New attitude

I have been so blessed to be in a bible study for the last 6 months or so, studying a Beth Moore study "A woman's heart, God's dwelling place." And may I be so bold as to say that it was life-changing? That Beth Moore, she is so blessed and gifted with sharing God's Word. Oh how I am just so thankful for her!

So at the end of our study on Tuesday, 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 was a culminating verse and point that stood out to me like never before. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." It doesn't say "Try your best to honor God with your body" the Bible says HONOR GOD with your body.

I realized that his body of mine really is just on loan. The passage tells us that we 'are not our own. We were bought at a price,' so my thoughts of being able to do whatever I want and eat whatever (either good or bad) I choose are really false thoughts, because this body I have is just on loan to me from God. He fully expects me to take care of it and to honor Him with it at all times. What a privilege! I am so thankful he trusts me so much to care for something that HE, the God of the Universe has made.

So now, more than ever, I am committed to taking care of this body, this outer shell that He has loaned to me. And when I say 'take care of it' I don't mean get it to look the way the world thinks it should look, I mean nurturing it, giving it the food, water and REST it deserves and showering it with love as God would do. It is His anyways, the least I can do is care for it like He would. That's what borrowing means right?, taking care of something that isn't yours and giving it back to the rightful owner in its original shape. Not borrowing something then giving it back all broken and bruised, what kind of respect does that show?

I am thankful for the reminder that this shell of mine is valued and was painstakingly created just for me, as yours was for you. Psalm 139:13 tells us "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

I have seen over the last 6 months of this Beth Moore study how beautiful each of us really are and that God wants nothing more than for us to appreciate the body He has loaned to us. Let us respond by nurturing our bodies, not wishing they were different. We are in fact, wonderfully and fearfully made!

Your choice

Oh my, has it been a long time since I posted to my blog- sorry for the delay. My life has changed significantly in the last 4 months, with the biggest change coming from my left ankle that is now in a pretty pink cast. I found out in September that I have a stress fracture in my talus bone along with 2 cysts. (Look for another post on this later!) So, three casts later, I am still on crutches and waiting for my next CT scan on December 1. So needless to say, I haven't been training much because I am not supposed to be putting any weight on my foot at all, to allow it to rest. This is week #10 on crutches and week #8 in a cast.

So I MISS MY CLIENTS! I miss taking people through workouts that show them they are strong and tough inside. I miss catching up on my client's daily life and being apart of their journey. I miss pushing them to their limits just to see them succeed and begin to believe in themselves a little more. I miss being a personal trainer.

But I am just that, a personal trainer. Through this time off, that thought has become even more apparent to me, that I am only a piece of the equation. I can't do the hard work behind the scenes of getting someone healthier. I am just a coach who equips people with the tools to succeed, it is ultimately up to them to change their life. So although at times I try to take over and WILL a better life for my clients, I know that it is ultimately not my choice, it is theirs. So even though I am not in a position to physically coach them to a healthier life right now, they can still make the choice to live healthy and energetically without me, because it is their choice, not mine.

So may I encourage you today to live a life that is full, healthy and filled with good choices all day long. Be blessed in this day, be blessed.