Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

It has been far too long!
Sorry.
I've been busy. And, honestly, a little lazy when it came to blogging.
I just had so many things happening that all the thoughts were buillllding up to the point that, if I were to blog about all of them, it might take a very long long time.

I'll start off this blog with the most important thing.
Last night I had a dream that these dead-type guys (think Adam's Family) decided to move out of their house so they put a ton of dynamite in it.
Well, to prevent the explosion from killing us all, their cousin or someone decided to put a bunch of mattresses around and on top of the dynamite. These were high-end mattresses, too. I think Serta or Sealy (I have a Sealy, it's fantastic).
This was a really dumb idea. So Nick and I decided to go hide. We went into a neighbor's yard and thought that might make us safe. This is where we found a dead crocodile. Nick pointed out that it was moved from the other spot, so whoever killed it keeps trying to hide the evidence. He also pointed out that the killer claimed it was 50 foot when, in reality, it was only about 12. We asked the Australian neighbors what they thought.
Then, the explosion was nearing, and I realized "this isn't going to work." With all the dynamite in the house just a few blocks away, it was going to be a huge explosion. So Nick and I, realizing we had like five seconds, start running like crazy for this hill (by hill I mean long, winding road about a mile long) that we were going to hide behind. And the house started to blow up in an eruption like a volcano. We were running for our lives and I guess it was too much for me because I woke up.

Ah, now that that's done with, I can get on to the other topics.
My cousin left us this month =( She cut her stay short and is gone now. It's kind of surreal not having anyone extra in the house, not even Grandma. She was with us since we moved here. Now it's just me and the boys. My mom drove Tina down and is flying back today so it is quite strange.
BFF and I have been writing like crazy. We seemed to finally get back into the swing of things after two months away from constant writing. We're burning through chapters and are on 44 right now! So excited. We're expecting it to be around 700 words. It's going to be a super long, super awesome, novel of a book. =)

So, Valentine's day is coming up. What are ya'll doing? I don't like the commercialism of Valentine's day, but I do like to bake cookies or whatnot and make homemade Valentines to give out to people. Ah, yes, and then watch a romance with BFF the night of. That's the best part.
How, you might ask, do we watch a movie together? We get on the phone and play the DVD's at the same time. It's really quite simple!
I ought to get out the valentine-making stuff right now and start at it. Otherwise I might never get anything done! (Do we even have valentine-making stuff? <_<) Well, we did, once..

You know how crazy P90X was? Well, after a while it drove me crazy. I have a low tolerance for working out indoors. I'm amazed I stuck with P90X for that long. But, eventually, I gave up. T.T
Tina bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and made me do it (like a week before she left). I will tell you: It's BEAST! It's like X compacted into 20 wonderful minutes. It's so short a workout I can't find an excuse not to do it (even then, sitting in one place working out for 20 minutes almost gets to me, it's all part of the cabin fever affect Winter brings). There are three different levels of intensity and I've tried all of them. She's a genius by combining strength, cardio and abs. Interval training is one of the best and most effective ways to lose weight and tone your body (it's a universal truth) because it involves muscle confusion. Which is what P90X does, but in a larger scale. For instance, the X has a strength workout one day, cardio the next, yoga the next. So it's a slower process. You still shed a lot of lb's, though. It's a pretty nifty work-out.
But the Shred has strength, cardio and abs every day, so you get that muscle confusion every day.
I've already noticed results which makes me excited to continue on.
Bottom line, I'd recommend both workouts. P90X costs about 90 - 120 depending on what you buy and where you buy it. There are a million discs and you have to commit for 90 days (I did about half and was looking alright, my arms were definitely buff, though.)
The Shred is about 7 - 9 bucks depending on where you buy and you commit 30 days. You'll see results after about two weeks.
So, really, it's up to you and what you'd like. I'd suggest the Shred, first, because it's cheaper.
It's also funny, because you'll see a lot of similarities between Jillian and Tony. The difference, Jillian crams a lot of stuff into one move and one work-out. Whereas Tony focuses on one move and a lot of different work-outs.

Either way, that's enough talk about working out. (I actually can't wait to workout today).

The important topic for today is: The Prize.
BFF and I were talking last night and were reminding ourselves what the Prize is in this life.
We can always get caught up on aspirations, wants, needs. Wanting a guy to love, wanting to write a book, wanting life to just be, well, great!
But, if you take your eye off the Prize, your life ain't gonna be worth a thing.
Eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord is the Prize. It is why we are running (with endurance) in this race!
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." 1 Cor 9:24
Salvation's guaranteed to them that endure.
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses (see ch. 11), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Heb 12:1-3
Look to Christ, our influence, who endured to the end. We, too, carry our crosses every day, die to ourselves, die to sin, live in Christ. We look to the end lest you faint and grow weary.
"Blessed is thee man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1: 12

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev 14:12

Keep the commandments.

Keep the faith.

Obtain the prize.