STRETCHING MYSELF!!!

The other day I was talking to my husband about how some people never work to improve or change their environment or their lives due to no desire or just plain laziness. I guess I was on my own soapbox about it and then he asked me a question that really threw me and made me stop and ponder over for several days now. He asked me if I am stretching myself? Am I really working hard to improve or overcome something in my own life to help me change things that I don't like about myself? As I thought about it, I felt that the answer to this question was a resounding --YES!! Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes!!!!! I am such a different person than I was a couple of months ago and I will explain why. During the month of August, I decided that I would take on the August challenge and see if I could improve myself physically and spiritually and see if that relationship between the two had any bearing on my joy and well being. I promised myself that I would do the following during the whole month of August: Read the whole Book of Mormon, exercise for at least 20 minutes every day, go to the temple once a week, eat more healthy, no treats and no soda, pray fervently for specific blessings to help me and my family.
And guess what happened?
So many wonderful things and so many great blessings came into my life. I have never felt such joy and freedom with doing this August challenge. I have to admit that it was hard. Some nights I was exercising at 11:00 at night or staying up late to complete my reading for the day. It took courage, self control, a whole lot of praying and a great deal of faith that I would see the results from my hard work. The temple part was really easy---that is something that I love to do and have been able to continue doing since James left on his mission. But it isn't easy to stay away from the stuff that I love most----TREATS!!!! I have a sweet tooth and I have discovered something about myself----I have been addicted to sugar. The more I eat that stuff; the more I want of it and my body just craves for more and more!!! This was taking me down a very dangerous path of very unhealthy eating and snarfing all the food I could get my hands on. Who was in control? Certainly not me!!! So, now I can see that I can have control in my life with my eating habits and I can decide what goes into my temple that my Heavenly Father gave me. I feel so much more energy, I have lost weight---which I needed so desperately to do, I feel more freedom in what I can wear, and I don't cringe when I see someone I haven't seen for awhile. I am glad to be slimming down and it is so gratifying when other people notice the change in me. Another added bonus is that Michael has joined me and he is seeing the benefits of making those small changes in his eating habits and exercising. He is slimming down and feeling better, also. I felt such an outpouring of the Spirit as I made a great effort in reading and finishing the Book of Mormon. I know that this book is true and I feel so much closer to my Savior as I read those truths written on those sacred pages. I was filled with inspiration when I would attend the temple and felt the Lords strength as I continued on with my responsibilities in my calling. I just felt so much closer to my Heavenly Father and He constantly poured out His love for me. Great blessings and miracles came to my children. The list could go on and on about the great things that happened for me and my family due to the August Challenge. So, I would say that I am stretching and trying to improve. I am not at the end of the race yet, I still have miles to go and hard work ahead of me as I continue on this path of life to make improvements and constantly "stretch myself"!!! But I feel so good with the way I have started out and I look forward to what lies ahead in life because I have a wonderful eternal companion by my side working on the same goals. Life is good.