Cardboard Testimonies

A friend sent me an email with this link and I just wanted to share it. It is powerful! I cried as I watched.
http://www.rhchurch.org/pages/cardboard-testimonies/

I thought about what my piece of cardboard would say and I am still not certain. Though I think a good start would be "ENSLAVED TO BITTERNESS"
"WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS THERE IS FREEDOM"

See, from 2003-2005, I lived in a constant state of bitterness and anger towards my husband because he joined the Army Reserve in March of 2003. I felt abandoned and rejected and boy did I lash out at him and singlehandedly nearly destroyed our marriage. But then God spoke to me through I Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter. I realized that I was saying with my mouth that I loved Brian. But my actions were telling a WHOLE different story. The Word says "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Wow, was I pounded with the knowledge that I was NOT living out love. With that revelation, I was delivered of my biterness. I won't say that it wasn't a battle from that point on, but knowledge is power, so with that knowledge, I was able to make better choices with my words and my actions. Wow! I hadn't intended to share this much when I began this post, but I suppose there is a reason for everything. What I had intended on sharing was the heaviness that was on my heart for my aunt and uncle today. My uncle is dying. His body is shutting down and has been for some time now, though he has greatly worsened in the last 72 hours. Please pray for comfort and peace for them. We are not praying for healing, because we know healing is coming: the ultimate healing. Not much of an ending to this post, I know. But it is all I have at this point.

Two MORE Pounds

Yesterday was weigh in day for a secondary challenge that I am participating on through http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ (I love my Sixers!). It is called the "Love Yourself Challenge". It is a six week challenge, ending on Valentine's day. Our goal is to lose 15-20% of the total weight we have left to lose by Valentine's Day. Which for me, is about 10 pounds (actually 9.4, but I am going for 10). In this challenge, we try to check in everyday with a post telling everyone something that we love about ourselves for that day. This challenge is so relevant to me and most women, I suspoect. How many of us can lay on compliments to others like laying butter on a biscuit, but when it comes to finding something we love or even like about ourselves, it is more like trying to smear whole fruit on that biscuit. I am so thankful for this group of ladies who I don't know, but share so much with. Also, I am happy to report, that I have four of those ten pounds DOWN! WooHooo!!! I can't believe I have lost four pounds. No pills, no starving myself. I have even had a little bit of fast food. I am just trying to eat smarter and healthier. I haven't even gotten into a full groove of exercising yet. Now, I am hoping to be down one more pound on Friday, which is my weigh in day for the Live Healthy Iowa Challenge. Thanks to all who are showing their support through comments, I really appreciate them! FOUR POUNDS!


FYI- if you are super interested, there is a ticker at the bottom of my blog that tells how many pounds I have left to lose. I am updating as the scale tells me too :)

Awesomeness!

I am so stinkin' excited! Today at the gym, I jogged for 30 minutes straight on the treadmill. I was going at a speed of 4.5 mph. I have never done that before, especially since I broke my ankle, jogging has been really difficult for me. But today, I pushed myself and I did it! I usually have to jog at a higher speed for a couple of minutes then drop the speed to walk fast to catch my breath. But I just took it minute by minute today and made it all the way. I feel so good that I pushed myself that far. Thanks for listening.

I Lost 2 Pounds!!!!

This past Friday was weigh in day and I am happy to announce that I lost two pounds! I did really well for about three days with making sure I get plenty of water, but yesterday, I was so busy at work that I didn't get it in. I did pretty bad food wise on Friday night. I went to a ladies function at a local church with a friend and wow did they have great food. However, based on my former eating habits, I did splendid. The had two choices of soup: chili or cheesy ham and potato. Now as much as I love potato soup, I knew it would be heavier in calories and fat, so I chose the chili and it was delicious. I allowed myself a sprinkle of cheese over the top and a few oyster crackers. Here in Mason City, people really like to have cinnamon rolls with their chili, they serve it that way at school, even. So, there were these fabulous cinnamon rolls on the table, but I only allowed myself half. I tried to fill my plate with the raw veggies that were on the table, of course I dipped them in a little bit of ranch. For dessert they had mini cheesecakes and as I do not eat cheesecake, they made it easy for me to say no. After the speaker, the veggies were back out, and so were the homemade sugar cookies and popcorn (and not the microwave kind either) so I had two sugar cookies (one with frosting, and they were YUMMY) and a half bag of popcorn. So, though I went over my 1403 calories for the day (I earned more calories because I exercised), I did much better than I would have two weeks ago. This may sound crazy to some, but for me, it was a success. The journey to health and weight loss is paved with small changes that make large impacts. I am happy to be laying pavement!

FREEZING!!!

Just checking in. We are super cold here in North Central Iowa. It is something like -39 with the windchill right now. YUCK! Today is the start of the 100 Day Live Healthy Iowa Challenge, I logged 14 activity minutes for shoveling snow. So I suppose, I can be thankful for the snow. LOL! As far as the challenge goes, I started monitoring what I was eating on the 10th as a step towards living healthy. I am happy to say, that though I have gone over my 1200 calorie alotment every day, I am getting better. I hope to see some really great results from this. Now I just have to get my rear in gear and get on a frequent exercise routine. Meanwhile, I am trying to be more active in my day. Take the stairs more often, go the long way, park in the back of the lot. All things that are hard to do in this cold, mind you. Thanks all for your support and encouragement. I appreciate it!

Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed

That is the name of the Bible Study I have started. The church we have attended a few times here is holding this Bible study for women on Thursday nights and I am planning to attend. I say planning because yesterday I committed to it and this morning I realized that Brian will be leaving in a couple of weeks and will be gone for a month so I will have to find someone to watch the kiddos in order for me to attend. I know the Lord will provide this, however. I have missed the first meeting of the group but I got the materials so I could do my "homework" before the next meeting. Wow! I have only done day one and already I am hooked. So, pray that the Lord provides a cost effective solution for me. Also, pray for me while Brian is away. I have made no secret of my struggles as a mother and this will be one GIGANTIC test of my patience. So, I need a sitter on Thursday evenings from 6:30 until probably 8:30, any takers?

Fabulous News!

I am so excited! I got our team, "Highway to Health" registered for the Live Healthy Iowa challenge today! WooHoo! Also, I learned that any "accidental exercise" (as Bob, the trainer from The Biggest Loser likes to call it) such as shoveling the driveway, can be recorded in my activity minutes. AWESOME since we live in Iowa! I am so stoked! Four days until I start tracking! Don't forget to HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE!!!!

I am curious

Well, I am curious about a lot of things, but today what plagues my mind the most is this:

will those same ignorant people who credit Obama with lowering the gas prices also credit him for them going back up again?


Just wondering!

Until later.......

Gearing up for the Challenge

I am so excited! I found this pamphlet in Wal-Mart the other day for a 100 day challenge from livehealthyiowa.org and decided I really wanted to do it but wasn't sure who I could get to form a team as you have to have a team of at least 2 and up to 10 people. So I asked Brian about it and he thought it was a great idea. Yay! But today at work I talked to a couple of the girls and now we have a team of like 6 people. I am so excited! I am so unhappy with my weight and have been for so long. But it is so hard to lose weight and keep it off. But, more than that, I am doomed healthwise, genetically speaking, so I MUST make changes. So, I want to be healthy, not just thin, though that is a really BIG motivator! I am so excited to have this team of friends and family to encourage me and hold me accountable to my goals. So, the 100 day Challenge begins January 14th and goes until April 23rd. I share this with you so that you all can be on my team as well and hold me accountable. Thanks in advance for you support and encouragement! It will be very necessary and much appreciated!

Resolutions

With twenty minutes left on my library computer timer, I will give a quick update for all. We had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to the New Year (definitely much better than the start to last year lol). It was so wonderful to be able to visit family in Tennessee. The sad part was leaving. The weather alone makes us miss it, plus all of those fabulous people there we call relatives! I wish I had pictures to post, but sadly, I do not. I am technology challenged these days as both the PC and the laptop have crashed and our digital camera is still missing. Not sure what is going on with us and tech. I have so many thoughts on the New Year and resolutions but not sure I will have time to list them all. Also, I don't have my Bible with me here and I had some verses to share. So, I will just have to give you the references. I know it is the 5th so this is a little late coming but please extend me grace as I have explained my situation already. ;) Of course I, like many others want to make that resolution to lose weight stick this year, but I have decided not to make that resolution this year because I have others that are more important. Psalm 17:3 says ".....I have RESOLVED that my mouth will not sin." this is a resolution I want to explore. I know it is not impossible to be free from sin, though it is difficult. But I want to make a conscious effort to walk in the freedom of Christ to "go and sin no more". This would be a diffucult journey for anyone, but especially for me, the chief of sinners. But as I begin to ponder these things, the Lord in his great mercy and wisdom, provides me with Proverbs 16:3 which roughly states that committing your plans to the Lord will bring success. But for those of us that are hard headed and could take that verse very much out of context, there is Isaiah 55 (forgive me, I do not remember the exact verses at the moment) which explains to us that the plans we are committing must be from the Lord as my thoughts are not his thoughts and my ways are not his ways. So this year, my resolution will be to walk away from sin. Guess what, gluttony is a sin, so perhaps I will lose some weight after all! Happy New Year everyone. Think about what 2009 can hold for growing his Kingdom!

No Internet

Ok, just posting to let all know that my computer(s) died and I cannot access internet from home. Still in TN at the moment, flying back tomorrow. I have many thoughts to share, but not enough time. Don't give up on me, I will try to find a way to get back to posting.