Over the last few weeks I have been diligently seeking the Lord about my life and His plan for it. I have seen progress spiritually, relationally and emotionally. I have even seen some limited progress physically, as I saw myself go from a size 20 to a size 16, but if I am honest there was no real weight loss. It was all a result of exercise and toning.

Repeatedly, God has challenged me to post my stats on the website with some pictures, a daily blog and to do all that I have to do to lose the weight in public, on the web, in view of anyone who might be looking and repeatedly, I have ignored Him and operated in disobedience. I ignored His request because it was not comfortable for me. I did not desire, nor was I comfortable with being put on blast that way or the focus it would bring to me. When you mess up in private, nobody knows. You can hide it. I was operating in a spirit of rebellion and disobedience and I wondered why I couldn’t see any progress, no matter how much I walked or how regimented I was in my eating.

I was comfortable —very comfortable — with promoting Anthony and Maria and all God has done in their lives as it relates to their weight loss success. I have some other friends that I will be introducing you to as well, who have lost weight using various methods, all of them lifestyle changes. But my own weight loss challenges would remain private.

While I believe Weight Watchers is an excellent program and I have had great success with it in the past it did not work for me this time. This time I had to accept that my weight loss struggle is not just about exercise and what I eat, it is a spiritual battle. To many of you that may not make any sense at all so I am going to try to explain.

God showed me that my battle is a spiritual one. It is about trusting Him. If you are honest you can admit that while we often trust Him with some stuff there are other things that we hold back from Him. Maybe it is my weight challenge, maybe for you it is a relationship that He has said to let go of, maybe it is the job you keeping holding on to in spite of the fact that He is allowing everything to go wrong in an effort to squeeze you out of it. Whatever it is we all have some stuff that we think is just life that is really spiritual.

Two of my friends were once discussing my weight and when they thought I would lose it. One of them stated that he believed I would lose it when I fell in love. He was right, but wrong. The issue here is not about loving a man, but about loving God, trusting Him and loving myself. I have held on to the weight as a means of protection. I wanted to make sure that whoever God had for me would love me for me, not because of what I looked like. In my effort to make sure of that I forgot to trust God and care about myself. God has me and He is responsible for me.

The new revelation is not really that new, I just have to act on it and I am convicted that it is well past time. I have become more aware of the seriousness of getting to the place physically where God wants me to be. My future depends on it and God has assured me that He will not even allow the man He has for me to see me until I do what He has told me to do. If He did I would never do it. This is about my relationship with Him.

Effective Tuesday, September 2, 2008, I will begin Angela’s Weight Loss Watch. You may be asking what in the world is that about. It is about me walking in obedience to God in my area of greatest weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9, says
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. As I acknowledge my weakness in this area, He can acknowledge His strength. On my own I can’t do this, but Philippians 4:13, says
13 For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength. It is time for me to submit my will to His in this area and give Him what He desires, first by admitting my weakness and seeking Him and second by allowing those that He has placed in my life to help me in this, to do what He has purposed them to do.

I have enlisted the help of some of my friends who have success in this area. I have recruited the help of my good friend and the founder of New Beginnings, The Fitness Angel, himself for assistance. The awesome thing about good friends is that they never say, I told you so, they just come alongside and do what they can to encourage and support you. I have made a commitment to God and begun seriously praying about my temple. I have made a commitment to slow down and put focus on this area of my life to get this done no matter how long it takes. What does He want it to look like? What does He want me to eat? What does He want me to look like? How much does He want me to weigh?

The Fitness Angel has told me repeatedly that I have to take care of me. I always end up trying to take care of someone else. This time I’m not trying to drag anyone else into this with me. This time it is about me, but God’s requirement is that I do it in front of you, so that He can get the glory. If you want to join me you can and we will make that option available to you, however whether anyone does or not I still have to do this.

Why? Because 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is clear, 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. I am not my own. God bought me, He owns me and He has a right to say what is done with me. He has the right of ownership.

We all own something and when you own it, you get to decide what is done with it. For a long time I have focused my attention on the New Beginnings key scripture 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away and all has become new.” I have touched on the physical component but not focused on it, because it was harder for me. I took the easy out.

Last week I repented to God and went to work setting up what He wanted, a page on our website that focuses on the physical with me being the spokes person, and putting myself and my challenges on blast. I ask you to bear with us, because anyone that knows how God works knows, that sometimes when He speaks we have to move ahead even though everything may not be in place yet.

My website may not be ready to handle everything that I want to do or believe God has told me to do, but I am blessed beyond measure to have a Webmaster-Terry, who moves quickly when I have these types of things going on. I am blessed that he understands that I have to do what God says and he and his wife Nancy support me in that. I am blessed that my sisters Kim and Yvonne are quick to come along side and say what can I do. I am blessed that The Fitness Angel is still willing to work with me even though I have failed in the past.

Bear with us as we get everything together, but God did not give me the option of waiting, there was a sense of urgency in what He said to me about the weight and I refuse to be disobedient or rebellious any longer. Being healthy is our goal, but being the weight He has chosen for us is also a requirement.

As we move forward you may be asking what can I expect. You can expect:

• Openness and honesty
• You can expect to hear from me on the blog as I walk through this and you will have the opportunity to blog back to The Fitness Angel and I
• You can expect physical fitness tips and honest feedback from The Fitness Angel
• You can expect spiritual, emotional and relational fitness feedback on the blog or by e-mail
• You can expect a spiritual foundation including scripture and prayer
• You can expect weekly weigh ins and monthly measurement updates.
• You can expect audio podcasts and articles talking about the Weight Loss Watch and giving helpful suggestions
• You can expect monthly videos-Yes, exercise videos with the exercises for the month. The Fitness Angel’s idea of course, so you can work out along with me.
• If you participate, you can expect to see some progress in your own area of physical fitness with some spiritual, relational and emotional fitness thrown in for a balance, so you can holistically support your physical success
• You can expect discussions of goals, challenges and struggles
• You can expect Praise reports and Prayer requests
• And you can expect much more from the New Beginnings Ministry and The Fitness Angel Community

While the official start date is not until the 2nd of September our official measurements will be taken on the 30th of each month. This morning August 30, 2008, I received my first visit from His Royal Highness The Fitness Angel himself and here are my starting measurements:

     Weight          227.6 lbs
     Shoulders      44 ¾ inches
     Chest            42 ½ inches
     Abs              39 ½ inches
     Hips             48 inches
     Arm             17 ¼ inches
     Thigh           27 ½ inches

Goal: To lose between 75 and 100 pounds (based on what God says)

Next Measurements will be taken on September 30, 2008

How did I feel after my measurements were taken? I felt great. I am excited about doing this. I am excited about my purpose. I am excited that God has chosen to use me even if this is uncomfortable and puts me on blast. I am excited about seeing what God is going to do in my life and yours physically and holistically as we walk through this with Him as our guide.

Some of you may be asking Angela, why did you wait until the end of the year to do this and the answer is simple. I am being obedient. The number eight in biblical numerology is the number of New Beginnings, so we need to do it in 2008 or at least get started so that we can reach the number of Divine Completeness (which is what the number nine represents) in 2009. I just got excited thinking about divine completeness physically in 2009.

If you determine that this is something you want to do with me, I encourage you to do it. E-mail a picture you would be willing to have me post on the website and your measurements to contactus@mynewtemple.org. If you are not ready for all of that then take a picture, take your measurements and just keep them for yourself until you are ready to share them with others. Get started whether in private or on blast like me to reach your level of Divine Completeness in 2009.

Weekly Scripture:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20: 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

New Beginnings 2008 Workout Focus
10,000/steps per day or 70,000/steps per week Walking Program*

This is the fitness opportunity that New Beginnings is promoting for 2008. It is simple and easy and almost everyone can participate at whatever level of fitness they are at. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes, comfortable clothing, a pedometer, and you're all set.
For further discussion contact contactus@mynewtemple.org or write to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html or the Fitness Blog http://mynewtemple.org/wordpress/.

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