A Spacious Place...

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."
-Psalm 18:16-19

In an attempt to re-commit to blogging AND get back on track building a healthy lifestyle, starting today, I'm commiting to the 90 in 09 Challenge. Want to know what the heck this is? Read below.

RESHAPE YOUR BODY, YOUR MIND & YOUR LIFE

The 90 in 09 Challenge is designed to aid Mike Weaver (lead singer of Big Daddy Weave) in his goal to lose 90 pounds in the year 2009. With help from "Americas Health Coach," Dr. Asa Andrew, and fitness trainer and founder of the YMCA Restore Ministries, Scott Reall, Mike will be given all the health, fitness and spiritual support needed to make his resolution a reality. Take action in your own life and join the 90-day challenge by clicking on the TAKE THE CHALLENGE tab. Your health is your greatest wealth, and a gift from God. Sign up to join the challenge, and commit to pray for Mike and others like him.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE

To join with Mike and accept the 90 in 09 Challenge, you simply agree to these 3 daily commitments for a NEW Life:

Nutrition – Exercise – Worship

NUTRITION
1. Recognizing that the purpose of the foods that I eat is to provide my body with the fuel it needs, I commit to make food choices that are nutritious and appropriate in portion size.

EXERCISE
2. Realizing the positive impact that exercise has on my overall well being, I will spend a total of 20-30 minutes at least 4 days a week engaged in physical activity. (Mike's commitment is to exercise EACH day; I altered this plan to fit my lifestyle).

WORSHIP
3. Believing that true overall health encompasses spiritual growth which comes from spending time with God, I choose to set aside time each day to be devoted soley to Him.

Like Mike, I went through the Journey to Freedom class a few months ago and had every intention of sticking to my action plan and goals but find myself in a pit of despair (so to speak). For as long as I can remember, I've had a food addiction. I'm an emotional eater and over eat, sometimes out of control. Eating in hiding is something I know and do so well. With all this, brings a lot of shame and body image issues. It is an addiction I've tried to overcome numerous times without avail. I KNOW the truth in God's word, but it has not set me free. I'm on a journey to live in freedom. Not that I won't struggle with it every day for the rest of my life, but I want to invite Jesus into my moments and make choices that will please and honor Him.

I can't do this alone and recognize that I MUST have accountability or I WILL fall flat on my face. Thus, I commit to God, to YOU (anyone who is reading this!), my family, and myself, that for the next 90 days (Feb 5, 2009 to May 5, 2009) I will blog about this 90 day journey to freedom. While I don't need to lose 90 pounds, I do hope to shed my winter (spring, summer, fall) coat of 15-20 lbs. I've got a few pairs of smaller size pants that still have the tags on them and I'm READY for them to stop laughing at me every time I open the door to my closet! Right now, I'm sporting my "big girl" pants, as I call them... NOT FUN or pretty! But some how I've managed to get really comfortable with this vicious cycle of sabotaging my efforts, relying on my own strength, listening to the devil's lies that I'll never be able to change and getting too used to making my home in the pit. Food has such a control over me. It is an idol in my life that has consumed me. I also commit to following the three daily commitments for a NEW Life. I realize this is my journey and my struggles but I covet your prayers as I embark on what will be the most challenging battle – me vs. God and the struggle to surrender moment by moment. Some days I may struggle to blog a single sentence but my heart's prayer is that God will show me that THIS is possible, that I DON'T have to live in defeat the rest of my life.

One last thing...I love this note written by Scott Reall (Founder of Restore Ministries) he calls the "Power of Vision" that's posted on the YMCA website.

"There are two types of motivation - one is called extrinsic motivation, the other is called intrinsic motivation. In Journey to Freedom, we work with people who are trying to create a new life for themselves by changing a key part of their lives. We know that the key to sustaining change is maintaining the motivation, for the rest of our lives, always moving towards our new self, our best self that we are in the process of creating with God in the process of change.

Here's what we know about motivation: when a person is motivated by need, they often will settle for a temporary fix. The motivation is an external motivation - what we call extrinsic. For example: "I need to lose 20 pounds because my husband doesn't like me as much when I am overweight" - this pressure is external. When this external motivation is removed, the change is not permanent and the individual usually falls back into their former habits. But, when the motivation is driven by vision - a vision of becoming the man or woman that God truly wants you to be, becoming your best self - that's called intrinsic motivation. It's being driven by this vision of becoming something that is very meaningful to you - "I want to become this man or woman I can see God calling me to be." It's as if you and God are in it together. You both want to make you the best you can be. Whenever a person is motivated by vision - these are the people who will experience lasting change that will sustain for a lifetime."
May God bless you on your Journey!
Scott Reall

Thank you for encouraging me on my journey!