Follow -Through Deficiency

Follow-through is the act of executing something to completion. It means you continue doing something until it is done. In basic terms, you need to finish what you start. Deficiency is defined as the lack or shortage of a thing, failing or shortcoming. In simpler words, lack of action and an undersupply of self- discipline.

Ok, that was a lot to take in right out of the gate, right? And perhaps it’s a lot to take in because it is speaking volumes of truth especially when we are dealing with deficiencies in our own follow-throughs. This ladies, was one of my biggest issues! I would start something with so much enthusiasm and expectation and then as time went by all that excitement would die down, that high that I felt at the start would fade away and with it my self-discipline. Let me quickly run you down some of my follow-through fails. Let’s see there was a makeup and skin care business, a cake business, a clothing business, a health coaching business, and that’s not including all the health programs, healthy eating attempts, self-care regiments that I have attempted to stick to but gave up on. It’s truly tragic. Maybe you don’t struggle with follow-through deficiency like this. If that’s you, then you go girl! Keep it up! But if you can relate to me then stick with me a little longer because I am praying that by the end of this little blog, you will be motivated to never quit, but to finish what you start.

I ushered in 2023 with great expectations of the year to come, and great expectations of what God would do throughout the year. I purposed myself to say “yes” to God in everything that He asked of me. Today is only the 22nd day of January and I really didn’t expect for God to ramp it up so quickly. Yikes and whoa! As soon as the new year started, I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at me to get back to self-care and back to living a healthier lifestyle. Remember that I’m not a newbie at this. I have a health coach certification, which means that I am well versed in all things self-care and nutrition. But I started living a healthy life, got fit and then stopped. My follow-through deficiency kicked in and all the weight loss, health progress, and self-care

advance I had made stopped and I went back to eating terrible, the weight gain started, and everything in my body began hurting. Why? Because I stopped doing! Why? Because I got lazy, and I stopped being intentional about my self-discipline. It’s just hard ladies! Self-discipline takes effort and it was effort I wasn’t “willing” to put in. I got tired and so, I quit. I gave up. Ugh! What a terrible feeling.

Ok, so back to God ramping things up in me pretty quickly this new year. I felt Him firmly tugging at me to get back to being serious about taking care of myself. There is a verse in the Bible that speaks about this. First Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT version) says the following: Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body. If you and I are the temple of the Holy Spirit, then it is clearly our responsibility to keep the temple (our bodies) healthy both physically and spiritually. Verse 20 states “so you MUST honor God with your body.” This is His command for you and me, and since I am saying “yes” to Him this new year then this for me is a non-negotiable and because it is a non-negotiable then I need to get it together and follow-through. I am purposing myself to be intentional. I want to share with you a thing that God is pretty much pushing me to do, or let’s say follow-through on. Ladies, this is nerve wracking for me, but isn’t this what being fearless is all about?

In the first few days of 2023 I was cleaning and decluttering my house. I wanted to start the year by getting a fresh clean start with everything. As I was cleaning out a cabinet, I pulled out a box, that was not labeled, to see what was inside. I grabbed the box, set it on the ironing board that was next to the cabinet and opened it. I literally

want to vomit telling you about. Don’t worry it’s nothing gross, it’s just my emotions. Can anyone relate? So, I open this box and what do I find, all my running gear. Oh, did I forget to mention that I was a runner and gave up on that too? Yes ladies, I have completed 2 marathons, 11 half-marathons, several 10k’s, and numerous 5k’s. I stopped running, I stopped training, I stopped it all. Running was a life- time goal that I had set for myself. I wanted it to be part of my lifestyle because it kept me fit. But I gave it up because I got unmotivated and frustrated. And instead of my self-discipline kicking in, my emotions and feelings went into high gear and I followed them. Back to the box. As I looked in it, I felt God telling me that it was time to rise up and get back to running. Time to get back to taking care of the temple He had entrusted me with. Ladies, I cringed at that prompting from God. It literally made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t want to do it. So, I closed that box back up and I put it back in that cabinet and said to myself that it was just thoughts in my head and that God wasn’t really asking me to go back to running. I kept on cleaning and decluttering and put it out of my mind. But wait, there’s more!

Two days later I sat to eat lunch with my daughter Kristina, who is on a health journey of her own, and she told me that she needed to ask me something and that I had to say yes. I am a softie for my kids. She reached out her hands across the table and asked me to hold them. I reached out and placed my hands in hers. She looked at me with this intent look and I knew something was coming out of her mouth that I would not particularly like. At this point she had no idea about the box in my cabinet. The next words that came out of her mouth literally made me want to hurl my lunch. She looked into my eyes and said, “mom I want for you to run the Dopey Challenge with me next January.” Let me pause here and explain what the Dopey Challenge is. This is a run challenge which includes 4 runs in 4 consecutive days. Each day’s run is a different distance. First day is the 5k (3.1 miles), second day is the 10k (6.2 miles), third day is a half-marathon (13.1 miles), and the fourth day is a full marathon (26.2 miles). If you are thinking “that’s crazy”, yes, it is, hence my feeling of vomiting when Kristina asked me. I didn’t say yes to her at that lunch table. I think I stopped eating. And to get me to stop eating takes a lot. I told her I would have to think about it and could not commit to her request. Kristina, being stubborn like me, did not stop. She kept on pushing this challenge on me. I kept saying no and that I had to give it more thought. That box from my cabinet quickly invaded my mind. I KNEW that this was God pushing me and calling my attention, it wasn’t all in my head like I wanted it to be. Then just as quickly as God brought the box to my mind, He also brought to my mind something that I had told my husband about nine months ago. I had told him that I wanted to run the Dopey Challenge for my 50th birthday. I just turned 50 on January 17, but the dates for the next Dopey Challenge are the first week of January 2024, which means that I will still be 50. Coincidence? I think not. And so, ladies, as CRAZY as it is, I said yes to Kristina. It took me several days to process it all. I am still processing it. But I told God that He would receive a yes from me for whatever He asked of me, and I cannot have a follow-through deficiency any longer in my life.

Not only are Kristina and I running this crazy race, but my assistant Neysha has also joined in. We begin training in a few weeks and I am nervous. I am 20 pounds heavier, I am 7 years older, my flexibility is not where it needs to be, and neither is my core strength. I have many deficits that I am facing as this goal process begins. But I have decided to be fearless and say yes. I have made an intentional decision to take care of the body that God has given me. I am resolute on training and accomplishing this goal even through the difficulties that it can bring. So, to help keep me stay accountable (because we all need accountability) I will be sharing my progress with you through these blogs and through the upcoming podcasts.

Ladies it is time to stop having follow-through deficiencies in our lives. Deficiencies produce negative reactions in us. As I write this for you, I am facing several vitamin deficiencies that are taking a toll on my health. Why? Because I chose not to take vitamin supplements to keep my body well and I am reaping the negative consequences of it now. Follow-through deficiencies have the same effect in our spiritual and mental well-being. Stop starting something and not finishing it. Be intentional about that which you know you need to do. Be self-disciplined about the goals that you set for yourself. Find a community of women that can help keep you accountable and motivated. Connect with women that will lift you up and not tear you down. Women that will cheer you on to the complete execution of your goals. Decide today to be fearless in completing what you start. Not just once but each time you set out to do something. You can do it, but you can’t do it on your own strength. You need God as the center of your life because after all your body, your life is the gift that He gave you. Fearless Woman, Rise!

With Love,

Mimi