gratitude, example #6

example #6. ok i have to go to bed soon, BUT i really wanted to share this last example! i am SO incredibly grateful for my BODY! woo the body! just kidding, but actually i am so grateful for a healthy body. i don't always take care of my body as i should, but when i do, IT IS AMAZING. it honestly makes me so happy and reminds me how closely linked our body is to our spirit. they are one. i made a goal to exercise more this year, and particularly to become stronger. and guess what.. i'm getting stronger! who would've thought! it's like a miracle. i can't even believe it (emphasis on "i"). but it's a principle i'm still striving to learn--to take care of what the lord has given me. again, i'm grateful for the opportunity to learn, which i guess leads me to the very last thought. 


brad wilcox said in his talk "his grace is sufficient" that when a young pianist hits a wrong notes, or many wrong notes, we don't say that he's not worthy to keep practicing. applying to to my life and probably the lives of all of us, i know that sometimes we hit wrong notes in our life and it's just flat out discouraging. and i know at those times it's easy to give up, especially when we keep hitting the same wrong note over and over. i think that discouragement is linked at least sometimes to our feeling that we aren't worthy to keep trying, and i think that is evident when after people give up they turn completely the opposite way.


the point is i'm grateful for my body--it is a temple. 


i'm grateful for the chance to hit wrong notes but to keep practicing. :)


ps--did you know: that if you want to get stronger lifting weights you lift heavier weights less amount of times (which is exactly the opposite of what i was doing--lifting less heavy weights lots of times). the diff = HUGE! seriously! no exaggeration. a week and a half ago, embarassing, yep, i was using a machine and could only do 25 pounds. but that's ok! i'm ok with that. and i could only do that forever, forever meaning 3 months. and then after a friend told me this little secret that i didn't know about, now i can do on those same machines 60 pounds. CRAZY! i'm getting so strong, oh boy! and, another secret he shared, that i looked up on the internet, from MULTIPLE sources so i think it is probably more likely than not it's accurate, but if you eat pineapple, papaya, or tuna after you workout, you don't need protein shakes, bc they do the same thing! woohoo!
anyway, just thought i would share the good tips! :)