Mental Changes

Hello to all my peeps!

I want to send a special shout out to Rika: Thanks, Sis for working out with me! It was not only helpful, but it also made me feel loved that you were willing to hang out at the gym instead of at Starbucks! :) Also, go us for stepping it up and jogging instead of only fast-walking the whole time!

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but one thing I've been consistently praying for is a change of attitude towards exercising. I knew that in order to maintain a regular schedule of exercising I would have to start enjoying it. Honestly, that was one of those prayer requests about which I always thought, "If I can just get to a place where I don't hate it, I'll be satisfied. I don't think I'll ever enjoy exercise, but at least I'll be able to tolerate it."


The other day, while I was on the treadmill listening to some classic rock, I caught myself smiling at nothing in particular. I liked the song that was playing, I felt slightly winded but not overly tired, and I felt healthy. In that moment, my smile went from smirk status to a full on grin. God had performed an insanely cool miracle: I was enjoying myself while exercising! This thing that I thought was impossible had actually happened! While I don't relish getting up early, I do look forward to going to the gym now and if for some reason I can't make it in the morning I think, "Do I have time to go tonight? BSF finished at 9pm…is that too late to go?"


It may not seem that huge to someone else, but this is a pretty big deal in my opinion. Big enough that it's gotten me thinking: Where else in my life am I settling for satisfaction when I could have enjoyment? John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." While that's slightly out of context, it's still so applicable! Jesus laid down his life for us, not so we could live on the sidelines settling for ok lives, or even good lives. He has plans for us and if we obey and follow him, he can make our lives great!


Life will never be without trials and disappointments; sometimes it's downright awful, but I'm learning that trusting Jesus to control my direction is always best. I didn't think he would, but without me realizing it, he's been molding and reshaping my heart. He is sloughing off my immature qualities and burnishing me into something that reflects Him.


To those of you who can relate to asking for a miracle that you don't think will happen: don't let that stop you from asking! While I technically knew God was capable, I just didn't think he would change me. Let's stop selling ourselves short when approaching our Father. He is gentle and loving, and when we ask for something in line with his will, he's promised to come through for us! John 15 even says, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." So lets go out and start glorifying our more than worthy God!

Bringin' In the New Year (a little late)

I realize I'm almost a week late on this, but happy new year! And what better way to begin 2014 than with blizzards? Am I right? Of course I am, but without the blizzards I would've have gotten nearly as much of a workout as I did when I shoveled this afternoon! I will for sure be feeling that one tomorrow...which is good because that danged blizzard interrupted my appointment with the YMCA.

***readers do a double-take and wonder: "Did I see that correctly? Did homegirl finally bite the bullet and actually join a gym?"***

Yessirs, I did in fact join a gym! I am now the proud owner of a fancy YMCA membership badge with an embarrassingly awkward ID photo of yours truly. I went by and joined on a day when I was scrubbin' it in a major way - I looked like a college freshman reveling the the freedom of wearing sweats in public and thinking they're "rocking it". I almost struck the red-carpet pose to compensate for my lack of clean hair, but figured it wouldn't help since the camera was only going to get a head shot. 

In my defense for going out in public like that: I was only out to get my oil changed and join the Y. I figured the guys changing my oil are oily themselves so they'd have no room to judge, and the people at the Y will regularly see my before-shower glory, so this way they'll be more likely to recognize me in the future. Really, in hindsight, it was quite an inspired decision.

Another milestone taken at the end of last year: I started a medically supervised weight-loss plan! When I say medically supervised, I'm talking bi-weekly blood tests, weekly meeting and weigh-ins. It's pretty intense...as in 800-900 calories a day intense. It sounds incredibly difficult, but they do make it easier by providing all the food I'll need, and it's surprisingly affordable! I started between Thanksgiving and Christmas and have lost about 3lbs. That's not nearly as much as they expected, or me for that matter. I think getting through the holidays and into a normal routine will change that, but there are definitely some things you can do to help:

1. Please pray! Sometimes I get sick of their food because it all kinda tastes the same, and I want to cheat. I also get discouraged because I'd like to lose more quickly, but their scale says I'm just not.
2. If I'm at your house, please don't offer me something to eat. I'll probably accept and tell myself I'm just being polite, but mostly I just like food...it's easier if I just ignore it.
3. If we're going to hang out, please lets do something that doesn't involve food. I can handle a coffee date, but dinner date, or even invitations to parties that will have food, are definitely difficult.
4. Instead of just hanging out, how about we do like Olivia Newton John and Aleece sings: "Let's get physical - physical!" (If you don't get that, click here and it'll make sense.) As the weather warms up we can go for a walk, or I could even get a guest pass and you could join me at the Y sometime!

So there you have it. 4 pretty simple and straight-forward things! 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." That is a promise I'll be clinging to this year; Christ has giving me divine power to destroy strongholds. That is just SO COOL! Can we all just take a minute and praise him because he's already won the battle? All we have to do is call on him and he'll whoop some major temptation butt!

Ouch...

     I really don't have a lot to say beyond the title of this post...just "Ouch..."

     After day 3 of Insanity I am hurting everywhere! Oddly enough, the thing that hurts the most is doing down stairs. Going up isn't that bad, walking isn't that bad, and even sitting down and getting up is bearable, but going down stairs hurts like the dickens. (Side note: What are the dickens, and why do they get credit for all extreme adjectives??)

     So yeah, here I am, feeling stiff and sore and wishing my pants would start fitting more loosely already - is that an unrealistic expectation for this early on? If you happen to bump into me in the next couple days, I won't complain if you flat-out lie to my face and say, "Hey, are your pants too big?" We'll both know that's not possible yet, but at least I'll know you read this and feel encouraged by that! :)

I'm Baaaaack!

     Well hello there! I bet you were starting to think I'd disappeared for good from the face of the blog world, but nope! I'm here and I'm still kickin' (literally!) I'm sure you're wondering: Why was she gone for so long? Well, the reason is two-fold. 1. We entered wedding season in April and now we're on the other side of the "OH MY GOSH WHY DID I WILLINGLY CHOOSE THIS JOB!?!" hump; not quite done with wedding season, but into a manageable part of it at least. And reason numero dos: I was being a slacker. I fell off the band wagon with the Reliv and Insanity goals (but still am doing pretty well with the fried foods one, so yaaaay me!) and because of that I didn't really feel like I had much to say. But now I'm back and feeling rather chatty this morning!

     Ok, so first I want to share a little story about Insanity: Steff and I started it in April and it was going pretty well, I thought - I was feeling happier thanks to the regular production of exercise induced endorphins, and I actually felt more energetic! I was also seeing improvement in my stamina and strength! But it only worked out for us to do it for a few weeks and once I didn't have that accountability, I just didn't have the motivation to keep working out on my own. But I was/am determined to make 2013 the year that I conquer my aversion to exercise, so I ordered my own set of Insanity DVDs and waited anxiously for it to arrive. In the week or so between clicking "order" and when it actually arrived I noticed all these times throughout my day that were ideal times for working out! I found myself thinking, "I can't wait until my DVDs arrive! I'm gonna change and immediately start doing the workouts!" I fancied myself like ones of those celebrities who says, "I just love working out! I can't live without it! It's my favorite pass-time activity!" And then finally, on a beautiful, sunny day, I got a call from mom. She said, "I have a package for you!" and I knew...my very own set of Insanity had finally come...and with its arrival I said goodbye to any and all motivation I previously had. All of a sudden I was all, "Ugh. It's too hot to exercise" and "My room isn't big enough and it's too embarrassing to do this in the living room" so my sexiness sat in a box on my bookshelf and collected dust. One of my co-workers, Steve, would ask me every-so-often, "Hey Aleece - are you still doing insanity?" and I'd feel convicted, but I always had a reason why I wasn't/couldn't do it.

     Well, over the weekend I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror when I wasn't holding my gut in and I thought, "Oh. My word. That paunchy belly is mine and that is so not ok! That's just 100% fat sitting there around my middle! How have I not had a heart-attack yet!?!" so when I got home that evening I sat down, put my DVDs in order of how I'm supposed to go through them and went to bed early enough that I'd be able to get up with enough time to actually do it...which I did! Today's workout was actually called a "Fit Test" in which I did a series of exercises to see how many of each I could do in 1 minute. I do that every two weeks and track my progress! So, ready for my first set of results? Here goes:

1. Scissor Kicks (kick in front of you while crossing your arms back and forth...picture a robot crossed with the Russian dance from the Nutcracker) 51 (I thought that was impressive until I heard that his "models" started out with 74 and 75)
2. Power Jacks (jumping jacks combined with squats...I'll feel that one tomorrow for sure!) 22
3. Standing Crunches (stand with one leg slightly bent while pulling the other leg to your belly) 37
4. Power Jumps (jump as high as you can while doing a wide-stance "squat" in the air...another killer that will also be required of the extra bad sinners in hell.) I was really good at it. I did 1
5. Around-the-Worlds (this involves jumping and squatting in a circle and it hurt my knees, so instead I did crunches) 35 crunches, not ATWs
6. Suicide Push-ups (doing a push-up jumping out of it...couldn't do even one, so I did girl push-ups) 10
7. Scissor Push-up (push-ups while putting your heels together, and then wide apart. Couldn't do that either, so I did crunches with my legs) 20
8. Power Planks (a plank while alternating between pulling your knees forward) I was pretty proud on myself on this one. I didn't think I'd be able to do any, but I did 24!

     So there you have it! In two week's I'll post new results so we can see how I did! I'll probably continue to go with my alternates to some of those moves because my knees can't take all the jumping...and my roommates probably don't want to listen to that either.

     Tomorrow I begin the "real" working out, and the only day off is Sunday...it's a 60 day program which I'll try to stick to, but it also involves a specific diet which I'm not doing. The exercises are intense, so if you see me limping, grimacing, or moving like a 90 yr old, you'll know why!

Going Insane On Purpose

     So it's been a while since I've posted! Sorry 'bout that...life has been crazy busy, but that's really no excuse. On the bright side: I'm going strong with the Reliv and the avoidance of fried food! In fact, last weekend I went to Chilli's for dinner and I didn't even want to order fries with my meal! Seriously, guys...that is HUGE! I honestly thought I would never get to that point, so I consider that a major victory!

     On the down side: I have not been doing so well in the exercise department. Part of that is due to some crazy business, but most of it is due to pure laziness. I got out of habit, and just never got back into it. HOWEVER all that is about to change! Starting Wednesday, I will be going insane...on purpose! My dear friend Stephanie and I are starting a modified version of Insanity! (check it out here: Beach Body Insanity)

     So here's the plan: every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we'll workout together at 7am (ouch! But only at first. I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it fairly quickly) On Tuesdays she'll do it on her own and on Thursdays I'll do it on my own. Saturday will be an optional day, and Sunday will be a day off. The official program is 60 days long, but Steff and I have committed to 30. (It steps up in intensity for days 31-60 so we're going to evaluate whether we want to just continue like we're doing, or step it up.) I think that sounds pretty doable, don't you? I'm kind of weirding myself out because instead of dreading it like I usually do, I'm actually looking forward to getting into this program! I should probably take some before and after pics to document my success!

     Well, there you have it! I've got a plan, and it goes into motion on Wednesday, April 17. If you think about it, shoot some prayers heavenward for me!

Where are you living?

     Many of you know I'm attending a Bible study on Tuesday nights (Bible Study Fellowship - it's awesome! You all should check it out!) and tonight's lecture was just so great. Over the week we studied Genesis 34-36, and tonight our teacher (Tony) spoke and he had many great points, but the ones that really stuck out were the points he made regarding Genesis 35:1-15.

     To understand just how far Jacob has fallen away from the Lord, read Genesis chapter 34 and pay close attention to Jacob's complete lack of response to the rape of his daughter, and his selfish concern when he learns his sons have murdered all the men of Shechem (he's more worried about his own hide than about the character of his sons)....this is one of the fathers of Christianity! So, in the very next chapter, God comes to Jacob and says "Get up, get out of here and go to Bethel. Make an altar in the place where you and I met before." So Jacob gets up and goes to Bethel (side note: Bethel is where Jacob was when he had the famous "Jacob's Ladder" dream/encounter with God). When he gets to Bethel, Jacob makes an altar and recommits his life, and his family's lives to God. And God doesn't just sit back and say, "Oh, well thank you, Jacob" instead he says, "Jacob, you have recommitted your life to me and I want you to know I've got you covered. In fact, I've got you so covered that you're not even the same person anymore. Now, instead of Jacob, you are called Israel. You are a completely new man." (Sound familiar? If not, look back to my first post!)

     When Tony spoke about this passage he quoted someone who said, "The only cure for worldliness is to separate from it." (see this quote in context here: http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0135.htm) which is why God wanted Jacob to move from Shechem to Bethel. He wanted to physically take Jacob from a godless land to the place where Jacob had been closest to God. Tony talked about the struggle to live righteously and asked us, "Do you live defeated in the battle with sin, or do you believe you have been delivered?" He went on to challenge us to ask ourselves, "What sins am I living as a slave to?" 

    This really hit home for me! I looked at myself and thought of my three summer goals. I've done well with the Reliv goal and the fried food goal (I'm not craving it! That is a HUGE success!!!) but I've really been struggling with that exercising goal. Getting up in the morning and working out is the LAST thing I want to do and I tend to think about it in a defeated way. Instead of remembering that because of Jesus, I already have victory over those sins and struggles I think, "Oh man, this is so hard for me. I'll never be a morning person, and I just don't like exercising. Trying to train myself to exercise in the morning is like trying to train a fish to climb a tree - it's unnatural and I'll never be able to do it." But tonight Tony asked us, "Are you saved? If so, nod your head or raise your hand or something." A lot of us nodded our heads and/or raised our hands to say yes, we are saved, and then Tony said, "Then quit living like you're in Shechem because you're not! You're in Bethel."

     You guys, this is huge! This applies to all areas of life, but for me it's especially applicable to my struggle with my weight. I so live like I'm in Shechem and like I'm trapped there never to escape. But the beauty is, I don't even need to escape! Because I am covered by the blood of the Almighty God - the God who commands angel armies (how cool is that!?!) I am ALREADY rescued! So tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off and I have to get up to exercise at 7am I won't think: "I am so tired...maybe I'll skip this morning and exercise tonight instead...but if I don't do it now I won't do it later...oh well, it's a lost battle anyhow. I'll just skip this one."  Instead I'll get up and tell myself, "Jesus suffered and died to give you victory in your battles. Are you going to think like a slave when you are already free? Are you going live like you're in Shechem or in Bethel? Girl, you better damn that devil back to hell because you are rockin' it in Bethel!"

Smaller Coat, here I come!

Hey all! I'm just popping in to make a grand announcement:

Today, my coat was noticeably easier to button (not to mention easier to breathe in!)

Can I get a "Woot woot!" Crowd shouts an enthusiastic "WOOT WOOT!"

Ok, that really is all I had to say - it made my day so I thought I'd share it with you too! :)

Blessings to you all!