No Excuses!

"Whether you think you can or can't...you are right." 
~Henry Ford

Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. 
Romans 12:2a

I just finished a 10 day Beach Body challenge, to kick off the 90 day challenge.  I struggled--man, did I struggle!  While we made a lot of changes and healthy additions and substitutes into our diet, I did it begrudgingly.  I realized in this week and a half that I have a bigger problem than my current pant size.  I have a false sense of entitlement to food--food I think is good.  I have to re-establish what good food really is.  The bigger struggle came to the workout-I whined and even cried, yes I got mad and cried once, because I didn't want to do it.  I made excuses and put it off until the end of the day, until I had the most obvious excuse "it's late, and I'm tired".  However, I KNOW that change will not come if I don't put it into action.

Made to Crave

I went to bed last night reading the book "Made to Crave", which puts our purpose into perspective as it relates to feeding our bodies and feeding our spirit.  I looked up a verse this morning that has been on my mind since then...the phrase "be transformed by the renewing of your mind" was playing over and over in my head.  I knew I needed to transform my way of thinking, and it wasn't going to be easy.  It takes work--hard work--planning & scheduling.  I learned that when I didn't have a snack or meal pre-planned I found myself tempted to grab something "easy."  Curbing our cravings and committing to exercise every day was not going to be easy...trust me I had every excuse in the book!  But transformation will not take place until I put what I know into action and make a decision to push toward something better--a healthier way of living.  

I had an epiphany!  

There is a common misconception that when we become a Christian we will magically be GOOD, we will supernaturally be BLESSED, just because we gave our hearts to the Lord.  And while those promises are in the Word, it is true that 'old habits die hard.'  Those old habits whatever they may be: drinking, smoking, over-eating, over-spending, gossip won't disappear because we are now believers.  Thank God that through the Blood of Jesus Christ we were made new, however we still have to renew our mindset to what is Good (Philippians 4:8).  We have to renew our minds so we don't fall back into our old habits, our old way of living and thinking.  I looked up RENEW and it means "to be restored to a former state; become new or as if new again."  Transformation of old habits will not take place until we take action--renew is an action word by the way--and make adjustments to change our mindset by getting into God's Word, by pressing PLAY on the workout video, by avoiding temptation and making better choices everyday--NO EXCUSES!

You really HAVE to watch this video:

"By His power we live and move and exist." Acts 17:28a