Another new day. I love seeing the sun come up from behind our local mountains. So thankful for this quiet solitude in the morning. I need this space to sit, be quiet, read, journal and write. This challenge is helping me to make this a priority. I used to try to do things first but I usually would fall asleep at my desk. It is really helping to get up early and walk/exercise first so I am more alert when I come to this very important time in my day.

Another habit I had previous to this challenge was 5 minutes of core work using the free Nike Training Center app. As I get older I want to help my back be strong so core work is essential for that. True it would be nice to have a flatter stomach but it is not the end all be all. I do not need a magazine photo finished body. This body has brought 3 lives into this world. It has housed 4 lives but we lost a baby between our daughters. I am insanely grateful for what this glorious body has done for me and is doing for me.

I can type on my computer with my hands.

I can see my family with my eyes.

I can hear silence with my ears.

I can walk trails with my legs.

I can hug my family with my arms.

The gifts I could list are unending. As a society our body is often reduced to an aesthetic and we measure its’ worth by what we see. What we see is warped and contorted by all the false images we see on filtered/edited social media images, airbrushed magazine covers and celebrity runways. My body is a temple of God for which “the light, life and love of God are pouring through… channeling a source of healing, compassion, and reconciliation wherever (I) go and whatever (I) do. (I am) rooted in the divine compassion and mercy, and are manifesting… the pure light of the image and likeliness of God within me, which is the assimilation of the mind and heart of Christ in everyday life”- Thomas Keating, Heartfulness: Transformation in Christ.

This quotation is how I most want to measure my body. Is it being a conduit of God’s love? Is it holding those hurting? Is it stopping to listen and bending down to console? Is it extending comfort? Is it dancing with joy? Is it walking in peace? Is it inviting others to walk that path too?

So I see this act of exercise more as a mean to health so that I can better do the work of love in my life. It is so easy to get caught up in image when thinking about food and exercise. But I would rather see those choices as stewardship of the glorious body that has been given to me. I want to pursue strength, health and wholeness so that I can do the work before me. I have seen how these earthly vessels of a body become prisons, binding and restricting freedom. True sometimes that can happen beyond our choices but often our health choices can either led to freedom or adding a chain link that connects us to a prison cell that we want to be free of.

Wins for the day:

• I exercised 25 minutes with a walk outside
• I listened to a good book.
• I drank all my water- 25 ounces and a little more.

I did not get to the weights or take my probiotic.