Good morning all! I firstly want to thank you wonderful women for all the support 🙂 It truly means a lot. And while I know the cereal won't kill my progress (as was visible this morning when I could still see all my abs 😉 hehe), the thing that concerned me the most is that I was blindly eating and more than I knew was necessary (we are talking a BIG bowl here, with 2nds of that monster to follow). The way I was eating reminded me of how I felt and ate when I used to binge. The amount may have been MUCH less, but still the attitude and approach and thought processes that went into it are what scared the (you know what) out of me. I have not done something so self-sabotaging in so long. Even in times this past year I have eaten a bit more than I should have or eaten something extra/"off-plan" it was never in such a secretive, guilty, spiteful, negative manner. I do NOT want to go back there. I REFUSE to go back there. 


So, what now? I realized a few things yesterday after sharing what happened with Peter and talking out my thoughts, hurts, etc. with him. The past couple of months I have been very driven by this competition. No one can deny that planning the food, organizing the details, getting the workouts in, taking time to practice posing/research online/etc etc etc takes a lot out of a person. Despite all that, I have not let this all get in the way of my responsibilities as a wife and mother. Peter says that he doesn't see a difference in attitude or how I treat him, he doesn't see an excessive change in my time with him and M, and overall doesn't notice a change in those general aspects of my life. But deep down, I knew something wasn't right. I knew something wasn't aligned right with my life. And when taking a closer look - it hit me smack hard across the face that what I claim is the most valuable part of my life is what was slipping into the very spare moments I could grab in a day instead of the focus of my day. My relationship with God - my faith. 


Now to some that may seem cheesy or superficial. But I can't ignore the fact that every tough time in my life I was only able to come through it by putting it in God's hands and turning my focus back to Him. From small things such as stresses of school or work, to big things like a changing relationship with my father, He has been the only true help I could count on and that would suddenly help everything seem right and manageable. I have to get that part of my life in order so that I can get through the remainder of prep. Otherwise I very well could end up back in a very dark place, which would in the process be spitting in God's face after He has already helped me out of said "dark place". So here goes - 


God, 
50 days left in this prep. 50. That's it. Right here, right now, I recommit these next 50 days to spending more time growing my faith and getting back to my solid habits that sustain me there. I put my focus on YOU the next 50 days, knowing that by doing so I will make it to that stage fulfilled, happy, with more to my life than pride. These next 50 days will be a whole lot less about me me me and what I can do and whole lot more about YOU and knowing it is only through YOUR will, support, and guidance that I can do anything. I am going to try refocusing how I look at each day. I will begin each day a few minutes earlier so I can have some time to be with You in prayer and get my thoughts aligned with You for the day. I will pray before workouts, before meals, at night after devotional reading with Peter, all day - every chance I get. After all - we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I will turn my radio to 104.7 (sidenote to readers: the popular Christian station - and no it isn't all gospely crazy music like you may think - I actually enjoy this music a LOT and its my 1st preprogrammed station anyways - even if I have found myself slipping off it more recently). I will focus more on the lessons I prepare for each Sunday's lesson, instead of just going through the motions to get it done. I give these next 50 days to You, God. Help me use them as a way to honor You. And knowing your great love for me, that You will bless me and honor me in return by putting me on that stage on November 7th strong, confident, happy, and beaming with the love you have for me. 
Love, your daughter, 
Christina


This may seem tedious to some, but I can guarantee you that if you gave realigning your focus a shot, once you got into the habit it would be seamless and so incredibly worth it. That is the truth for me and that is what I must do now. 50 Days. It's a gift. I must use it wisely. Which even includes resting my back today 😉 

Since I lead a Sunday school adult bible study class and am always inspired by the discussions we have there, I decided that I would share some of that here with you all. Our class is called The Goodlife and I truly believe that by applying the things we learn in that class and growing the friendships we make through the class my life has really become a good one. So why not share the love here, too?


Well, our series discussion the past few weeks and for the upcoming month or so is based on a book by Max Lucado called Just Like Jesus. Each week, we look at a different quality Jesus displayed in his life and how and why we should strive to do the same in ours. Now, I don't want to get "preachy" here....but no matter what way you look at it Jesus is a real man in our history who lived a pretty exemplary life. You may not believe he's the resurrected Son of God, or that he performed miracles, or anything of that nature about him and that is fine - it's your beliefs and I don't judge what beliefs bring peace, hope, happiness, etc to others. Even if you don't believe all the things Jesus is in a Christian religion, the way he lived is still something to be admired. For example, who can deny that living with a compassionate heart is something we, as well as others in our lives, could all benefit from. That was today's discussion - a compassionate heart.


What is compassion? Webster's English Dictionary describes compassion as "a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it". So compassion is not only feeling for the person, but also doing something to relieve the problem. I think there are many of us who are sympathetic to others. We see others in need, feel bad about it, and then don't physically DO anything to change it. WHY? 


We talked about this a lot today in class. Why is it so HARD to readily show compassion to others? Well, there is the cynicism of whether or not we are being taken advantage of, the fear that our caring will not be well received, the fact that (we think) there isn't a way for us to help or that we don't have the time, money, knowledge, etc to do what is necessary. You know what Jesus did? He kept on giving! That doesn't mean you have to extend yourself beyond your means or continue to support harmful behaviors/decisions in the name of compassion. Even Jesus left healing the sick to go and help his dear friend Mary and her sick brother Lazarus. And even Jesus was angry with the Pharisees and religious powers of that time and didn't extend his hand to them for the sake of knowing they were only trying to bring his demise. 

The point is to not hold back your compassion where you can give it. Everyone has something they can give to others - from the biggest acts of kindness like a stranger giving $100,000 to a homeless man, to the basic ones like cooking a meal for someone who is injured/has a new baby/lost a loved one, to the smallest ones like having an actual conversation with your cashier at the grocery store. There is no act of compassion too small. All you have to do is open your eyes and your heart and extend your hand, smile, shoulder, timetable, (fill in the blank here) to help make a difference in this world. I challenge you, as well as I am challenging myself, to find a way to show compassion to someone this week, every day if possible. How do you plan to show your compassion this week? Also, share your experience - has anyone showed compassion to you once that you remember and cherish?