An uphill battle

I continued my training this week and boy, was it tough! Not only were the exercises rough, but I had taken a week off. All I have to say is that I'm glad it's done! My numbers were pretty pathetic, but in a way, I'm kind of happy about it since I won't have to do as much next week. :-)

Me: Day 1
Jump Squats: 15,12,10,8,8,8,8,8
Indian Lifts:10,7,6,6,4,7,6,4
Alternating Splits:14,10,10,9,9,9,9,9
Dips:3,5,4,3,4,3,2,5

Day 2
Diamond Push-ups:4,2,2,2,1,3,2,2
Wall Squats:20,15,15,12,12,12,12,12
Side Tri Rise:8,6,6,6,6,6,6,4
Mountain Climbers:31,25,21,18,22,20,18,28

Day 3
Snowboarder 180:15,13,12,11,11,10,10,10
 Plank In&Out:10,7,6,6,6,7,6,6
Jump Kicks:13,11,11,12,12,12,12,11
Dive bombers:3,2,1,1,2,2,3,1

Jason was very sweet and redid this week's workout with me. These are his scores from last week.

Jason: Day 1

Jump Squats:16,16,11,10,10,10,8,8 

Indian Lifts:20,18,16,13,11,11,12,9

Alternating Splits:21,15,12,12,11,12,11,12

Dips:13,10,10,10,9,8,8,8

Day 2

Diamond Push-ups: 17,9,6,5,5,4,4,3

Wall Squats:20,20,20,17,16,15,13,13

Side Tri Rise:8,8,8,7,7,7,7,6

Mountain Climbers:49,30,24,22,20,18,18,16

Day 3

Snowboarder 180:17,15,15,12,10,11,10,7

 Plank In&Out:11,8,9,8,8,8,7,6

Jump Kicks:17,14,11,11,11,11,10,10

Dive bombers:6,5,5,3,3,2,2,1

Fasting Friday #5

Wow, we're over a month into the fasting challenge. Only 23 more months to go! This last week wasn't so bad. I was sick so I ended up not eating very much the beginning of the week. Something about throwing it back up made me not want to eat. So by the time Friday came around, I was starving!

We ended up breaking the fast at dinnertime and it worked out for me. I did realize that I tend to be less cranky when I'm not thinking about myself. I was so busy with the day to day activities that I didn't have time to feel sorry about myself! I guess I'm just going to have to keep my Fridays busy from now on.

Training or not.....

I was sick with a stomach virus last week so training was put on hold. As much as I enjoyed the rest, this week has been rough. Not only are the workouts hard anyways, I'm working on building up after a break. Let me just say that I should have just trained las week even if I threw up afterwards. Oh well...hindsight is 20/20.

A sweet moment

We have a nice little courtyard in our complex that the little kids like to convene at. Jason took the kids downstairs to play tonight and some of their friends showed up. The kids in our complex love Jason because he will throw them up in the air and swing them around. There's been a line of little kids next to Jason on more than one occasion.

When they came back in, Jason remarked that one of the little boys loved being swung around and said that he (Jason) was probably now the boy's best buddy. After a couple of minutes, Aiden asked if Jason didn't like him and Gabe anymore. At first we didn't quite understand what he was saying because a) he's 3 and b) he was about to cry. He even started tearing up. But as soon as we realized that Aiden was concerned about Jason's affection, Jason scooped him up to talk to him.

Jason affirmed his love for Aiden and told our booboo that he would always love him. It was a very sweet moment that they shared.

What really struck me was the fact that Aiden understood the concept of best friends/buddies. He realized that there can only be one best friend and because he thought that Jason had another best buddy, Jason's feelings for Aiden could have waned.  The kids usually amaze me with what they understand and tonight was no different.

Fasting Friday #4

This week, we didn't fast on Friday again. If we keep this up, I'm going to have to think of a new name! I actually learned a very good lesson this week. I learned that there is a fine line between being disciplined and legalistic.

As you know from before, I usually do fine with the fast until about dinner time. I really have a hard time with making food and not being able to eat it. All the yummy smells that waft into my nose as I'm preparing the children's food just take a hold of me. But at the same time, there has to be some sacrifice on my part. You really can't grow closer to someone or God without giving yourself up to some degree. In this sacrifice, we find that we are not only stronger in God but a stronger person in general. So I knew that I had to suck it up and deal with it. But where does it go from a sacrifice to a legalistic action that has to be done?

As a Christian, we are told that there are so many things that we should be doing to draw closer to God. But if we do them just because we have to, we are not getting to the core of the issue. God does not want us to be robots, that's why we have free will. We need to also have the right attitude about it. I'm reading Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas and I think he hits it on the nail when he says; "We're not just after the imitation of Christ's actions in our home. We also want to model Christ's spirit and attitude."( pg. 191).  Our heart has to be in the right place when we are doing our acts of worship. What is the point of fasting if you are grumbling the whole time?

After the kids went to bed, I decided that it was not worth it to continue fasting for the rest of the night because I was definitely starting to grumble about it. And therein, I learned my lesson. I could've continued my fast and and be upset that I had to do it. But instead, I choose to end it early and be thankful to God that I was able to last as long as I did and appreciate God for carrying me the whole day. Because in the end, there is nothing that I can do apart from Christ. (John 15:5).

I was wrong.....

So training this week was not fun. We started a whole new set of exercises to do and I think that the guy who thought it up is evil. Some of the stuff we are doing is not only outside of my abilities, I didn't even know some of them existed before. All that to say, the scores are pretty pathetic to say the least.

Me: Day 1
Jump Squats- 20
Indian Lift- 35
Alternating Splits- 20
Dips- 12

Day 2
Diamond Push ups- 11
Wall Squats- 50
Side Tri Rise- 11
Mountain Climbers- 60

Day 3
Snowboarder 180- 22
Plank In & Out- 11
Jump Kicks- 35
Dive Bombers- 6

Jason: Day 1

Jump Squats- 25

Indian Lift- 50

Alternating Splits- 31

Dips- 29

Day 2

Diamond Push ups- 28

Wall Squats- 50

Side Tri Rise- 10

Mountain Climbers- 70

Day 3

Snowboarder 180- 32

Plank In & Out- 20

Jump Kicks- 40

Dive Bombers- 11

Fasting Friday #3

This week we fasted on Thursday instead of Friday. We had a sleepover planned and decided to get our fasting out of the way. I appreciate the flexibility of what we are doing and that it isn't a hard and fast rule that Fridays are fasting days.

While I still have lots of room to grow in both my relationship with God and Jason. I am feeling like we are closer. I feel closer to Jason because we now have a common goal. It might not be life changing, but it's good to know that we are on the same page in at least one area of life. Now Jason and I agree on most things and we don't fight much. But it's comforting nonetheless.

As far as my relationship with God goes. It's nice to know that I'm doing something for Him. It's so easy for me to do something with the expectation of getting something back. But knowing that just by going out of my comfort zone in this one area of life is pleasing to God is a reward in itself. It gives me a deeper appreciation of all the wondrous things His done for me without expecting anything in return.