Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Down Two
Today was momentous. Last week I stepped on the scale for the first time. The number was embarrassingly high. I stuck with it though for the week and I weighed myself again this morning. Two pounds gone! Yes, it isn't very much, and it certainly doesn't warrant me going out and buying a whole new wardrobe, but it is justification that counting calories and depriving myself of fast food really does help. I don't feel super healthy on the inside yet, but little by little, I'll get there.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Counting Calories
All I do it sit at my computer and count calories. I am starting to plan my life around food and I hate it. One day this will be a mindless task, but I literally just spend 45 minutes sitting at my laptop playing with different dinner options trying to find the elusive combination that would allow me the most tasty, filling, and nutrient dense caloric intake. On the flip side, dinner was awesome. Corn tortillas with oven roasted turkey topped with avocado, a sprinkle of Mexican blend cheese, a squirt of lime juice, and a hot sauce packet. Cherries round out the meal. I could add a salad, but why ruin a good thing? Deliciousness!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Still Standing
Ephesians 6:10-13
Finally, be strong in
the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on
the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes. For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms. Therefore put on the
full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand
your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. New International Version (NIV)
I like Ephesians. It
isn’t as awesome as Romans (in my biased opinion) but it is still really
good. We recently went through Ephesians
at church and the sermon on this passage stuck out.* I’ve heard this passage numerous times
before, but the thing that struck me most in this sermon was the last phrase: and after you have done everything, to stand. This has been one of my guiding phrases since
I heard that sermon. We like to think
that we’ll always be victorious. We have
God on our side so clearly life will be a breeze. Any little thing that comes our way, we’ll
just tell God and He’ll smite it, right?
I’ve been beaten up and bruised, kicked, throw around, and left to die
(metaphorically speaking) by some of the crap I’ve had thrown my way. It hasn’t been pretty and I haven’t come out
unscathed, but with Christ on my side, I have been able to stand.
Do you watch rugby? I
don’t, but I’ve seen enough clips of it to use it as an example. You know how when one team charges at the
other team? The second team digs in,
shoulders down, knees bent, leaning forward.
They refuse to give up any ground.
That is how it is. You are going
to get beat up and bloodied, but in the end, only by the grace of God, you
stand.
That’s how I’m feeling right now. I’m standing, but only by God’s grace.** When I embarked on this challenge, I knew it
would be just that, a challenge. I was
totally unprepared though for how I feel under attack. I honestly thought that it would be a
struggle against my own flesh and blood.
I didn’t think that there would be psychological or spiritual
ramifications. Why is it that everything
is going well, and then the second I post publicly about my goals, life starts
hurling crap at me? Maybe it is the
spiritual forces of evil deciding that a new and improved Bethany is dangerous
to them. That worries me. I should already be dangerous.
The last 2 days have been tough. Work has been emotionally draining, which
makes it easier for me to make poor decisions, particularly with regards to
financial and time management and diet.
It ain’t easy, I’ll tell you that.
Fortunately though, I don’t necessarily need to dominate, I simply need
to stand.
*To watch the sermon go to www.cornerstonelife.com and click the
link for media player. Scroll down to
the series titled Blatant Church (towards the bottom) and click either watch or
listen. Paul Sabino was the teacher for
that message and he was my favorite teaching pastor before he left to go to one
of our partner churches in West Des Moines.
**This reminds me of an Israel Houghton song. You should check it out... and dance. Definitely crank the music up and dance in the privacy of your room! Israel Houghton - Still Standing
I'm not a blogger
I first posted the initial post about my one year challenge
on Facebook. I got a lot of positive
feedback including a number of friends telling me that they would like
updates. One friend also suggested that
I blog about it. I don’t want to blog
about it. I don’t want to waste my free
time writing about my failures. I don’t
like airing my dirty laundry and I really hate it when people post depressing
stuff. I feel that that would be what
the majority of my posts would be. That
wouldn’t be because I’m a complete failure who sucks at life ('cause I'm not), but rather
because I mostly write when I’m feeling emo.
For now though, I’m giving it a shot.
No promises that I’ll continue to write, but you can at least read my
thoughts when I do post.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The Intro Post
September to September: A year towards awesomeness
I've decided to stop dating for a year. I am removing myself from the pool of available women and sitting on the sidelines for a bit. Don’t worry, I’ll be back next September! You are probably wondering what brought me to these desperate actions. Let me explain.
It all started a few weeks ago towards the end of August. It was a Friday night and instead of going out and about on the town, I opted for a quiet night in. My preferred online dating site had sent me an e-mail letting me know that I had new matches. I was going through the matches and one of them stood out as someone who would be a good personality fit for me. He had a link on his page that he said he agreed with. I was curious. What did he agree with? Was it political commentary? Religious doctrine? Spam? I was a bit hesitant, but I clicked the link. It took me to a series of sermons from a church in Atlanta. The topic was Love, Sex, and Dating. I clicked play. I figured I’d check it out and if it was blasphemous or stupid I’d just turn it off and go back to searching for eligible bachelors online.
It was good. It was really good. So good in fact that after the first sermon ended I immediately clicked play on the second one. That’s where he issued the challenge. Take a year off from dating and work on getting your life in order. I needed this. I feel like my life has been a mess lately with me barely able to keep my head above water in so many areas. I like challenges and I’m ready to make some changes. Plus, in all honesty, my love life has been pretty non-existent as of late. I don't currently have guys knocking down my door trying to date me so who knows, maybe this will help!
There are 5 key areas that I want to focus on this year: spiritual, health/weight loss, financial management/debt reduction, time management, and long term career direction.
Spiritual – If I claim that I love God, shouldn’t more areas of my life reflect it? On top of that, Cornerstone is starting a series on Romans in a few weeks! My friend laughed at me because I squealed when I found out. Romans is my favorite book in the Bible. It is straight up awesomeness and I’m so excited to go through it in church. At times straightforward and clear, other times convoluted and confusing, the language, syntax, and structure of Romans makes it fun to read, however, the content makes it life changing. Yeah, I’m excited!
Health/weight loss – I need to work on my health. Both sides of my family have a history of health problems, so I might as well make sure I’m healthy. The last thing I need is for the rest of my life to be going along swimmingly and to be blindsided with health issues. I’m not going to go on some crazy weight loss plan. I’m sure I’ll lose some weight in my quest towards better health, but the goal is to be healthy on the inside, not necessarily thin on the outside.
Financial management/debt reduction – This is pretty much self explanatory.
Time Management – Eek! This is the big scary one. This is not my forte (clearly… since it is something I’m working on) but it has always been a challenge. I get easily sidetracked by eternal distractions, but the real fun is in my head. Those who know me best know my penchant for silly stories and elaborate scenarios I dream in my head. On a daily basis I meet politicians and celebrities, find Mr. Right, start companies, and broker world peace. I’m almost never bored because I have a vivid imagination. Some might call it an overactive imagination and they’re probably right. So I’m going to work on that.
Long term career direction – I love my job but I can’t be a front desk supervisor forever. (See health and debt reduction notes above.) I need to be proactive in taking the next steps. I don’t know what those steps are so that’s what I’m working on figuring out. That and how to end a sentence with something other than a preposition.
So yeah, I’m super excited about this year. I know that even if I’m single three, five, ten years from now, I will still have improved myself. That alone will make the year worth it!
FAQs
Q: What happens if in two months from now you meet Mr. Right? Are you really going to make him wait until next September to date you?
A: Yep! If he really is Mr. Right he’ll be around next September. One quality necessary for a relationship with me is patience. I need someone patient enough to deal with my weirdness. If he can wait until September, he is off to a good start!
Q: You already are awesome! Why are you doing this?
A: Aww, thank you! I appreciate that. Now stop flirting, it isn’t going to get you anywhere until next September.
Q: Why can't you date and still work on improving yourself?
A: This is something I really need to focus on. I've always been the boy crazy type so this is a good way to remove some distractions. Plus, restricting myself from dating adds some pressure so that I don't actually waste this year.
Q: You are Thirty. Your mom (and dad) want grandkids! Why push that back a year? You're not getting any younger!
A: Actually, I'm thirty and a half. I celebrated my half birthday last week! I'm not too worried about getting older and you shouldn't be either. One of my favorite spoken word poems has this line: "I will no longer get weighted down by so called friends and family talks about the concern for my biological clock when I serve the author of time." Besides, as much as I want the experience of being pregnant and giving birth, I really want to adopt. I'll be ok if I never give birth to any kids; there are still plenty out there who need love! http://goo.gl/sfJ76
Q: Why a year? Why not 6 months?
A: Did you not read the list of things I want to improve? If you think 6 months is going to get me anywhere near resolved on some of those issues, you must have me confused with Superwoman.
Q: Do you have the link to the sermons? I want to check them out.
A: I thought you’d never ask. http://goo.gl/Oaiyz
Q: I’ve been gathering up the courage to ask you out and now you do this to me. Why?
A: I’m simply giving you more time to gather up that courage. Plus I’ll be that much more awesome come next September.
Q: You’re an entertaining writer and I see what you mean about that overactive imagination! Why haven’t you written a book yet?
A: My life’s a mess and you want me to write a book? Ha! Let me get through this year and we’ll see what happens next.
Q. You’re weird.
A. I know. :-)
Final thoughts. If you read this far you must either be really bored or you care about what I have to say. If it is the latter I’m giving you full permission to check in with me periodically throughout this year. You can give me encouragement (always appreciated) and you can call me out on areas I need additional help. I may be mad at you for a bit, but if it is out of love, I’ll forgive you quickly. Thanks for joining me in this adventure!
I've decided to stop dating for a year. I am removing myself from the pool of available women and sitting on the sidelines for a bit. Don’t worry, I’ll be back next September! You are probably wondering what brought me to these desperate actions. Let me explain.
It all started a few weeks ago towards the end of August. It was a Friday night and instead of going out and about on the town, I opted for a quiet night in. My preferred online dating site had sent me an e-mail letting me know that I had new matches. I was going through the matches and one of them stood out as someone who would be a good personality fit for me. He had a link on his page that he said he agreed with. I was curious. What did he agree with? Was it political commentary? Religious doctrine? Spam? I was a bit hesitant, but I clicked the link. It took me to a series of sermons from a church in Atlanta. The topic was Love, Sex, and Dating. I clicked play. I figured I’d check it out and if it was blasphemous or stupid I’d just turn it off and go back to searching for eligible bachelors online.
It was good. It was really good. So good in fact that after the first sermon ended I immediately clicked play on the second one. That’s where he issued the challenge. Take a year off from dating and work on getting your life in order. I needed this. I feel like my life has been a mess lately with me barely able to keep my head above water in so many areas. I like challenges and I’m ready to make some changes. Plus, in all honesty, my love life has been pretty non-existent as of late. I don't currently have guys knocking down my door trying to date me so who knows, maybe this will help!
There are 5 key areas that I want to focus on this year: spiritual, health/weight loss, financial management/debt reduction, time management, and long term career direction.
Spiritual – If I claim that I love God, shouldn’t more areas of my life reflect it? On top of that, Cornerstone is starting a series on Romans in a few weeks! My friend laughed at me because I squealed when I found out. Romans is my favorite book in the Bible. It is straight up awesomeness and I’m so excited to go through it in church. At times straightforward and clear, other times convoluted and confusing, the language, syntax, and structure of Romans makes it fun to read, however, the content makes it life changing. Yeah, I’m excited!
Health/weight loss – I need to work on my health. Both sides of my family have a history of health problems, so I might as well make sure I’m healthy. The last thing I need is for the rest of my life to be going along swimmingly and to be blindsided with health issues. I’m not going to go on some crazy weight loss plan. I’m sure I’ll lose some weight in my quest towards better health, but the goal is to be healthy on the inside, not necessarily thin on the outside.
Financial management/debt reduction – This is pretty much self explanatory.
Time Management – Eek! This is the big scary one. This is not my forte (clearly… since it is something I’m working on) but it has always been a challenge. I get easily sidetracked by eternal distractions, but the real fun is in my head. Those who know me best know my penchant for silly stories and elaborate scenarios I dream in my head. On a daily basis I meet politicians and celebrities, find Mr. Right, start companies, and broker world peace. I’m almost never bored because I have a vivid imagination. Some might call it an overactive imagination and they’re probably right. So I’m going to work on that.
Long term career direction – I love my job but I can’t be a front desk supervisor forever. (See health and debt reduction notes above.) I need to be proactive in taking the next steps. I don’t know what those steps are so that’s what I’m working on figuring out. That and how to end a sentence with something other than a preposition.
So yeah, I’m super excited about this year. I know that even if I’m single three, five, ten years from now, I will still have improved myself. That alone will make the year worth it!
FAQs
Q: What happens if in two months from now you meet Mr. Right? Are you really going to make him wait until next September to date you?
A: Yep! If he really is Mr. Right he’ll be around next September. One quality necessary for a relationship with me is patience. I need someone patient enough to deal with my weirdness. If he can wait until September, he is off to a good start!
Q: You already are awesome! Why are you doing this?
A: Aww, thank you! I appreciate that. Now stop flirting, it isn’t going to get you anywhere until next September.
Q: Why can't you date and still work on improving yourself?
A: This is something I really need to focus on. I've always been the boy crazy type so this is a good way to remove some distractions. Plus, restricting myself from dating adds some pressure so that I don't actually waste this year.
Q: You are Thirty. Your mom (and dad) want grandkids! Why push that back a year? You're not getting any younger!
A: Actually, I'm thirty and a half. I celebrated my half birthday last week! I'm not too worried about getting older and you shouldn't be either. One of my favorite spoken word poems has this line: "I will no longer get weighted down by so called friends and family talks about the concern for my biological clock when I serve the author of time." Besides, as much as I want the experience of being pregnant and giving birth, I really want to adopt. I'll be ok if I never give birth to any kids; there are still plenty out there who need love! http://goo.gl/sfJ76
Q: Why a year? Why not 6 months?
A: Did you not read the list of things I want to improve? If you think 6 months is going to get me anywhere near resolved on some of those issues, you must have me confused with Superwoman.
Q: Do you have the link to the sermons? I want to check them out.
A: I thought you’d never ask. http://goo.gl/Oaiyz
Q: I’ve been gathering up the courage to ask you out and now you do this to me. Why?
A: I’m simply giving you more time to gather up that courage. Plus I’ll be that much more awesome come next September.
Q: You’re an entertaining writer and I see what you mean about that overactive imagination! Why haven’t you written a book yet?
A: My life’s a mess and you want me to write a book? Ha! Let me get through this year and we’ll see what happens next.
Q. You’re weird.
A. I know. :-)
Final thoughts. If you read this far you must either be really bored or you care about what I have to say. If it is the latter I’m giving you full permission to check in with me periodically throughout this year. You can give me encouragement (always appreciated) and you can call me out on areas I need additional help. I may be mad at you for a bit, but if it is out of love, I’ll forgive you quickly. Thanks for joining me in this adventure!
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