Faithful and Fit

The overall theme for the weekend was Journey - as in life's journey... so each speaker's message was based on their life's journey and how their faith has been with them along the way.

The first session brought a lovely speaker, Lisa, who came to share her story with us. Her talk was called "Journey to Becoming Faithful and Fit"... tell me that isn't a direct hit from God on my recent torturous lack of weight loss?!

Lisa's story is much like many others out there of people losing weight - even in the weight loss surgery community. She fought the battle and won, only to find herself back at the beginning of the battle two more times in her life. She is currently starting her third battle - BUT her faith has gotten her through each one of the times before and will certainly do it again.

After her first journey through weight loss - she wrote a book called "Becoming Faithful and Fit" and gave each of us a copy of the book to bring home. I will be reading that as soon as I've finished another book that I'm reading.

Lisa says that in order to win this battle you have to do the following things:

• Identify your battles - I take this as things like trigger foods and the like
• Identify your enemy - Busy schedules and things of that nature
• Identify your weapons - make a plan and stick to it
• Put off things weighing you down - Learning to say no and take care of yourself

For the last item she gave us this verse: 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.

In talking about identifying your enemies, she asked us the question: "What if God was too busy?" Can you imagine? I'd never even thought about it that way! Somehow God knows everything going on at every moment and he doesn't get overwhelmed... he doesn't throw up his hands and give up... why are we so quick to do that?

Lisa also told us to above all else do it God's way and gave us this verse in reference: 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT) Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.

Isn't that interesting? God has it all in there folks... he has the truth written for every single situation - we only have to seek and find His guidance along the way!

She gave us this to use as a guide: (SIMPLE)
S - support and accountability
I - instruction (your over all plan)
M - meal planner and memorize scripture
P - pray regularly
L - live one day at a time, one pound at a time
E - exercise

Lisa also shared her life verse with us: Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

What an amazing verse - this was my first time hearing that one, and I absolutely loved it. I can't tell you how much this felt like she was speaking only to me in that room. I know that there are other ladies in our church that are dealing with weight problems - but in that moment - knowing where I stand with my weight loss surgery journey... it felt like a direct hit.

The journey is not over - it never will be, and God is with me every step of the way. We might be taking a detour off of the main road of weight loss in order to fulfill another lifelong prayer, but we will get back on the road and keep going when the time permits. In the meantime the focus is of course on being as healthy as possible and staying that way!