Thirty Days of Wonder

I’m stubborn. I am SLOW to come about fully believing in something, but when I DO? I buy in completely. I am also one who wonders.

I wondered what would happen if I quit watching rated R movies.

I wondered if I can run a marathon.

The evolution of a 30 day challenge was a long one. See, I’m a teacher... and I’ve always felt it was unfair that I get the summers off, while the rest of the world works. I decided to be super responsible with my time. The challenge went like this: could I go 30 days without social media, sugar, dairy, artificial sweetener, nitrates, nitrites, preservatives, and grains.

I wondered: how would my body respond.

FOOD was what started it all. I approached this as a challenge, with the idea that I was sorta pressing the reset button in my food world-stripping out all the things that I knew weren’t really good for me. What I found!

1) Digestive issues that I’ve had all my life have disappeared.
2) My addiction to sugar & sweet stuff WAS WAY bigger than I realized.
3) It actually could be conquered.
4) What I eat actually has implications on how I feel physically and emotionally.
5) Food is NOT vital to every celebration. Imagine that!!

FAMILY Wow…I found that when I didn’t run to social media sites to read/post, I had a lot more time to interact with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the opportunity to keep in touch with family, former students, and friends from all over the world. The chance to send birthday greeting and have a window in your world thrills me.

What I found? I really enjoy MY kids. Due to their summer activities-I’ve been able to spend loads of time with them one on one. I respect and admire them. I don’t always necessarily relate to them, but I LIKE them. And my husband? He’s tirelessly supporting my endeavors- and cheering me on. He's encouraging through the good and bad. I am one blessed woman.

FITNESS I have wrestled with my endeavors in the gym. When it comes to working out and
prayer-those two areas really need to be accomplished in the first part of my day or they simply aren’t gonna be done very well. So the struggle became: if I prayed/did bible study I neglected taking care of my body. If I went to the gym instead, I felt like I sacrificed my spiritual well being.

It feels good to be strong enough to tackle any physical endeavor that comes into my day. I desire to play with my kids, my little godson and even my students. Somehow the ability to conquer things like a pull up or push up translates into the ability to face the struggles of everyday life.

FAITH The challenge really made me examine lots of areas of my life. Eating ‘clean’ unleashed an amazing amount of energy, a tremendous sense of physical well being, the ability to sleep deeply and uninterrupted for longer than I have since pre-kids/dogs AND physical stamina beyond what I ever thought possible in my small stature.

The question that kept prodding me was this- If the careful monitoring of what goes in my mouth produces tremendous results, what would happen if I carefully monitor what goes in my eyes (TV, movies, magazines, books), and my ears (music, conversations, etc)?

I HAVE to wonder….what amazing results lie on the other side of THAT?
Matthew 5:8 says, “blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” I don’t think that JUST means ‘in heaven’-I think that means we get to see glimpses of God here on earth….in the form of a kind word, a bit of encouragement, a hug, peace, hope. I sure wouldn’t want to muddy the water of opportunity to see God because I made poor choices.

Of course I’m fully aware that I am incapable of perfection and the challenge of living in THIS world with pure input is gonna be difficult…but I’m ready for the next phase of life.

I’m ready to tackle ANOTHER 30 day journey, because I truly believe God created each of us for a purpose. I believe He creates us for BIG things…and I think it’s time for me to live up to my potential.

i have to wonder