I couldn’t believe my ears! Here was this woman on TV actually saying you can pray away fat! But then I thought, “Oh, what the heck. I’ve tried everything else. Let me give this a shot.”

So before I closed my eyes to go to sleep, I prayed to the Lord:

Dear God, You know I’m overweight. You also know I’m unemployed and can’t afford a new wardrobe. So Lord, would you do me a favor and melt the pounds away during the night. Twenty pounds will do. This I pray in Jesus name, Amen.”

It was all downhill from there….

I had a restless night. I kept waking up every couple of hours, pinching my belly to feel if I was losing any fat. No such luck. I was going to have to do it the hard way because according to scripture (James 2:26) “faith without works is dead. Then God will bless my effort.



After sending out an email, announcing my new and improved website, I hit the cross country trail at Duke University. I love and hate that course! It's an absolutely fantastic workout, complete with nearly three miles of tough terrain and hills. But, on the other hand, it is a very strenuous workout, and when you combine it with the heat, humidity and "heartbreak hill" you leave the trail thinking it might be OK to let your middle-aged body hang on to a few extra pounds!



I've actually been walking on that particular cross country trail on and off for several years. I used to take my daughter when we were BOTH younger and we would have mini-sprint races along the way. Since she stopped going, I stopped doing the mini-sprints because it's just no fun to run alone. Besides, this baby boomer babe is trying to look halfway cute when she's out there and it's kind of hard to look your best when you're sweating like a pig and constantly gasping for air!



I really don't know how some of those women do it. I mean, I see them jogging along with their ponytails swinging from side to side and they don't even break a sweat and they actually look cute doing it!



WHATEVER!



No, I don't have the ponytail bounce (my hair isn't long enough) but I do have a little jiggle going on. My belly and behind can shake pretty good! On a day like today, I just want to call up Ty Pennington and ask him if he and his crew could come to my home and give ME a makeover.

On this particular day I decided to do a two-for-one. Get a good workout in and listen to some good gospel music to minister to my spirit. These days I'm listening to Jennifer Evans' CD, "Delayed but not Denied." She has a song called "First Aid Building" which says:



"I'm going to the first aid building where God can bring you through

I'm going to the first aid building where you can be made brand new."



I needed to be in the first aid building getting my spirit rejuvenated this morning. I needed to be reminded of God's promise that He will never leave nor forsake me---even while I’m overweight. I needed to cling on to His promise that He will deliver me from the evils of too much food and sugar, because honey let me tell you, evil is on a rampage and I don't want to be in the way. I also needed to learn how to stay motivated so God can bless my efforts.



This morning's workout gave me just what I needed!