Listening balance, new habits, and the 123 Challenge.

1. I’m in the middle of reading a very helpful book on holiness by Gary Thomas, one chapter at a time. I was hooked by the title, “Holy Available: What If Holiness Is about More Than What We Don’t Do?“, and it has proved to be a treasure trove of insights on what it means to be a follower of Christ.
My favorite part so far is how the author describes listening to God: a balance between the objective (reading Scripture) and the subjective (inspiration from the Holy Spirit). Some books tend to look at feelings with suspicion, since they can so easily lead one astray. But I believe that truly knowing God involves the emotions as well as the mind.
In the middle of the chapter, readers are asked to listen about what God is saying about their specific situation. And my distinct impression was: “Child, you are exactly where I want you to be.”
I’ve known it in my head all along, but my heart needed the reassurance.

2. As February ends, I look back at the new one-word habitsthat I’ve chosen for the beginning of 2013.
The results are in:

a. WAKE – getting up before noon. – EPIC FAIL. I think I’ll adopt a misdirection strategy next time. Instead of focusing on he act of waking up early, I’ll try to add activities after work so that I’ll be motivated to shift to a morning schedule.

b. WORD – reading the Bible, reading for pleasure and updating this blog regularly – CHECK

c. WALK – the weekly jogging with my Ian is a success, we’ve also started Muay Thai sessions and I’m now taking the stairs more often – CHECK

You win some, you lose some. =) I’m now up to two words for my next batch of habits:
a. LISTEN CLOSELY
b. LOSE WEIGHT
c. LEVEL UP

3. Talking about losing weight, I issued a 123 Challenge to my Ian for the next four months. Still thinking of the prize, but the mechanics were copied liberally from ate Shing’s weight-loss contract last year. Thanks ate Shing!

IDEAL WEIGHT

I, Rita Mariano, 29 years of age, hereby promise to achieve my ideal weight in a challenge that begins 01 March 2013, and ends 31 July 2013.

I’m making this commitment to myself and my Ian to make 2013 the year I return to my ideal weight.

Current Weight: 138 lbs

Current Waist Measurement in inches: 31

Ideal Weight: 123 lbs.

Every pound I lose will:

Increase my energy

Sharpen my mind

Lower my cholesterol

Improve my sleep

Improve my breathing

Improve my mood

Make my clothes look better than they already do.

I recognize the benefits to my health and commit to:

Brisk walking for at least 30 minutes every day

Jogging 2-3 times a week

Practicing a sport or fitness routine that targets the entire body at least once a week

Using the stairs more often

Making water my first option for drinking

Controlling my portions and consuming small meals every 2-3 hours.

Making better food choices by increasing my intake of fruits, vegetables and whole foods (brown rice, whole wheat bread, muesli)

Reducing my intake of processed food, sugar and empty calories (such as white rice and white bread)

Signing this contract and making the commitment to achieve my ideal weight means that I will live a more productive and more active life.

Achieving my ideal weight within the timeframe specified also entitles me to (REWARD TO FOLLOW).

So help me God.