Now for my recap of week 3 of Makeover Monday, keeping in mind that this SHOULD be week 4, but I gave myself a week off...
I didn't get to work out as much as I would have liked to this past week (8/2 through 8/9) but because I've stayed so busy, I still feel as if I stayed active enough. Working 8-hour shifts (constantly being on my feet and climbing ladders in the back room and running from one end of the store to another) left me laying in bed at night agonizing over aching feet and sore legs. Also, working this much eliminates any extra time which I would have otherwise used to be lazy or pig out, which is a definite plus!
As a result, my weight as of Monday, August 9th, was 182 even. I lost a little over a pound! I know I could have done a lot better (and I'm getting sick of hearing myself say that...) so I'm going to genuinely step it up this week. I want to start seeing results I can be proud of, not results that I just barely came by, ya know?
Anyways, I've been reading a ton these past couple of weeks. I finished one a couple days ago that I absolutely adored, and it's really stuck with me since then. I haven't returned it to the library yet because I've found myself going back through the pages and re-reading select passages, or studying and praying about the different Bible verses that start off each chapter or are mentioned in context.
The book is called "John 3:16" and it's written by a woman named Nancy Moser. The plot follows 5 different characters who don't all know each other directly but whose lives become undeniably and miraculously interwoven throughout the course of the novel. Each character goes through an extremely trying time in their life and are at a point where they harbor unsure or downright negative feelings toward God, but by the end, by means of unexpected miracles and incredible friendships, they have all changed dramatically.
As inspiring as the story seems, I couldn't help but feel doubt as one particular character expressed her love for God and her desire to immerse herself in Scripture after being a hardcore Atheist throughout the majority of the book. "Surely that's not realistic!" I thought. It brought to mind a few non-Christian acquaintances of mine, who outwardly spoke out against God and Christianity. For the life of me I could not picture these individuals EVER turning around and accepting Jesus Christ into their lives.
However, God noticed my doubt and (of course!) had to prove me wrong... Mere hours after finishing that book, I was browsing my Facebook news feed and saw a status update by one of those Atheist acquaintances of mine talking about a book written by an extremely well-known Christian author and motivational speaker. "Huh?" I thought. "Why would this person be interested in a book like that?" I clicked on this person's profile and scrolled down a little bit, to see that he/she had "liked" a fan page for a Christian church in her college's town.
My jaw literally dropped upon seeing these otherwise insignificant posts. Mentioning a Christian author and acknowledging an interest in a church on Facebook aren't monumental actions, but after seeing this person literally laugh in the face of Christianity for nearly 4 years straight, they spoke wonders.
It only took me a few minutes to make the connection between this person's change of heart and the change in the characters in the novel. I was literally grinning from ear-to-ear upon seeing how God has used this wonderful change in my peer's life to demonstrate to me just how very possible the events in that novel really are. I love it when He pulls clever little tricks like that on me. I had a huge "A-HA!" moment in which I, once again, stumbled upon the realization that anything is possible with God, and that is something that I should never, ever, ever doubt.
For God so loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
-John 3:16 (NLT)
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