Yes, you read that title right, my friends. Today, Al and I got up early and drove ourselves over to the local YMCA, which conveniently isn't very far from home for us, and we signed up with a family membership. We opted to just cover the two of us, for the time being, until such time that Corri comes back here after rehab and the halfway house, and then we can bump up the membership to the entire household. For now, however, it's just us two, and starting next week, we're going to be getting up early to head on over to the Y for working out. Al is mostly going with me to lend me moral support and keep me honest, but also to supervise my workouts. He's going to help me out a lot, I think, and it'll be nice to be able to share this with him, instead of always going to the gym on my own.
I'm looking forward to this, actually. I miss going to physical therapy and getting in my workouts, so since I can't really do that anymore, especially with the arrival of winter and my husband's work hours, this will be a good alternative. I don't get the nifty little electrodes on my feet to open up the blood vessels, but if I keep moving and keep exercising, that will keep the blood flowing to my extremities and hopefully hold off any further problems. It'll also keep my blood sugar regulated and in check, and I need that. Hopefully this will be the kick-start I need to drop some more of this weight, too. I'm shooting for another 25 pounds, for starters, and then go from there. That will bring me below 200 for the first time in I don't know how long. Yes I do. I haven't been below 200 since Fr. Frank died and I was working at the church. That's when all my weight came back with a vengeance and then some. So yeah, I want this and I want it bad.
Today's chapter in The Purpose Driven Life is about how we were made to last forever and how life is our dress rehearsal for eternity. How we spend our lives here on earth for the short time that we are here, will determine how we spend our eternity, either in continual fellowship and closeness to God, which is heaven, or eternal separation from God and his love, which is hell. God sends no one to either place. We choose and choose freely based on how we live our lives here on earth.
This is a subject I often give much thought to every day. I know where I WANT to be, and I am just praying that it's where I will wind up. don't think anyone would WILLINGLY choose to live their lives in eternal separation from God, but if they do, I feel sorry for them. But this isn't about them. It isn't even really about me, although because it's my diary and I'm trying to work things out, I guess it is. Mostly though, it's about God.
I would have to say that my belief in an eternal life after this mortal one is a huge driving force for me. Yes, there are still things I need to change about my life, I believe, but the thought of eternity is never very far from my mind, especially as I get older.
Point to Ponder: There is more to life than just here and now.
Verse to Remember: 1 John 2:17 - This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.
Question to Consider: Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?
I know what I should stop doing. That one is easy. There's actually a LOT of things I should stop doing, but to pick one thing, I should probably get the hell off this computer more, especially getting away from chat and my whole cybersex thing. I don't do it very often, but I just can't seem to stop or give it up. It's something I'm constantly confessing, my lack of self-control over it all. But here's the thing, I also don't know how much of it is ME and how much of it is the bipolar disorder. I can go for long periods of time without getting involved or having cybersex, but rather just chatting with the friends I've known and made there in the past 10 years, but during my manic phases, that's when I get into trouble. Either way, it's still a conscious choice I'm making, even if I have little self-control.
What should I start doing is a more difficult question to answer. For the time being, I'm stuck here in this house, immobile from my lack of vehicle. But when I'm able to get a car of my own, I need to actually go out and do things. Visit the sick. Visit my friends and family. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Volunteer my time. DO things for other people. That's what having the heart of a servant is all about. And let's face it, if Jesus was a servant, who are we to be anything less?
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