Saturday, January 2, 2010

Goodbye 2 0 0 9

Where to begin this post? I have a lot of thoughts running through my mind, a lot of things I want to venture on so I guess I'll just start and hope that the words I type convey what I'm really thinking and trying to say about this past year {2009}.

First off- lets start with 2 0 0 9 and some of it's accomplishments:

This year brought in many blessings & many challenges which made for an interesting/wonderful year. God knew in advance the things we would face and the mountains we would climb this past year. I can say yes I leaned on Him, but I know I didn't lean on Him for everything; my own downfall, which is going to change in 2 0 1 0 (I'll get to that later).

Some goals/ accomplishments this past year:
  • 1 whole year dedicated to fitness and healthy living; verdict: ACHIEVED!
Here's how it went down:
Basically the year after I got married I gained weight, kind of like the freshmen 15, but instead it was looking more like the married 30+. NOT cool. Overall I knew I wasn't obese or anything, but I knew I was not where I should be, where I could be, or where I used to be. Honestly, depressing. The main challenge I faced was learning how to cook right, I am not much of a cooker, my talents lie elsewhere; so I had to get this under control. Also, working out went from 90% (before marriage) to 10% after marriage.

2009 hit and I was done. Done with whining about my weight, done with complaining about where I knew I should be, done with talking but not walking the walk. It wasn't so much about the weight as it was me desiring to live out a healthy lifestyle. Kevin and I have always been active people, and when we both started gaining weight I knew we weren't living the healthy lifestyle we both desired for ourselves, our future and for our (someday) children. Enough was enough!

I was not about to start starving myself or crash dieting. I knew I wanted to make it habit and lose the weight gradually the right way, if you do it that way, in the long run you end up with the most success. I started Weight Watchers at the end of 08 and loved it - I started shedding pounds in no time, but I needed to up it a notch, I knew this wasn't enough and like I said it wasn't all about the weight. I needed to start working out in order to make the goal complete. Who wants to work out? I didn't. BUT I wanted to become that person again who DID want to workout. It's possible. It really is.

The goal became this: work out 3 to 5 times a week, EVERY WEEK - not every other week, not once a month, but every week - in order to make it a lifestyle, a habit - not a once in awhile blue-moon thing like it had become.

So I started. Slowly. Started running again. Slowly, but surely. I kept going, and kept going. Most days I thought there would be no end in sight. I had determined over the year to keep from weighing myself a lot, because I honestly DID NOT want to it be about the weight, I wanted to see what would happen if I took a full year and committed to working out, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I believe if you focus on your weight then it only gets discouraging; weight should never be the ultimate goal, a lifestyle should be. Things take time, and they should when forming a habit. With Weight Watchers you do weigh yourself a lot, but sometime in the beginning of 09 I stopped the WW meetings and went solo.

Looking back, I didn't think I would end up where I am in 1 year. I am pleasantly surprised by what came about this goal.
In the beginning of 09 I came up with my own encouraging saying and would often repeat it to myself when working out- "If you push yourself, you will surprise yourself." And thats exactly what I did!

In 08 when I started Weight Watchers - I weighed in @ 168.2 & now today I weigh in at 125. My goal was MAYBE 135 - I had NO idea I could be 125 and still be healthy. I thought getting that skinny meant starving yourself or other things that would not be healthy BUT NO 125 all because of eating right and CONSISTENTLY working out!

When I started working out again, I could hardly run for 10 mins. let alone add any miles to it, BUT I continued to push myself & surprise myself along the way. Kevin and I both ended up running a 10k (Run for Their Lives). Seriously! I never thought in a millions years I would be able to do that. In 08 I didn't even think I would ever be able to run again after breaking my leg, BUT I pushed myself, and surprised myself AGAIN!

Yes, I know cheesy, and I keep repeating that, but it's the truth, and had I not pushed myself I would have not surprised myself. It wasn't easy, it truly DID entail a lot of pushing when I didn't want to go any further, a lot of pushing when all I wanted was to skip the gym that one day, a lot of pushing when I felt like settling with 1 mile instead of 2.... Had I not PUSHED, had I not worked through the pain, had I given up when it started to get hard, I would have NOT surprised myself.

It's pretty cool to look back and get to be shocked but the results of it all. I am shocked that I stuck to it and kept going. I am shocked. :)

  • Work hard at work (you'd think this would be common sense but not always); as unto God give my all & see what happens in return; verdict: ACHIEVED!
I'm not clear on where to begin with this 09 goal -
Basically this is how it went down:
God had blessed me with a job. A job. A job in America. A job at a Christian University. A job that is part in advancing the Kingdom of God. A job when others have nothing. With all this in mind, who am I to take my job lightly? Who am I to work as unto myself? Who am I to serve 2 masters; myself & God? It doesn't work that way and this is something I came to realize in 2009.

Some people feel a job is job and who cares.. what matters is what happens when I go home at night. WRONG. Completely wrong. Who supplied you the job? How many hours are you there? What benefits does your job bring you? A job is not everything, BUT it a huge chunk of life you have been given to steward no matter where you are or who you work for.

My job is given by God; which is part reason as to why I even have a roof over my head, food to eat, a place to rest, money to give, money to spend, money to bless. Without my job I'd have none of this {unless of course the Lord would choose to bless me through other people or through credit card debt :P}. Either way my job matters, your job matters.

With all that said. I take my job serious and God has blessed me so much through it. His plans were not my plans. His ways were not my ways. All I knew in 2009 was that I was to obey. I was OK with whatever that meant. If it meant being faithful in the small things and the big, then I was to do just that. If it meant never moving up in my job and being content right where I was, I was to do that; and I did.

Something in me wanted more, something in me wanted to lead, and all I knew to was to just lead right where I was and if the Lord had more He would bring it, and if He didn't then I was OK with that.

To my surprise God did have more in store. He has given me new responsibilities with my job, He has allowed me a promotion that is an incredible blessing. He has placed me in a leadership position. I had determined in my heart and with God that I did not want this position if He was not going to give me the strength to walk it out, and if that were the case then He would need to either shut the door or open it. To my surprise He opened.

I've been in my new position for about a month 1/2 now, and it is teaching me a lot. I do believe we are all leaders no matter our job title, no matter our status, and no matter the position we are in. Each of us has a responsibility and you are the leader of that responsibility.

With all this said, I am thankful for my new job position. I am thankful for the University I get to work for. I have no clue how long the Lord will keep me there. No clue as to what doors will open or close in the future. But I do know that with what I have now I am responsible to God and I hope to work as unto Him this coming year. I hope to learn, I hope to grow, and I hope to become an even greater leader I feel He has called me out to be.
I am truly weak. He is truly strong. I need Him in everything. Even my job. ;o)

These are 2 cool things that has happened in 2 0 0 9. I would share more, but obviously this is getting quite long. I will be making a post about the new goals for the year 2 0 1 0. I am excited about the new beginnings a new year brings.

Cheers to 2 0 0 9 in hopes for a greater 2 0 1 0!

Here's a running list of some pretty cool things that happen in 2 0 0 9:
GOOD BYE 2 0 0 9

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