FIT Fridays: Who are you?

Welcome to our third week of FIT Fridays!

If you're new to FIT Fridays, find out what it's all about at our inaugural post. Our "team" continues to grow in number... and we're starting to see outward results of the whole person transformation! Thanks for sharing your testimonies with me. It's truly awesome to see prayer answered and hearts and lives changed for the better!

One reader shared, "It's exciting to get closer to God again. Will I fail along the way? Maybe, but I know God is leading me... He is directing my steps. I must say... it feels good."

God wants each one of us to share that excitement. He wants each of us to know that He really is in control and we don't have to be. He wants to guide each of us. As this lady said, it feels good to do it God's way!

Where do you begin?

With God, of course. DeLynn Rizzo, of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, recently shared an amazing message on our identity in Christ. DeLynn said, "We can't change the world until we know who God made us to be." She explained we are not the job titles we carry (wife, mother, employee, volunteer, cook, chaperone, etc.). Those are all the things we do.

We are:

1. Strong! Strong women are durable. Strong women are capable of enduring much without collapsing. Joshua 1:9 says, "...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Whatever we do and wherever we go, including spiritual, emotional and mental battles, God goes too. We never face the dark alone.
2. Valuable and precious! I have shared this before -- we are more precious than rubies! (Proverbs 31:10). Unfortunately, we discount our worth all the time. I spoke with a friend yesterday who needs a new swimsuit -- but she hasn't made time to shop for one. Don't we all do that? The kids need this, that or the other... We sacrifice ourselves for the sake of our kids. But that's not God's plan. He values each one of us. Of course, it's not about swimsuits, it's about our heart. Do we appreciate our "special-ness"?
3. Get comfortable with yourself. Easy to say, but so very hard to do. Instead we believe the lies. We get focused on the wrong things: how clean the house is, how smart the kids are, how wide our hips are... you know the comparisons. We believe we are less than wonderful, because somebody else is "all that." God, though, created us all unique. Special. Beloved for who we are in HIS eyes. Ephesians 2:10 says "we are God's workmanship created to do good works." In 2 Corinthians 10:12, Paul warns us of the pitfalls of comparing ourselves with others. It's not about who we aren't. With God it's all about who we are!

If you got to hear DeLynn speak live, review your notes this week. Stick the verse that spoke loudest to you on your bathroom mirror. Claim your rightful place as God's precious jewel and tell satan to get off your back! If you didn't get to hear DeLynn, please take time this week to meditate on the notes above. Ask God to reveal His plan and purpose for you -- just as he designed you.

As the precious reader said, God wants to direct our steps. Living that way feels good!

Walking with God, we are less likely to turn to food for comfort. With a renewed purpose that comes from God, it is difficult to sit on the couch and waste the day in front of the television (or computer). Even with that open heart, we still may not understand how to change the bad habits.

Healthy eating is not all about soy milk and organic vegetables! Sure those things are great, but they aren't necessary to get fit from the inside out. Ready for some basic, easy to apply tips that you can use at every meal? I have two teenage boys who require thousands of calories a day! If I eat like them, I'll grow too. Horizontally. Not exactly what I want. Here's what I do:

• I use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. Less space means less food! (A good alternative is a small diameter, three section paper plate if you don't have salad plates.)
• My meals consist of 50% vegetables, 20% starch -- or less (which means I just don't include that portion and leave that section of the plate empty), and 30% protein. Some examples:
• Tossed salad with lemon juice instead of dressing, three small meatballs, and a small serving of pasta with tomato sauce.
• Grilled vegetables (zucchini, carrots, onions), three ounce boneless grilled chicken breast brushed with olive oil and seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper, and half a baked potato drizzled with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and seasoned with chives.
• Steamed broccoli, three ounce grilled burger - a tsp. of ketchup and/or mustard, but no mayo, and a slice of Ezekiel bread toast drizzled with 1/2 tsp. of olive oil.
• Before dinner, I usually drink a large glass of water. It fills me some so I'm tempted to eat less.
• Chew that food! When I was younger, I ate slowly and chewed all my food. Motherhood and schedules led to quick eating without enjoying my food. You know the drill... take bite, chomp three times and swallow. Get back to savoring that food! Digestion begins in the mouth and chewing your food will naturally help you eat less!

As I've appreciated who I am in Christ, I naturally got a spring in my step. I'm so excited to live that I have a hard time just sitting around all day! I want to live. I want to experience all that life has to offer! Exercise at the gym is awesome... But don't discount those chances to do things with your kids or your spouse. Take a brisk walk after dinner. Dance with your kids. Or your husband! Get out in the garden and pull the weeds (just be sure to wear sunscreen and drink lots of water). Play tennis. Belong to a pool? Swim during the rest period -- I'm up to five complete laps in ten minutes. When God fills your heart with love, live it out!

Here's the challenge for this week:

1. Review all the scriptures from DeLynn's message. Jot them down in your journal and ask God to fill you with His plan for you.

2. Keep cutting those portions like you have been. Also, eat a balanced diet like I outlined above. Write it down -- in your journal, of course... Celebrate your progress during the week.

3. Get moving!!!! Include your family and have fun using the body God gave you!!! Keep track of how much you move this week. Add it to your journal too. See what God is doing? Yea!

If you'd like to receive emails during the week for encouragement, prayer and ideas, please let me know. You can email me or leave a comment with your email address below. Be sure to follow this blog too. Thanks! Welcome to our growing community of FIT Friends!

Dear God,

Your creativity just blows me away. You made our bodies to do so much. I'm truly amazed at all the different things I can do. You created a smorgasboard of incredible foods -- from the coconut to avocados to asparagus. So many tastes and textures just for our enjoyment. And you made each of us -- with different talents and passions. Your creativity is simply astounding. Help us, God, to appreciate it all. Be with us as we discover more about who we are -- as you designed us to be. Let our lives glorify you in all we say, do and even in what we eat! 

In Jesus' precious name I pray,

Amen