It Is Well - Part 3: Fit or Flight?

In the spirit of honesty there are certain facts that truly must be shared. According to the BMI chart for women I should weigh 50 pounds less than I do. Basically, after plugging in my height and weight, the darling little online calculator has this gem for me: A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. Being obese increases your risk for serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. See your doctor to learn how to manage your weight.

Nice. Lovely. This news gets me so excited I feel like having hot cocoa and a cruller. Wanna come to my pity party? Actually, it's not news. It's old and repetitive like an 80's ballad that won't stop getting airplay. "Time after time..."

Since beating my personal dragon and getting my driver's license, I find myself tempted beyond sense and reason to pile the kids in the van to take Murron to school. Not a big deal, you might think, plenty of other moms drive their children around. Okay, then, do these "other" moms drive their kids a quarter mile to school? 440 yards. 1320 feet. 0.40233 kilometers. In my defense, this has only happened in the rain, so far, but the lure to take the easy way is hard to resist, some days. I suppose that's why it's a good thing that we only have one multi-passenger vehicle. It forces me to pop the kids in the jogging stroller, instead, and walk half a mile. It's not very impressive, I know. I should be continuing my walk around an extra half mile, or whole mile, or even five miles. I don't but I should.

I don't because it's not attractive or interesting. The entertainment value of a brisk walk for exercise is, in my opinion, like polishing silver or raising chickens. We don't own silver and chickens definitely don't want me in charge of their upkeep. Ever. Bill, on the other hand, not only enjoys a brisk walk but he runs to work, runs home from work, runs around the city, runs on the treadmill, and runs half marathons. It's kind of like he's running from something, and I suppose he is. He's running from the weight he used to be because he knows it could catch up to him if he doesn't. He's running from the health issues that have caused him to take prescribed medicines. He's running from depression, negative emotions, and real or imagined demons. He's become very good at it, too.

So, I ask myself often why I run to confort, pleasure, food, or ease. What do I really fear about exercise that I am so easily drawn to what's most convenient, at the time? Why do I avoid healthy changes to my physical activity level and instead maintain my lazy habits? When will I get tired of my tight waistbands and fatigue and fight back with running shoes and resolution?

My thinking is what needs to change the most before I see any physical changes in myself. I have to see exercise and activity as the committment to discipline it really is. And that, I know, is what I'm most afraid of and have run the farthest to escape. But, in so doing, I have run to things that have not been beneficial and have actually done me little good. Sure, food and comfort are important, and pleasure enriches our lives. But having neglected to balance these things with disciplined activities has resulted in a level of gluttony that goes beyond gorging. No, I am not consuming whole pies and pizzas but I will admit that I nibble on sentiment and nostalgia of my slender past. I stuff my mind with self-pity and regret over mistakes. And I overfeed on excuses and jusitfications. The results of this unhealthy mental and emotional binging is a wild and dangerous craving that cannot be satisfied.

The only certain effective weapon is committed daily active discipline, both in body and spirit. To successfully defeat this unruly appetite I must fight energetically, on my knees and on my feet. I need to oppose those things that would prevent my victory with every scripture I've learned and memorized and each aerobic set and rep. Avoiding the urge to flee I need to persevere in all my efforts to be fit in every way. I know that excess weight, health issues, and depressed thinking will always be on my heels, trying to catch up. But if I exercise my will and keep my thoughts set on my goal then I can stay ahead of my pursuers and be ready for the tasks that God has for me.

Glory

It Is Well - Part 2: Water Pure and Simple

On December 27th of 2010 I turned 40. We were in Saskatchewan, Canada celebrating Christmas with family. There were thoughtful gifts, meaningful cards, and delicious cake. Surrounded by a loving family and a spirit of joy, I feel wonderfully blessed to have experienced such an event. I want to be able to celebrate many more birthdays, Christmases, and special occasions to come.

My health has never been in peril but I have endured problems and challenges that, by God’s grace and medical wisdom, have been managed and corrected. Being sick, recently, caused something to happen (I’ll spare you the details) that was annoying and frustrating. Maybe it’s the farm-girl in me that squats down with a wheat straw and sage advice on her lips that makes me self-diagnose so often. Revving up the search engines, I read about things like acidophilus, cranberry, saw palmetto, and herbs and homeopaths I’ve never heard of in my whole adult life. After a couple days trying to resolve things “the natural way” without much progress I cut out all other beverages and started to drink water. Lots of water. Nearly camel portions of water! And, not very surprisingly, it made a difference. While I did end up purchasing an OTC medicine, I have felt significantly better and may still avoid a doctor’s visit.

Water is the oldest and simplest of homeopaths. It cleanses, soothes, refreshes, replenishes, and even heals. Just do a simple online search for properties and benefits of water and you will be as surprised as I was! Water is also very easy to incorporate into our diet. Just drink it, regularly and often. Again the internet has some great ideas on how to develop the water habit. It can be as simple as drinking a glass of water for every cup of coffee, tea, milk, juice, or soda that you drink during the day.

Thank You, God for giving us water to drink for the health of our bodies!

Psalms 78:16 He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

*disclaimer: this blog is not intended to replace a relationship with a health care provider and should be viewed from an entertainment perspective, thanks!*

Glory

Get Well

Now that our family is FINALLY over the worst of the cold and flu season the time has come to restore healthy habits and better eating. This can be much easier said than done, though, since our family does not have the reputation of established routines, set bedtimes, and regular meals. We're not CPS targets, either, but honestly, daily schedules don't just bore me, I tend to run fast and far away from them. They feel restricting and uncomfortable, like a time-out chair. And we don't have a time-out chair.

Hearing a crude symphony of sneezing-coughing-sniffling-groaning-retching-*insert other unmentionable body functions* for nearly a month, however, did warrant some drastic measures such as bleach washes and menu changes. I feel this is where I must clarify some points. Firstly, while we are not continually washing our hands or cleaning something 50 times a day as some do, neither are we total slobs who don't care about the appearance of our home or ourselves, for that matter. Ketchup marks the corners of our kids' mouths, sometimes, but we try to remind them to wash their hands after eating, using the bathroom, or touching anything dirty or offensive *cough*slugs*cough* Secondly, gardening dreams are yet to become reality and our food budget is not substantial enough to include too many organic, raw, natural products. But fast food, pre-made meals, and convenience items rarely make it onto our grocery shopping list, if ever. Homemade meals and balanced menus are what we strive for and are usually able to accomplish regularly. Finally, being a household of six kind of implies a busy life. No, we are not members of any health club or fitness center. But parenting employs unique muscle groups that must be strong enough to handle anything a 17, 7, 5, and 3 year-old can dish out. Most of the time.

If there is any area of our lives that needs routine wellness intervention it's attitudes. Getting sick makes us grumpy, tired, and irritable. Noises and other discomforts are amplified and increased. Essentially, life feels bad and people aren't nice! Of course, that's exaggerated thinking but whining has no limits and self-pity violates the boundaries of common sense and reason. And having a sick mind isn't corrected with bed rest or medicines. We've tried! Unhealthy thoughts don't come from any kind of bacteria or virus so immunizations and antibiotics are ineffective in treating them. As believers we know the only therapy we can be sure of is time in God's Word, prayer, and worshipful service. It gets our focus back on Him and our purpose for living. Then, even when physical illness wreaks havoc on our bodies, a spirit that is right and healthy can help us get through it and we can still say with confident assurance "Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say 'It is well, it is well with my soul.'"

Glory