Thursday, November 19, 2015

Insanity Musings

I'm halfway through week three of Insanity.  I decided to try it on a whim, because the entire program is included with the Beachbody on Demand service I subscribe to anyway.  I honestly was not sure I could do it but I'm getting tired of making so many excuses when it comes to my workouts.  I do it a lot.  Yes, I'm a geeky bookworm choir girl who used to be scrawny and then ate too many cheetos.  I've never been strong or fit and I've always preferred indoor activities that involved fat-assing on the couch.

But there is no reason I have to stay that way.  So Insanity it is.

I've really enjoyed surprising myself.  I still have to modify some exercises because my knees are not that great and they sometimes sound like rice krispies when I squat.  Sometimes my feet slip right out from under me when I'm planking and I fall on my face.  But for the most part I'm better at this than I thought I could be.  There's something immensely satisfying about realizing that you can, in fact, do ten power jumps.  Can I do 80 like my upline coach?  Nope.  But today I can do 10, and tomorrow maybe I'll do 11 or 12, and consistency is the key.  Small changes, over time, will give results.

Ever read that kids' book Holes?  They made a movie of it with Sigourney Weaver and Shia LeBoeuf.  There's a part in it where the dad makes his kid carry this baby pig up the hill every day.  The kid thinks it's totally pointless and grumbles the whole time.  All of a sudden one day after like a year he really looks at the pig and realizes that it's full-grown.  His friends try to pick it up and they can't.  "Every day the pig grew a little bigger, but every day I grew a little stronger", or something like that. Dude is lifting an adult hog and doesn't even think he's changed.  Insanity is kinda like that for me.  Well, except that some days I lose grip on the pig and we tumble down the hill.  And occasionally I let the pig have a day off.  But I still feel the analogy stands.  At the end of sixty days I want to stand at the top of the hill and hold that big pig in my strong arms.  And use my core to lift my knees, because I still have no freaking clue how to do that when Shaun T yells it at me every day.



So if you've done Insanity, mad props to you.  If you haven't, I highly recommend it, because it's so much fun to do more than you have before.  My family thinks I'm crazy.  They come into the playroom less and less while I'm working out now because I yell ugly things at Shaun T.  They agree that it looks hard and that they're proud of me.  That's another level of motivation right there.  Damn, I want to make my kids proud of me.  I want to show them that you don't always have to give up.

Even though most days I think it's possible I might pee a little or at the very least fart during the workout, even though I have to modify, and even though it's hard, this is some cool shiz.


But I'll get there.  And so can you.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Fruits of the Spirit

I've been dragging my feet on church lately.  We've been super lazy on Sundays and just haven't made it a priority to get up and go.  No real reason other than pajamas are great.  There are times that I feel really guilty about it, and there are times that I think God knows my heart and forgives me.  Both are true- I do trust that He will forgive me over and over because I constantly need it, but I still think it's okay to have a little guilt when you're not on track and you know it.  :)

ANYWAY.  All that to say, I went to church this morning and it was some excellent food for thought- all about fruits of the spirit.  You see what I did there?  Good grief I'm a dork.  (and autocorrect changed that to "good brie I'm a fork".  no lie- all about the foods here today apparently.)

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness/generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I've learned so many little bible verse songs about them over the years and can spout them off like any good graduate of the youth group.  How many of us actually take the time to live them daily though?

Things that struck me from today's message:


  • Joy is not the same thing as happiness.  Joy is internal, and is a choice you make on how you respond to your circumstances.  You can live in terrible times and still have joy, just like living in a lot of material wealth doesn't necessarily ensure happiness.  
  • Patience is waiting with grace, and practicing a non-anxious presence in the midst of strife, accepting people where they are.  Wow.  My mom always says that you should never ask God for more patience, because instead of just fairy-dusting it down on you, He'll give you more opportunities where you need to develop patience.  Waiting with grace.  Practicing a non-anxious presence.  These things sound incredibly hard to manage sometimes, but just imagine for a minute how much richer your life would be, and how much nicer for the people around you, if you DID IT.
  • Gentleness: the ability to give people space to grow.  Also being gentle with yourself- allow YOU to be YOU, even when you're not being a very good you.  I like that a lot.  We all have days or even seasons when we know we're not at our best.  Gentleness allows for forgiveness, and for knowing that we won't be in this place forever.

Being a person who believes in and relies on God, I love these new little nuggets of thinking about fruits.  I think though that even if you're a person who feels far from God or you don't believe He's there, that living this way is better than feeling small and sad and petty and bitter.  

Choose to find joy in your circumstances.  Even if you're unhappy about things from time to time, don't let that steal your JOY.

Accept people where they are.  Assume that they're doing the best they can with what they have, just like you are.  Practice a non-anxious presence.  Wait with grace.

Be gentle with yourself and with the people you're sharing life with.

Or if all that is too much, pick one to work on and just start.  Work on being a better you.