Dear Diary...

Sometimes we all need a good laugh about working out, someone sent me this and I was laughing so hard. Thought I would share! enjoy!

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, I purchased a week of personal training at the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old Personal Trainer and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
____________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me.
He is something of a Greek god– with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!  Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines.. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!
Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!
________________________________
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!
It’s a whole new life for me.
_______________________________
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.
Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members.. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.
My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the heck would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other crap too.
_______________________________
THURSDAY:
Christo was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn’t help being a half an hour late– it took me that long to tie my shoes.
He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me.
Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine– which I sank.
_________________________________
FRIDAY:
I hate that demon Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little personal trainer. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.
Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the stupid barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.
The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher.
Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
________________________________
SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..
________________________________
SUNDAY:
I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun– like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Let's Make Love....and MMFI

While in college I was working at a gym and once every few wks we would have a group meeting of all the staff. I'll never forget the one thing our fitness manager would  always say at the start of the first meeting of the new semester.

 "You guys, what is the one thing that every single person who walks through these doors has written across their forehead? Actually let's make it broader than that. What is the one thing that every man, woman and child that you meet has written across their forehead?"   There would be silence and he would say, "MMFI".  

"Make Me Feel Important."   He would go on.  "Your job, when people come in here to work out is yes, to give them good work outs, answer questions, but the very first thing is to Make them Feel Important, Seen and Loved!"    That always stood out to me and I really took it to heart. Years later, I realize even more what he meant by that.

We were made from Love, for Love and to Love. Tied in with that desire to love and be loved, is the desire to be 'seen', to be acknowledged and loved for who we are, in our povertys, our frailties and brokenness; to feel important.  That need begins at birth and doesn't go away until we breathe our last breath.

A lot of people are walking around, feeling lonely, unseen, unloved. Mother Teresa always said that loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. Dang. If anyone knew and saw what poverty was on a regular basis, that would be Mama T! If she, in the trenches of serving the poorest of the poor in Calcutta said that that was the worst poverty she saw, then what does that mean for us?

That poverty happens even in our own homes, in our own families, people we are with day in and day out, but aren't taking the time to see.

It's interesting how, if there is a little baby somewhere, people of all ages, even gruff, bitter people, will usually smile back if a little one smiles at them.  Little kids know the value of a smile, of reaching out.

Tomorrow is Valentines Day. We don't need a holiday to tell us to go out and love people. But maybe it can be the start of choosing to add value, to make people feel loved, seen, to let them know they have value and significance. Smile at people. Ask the grocer at the check out how his day is going. Hold open the door for someone. Pay for someone's coffee. Tell someone they did a good job. Call someone and tell them you appreciate them.

There are a million ways to be 'making love' through out the day that are highly appropriate and can be game changers for peoples. Let's get out of ourselves and start seeing those around us, seeing their goodness, their beauty, their needs. Let's choose love today. Let every person who comes in contact with us walk away from the encounter, even if it's only 10 seconds, feeling that they are important, they have significance and they are loved.

Happy Valentines Day!

Be blessed~
Maria


p.s. Get your workout in today! Part of loving others is also loving yourself! So take care of that Temple of yours!