Finding Your Resolve.
I paused on Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition the other night when I was flipping channels, (from a total of about 8 on our digital antenna), and ended up watching the rest of the show. It was an excellent visual example of finding your resolve. You can watch it here.
re·solve
verb \ri-ˈzälv, : to make a definite and serious decision to do something Bruce’s story is remarkable. He deals with past sexual abuse from his father and even speaks against his father’s release during a parole hearing all while going through huge life changes. I love seeing this show because the change is threefold: spiritual, mental, and then physical. Not everyone goes home and continues with the hard training and exercise and some fall back into their fast food routine and struggles with family and bad habits. But when Bruce decided and made the commitment, you could SEE IT in his yes. It was a moment of clarity and finality.
It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. Tony Robbins
You can see that critical decision, the turning point when he decided. In the first 90 days, he lost 121 pounds. I just love this guy and watching his transformation! He lost 201 pounds total. Not everyone needs to lose weight. But we can all use great transformations. Why is this resolve so hard to find sometimes? For me, I am realizing and recognizing times in my life when I made these kinds of decisions. I am sure you can too. What distinguished these decisions from others I have made is that critical turning point when things changed; I was deliberate and there was no turning back. Almost 20 years ago, I quit smoking cigarettes after smoking since I was 13. My grandmother and grandfather both died from emphysema when I was very young due to smoking. I tried dozens of times to quit: gum, cold turkey, and even hypnosis. I had cut back to only about 4 a day for several years and still couldn’t stop. And then my mother, who also smoked, was diagnosed with emphysema. I remember the decision, the moment I decided. There was no going back. I couldn’t NOT quit. I decided I didn’t want that future for my life. I just decided. My decision to follow Christ was one made with conviction in a similar way. There are still daily decisions of reading my Bible and always moving forward. Sometimes it is minute by minute decisions of trusting and having faith. But I made that initial no turning back decision to follow. This winter our church started a Run For God 5K training program. I had run before but never considered myself a runner and hadn’t run in a couple years. When we started this program we literally started running for 60 seconds at a time. It was doable. With my daughter by my side, I knew I wouldn’t give up and in the end, ran the entire 5K. I remember making up my mind and finding my resolve even when the training got tough and it snowed and rained and I just wanted to sit on the couch and eat ice cream drink mocha frappes:) But staying home wasn’t an option because the decision was already made. We all have this power available whenever we need it.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phiippians 4:13
Currently, I am writing a pre-school curriculum called Alphabet Smash and I keep wavering in my decision and confidence to pursue publication. I have spent hundreds of hours researching and putting this book together and I am so close.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure , the process is its own reward.” Amelia Earhart
Fear says, “What if people do not like it?” Fear says, “Who do you think you are?” Fear says, “You are wasting your time.” 
What struck me while watching Bruce’s story, is that I have already made these kinds of decisions. And I can pull from this power when I need to make decisions in the future. I forget that sometimes a lot. Now is the time to find my resolve.
You have gotta want it.
I am discovering my why: My book, Alphabet Smash, has been on my heart for a long time. I used it with all my girls and have improved it over the years. It was such a fun way to educate my kids and I believe it will add value to other’s homeschools.
Your decision will require sacrifice and action.
“A real decision is measured by the fact that you have taken a new action. If there is no action, you haven’t truly decided.” Tony Robbins
Show up.
For my decision of running, the app helped a lot. If it was set to run 3.1 miles then I did it. Having a running buddy made a difference as well. Tell someone. Ask others to pray for you. Make the decision. Show up. Be intentional. Stumbling and falling is a part of showing up.
“90 percent perfect and shared with the world always changes more lives than 100 percent perfect and stuck in your head.” Jon Acuff
You can do it! 
“Once you make a decision the universe conspires to make it happen.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
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