Also, one of my favorite parts of this challenge was encouraging others with healthy thoughts, renewing minds and replacing lies with truth - connecting to the Truth that has already been given to us!! Over the last few weeks I have been wondering how I could connect the two for others and not just myself. SO I am gonna try something out (if you don't mind)!! Bear with me as I find my way!
Psalms 103:2-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Have you ever thought, "oh i HAVE to workout, eat right, live right, talk right, parent right, do everything right or it's all going down"?! Well, I am here to tell you, it's not up to you!! When you accepted Jesus, He took all of it, He did it all. Look at that scripture... forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, renews. This is true in all areas of our lives.
Do you know what sin is? Sin is missing the mark or not measuring up. We all once were that, but now we've been redeemed, we no longer miss the mark because Jesus did it. Jesus measured up, Jesus hit the mark. Perfectly. When we believe that we no longer have to fulfill those requirements, guess what happens? We no longer measure ourselves. We no longer condemn, we no longer strive to be what we already are! Freedom in Christ is freedom FROM sin! We are no longer slaves to sin or in other words, we no longer miss the mark! We have the fullness of God living inside of us!! This is what revelation is... revealing Him in us, knowing that the finished work of God lives inside of us!!!
I do believe that there are natural consequences to our actions... I mean, run out in traffic without looking and we are likely to be hit by a car. Eat cheeseburgers for every meal, there may be some implications to that. I feel the same about exercise. Lay around without working your muscles, they will atrophy. I think of Adam walking with God in the garden in the cool of the day and tending to the garden. He was not a just laying around eating all day! Our bodies were meant for exercise.
However that works for you is going to be different than for me. But I do know that it all comes from a place of knowing that requirements have been met! "Because as He is, so are we in this world" (1John 4:17)!!
So if you are a list or action kind of girl and want a couple of things to do in addition to your workouts, I will give you some suggestions. When I first started, I read somewhere that making one small change every week was so beneficial. Not these dramatic lifestyle changes that would set us up to fail. We are looking for total body change, not deprivation or a massive overhaul!
Here are my recommendations for this week (you can do all or one or none):
1. meditate on the verse above. renew your mind with the truth of what has already been done!! if you do nothing else, do this! your body, soul and spirit thirsts and no better way to quench it than with the Word!!
2. drink water. if you already do, add 8-16 ounces more than you already drink. if you already drink enough add lemon to it! it is a natural and easy way to cleanse! some experts say 8 - 8 oz. glasses a day and some say take your weight, cut it in half and drink that many ounces. this is not a command, but a good idea! our body is 60% water and is in need of constant replenishing to work well.
3. add a smoothie into your day, whether it be a meal replacement or a snack. there are tons of great recipes out there! you will be adding in some of those much needed fruits and veggies in a really easy way.
That's it! I hope you have a great week and please if you have any questions or thoughts, message me or post on the Nashville SBF Group on Facebook!
Love you all!!
