I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the type of movement I’ve been striving for and what is actually better for my body. I had a friend comment on a post that I put up about the difference between ranch type work and gym exercise. She said something that really hit home with me. Here is a screen shot of the video and her comment: 
I don’t know about you but this comment resonated with my whole being! I’d rather find ways to work my body and get some stuff done. However, I do know that when the winter months kick in just going out and feeding animals morning and night doesn’t quite cut it. So, remember how I talked about debriefing? Well, I’ve been mulling over what I wrote too and I’ve come to two conclusions:
1) Doing some weight training 2-3/week is on my future plan.
2) I’m only putting 1TB of heavy cream in my first cup of coffee. More on that in the next post.
I realize some people do not have properties where they are able to get out and be more active on it. So, if it’s necessary to go to a gym everyday or intentionally do your biking, hiking or running, do it!
As for me, I’ll be intentionally working on projects for an hour a day that require use of muscle and cardio. Time to haul flat rocks off the mountain side
Have you ever been apart of a debrief? We use to do these quite a bit when I worked at Camp. It was a time for us, as a group to reflect on how things are going. Are there things we would change? Things we’d keep the same? It’s an evaluation of sorts.
So, let’s do a debrief! Answer these questions and sometimes it maybe helpful to actually write them down. Either for yourself, privately or in the comments.
What activities have you chosen to do for your movement?
Which activity has been your favorite?
Which activity has been better for you?
What has been the hardest thing to overcome?
Where has your motivation come from?
What has been the most challenging mentally?
What will you change?
What will you keep?
Write down something that has been encouraging.
Answer all or just a few of these questions. They are there to get your brain thinking through how this last week has been.
For us, this week has actually been two weeks! Between our families medical emergencies and Jordan being gone to be with another family during their medical emergency has thrown a wrench in my movement plans. If I could change one thing for this next week, it would be to have shorter movement options and not such long ones. Practicing contentment in what I did accomplish. What I would keep is the variety. I really enjoy having different movement options.
How about you?
Who can relate! You start a challenge and then crazy circumstances jump out in front of you while you’re moving forward! 😂
For us it started Sunday after church. Jordan left to go be with some family friends going through a medical emergency, then Nadya started having jaw pain under the tooth that was repaired over a month ago. We started treated it with compresses, essential oils and then progressed to OTC meds because nothing was taking the pain and pressure away. The next morning she was still not feeling great. Same treatments and then I went, schooled some of the kids and came back to check on her mid morning. It was then I saw her jaw was swollen underneath, not along the side of her face, but underneath. That made me nervous. I called to make an appointment for her at the medical center here. We could get in at 1:00pm. I watched and waited a bit longer and when I saw the swelling increasing and spreading forward I couldn’t wait any longer. I knew we’d be heading to the ER after the medical center visit. Sure enough our amazing staff directed us there and called ahead to let the ER doctor know what was going on. Jordan, from southern N.M., still with our friends, coordinated child care for me! 🙌🏻 We got to the ER, they did their initial vitals and such then, sent her for a scan that revealed an abscess directly under the tooth that had been capped. It was stuck in the boney structure of her jaw! The ER doctor said, if it was in the soft tissue he could take care of it, but it would require a Dentist. Still, there was a festering infection and because the swelling was making it painful for her to chew or swallow they started her on IV antibiotics and she stayed over night in the hospital. The next morning I called her regular dentist and explained to them the extent of her infection and what we had just been through, asking if they could see her right away. They said they couldn’t do anything until later next week! We’d already had some unpleasant experiences with this dentist and we decided to try another one. I called a local dentist in Gunnison and they initially said the same thing, but then while I was on the phone with them they had someone cancel! We immediately got her down there and they were amazing! They said she needed a root canal ASAP and if we couldn’t get that for her immediately, the tooth needed pulled. The swelling and infection were too bad. Once again this dental office took amazing care, set up a root canal specialist for us for the next morning at 7:45. I was beyond grateful and praising God for his provision. We left the next morning at 5am to get there in time. It was not an entirely pleasant experience for her but praise God the infection was released and she is on the mend!
It’s circumstances like this one that can interfere with our goals, like moving everyday. What I love though is that you just get back up and do something the following day. Even though I’m exhausted right now I know some stretching is going to do my body good after all the time I’ve spent in the car. Even the morning we were in the hospital I did my normal routine of biblical affirmations, oil application (for myself and Nadya) and then some stretching, because let me tell you those hospital beds for others are like sleeping on a concrete slab. Ok, maybe a slab with a folded over sheet on it. Keep moving forward even when circumstances jump out in front of you.
Moving everyday sets us up for events where our bodies will have to work harder then they usually do. I remember when I was younger it didn’t matter how much I exercised daily or not. I could jump into a physically demanding project and not really feel the effects of it in the days that followed. A few years ago I started noticing a difference. I did a really intense workout for the first time in a long time and the following 4-5 days my body hurt all over. It took me a long time to recover from that one workout! I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. No, my body just can’t jump back into a tough workout like it use to.
When we have workout hard or had several days of intense hiking, biking or running we need to remember to rest. When I say rest, I mean still do movement, but it maybe do some intentional stretching or a light walk. Our bodies do need time to recover.
We picked up hay the other day and even though my kids were there to help. They’re just not stronger enough yet to stack the hay in the trailer and then into the hay barn. I stacked 50 bales of hay twice! I was actually surprised I wasn’t as exhausted, but when you have been keeping up exercising and maintaining your strength, then you are prepared for those days where you have to exert more than usually.
The same is true in our spiritual lives as well. We daily read the word of God and pray, so when the harder spiritual and emotional days come we are prepared for them. Doesn’t mean it’s not hard, just means you’ve been working your spiritual muscles already and you will not be crushed under the weight of it. Jesus will sustain you because you’ve already been reminding yourself daily that your strength comes from Him!
I wasn’t planning on a parable for you all today but remembering where our strength comes from can be key even in our physical bodies.
What types of rest movement do you enjoy?
Sometimes our kids can struggle with making a move. With the amount of electronics available to alot of them it can be hard to get them off the couch and into activities. Some kids struggle with this more then others, sometimes as parents we struggle getting off social media to get up and get moving. That’s why a challenge like this to do as a family can be so beneficial. Not only can you all commit together but it allows you to connect with your kids in a different way. Going for a walk, struggling through a workout together or practicing ball handling can teach your kids what it looks like to struggle through something and come out successful on the other side.
We hiked up the ski hill yesterday, no snow yet, to move some brush. We could have driven up but I knew hiking would be better for all of us. Some of my kids practically ran up the hill, others struggled to get up. We’re all in different stages of our physical health, but by doing it together we can encourage each other where we’re at. Plan to get out with family and friends this weekend for a walk, hike or bike ride! Engage in conversation and enjoy each other’s company. What can you plan to do with his weekend?
