We throw off the lie of perfection and cling to our identity in God as we strive to be whole, healthy, and fit. Our goal is wholeness, not perfection.

Archive for the ‘freedom’ Category

#DoOverBook Challenge: Day 1, Take 3

Do Over Book

I’m 4 days into a 10 day challenge Jon Acuff is leading and I only followed through on Day 1.  My Do Over goal?  Write for 10 minutes each day.  But the problem is I over think everything I write.  At least on here.  Nope, take that back.  Everything means everywhere.  I tend to edit as I type rather than just letting the words come and then worry about sentence structure and all that jazz.  Thank you very much liberal arts education at a writing intense school.  Shout out to all my Randy-Mac girls out there who can never “just write” again.

But maybe my first mistake was committing to posting a blog entry every day for 10 days.  The challenge is to work on something you’d like to do over (complete or improve from a previous attempt) for 10 minutes every day for 10 days.  I can’t  haven’t been able to get a post out in 10 minutes yet.  Nope.  I’m too busy editing as I write and then thinking about which pictures I can insert or what graphic I can make on my phone.

Not this time.  Not for the next 10 days.  Nope, I’m just going to write for 10 minutes.  Whatever God puts on my heart and then I’m going to hit the publish button.  Well, I’ll go back and edit for typos and such.  To do otherwise would be sheer madness.  Or is it shear?

So here I go, starting the Do Over Challenge, for the second time.  Why did I start over the first time?  That’s another blog.  Ooh, I can spend ten minutes on that tomorrow.

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freedom, goals

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12 Days of Christmas: Day 7 – Create Margin

7th day

…my blogger friends gave to me: The permission to Breathe

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life?  Whatever your work/family situation is, do you ever feel like you’re juggling too many activities/responsibilities/roles?  And let’s face it, although technology can simplify our lives, it usually reminds us via social media that we can be doing so much more, or at the very least do what we’re already doing with a lot more style.

So today, we give you permission to just breathe.  What’s that you say?  You don’t have the time to stop and breathe?  Or your living space is so cluttered that you can’t find a place to sit down long enough to enjoy breathing?  Well, here are some resources that may help you find the time and physical space to do just that.

Corie Clark’s “The Simplicity Project” is aptly named.  Her approach to simplifying our over-complicated lives is exactly that – simple.  She doesn’t try to push a multi-step program .  Nor does she just focus on the physical decluttering that our lives need.  She addresses the need to tend to our spiritual health, physical health, physical spaces, finances, and time management.  Her approach to simplifying is not only doable, but grace infused, which makes it more likely for recovering perfectionists to complete the project.

Simplicity Project

While “The Simplicity Project” touches on learning how to say yes and no wisely, Lysa TerKeurst’s “The Best Yes” really gets to the heart of the matter – people pleasing.  Too many “Oh, snap!” moments in the book to get into here.  If you can relate to any of the quotes from the front of her book {I dread saying yes but feel powerless to say no.  I hope there’s more to life than my to-do list.  I’m a little overwhelmed and a lot worn out.  I’m drowning int he regrets of too many commitments.}, grab a copy.

Best Yes

This last book, “Finding Spiritual Whitespace” by Bonnie Gray, comes highly recommended from a God friend.  Since it’s on the “Read in 2015” list, you can read her write-up of it here.

Whitespace

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balance, freedom, grace, time management, truth

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12 Days of Christmas: Day 6 – Give Yourself Grace

6th day

…my blogger friends gave to me: The permission to Finish

I had a plan.  A plan to post for twelve consecutive days to encourage others to start fresh in 2015.  God had a different plan.  Twin B got sick and keeping up with posting took a back seat to being a mom.  As Twin B was on the mend I picked up posting again, albeit a couple of days behind on the “12 Days of Christmas” theme.  So I planned to do two days per day for a couple of days to catch up.  But again, God had a different plan.  Twin A caught whatever his brother had.  Good to see they can share sometimes.

So here I am, on the night of the 9th Day of Christmas, posting Day 6.

In the past, I would be berating myself about only being three days into the new year and already deviating from my plans.  But not this year.  My One Word for 2015 is FINISH.  Although the word doesn’t overtly imply grace, it is a grace filled word.  Until very recently I allowed the lie of perfection to dictate what I would or would not accomplish.  Let’s be honest, it was usually the latter.  If I couldn’t do it exactly the way I envisioned it, or how I thought others expected it to be, I didn’t do it at all.  Or I would start it, see that it wasn’t going to be perfect, then stop.

FINISH gives me the permission to give myself the grace to do just that, finish what I’ve started.  Regardless of the outcome.  So, I intend to finish the “12 Days of Christmas” posts, even if it takes me 30 days to do it.  I also plan on finishing a ridiculously long list of books that I started but put down.

What is one thing you need to give yourself the grace to finish?

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freedom, goals, grace, truth

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12 Days of Christmas: Day 4 – Move More

4th day

…my blogger friends gave to me: The permission to Move

That sounded weird when you read that, didn’t it?  Permission to move?  Aren’t we usually being told that we have to move? Especially this time of year.  Take a leisurely scroll through your Instagram or Facebook feed and you’ll likely be bombarded by images telling you to “work off” your Christmas indulgences.  How many times this holiday season did you eat something and think “That was x number of calories, so I need to do y number of laps/miles/burpees to burn it off”?

But the truth is that movement is a gift.  We get to move, we don’t have to.  Just ask anyone whose ability to move has been limited or restricted.  Unfortunately, movement can seem like a chore when we lose sight of the fact that it’s a gift.  Too often we approach exercise as a means to an end instead of simply enjoying the act of moving.

Why? I don’ know about you, but over the years I have succumbed to the pressure of the ever changing idea of “fit”.  At some point I went from liking exercise to needing to exercise.  I always had more pounds or inches to lose.  Bondage.  That’s what that is.  God sent Christ to free us for freedom, not to get caught up in bondage again. {Galatians 5:1}

So, if one of your goals for the new year is to move more, that’s great.  Just remember to move in a way that is enjoyable.  A way hat doesn’t lead back to bondage, but celebrates the gift of movement.  Here are two programs that focus on wholeness, not just fitness:

revelation_motto

Revelation Wellness

2014-WHAT-IS-REFIT

REFIT Revolution

Are you currently moving on a regular basis?  If so, what do you like to do to celebrate your ability to move?

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balance, fitness, freedom

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