EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE MONTHS?

Ok, so maybe I don't feel QUITE this bad, but you get the drift. After several weeks of no exercise, I must say Raj looks how I feel. Mentally, I am BEYOND ready to run and lift weights, but my body is lagging behind. So I continue on, trusting that healing is on it's way and I'll come back stronger than before! I'm hoping to get a walk in at the park after work if the weather is decent. I need some fresh air and vitamin D!


Today is the last Wednesday of Lent. Only 4 more days. I'm not giving up now! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. How about you? There is gonna be one heck of a celebration come Easter Sunday morning! And it's kicking off with Sunrise Service at 7:00 am at First Christian Church! So exciting on so many levels!

I'm also thinking about a blowout Blizzard Fest at Dairy Queen on Monday, April 1st. Anyone game for that? I think we should take them over! Who's with me? :) However, Roy says "Monday? I'm not waiting until Monday. I'm going Sunday!!" Cracked me up. 

April 1st is also the anniversary of our engagement 23 years ago! So we'll be celebrating all the way around! :)


DEVOTIONAL

Are you a procrastinator? I have gradually become one. I'm not sure when that happened. Even with my Type A personality and perfectionistic tendencies, somehow procrastination has crept in. I don't know if it's the lack of a schedule, or being out of sorts for so long, or just general laziness. So I needed a few bible verses and a plan to set me straight. Rick Warren (LOVE him) had some great ideas for me! Maybe they will help you too! He says:

The Bible gives us 5 actions we can take to stop procrastinating:

1. STOP MAKING EXCUSES
Proverbs 22:13 "The lazy man is full of excuses."
The number one excuse I hear if "When things settle down, I'm going to..." Things will never settle down. You must make a choice to prioritize what is important.

I am guilty of this. Right now I'm saying..."as soon as I can start exercising again, I'll really dial in my diet and start over." When what I should REALLY be doing is dialing in my diet TODAY. Right?

2. START TODAY
Proverbs 27:1 "Never boast about tomorrow. You don't know what will happen between now and then." None of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. Start today...not next month, next week or tomorrow.

This sense of urgency puts it into perspective. I think about this a lot. What if something happened to me today. Would Roy know where all our important things are? Do I have everything in order? Or have I left behind a complete mess for someone else to sift through? Tough questions.

3. ESTABLISH A PLANNED SCHEDULE
Proverbs 13:16 "A wise man plans ahead. A fool doesn't."
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You need to designate some specific time slots each week for things you need to do. Whatever it is, put it on your calendar. And if it's a big task, break it down into small pieces.

I totally believe in planning ahead. As a matter of fact, I feel like I spend 90% of my time planning. Planning meals, planning workouts, planning a schedule, planning life. So I guess I need to start planning projects and giving them a slot on my calendar!

4. FACE YOUR FEARS
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
Courage is not the absence of fear; it's moving ahead in spite of our fears.

I have lots of fears. Fear of failure. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of not meeting my goals. Fear that I'm not measuring up to my full potential. Fear that I'm never going to discover the purpose of my life. And because of those fears, I sometimes let them take over and create even more anxiety which prevents me from doing things. This is something I've really got to work on.

5. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU GAIN, NOT THE PAIN.
Galatians 6:9 "So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we reap a harvest."
There are very few things in life that are easy. You must push through the frustration and look at the gain beyond the pain. Concentrate on how good you're going to feel once you've finished the task. Jesus never said life would be easy. There will be sacrifice and commitment. But there is tremendous reward when we do the things he calls us to do!

I'm going through this right now. Trying to focus on the positive and not the pain. Again, not easy, but giving it all I have.

So where do we go from here? Here is my game plan and I'm doing this TODAY!

1. Make ONE list of ALL the projects I want to accomplish and set goal dates for each one.

2. Break each of those projects down into smaller tasks and give them a date and a 

time block on my calendar. 

(And make sure I turn off the TV, computer and phone during this time!!!)

3. Reward myself for each task completed in full.

MEALS

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs with avocado

Lunch: Another birthday lunch at Blackbird Cafe with a friend :)

Snack: cashews

Dinner: Homemade vegetable soup that mom brought over for us!


Have an awesome day everyone!