Pictures and confessions...

More pictures for all of my visual friends! Hannah and Leah have heard me sing the praises of this exercise DVD for the past few weeks, and they've decided to join in with me. We started with Level One, which was enough. I was happy to see that by pushing through the BURN, I've made progress. I did my treadmill time this morning, followed by the Level Two workout, ate breakfast, and then did Level One with the girls an hour later. And I found Level One to be fairly easy. When you are consistent - you will see progress!

As you can see, there is nothing glamorous about exercising. You mess up your hair and get all sweaty. In the past, I hated to have anyone see me while I was in this state. It's not exactly cute, ya know. I would cringe when a family member walked in on my workout time. I didn't want them to see my huffing and puffing on the treadmill or groaning while doing a strength move. It somehow seemed like they were peeking in on a private moment - I wasn't looking the best and I didn't want them to see me struggling to keep up the pace. Boiled down, it was a pride issue. And we all know how our Lord feels about pride, even in such a small area. With His help, I got over it. How? By welcoming the very thing that used to annoy me! I left the door to the laundry room slightly open; I would work out in the living room, even if I could do it somewhere else. I had Leah help me do situps (gotta hold my feet!) and Hannah would keep time for me while I did other exercises. My attitude now is, "I don't care! Look all you want! I feel great, and I'm not stopping because you're staring!". And now, my sisters have caught the exercise bug. Sweet! For those of you who are scared for anyone to see you without your hair and makeup done - get over it! Suck it up and start living in FREEDOM.

And now that I've finished pushing you out of your comfort zone, it's time for a confession. Yep, here it comes - the dirt on Bekah! I did an awful job of listening to the Spirit on Friday, and I consumed way too many calories. Dumb calories, too. I ate even when I wasn't hungry and I didn't stop till I was stuffed. Going to bed that night, about the only thing in my body that was happy were my taste buds. My stomach was churning, my throat was scratchy, and my heart was guilty. I laid there in bed beating myself up; the devil didn't need to say a thing, I was doing pretty well coming up with lies to believe on my own. I felt awful, like I was such a failure - wondering if I'll ever really be able to conquer my flesh and be victorious. (You get the picture...) Can anybody relate to this? :-)

It was a mistake; I sinned. That was obvious. And I was left with a few choices concerning what to do next. Should I dwell on my sin and strive on my own strength to try and make it all better by denying myself certain foods and exercising over-abundantly? Should I throw in the towel, and forget this whole "weight loss thing" for good? Or should I confess, repent, and move on - continuing the fight?

By God's grace, I chose option number 3. I spent time in confession, and the Lord was so faithful to show me why I had such a rough day. I have a few things to work through, but now they are in the light - I can see them, and He's helping me to overcome them. So, I'm moving on. I'm kind of scared to weigh in this Friday, but I need to take responsibility for my own dumb choices. I will be posting about the number that comes on the scale - whatever it is - and I'll just have to "get over it"!

Smiling because of Him ~ Bekah