Item #4

Item #1: put my house in order and keep it that way. Item #2: step down from multiple roles at my church because the question, "How are you?" should not always be followed with the answer, "I'm busy." Item #3: Set a menu for 2-3 weeks in advance and grocery shop according to the menus (less stress, saves money, keeps us healthy because we're not eating out all the time). I've discovered some amazing benefits to accomplishing these above items, including more free time to do the small, yet important, things in my life which had come second in priority--like item #4.

A few years ago, I was really good at making a habit of item #4 but I had pushed it to the back-burner under the notion that I had no time for it. Since I now have more time, I figured it's time to check off yet another item on my list: working out.

Item #1 has taught me that I need order--structure--in my life. I need structure in my spiritual life (which the Holy Spirit creatively asked me to do concerning prayer) as well as my physical life. To go about this haphazardly would be entirely a waste of time. So I've decided to maintain some sort of order in the physical fitness aspect of my life as well.

Because I'm a process, list, type-A sort of person, I think it fitting to write things down, otherwise forgetfulness and unaccountability set in. I'm not sure what my routine will look like quite yet, but here are some things that will help me get-going:

• Check each week to see what my schedule looks like (class, work, holidays, etc.), then figure out when a good time to work out would be.
• According to recent studies, working out 2.5 hours a week can help keep you in-shape. Depending on my light or packed schedule, I can choose to work out 30 min. during the week or combine times (ex. 1 hour Monday, 1 hour Wednesday, half-an-hour Friday--the days I only have one class)
• I've also learned (from watching The Biggest Loser) that drinking skim milk during work-out regements can get you get the daily protein you need and can also help build lean muscle
  
  

Any other motivational thoughts you can think of would be greatly appreciated!~*