Focus Friday is going to be short and sweet this week. To tell you the truth, I'm tired. I've had lots of ups and downs this week. It was all minor things, but they still took a toll on me emotionally. I've found myself entertaining way too many negative thoughts about a variety of people and events.
That kind of thinking is not good for any of us. It leads to discontent, unrest, bitterness, and impatience. Our focus is all on the "bad" and it poisons our attitude toward our loved ones and even life in general.
So, for this Focus Friday, I just want to give you a verse to focus on if you've been letting lots of negative thoughts creep in:
"Finally, brothers [and sisters!], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (Philippians 4:8 NIV)
Focusing on those things should get our thought life going in the right direction once again.
Have a great weekend, my friends! ~Robyn
Friday, February 7, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Training Tuesday: Am I Really Doing This?
Hi everyone! Just a quick post this week to let you know how it's going.
I'm still sweating it out on the treadmill almost every day (and sometimes twice a day!). I try to walk with it set at an incline of 12%. I can do that pretty easily at 2 mph, but if I try to bump it up to 3 mph it about kills me. Hmm, here's a thought: maybe I should try going to 2.5? I'll try that tomorrow.
In some ways I feel stronger and in other ways I feel like maybe we should cancel the trip...I can't do this! It's only been two weeks so I guess I'll give it more time and keep working hard.
On the eating side of things, I only lost .7 pounds this week (I weigh myself with the WiiU - that's why I'm so precise). A little disappointing after almost 3 pounds last week, but I can see what I did differently this week. I went to the pantry and ate saltine crackers as stress relief way too often. I snacked a little more and didn't watch my portion sizes as closely. I also wasn't as hungry. Now, I mean that in a good way. I don't want to "diet" so that I'm constantly feeling hunger, but I know that last week I felt hungry more often. It was usually a little while before a meal, so I told myself to stay hungry and then ate at my regular time. This week I haven't felt as hungry because I've snacked more. Time to make some changes and see if a couple more pounds come off next Monday.
Praying that your training is going well - whether it's physical, spiritual, or emotional. You can do it! ~Robyn
I'm still sweating it out on the treadmill almost every day (and sometimes twice a day!). I try to walk with it set at an incline of 12%. I can do that pretty easily at 2 mph, but if I try to bump it up to 3 mph it about kills me. Hmm, here's a thought: maybe I should try going to 2.5? I'll try that tomorrow.
In some ways I feel stronger and in other ways I feel like maybe we should cancel the trip...I can't do this! It's only been two weeks so I guess I'll give it more time and keep working hard.
On the eating side of things, I only lost .7 pounds this week (I weigh myself with the WiiU - that's why I'm so precise). A little disappointing after almost 3 pounds last week, but I can see what I did differently this week. I went to the pantry and ate saltine crackers as stress relief way too often. I snacked a little more and didn't watch my portion sizes as closely. I also wasn't as hungry. Now, I mean that in a good way. I don't want to "diet" so that I'm constantly feeling hunger, but I know that last week I felt hungry more often. It was usually a little while before a meal, so I told myself to stay hungry and then ate at my regular time. This week I haven't felt as hungry because I've snacked more. Time to make some changes and see if a couple more pounds come off next Monday.
Praying that your training is going well - whether it's physical, spiritual, or emotional. You can do it! ~Robyn
Friday, January 31, 2014
Focus Friday: Looking Through a Magnifying Glass
It can be fun to look at things through a magnifying glass. Seeing things differently than they normally are can amaze us, or amuse us, or even frighten us. Have you ever used a magnifying glass?
I can remember my Grandma Start using a magnifying glass when we would go visit her on Sunday afternoons in Muskegon, Michigan. She kept one handy near her chair and she would grab it when she wanted to read us a portion of a letter from one of my aunts or when she wanted to share something she had found interesting in the newspaper. Her old eyes had trouble making out tiny letters, so she turned to the magnifying glass for help. I don't use a magnifying glass, but I sure can relate to her as I wear my glasses when I need to read.
Seeing things magnified can amaze us as we become aware of the details we couldn't see with the naked eye.
Cells, snowflakes, grains of sand - all of them contain so much more than we can usually see.
 |
| Seeing a snowflake reminds us of God's attention to detail |
Seeing things magnified can also amuse us. A distorted view of something can look really funny.
 |
| My, what a big eye you have! |
 |
| This guy's a big mouth, for sure! |
 |
| A super magnified Fungas Gnat - how creepy! |
When we magnify God - we are amazed. Amazed at His power, His love, and His grace. This is a good thing. We need to keep our magnifying glass aimed in God's direction and discover Him in new ways every day.
When we magnify situations in our lives - we are sometimes amused. I've enjoyed many stories from speakers and authors who exaggerate a life situation and make it a hilarious and meaningful example for the rest of us.
When we magnify certain situations in our lives - we can become very frightened. If we focus on an unkind word from someone, we can often blow it way out of proportion until it's hundreds of times bigger than the original offense. I think certain personalities struggle with this more than others. Some people can let things go right away, while others focus on something and keep replaying it over and over until they can hardly function. Friends, it's time to remove the magnifying glass and see things as they really are. Usually the situation isn't as bad as we made it in the end.
In the future, let's be more aware of what we are focusing on. It's okay to use a figurative magnifying glass if it's helping us learn more about God or learn more about ourselves. However, it's time to put it away if it's causing us to get stuck in negative emotions about ourselves or others in our lives.
What do you usually focus on? Does it help you to grow or does it cause you to just get paralyzed by fear?
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Training Tuesday: Off to a Good Start
It's almost Wednesday, but I couldn't let "Training Tuesday" go by without a quick update and a few thoughts. You'll remember that last week we decided to hike the Grand Canyon in April and so I began training in earnest.
I have to admit, I felt kind of ornery the first couple of days. I didn't really want to put extra effort into training. I didn't feel like walking on the treadmill and bumping up the incline to 10 or 12%. It didn't feel good! I didn't feel like drinking mostly water and staying away from Pepsi. I didn't really want to walk up and down the stairs until I was out of breath. But I did it all anyway.
I huffed and puffed on the treadmill and tried to eat less sugar and drink more water. I did exercises to strengthen my core and I even worked a little more on the weight machine (something Gary has been urging me to do for a long time).
On Monday morning I weighed myself with the WiiU and braced myself for no change or even a slight weight gain (all of that flab turning to muscle, you know?). Imagine my delight when this result showed on the screen: I lost 2.9 pounds in one week! This surprised me, especially after no exercise on Saturday aside from walking around at Blake's district speech contest for part of the day. For supper I ate a large order of onion rings at Culver's and then made the mistake of buying a package of mini powdered sugar donuts on the way home (the rest of the family helped, but I ate most of them by Sunday evening).
Anyway, I was happy with my weigh in, and all of the work suddenly seemed worth it. It's still tough, but when I know results like that are possible, I can endure a little pain. As I think about it, I'm wondering if this was a little gift from God to encourage me as I begin this training journey. I'm not expecting a drop like that every week, but I'll keep making healthy choices and see where it goes from here.
One thing I noticed (and I'm assuming that others struggle with this, too) is that I got a little discouraged a few times when I compared myself with my hubby. He trained for most of this week by wearing a backpack (with a big jug of Canola oil in it) while he was on the treadmill. He walked for 35 minutes straight...at 3 mph...at a 12% incline...without holding onto the handrails.
I can't do that. I tried the backpack full of Canola oil for a day or two but I was trying to go too fast and I noticed my back feeling weird after the second time. Since I had back surgery last May, I decided I'd better drop the pack and try just walking first. Maybe I'll work up to that in a month or so.
In exercise or any other area of life, we cannot compare ourselves to others. It just discourages us and plants seeds of resentment toward someone we think is better than we are. We just need to do the best we can and seek to improve in the things we're working on. Also, we can't try to improve in everything at once! Pick a few things and concentrate (dare I say, "focus?") on those areas first.
I'm a little sad to not have much to report on my spiritual training, but I have been thinking about it all week. It's not that my relationship with God is bad, not at all. I love Him and He loves me, but I'm trying to figure out what I should be doing right now. Just reading a chapter of the Bible at bedtime and doing devotions with the family at the supper table doesn't seem like enough somehow. Next Monday night I'll be starting a Bible study with a great group of women from church. We'll be doing a video study of Lysa TerKeurst's book "Unglued." Maybe that will get my spiritual muscles pumping again.
Please comment if you have any suggestions or questions about training. I'd love to pray for you if you're training for something specific (physically or spiritually). Keep on keeping on! ~Robyn
I have to admit, I felt kind of ornery the first couple of days. I didn't really want to put extra effort into training. I didn't feel like walking on the treadmill and bumping up the incline to 10 or 12%. It didn't feel good! I didn't feel like drinking mostly water and staying away from Pepsi. I didn't really want to walk up and down the stairs until I was out of breath. But I did it all anyway.
I huffed and puffed on the treadmill and tried to eat less sugar and drink more water. I did exercises to strengthen my core and I even worked a little more on the weight machine (something Gary has been urging me to do for a long time).
On Monday morning I weighed myself with the WiiU and braced myself for no change or even a slight weight gain (all of that flab turning to muscle, you know?). Imagine my delight when this result showed on the screen: I lost 2.9 pounds in one week! This surprised me, especially after no exercise on Saturday aside from walking around at Blake's district speech contest for part of the day. For supper I ate a large order of onion rings at Culver's and then made the mistake of buying a package of mini powdered sugar donuts on the way home (the rest of the family helped, but I ate most of them by Sunday evening).
Anyway, I was happy with my weigh in, and all of the work suddenly seemed worth it. It's still tough, but when I know results like that are possible, I can endure a little pain. As I think about it, I'm wondering if this was a little gift from God to encourage me as I begin this training journey. I'm not expecting a drop like that every week, but I'll keep making healthy choices and see where it goes from here.
One thing I noticed (and I'm assuming that others struggle with this, too) is that I got a little discouraged a few times when I compared myself with my hubby. He trained for most of this week by wearing a backpack (with a big jug of Canola oil in it) while he was on the treadmill. He walked for 35 minutes straight...at 3 mph...at a 12% incline...without holding onto the handrails.
I can't do that. I tried the backpack full of Canola oil for a day or two but I was trying to go too fast and I noticed my back feeling weird after the second time. Since I had back surgery last May, I decided I'd better drop the pack and try just walking first. Maybe I'll work up to that in a month or so.
In exercise or any other area of life, we cannot compare ourselves to others. It just discourages us and plants seeds of resentment toward someone we think is better than we are. We just need to do the best we can and seek to improve in the things we're working on. Also, we can't try to improve in everything at once! Pick a few things and concentrate (dare I say, "focus?") on those areas first.
I'm a little sad to not have much to report on my spiritual training, but I have been thinking about it all week. It's not that my relationship with God is bad, not at all. I love Him and He loves me, but I'm trying to figure out what I should be doing right now. Just reading a chapter of the Bible at bedtime and doing devotions with the family at the supper table doesn't seem like enough somehow. Next Monday night I'll be starting a Bible study with a great group of women from church. We'll be doing a video study of Lysa TerKeurst's book "Unglued." Maybe that will get my spiritual muscles pumping again.
Please comment if you have any suggestions or questions about training. I'd love to pray for you if you're training for something specific (physically or spiritually). Keep on keeping on! ~Robyn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)