First of all, thank you so much for joining me in Pursuing Wellness! I'm excited to see the Lord bless us as we set our minds and efforts toward completing First Place 4 Health, Begin with Christ Bible Study over the next 12 weeks. Together, we will testify of God’s extravagant grace as we consider what it means to
- care for our physical bodies through good nutrition and fitness
- care for our spiritual bodies through time in the Word and prayer
...learning through the triumphs and trials, persevering humbly on our knees!
Week 1 - An Introduction
Hopefully, you've had time to look through your book. If not, that will be part of your homework for this week. Be sure to read through the introduction and get a feel for the layout and resources, like menus and shopping lists. The real work begins this week, as we set to the task of completing the homework, tracking our foods, exercising, and spending time with the Lord. I’m giving my full effort in being a 100 miles club member, and I hope you’ll join me in that, too.
Since today is our introductory week, I would love if you would share in a comment below or at a post on your blog a few thoughts about this journey:
- What is your number one reason for participating in Pursuing Wellness?
- In other words, at the end of twelve weeks, what do you hope will be the result?
- Please share one wellness goal for the upcoming week.
- Also share one way others can specifically pray for you in your pursuit of wellness.
- Is there a particular verse that you feel God is prompting you with as you undertake this journey?
Okay, gals! I hope that is enough to motivate you and get you going. Check it will be the same time, same place next Friday.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to study your Word in the context of giving our bodies and our physical and spiritual health to you. I pray that this week you would open our eyes, ears, and minds to your instruction. Holy Spirit, we invite you to speak to our innermost thoughts, transforming our understanding of our habits and lifestyles. Make us into new creations, O Lord, that more clearly and more transparently reflect your beauty. In Jesus Name, Amen!
My Check-In...
I hope to have the Lord change my perspective on health and beauty. I want to see caring for my body from a Biblical perspective, inline with Romans 12:1-2, and also as a temple of God, instead of from the worldly perspective of numbers and measurements.2. In other words, at the end of twelve weeks, what do you hope will be the result?
I hope that I will make healthier eating choices because they are good stewardship choices. I hope that fitness will become a passion rather than a chore. I hope that I will lose those last 10 pounds and be more physically tone.3. Please share one wellness goal for the upcoming week.
To record all food and fitness in the tracker, without excuse. This is always the reality checker for me. I deceive myself if I don't.4. Also share one way others can specifically pray for you in your pursuit of wellness.
To keep my eyes on Christ, not on myself or my efforts.5. Is there a particular verse that you feel God is prompting you with as you undertake this journey?
Probably Matt 6:33 and Romans 12:1-2, which have both been impressed upon me for months now and I still have so much to learn from these passages.
Posts
2 Comments:
What is your number one reason for participating in Pursuing Wellness?
Over the past several years, my weight has gotten a little out of control, swinging up and down in large numbers. I know a lot of this came from the stress I was experiencing in my previous marriage, followed by the stress I felt when going through a divorce. I received A LOT of criticism about my physical appearance from my ex-husband, but when I'd finally get motivated to workout and eat healthy, I'd get another dose of criticism for that. When I was thin, I'd get constantly accused of cheating on him... so I ate emotionally and quit working out... which made me get fat... which made him criticize me for being fat... which made me want to lose weight, so I'd start going to the gym again... which made him yell at me because he thought I was doing that so I could find someone to cheat on him with... which made me eat emotionall and quit working out... See the cycle? While going through the divorce, I was so emotionally distraught that I could barely eat anything, which then caused me to drop 50 pounds fast. Over the past year, I've put most of that back on as I drift back into old eating habits.
I know all of this truly stems from not giving control over to God in the areas of food and exercise. I want to finally surrender this area of sin in my life to God... to allow Him to change me from the inside out... to finally be a good steward of this body He blessed me with... and to give Him the glory when people start asking, "Beth, you look amazing! What are you doing?"
In other words, at the end of twelve weeks, what do you hope will be the result?
I hope to gain confidence as I willingly surrender my weakenesses to God. This is NOT something I can do on my own... which is something I struggle with. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so my health and fitness journey makes me feel like such a failure! I also hope to have begun lifelong habits that will help me be a good steward of this body. I come from a family with a history of heart disease and diabetes, and I want to beat the odds!
Please share one wellness goal for the upcoming week.
When I began this several weeks ago, my goal was to eat breakfast every day. That is something that is so easy for me to neglect. I hate getting up in the mornings, so I have a tendency to push the snooze so much that I snooze my way right through the opportunity to eat breakfast.
Also share one way others can specifically pray for you in your pursuit of wellness.
Please pray for me that I can continue to surrender this area of my life to Lord and allow Him to work in and through me. Surrender is so hard for me.
Is there a particular verse that you feel God is prompting you with as you undertake this journey?
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)
Also, Isaiah 40 has always been one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. I love the way that it puts things in perspective... who I am and who God is. I think the end of it will be encouraging to remember when I am exercising and want to give up... "The Lord is the everlasting God. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40: 28-31)
Ummm... how do I UN-link myself so I can RE-link? I've never done one of these before, so I used the link to this specific post on my site and NOT just generically to my blog. I didn't realize this would carry over to ALL the Mr. Linky's for this study, so that every week the link would go back here! Oops!
Post a Comment
I'm so glad you decided to leave a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'd also love to follow up with you, so be sure to leave your email address or a link to your blog! If you'd like to contact me directly, just pop an email to Lisa at extragrace at gmail dot com.
Blessings, extravagantly,
Lisa