Exercise. It's hard work! June 1 is my anniversary with Handsome. This year on our anniversary some sort of inspiration hit us and we started a health-kick. This was the year we were going to get into shape. This was the year that we would feel better, look better, be stronger, and keep up with the up-and-coming fireballs called Monkey and Pipsqueak!
It has been tough. It's a daily battle to psych myself into turning on the video. I think I sweat more in anticipation of the hard work to come than I do in the first half of the workout!
Here's the thing my sleepy brain is trying to get at. Hard work produces results! The effort put in is not wasted! I actually have muscles in my arms now. I can actually do a "normal" push up (that means not on my knees).It might just be one and half normal push-ups but it's more than zero. I can do planks like a "pro" with added jumping jacks and all sorts of other things I never dreamed I could do back when we started. I still get anxious when I anticipate working out because I know it's hard, but I also am filled with happy endorphins and satisfaction when I'm finished a horribly challenging workout.
Ok, I'm sure you can see the connection I'm trying to make here. This exercise of daily counting my blessings is producing results. I'm finding that my heart is more prone to peace. I think, maybe just a little, that my gratitude might be noticeable to my kids and husband. Who knows.... I mean, I think it's buried under a layer of fat and grumpiness so maybe a few more months....but the point is, even if it's not noticeable from the outside, I can feel it changing something in me on the inside. Like the time I flexed my "bicep" and yelled at Handsome in excitement, "Look!! I have a muscle! Do you see?" My super husband sorta chuckled and placated me with a simple, "that's great, honey." Obviously it wasn't noticeable to him... yet. But now I know he sees it (even if it's barely there... it's there!)
111. The girls going to bed smoothly last night
112. Clifford on tv and the two girls snuggled up in my big bed with me this morning
113. The dog didn't wake me up in the middle of the night needing to go pee
114. Cereal for breakfast
115. An afternoon trip planned with my bro to the wonderful land of Costco!
116. Classical music radio playing in my kitchen throughout the day
117. Baking therapy (cupcakes and bread all baked yesterday afternoon.... soothing for my mind and nose after our morning fiasco)
118. Sweet Monkey who is so excited that she's not throwing up anymore!
119. Pictures of my family over the years
120. Awesome sister-in-laws
121. Special mugs for my morning coffee
122. Dirty dishes all over the kitchen. At first it's a stretch, but if you follow it down the rabbit hole you come up with such truth! Evidence of God's abundant blessing in food.
123. "Love... It does not envy..." (1 Cor. 13:4). Learning what this truth means in my life today. Applying it to my heart, and growing in love for the one I envy today.
124. Pipsqueak who seems to always growl over everything. It's a "happy/silly" growl and not anger.
125. Birds who were the original tweeters and still the best at it.
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