I've been trying to get back on a steady workout routine for the past month now and I'm making some good progress as far as I'm concerned. I'm building some muscle back that I have lost over the past couple years and I am working towards a goal of being in shape by next summer; at least that's the basic goal in the back of my mind other than the fact that I just need to get in better shape for myself and my son who is getting bigger everyday. I realized I needed to get stronger and in better shape when I was having a hard time carrying Christian in his baby car seat from our car up to church about a month or so ago. He is getting heavier everyday so I needed to make some changes and sacrifices to be able to keep up with his chunky butt. I am working out at least 3 times a week, I'm back on some supplements to rip muscle faster and I am trying to watch what I eat on a small scale by cutting back on some of the things I have been eating and eating smaller portions. I am trying to get Vanessa on the same page as me so we can both get in better shape but that's another story altogether.
Getting into a workout routine is harder than you would think even though I have a gym in the room out in my garage which is air-conditioned and has a TV in it. Forcing yourself to go workout after a hard day at the office where you have been sitting all day is easier said than done but I have been managing to muster up enough strength to do it and it is getting easier every time. Pushing myself to the limit and expending all the extra energy that I have to in order to get the workout I want and need is taking a toll on my body and I feel more tired during the day than I used to before I got back into my workout routine. I get up extra early to read and take care of Christian in the mornings and it's getting harder to get out of bed and stay awake while I'm reading at 5:15AM; I have actually fallen asleep in my chair with my book in my hand. The extra energy I used to have in the mornings is being spent the night before during my workout and my days are getting tougher but I'm hanging in there and I'm not going to quit. Finding the motivation to workout is also hard to come by because I am having to give up quality time with my family to do it and I only get a small amount of time a day to spend with them so not only is working out costing me energy and making me tired during the day but I have to sacrifice time with my family in order to get in shape.
I have asked God to help motivate me to get in better shape for my son and for myself and He has provided the energy I need and what motivation I have needed up to this point. I had an incident this week that initially made me really mad but looking back in retrospect has actually made me think. A guy at my work told me I needed to get some bigger pants because I looked like I had gained some weight and that ticked me off to say the least. I was mad and I couldn't believe it because he is 3 times the size of me and it just blew my mind that a fat guy was calling me fat. What's going on in the world? I also remember another guy in the office telling me that I was getting fat about 2 months ago and looking back on that now is what made me realize that I needed to get back in shape because at that time I was happily fat and comfortable and I wasn't thinking about it at all. I wonder if God uses these RUDE people to get my attention and give me the Motivation I need to get my butt in gear? Because that's what happened, I was told I was fat and it triggered something in my brain that I hadn't been thinking about but was true. I could have gotten my feelings hurt and gone and eaten a whole freakin tub of ice cream but instead it got my mind thinking on the right track and even though I didn't start working out for another month and I did take some shots back at the guy who said it I eventually started working out and I am feeling better and looking better. Back to the guy this week. He said that my pants were too tight and if I got some bigger pants it would look better. So again I got mad and called him a few names but last night it was all I could think about and I did 75 crunches and I am going to do those every time I workout and include them as a part of my routine to tone up my abs because that was one thing I wasn't doing because I hate doing sit ups. Let me rephrase that, I LOATHE doing sit ups; I have never done many sit ups because I really can't stand them but with the proper motivation I will do them everyday to feel better about myself and look better.
Now I am not a vain type of person if you don't know me. I like to look good and be strong but I'm not a body builder or anything like that and I don't stare at myself in the mirror while I flex or wear tiny little t-shirts everywhere I go. I used to work out all the time and it's been something that I have liked to do since I got out of high school but since I got married and especially since Vanessa got pregnant I haven't had the time or motivation to get back into the routine. Now what I'm talking about could be translated into anything that happens around you like someone talking bad about you at work or not getting enough attention at home or feeling under appreciated in general wherever you're at. The incident this week pertaining to my workout routine just got the ideas flowing through my brain and got me thinking that my ways are not Gods ways. God can use anything and everything to get our attention because He's God for crying out loud. He could write it in the sky if He wanted to but He is more subtle than that; He wants you to really be looking for Him and take the time to get to know Him so you can know when it's Him talking to you. I believe, through much thought and many difficult situations, that God uses the daily everyday things in life to get our attention. God uses people, circumstances, things, places and anything else you can think of to speak to us and give us clues to point us in the right direction down the path of life. God knows what's going on with us on the inside. He knows our stories and our past experiences and what we need to have happen to motivate us to act in one way or another. God is constantly giving us these clues which in turn still gives us a choice to make whether we act or feel sorry for ourselves or ignore the whole thing. God's plan for us is fluid and constantly in motion changing with the decisions we make everyday. He is always working things in our life for our overall GOOD even though sometimes the things that are happening to us are bad we think, in the end it's the painful things in our lives that have the most lasting impact on who we are and what we believe.
God uses the things in our lives to get our attention both good and bad to direct us and give us clues on what path to take. We still have a choice in the matter though. We can choose to ignore Him and do whatever we want or we can be constantly looking for God to show up in what we are doing and what we are going through. If we are looking for God in every situation we are asking ourselves What is God trying to tell me through what is going on? What is He trying to teach me? Seeing these things going on around you increases your faith and increases your senses because you sense God around you all the time and in everything you do; and the funny thing is that HE IS ALWAYS NEAR!! God is always right next to you and in every situation and in everything you do He will always be there so be looking for Him because He is always testing you to see if you are paying attention. That beautiful sunset or sunrise; that was for you, God painted that especially for you because He knew you would look up from your breakfast or dinner table at the right moment and He wanted you to see His masterpiece. IF ONLY We could live every moment of everyday like this how happy would we be? God is doing things around us all the time to get our attention but we are too busy to notice. Kinda like us working extra hard at the office and nobody noticing or saying anything at all except he created a beautiful rainbow or sunset and nobody thanked Him for it or even noticed it because they were caught up in their own little bubble.
Love life, love the life you have and what God has given you. Don't let the little things that usually agitate you get to you, think about what God might be telling you or showing you before you fly off the handle. God is always testing you through everything that happens around you. You have to decide whether or not you are up to the test or if you are going to just put your head down and ignore it, going on about your own business. Live life to the fullest and try to take time to stop and smell the roses.
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