January 8, 2007

2007 Is a New Beginning

Hi my name is Angela Willingham and I am the Executive Director of New Beginnings Health and Fitness Ministries, Inc. I would like to thank Lori for this opportunity.

2007 is a new beginning for all of us. It is a time for New Years Resolutions to change our lives, relationships, to lose unwanted pounds and to get rid of some bad habits. We are in the process of a name change to better reflect who we are at New Beginnings as well. At New Beginnings we have determined that no lasting change can take place without first making an inward one. In order for any change to really be lasting you have to identify some of the things that hinder it. Old attitudes, old mindsets and old habits are all hindrances that block our reaching our new beginning.

Our theme scripture for New Beginnings is 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. I have to be honest with you. In 2006 there were some things I planned to accomplish. Some I was successful with and others I was not. The only thing that hindered me, was me, my mindsets, my allowing myself to be distracted from the goal. Most of the time the thing that hinders us, is us. I couldn’t stay focused.

We have to remember that our old nature is still alive and well, so we have to deal with it. The bible is clear when it says in Galatians 5:17: For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. That desire to do something contrary to the goals I have set is my old nature.

So let’s start by giving ourselves a check up to determine what is really going on. Why do I do the things I do? Why do I eat chocolate at midnight? Why do I hide the candy wrappers in the trash underneath other stuff so no one will see them? Why do I eat when I am stressed out or when someone hurts me? Why do I carry the hurt instead of telling you how I feel? Why do I wear the mask?

How do I see myself really?

Do I really love me? The bible tells us in numerous scriptures that we are to love ourselves, Galatians 5:14 says, The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." God expects us to love ourselves but do we? Do you love yourself enough to make the sacrifice to get yourself fit holistically, mind, body and spirit?

Do you love yourself enough to be selfish about your workout time and guarding what you eat? Will you let other people’s demands and behaviors force you to do something you do not want to do? That is what we do when we go out to dinner when we did not want to or eat because we are upset.

If you have set a goal to get fit this year, why do you want to do it? Doing it to make him or her happy is not good enough. If it’s that easy it would have worked last year.

The new thing this time has to be you. Your reason to do whatever it is has to be different. Remember you can’t do it for anyone else. I can’t do it for my future husband. Really deciding to become holistically fit is going to take a commitment from you and the faith to believe that Philippians 4:13 is true and you can do everything through him who gives you strength. The commitment you will need to make is a commitment that no matter how difficult it gets you will press through.

Make a commitment to love God and to love yourself enough to be selfish with your physical and spiritual work out time, your eating habits and make your relationships important. Make a commitment to deal with the issues you face, the things that distract us and hinder our success no matter what they are.

If you want to succeed at any goal deal with you thoughts, how you eat and workout will be determined by how you think. Feed your spirit and speak positives over yourself. Do not tell yourself what you can’t do, tell yourself what you can do. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that life and death is in the power of the tongue. Speak life to yourself and to your situation. You can do this.

Find out how you got to where you are today, by asking yourself some questions-

• What is my present condition?
• How did I get here-Where I am today?
• What am I doing that is helping me maintain my current condition?
• What are some of the habits that I know I need to break?
• What are some of the habits I need to start to be successful in this effort? Habits that will cause me to make a lifestyle change.

As we begin the new year New Beginnings ministry has begun a new Holistic Fitness Challenge. We have provided information to get you started as well as daily instructions on our message board www.mynewtemple.org. It does not matter when you start because we have set it up as day 1, day 2, etc., just start. We have even recruited a Weight Loss Coach. Donna has lost over 80 pounds and she is looking forward to helping us lose the physical weight. Our founder Carroll Roberts is going to be on line to help us by providing new exercises and physical fitness tips. I will personally be there to encourage you mind, body and spirit.

Remember you will need encouragers, but the greatest encouragement you can get is to make this commitment between you and God and then be selfish about it. Schedule your physical and spiritual workout time and stick to it. Schedule your eating and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for not doing what they want you to do. If you are not selfish in reaching your goal you will allow situations, people and distractions to take you off task. This may be a lonely endeavor, because people don’t always understand our unwavering commitment to accomplish a task, but we assure you that in the end it will be worth it if you hang in there.

We encourage you that if you mess up a day, get back on your program. Keep a journal and write down what you are thinking and doing. Keep track of what works for you and what does not. Keep track of what made you get off track so you can work on dealing with those feelings. We encourage you to set some goals for yourself and join us in becoming holistically fit. Remember that does not mean size 4 or 5 hours of bible study a day, it means healthy for you. The purpose and plan God has for each one of us is different. Walk in yours and remember we are here to help you.

  Prayer

God Thank you for giving us a new year and a new beginning. Give us the guidance we need to get it right this time. We know we have made commitments in the past that we have not completed but we thank You that old things are passed away and with the new year all has become new. In Jesus Name. Amen.

  Weekly Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

For further discussion contact angela@mynewtemple.org or write to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html.