Prayer and a Time of Reflection

When I clicked on "new post" to write this up, I noticed that this will be my 200th post! And I realized that what I had in mind to highlight for today's post is great because it's something I'm striving for and would like to focus on, ideally, the rest of my life. There are three trains of thoughts culminating here, so try to stick with me :o)


I was reading an article from Livestrong.com last week and it contained the following quote that struck a chord with me. Check it out:


... It's about understanding food, finding what’s healthy, and then doing what’s best for your body. Few have said it better than Dr. Yoni Freedhoff:“Your real goal? Live the healthiest life you can enjoy, not the healthiest life you can tolerate. Yes, if you have weight to lose, you’ll have to make changes. But if you change so far from who you are and what you enjoy, odds are that it’s not a sustainable plan. Don't aim for your so-called "ideal" weight; instead aim for what I refer to as your "best" weight, which is the weight you reach when living the healthiest life you can actually enjoy.”Freedhoff's approach is both simple and brilliant--yet I'm guessing most people think that approach isn't enough to get in great shape and feel healthy. But this is exactly what should be done to see the type of results you want.
**Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/the-healthiest-food-in-the-world#ixzz1tqBe37R2


I also updated a few things on my blog recently and added a new gadget on the side which highlights my top 4 posts. I scanned them over and read through "My New Healthy Outlook" in which I described that I wanted to be healthy, lose weight slowly, and still enjoy being me. I wrote this last year just prior to finding out that I was pregnant. Finally, this past Monday morning I was spending some time at our church's prayer house and started reflecting on my motivations and reasons for wanting to look a particular way or weigh a certain number on the scale. I came to the realization that in the past few years I have been very focused on my body - - trying to achieve a certain weight, eat particular foods, exercise (not necessarily for enjoyment, but to achieve a goal). This in and of itself is not a bad thing. It IS important to be healthy and take care of the body God has given me. It's a good thing to care about how I present myself, but I was missing out on what I think is even more important: WHO I am. I've noticed there are many people who would be considered overweight who are very happy people. They take pride in themselves, have good self-esteem, and seem to really enjoy life. There are also people who are very skinny and seem to be unhappy and have low self-esteem. (Please hang in there, I know there are also people in the opposite categories, etc. so please don't judge my writings yet.) I have been processing through all of these thoughts and came to this realization: I want to focus on having a beautiful HEART.


I look at pictures of myself a lot, too much, if I'm being honest... constantly criticizing myself -- look at the way my belly sticks out; ugh, my arms are so flabby; I wish I had worn something different. But who was I in those pictures? Was I enjoying the time with my friends? Did I give my friend a hug who was having a rough day? Was I showing my husband love or kindness the day that picture was taken? When I've been looking back at pictures it has been with a selfish and single-minded thought: what did I look like then? And if I looked good, when will I look like that again? I want to start thinking about the other people in those pictures. Think about the memories being made because those snapshots in time are too brief to focus more on the outward appearance than the hearts of the people in the photos.


This concept is still taking form in my mind. (The last paragraph actually just came to me as I was typing this up.) So it will take some time for this to permeate my being and really stick with me. But I wanted to get it down on "paper" and take some time to really look at where my focus has been. Yes, I will still exercise, but I want to do it because I ENJOY it. I will eat good foods because they taste good and I know I am taking care of my body. Because, truly, my new mantra really goes both ways: having a beautiful heart means I'm taking care of my heart, making it stronger through exercise and healthy by the foods I eat. But ultimately, I want to have a beautiful heart by being compassionate, kind, forgiving, meek, gentle, thoughtful, putting others first, being slow to get angry, building others up through my actions and words, and truly loving others. Because when I look back at the pictures of my life I want to see the joy in my eyes and the eyes of those around me. I want to be so at peace and content with who I am that it's evident to all who know me.


To life... and striving to make my heart beautiFULL!