Don't Stop Believing!

I was sinking. 

It was the end of my sophomore year in college and I found myself surrounded by my professors who expressed their concern about my progress in the music program.  They were unimpressed with my vocal maturation and asked if I was teachable.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  After years of being positively affirmed, for the first time in my life my greatest strength had been described as a weakness. I ran to my dorm room and cried until my eyes could no longer produce tears.  I had no idea what to do.

When confronting failure, the most natural thing to do is to succumb to a state of pity and regret.  I regretted going to Spelman.  I regretted being a music major.  I regretted not working hard enough.  I felt pitiful and had no plan to combat the rejection and fear.  It was during this time that faith in God made all the difference in the world.  He would either lead me in another direction or strengthen me to continue.  I didn’t at that time know which would occur, but I knew I had to look to Him.

Peter said if you are the son of God then call me to walk with you on water.  Jesus said “come.”  Peter went.  After defying the rules of gravity Peter, noticing the tumultuous waves, began to doubt, and subsequently sink.  He could have surrendered to despair and drowned, but he instead called out to the Lord for help.  Jesus, though disappointed in his lack of faith, reached out and grabbed him.

Believing God can seem like an impossible task, however the hardest part about believing is not so much the initial step but the continual decision to keep believing.  With so many distractions and reasons to doubt, the measure of one’s faith is the ability to look at the obvious and yet believe the impossible.  I, like Peter, had to get past the hurt and shame, and believe that God was the same Savior in whom I believed before the failure.

God is God in victory and in defeat.  When faced with defeat look to Him, not your circumstances.   Look to Him, not what surrounds you.   Look to Him, not to others.  He works everything for our good if we love Him and are the called according to His purpose.  One of the signs of loving Him and being the called is trusting Him and choosing to believe Him, even when believing seems harder than giving up.
  
- B. Landi

Supplementary Verses:

Matthew 12: 22-33
Romans 8:28

The 24-day CHALLENGE!

I’m inspired!!

In preparation for leading Saturday workouts at my church I decided to commit to a strict dietary and workout regimen for the entire month of April and May.  What does that mean? Well at first I had no idea, so I decided to do some research. 

I found the 28-day challenge by Robert Brace, which outlines either 28 workouts back-to-back or 28 workouts over a designated period of time.  In addition to the workouts is a high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat, low sugar eating plan that includes, meats, green vegetables, fruits and oatmeal.

I chose this plan because it seemed straight forward and with so much going on in my life, the less I have to think about food and exercise the better.  I decided I would exclude bread, rice, potatoes, candy, desserts, and salt from my diet during the first month of exercise (April) and then slowly but surely reintroduce them back into my diet during the second month of exercise (May).  I’ve committed to 3, 45-60 min, exercises a week, which decreased the “28-day challenge” to the “24-day challenge.” Hey you know me...I gotta mix it up a bit!

So welcome to my journey! I will post meals and workout tips that will hopefully inspire you to be the best you.

DIET LOG

Week One (April 1-7):
(I had a variation of these meals everyday)

Breakfast: Fruit (apple, orange, and/or banana), Oatmeal, or Honey Nut Cheerios (serving size amount) with Soy Milk

Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad, Grilled Chicken Sandwich with portabella mushrooms and lettuce as a bun (pictured below)

Dinner: Grilled Chicken salad, Salmon salad, side of Carrots

Snacks: Unsalted Cashews, Popsmart popcorn, Fruit, Yogurt

WORKOUT LOG

Workout #1 (April 2): 45 mins 1.5 miles on elliptical, 1 mile run (treadmill), 20 lb dumbbell curl ups, various gym machines, various plank styles

Workout #2 (April 4): 50 mins 1.5 miles on elliptical, 1 mile run (treadmill), 20 lb dumbbell curl ups, various gym machines, various plank styles

Workout #3 (April 6): Outdoor workout (2 mile run, jumprope, 15 lb dumbbell curl ups, plank styles)

Workout #4 (April 7):
I didn’t plan this ahead of time but decided at the last minute to go to the Zuumba class at Club Fitness and also walked a mile on the treadmill with an incline of 7.

End of Week ONE thoughts:

I can’t believe I’ve gone without bread for 7 days!  It was actually easier than I expected.  I was offered twizzlers (MY FAV!!!) and I turned them down.  I went to church three night this week and each night the kitchen cooked fried wings and french fries, which filled the entire hallway with the aroma of grandma’s kitchen, but I prevailed!

I have learned to never leave home without a snack and although eating healthy makes one very gassy (watch out for those mushrooms), my workouts have been easier, I feel lighter, and have already lost 3 pounds.  More updates to come!!!

ARE YOU READY TO JOIN ME?!!

- B. Landi