“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31
Consider this a journal entry of sorts as I spill about hitting goals with God.
“It seems like you’re being very intentional in some places, but not as intentional in others,” my personal trainer gently expressed in our weekly coaching call. She wasn’t judging my choices as I honestly reflected on my wins and losses of the week, but wanted to get to the why behind my choices and how I planned to improve. I was hitting strides in my workouts, but clearly wasn’t doing as well with nutrition. It’s a pattern for me. I’m great at working out. The FOOD is why I still haven’t reached my goals. And that’s 80% of the battle in weight loss.
I realized after my call that, as far as I’ve come in my life, I still have big changes to make. Not just with my nutrition, but with other areas that I desire growth in — my career, finances, home, and also Imperfectly B. Especially Imperfectly B.
It’s more than mysterious willpower or incredible discipline that will come out of thin air just because you “will it so.” There’s not even a planner alive that going to help if you don’t commit to hitting smaller action items that will help you get to the bigger goal. And it’s going to take some intentional changes over the course of the last four months of 2024.
In 1 Corinthians 10 (and other chapters), Paul tackles some heavy stuff with Israel’s history and Christianity — idolatry, temptation, etc. 1 Corinthians 10:31 is often used to tackle what we put into our bodies, though it had a deeper meaning back in Paul’s day (we’ll get into that at some point). Yet, it’s still true — what we eat and drink and what we do should indeed glorify God. It means being intentional about our choices so that we can ultimately honor God with our lives.
I truly believe that all of our choices tie together into the assignments and purposes God has for us. Take nutrition. How we fuel our bodies (or don’t) ultimately impacts our energy levels and the level of our work or service to God. If I’m eating crappy, I’m feeling full and satisfied…maybe even happy, but my energy is low, and, therefore, my work is crappy. Or nonexistent. If I don’t get enough sleep, I can’t wake up earlier to get a head start on content before work. If I’m binge-watching too much Netflix, I’m not resting or writing like I should be. I’m not even having daily devotion time like I should be if I’m not sleeping well!
So this month, I’m committed to being more intentional with the choices I make that I know will ultimately continue to affect my goals and what God has called me to do. Especially when it comes to this site and social media. I have some goals I want to hit before the year is out, but it means being selective with my time and super focused. Thankfully, getting a trainer that is focused on overall wellness is also helping with that.
I had to begin to think, “What small choices can I make that will help me in a major way?” One goal in my fitness plan is to cut off screens by a certain time so I can get to bed earlier. Another simple one for myself is carving out time once a week to go to a cafe to write and create — a change of scenery would do me a world of good. Also, I’m getting back into meal prepping each week again…and actually eating my food.
Whatever major goal or vision God has placed in your heart, it’s going to take some intentionality to do it. Yes, He will guide and help you, but you have to put in some work too! It means creating some smaller, consistent steps to take to get to the big goals. And actually taking those smaller steps will build consistency and confidence in what you’re trying to achieve. And a LOT OF PRAYER, because we also can’t do this without God in the midst.
I’m rambling even as I type, but that’s my spiel. That’s what I’m doing this month, and through the rest of 2024 in preparation for 2025. Because it’s bigger than just me. And whatever God has for you to do, is bigger than just you.
So what’s a smaller step or goal you can work on hitting right now to getting to your main one?
Imperfectly B 