Storms

A beautiful southeast Michigan evening sky!


It seems we go through the storms of life so to appreciate the beautiful, calm days of life.
I have been going through my own forms of life storms it seems these past couple of years. And guess what, it will never stop. Just like the weather, we will always have storms in life and assuredly, there will always be calm after the storm. but just like those devastating storms we hear about on the news and maybe some of you are experiencing first hand, those that survive those storms become so much stronger. As you go through such tough stuff you often wonder if and how you will ever make it through the storm and even more so, the aftermath of that storm...which often seems worse than the storm itself as you now have to clean up and rebuild and repair what was lost.
 I see how we all have been touched by some form of a storm in life. Storms that come unexpected and storms that we can see coming on the horizon. These storms come in many sizes and shapes...loss of a family member, loss of a marriage, loss of a job, loss of health, even loss of a dream or vision.
But there is a common thread in all of these storms.
We all have Choices!
You can choose to be depressed and let it get you down and stop you from fulfilling your destiny.
Or you can Choose to be an overcomer and to rise above your circumstances and become Stronger in the process.
You can Choose to eat healthy foods. You can Choose to workout.
You can Choose to revive, rebuild, restore your dreams and visions of what your future can be.
You can Choose to keep the faith in your dreams and your destiny, despite what the circumstances say around you right now.
I Choose to believe!
I Choose to have faith!
I Choose to be Unstoppable!

Dare...Boldly 2011: "No Surrender!" T-69

Woman on a Mission!

The chicks have been moved!! (Dad hatched some baby chicks that he was "storing" in the garage in my workout space!)
I've got my game face back on!!
It's time for this Warrior Woman to get her mission on!
NOthing can stop me! I'm stronger than ever!
I never give up!

Dare...Boldly 2011: "No Surrender!" T-81

After some recent personal issues arising, today I am feeling like I am finally in a good place mentally.  I am getting stronger every day...mind, body, spirit.

The other day Elaine asked me "What worked the best for you when you had your best mission ever?"
What a great question!  I have two such times that I would call my best missions.  My very first "mission"(Sept. 2006-Dec. 2006 and my muscle mission with Sharon Harris back in Nov. 2009-Feb. 2010.  These two missions had many differences.  Believe it or not, blogging, "group" accountability or sense of community, pictures or point keeping were not the strong points for either mission.  I didn't blog, didn't have a community support system or accountability system, or even take daily pictures in my very first "mission" in Sept. 2006-Dec. 2006(the first 30 lbs.).
In thinking over the similarities, the only factor I could come up with was my  mindset!  I experienced the greatest personal growth during these two times.
And, so I will do just that with this mission!  I will grow even more in my personal growth in my mindset and my inner man.  I have put out there a massive statement of faith about my dream.   I do not know with certainty that it will be realized, but I can believe with all my heart that it will.  Words of affirmation and gratitude it will be.

Dare...Boldly 2011: "No Surrender!" T-83

I feel I have started over and over again. and that's OK!  Because I never give up!  I will keep starting over and over again...every day!  I can only believe for today.  However, the choices I make today will impact my tomorrow and my next week and my next month...and so on and so on.
Day 1 is done.
I had my meals.
I did my workout.
I have worked on my mind and spirit.
I have taken my pics.



on to day 2...

Happy Mother's Day! Prelude to a Massive Mission

Today, May 8, 2011 is Mother's Day. Thank God it was today and not tomorrow (or any other day past today).
My kids treated me to homemade pizza!! It was so good. And I had too much! But what a special treat to have my kids make me dinner..with their own hands(with a little help from daddy, of course)!

It is the prelude to a massive shred mission!
And my heart is racing!

Life has not been the easiest of travels in recent months, and I know this to be true for many of you, but we do have one thing under our control...and that is what we put in and do to our bodies! Even with the emotional eating that we do(myself included), even that is within our control! We choose!
We also control our thoughts and the words we speak! Our thoughts and words have power!! More than we realize! and it is with that, I put out here these words here!

I was reminded by my Warrior Woman in arms, "Now, if you're in, don't go getting all mushy on me ... you're a Warrior Woman ... get your game face on and suck it up! I don't want to hear about what's going on, I wanna SEE what you can do! Please join me, ... if you dare!"

Which reminds me of the theme I had set for this year back in January, "Dare...Boldly"

It also reminds me of a post I made on another site:
"I was thinking today about my post from yesterday.
If I truly believed I was to go on this trip to Oz in August, why would I let one statement or current circumstance change that? Do I believe it or not? I have had lots of reasons to believe it may not happen over the past year, but I refused to stop believing. I refused to let current circumstances affect my belief.
So, why stop now?!
Why should I let the current circumstances affect my belief? Do I still have faith or don't I?
Faith: Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
I will keep the faith : to continue to believe in, trust, or support someone or something when it is difficult to do so!
There are still 12 weeks until my planned trip time in August.
I started the year with a theme of "Dare...Boldly"
Dare to Think Boldly
Dare to Dream Boldly
Dare to Believe Boldly
Dare to Pray Boldly
Dare to Live Boldly
Dare to Speak Boldly

So Shall I not continue with this "Dare....Boldly?"
Shall I not continue to Believe?
Shall I not continue to have faith that it will be as I have been believing for nearly a year?

How about my posts on Audacity? Do I believe this Audacious Faith?
Learning to believe that God does things that I think are impossible.

Can I dare to believe for this boldly, with Audacious Faith?
A lot can happen in 3 months...a lot of awesomely good stuff can happen to turn things around. Will you dare to think, dream, believe, pray, live boldly with me? Believe that things will change for the better, that doors will be opened, that favor would be ours.
So what I will do to walk out this faith is to move forward with a Transformation...to live it out boldly, as if! to believe boldly, as if. to think boldly, as if. to pray boldly as if. to Speak boldly, as if!

I WILL BELIEVE BOLDLY!!

Monday will be 84 days till take off day. I plan on kicking some butt the next 84 days.

I am going to train as if!
It's a done deal!! I can already see it! I can already feel it! I am already there!

"Please join me, ... if you dare!"
HELL YEAH ... here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dare to Believe Boldly!

sick

The past few days I have had a sore throat.  Today I woke up with a cough and head ache and not feeling well.  I have stayed in bed all day.  I have upped my vitamins.  I hope it will clear in a few days so I can get back to my program.  time is running.
I am sure stress is a factor in my being sick.  I am just tired...tired of the stress...tired of thinking about life.

on my way Moving Forward

I have been mostly absent this past week.  I am not getting any closer to my physique goals this week, but I am getting closer to being the me I am meant to be.I would like to think that we are all striving for that "Eclipse" Carlos talks about in his blog.. to overshadow or surpass.  “to look or be better”.  I can say that in all ways, physical, mental, spiritual I strive to "overshadow or surpass...to look or be better" than I have before.  

We can not look to other people to say whether or not we are getting closer to that goal.  We do not need other people's opinion.  All we have to do is look in the mirror.  And that mirror will reflect only what it sees.