D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E

Discipline. No not the kind we use on our kids. I'm talking about the kind for ourselves. I have been convicted a lot on the lack of discipline in my life. Everything in my world is chaos. My house, my kids (never clean up, never seem to listen), my weight and at the end of the day I feel like one huge failure all because of one little word-----discipline.

Discipline- 1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.
2. Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.


I have been reading "Reshaping it All Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness" by Candace Cameron Bure. You know...little DJ Tanner from Full House. I decided to read this book as I am on this journey yet again, to loose baby weight. Seems like the weight just falls off and then I don't do anything and I am slowly up to a size 10 again before I know it. Not that a size 10 is bad, but really it's too heavy for me who stands only 5' 3" tall. I was sold on the book when I saw her picture on the front cover. She looks amazing. Beautiful, tiny little woman. She has had 3 kids and was a chunky kid so I knew there was something there that I could take away from the book. Boy was I right. The big thing I got out of this was Discipline.
Let's face it, I absolutely hate working out. It's like torture to me. There are a million things I'd rather do besides work out everyday. Unless of course we had a pool then I'd be in it all the time, but even then you can only use it in the summer time.
After reading her book I've come to the realization that I am never going to like working out. I'm not going to be 5 weeks into something and all of a sudden wake up and jump out of bed doing 100 push ups and sit ups with a huge smile on my face. That will never happen. It's just not me. Don't get me wrong there are alot of great benefits from working out, and there are people who live to do it. I'm not one of those people. But the constant theme I've had running in my head for a long time now is that "it doesn't matter how you feel you just have to do it." Whatever IT may be. Your IT may be being organized, it may be putting down the last piece of cake, it may be exercising, or doing laundry, or playing with the kids, or being the bigger person in a relationship.
It all comes down to realizing that I am an adult and sometimes there's things in life that we have to do whether we like it or not. I wasn't all that excited about the idea of having my belly be cut open to bring a child into the world.....well honestly I wasn't a big fan of the other option either but you get the point. But I did it. Why? Because I was looking toward the prize. The end result was 3 beautiful babies. I wanted a family more then I wanted to expand my belly, ruin my bladder, have stretch marks, and be cut open 3 times. Plus once it happens there's no going back. I remember thinking that when it was time to push with my first daughter. They said I was 10 cm and it was time to get her out. The only thought that went through my head was "There is no going back, she has to come out. One way or another she is coming out."
This same principle needs to be applied in a lot of areas of my life. If I want to be thin and healthy I need to work out. Plain and simple. There is no pandering back and forth about it. There is no up and down in the weight game. There is one way to do it and it can be done if we have discipline. Do I look forward to working out. NO! I actually have tried to talk myself out of it everyday so far. But then I start the video, suck it up and about an hour later I am done. And the good news is that the video I have is about building lean muscle as well so it can only be done every other day as the muscles need to rest. BONUS!!!!
Another example of this is my husband. Does he want to get up everyday at 5:30, go to work to bring in money to support us. Probably not. Knowing my husband he would much rather be off hunting or fishing. The point is that he does it, and he does it for the end result not because he necessarily enjoys working. He enjoys having a roof over our head, and clothes on our back, and food in our bellies.
Sometimes being an adult is hard. You have to do a lot of things you don't want to do. But the good news is, if you keep your eye on the prize and what you do have and not what you don't have or how miserable you are things will be a whole lot better.

As it says in 1 Corinthians 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.
And again in 1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive.

All food is permissible. God made all food....even that chocolate bar. But that doesn't mean we can have it every. single. day.
It is permissible to not work out for a day, but when you don't do it all it's not beneficial. Not to your body, your mind, your health it's just not good.

I also realize that I am a hypocrite. How can I teach my kids discipline if I don't have any myself? Clean your room doesn't mean much to them if the the kitchen is always a mess. I am sending the message that they have to do what they don't want to do, but those rules don't apply to me. Woah! That's a tough pill to swallow.

So for now I am starting with exercise and modifying my eating habits a bit. Will I still eat birthday cake in a couple of weeks at my son's bday YES. But it won't control me. It's not about the food, it's about the celebration. Mind over matter.

What are in your life needs more discipline? Figure out what that is and as Nike says "just do it" whether you feel like it or not.