Absolute.

TTTT: I’m too busy serving others to exercise. Truth: If you’re modeling after Christ, you’re going to get your steps in.   I used to say, “I’m too busy serving other people to be consistent with an exercise routine.”   I believed that I was modeling after Christ, making sacrifices for others.   I told myself that caring for the church body was more important than caring for my own body.   But I was ignoring this truth- I AM a PART of the church body!   If I truly believe that caring for the church body is important, then it’s impossible to justify neglecting the care of my own body. Scripture is clear that it’s not okay to show favoritism in how we treat people within the church (James 2:1,9), but don’t overlook the fact that that includes YOU!   You are “people within the church.”   If you’re prioritizing caring for the church body, then prioritize caring for yourself.   Moreover, the New Testament tells us that the body is the temp...

  TTTT: 155 pounds is the lightest I will get. Truth: God “is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) I put 155 in the Facebook post, but the truth is, this number has changed many times.   Back when I was over 200 pounds, the 150’s sounded like a pipe dream.   When I finally started losing weight,   I thought 155 was the lightest I would get.   I remember my disbelief when I saw the 140’s on the scale.   Later, I broke that threshold as well.   The lightest I ever weighed in Minnesota was 135.   … TWENTY pounds less than what I thought my dream weight was! Fast forward a few years, I put a lot of weight back on after moving to Texas (details in other posts).   I refocused and started dropping the pounds again.   I told myself “145 is the lightest I will get”- things were different, I had more muscles, I was older, etc., etc.   I hit 145 and bought new clothes to celebrate.   I had momen...

  TTTT: “I'm an athlete. There’s a lot of muscle in here.” Truth:   Muscles don’t hide. “I’m an athlete, I’m supposed to have a stocky build. And there’s a lot of muscle in here.”   I used to tell myself this as I was buying larger and larger clothing sizes.   The truth is, I was an athlete.   Before the days of being overweight, I was a multi-sport athlete.   But during my season of obesity, I couldn’t do a 20-minute at-home workout video without pausing it… multiple times.   Being an athlete was still part of my identity , but it wasn’t part of my reality or my lifestyle. Being an athlete is tied to physical activity AND physical appearance.   But the connection to physical appearance doesn’t match what I was describing.   Yes, it’s true, muscle weighs more than fat.   But you know what else is true? Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat.   So “a lot of muscle in here” might justify what you see on the scale, but it ...

TTTT: “Sugar is not a drug.” Truth:  If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it's probably a duck.  Or in this case, a drug.  I can picture it like it was yesterday.   I remember the scene perfectly.   The first time I ever heard someone compare sugar to a drug.   I was approaching 200 pounds and in a room full of people of similar and larger sizes.   …And stilllll oblivious to the fact that this was an effort to get me (and others) to think critically about what we were eating.   He spoke of his own efforts to avoid added sugars.   He told “folklore” of how processed sugar was originally kept under lock and key.   I didn’t think he was lying, but I thought he was seriously misguided.   I compared the lock and key story to prohibition and dismissed both as mistakes.   (Alcohol not addressed in this post, TMTR for sure!) About 3 years later, I did my first round of Whole30 .   Whole30 allows ZERO sugars- natura...

 TTTT: “My physical health doesn’t affect my ability to lead others.” Truth: ‘Good leadership starts with leading yourself well and then letting that overflow into the lives of others.’  ...paraphrased from Steven Furtick I once believed there was a dichotomy separating my leadership and my physical health.  I was reading leadership books and having lots of leadership conversations.  I served as a volunteer leading the children’s ministry at my church.  I was young.  I made lots of mistakes and I did a few things well.  I knew my physical health was lacking, but I didn’t believe that it had any impact on my leadership.   I thought- ‘if it isn’t important to me, why should it be important to anyone else?’   As I have improved my health year over year, I have been shocked by how much my physical health is connected to every other component of health.     It sounds crazy until you experience it for yourself, but I can’t tell you ...

“The ideal weight range for my height is an unrealistic standard for me.” Truth:  Your mindset is what needs to be adjusted, not the standard.   I used to say this one A LOT!  I would look at those numbers and it felt like they were on a completely different planet.  At one point, I was 100 pounds heavier than the bottom number for my height, almost double the “recommended” size.  It’s no surprise that those numbers felt impossible.  I had a long list of reasons why those numbers were unrealistic (my weight in high school, my athletic build, prescriptions I was taking, etc.).  There are a LOT of factors that affect your weight.  That is real.  ANNND that is why the recommended weight is given as a weight range , not a singular number. The range accounts for the variables and factors.  Don’t be confused, I’m not dismissing your list.  Even today, as a “healthy weight” individual, I still have a list of variables and factors ...

TTTT: “I’m too old to change.” Truth: It’s still worth it! This is a special edition in the TTTT series spotlighting a guest contributor, Louise Lefler.  This is her story... Two years ago, at the age of 68, my health was spiraling down.   I was eating fast food for most meals, not exercising, and stress was a huge issue.   I started having daily digestive problems.   I was telling myself, “ I am too old to make any changes and too old to start trying to lose weight and eat healthy.”   No one else told me that I was too old, but I believed this for several years. I was missing out on family gatherings and my grandchildren’s sports activities.   Continuing to miss their important future events was a struggle I had to overcome.   Something had to change.   After much prayer and listening to what God said about me, not what I said, things started to change.   My mind was where all the negative talk and self-destructive conversati...

 My internal dialogue was something like this... “I don’t look like THAAAT.” “That’s not me.” Do you see the articulation?   I wasn’t just expressing disapproval.   I didn’t just say, “I don’t like that picture of me.”   I was so embarrassed by the photos, that I was doing everything I could to discredit them .   I was dismissing concrete evidence.   I was denying reality. Caveat 1: If you’re looking at photos of yourself and your thoughts are something like, “I look ugly.” Then, you’re facing a different battle- that’s not about your weight.   Caveat 2: If you’re looking at photos of yourself and the thoughts are things like, “oh, that’s a bad angle,” or “oh, I had an awkward face”- then it’s possible that you’re just not photogenic. But if you’re saying something to convince yourself that the picture is not an accurate representation of you or your health , then please know, you’re not alone.   I’ve been there.   Also, ple...

 A while back, I read “Trust” by Dr. Henry Cloud.  He writes repeatedly about how humans are hardwired to trust.  We are built to trust others and form relationships.  The book covers a lot of ground but one of the over-arching ideas is that when you spend time with someone, the natural by-product of that time is that you begin to trust them. It does not matter much about the person’s actual conduct or character.   It also does not matter much how they treat you.   If you stick with them, you deepen your trust in them.   The books goes in depth about how this plays out in your daily life (it IS a worthwhile read), but I think we should also be very conscious of the inverse side of this equation… The people who are spending time with you, most likely trust you.  Even if there is no conversation with a trust litmus test or any other form of a DTR (Define The Relationship), they probably trust you and more significantly- your opinions.  Our ...

  “Great is the enemy of good.”   I do in principle believe that statement.   I have seen this play out.   I have come up with this elaborate Olympic high dive routine for something in my life and ended up doing a belly flop instead.   It has happened.   The statement has relevance and application and there are many tasks and areas of life where good is good enough. There have also been times when I have intentionally decided to be good, not great.   My last year of teaching was also the last year that three of my kids were going to be home.   I decided that I didn’t want to sacrifice my last year of major influence on my kids’ lives, for my classroom.   I chose to be a good teacher (not a great one). But still, great is the enemy of good, is not a statement I want to build my life around.   There are many parts of my life that I don’t want to just be “good”.   There are areas, tasks, and roles where I want to be “great”. ...

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a Samaritan’s Purse ministry that takes shoebox gifts to children in over 100 countries.   OCC participants fill standard sized shoe boxes with toys, toiletries, and school supplies and drop them off at local collection sites to be processed and delivered.   I am a passionate supporter of this ministry and collection week is right around the corner (November 13-20).   So, I wanted to make sure you have heard about Operation Christmas Child and give you 5 reasons to participate. #5 Fun and Easy Samaritan’s Purse has made this as easy as possible.   You can use any shoebox, select a gender/age group, fill it up, and drop it off at one of the thousands of collection sites nationwide.   You can purchase items according to your budget or even send homemade gifts.   You get to pick the gender and age group, so if you would have more fun shopping for a 2-4 year old girl and picking out tiny pink hair barrettes, go for it! ...

Many of you know I celebrated my birthday two weeks ago, but those who know me really well know I celebrate my birthday pretty much all month.   It started when I was young; my parents were divorced, so it took a while to make it around to mom, dad, both sets of grandparents, step-family, etc.   Old habits die hard.   During this time of celebration, I always take inventory of my life over the last year (goals, hopes, accomplishments, etc.).   Normal people do this on New Year’s, but my annual calendar has always revolved around my birthday and Christmas (Thanks Mom!).   I have written a few blog posts about the outward transformation that has taken place in my life over the last twelve months, but this Transformation Tuesday blog post is about the inward transformations that God has worked in my heart over the last year.   There are no incredible ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures that illustrate the change.   Only my closest circle of friends an...