Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Living outside of your comfort zone

For those that have been following my fitness journey, allow me to address that first.  I've never really been overweight, but I've always been unhealthy and unfit.  Skinny doesn't equal healthy. Currently, my husband and I are on an egg diet.  Today was a STRUGGLE and I did succumb to a chocolate muffin at work today.  It's okay...I can admit my flaws.

I also teach a dance fitness class called REFIT®.  There, the word "flawesome" is used.  By definition, it's basically admitting your flaws, but still realizing that you can be awesome in your perfectly un-perfect self.

Okay, maybe those aren't real words, but you get the idea.

Since the New Year, fitness-wise I feel better because I'm eating better.  My first week, I was down 6 pounds, only to have "maintained" that since, meaning I haven't lost any more.  (I'm only on week two.)

So, we've learned so far that I'm not perfect and I have flaws.  Shew (sigh of relief), I'm glad we got that out of the way.

When I was growing up, I was extremely shy.  My parents tell stories of how I would answer the telephone and not even say hello.  I was voted "Most Bashful" out of my senior high school class. My mom would say, "Julie, if you want to teach, you have to learn to talk to people."

Lucky for me, eventually, I did.  Yet, there are still times when people have thought that I was stuck-up or rude, only to find out the truth.

Then, there is this area of fitness.  How did this quiet girl become a fitness instructor?  A dance fitness instructor, at that.  I lead class and find myself thinking, "Who is this person?"  This same girl was a wallflower in high school.  This same girl hated physical education in high school and skipped wellness classes in college.  Yep, I was perfectly okay with a C in wellness.

There have been multiple times in my life where I feel that God has led me out my comfort zone.  It's not easy.

It reminds me of the story of Paul in the Bible.  Before Paul became a Christian, he was known as Saul.  Do you know what Saul did?  He persecuted and killed Christians!  Imagine the comfort zone that he would have to step out of to be able to minister to the people that he once condemned.

But, God was doing something in Saul.  He knew that Saul needed a rebirth, even to the point of giving him a new name!  He went on to scribe a great portion of the New Testament.

So, God can do great things when you step out of your comfort zone!  He will do great things anyway...but don't you want to be a part of that?!

What happened when I stepped out of my comfort zone?  I found myself living outside of my comfort zone, because the walls came down.  When those walls came down, I was free to love people, to truly love people just as they are. And, that is the authentic type of love that can only be given by knowing Christ Jesus.



Am I perfect? No
Do I make mistakes? Yes
Did I eat that chocolate muffin?  I did, indeed.
Will I do my best to love you as Christ does?  With all my heart.

So, what about it, friend? Dear reader.  What is holding you back from living outside of your comfort zone?

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