I have officially lost 5 pounds over the last week. It certainly took a lot of willpower to make the necessary dietary changes. Plus by body is sore from the extra activity. Some would say that willpower comes easily. I think something else gives strength to willpower... discomfort. As long as we are comfortable where we are we will not feel like we need to make any changes. All too often we become comfortable with our discomfort rather than making the choice to change we embrace it as the norm and do nothing about it. But discomfort is what gives us the drive to change. I was thinking about the baby eagle and how when it is time for them to grow up she removes all the "fluff" from the nest. This causes the bird great discomfort - enough for them to find another place to stay. Would it make any sense if the little bird went out and built a nest without the cushions so they could have one "just like mom's because it was so uncomfortable ? lol! Of course not! We ...

I was talking to my friend the other day about some of the dietary changes I really need to do so that I can be a better runner. She mentioned how uncomfortable we were when we first started running but that the pain is acceptable because of the goal. And every time we bump up the regime and push it a little more we can get sore - but we accept it as part of the package...no questions asked. But when it comes to changing the diet...as soon as the craving makes us uncomfortable we give in. We decided to embrace the discomfort of dietary changes as just part of the journey in obtaining our final goal - being a better runner. How many times as Christians (and just in life in general) do we avoid discomfort? Many times pain or being uncomfortable is the very thing that will spur us into much needed changes. But it is natural to try to avoid things we don't like - or things that cause pain! It is also true that to avoid the pain of feeling guilty we read or attend church. Trying to...