Exercise Challenge, Week 1

Back in 2002 I read the book A Mom Just Like You by Vickie and Jayme Farris.  The blurb on the back of the book sounded great.  It said, "If you've ever wondered, 'Okay, how do you do it?' you just picked up the right book!  Through her warm, practical style, Vickie will fill you with encrouragement and practical suggestions for those days when the challenge seems overwhelming."

I was only two years into homeschooling and was reading everything about homeschooling that I could at that point.  Little did I realize that there were two chapters in the book that discussed allowing God to control the womb.  Doh!  This was during the time that First and Only Husband and I were gearing up for a vasectomy.  This is the book that got my brain VERY slowly turning in a new direction and I guess you could say this challenge to exercise also stems from this book.  So I guess that takes Mama Archer off the hook - we can no longer blame her for all this silliness.  ;-)

Vickie wrote about how important exercise is for her.  She takes a four-mile walk daily to stay in shape, and she watches her calories.  She wrote, "in watching my own calorie intake, I often avoid certain dishes that I have cooked for the rest of the family..."  As I have gotten further into this FullQuiver thang, I have found myself starting to understand where she's coming from.  I can see what my body looks like after five.  What if we have two more?  Ugh. 

So about two weeks ago, I started exercising.  Can you say "this girl can't even do a sit-up?????"  OH MY GOODNESS!  I am SO out of shape!  But I was so gung-ho the first week.  I worked out every day but one.  Then last week, which was Week 2 for me, it started to get harder.  There I was, getting into the groove with Cindy Crawford....feeling gooood.......enjoying the workout.......getting stronger........then I saw myself in the mirror.  Youch!  Not much of a change that I could see.  That is the biggest struggle for me!  I want to see instant results.  It's easy for me to give up when the results don't come as quickly as I want.  And things never happen as quickly as I want.  I have had to keep this in my prayers because I want to bring HONOR to God through my pregnancies.  It would kill me to hear a friend or family member say something negative about us having a seemingly endless number of babies because I've let myself get unhealthy and that unhealthiness puts an unnecessary strain on our family.  I want to do everything I can to bring glory to God through our family size.

Romans 12:1 is my theme verse for this exercising fun.  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Keeping myself in shape is part of the package of giving my womb to God.  Just like allowing God to control my womb, this exercise thing is not always something I want to do, and it's not always easy, but I feel it's so important!

Since I started working out, I've lost four pounds!  Woohoo!  I'm working out with the same Cindy Crawford video I've owned since 1991.  Call me a creature of habit.  ;-)

Join Alicia from Ambient Solace, Desi and Mama Archer and me as we work to get in shape!  :-)