My life is pretty much an open book—well, an open blog post, an open tweet, an open Pinterest board, or an open Facebook page might be more like it! I believe in living transparently with discretion. I post about myself and the lessons I’m learning on the path I’m walking—not about others (at least not in specific ways that would be inappropriate for me to share).

So, against my better judgment, or with great judgment—I’ll let you know when I decide which it is—I’m going to publicly start posting a portion of my journey that many of us face on a daily basis. It is indeed part of our spiritual walk, though all too often, we try to differentiate the two, leading us to undesired outcomes. I’m talking about my own personal health and fitness. I’ve not only done the typical roller coaster battle with this for my adult life, I’ve literally ridden the “corkscrew roller coaster,” along with all of its twists and turns, ups and downs, and its contrasting moments of extreme delight and sheer terror.

I’m not a health and fitness guru—duh!—nor am I attempting to turn this into a site for a fitness and exercise forum for all of the solutions that have worked for you. I’m thrilled you found what worked for you! Stick with it! I intend to do the same with what I believe is the right path for me to take to return to feeling the best I can be for the tasks that are before me.

When you fly the friendly skies, the flight attendant reminds parents to, in case it becomes necessary, put on their own oxygen masks first and then help their children. It makes perfect sense. They need to be at full strength to provide the best possible care. Well, after my announcement this past week that I’ll be assisting in the care of my aging parents, I realized that to be a good caregiver, I need to take care of myself first—something I have neglected for many reasons and for many months longer than I should have. Just as my spiritual walk with God must be headed down the right path so that I can provide spiritual guidance and wisdom for others, my physical life needs to get itself in order too!

So, on Mondays, I’m simply going to share a few tidbits from this part of my journey. I’m announcing it publicly to have accountability, and I’m doing it on Mondays so that I don’t blow it on the weekends! So what am I doing? Something new, novel, original, and extreme—I’m eating right and exercising! Please, I remind you, please, do not send me your plans, quick fixes, diet supplements, etc. I’m honestly telling you up front that I won’t read them, and I will delete them. God and I have been conversing about this for several days, and our plan is in place. I’m just going public because y’all will be awesome encouragers, and I hope, more than anything, that I can encourage others who battle this same weakness. No photos until later on—not to hide anything, but because this is not about dress size, waist size, or parts that jiggle too much. It’s about health, fitness, and taking care of what God has given me so that I can better care for others.

Pray. Pray hard! And pass the oxygen, please!

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