Freewrite: Sabbatical Update and Analogy

In the early 2000's, I started an accountability group called FACED. We focus on reporting about our 

Food
Academic pursuits (from some it is Attitude toward the day)
Communion with God and people
Exercise
Daily care of self and family. 

I had a contest for weight loss in 2005, and two women, Katrina and Rachel, emerged as the winners. All the other people in the group have dropped off, but Katrina, Rachel, and I still continue to try to maintain a healthy balance in all areas of our life as we FACE each day!

We have a new challenge to report to each other everyday from June 1- July 16. Katrina will be done with her nursing program on that day, and I will be going off to England. I do periodic reflections ("Health Freewrites") about my FACED progress, and this is what I wrote them this morning: 

Thanks to both of you for joining in this new phase of our growth. It is a lifelong pursuit, but we are moving forward even though it is sometimes three steps forward and two steps back! I am just pleased after the possible stress of yesterday that it was a peaceful day with no overeating! And I have had a pint of Häagen-Dazs in the freezer for two weeks with NO DESIRE TO EAT IT! YAY!

George and I both did not realize how much we had the stress of anticipation of this surgery. He is in NO PAIN. He has only taken TWO doses preventatively in 24 hours where he could have had up to FIVE by now. He has no desire to have any more pain meds. With a high potency opioid that was one of our concerns and anxieties. YAY!

God gave me a picture of the cycles of my life in February 2014, it was ABIDE>RIDE>REST. There was a surfboard and the wave of the Spirit. There has been a big ride of ministry since February 2015, especially since March. We have been riding this Holy Spirit wave, and it has been fruitful and fulfilling and fully functioning in our gifts. We have abided and listened to God and obeyed. Not one single thing that we did in the last three months was not in obedience to His voice. We have said, “No” where we needed to also (and we have to say, “No” all the time). That isn’t the issue for us.

Yesterday I heard someone talk about their success (in a secular context) and how sometimes it is just a wave you ride, and it really has nothing to do with you. That is so true! 

When he talked, God spoke to me. I know from my surfing experience that once you stand up on the board and ride the wave it IS just the wave propelling you forward, you have no choice but to ride that wave; BUT one does need to BALANCE on the board. I think that is where I didn't do such a great job of balancing on the board in the midst of such a wave-riding ministry time. I didn’t fall off the board in the midst of the surf (that is a big pain, by the way, you want to stay on that board once the wave catches it), but I wasn’t totally aligned in my body and standing in balance!

This is why I had a five pound gain to a weight I have not seen in three years. I kept the weight that I lost off for two of those three years, but when the fruit and big wave came (February 2015), I forgot to maintain. Little by little it came back (not all of it but enough of it to make me wonder why I had not continued to maintain it). It is only a 52 calorie per day average overeating scenario between April 18, 2013 (the date of the 30 pound weight loss) and June 1, 2016, but it is an overeating scenario none-the-less.

The good news: I used to overeat 250 calories a day. Then it was 125 per day. Now, it is 52. I keep cutting it in half. YAY! I am moving FORWARD!

The bad news: 52 calories per day average over a period of three years still results in a weight gain!! 

We were in the "sweet spot" on ministry, but I want to be in the "sweet spot" of my weight now. What is great is that my husband and my oldest son also want to be in theirs too. Three out of four of us are still in the "normal range" for our weight, but we have that "sweet spot" where we know we just feel better, and we are slowly getting there! Yay! (My youngest is not underweight, but he is very close to being so. So, we are trying to maintain his weight right now, but it is hard when you have your jaw wired shut for six weeks!)

I feel confident that my life is back in balance on dry land (less variables attempting to unbalance me). I am RESTING and WORKING on my posture and balance before I take the board back out in the surf! Stay tuned! 

And I am so grateful for you two for faithfully reporting and helping in getting that balance back!