The Green Priestess and the Journey of Spirit and Truth

[The Green Priestess]

I am a priestess, a member of the royal priesthood, and I am on an epic journey through the world of the demon king, trying to make my way back to the Golden City. There is but a single path, and it is very narrow. There are many pitfalls and traps set by the demon king to ensnare the unwary and feed them to his wolves. But I have the Sword and Shield of my King to protect me, and the lights of those who have gone before to guide my way, even as I shine my own lamp for those who will follow.

 

It sounds like a fantasy novel. But It's real life. I am a member of the royal priesthood, and my King's name is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That's right. I am a Christian.

 

One of the tenants of Christianity is that the body is a temple to the Lord. Well, this one's been a bit neglected, but we're working on that. Fitness is definitely a part of my journey, as is the Keto method. I'm not sure I've actually made it into ketosis, but I've done a lot better on this diet than any other, and I truly think I can stick with it. (The butter helps, to be sure.) My garden will help as well, but it's a garden in waiting because it's still winter, and really quite dry. My husband bought me a Wii for Christmas, along with Wii Fit and the balance board to go with it.

 

Beyond my physical health, however, I have also been working on my spiritual health, and on trimming my lamp. Personal evangelism is not easy. There are scheduling conflicts, personality conflicts, and those wolves I mentioned in the first paragraph, the people who fight against me as endeavor to spread the message. People have things that stand in their way, shadows that keep them from seeing the truth. And by and large, we're a selfish race. If we can't see how something benefits us, we won't do it.

 

So my initial fitness goal is to lose 100 lbs. That's the first big leg of that part of the journey. After that, I'll re-evaluate and decide where to go. It'll put me at 230, a weight I haven't seen since my early 20s. I'm currently focusing on the diet part, since that's the biggest part of losing weight, but I'll be doing yoga and walking with a Great Dane named Anamaria as my exercise part. My final goals will probably be around 170-180. I have a very stocky build, 9 inch wrists, and once I'm able to move properly, I'm really very strong.

 

Meditation is my crossover goal, a discipline I'm very interested in adding to my routine for both physical and spiritual benefits. Stress reduction and contemplation of God's word are vital to both sides of the equation. I'm looking for a good tutorial.

 

My spiritual goals include daily reading in God's word, weekly memory verses, faithful attendance, improving my prayer life, as it was not a habit I grew up with, reaching people with the gospel, and helping the poor where possible. (All too often, I'm one of them, though there is always someone worse off than me.)

 

That's it for now. I'll probably try to keep the fantasy feel of that first paragraph, or even switch to a Biblical style as it invades my thought processes. (I've been known to talk in the accent of the books I read, so it's not unheard of.)