1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Day #7: Date: Wednesday September 16, 2026

Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

*Blogger of 75 -Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey! *49-Year old *Mom of 4 *CEO & Social-Behavioral Skills Trainer @ Sweet Home California (Proverbs 22:6) *Retired Home School Mom *CFO & 1st Lady @ AeroComInc.com 

Day #7: 75 Day Hard & More than 1 Way to Skin a Cat or Train for a 10K Race Testimony 🐈 🏃‍♀️ 

Today, I ran 60 minutes to train for my 10K Race that is coming up in 4 days this Sunday September 20, 2026! After finishing my run, I walked in our front door (out of breath) but smiling because I had just run my daily, 3 mile neighborhood walk two times around in order to complete my training! It was the first time in my life that I had ever ran that far so I was feeling pretty proud of myself!!! Especially for being 49 years old and only having been in one other race last year at 48!

When I walked in the house, Emily, (our 22 year old college graduate) was the only one home. It was a quiet morning and she was standing at our kitchen island preparing vegan meals. As I walked in the door (out of breath) I said, “I did it! I ran for 60 minutes!”  She skeptically looked up at me and asked, “How have you been training?” Then she looked back at her fancy watch with her training app.

I told her I trained the same way I did last year for the 5K Turkey Trot Race we had done together (along with our son and her friend).  I told her I actually felt better today then I did on my 30 minute training day last year and it was double the time running today! Last year, I only ran 30 minutes because it was a short 5K.  Today, I ran 60 minutes because I’m training for a longer race, a 10K.  

Problem:

I could sense that in her own “Mom-i-ly Way” she was subtly trying to tell me that the apple watch helps her train properly with intervals and speeds, etc. and the way I trained was subpar.  Emily’s personality, (as the oldest of our four children), can be a bit know-it- all-ish. I say this lightly because honestly the only reason I am doing a 75-Day Hard in the first place is because of her independence in taking on the challenge herself! To be honest, (as God knows) the only reason we were able to manage 4 children the last 22 years is because she is so independent and has been since she was age 2!  Of course, with independence comes her attitude, her way is “thought-through” and better than mine! This is especially true when it comes to tech or gadgets since I missed that explosion (with the invention of the smart phone in 2007), because we had a 1 year old and she was 3! Then, we added two more babies sas the tech was advancing as we were just trying to keep our family of 6 and a dog fed and clean!

To be fair, it never came up and I never told her how I trained last year (probably because she didn’t ask) for the 5K race because she was living and going to college in San Luis Obispo. She was only home for Thanksgiving week and she only saw me run the 5K race but not train. She does have some good ideas from instagram, tic toc and you tube in the area of training but she is not going to convince me her wiser, (certified trainer mother), I did not train well enough for our 10K race coming up because I don’t have a fancy watch with a running app!

Solution: I explained to her there is more than 1 way to skin a cat or train for a 10K race. It really starts with your goals for the race!  My goals are obviously different than hers just with our age difference alone!  You could use an app but I prefer training without an app! 

In the bible, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says, “Do you not know that all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” -1 Corinthians 9:4 

I think Paul’s statement can cause a lot of “Keep Up With the Jones’ Mentality” in the Christian world but with my knowledge of social-behavior training Paul is saying we are each running our own race! An individualized race God created just for me/you!! Belief brings salvation but running your own race brings discipleship and living your very best life! The life Jesus died to give us! Joy to the World! You are individualizing your own race (goals) with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit helping you along the way!

I told her, “I am completely confident I trained properly without a fancy app.  I’m not saying you don’t benefit from your watch because of your own personal goals but for my personal goals, no watch is needed! My goal is to run the entire race (no walking!) and not get hurt!”

I know what I’m doing!  I’m a D-1 Trainer😂 My background is in social-behavior modification training and that knowledge helped me create individualized goals with benchmarks as a plan to train for last year’s 5K race and the 10K race in 4 days! 

My kids don’t know this. Heck! Emily recently admitted she didn’t even really know what my husband/her Dad sells until she started working for him a month ago!  How could she even begin to understand my background in social-behavioral modification training and how it would help me train for a 10K?

-Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

Day #7 of my 75 Day Hard Challenge 9/16/2026

*75 Day Hard Challenge Goal: To buffet my body (1 Corinthians 9:27) and get even stronger (mentally, spiritually <3, & physically) through a modified 75-Day Hard which will have me living even more of my very best life by the time I turn 50 this February 2027! Philippians 4:13 “I kick & I stretch and I kick;)” 

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.”

Picture of our Family Discussion: 

Day #6 Date: Tuesday September 15, 2026

Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

*Blogger of 75 -Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey *49-Year old *Mom of 4 *CEO & Social-Behavioral Skills Trainer @ Sweet Home California (Proverbs 22:6) *Retired Home School Mom *CFO & 1st Lady @ AeroComInc.com

Day #6: 75 Day Hard & Family Bible Discussion Rescheduled & Postponed Testimony

I discussed in my previous Blog (Titled: Day #4: 75-Day Hard & Church? or Family Bible Study Discussion? Testimony) that my husband and I really can not go back to routine, weekly church no matter how good the sermon is because of the deep connections and memories we have formed through pastoring our own 4 children in a weekly family Bible study discussion.

Problem: There are at least three problems that have come up over the last 5 years of trying to lead our weekly family Bible study discussion with all 6 of us present. They include 1) busy schedules 2) unenthusiastic teenage attitudes and 3) with the bad attitudes comes excuses. Sometimes these issues make me want to throw in the towel and go to church (& have a pastor handle it for me) like the rest of the believers in America but I keep persisting because I have seen the rewards of my persistence in the short term! 

I am also confident of our children’s long-term blessings in their careers and family life because of the Bible’s promises. Just studying Revelation Chapter 1 alone this week our Pastor has pointed out that there is a special blessing, specifically, for everyone who reads Revelation. Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.”  So for our family to continue being blessed as well as future blessings I keep persisting with our weekly family bible discussion! 

Problem 1: It really is a logistical nightmare hosting our weekly family Bible study discussion. Honestly, the only way we have continued is by the Holy Spirit’s power coming in week after week to help us reschedule (probably 20% of the time) and still follow through with our discussion! I think after 5 years we have only had to skip a week or overlap two discussions (2 chapters) together less than a handful of times! 

Finding time (60 minutes weekly) to meet with our entire family of 6 is Hard! All six of us are active with various responsibilities and activities. The biggest scheduling obstacle so far was when our oldest daughter was away in college. We had her join us via FaceTime each week but with her classes, sorority and work schedule that left us with only about 2 nights available. That meant the remaining 5 of us had to be available on those two nights when we were all involved in sports, Wednesday night youth church groups, parenting meetings for school & sports, line dancing classes, our daughter #2’s, work schedule, ect. 

Seriously, to God be the glory because if it was just me persisting (through my own work and effort) this would have never happened! God was using my persistence but letting the Holy Spirit make it happen miraculously through his control of weather, sickness, canceled apts you name it!

We have had evenings or afternoons when tennis and/or baseball have gotten rained out! Emily or Julia have gotten out of work shifts early, all kinds of ways we/the Holy Spirit have carved out the extra time!! Some weeks when I looked at the schedule, I honestly thought the odds of having our family Bible study discussion were very low and probably never going to happen because we literally did not have a 1 hour time slot available but it did!  God made a way!

Currently, this Fall, we have 3 different schools (1 college & 2 different  high schools), 8 jobs between 5 of us, 2 high school sports schedules (football & tennis) and one weekly young adult bible study commitment.  We only have two evenings open and even those can be limited depending on our son’s In N Out work schedule and our daughter’s Sip & Paint work gigs.

Solution:

Over the weekend I have to collect everyone’s schedule for the following week and decide when we should do our discussion. Some of our kids will not give us their schedule after multiple attempts of me reminding them😡but that is another blog story!

Currently, I start with the college students who are away and not living in our home so they can schedule ahead to join us via FaceTime.  Originally the discussion schedule was built around Emily, our oldest, until this past August when she moved home because she graduated.  

This school year, however, Julia (our second child & daughter) has recently moved out to go to college so I start by looking at her schedule. It is tricky because she has lots of night classes and work gigs.  Once I have her schedule I find an open night and text our family group text and let them know the day and time we are shooting to meet up. I remind them of the homework we will be discussing. 

The homework has always been the same. Read the assigned one chapter of the Bible with footnotes. Recently, we have been allowing the kids to watch Eric Geiger’s sermon (from Mariners church Irvine) either in person or via YouTube in addition to or instead of doing the chapter reading & footnotes.  Then everyone is required to answer the same two simple questions.

 1) What did you learn from the reading & footnotes or Eric Geiger’s sermon (Mariners Church Irvine) this week? and

 2) How are you going to use the information in your life right now? They can also answer how have you used the information, previously, in your life? Usually my husband and I are the only ones with enough Bible/life experience to give these testimonies (because our children are young and have not had as much experience as us) but this gets them thinking about using the Bible in their everyday life.  Plus, I know, as a Social Pathologist, that they will develop socially/spiritually from the exposure of the bible discussion and they will begin to use The Word in their daily lives which is the long-term goal! In Social Pathology we expose children to all kinds of social activities and watch how their social skills emerge.  Having bible study discussions at home allows us to see firsthand their various growth levels in their spiritual development!

It is preferred that the kids write her/his answers on paper or at least type her/his answers on her/his phone. Often times the kids don’t do the homework like what happened on Blog Day#4 (which was Sunday) so that is how it got pushed to today in the first place!

Example: If you read my Blog for Day #4 (from 2 days ago which was Sunday) you know we had to reschedule our discussion for Revelation Chapter 1 to tonight, Tuesday night. This is because ¾ of our children had conflicts on Monday night.  Emily went to Magic Mountain all day and didn’t get back until late.  Julia had 9 hours of college art classes on Monday including Monday night.  Plus, Sarah had a tennis match and was busy studying for an Algebra test.  So tonight, Tuesday, was our scheduled Make-up Family Bible Study Discussion for Revelation Chapter 1! 

Sadly, Julia’s internet is awful in her dorm and so she ended up with internet problems and an overwhelming amount of homework tonight.  So we again had to push our discussion to this Friday night 9/18.  I will be journaling about that in Blog Day #9 (God-willing) of my 75 Day Hard as a spiritual journey.! 

Problem 2: The other problem is eye-rolling, unenthusiastic teenagers who are not wanting to meet and most probably have not completed her/his homework. 

Problem 3: Now, the truth is, I really don’t know if our teenagers excuses are legitimate or bologne sandwiches (BS) but I do know most of the time their attitude is that they don’t really want to do the discussion anyway. Teenagers are moody!  Overall, time only tells if the excuse is legitimate or if they are full of bologne! The Bible says, the truth always comes out! In Luke 8:17 Jesus said, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, & nothing concealed that will not be made known & brought to light.”

Solution: The solution is social-behavior modification training. As parents (just like God) we state the law or demand clearly and directly. “We are having the discussion at this time.” Let them know what will happen if they follow through with doing their homework and are at the discussion on time and what will happen if they don’t follow through with the demand. I have not been giving rewards as far as our family bible study discussion goes because we have 3 adult children but as I am writing this I’m thinking I should be giving a dessert reward to our youngest since I did rewards with our older kids when they were her age. It might help a bit with her attitude!

Just being as consistent as possible because teenagers are moody! They will likely look back and say, “Remember when mom made us do that bible study?”  Also just us (their parents) being persistent at having the bible study discussion week after week and letting the Holy Spirit work it out meets each child/adult child individually where they are!

Honestly, many times, (at least it feels like it to me), we are having to force everyone down stairs to have the discussion but my husband and I just keep going and leading the discussion! We always end up getting something out of it!  It’s like working out! Just talking to our kids in a family bible study discussion setting grows our relationships with God and each other. Looking to the future I don’t want our family relationship about getting together at Holidays for meals and fighting about politics or gossiping:( My dream/goal is that we genuinely love each other and talk to each other regularly and know each other well in this life and the next!  The weekly family Bible study discussion creates that possibility!

The Blessing By: Kari Jobe

-Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

Day #6 of my 75 Day Hard! 9/15/2026!

*75 Day Hard Challenge as a Spiritual Journey Goal: To buffet my body (1 Corinthians 9:27) and get even stronger (mentally, spiritually <3, & physically) through a modified 75-Day Hard which will have me living even more of my very best life by the time I turn 50 this February 2027! Philippians 4:13 “I kick & I stretch and I kick;)” 

1 Corinthians 9:27 I discipline my body like a boxer, training it to do what it should.  

Day #5 Date: Monday September 14, 2026

Weight: 165lbs  (Monday is Weigh in Day)

Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

*Blogger of 75 Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey *49-Year old *Mom of 4 *CEO & Social-Behavioral Skills Trainer @ Sweet Home California (Proverbs 22:6) *Retired Home School Mom *CFO & 1st Lady @ AeroComInc.com 

Day #5: 75 Day Hard & I ate way too many chips today Testimony

Today I was finally getting the details of our house unpacked and back in order after road tripping and towing our boat home from the lake last Friday 9/11. I kept walking by the pantry and seeing all the chips that I actually resisted eating on vacation. We had tons of chips leftover! Pita chips, potato chips (w/ onion dip) , tortilla chips (w/ salsa & guacamole), Fritos (to go with our Chicken Chili) Popcorners and even boxes of crackers including Ritz & and Wheat Thins (w/ garlic cheese).  

When we go to the Lake House, I have to over pack because the grocery store is a 25 minute drive (1-way) and we are hosting kids. Anyone who hosts kids knows that all the kids notoriously end up wanting the same snack or drink. I figured we would buy extra chips and store them unopened in our pantry (for various other hosting events) but of course the kids opened some of the exact same bags of chips before finishing the last bag😡 This is an entirely different problem altogether that I will eventually address but the point is I was being tempted all day with all the variety of opened bags of chips! For me, sealed bags of chips don’t tempt me as much.

Problem:  The problem is I ended up eating way too many popcorners!  I would have been okay if I had not been hungry and the only person in our family (alone in the house) walking by the pantry (with large bags of opened chips staring me in the face constantly) as I headed to do laundry (our laundry room is next to our pantry), restocked the pantry with new grocery store items and as I took care of all my master chef responsibilities.  I would not have been so tempted if I wasn’t the CEO of our empty, quiet (during the school day) home but I am the CEO of our home at this time so this creates one of the “Hard Parts” of the 75-Day Hard Challenge for me! Pantry Temptation!

I know that Pantry Temptation was far from the “lead us not into temptation” that Jesus famously spoke about on the Sermon of the Mount when he gave us The Lord’s Prayer/Our Father but I was experiencing temptation none-the-less. Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:27) that he buffeted (or disciplined/trained his body like a boxer) so that he did not lose his spiritual reward. 

Example:

By sticking to my diet plan and trying to discipline/control/train my physical desire for popcorners (to gain my reward of hitting my goal weight at a later time) I’m sure I am creating spiritual rewards/benefits that go beyond what I can see now or even in the future!  

Plus, I was still within my allotted points because of the 2 workouts per day that are required with the 75-Day Hard Challenge. With Weight Watchers (which is the diet plan I chose for the challenge) I get more food points for working out, so, by moving my food plan around a bit, I could still lose weight! The main problem eating the popcorners created for me was that they didn’t satisfy me! I ended up eating round 1 popcorners (5 pts) and then round 2 popcorners (5 pts) and then round 3 popcorners (5 pts) for a total of 15 points!  That’s a lot when you only get 23 points a day!

Solution:  The solution, for me, is a trick I found out many years ago from a speaker that came to my Mothers of Preschool (MOPs) group.  She spoke on nutrition and how adding God-Made foods to your diet (lots of fruits, nuts and vegetables) gives your body the nutrients it needs. Her point was that your body is craving the food because you are lacking in the nutrients these God made foods provide us!  We all called her the smoothie lady because she challenged us to incorporate a smoothie for breakfast everyday and pay attention to how we feel. She went further adding that eating healthy items first and then eating the food we are craving might make us gain weight initially but eventually our bodies will be getting the nutrients we need and so our cravings will reduce drastically! 

In social-behavioral modification training if we notice a consistent problem, we make an adjustment to our plan.  In this case, I needed to personalize my Weight Watchers diet plan.  Next time, I am craving popcorners or any type of food without many nutrients, I will eat something healthy (that satisfies my craving), wait (at least 15 minutes) and pay attention to how I feel.  If I am still craving the minimal nutrient food I can choose to indulge later if I have the points! 

Example: For me, today, eating mangos and almonds was going to take 5 pts, the same as the pop corners I was eyeballing! The popcorners just sounded so much better but once I ate the popcorners, I wanted more popcorners! If I had eaten dried mangos and almonds for the same amount of points (5 pts) and waited 15 minutes it would have been easier for me to resist the popcorners altogether! I might have ended up with only 5 pts because I would not have been as hungry and able to totally resist the popcorners pantry temptation. 

At the very least, if I had eaten the mangos and almonds first (waited 15 minutes) I likely would have only eaten 1 round of popcorners which would have only been 10 points as opposed to 15 points! Plus, I can almost guarantee that my body can do a lot more for me during my 2 workouts per day with dried mangos and almonds than popcorners. So starting tomorrow I am going to eat mangos & almonds or a protein shake/smoothie with almonds/peanut butter before I bite into any popcorners! 

-Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

Day #5 of my 75 Day Hard! 9/14/2026

*75 Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey Challenge Goal: To buffet my body (1 Corinthians 9:27) and get even stronger (mentally, spiritually <3, & physically) through a modified 75-Day Hard which will have me living even more of my very best life by the time I turn 50 this February 2027! Philippians 4:13 “I kick & I stretch and I kick;)” 

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 

Day #4 Date: Sunday September 13, 2026

Sunday Funday!

Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

*Blogger of 75 -Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey! *49-Year old *Mom of 4 *CEO & Social-Behavioral Skills Trainer @ Sweet Home California (Proverbs 22:6) *Retired Home School Mom *CFO & 1st Lady @ AeroComInc.com 

Day #4: 75-Day Hard & Church? or Family Bible Study Discussion? Testimony: 

It’s Sunday Funday! For church this week we watched via Youtube Eric Gieger’s sermon (from Mariners Church Irvine) on Revelation 1 last night (Saturday night). For my husband and I, YouTube was more convenient this week than actually going to church because of our weekend plans/schedule.  Saturday night we were awaiting a furniture delivery (our youngest daughter’s new dresser drawer) and we had a 3:00-7:00pm window. Watching via YouTube was easy because we were home anyway. Plus, we had plans to ride bikes today for breakfast (just the two of us) and then our family (of 6) met up at The Ranch’s Family Night to have dinner & line dance👢:)  (pic above)

During breakfast, my husband and I had a conversation about how we are going to be doing church and/or our family Bible study discussion moving forward because we are in a season of schedule change right now.  Our old way of doing church/bible study discussion isn’t really working anymore. Honestly, we have not met since our older girls were gone this past summer on a college study abroad in Spain. It was extremely difficult to meet together with the time change in addition to our work obligations and younger high school children’s commitments , ect.  I’m not sure my husband and I got our long-term church/Bible study discussion plan figured out but, at least we have a plan for tonight. 

Just to give you some back story on how we have been doing church since my husband and I were dating and started raising our four babies. Prior to the Covid-19 shutdowns, we went to Catholic -Judeo Christian church and other non-denominational Christian churches, weekly, as a family.  

When I started homeschooling our younger 3 children (the 2018-2019 school year) my husband began reading the Bible with footnotes and listening to Chuck Smith’s word for the day sermons.  During the shutdowns we watched several pastors via YouTube give good sermons but we couldn’t find one our whole family loved. We would find a good sermon here and there but not anyone we wanted to hear week in and week out! 

About a year into the shutdowns, and two years into our homeschooling experience, we started hosting a family bible study discussion at least once a week (twice a week when social events in California were still slow). We ended up reading the Bible (with footnotes) as a family and discussed chapters including: Mathew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and Romans before our oldest daughter moved into her freshman dorm.

That year (2022-2023) we studied Genesis (the first book of the Bible) but our oldest daughter missed that chapter.  It has always bothered me that she missed that chapter because Genesis is so rich in stories for young people! Stories of God’s faithful leaders trying and failing!  Hopefully, we will circle back around to that chapter!

As far as our family bible study discussion, we really enjoyed meeting with, bonding and pastoring our own four children uniquely, straight from what the Bible says! It brought up so many conversations casually that the secular, “How was your day at school?” just doesn’t even begin to develop. Teenagers usually just say, “Good” and our conversations with them are over. Family Bible Study discussion is a very deep way to enjoy non-formal church as a family and talk about the good and bad things going on in our lives! After implementing this, our family Bible study discussion strategy, I don’t think I can go back to weekly church (without a bonding experience) no matter how great a pastor’s message is. It just doesn’t feel the way Jesus wanted us to lovingly meet in homes over a meal, “Do this in memory of me!”  Should we start a family bible study discussion and circle back around to Genesis?

Problem: The problem is our adult children and high school children (at this point in their spiritual development) need someone other than us (their parents) teaching them the bible!  They need a pastor/priest that has a clear Bible message. Plus, my husband and I are sick of having to lesson plan and think about what book of the bible we are going to study, what testimonies we are going to tell etc.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year we began dating churches and stumbled upon Eric Geiger from Mariners Irvine Church!  Wow!  He really knows the Bible well! Both my husband and I have read the Bible (in its entirety with footnotes) and it is not often I have heard a priest/pastor that understands the Bible more than me BUT HE OBVIOUSLY is an anointed leader to give a message for our Bible study.  Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” and 

Solution: We texted our kids and attached the link to Eric Geiger’s sermon (from Mariners church) YouTube video on Revelation Chapter 1.  We told them to watch the video and answer our same 2 questions we always answer for our Bible study Discussion. The two questions aare 1) What did you learn from reading Chapter 1 of Revelation & the footnotes (or Eric’s sermon) and 2) How are you going to use this chapter (or Eric’s sermon) in your daily life right now? Or if you have had experience using this chapter (as my husband and I often have) how have you implemented this chapter already in your daily life?

Problem: The problem was both Julia & Mikey came late to the Ranch after working all day! They had not completed the homework which was watching Eric’s sermon and/or reading Revelation 1 with the footnotes and having there 2 answers prepared. Plus, it was super loud at the Ranch! Not really the type of restaurant to do a deep family Bible study discussion! So we decided to push our discussion to Tuesday night. Honestly, it gives me more time to work on perfecting my two answers anyways! 

-Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @ AmenWeekly.com)

Day #4 of my 75 Day Hard! 9/13/2026

*75 Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey Challenge Goal: To buffet my body (1 Corinthians 9:27) and get even stronger (mentally, spiritually <3, & physically) through a modified 75-Day Hard which will have me living even more of my very best life by the time I turn 50 this February 2027! Philippians 4:13 “I kick & I stretch and I kick;)” 

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s (own) handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, (born anew) that we may DO GOOD WORKS which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time), that we should walk in them (living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live.) 

Day # 3 Date: Saturday September 12, 2026

Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

*Blogger of 75 -Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey! *49-Year old *Mom of 4 *CEO & Social-Behavioral Skills Trainer @ Sweet Home California (Proverbs 22:6) *Retired Home School Mom *CFO & 1st Lady @ AeroComInc.com 

Day #3 75-Day Hard Journaling & AmenWeekly.com Blog Testimony 

Testimony: Around the beginning of September, I was aiming to begin my 75-day Hard Challenge with my oldest daughter officially on September 10th. In the meantime, my son’s new girlfriend (pic to the right) was over and we were talking about the challenge and she said she was going to be doing a 75-day Hard also but she was adding journaling (to the list of challenge rules) to make it more of a spiritual journey. 

Problem:  The problem is journaling everyday is extremely HARD for me! Much harder than reading 10 pages of non-fiction! I have been trying to journal daily since I was a little girl (Dear Diary) but more importantly around 13 years ago, I had felt God’s call to write a weekly blog and name it AmenWeekly.com .  The goal of the blog was to write a weekly family testimonies journal with a scripture message as a legacy to our children and hopefully 🙏future grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond! The testimonies would be about everything the Holy Spirit was doing in our family and bu$ine$$ life.

Since then (2013), I have started and stopped writing the blog-journal for AmenWeekly.com numerous times!  Daily Journaling or Blogging (even once a week) is very difficult to follow through with for anyone but especially as the CEO of our house trying to train up 4 young children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).   

As my son overheard the conversation between his girlfriend and I, he pointed out that everyone struggles with trying to journal regularly. He reminded me that there is even an episode on the hit TV show Friends where Monica finds Rachel’s Journal and the first page reads,“Dear Diary, My New Year’s Resolution is to write in you everyday.”  Then Monica fans through the rest of the journal and reveals that it is filled with blank white pages and says, “See, NOTHING!” 

This got me thinking seriously about adding journaling to my challenge and making it more of a spiritual journey for me as well.  God-wink timing, for me, because I had just watched a YouTube video by Makai (video suggested through my Epoch Times subscription) on how scientific research has found journaling rewires your brain and adds a ton of benefits like less anxiety and better sleep! 

Solution: The solution for me was to modify the rules of the 75-Day Hard Challenge by adding journaling/blogging daily as a challenge rule.  Time wise, in order to accomplish this goal I knew I would need to cut (modify) the challenge rules in regards to the amount of non-fiction reading from 10 pages to 5 pages per day.  At 49-years-old, my goals are different then most young people taking on the challenge.  I have loved and been reading non-fiction my whole life! A secret about me is I don’t really care for fiction😬 but that’s another story (don’t tell Oprah)!

I especially love reading the Bible but I also love true love stories, family stories, business stories, famous leaders in history stories and testimonies (how God is working in a believer’s life) ever since I can remember! I have read so many self improvement non-fiction books, based on the Bible but others on business, time-management, parenting, health,you name it, but I know for me (right now), writing a journal entry everyday for 75-Days would be very Hard for me. Much harder than reading 10 pages of non-fiction.

The whole point of the 75-Day HARD challenge is that it is Hard!  My issue is with writing daily, not with reading non-fiction!  Reading non-fiction is easy!  I’m being entertained! I already easily read about 5 pages of non-fiction per day through Joyce Meyer’s Starting and Ending your day write, the Catholic Daily readings, my bible study homework and many articles from the Epoch Times. 

Journaling/blogging even once a week is HARD for me to follow through with because I am creating! Writing one page (well) can take days amid writes and rewrites. I just saw an Oprah podcast (via youtube) interviewing her favorite authors (from the last 30 years of her book club) and they talk about how writing is a gift/spiritual gift but takes a ton of work!

The creator of the 75-Day Hard Challenge says, (on his website) by completing the challenge, most people end up accomplishing all sorts of personal goals in their life (not just physically changing their body) but by using the self-discipline it requires to succeed with the challenge. Afterthe challenge, they continue on to make all kinds of changes in their daily life towards other dreams/goals they have!

I read Joyce Meyer’s devotional, Starting your Day Right, religiously and she talks a lot about what the bible says about adding self-discipline, one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) to your daily life in order to live your best life! 

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s (own) handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, (born anew) that we may DO GOOD WORKS which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time), that we should walk in them (living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live.) 

Joyce says, “In order to enjoy the Good life we have to have self-discipline to do GOOD WORKS! The Bible is not a rule book! It is about liberty and freedom to live the life that reaps good things. If we do what the Word says to do, blessings will chase us and find us where we are!”

The entire challenge takes self-discipline but individualizing my goal to include daily journaling (for me) gets me doing what is in God’s purpose for me! 

I have to be honest that as I’m finishing this blog journal entry for Day #3 I am actually currently on Day #26 of my 75-Day Hard!!! The first 3 entries have been so difficult! It reminds me of high school Hell week for football players.  If you have had a family member or friend who has played football you know what I’m talking about!  I feel like writing a daily blog-journal to actually post is my football “hell week” and if I modify and complete the daily challenge rules for the 75-day Hard challenge to journal-blog, daily I will easily go back to my original goal of writing a weekly blog for amenWEEKLY.com !!!  After all these years of start and stops, God-willing, this 75-Day Hard challenge could finally help me not only get to my goal weight but complete a weekly blog-journal for AmenWeekly.com ! Amen!

-Mrs. Smith *Social Pathologist MS (Weekly Blogger @AmenWeekly.com)

Day #3 of my 75 Day Hard! 9/12/2026

*75 Day Hard as a Spiritual Journey Challenge Goal: I buffet my body (1 Corinthians 9:27) and get even stronger (mentally, spiritually <3, & physically) through a modified 75-Day Hard which will have me living even more of my very best life by the time I turn 50 this February 2027! Philippians 4:13 “I kick & I stretch and I kick;)”