Strong Beyond Measure

"You are strong beyond measure" were the words I kept my eyes focused on this morning as I threw the medicine ball up the gym wall. My "gym journey" started just over 1 year ago after Mother's Day 2010. Blane had given me money as my present with the instruction that it was to be spent to do something nice for myself (i.e. no gas, no groceries, nothing for the kids and no bill paying). There happened to be an add that caught my eye in the paper for the Hard Exercise Works 5 week boot camp. I cut the add out and put it on my fridge for sometime to contemplate if this would be the proper way to spend my money. After all, I could just use the money to go and buy a cute outfit in a larger size. The night before my first day at boot camp, I barely slept a wink. Then I arrived at the gym 30 minutes early to sit and stress in the parking lot on whether or not I could even go inside. I look back and think that it was probably the fear of failure or the idea that this would be one more failed attempt at losing weight. Now a year later, I am proud to say that I am 20 pounds lighter and 15 inches smaller. Although, I am quickly discovering that it is the mental, emotional and spiritual strength that I have come to appreciate the most.

There have been so many a-ha moments, struggles and complete victories that I have experienced at Hard Exercise Works (HEW) and this morning was no different. Today's workout (WOD) included 4 rounds of a 400m run, seven 75lb. dead lifts, seven 35 lb kettle bell upper cuts and 21 16 lb. wall balls (throwing a medicine ball onto the wall and then doing an air squat). The ladies goal is to throw the medicine ball 8 feet high to a red line that goes throughout the gym. The red line is adorned with different inspirational sayings and words like: faith, believe, and strength. When I am struggling with a workout, I try to focus in on one of the words to get my mind off the "pain". Today, on my 4th and final round, I was completely exhausted with the wall balls when suddenly the ball hit right on the words "beyond measure". I was curious as I had never noticed those words before. My eyes followed the words around the corner of the wall to the beginning of the sentence, which read "You are strong beyond measure". My mind instantly went to Ephesians 3:20, which says,

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us".

I just love it when a God moment strikes you when you least expect it. Between tired muscles and dripping sweat, I heard exactly what I needed to hear. "Kelly, you can work with all your strength and power; however, until you come and truly lay yourself down and allow me to be at work within you, you are running on borrowed time that can only produce a lot of sweat and exhaustion along the way."
Will both paths get the same results? I would like to think so; however, I know that that is just the control freak side of me wanting to jump in and take the reigns. If I reread Ephesians 3:20, the words "immeasurably more" sticks out to me like a neon sign. God's ways are not our ways and his plan is immeasurably more than anything we could ever hope or want for in our own lives.

I couldn't resist looking up the definition to immeasurable. According to Webster's Dictionary it means vast, limitless, too large, extensive, impossible to measure, incalculable. Are you settling for measurable or are you allowing God to work within you... now... today? He wants to give you a life that is too impossible to measure and a love that is limitless.

So as much as I would like to measure my success each day by the scale, how my clothes fit, my clean house or even how my kids behave, I choose today to live a life that is IMMEASURABLE....Thank You Jesus!!

xoxoxoxo
Kelly

One Last Thought....
Anyone looking for a good challenge? Come join us for the Memorial Day Workout at HEW next Monday, May 30th at 8am or 9am. The workout is affectionately known as "The Murph" named for a fallen soldier. It consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats and then finish it off with another 1 mile run. Shew! I'll be reporting back to let you know if I survived.