Hello there! Sorry that it's been so long since I've written. Life has been busy lately. If I'm super honest, it's been too busy. We are just back from a wonderful 5 day vacation on the SS Beachbody and it was ah-mazing! It was truly just what Chad and I needed. Life has been crazy since moving to Indiana a year and a half ago, plus jumping into leading the youth ministry at our church, added to not having vacationed in over two years combined with work, children, and well, life.....it was much needed!
In sheer honesty before the trip, I was struggling....struggling with responsibility. Struggling with juggling all of the balls in my life. Struggling with purpose. Struggling with passion. Struggling with the call of God on my life. Yes, folks, I was riding the struggle bus BIG TIME! But, some time away gave me some time to reflect and a perspective. On the flight there, I read the book "Breaking Busy," and it totally hit home in so many areas. There are questions and exercises to work through and those were most beneficial to me! I think God had me do that before our trip because He knew I needed to REST and RELAX on the boat! So, the journey started before we even stepped onto the ship.
Getting onto the ship, nervousness hit me. Would I fit in? Would everyone be in a bikini rocking a perfect body? Who would be on the trip? Will I be accepted? A lot of insecurity, looking back. The first night we had dinner with our team, which was great. I know and really enjoy those people so it was good to connect.
The rest of the time, Chad and I were on our own and kind of did our own thing. We did the daily workouts which were awesome! How cool to have celebrity trainers on the boat with us? Autumn Calabrese, creator of the 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme and Hammer and Chisel, as well as Sagi Kalev, Body Beast and Hammer and Chisel, as well as Joel and Jericho from Les Mills were who kicked our booties daily! Tony Horton was also there, but we did not participate in his workout. :( We also connected with some other coaches I knew beforehand, and also met some new ones which was great!
The beautiful thing to me is that each person is SO different ~ we look different, we have different upbringings, different lifestyles, different shapes, different seasons of life, but we all have ONE thing in common....that is to HELP OTHERS! For me, more than anything, my vision and mission for helping was increased on this trip! There is no stereotypical Beachbody coach, we all just have a HEART to help! Being with like minded people was great!
There is a coach who is also a pastor who was on the trip. He graciously led a worship service twice on the cruise! It was incredible to worship Jesus in the open air under a beautiful sun and hear a great word from the Lord. Pastor Matt preached on the parable of the talents and talked about passion and purpose and what God is calling you to do. It was very timely for me!
One of my favorite parts was having Chad experience this with me! He hasn't had an opportunity to attend Beachbody events before, so this was a great time to hear from our CEO, Carl Daikler and other top coaches in the network. It was great having him there with me and being a part of this world that means so much to me.
CEO, Carl Daikler
For me, I left with a renewed sense of encouragement. This is such a strong company whose mission is truly to help others be the best they can be, which is my heartbeat. I have spent too many years not believing I was worth it, which is a lie from the devil. The truth is I am a child of God and He gives good gifts to His children. The same goes for you reading this, too! Yes, I have been in several other companies before, but this one is SO MUCH different from any one I have been with before.
If you feel led to learn more about coaching, please ask, I would love to share! Our team is also hosting an event this coming week where we will share the following:
- What coaching is
- How to get started
- How to make money
- How to build a business from home
If you would like to learn more, please let me know. There is no commitment, this is just information. If you're at all curious about how this works, please join us! You are also welcome to fill out this form.
Thanks for reading....I'm sure God will give me more to share with you as I continue on this journey......
XO,
Melissa
After all the raving I've done about the 21 Day Fix, {you can read my story here} it might be surprising to hear me have a gripe with it, I bet? Yes? Well, I hope you know by now if you know me in person or have followed me, that I strive to be totally transparent. I've sometimes been called direct, which I'm not sure if that is good or not, but I sure don't want to not be upfront and honest about anything, so here goes......
The 21 Day Fix is not a quick fix! It is a 21 Day program, yes, but it is not intended or designed to be the end all be all after 21 days. It's merely meant to be a stepping stone to get you headed in the right direction. A springboard, if you will. It is nearly impossible to achieve and accomplish long term results in such a short 3 week period. My concern is for those who have done the program and either don't finish it {which has happened}, or who think they will meet all of their goals in those 3 weeks and be on their merry little way. No, no, no, that is simply not the case.
Let's say someone, hypothetically, does the 21 Day Fix and has great results at the end of their 3 weeks. They drink their 30 day supply of Shakeology that came with their challenge pack, they have eaten approved foods from the clean eating list, used their portion control containers, drank their allotted amount of water per day and done the corresponding exercise videos as well. They have followed the program! As a result, they see and experience the results of feeling great, having more energy, and even lost a few pounds and/or inches. They have such great success and feel so confident in their results that they go back to their pre 21 Day Fix lifestyle. They aren't drinking Shakeology, they are not eating clean, they are not using the nutrition guide and eating the appropriate number of portions, they have slacked on their water intake and are not exercising anymore. What do you think is going to happen? They have just undone everything they did in those 3 weeks! And, they might even say the program didn't work for them! Yikes!
Or perhaps, they didn't see the results they wanted soon enough, so they decided to quit and throw in the towel. Or, maybe they saw results, but those around them didn't at the end of the 3 weeks so they gave up.
I'm not sure but I do know this.....our society has trained us to live in a quick fix society and if something doesn't happen as quickly as it things it does, we give up on the process. We have somewhat lost the ability to see the process through. In our world of microwave dinners, drive thrus, smart phones, wi-fi, we have been taught instant gratification. The kicker is with weight loss, we didn't put it on in a day, so why do we expect it to come off in such a short amount of time? Hmmmm......
I've been reading a number of great books lately. Some of them include "The Compound Effect," "The Slight Edge," "The Miracle Morning"......all great reads. And, they all have one thing in common. They each talk about how it's the seemingly insignificant things we do day in and day out, compounded over time that have the biggest impact on our lives. They use all sorts of examples from money {compound interest}, weight loss, personal growth/development, etc. I think that is where so many folks get caught up.....either they don't see the consequences of those daily choices {think a soda pop habit, a smoking habit, a junk food habit, a spending habit, etc.} because they don't have INSTANT consequences. If people would eat a hamburger and have a heart attack right afterwards, I bet the fast food business would take a dive. But, see, that's not how it works. It's the having a hamburger every week over time that gets ya. Yet, we don't have the ability to see that. We don't understand that all of our choices are either adding up for our benefit or our detriment. Does this make any sense? If not, please read one or all of the books I've just listed. They might possibly change your mindset, as they have mine.
So, back to the 21 Day Fix.....my gripe with it is that not everyone has the desire/ability/motivation/vision/not sure what else to say? to trust the process and continue it after the 21 days are over. I'm not sure why, I wish I did. Of course, I have some thoughts and ideas, but those are for another time......
If you have questions about the 21 Day Fix, please fire away! Happy to help in any way I can. This program can really be a game changer, if you continue and see it through. It is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. I believe in you and want you to be the best version of yourself possible! You and your family are worth that!!!!
Love and belief,
Melissa
Wow. Hello there, I apologize I haven't written since November. I suppose it's a classic sign of busyness, which I hate. I once heard busy stands for Buried Under Satan's Yoke. I suppose it's true, for when busyness happens, other things get dropped or neglected. Each time you say yes to something, you say no to something else. But, I digress.....
Do you like to be on hold? I don't. In fact, it drives me nuts. Nothing worse than calling customer service for somewhere to be placed on hold. What about waiting in line at the store? No thank you! Grrr.....I suppose it's because I'm a strong type A personality. {I took a quiz online that said if you got 12 or more yeses for answers to their questions, you were a strong type A. I think I got 100% on that quiz for being type A. Digressing, again.....} So, I am impatient. I don't like to wait. I don't like to be on hold. And, I don't like the process of waiting. I like closure. I like deadlines. I like defined dates, times, spaces. You get the picture, I think. But, ambiguousness, not my thing. Waiting, not so much.
I liked having planned c sections because I knew when the baby was coming. {Now, that I think about it, even knowing that the baby would likely come in 9-10 months would suffice now. Maturing, aren't I?} I like moving dates when you move, because you know when you are going from A to B. I like knowing when school breaks are so you can plan accordingly. {Control freak? No comment.} I like to know what is coming next & when it is coming, please.
However, I am learning to get better at being on hold. I don't like it, but I'm seeing the value in it. I like my meat well done. If I went to eat & ordered a well done steak that came to me red, I would send it back. The cooking process wouldn't have been complete for me to eat my steak the way I like it. My kids do crafts and when they rush the process of letting their craft dry, it ruins the craft. I'm seeing the value in waiting & letting things come to fruition. And so it is with us. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 1:6 ~ "he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." So I need to trust that He will complete my work. I can't rush it. I have to wait it out. Kind of like when I get a pedicure & am in a hurry, rush out the door with shoes on & what happens? Yup, I end up back at the salon because my impatience smudged my toes. Sigh.
I'm starting to see that letting things come to completion in their own time, not mine, is good. The process can be beautiful. The trick is to learn to enjoy it and be present in the moment. I have spent so much time thinking "when this happens, then __________." "When my kids are in school, I will have more free time," was a big one. However, thinking that way, caused me to miss out on some really sweet times with them not in school. Years I won't get back. Or, "when summer is here, we will have so much fun outside." Why can't we have fun outside in the spring, fall or winter {that last one is really dicey, here in SD though!} The key is learning to be content and seeing the beauty in the circumstance. It's easy to wish away the now focusing on the future. But, you don't get that now back once it's over. Being on hold has allowed me to be present in the moment and appreciate what I do have, not think about what is ahead.
It's easy to put things on hold & think, "when the kids are older, I will take better care of myself." {Guilty of that one too.} Or, Wwhen we know about the promotion, we will go on vacation." Why not take care of yourself now? Why not plan the vacation now? Get insurance & change it if you have to. Not the end of the world.
I'd like to close with a great quote that hopefully sticks with you - "today is a gift, that's why it's called the present." ~ Alice Morse Earle
What are you doing with your present, friends? Hopefully living to the FULL! Enjoy today!
Do you ever see things going on around you that you can't believe you are seeing? Things that seem so "normal," so common? Things that you didn't notice before, but now all of a sudden you do? And, then once you see them, they seem absurd? It has been happening to me, so I'm curious if it is happening to others as well. There are a lot of things I'm seeing differently, so I will just list a few here. I'm curious if this is happening or has happened to you too? If so, please share.
* Yard sprinklers. One morning, I was driving to work and I noticed several neighbors {including us} had sprinklers on. Then I realized we have the ability, freedom, whatever it is to sprinkle our grass freely here, but in some countries, people don't even have access to clean drinking water. What in the world? Do we need to have green grass? Why? At what cost? What if we would not water our yards and send the money we would have spent on that to countries to help people get clean drinking water?
* Enough? It seems like we just don't have enough here in America. Enough anything - time, money, things, technology, you name it. We are always going for more, more, more. Why? We are always trying to earn more money, buy more things....for what? Are we so busy striving and trying to keep up with the Jones' that we have lost sight of everything else around us? We are so busy trying to get more that once we do get it, we don't have time to enjoy it! Or once we do get it, there is a newer one that comes out that we "have to" have. What in the heck is going on here? We are discontent and it is ugly and robbing us and our families of life.
* Busy-ness. This is a tough one for me. I was the queen of busy. Anyone would ask how I'm doing, and I would THRIVE on saying "I am so busy." I'm not sure what I was busy doing, but I was busy. I heard once that busy stands for Buried Under Satan's Yoke. I feel like I'm seeing this a lot more now. We are so busy things are happening around us that we are unaware of. Decisions are being made that are affecting our children, our families, our food, our education and we don't know because we are so busy to be involved and know what is going on. What if we weren't so busy and we were aware and in touch with what was going on around us. What would our world look like? What if we were active and involved instead of bystanders letting things happen? What a force for good we could be then!
* Lack of voice. I was talking with someone last night {who shall remain nameless}. They were brought up in a family where the mindset was "it could be worse." As a result, they learned that it could be worse and not to address the feelings they had, because it could be worse. Yes, I agree, it could be worse. No doubt about it. However, I think it is also good to address how we are feeling and work through those emotions. Long story short, as a result, I believe this person lost their voice. They didn't see the point in speaking up for something, because it could always be worse. My comment was "that is right where the devil wants you. If you address your feelings and do something about it, you could be a change agent. Isn't that what we are called to do as believers? Speak out against injustice, poverty, help the orphans, widows, etc.?" But if we don't have a voice, we are unable to do it.
What are you seeing differently? I feel like I have a new set of eyes, based on just these few things I've listed above. There are more, but maybe I will share them another day. The question now, is what is God calling me to do with this new set of eyes? Blessings!
