All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal.
A time to destroy, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh.
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather.
A time to embrace, and a time to be far form embraces.
A time to get, and a time to lose.
A time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew.
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
A time of love, and a time of hatred.
A time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
This passage spoke to me. Seasons of life are reality we discuss often, especially to comfort ourselves in times of trials. Right now, I am in a challenging and stressful season. There is a lot of change in my life right now and all too often I am bogged down by stress. I over analyze everything and struggle to take a moment to breathe. But here in Ecclesiastes 3, we see that this is the season I am in. It clearly reads that not all seasons are good and happy, that not all seasons will leave us fulfilled, satisfied, and pleased with ourselves. In fact, it says there is a time to mourn, a time to weep. These are seasons too. There are times in our lives that things won't go to plan, things won't work out the way we wanted them to and the way we have labored so hard for them too. But that won't take away from that season, in fact, I am moved by this line a time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. Right now, I feel things are being built around me, but I don't feel built. I feel I am being destroyed in my innermost self. Yet, there is a time to heal. I too will have my time to build.
And so, today I just want to take a moment to go over a few things that have happened these past two weeks, which I have been absent from.
I didn't take time to meditate and reset my week. This is hard for me. I don't really have it planned into my schedule so I often just forget it, but I want to build a habit of resetting my week each week, and resetting my month each month. on the last day of each month I want to take some time to:
deep clean my home
set up three realistic goals for that month
create a meal plan
lay out my budget
check up each week on how I am doing
I ate healthy... but gained weight. This one is especially hard for me. this is a level of vulnerability that I hate to express. I ate vegetables, fruits, three meals a day, drank plenty of water, kombucha, and more, yet I gained weight. I don't really know how to fix this problem yet, but I need to try and so I will. here's some steps to help myself:
no added sugars
no dairy and gluten (I have bad reactions to these)
follow my hunger cues. eat when I am hungry despite it not being the proper time
I didn't workout each day... in fact I skipped a whole week of workouts. Maybe this is why I didn't lose weight, but I had been working out religiously, 6 times a week and wasn't losing weight, so this doesn't seem to be a trigger. however, working out has drawn two things: 1. it makes me feel better afterwards; 2. going too hard loses my motivation. I know that sounds crazy but it's true. when I over-workout, I lose the motivation to do it each day. I want to establish a healthy balance of working out, that will be rooted in my lifestyle. workouts that I enjoy and ones that don't make me want to cry when I'm doing them. I've heard it said before, and I couldn't agree more, if you want to start adding physical activity into your daily life, find and do something you enjoy. don't do something you despise... and that is why I don't do burpees. I don't care how good they are for me. I despise them and I really hate doing them so I just don't do them. I enjoy: strength training, biking / elliptical, hiking / outdoor walks, and pilates. these are the workouts I will implement into my daily routine.
30 minute strength training for 2 days a week (Monday & Friday)
30 minute of pilates 2 days a week (Wednesday & Saturday)
30 minute cardio 1 day a week (Tuesday)
two rest days a week :) rest days = not bad
These are my goals moving forward. These are my September plans. They say for goals to be achieved they must be: 1. specific; 2. measurable; 3. have a time limit; 4. must be your goals; and, 5. must be in writing. So, these are my goals for the month of September, but take them and adjust them to your needs. I promise... if you hold yourself accountable and have goals that are attainable, you will succeed. As time goes on and you grow stronger - emotionally, physically, and spiritually - your goals will be more challenging. But, for now, give yourself grace, as I am; every day will not be perfect, but for change to be seen you must score an 85% on your goals. I am here for you my friends. This season will pass, as all seasons do, but with each season, I will grow and mature.
For every man that eats and drinks, and sees good of his labour, this is the gift of God. - Ecclesiastes 3:13
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