penalties or rewards, pleasure or pain.

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

“Everything you and I do, we do either out of our need to avoid pain or our desire to gain pleasure…

Why don’t you do some of the things you know you should do? After all, what is procrastination? It’s when you know you should do something, but you still don’t do it. Why not? The answer is simple: at some level you believe that taking action in this moment would be more painful than just putting it off…

Why is it that people can experience pain yet fail to change? They haven’t experienced enough pain yet…hit a level of pain you weren’t willing to settle for anymore. We’ve all experienced those times in our lives when we’ve said, I’ve had it – never again – this must change now. This is the magical moment when pain becomes our friend. It drives us to take new action and produce new results.”

Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
by Anthony Robbins

I hope that the negative consequences I just experienced will be motivating enough for me to never repeat the circumstances that led to them.

I skipped working out yesterday. According to my freakish self-commitment to be a good steward of this body God has blessed me with – which I was foolish smart enough to document on the internet – I had to make up what I skipped. Thank GOD I only skipped one day. I had to do double work today. If I had missed two days…

What happened yesterday that prevented me from working out?

nothing.

I have no excuse. I just procrastinated and then I got distracted and then I rationalized that I would just make it up tomorrow.

I should not have listened to me. I really, really hope I remember how difficult it is to do TWO 2 minute forearm planks, TWO 1 minute supermans and FORTY Bosu push-ups.

I’m going out of town with PinkGirl to chaperon a field trip on Thursday and Friday. Excuse me while I have a little talk with myself:

“Julie. There is absolutely NO reason you can’t do your plank, superman and regular push-ups on Thursday and Friday. Do you feel your arms right now? Do you really want to go through this again on Saturday? Do NOT wimp out. You WILL regret it if you do. It’s LESS than FIVE minutes a day, for cryin out loud! Don’t be a whiny butt. Just suck it up and get it DONE.”

That said, here’s where I am with regard to my fitness goals for the month of March:

8 two minute forearm planks (caught up)
8 one minute supermans (caught up)
130 BOSU push-ups (doubled my daily goal after 3 days, need to catch up to 160)
17.7 miles walked. (To meet my average of 2.3 per day, I should be at 18.4. Got some catching up to do – and I should try to get a head start on making up Thursday and Friday because I can’t leave my post as chaperon to get my walking in. I’ll try to remember to wear a pedometer during the day as we do field trip stuff)

How are you doing with YOUR fitness goals? If you’re a beginner, I’m challenging you to exercise for only ONE minute per day this month. In April, I’ll tell you why I’m saying only ONE minute.

I’m blogging my daily fitness updates in my exercise log, and posting my daily progress on my Facebook page and my Twitter account, so follow along any way you like:
1. Subscribe to the blog via email or RSS (there are widgets in the sidebar to subscribe)
2. “Like” my Facebook page to see the updates in your news feed or
3. Follow me on Twitter!

I would LOVE it if you would join me in fitness accountability by commenting and letting me know your progress too!

one minute a day: join me for fitness accountability!

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

Come on, you can do it!

I’m going to post my fitness updates on my facebook PAGE. It’s a page, not a personal profile, so you don’t have to “friend” me and I won’t see your wall posts, you can just comment your progress for accountability and prayer support! If you click “Like” at the top of the page, the posts will appear in your news feed so you’ll be reminded to post your progress.

Why am I doing this? For a two-way street of accountability and encouragement. I want to be a good steward of this body God has given me. I used to be hampered by physical limitations and pain, but slowly, both are becoming less and less of an obstacle in my life.

I posted my March fitness goals yesterday and I haven’t fallen behind yet! (I know it’s only been two days, but with my propensity for distraction and procrastination, it’s very easy for me to fall behind).

After I put my goals out on the internet for maximum accountability, I realized that they might be discouraging for beginners to read about. Let me explain – I’ve been building up to this for years. I started slow!

In the beginning, I could only to a 10 second plank – and I really struggled to do it!

In the beginning, I could only do a few push ups before I lost my form – and they were “girl” push ups, on my knees. (In the long run, it’s more beneficial to do fewer push ups correctly than lots of push ups incorrectly.)

In the beginning, I couldn’t walk more than just a few minutes without getting winded.

But today, years later, I’m doing better because I slowly and consistently incorporated small changes over time and didn’t give up. YOU CAN DO IT!

If you’re lurking around, thinking about the possibility of making small changes in your day to get healthier, I want to encourage you to set a reasonable, sustainable fitness goal for yourself for the month of March and (here’s the key) make yourself accountable to someone!

If you currently have an inactive lifestyle, consider exercising 1 minute a day.

ONE minute. And (here’s the key) make yourself accountable to someone who will support and encourage you!

ONE minute. (I’ll tell you why only one minute later – probably in April)

If you do it, let me know how it’s going and I’ll pray for you!

fitness goals: March 2011

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

I’ve decided on my fitness goals for March:

1. Yoga/Strength Training: 3 hours per week.
2. Walking: 15% increase from February’s goal, average 2.3 miles per day, 71.3 miles total for the month.
3. BOSU pushups: average 10 per day, total 310.
4. 2 Minute Plank: 31 times – if I miss a day, I make it up.
5. 1 Minute Superman: 31 times – miss it, make it up.

Now that I’ve put this out here, there’s no turning back. I’ll be updating my Exercise Log and there’s a widget in the sidebar that shows my current summary.

Today, I walked 3 miles with my husband in approximately 48 minutes, did 10 BOSU PushUps in less than a minute and spent 2 minutes in a forearm plank. I’ve got to go do a 1 minute superman now.

Microactions have a cumulative effect – try some of your own and let me know how you’re doing!

57 miles in 28 days.

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

February 28th. Finally!

I reached my goal of walking an average of 2 miles a day for the month of February. I actually managed to walk one whole mile over my goal for a total of 57 miles!

But you know what that means.

My freakish self-competitive streak is compelling me to set a higher goal for March.

I won’t lie, getting the 57 miles in was NOT easy. I fell behind early on and spent most of the month trying to catch up. I was finally on track again by the 27th.

Better late than never.

Even so, I’m feeling kinda chicken when it comes to setting a higher daily average for March. FirstHusband and I were walking a 3.1 mile route he tracked but it sent us walking past a sewer treatment plant. yuck. Yesterday, we tracked a new 3 mile route that keeps us closer to home and away from any stinky landmarks. So when we walk together, we’ll walk 3 miles that day. But. We don’t walk together EVERY day, so setting a 3 mile per day average is too much of a jump for me. I don’t like to set myself up for failure.

So I still don’t know what my walking goal is for March. (and yes, I know tomorrow is March 1st.)

I have decided to add push-ups. I think I’m going to shoot for an average 5 a day for a total of 155 push-ups during the month of March. 5 seems so reasonable. 155? not so much.

microactions, microactions, microactions.

550 Reps? Can I really do this?

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

My niece did this workout in 17.08 minutes today.

Let me just say: ouch.

and tomorrow, DOUBLE ouch.

Zuzana, the girl in this video, did it in 32.46. If I attempt this workout, I will NOT be posting my time. no, no, no, no. That last exercise, one leg wall squat, will leave me crying like a little girl.

Here’s a link with a breakdown of the workout and a photo of each exercise. 550 Rep Fat Massacre Great name for a workout.

I’ll admit, I’m freakishly drawn to give this a try, but I’m going to need some accountability to finish it. Maybe FavoriteSon will do it with me.

Anybody up for it?

four minutes with God: Proverbs 27:17

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

a Quote:
“We all need someone in our lives at times to coach us to greater and greater levels of excellence in our chosen areas of pursuit.”

“Come to the edge, He said. They said, We are afraid. Come to the edge, He said. They came. He pushed them . . . and they flew.” Guillaume Apollinaire

(from The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen)

my Prayer:
Lord, please lead me to anyone who can honestly and objectively guide me to greater levels of excellence in my pursuits to nurture my family, serve in ministry and achieve competence in my career. Please help me to discern and listen to the voices that come from you and to discard the lies Satan tries to tell me in an effort to throw me off your path for my life. If you would strike Satan mute, that would be perfect, Lord. (sigh) But I know that’s not how you work, so please bless me with discernment.

Thank you for the determination to work harder when I come face to face with the reality that I’m not as good at something as I think I am. Please Lord, help me to acknowledge my strengths and to remember that when I discount them, I discount your blessings in my life. Please help me to be satisfied with my work when I do well, instead of constantly critiquing myself.

the Word:
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbts 27:17 (NIV)

the lyric.
“But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The voice of truth says, ‘Do not be afraid!’ The voice of truth says, ‘This is for My glory.’ Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”
Voice of Truth (youtube link) by Casting Crowns (amazon link)

This was dual published on my Pragmatic Communion blog.

the evolution of my WORD.

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

I wrote a few days ago that I was pondering my “Word” for 2011. The last few years, instead of creating a list of things I will fail to accomplish in the upcoming year, I’ve been selecting a WORD of the year and applying it (or attempting to apply it) to multiple aspects of my life. (click here to see my previous selections)

This year, the thought that continued to roll around in my mind was that I need to “step outside my comfort zone.”

that’s not a word. that is a phrase.

So I began the process of finding a word that best embodies the concept of stepping outside my comfort zone. The first word that came to mind was “push.” The idea was that I would push myself out of my comfort zone.

But for me, the word “push” implies that I’m resisting some force. For some reason, two photos came to my mind. They were taken on my wedding day. The groomsmen were having a little fun with my LastFiance. Check it out:

In the first photo, the groomsmen were trying to push him into the chapel and he’s resisting. That’s “push” to me. Forced against my will. The free online dictionary reads: “To apply pressure against for the purpose of moving and To move (an object) by exerting force against it; thrust or shove.”

Not what I’m going for.

Looking at the second photo, the word “reach” comes to mind. LastFiance is trying to get in the chapel while the groomsmen are trying to keep him out. He’s reaching for the door, but he’s got a firm hold. Not a lot of effort there.

Again, not what I’m going for. I can reach my coffee cup from my loveseat easily. But my loveseat is still pretty comfortable.

And then I thought about yoga. Somebody recently asked me if yoga was hard. Well. It depends. It’s possible to go to a yoga class and not experience any muscle soreness the next day. It’s possible to participate in a yoga class and not need to change clothes after.

Me? Most of the time, I need to change clothes after yoga. and shower. And I almost ALWAYS feel muscle soreness the next day. The difference is directly related to how much effort I put into it. My thought has always been that if I’m taking the time to exercise, I’m going to give it 110%. I’m THERE. I’m going to make the most of the time.

When I began yoga, I wondered if it would be enough for me. After three years of strength training two to three hours a week, I wondered if yoga would challenge me enough.

That’s a big YES.

So have you figured out my 2011 Word of the Year?

push. reach. STRETCH.

Still thinking and drafting my next blog post about how I want to STRETCH in different aspects of my life, so check back.

And you are officially invited to join me in adopting your own 2011 Word of the Year. Link up in a comment to your own post or just share your word and some thoughts in the comment itself.

four minutes with God: 1 Samuel 14:8-10

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

a Quote:
“Is it possible you have been fleecing your divine moments rather than seizing them? That you’ve said to God, “I’m not doing anything, risking anything, or going anywhere until You give me a sign? Have you chosen to live in safety, comfort and convenience, justifying this lifestyle because God hasn’t called you to a different life? Is your justification for living a low-risk life the absence of a sign to live differently?”
Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment
by Erwin Raphael McManus

my Prayer:
Lord, please help me to remember that striving to step out into a new ministry doesn’t mean I have to abandon my current work. I can use the time you’ve given me more efficiently, I can change what I do with my discretionary time, deciding against the pointless idleness that masquerades as rest and pursuing my passion instead.

Please help me to choose activities during rest that are truly restorative, not mind-numbing and time-sucking.

Please help me say no to the lesser things to make room for the greater things, even when those lesser things seem “good.” Please help me to be a better steward of my time and resources.

Please help me to make wise financial decisions so I can use the revenue from my current work to support my ministry. Lord please illuminate my next step as I navigate the unknown future. Please prompt me to TAKE a step instead of letting my feet grow roots from indecision and fear.

the Word:
Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.”
1 Samuel 14:8-10(NIV)

the lyric.
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?
Our God
by Chris Tomlin

This was dual published on my Pragmatic Communion blog.

hot pocket relationships.

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing . . . And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 & 14

“If you want a deep relationship, you can’t always be the strong one.”
John Ortberg
Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them

or pretend to always be the strong one. And that means being authentic. And vulnerable. And maybe showing some ugly.

“People rarely drift into deep community . . . You can’t do community in a hurry. You can’t listen in a hurry. You can’t mourn in a hurry with those who mourn, or rejoice in a hurry with those who rejoice.”

When I fill my hours with busy, I fill my life with microwaved relationships. Reminds me of a hot pocket. It looks okay on the outside, but if I don’t give it enough time, it’s cold on the inside.

un. satisfying.