Well, ladies, where are you? Have we all dropped off? Or did my missing a posting week throw you off?

I have to confess that the last three weeks have not been good ones for me. I have a heel spur. It started about three weeks ago when I could barely walk without pain. It was awful! Has anyone had one before? I thought I’d broken my foot or something. Things are a bit better now that I’ve stayed off it awhile and starting using heel gel in my shoes. Apparently, this thing takes about six months to heal on its own. YIKES!!!

I don’t plan to be away from CURVES all that time, but I do have to find a way not to irritate my foot again. Geigh, you said you had a bit of a problem, too. I hope all is better. Now how about the rest of you? It’s time to celebrate or ‘fess up.

Sorry for being late, ladies. It’s time to weigh in (forgive the pun). How was your week? You tell me; I’ll tell you.

Time to check-in. How was your week? I didn’t do so well this week–only made it to CURVES once–but I’m back at it this week. Don’t give up!

Sorry for the delay but I lost my Internet access on Sunday and just got it back.

So, how was your first week of the challenge? I hate to tell you this but I’ve missed the CURVES challenge already. I showed up on at 10:55 on Saturday for my third workout for the week and found that they closed at 11 instead of noon. I really felt badly about that. The good news is that I have this really old aerobics tape and I did my third work-out with the tape. So, all in all, I had a successful week and I’m looking forward to the next week. I’m committed.

How was your week?

I made it through my first CURVES workout in over a year. I have to tell you, it wasn’t pretty. I refuse to go into details because I’m not going to be embarrassed on my own blog. 🙂 The good news is I went and I exercised. Things should only get better Wednesday and Friday as I make it through Week 1. So let me know how your week starts. Gotta go now. My bed’s calling my name.

I finally moved my CURVES membership to my new home town. On Monday, they’re starting the “3 Times the Charm” challenge and I’m joining in. This means that for six weeks I will exercise three times a week. For every week that I make the goal, they enter me in a contest to win a special charm bracelet. I don’t really care about the bracelet, but I do want to make the 6 week challenge. Anybody want to join me? You don’ t have to join CURVES, just commit to exercising three times a week for the next six weeks. We’ll check-in together every Monday. How does that sound?

Be sure to check in Monday if you’re going to take the challenge.

I haven’t forgotten that we start First Place today. I’m going to put this placeholder here and update it when I finish today’s study some time later tonight. If you are joining the journey and want to post your starting comments, please do so. Also, don’t forget to read the last Bible in 90 Days entry, right below this one. I think the scriptures there really apply to this new challenge we’re taking.

UPDATE: I had a midnight deadline on a work project so I had to crash afterwards. Check this page tomorrow night for another update. I may have one by morning by I can’t guarantee it since my brain is now officially mush. 🙂 And this is after vegging out for an hour.

UPDATE2: Okay, I’m back on track. Well, sort of. I hope you all have had a good start to our healthy living challenge, or whatever you’re calling it. I had my first Bible Study in the First Place book today. I have to admit it was a bit hard bouncing around from book to book, OT to NT, after going through 90 days of reading the books in context. After I got over my reluctance, I enjoyed the study. It began with Deut. 30:11.

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask, `Who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it?’ It is not beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, `Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear and obey it?’ The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. –Deut. 30.11-14

As you can see, I couldn’t help but put it in a bit of context. Anyway, I think that’s a powerful scripture to begin our journey. Nothing God asks of us is to difficult for us to understand or do. Now what does He ask of us? Try Romans 12:1. Again, I had to add a verse for context, but I did resist the urge to use the King James Version.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. –Rom. 12:1-2

You remember from our OT readings that sacrifices had to be without blemish; they had to be the chosen of the lot. That we’re called to be living sacrifices means we’re that to God, or He wouldn’t want us. This verse calls me to total acceptance of myself as I am now, not as I want to be in the future. There have been times when I’ve thought, as soon as I do this or do that (be it lose weight or get the last kid out of the house or fill in the blank), then I’ll be ready to be used by God. Then I can be a great witness for Him. How wrong that thinking is! Today is the day He is calling and today is the day we must answer.

Something happened recently in my life that made me realize fully how important it is to cherish the person I am and the life I’ve lived. The same goes for you. The things we have endured and experienced are all part of who we are today. Like Jesus, because of the things we’ve suffered, we can have compassion on others who suffer; becuase of joy we’ve experienced, we can rejoice with others. Thank God for those experiences, for the life that we have and will have.

So we move forward this week knowing that we are empowered to live lives dedicated to God. The healthy living challenge is an exercise in obedience from which we’ll learn a lot about ourselves and our Lord. I’m a bit anxious, I admit, but I’m also expectant. Let’s enjoy the journey.

Do any of you struggle with healthy eating or maintaining an exercise program? Well, I do. I’ll do well for a while and then I’ll get lax and fall apart. This happens over and over and over.

Anyway, I found this Bible-based health program, FirstPlace, that I’ve going to try. I bought the materials a while back but never really got into them. So, starting Monday, April 10, I’m starting FirstPlace.

If you’re interested in joining me in this 1o-week journey, let me know. The Bible study books are structured for daily study, and require much less time each day than what we’ve been spending with the 90 Day Plan. I’ll post each week on my progress, so you’ll have a chance to keep me encouraged. I’m starting with the Everyday Victory for Everyday People study. You can probably get a copy from your local Christian bookstore or you can order it from Amazon.com.

You’ll notice that I haven’t used the terms “weight” or “weight loss” and that’s intentional. We’re not going to focus on weight; we’re going to focus on meeting our weekly exercise and eating goals. Let me know if you want to join me. Also, feel free to join in even if you’re using another plan. We can still encourage each other. Ready?