Mar 18, 2009 11:00
I'm REALLY excited about this website Sparkpeople.com . It has been a great resource for me so far. I don't struggle with severe weight problems but I've def gained unhealthy weight in my stomach and I was previously unmotivated to work out at all. The past 2 years I've developed bad eating habbits and have failed to do any habbitual exercises. That has all changed now that I'm on this website.
So far I've learned that I have a habbit of consuming a lot of carbs and I've learned the amount of exercises I should be committing to on a weekly basis to stay healthy. I've also learned that when I do choose to watch what I eat that I'm not eating enough and I'm actually doing damage to my metabolism. And, through all of the reports from my eating journal, it appears that I'm not consuming enough protein. I also need to start stretching more to maintain my flexibility and mobility. I might have been able to assume some of these things, however, it is a lot more helpful to have all of the data in front of me where I cannot deny the facts. No part of my poor eating/exercising habbits go un-noticed. This is exactly what I needed. I want to be able to start good habbits NOW. I'd rather loose 5 lbs and create good habbits while I'm young than wait till I'm 45, try to loose 60 lbs and have a harder time disciplining myself. I'm also really excited because Rafe wants to do these challenges with me. It helps to do it as a family than to go it alone. I want us to be healthy vibrant parents when we have children.
Also, this A.W. Tozer book is amazing. He's talking about how there are a lot of "common" christians who are turned off by fanatacism and therefore never seek spiritual perfection and are failing to grow as Christians. This has been everthing that God has been speaking to me about throug His word. I've been noticing that throughout this past year how I'm really turned off by "fanatical christians" who seem to take some things legalistically or in my opinion appear to be over zealous about issues. And here's the wierd thing, I truly desire to be over zealous, completely sold out, the super committed to Christ in every area of my life-type of Christian, but when I get close to that, I get all wierded out.
Tozer explained how this verse can be taken out of context; that this gives Christians the perspective that they do not have to persevere, change, or grow towards anything since we're "complete" in Christ. And while our salvation is complete, our sanctification is not.
Colossians 2:10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
Paul gives examples of how we should keep striving towards a the goal of holiness even stating that striving for these things will not be done in vain.
Philipians 2:16 ...in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Paul, the man who wrote most of the new testament, presses on with vegence...
3:12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
How can I afford to be lazy in my walk, barely growing, only kind-a-sorta caring about obtaining a Christ like character, when the man whom God spoke through and wrote lots of the Bible presses on towards the prize?? I must be fooling myself thinking fanatacism in Christ is silly, unecessary and wierd!!!
Jesus was very clear that those who were not watching and ready would not enter the Kingdom. He was very clear about lukewarm Christians, people who were afraid to loose their wordly things in order to gain Christ- that these people could not enter the Kingdom. I don't want to be ANYTHING like these people. Yet, so often I find myself relating to them.
I just pray that God fills me with a hunger for Him that can never be satisfied until the day that I meet him face to face. I don't ever want to grow content, lukewarm or stale in my faith.
I'll continue to post about the things that I'm learning from this book. I'm really enjoying my read.