strictly biblical point of view (as opposed to medical), physical fitness is probably more about freedom than size (Galatians 5:1). Here Beth talked a bit about size, and I can directly apply her examples to me. I have been a size 4, but every moment of every day that I maintained a size 4 (and it wasn't long!) was consumed by focus on that size... staying that size... what I could eat, clothes I'd wear, how long I had to exercise every day. There was NO freedom for me in that size. I have also been almost a size 16 (several months ago). At that size I was also constantly focused on it but in a different way... depressed about it... eating to fill some kind of void... terrified that my clothes wouldn't fit when I tried to wear them the next day. There was NO freedom here either! For me a size 8-ish is typically where I can find freedom. I can be fit and confident but not have to obsess every second about maintenance. Now understand that this isn't about size! Your free place may be different than mine, and that is perfect~ the key is to find that place!
Keep in mind that extreme conditions call for focused measures. By this, she elaborated that for one to truly find freedom, there may be a period of time when we must focus like never before. For example, I am definitely not at a size where I can experience freedom, so for this time, I am intensely focused on my health and fitness so that I can reach that place of balance. The ultimate goal for most of us, however, is freedom from obsession so that God rather than a body can be glorified. This goal is most often realized through
- recapturing the lost art (practice) of moderation (Phil 4:5)
- learning to do what we need to do, then getting on with living. Just get on with it!
I don't know about you, but especially point number 2 completely rocked my world. I want to be free! I began praying just that God would help me find freedom. And then it happened... I suddenly was looking at food differently. I started paying attention to the things I was putting into my body, seeing them as nourishment. And while I don't deny myself the occasional chocolate chip cookie, I'm not really craving them because before they were serving some other purpose. And I began looking at working out as a means to an end... I pushed play on my Turbo Jam dvds because the dancing and music could improve my mood while getting me healthier. And I started seeing results. Then I worked up the courage to go to a Turbo Kick class, and while the prospect of exercising in public terrified me, I looked forward to interacting with other people. I'm on my way... Glory to God!!
Okay, so I realize this is getting quite lengthy, but let me wrap it up if I can... In the self-control dvd, Beth also made one statement that stuck with me. She said that 'gluttony has become the accepted Christian addiction'. I couldn't get it out of my head, I think because it's so true. Around the time I started going to the gym, a friend on twitter got me plugged into the Team Beachbody website. The site has awesome tools to help with scheduling workouts, logging stats and tracking progress. With my coach's accountability I was more likely to keep that workout I had scheduled, and I think that has been key to my success. I loved the relationships I built online with several other coaches, and then just this last week I felt that doing this would be a way that God could use me to help others with accountability. Just logging onto the site helps, but Beachbody also creates so many products that assist in the journey (Remember my mentioning Turbo Jam? They're Beachbody, along with tons of others you've likely seen on tv: Slim in 6, P90X, Insanity). I would love to help you stay accountable to your goals, match you up with a workout program or even a nutritional supplement to help you get on track~ God wants us to find freedom here! You can join for free by clicking on the 'Join' button from my site on the link above, shoot me an email to mpfeiffer@beachbodycoach.com, or just leave it in the comments here. Have a great day!
Miscellany Monday
~Happy Monday! The sun is actually already shining here this morning, and that is my favorite way to wake up~ even if it does feel too early. This morning I had two little ones and a dog in bed with me; it was crowded but a fun way to start the day! Feel free to click the picture above and link up with Carissa's Miscellany Monday!
~Kind of random, and kind of business: I am having a HUGE SUMMER CLEARANCE SALE in my etsy shop. I have a bunch of sweet little items sitting around here waiting to be worn by your own sweet things, so I've marked every single item WAY down.
~In other sort of big news, I have decided to become an Independent Coach for Beachbody. I am so excited, as their accountability and awesome products have been a huge help to me already with the 9 pounds I've lost so far, and I can't wait to keep it up and become the healthiest person God wants me to be. I also am very excited about being able to share their products and accountability with others. I am going to be launching a new blog for Beachbody stuff sometime this week... busy, busy.
**UPDATED! I just got back from the gym and it's actually 11 pounds! Wahoo!** ;)
**UPDATED! I just got back from the gym and it's actually 11 pounds! Wahoo!** ;)
~We launched VBS last night at our church, and it was great fun! I was a bit nervous to be a crew leader for 2nd-3rd graders, but fortunately they couldn't smell my fear, and it turned out to be awesome! I did tear up a little at my babies being in their very own classes, singing and dancing, but that's nothing new.
Okay, so I don't have as much to say as I thought this morning... it's early and my coffee hasn't kicked in yet! Have a great day!
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