Local Church Uncover Hidden Gem

I drove by a nearby church the other day on the way to a meeting. I noticed there were giving the old girl a facelift. Seems like I've been seeing that a lot lately. I love that people care enough to preserve these beautiful old buildings where are really works of art.

It got me thinking about how we are similar to these buildings. No, I don’t mean that we are old…while we are certainly getting older—that’s inevitable. The similarity is that many of us don’t take care of our bodies and so we fall into disrepair and in need of a major overhaul. More than a simple paint job—or a makeover—we might need a full restoration. We have become ill, depressed, developed habits that have damaged our bodies and spirit, our body parts literally wear out and we grow fat.

When we decide to change—to eat healthy foods, to care for our bodies and our minds—this is our version of a major restoration project. We deserve to look at it in this way, as a long term commitment.

The church announced today that during this restoration process they discovered a beautiful stained glass window. Possibly covered in 1914 when a pipe organ was installed…hiding the window…and with no records that the window was even there, it remained hidden until now. The theory is the window was covered to block sunlight and heat which would have come in through the window, possibly damaging the organ.

During our personal restoration process we will uncover surprises about ourselves. Often we will discover the reason we do or believe something is because it served us at one point. Now it no longer serves us, but it has become a habit and we have even forgotten why we started this habit in the first place. This is our opportunity to uncover our own stained glass windows, to take off the wooden boards of our habits and reveal the full beauty of who we are—and let that light shine through!

Jay Leno Apologizes to Loveland Woman

Following up on yesterday's post about Jay Leno's insensitivity to a local woman who has lost 80 pounds through hard work--mostly lost of exercise following the format of The Biggest Loser television show--

After receiving a complaint from the owner of the gym where she is a regular, Jay Leno himself called Susan and apologized. She also received flowers from Leno and an offer to fly her to his show, when she reaches her goal weight.

Susan is choosing to use this promise as additional motivation for her to reach her goal--staying healthy for life! She hopes to one day ride a horse, hike in the mountains and travel. These may not seem like difficult goals to achieve, but when you are obese any of these can be a challenge!

I applaud Susan for her success to date, her future success, her positive attitude and her determination. She is a great inspiration to me to also continue with my own "health for life" goals!

You rock, Susan! Keep it up!

Jay Leno Taken to Task for Disrepecting Weight Loss Success Story

She's lost 80 pounds through determination, positive attitude, changing her mindset and hard work. But that didn't get her any respect from comedian Jay Leno.

Susan, of Loveland, Colorado (the town where I live) started at over 400 pounds and in less than 8 months has dropped 80 pounds through weight training and exercise routine at a local gym. Instead of admiring her discipline and dedication, Leno in a recent "Headlines" section of the Tonight Show, commented that it looked like all she had done was change her shirt.

It is hard enough to decide to change your life--and being overweight is an emotionally charged issue. We've been made fun of, ridiculed, disregarded more times than we can count...but for most of us it is not on national television!

I've lost over 100 pounds through my own efforts...a different path from Susan's, but one that is working for me. And I do know that when I lost my first 50 pounds it was hard for other people to see the difference. When you start off as obese as I was, all most people see is a big person. And at 250 pounds I was still a big person. People who know you well, see the difference. Professionals in fitness see the difference. But most people just don't. So given that personal experience I'm going to cut Jay a little slack...and guess that he really couldn't see the difference. But does that mean he should make fun of her? Absolutely not.

To her credit, Susan is determined to use this as a positive--a "kick in the back seat" to keep her going. Rather than feeling humiliated and deciding to just hide under the covers, Susan is an awesome role model for how important our attitude about any situation is. It is our mindset that determines our success or failure--not what someone else says or does not say about our progress.