Sometimes you have to sweat the details

Big Picture vs. Minute Detail? What kind of person are you? It may depend on what part of life you are talking about: job, home, hobby, finances... Often we need to pay attention to details but get distracted by responsibilities and life in general. Sometimes, the details just don't seem important enough to care about. Sometimes it's just too scary to deal with the details.

I received some frustrating lab results last week. Even after being so faithful in my exercise program since last May, losing weight and gaining fitness - my cholesterol levels went up again. I've got one more chance to lower them before the medicine option. I don't have anything against medicine, in fact, I'm very thankful for the advances that come each year. But having had good cholesterol levels my entire life, I want to win the battle without meds.

My brother told me about the LiveStrong.com web site. It helps you with the details of eating and exercise. You can track all your daily food and see instantly the nutrition breakdown. Keeping a daily log (those details again) of anything is always revealing. Whether it's tracking what you spend each day, how you use your time, your weight, your food or your exercise. A log forces you to be honest with yourself. You have to pay attention to every detail - at least if you really want to benefit from the process. If you don't write something down you are cheating yourself.

For you, it could be a Starbucks habit that is sapping both your money and your calories. For me, it was snacks. Our meals have been pretty healthy, even more so since my cholesterol started rising last Fall. Snacking has always been so easy and so yummy. A handful of nuts here, a handful of chocolate chips there. A powerbar driving Emily to gymnastics and so on.

Sweating the details is where I'm at. I want to be consistent in using the resources available, like LiveStrong.com and my SportTracks software to track exactly what I eat and each of my workouts. They actually make tracking details fun. I'm glad that I have a family who wants to help with the dietary changes and who support my exercising. I'm glad I have several friends who are also competing in the upcoming Danskin Triathlon. There's nothing like the encouragement from like-minded friends.

Today, I found out that my calcium levels are dropping. My bone density scan revealed another detail to track. Isn't life after menopause fun? Staying active, once again, is not enough. Taking daily calcium was not enough. Yes, I will work on this as well. I'm thankful for the advances in medicine that let us see, very early on, the trouble spots we need to focus on.

1 Corinthians 16:9 says "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" I want to continue to improve and protect my health, for my sake, for George and my daughters' sake, and to glorify God who created me and who lives in me.

I am glad that God sees both the BIG picture and every little detail - the Bible says He knows how many hairs are on my head. What a relief to know that He cares for me and wants to work in and through me - even when the details overwhelm me.

What details do you need to care about? How can I help you sweat the details?

A Widow's Poem

"I Am" by Julia Lowry

I am thankful for a good life,
I wonder what my life would be like if Jim were here,
I hear my husband's voice,
I see him in my dreams,
I want to be with him in heaven,
I am thankful for a good life.

I pretend I am back with my mother,
I feel Jim next to me,
I touch his lips,
I worry about getting into a car,
I cry about losing my friend,
I am thankful for a good life.

I understand there is a God,
I say Jesus loves me,
I dream about heaven,
I try to be nice,
I hope to go to heaven with Jim,
I am thankful for a good life.

My Mom (83) and Dad were married for 58 years. Dad's been gone for a year and a half. It's been hard on Mom. The activities director at Mom's assisted living house used a program to create this poem from answers Mom gave.

Encouraging Eagle

I dutifully went out for a run this morning. I wasn't in the mood but, as my previous post pointed out, I knew I needed it. My health needed it, my body needed it and my mind needed it. There's something rewarding about taking the first obedient step. It could be in exercise, it could be schoolwork, it could be a distasteful task at work, it could be housework, it could be resisting that dessert or drink or pill. Whatever you need to follow or change or do - taking the first step leads to the second step then the third step and you are on your way.

Today, after I had taken around 300 steps I got another reward. I saw a bald eagle out of the corner of my eye. It was flying right at me. I stopped and it flew over me - only about 15' above me. It was beautiful. I felt like it was sent by God to encourage me for taking that first step out the door to exercise - even when I didn't want to.

It would be nice if we got a tangible sign, like the eagle, every time we took the first step and did the right thing. Life doesn't work that way, but we still need to take that step and the second and the third. It is easier to take each step when you have a friend along for the journey. When I lived in Eugene, my roommate Petrea and I, would go for an early morning run each day. Neither of us would've made it without the accountability of the other - the cold and the rain would've won.

These days, I have several paths where I can use a friend. How about you?

Maybe you and I can be that encouraging eagle (or more) to a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor or even a stranger.

"I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life." Proverbs 4:11-13