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I can't hide the fact that I have been sick for over 6 months.  It reflects in virtually everything that I do from being able to work out to running my coaching business.

As I go through the Bible in my YouVersion.com reading plan, I come across Scripture, though, that simply keeps my spirits high and deepens my faith.  Today's reading included Psalm 13:

"1 O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?  How long will you look the other way?2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?3 Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!  Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.5 But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.6 I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me."

What keeps you going in your most challenging times?

The first day of the New Year is great if you worked out because you can say, "I've worked out every day this year!"  I can say that because I did Power 90 Master Series Sculpt 5-6. As I said on my message board thread, I felt a little wimpy, but I think that compared to most people, working out today is not a high priority.  I think that the average is only 10% of people in this country work out, so it surely didn't jump by 41% today.

My goal is to have a very high percentage of days this year working out.  I was probably above 90% in 2011, but I want higher quality workouts and a return to running form.

Another goal is to become debt free and work ever closer to my goal of financial independence.  It is possible with the Team Beachbody opportunity and I am going to continue to pursue that goal.

Yet another goal is to finally get my health back and to maintain it for a prolonged period of time.  That would be an incredible blessing.

Before every other goal of mine, though, I want my family to be happy, healthy and united as a Christian family always working together and thanking God for all of our blessings.

I hope that all of you have a very blessed 2012.

Having done what I had to do in 2011, yes, I would do it all over again.  It wasn't the best of years, but it could have been far, far worse.  We are so blessed to live in this country that we sometimes forget how most of the rest of the world lives.

I am finishing out the year on a positive note with a run this morning which I have not been able to do for some time.  I got a new coach yesterday to join me in this opportunity to spread the gospel of health and fitness and 463 new members of the Team Beachbody community joined me during the year. 

I also have helped 74 people around the world through Global Media Outreach who have either accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior for the first time or sought help in deepening their faith.  I am very proud of that accomplishment.

I also am so very, very proud of the fact that I have two healthy, beautiful girls that because of the Team Beachbody coach opportunity, I am able to raise up and spend my days with as I work from home and home school them.

Thank you to everyone in the Team Beachbody community for being who you are and doing what you are doing.  Let's make 2012 our best year ever!

I hear that phrase too often in my house, but that's a whole other story.  The way that I am using it is much like the way that Dani Johnson uses it when she says, "The way to get anywhere is to start from where you are. Most people refuse to start from where they are. They want to jump over and start from where someone else is. This ends up in frustration and wasting a lot of time. START NOW from where you are. Prosper where you are planted. Success is taking one step at a time in the right direction!"

Napoleon Hill says, "Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

I would love to be able to jump right in to P90X2 and start getting ripped, but I have to start from where I am and just keep taking one step at a time.

I would love to be able to say that I am not going to take a rest day doing the Rest and Mobility workout because I don't have time for that.  I want to do one hard workout after another and get to where someone else is, but I can't do that.

The reality is that I am where I am right now and I started where I stood on Saturday. I am working with what I had then.  As Napoleon Hill says, I will find better tools - more energy, more strength, more flexibility and balance - as I go along and I will succeed because I keep going in the right direction.

Whether positive or negative, an addiction is an addiction and you want to keep thinking about it or doing it or both.

So it is with me and running, but a long time ago, my gift was taken away from me in a split second and I had to settle for running for the pure joy of running.

Then even that was taken away from me as my body has gone through the mother of all battles just to keep going every day.

Then there was a breakthrough and I started feeling better, so I started running and then, my left knee started to hurt and I learned a painful lesson.  When you are deep in a hole, you can't start running just because you think that you will get out of the hole.  The only thing that will happen is that you will hit the sides of the hole!

Enter the mother of all challenges to win the mother of all battles - P90X2!  On Saturday, I had to do a workout for the group workout and all of a sudden I thought, "Why not the X2?"

Well that was yesterday and I did X2 Core this morning and have X2 Total Body scheduled for tomorrow.  I have given in and I am not going to try to run until I get a substantial amount of strength, flexibility and endurance back, but that is not giving up.  When I reach the point where I can add in some running, maybe after the first of the year, I will have the freedom to run because I will no longer be in a hole but rather basking in the light of regained health and fitness.

Giving in and letting my obsession go to gain something even greater...