Many of you have been following my journey from the beginning of the “70 in 7” Project. I’d like to update you on my progress in various areas and ask for your continued prayers, as I’m about to enter a difficult season.
First of all, one of my two main goals is to lose 70 pounds in 7 months; thus, my monthly goal is losing 10 pounds. As I previously shared, I was successful in reaching the April goal of losing my first 10 pounds, and I have lost about 3 more at this time. It has been a difficult month with myself and both my daughters being sick while my husband has been traveling every week (except this week, thank God!). So I have done some stress eating that has kept me from losing more, in addition to exercising less. However, I am happy to report that I won Third Place in a “biggest loser” contest while doing the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge. [For more information on AdvoCare’s great nutritional products, please visit here.]
The other of my two main goals of the project is to write 70 blog posts in 7 months, with a monthly goal of 10 posts. Also as previously shared, I was successful in reaching the April goal of writing 10 posts, and this is my sixth post of May. In addition, yesterday I completed the “*I Should Be Writing* Boot Camp,” a six-week online course taught by Lisa Romeo, a fellow nonfiction writer who also is a writing coach, an editorial consultant and freelance editor in New Jersey. Not only did participating in this course keep me on track with my blogging goals, but it also opened my eyes to some of the reasons I haven’t been writing, why I want to write, why I have to write, and how I can keep on writing. For the first time since college, I actually feel like a writer. A baby one, yes, but still a writer. I haven’t thrown my name into any writing communities yet or sought to be published in any arena in more than a decade (yes, I am actually a published poet in various magazines and anthologies). But I feel a change in the wind. Well, technically, it already happened. Instead of denying the gift that God has given me, I simply said, “Yes” to myself, to that unstoppable urge within me to share in words what the Lord is doing in my life and the wisdom He has given me through His Word spoken into my struggles, pain, fear, triumphs and treasures.
I am so grateful for the Father’s patience as I have sought His discipline in many areas of my life, in addition to writing and physical fitness. From the beginning of this project, I desired a deeper understanding of the word “discipline” to accomplish this purpose:
dis·ci·pline [dis-uh-plin]
Noun
1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill.
2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.
3. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.
5. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.
…
Verb
10. to train by instruction and exercise; drill.
11. to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control.
12. to punish or penalize in order to train and control; correct; chastise.
Obviously, training is the common ingredient. And I am well aware that God has great purposes for all this “training” in my life, especially as I head into this Thursday and face my fourth surgery in less than a year and a half (which is actually three surgeries in one). So here’s the scripture He has pointed me to today regarding this:
Hebrews 12:4-11 (The Message)
In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
Mature, complete, perfect. No, I won’t reach that in this lifetime, but I will stay the course until I do in eternity. I am in training to live God’s holy best, and if I embrace His training, I can truly live.
This Thursday morning at 8 a.m. I will be having my deviated septum repaired, my tonsils removed and my sinuses flushed out. I appreciate your prayers for a safe and quick recovery, as well as continued commitment to this project. Thank you all so much for your support. I am eternally grateful.
The Art of Choosing True Life 
Thanks for the shout-out. As your blog clearly proves, you ARE a writer. Looking forward to great things from you!