“What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”
-Eleanor Powell
Fit in Your Faith Today: Do you think of your life as a gift from God? What can you do to show others that you are special and that life is precious?
Tag: inspiration
Reach Out to Those in Need
Galatians 6: 1-3
Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he is deluding himself.
Here’s another translation:
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
It can be difficult to ask for help when we are so used to being independent. But sometimes we need help. We may have sunk to a new low. We may have fallen in with the wrong crowd or just gotten into bad habits such as resentment, gluttony, or even something as seemingly harmless as laziness. After all, you might think, I’m not hurting anyone but myself with my ______ (insert bad habit here).
But hurting yourself is not healthy or holy. And it’s at that point when you need to reach out to others for help.Look to the godly and holy people in your life. Seek them out to help you get out of your rut. If you yourself are being sought, be careful not to fall into your friends bad habits. It might even be someone close to you like your spouse or parent. If you are not fully aware, you could easily be sucked into their world. Don’t let that happen. Stay true to your beliefs and your godly ways.
Extend the rope. Pull them out of that place and offer to lighten their load. Offer assistance. Work together for the common good!
Fit in Your Faith Today: Who in your life could use your kindness and goodness? Who can you call upon to help YOU get out of a difficult situation you find yourself in? Depend on others and allow others to depend on you. Be open to it!
Helping our Unbelief
Mark 9:20-24 Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit
When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
This passage from the gospel of Mark can easily be applied to us today. Why, although we believe in God, do we struggle to have faith when faced with the daily difficulties of life?
It seems easy and natural to have faith when things are going great in our lives.
Got a promotion at work – “Thank you God!”
Kids came home with a stellar report card – “Our prayers were answered!”
Avoided an accident on the roads – “God must have been watching over me!”
But it’s when things don’t go so well that we start to lose faith in God, right?
Can’t find a job after months of searching and praying about it – “I can’t believe God is letting this happen!”
Another school shooting in the news – “Why doesn’t God stop this?”
Sudden death of a friend or family member – “Where are you God?”
But it’s at these crucial times of our lives that we need our belief to be restored and delve even deeper into our faith. It’s so much more than just believing in God. It’s believing in what the Bible says, as His inspired Word. It’s also learning from the people in the Bible. Many of us focus on just the Gospels but we can learn alot from the other books, especially the Old Testament.
Think of people like Abraham and Moses and David and Job. They had their own trust issues with God, too. Just because they lived in a completely different age as us, they weren’t that much different than we are. They prayed to God. They argued with him. They went against his wishes sometimes. They weren’t sure of His plan for them.
What can you do to help your unbelief during tough times?
- Strength in numbers: Ever notice that when society tells us to just “give up” and “There is no God,” and call us names for believing in an all-powerful God, there’s a huge surge in Christians right there proclaiming the Good News? It’s almost like they wait for a disaster to make their faces known. 🙂 Draw yourself near to them. Hang out with them. Talk to them. You will find there are more people who feel the same way you do (and struggle with their faith just like you too).
- What’s the Lesson? As much as it may seem that problems keep piling up, search for the silver lining. What can you learn from all this negativity? What can be done right now to help get things right again? You’ll find the answer is usually something in line with “Keep the Faith.” There’s always a reason that something didn’t work out the way you thought it would. You have to believe, as difficult as it may be, that there was a reason.
- Listen to Him, not him: In other words, listen to God’s voice, not the voice of society that says to do something different. The other voice might be louder. Listen to His voice. In order to hear it, you have to be quiet. And you have to be patient. Two characteristics that are very challenging, but necessary to keep the faith.
- Look for the Good: Even in a sea of evil, there is always good. They say, whoever THEY are, that Good Triumphs Evil. And it’s true! Except Good doesn’t make the headlines. It’s usually the bad stuff. But do you ever notice, for instance, when a natural disaster occurs, people from all over get together to help? Items get donated, experts fly in to help with search and rescue, money is sent to help rebuild destroyed cities. And when something terrible happens in a town (small or large) complete strangers start asking “How can I help?” That’s faith. Some might say that’s just faith in humanity, and not necessarily God. But who created those people? Who created those helpers?
Fit in Your Faith Today: When challenged with difficult circumstances, do you find yourself struggling to believe? Take some of the steps listed above to restore it. Reignite the fire in your heart when it’s struggling to stay lit. Open your Bible and picture the words being said directly to you. Because He is speaking directly to you. The question is, are you listening?
Inspiring the Uninspired
It’s been quite the rough road for me this past month. But with all the stress, sadness, negativity, and de-motivation, came moments of hope, renewal, reflection and restarting.
After lamenting and complaining and having a big pity party for myself, I emailed my coach to ask for some advice. What I needed was a short-term goal to get me through these next 3 months before my prep begins in mid-July. It’s been suggested to me to maybe do a photo shoot, just for fun. I have heard many women do that if they don’t want to do a competition. Unfortunately it’s just as costly to do a photo shoot as it is to do a competition so it’s not exactly a money-saver. BUT, it follows the same premise as a competition: Tanning, makeup, hair, prep, purchase of clothes to wear to the shoot and most importantly, the fee for the actual photographer/session.
So since $$$ is a factor and I still would like to do the comp in October, I have just refocused and took some advice from one of my three bosses (yes I have three jobs ha!) and decided each month or every 2 weeks or whatever, I will pick a certain part of my body to actually work on. I’m still going to focus on all muscle groups for my workouts each week but spending a little more time on the problem area(s) will be the goal.
Plus I’m going to take progress pics every weeks instead of every 3 weeks. It’s just another way to stay motivated and accountable.
I love this plan already (Thanks Mark for the idea!)
If I am focused on one thing, it’s so much easier to accomplish it, right? The same rule applies to anything in life I suppose. Multi-tasking is the enemy. 🙂
Short term goals are good, but I was still feeling de-motivated and lazy and even irritated that I decided to train for the show. I kept using the excuse “It’s not until October, let me just eat this crap right now, who cares!” everytime I thought about cheating. I was taking all my emotions and putting them towards food. I found any junk food in the house/cupboards and proceeded to devour them like never before. Almost as if I would never eat again. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your attitude towards carbs) the most unhealthiest food we have in our house is Ritz crackers and Jelly.
That didn’t stop me from eating an entire SLEEVE of Ritz crackers and an entire JAR (okay it was the small ones but still) of jelly, by the way. Several nights in a row… The guilt was minimal (I had more of an “I could care less” attitude), but the feeling in my stomach afterwards told me that was a BIT too much sugar.
So I needed some inspiration, some motivation, something a little more tangible than just some words on a Facebook page or a quote from a book. I really needed to get back into the spirit of things.
Ironically, the Spring version of the competition took place this past weekend. And one of my friends’ daughters was competing in the bikini division. I never met her, didn’t know her at all. But I was SO excited for her! Here was a small connection that I could latch on to. Although I really wanted to attend the show itself to cheer on this complete stranger, I couldn’t attend. But, speaking to my friend afterwards was great because his daughter placed 7th in her first ever competition! Talk about motivating!!! This chick is a MOTHER and looked amazing on stage. I gave her dad my email address so I hope to have her discuss her experience on the blog soon.
A few days ago, the pictures from the competition came out online. Here are the links:
Just looking at the pics of the Figure competitors was inspiring to me. It shows how far I have to go, but it also shows me that it’s attainable. Kind of like looking into a crystal ball…a picture of what “could be.”
Lastly, being on Twitter does have it’s perks. I was able to get in contact with a woman named Callista, who is ALSO training for the same fall competition! She just started a blog Run Lift Like a LandShark as well as an FB Page.
I couldn’t help but notice our similarities (except for that whole kid/husband/attorney thing) so I’m really excited to follow along in her journey too.
Just goes to show when you think you’re hitting rock bottom and you’re ready to give up, there are people and things all around you to get you back on track.
So here’s to a week(end) to getting back to YOUR goals. Whatever they may be!
-Michelle
Random Tweet of the Day courtesy of myself: “Umm I put make-up on for the @Indians game tonight in the #SocialSuite so it HAS to stop raining. I didn’t clog my pores for nothin!” –
The game got rained out by the way; so yes, I DID clog my pores for nothing but $25 wasted on parking and an hour of sitting in a suite watching the jumbotron air two random MLB games. Not fun.
Why are you doing this?
Consider this your pep talk. Even if you don’t need one right about now, this is a great read for anyone to stay committed to their goal of getting in shape this year. You know I hate the word “resolution” and I prefer the word “commitment” instead. Just reading this should get you back in the saddle….back on the wagon (or off the wagon, however that saying goes)…whatever analogy you prefer.
Just read it and go workout, go cook something healthy, go COOK period. Do some sort of activity. Inspire someone else along the way. If you need a reminder of WHY you’re at the gym on a Saturday morning or a Friday night, remember this note from BodyBuilding.com’s CEO:
I’m angry.
I’m angry because fat doctors exist.
Every day they go into work and deal with patients that are in pain and dying from complications related to being obese. They see in gory detail what diabetics have to go through after their first amputation. They listen to crying fathers that had a heart attack while simply playing with their kids. They comfort family members after their mother died from heart disease, the nation’s number one killer.
And when they leave the hospital, tired from helping so many sick and overweight people, they eat junk food. They skip the gym. They take the elevator. They go home and sit on the couch. They are a terrible example for the people they are trying to help.
I’m angry because it’s considered kind if you bake cookies and cakes for your family.
If you help your family to die a little earlier, to be a little more depressed, to have to deal with low energy levels, to have to get on medication for high cholesterol, to be stuck in bad eating habits for life, then you are thanked and considered a good person.
I’m angry because you are considered a mean parent if you don’t give your kids candy and sweets on a regular basis.
Children went hundreds of thousands of years without candy, but in today’s society, it’s borderline considered child abuse to withhold it from them. You would go to jail if you gave them a single cigarette (which won’t do any immediate harm), but if you kill them slowly with sugar, you are a good, loving parent.
I’m angry at gyms.
They know you aren’t going to keep showing up. They count on it in their business plans. If you don’t show up for a few weeks, do you get a call? Do they even notice? They exist to help you get into shape, and they are purposely failing and it’s our fault. We demand the lowest monthly cost, so we get the bare minimum in exchange.
I’m angry with large health associations that don’t address the actual issues.
How is it okay to sell Jumbo Cookies Platters, which include a cookie recipe with brown sugar, on your site to raise money? You don’t get it. Most health associations are focused on treating the symptoms with drugs, rather than doing the hard work of prevention. They are afraid to tell their members to change their lifestyle.
I’m angry that food companies make their food look healthy.
High fat and high sugar products promote “whole grain” or “high in vitamin C” on their packaging, creating a false sense that these products are healthy. 100 Calorie Packs (which are just junk food in small packages) make you feel like you are doing the right thing for your body. Subway restaurant appears good for you, but most people pack on mayo, bacon, cheese and white bread and a side of chips to their “healthy” lunch. If you show up at the office in the morning with an Oreo milkshake, you are unhealthy, but show up with a Starbucks Frappuccino, which is basically the same thing, and you are just having your morning coffee.
I’m angry that the media is constantly bashing vitamins, protein powders, and nutritional supplements.
The studies that show they work are multiplying, but you wouldn’t know it by reading the news. Out of shape journalists mostly promote the ones that show supplements in a negative light. Consumers deserve the truth.
I’m angry with all of the hucksters selling their latest fad diet book or miracle fitness program.
Not a day goes by that I don’t have somebody ask me about some new diet program that was just released. They are looking for the easy way to the body they want, and they don’t want to hear that it takes actual hard work and lifestyle change. It’s not rocket science; bodybuilders have been transforming and preparing for contests for decades. We know what works. The infomercials try to sell us the quick fix, and once we get it into our heads that we shouldn’t have to work for the life we dream of, we keep searching for the next miracle.
I’m more than just angry. I’m sad.
I’m sad when I hear about somebody’s family member that died too young. I’m sad when I see the number of prescription medications that people are taking on a daily basis due to their lifestyle. I’m sad when I hear that obesity is continuing to rise. I’m sad that our children will be the first generation to live shorter lives than the previous one. I’m sad when I see somebody start a fitness program and give up within weeks. I’m sad when I see people I love struggling.
I’m sad that the couch is winning.
It doesn’t have to be this way. That’s why today I’m asking for your help.
Help me change it. Help me turn it around.
It’s possible if you understand that willpower doesn’t really exist. It’s not just about discipline and sacrifice. It’s about habit change. It’s about resetting norms. It’s about education. It’s about setting up your environment to make fitness easy. It’s about social accountability and helping your friends. It’s taking one simple step at a time, not setting yourself up to fail with drastic change all at once. It’s about setting goals and tracking your progress. It’s about long-term behavior change, not outcomes.
Don’t accept the things that make you angry in society. Don’t sit back and watch. Do something. Say something. Help someone.
Can you personally commit to health and fitness in 2013? Can you do it publicly to let others know that you are going to be part of the revolution? Sign our Facebook Commitment Wall Tab with me. Ask a friend to sign it. One person at a time, we can make a change.
Sincerely,
Ryan Deluca, CEO Bodybuilding.com
Although you don’t need to sign the Commitment Wall on Facebook, you can make a public commitment by using social media to declare that you are BACK AT IT. Or even if you never stopped, just reinforcing your commitment to your loved ones and friends that you are STILL IN THIS is a great way to be held accountable.
Your Daily Dose of Inspiration
“First do what is necessary. Then do what is possible. And before you know it, you will be doing the impossible.” St. Francis of Assisi
Saw this quote today in a book I’m reading and immediately highlighted, underlined, and dog-eared the page it was on because I found it so inspirational and motivating.
What kind of person do you want to be? What do you strive to be? It all starts with ourselves. Here’s my mini-interpretation:
Do what’s necessary – I interpret this to mean you take necessary steps to start the process. You establish a goal. You determine exactly what you want and literally create the path to get it.
Then do what is possible – I assume this to mean you do what you can with what you got. You learn, you grow, you move up and move on, all the while staying focused on improving yourself.
Before you know it, you will be doing the impossible – As you have now learned alot and grown, you set your goals even higher. You don’t see any achievement as being so distant and unrealistic. You’re constantly reaching higher and higher, never settling for anything less than your best.
The Joyful Celibate 