Week 46: A Week to Begin "Mission 20"

Ahhhh it's been way too long! I can't believe how much time as passed since last updating. I will say that I haven't just been sitting here on my butt doing nothing! Since I last updating, I ran my first 5K!! Yes, please clap for me : ) That picture is of me about to cross the finish line!

My week to fundraise ended up going super well. My sister, brother-in-law, and I ended up raising a little over $1000 for our 5K! AMAZING! And many of you who are reading this donated, so thank you so very much. And a general thanks to everyone for praying and supporting me in this whole 5K process. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it felt to run it- to cross that finish line. Well, physically it didn't feel so great but mentally, I was on top of the world. To think that in February I couldn't even run 0.1 miles, and that this past Saturday I ran 3.2 miles is crazy!

Also, since I last updated I took a trip home for a short time. I was home about 5 days, but like every time I go home, it was jam packed with stuff. A wedding, our annual Keene bonfire/hayride, testing and interview for seminary, hanging out with friends/family and visitng my home church...a lot in a short time. It was so great to spend time with loved ones, but honestly, it's hard as well. I hate that my time is so jam packed while home. I feel that I am not able to spend quality time with really anyone, and that hurts a lot. Leaving home was the hardest it's been, and I think a lot played into that. The next time I will be home will be for Christmas and that seems like a long way off, but I know that I am here in Quincy for a reason. God has more for me here.

I did a lot of thinking about seminary and how my whole life will be like this- moving to different places and being away from home. I am looking forward to the two years that I will spend in Chicago for seminary because that means I'll be close to home, but then after that, who knows where I could end up. BUT God has made it clear that this is what He wants of me, so I'm being obedient. He knows what I'm giving up, but He also knows what He'll be giving me- amazing things await me, and I look forward to seeing what's in store.

With things being so busy, I haven't put as much dedication and commitment into losing weight as I would have liked. So this week is about getting back on track. I'm calling it "Mission 20." My goal is to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. Yes, that's a lot, but I can do it if I work hard enough. If I sucessfully lose that weight, then by Christmas I'll have lost a total of about 50 pounds! Praise the Lord! And that means that I fit into a size 16 jean!! Yes, I realize that all of you now know my pants size, but I don't care. I'm just so excited! I can't remember the last time I fit in that size! As you can see, that's what this picture is showing. I tried these on at Kohl's just for kicks. Didn't think they'd fit, but they so did! I was just bummed I couldn't buy them...jeans for $52??? Heck no!

Gosh, looking back over the last 46 weeks, I can see such a transformation. God has changed me, and I'm loving it. It certainly has been a painful process at times, but God has been with me the whole way.

This week is pretty simple. Well, simple to say but hard to do. I'll be working out 6 days a week from now on and really sticking with Weight Watchers. And part of this is really leaning into God, staying consistent with my devotions and spending time with Him, because He is the one who gives me strength to move forward in my weight loss goals. I ultimately want to keep a healthy realtionship with food, meaning recognizing it for what it is: something I need for my physcial body to live, not something that provides love, comfort, or anything else. The verse from the bible that I always go back to is 1 Corinthians 9:24 which says "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." I want to get the prize, and I will do whatever I need to in order to get it.

So this week I continue fighting the good fight, working to say no to temptations involving food, and living a healthy, full life! Let Mission 20 begin!