Reflection on Today's Thought

I love today's thought.

I don't know about you, but this past week was one of those having too much to do and getting stressed over clutter weeks. Deadlines, laundry, messy rooms...all led to a very stressful week.

In the last few months I have been trying more and more to listen to that still small voice when I ask "What should I do now?" I know I have to do one thing at a time. It's just a matter of figuring which thing would be best served at this particular time.

I suppose it's the Christian version of "wait and see". I'm not a wait and see kind of person. I'm a planner. I have a schedule and not very much can break me of that schedule. But, I have realized as I yield the flow of my schedule to the Lord to guide me with what I should do next, the burden is no longer there. Yes, my house and desk and to-do list is still cluttered, but I see the progress being made, things getting done, and as I start clearing away big things and small things from that to-do list, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I have just finished reading a Christian suspense book, "Collision of Angels" by Michael Carver and, even though it's fiction, I have really learned what it's like to take everything--absolutely everything--to God. Before I do anything, I pray I about it. Before I agree to do anything, I pray about it. As I stare at all the things I need doing in my house, I pray about what would best be done in the time I have at the moment.

I have been fretting over my schedule and one morning when Brent woke up around 5, I decided to stay up and get some other things done before I really got going. For the last few weekday mornings, I have used the time to do my devotions, update this blog, get through my e-mails and spend 30 minutes on the treadmill reading a book.

I have found this also gives me time to throw in a load of laundry, fix my 12-year-old son's lunch, get the baby up....When I was working full-time outside the house, I hated getting up at 5. Now, I look forward to it because I can see the progress I make on my day. I'm not as stressed as I was when I would reach 10:30 and only just be finishing getting through my e-mail.

As you go through your day and week, remember to take everything, every moment, every household chore, before God and commit every action to him and let him guide those actions, you will find that your schedule, while still packed, seems just a little less overwhelming.

Exercise By: K.R. Pinkston

“You look amazing,” my neighbor says, as she watches me soak up some sun in my new bikini. Her eyes are fixed on my belly. I take a deep breath to push up my ribcage, thereby accentuating the firm muscles of my abdomen.

This is only a dream, of course.

In reality I avoid displaying my figure. In a way that was easier to do before our son was born. Now, I dread the summer months when I have to accompany him to the local pool. Usually I select a shady place behind the bushes and waddle to the pool with my oversized towel wrapped around my figure. Over the years I have become quite skillful at dropping the towel and submerging myself into the pool simultaneously.

Let’s just say that I don’t feel attractive in a bikini.

But this is going to change in 2009. Now that I am closer to 50 years of age than 20, I realize that I need to lose some fat and exercise more. I have to say “more exercise” because I do exercise every day. But, apparently, lugging twenty pounds of laundry up and down the stairs on a daily basis does nothing to combat the fast accumulation of fatty cells in my upper arms.

“Why don’t you go out jogging with me in the morning?” My husband asked. Now, there are some things I enjoy doing with my husband but stomping through the woods and waking up the birds is not one of them.

"No honey, I can’t.” I sighed. “We’re not allowed to leave Stefan at home alone, remember.” Whoever came up with the rule that younger kids cannot be left unsupervised at home, please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

Of course I know it is all about making a commitment and sticking with it. According to an article I read in Stars and Stripes newspaper, a psychologist explains that only about 3 percent of people who make a resolution end up meeting that goal. Setting a realistic goal and tracking your progress help to ensure success in the end. In other words, I can forget about having an abdomen of steel by June.

But what course of action should someone take who despises sports? Throughout the years I have forced my cranky self into the gym to work out, only to abandon that regimen after a few weeks. I just cannot find any joy in pushing and pulling on a weight machine. I have tried taking classes to keep up my commitment, but after a few weeks I always find excuses not to go.

My thoughts have led me to some deep soul searching. I believe that God loves me no matter if my figure resembles a polar bear or a ; yet, I also believe that God wants me to take good care of my body, so that I can take good care of others. How heartbreaking it is to have a child who wants to play soccer with me, but I am too sluggish to play? How sad was I when our son ice skated for the first time a few weeks ago, and I could not join him because I was too scared to try.

Perhaps the clue is not to think about exercising at all, but restating my goal for 2009 as being more active and having more fun. I could join in kicking the soccer ball a few times a week, walk our son to and from school and dance with him to his favorite songs at home. I can even buy some inline skates. Granted, I might demolish our basement as I practice skating there, and I might never get the hang of skating, but I will make an effort.