Temptation

                                                             


Well, this can be a touchy subject....people don't often want to admit they have temptations...

A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological (including feeling guilt), health, economic, etc. (wikipedia)

I have been faced with temptations in my life again and again....sometimes on a daily basis! Some of them have been easy to turn away from. Others, have been quite difficult.

Just recently one of my biggest temptations...and hardest to overcome...has gotten a little easier. I stuggle with Pepsi! I love the carbonation...the sweetness...the coolness....Ahhhhhh! Wow!....And if it is from a fountain- THAT'S the BEST!

For the past year, I allowed myself to have it once a day, after cutting back from having a couple or more a day. When I began doing P90X, Tony kinda sorta said it was a good thing to cut it out. And, I knew deep inside, he was right!! (That's the same with most temptations....they make you feel like they are beneficial...almost good for you in some way...and in reality it is just emptiness...and often bad for you.) It really is nothing but empty calories and loads of sugar I don't need and caffiene that I already get from other sources... (another addiction?) So, as addicted as I had been, I stopped having it daily and allowed myself to have a little on the weekend... :)

What I have found with Pepsi as with other temptaions I have had in my life is that those temptaions which are not good for me fade...they are somehow removed....sometimes slowly but surely and sometimes altogether and rapidly!

This Pepsi Addiction has been kind of a slowly fading one...and suddenly I tried to drink it today for a treat- and YUCK! It really made me feel kinda sick!  What in the world??!! I don't think I will be tempted by that one for a while!! :) I hope not anyway.....

Learning thru Yoga

                                                                           


I have been doing P90X for about 20 days. It is great work out program! The beauty of it is that it brings variety and challenge to the work out.  Day one- Back, Chest and Abs. Day two- Plyometrix. Day three- Shoulders, Arms and Abs. Day four- Yoga. Day five- Back, Legs and Abs. Day six- Kenpo. Day seven- Stetch/Rest.

This program is good for me as it calls for balance...a little bit of everything. Anyone who knows me at all, knows I can really dive into things- especially if I enjoy them! I enjoy exercise and if this program didn't challenge me to be "EXTREME" and push myself to shaking burn out on the weights end, I would probably double up and maybe even triple up! I cannot, though as my muscles are shaking and done by the end of my reps...

I struggle the most, I think with Yoga! I enjoy it, don't get me wrong. I love the challenge of holding a position, focussing on relaxing unused muscle groups, breathing steadily, and then having muscle groups I am using shake as I hold a position for as long as I can. I feel challenged and fatigued and stetched...and by the end of the hour and a half session, I am feeling like I am so at peace that I could fall asleep in corpse pose, or child's pose!

The BALANCE portion of it, however, is my biggest challenge. I actually laugh at myself sometimes as I stuggle to find balance in some of the poses and sometimes as I fall out of a pose, I laugh out loud. It got me thinking the other day as this was happening...."Isn't it ironic that THIS is the same area I struggle with most in my life? BALANCE..." I have to restrain myself and try to find balance in all areas....I could easily over eat! I love food! I could easily become so busy that I have no time to rest. I could easily allow exercising to take too much of my time. I could easliy spend hours on the computer researching. I could easily demand the house be spotless all the time. I could easily volunteer to help other people so much that I leave no time to take care of myself. Balance is what I need to work on in Yoga and in life.

I am thankful that for people who know me well enough to know they can ask me if I am keeping it all in check. I am thankful that I am gentley reminded how important it is to not become too extreme in any one direction that other important areas are neglected. Breathe---- balance....focus.

                                                                         

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I was sitting in church after a pretty moving morning in Rush Hour yesterday. We broke into "family groups" and my family group consisted me and my husband, our own children, and children from 2 other families. I just LOVE kids of all ages, so I was really feeling blessed to have a chance to talk with the kids, teens and tweens about how they are gifted and talented. Rush Hour also has singing, dancing and really cool skits that make you laugh as you learn..(it really has become one of the highlights of my week, since we started going a few weeks ago!) I came into "Big Church" feeling good!

The pastor came out on stage with a mega phone, and some big sign hanging around his neck that said something about "YOU ARE GOING TO BURN IN HELL!" He was shouting out words of condemnation we have all heard before...things about drinking, lust, dressing immodestly...I knew he was trying to make a point...I knew this wasn't his style...I have seen this style though, before.

He took off that "costume" and he ended up saying something that immediately brought tears to my eyes... "The reason people don't believe God loves them is because Chirstians don't love them." In fact, that makes tears come to my eyes every time I think about it!! 

THAT is TRUTH- cut right to the heart!! Jesus himself came for the poor, prisoners, blind, oppressed, lost...he had COMPASSION....he showed LOVE. He came to PROCLAIM FAVOR. To save the world...not to condemn!

I don't know why sometimes as Christians, we act like we are perfect? Christians are certainly no more perfect than anyone else in the world! The main thing is that a Christian knows they are NOT perfect and therefor, they know they need a saviour...I know that I mess up EVERY day! I am SOOO not perfect! SOOO IMPERFECT!Why wouldn't I, a Christian, want to extend and share that same mercy and grace shown to me-to the people around me on a daily basis?

It breaks my heart to here the words "The reason people don't believe God loves them is because Christians don't love them." Because, I have felt that way. I have felt that condemnation from Christians that made me feel unworthy, unloveable, unaccepted. I have had people in my family and some friends go through that as well. It really does push people away from Christianity....from Christians....from God.

I cannot speak for any other Christian. But I pray that no one I come in contact with would ever feel that from me. I pray that the people that surround me would feel LOVE. That they would KNOW I am just as human as they are and struggle just as they do...

"Since when are Christians better than anyone else?" he said. The truth is...we aren't. We just know we need the Grace and Mercy and Love that comes from God through Jesus.

Hmmmmm....just can't get it out of my head..."The reason people don't believe God loves them is because Christians don't love them."......

Take Time to Celebrate!

Last night I was able to watch The Ohio State Buckeyes play Marshall over dinner with my husband and some of his work colleagues.

It was a great game for Ohio State, and as I watched the game, I was reminded of something.

Each time a touchdown was scored, there was a little bit of time spent celebrating!

Seeing the little dances, the chest bumps, the finger pointing out to the crowd as the player came into the end zone- all little acts of celebration- that seemed to make me smile even more than the actual touchdown!

I thought to myself, "THAT'S IT! We have to take time to celebrate!"

Too often, I think we stay so focussed and so set on our "to do"  or "honey do" list that we forget how important it is to take even just a few mintues to celebrate the job well done, the process of our lives, the monuments both big and small that occur throughout the "game" of our lives.

A tooth came out, a new thing learned, a task completed, an anniversary, a birthday, a wedding, a birth, a problem solved, a step in the right direction taken, a new song learned, a new relationship, a broken relationship mended....

How about just celebrating the process? Each touchdown was a step closer to the end result of a won game. Each day we live is a step closer to the end result of our lives. Along the way, there is soooo much to dance, sing, and shout about! I don't think we should wait til the very end to reflect on that! I think we should try to reflect on the steps along the way- and take joy in them daily!

TAKE TIME TO CELEBRATE!