Let’s get FIT

(My kids LOVE this song!)

You energize me
I’ve never felt this before
Oh, and it’s blinding
Brighter than the sun at its core

This heart that is beating
Without worth repeating
A fire to be something more

I glow in the dark

If I could be a couch potato for the rest of my life and eat ice cream and not gain weight, I’d so be there. I’d nap and read and watch HGTV and nap some more. I love the couch! I know it’s hard to believe, but when I just sit on the couch and eat junk, I tend to gain weight. Along with that, I tend to gain a grumpy attitude and a bad case of the lazies. I don’t want to get up to help the kids with homework or do a little extra cleaning around the house. I definitely don’t want to exercise, and I’m usually too tired to read more than five pages in any given book. I become quite the hot mess. Then one day, I pop up and say, “Who in the world am I and how did I become this way?!” So I decide it’s time.

It’s time to get FIT. Focused, Intentional Training. About a month ago, I decided it was time for some of this because my body was not how I wanted it to be. I set a goal for myself to work out five days a week for at least 30 minutes. It didn’t have to be anything crazy, but my goal was to get fit. I couldn’t believe that after a month, I had kept my goal! AND I’m still going!

In 1 Timonthy 4:8 Paul tells us to get FIT. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

So now, I want to be physically AND spiritually fit. Honestly, how is this even possible for busy people who have families and jobs and lives?!

Here are a few things that have helped me.

1. Don’t think you can do it all everyday. You’ll get burned out. You will. God created the Sabbath for a purpose, and it was so we could rest and rejuvenate our bodies and minds. It’s a huge part of being fit, spiritually and physically.
2. Get spiritually fit while you’re in your car. I have found that I’m in the car more hours than I’d like to be in a day. I could turn on some jams – and that’d be fun! (You know I love music!!) But I also have found that listening to the Bible, a sermon, or a Focus on the Family really helps me feel closer to Jesus and want to be a better person. I also like to spend some time in the car just praying and asking God to join me in my day, and of course, sometimes I just crank some tunes.
3. Take time for yourself. If you’re running on empty, how do you expect to be filling anyone else up? Take time for yourself even if it’s just a short walk!
4. Record your efforts. Maybe it’s just my competitive nature, but honestly, I probably wouldn’t work out without my Apple Watch. It’s true… seeing those calorie and movement time circles fill up each day after I do a workout has really kept me going!
5. Find your “why”. Why are you wanting to be fit? To fill your grandchildren with love as long as you can? To look good for your husband? To fit into an old pair of tight jeans? To show yourself you are able?? To love Jesus and love others better than you ever have?? Whatever it is, don’t forget why you’re getting up early to exercise or spend some time with Jesus,   or you’ll stop going for your goal before you’ve reached it.
6. Crank the Jesus music while you’re working out! Why not kill two birds with one stone!?
7. Don’t stop. Just because you miss a day or two doesn’t mean you should just stop trying. You’ve gotta get back up off of the couch and tell yourself that you can do this! Remember your why and keep it going.
8. Be FOCUSED. Be INTENTIONAL. Get an accountability partner; share your activity on your Apple Watch with a buddy; join a small group; keep a journal; whatever you need to do to keep you focused and intentional, do it.

It’s so worth it. I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt, and I’ve grown with Jesus more this year than I have in all my other years combined. I know it’s hard. I know the struggle is real. I’ve been there. And I’m sure I’ll go back there again. But for the first real time in my life, I’ve set a goal and met it, and the results from the struggle make it all worth it.

Let’s get FIT together. Let’s get energized and glow in the dark. We’ve got this. I believe in you!!