Week Two Weigh In

Well, this week was a little off. I had a couple of meals that weren't on plan - thanks to my soul sister Melissa who had us over for dinner (it was great btw and the fellowship was worth it) and a couple bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios - but I watched portion sizes and I did skip a few meals due to timing of my day.

SO - I lost.....a big FAT "0". Yup...I got the dreaded goose egg. You know what though...I'm completely ok with that. Any of the previous times I've tried to lose weight I would have been devastated and eaten away my sorrows. This time, I'm still ecstatic that I have lost 5 lbs in two weeks!

I did realize that this book is probably written for people who have more weight to lose than I do, since the daily calories are around 1500, so I'm going to kind of start scaling it back by decreasing my portions so that I'm eating about 1300 calories a day.

I also need to start walking more. I've been seriously slacking in that department this week. I have been working out with the Sports Active, but I would like to walk as well.

So we'll see how much this changes things this week. Hopefully I'll go down another lb or two.

Week One Weigh In

Ok, so the first week started off with a major withdrawal headache that lasted about 3 days and didn't go away for anything (yes, mom, I took medicine). HOWEVER, I still prevailed and stayed on plan and worked out at least once a day (except for that one day that we won't talk about). I started off with a 20 minute walk and am adding 2 minutes daily. And the food....wow....it's delicious. Worth the diet just to eat the good food, just wish I could find everything on this tiny island we're stuck on (but love).

I didn't do measurements like I should have (maybe I'll take them tonight after putting the kids to bed and start that this week), but the scale was VERY good to me. [cue dramatic theme music] I'm down 5 lbs!!!

I know, I can't believe it either. So I won't be surprised if I don't lose much this week. I've got to tell myself that so I won't set myself up for disappointment.

I think a major contributor to my success this week was that the man followed the plan with me. The only day he couldn't was yesterday when he unexpectedly went to Adak for a SAR case. As a side note, did you KNOW that if he flew the other way, he would have flown just south of Prince Rupert, BC. Yup, puts it into perspective, huh? He ate junk, but didn't overdo it. He is down 4 lbs!

I'm very excited b/c I've never beat him in lbs lost, especially the first week! YAY ME!!!

Please pray for me though. I'm at the end of day 8 and I'm having a hard time staying on track. I want all the oh-so-good-but-oh-so-bad food [insert brief daydream about eating pizza and ice cream here]. Ok, daydream over. I really want and need to do this. On top of the cravings, I'm not drinking enough water, I know this, but I can't seem to do it. I'm just not drinking anything either. Any tips?

And my headache is back. I think my body is rebelling once again. Like I said, please pray that I muscle through this.

I highly recommend EA Sports Active if you have the Wii....it's fabulous! If you are new to working out or don't work out much, start with low intensity, trust me! I'm doing medium b/c I started working out about a month ago then got sick and went on vacation and man, these are the hardest workouts I've done in forever!

Anyway...first week, a success.

Songbook Sunday and FATHER'S Day!

Ok, so Songbook Sunday is an idea that I've been mulling over in my head for about a month and a half. Every Sunday (I hope) I will post the lyrics of a song sang during worship services that day and what it means to me. I am going to be working on a pretty little clipart/button and may even end up with a link widget so that you can all link your blogs on to mine if I get an interest. Please spread this around. I would LOVE to see what is inspiring you in your lives each week and what song spoke to your heart. For now, leave me a comment, please!

Before I get to that though, today is also another special day...you call all say it with me Father's Day!!! My family blog today is dedicated to the earthly father's in my/our lives. But there is another FATHER in our lives.

At our church in FL, before we moved to wonderful Kodiak, a lot of emphasis was placed on messages that were relevant. Boy, was today's message ever relevant. Matt Douglas, a missionary supported by our church, serving in Sydney, Australia (rough life, huh?), shared with us about Romans 15:13.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

His points were so simple, but things we all to often forget:

• The hope to live our Christian life comes entirely from GOD!
• As long as we have GOD, there is hope for all of us.
  
• Paul wasn't talking to unbelievers in this scripture, he was talking to THE CHURCH!!!

He also shared the biblical definitions of some of the words in this scripture, that many of us define differently - based on cultural acceptance.

• joy : an inside out satisfaction of what GOD is doing in my life. It is NOT happiness, which is the result of what happens.
• peace : an acknowledgment that GOD is good, knows what is best for us and has the power to DO it! It is NOT an absence of conflict; no war.
• believing (some translations use this instead of trust) : understanding what salvation is all about [I am currently studying Beth Moore's Believing God and she mentions that believing is a present active participle - currently taking place or takes place repeatedly/continually]
• abound (some translations use this instead of overflow) : more than you think you can handle, faster than you think you can handle it

So why did I think this is relative to today? Father's Day? Maybe that it is that it is customary to give our father's gifts on this day, but instead, HE gives US gifts this and every other day. He WANTS TO FILL US UP!!! It is up to us to accept His gifts.

This brings me to my first installment of [drumroll please] Songbook Sunday.

This is a song I have loved for many years, but still just makes my skin tingle and heart burst when singing it. It is a praise to GOD for who He is. It is my gift to GOD, a gift of thanks for all He has done and will continue to do for me.

SHOUT TO THE LORD

My Jesus, my Savior, LORD there is none like you.
All of my days, I want to praise, the wonders of your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength.
Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship You.

Shout to the LORD, all the earth, let us sing.
Power and majesty, praise to the King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar,
With the sound of your (wonderful) name.

I sing for joy at the work of Your hands.
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

It's amazing how much this spoke to me today. Today, of all days, I wanted to truly SHOUT how much I love Him. He is my Father, my Abba, my daddy. It sounds (and feels) SO odd to say it that way, but it is true. If the mountains and seas are calling out to Him, how much more should we? Let's all remember to take in His beauty and thank him for it. His name is all mighty, all powerful and so amazingly wonderful. We aren't even worthy to stand in His presence, but through the blood of Jesus Christ we are welcomed into his arms and called daughter (or son). There is nothing in or on this earth that could come close to comparing to him and the promise He has given us.

It's a New Dawn...

It's a new day......and I'm going to be using it to start taking care of the vessel God has blessed me with. I've had a really bad self esteem for years when it comes to my looks and wanted to lose weight, but the past month or so I have really felt God telling me it was time. Why He chose to tell me it was time during the best time in Kodiak for cookouts and bbq's, I don't know, but I need to listen. SO, I'm going to be starting the Biggest Loser 30-Day Jumpstart program today.

This program really is just a book with an outline of all your meals (5 of them) laid out for you with recipes included and exercise for 30 days. I'm really looking forward to doing this and seeing where I end up. The problem is going to be sticking to it, but also what about after those 30 days? I'm hoping that I'll have learned a lot and will be able to meal plan a month at a time by then, but if not, maybe I'll just start at the beginning of the 30 days again. Eating healthy sure isn't very healthy on the pocketbook though. Sheesh. I'm hoping that after the first week a lot of the items are re-used.

How does this relate to being molded by our Potter? Well, as I mentioned, I really feel like God led me to this point at this moment in my life. For another, I have just been hit with the desire to take care of the vessel God has blessed me with and I want to teach our children to do the same thing. God gave us our bodies and it is up to us to take care of them. I have some pretty severe medical issues that run in my family, from diabetes to heart disease, and if I don't take care of myself now, then I have a feeling I'll be having some of these issues in the not-so-distant future.

So, my goals:

First 30 days: 8 lbs
By Feb 20, 2010 (my 30th birthday): 30+ lbs

I will be updating my progress weekly and will have a weight loss tracker in my sidebar. If you feel this may be something you need to do as well, please share your story if you would like. I'd love to offer my support and encouragement and have an accountability partner.

Worry

Matthew 6:34 (NIV) says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

This is a verse that speaks volumes to me. I have been a worrier since I was a child and I get it honest. My mom is a worrier too, and I think I partly picked it up from her, but some of it is just one of my struggles in life. Last night my husband and I were talking about sin. Specifically how we are all born with an innate sin that we will struggle with. Some may seem worse than others (i.e. murder vs gossiping), but they are still sins and they hurt God. Sure, the consequences of these sins very, but they should still be avoided.

We all have many struggles, but today I'm going to focus on the one that I'm struggling with right this very instant - worry. Tomorrow morning, I am leaving my small island in Alaska to travel to my hometown of Pace, Florida (just outside Pensacola). Not only will I be traveling for nearly 20 hours (also gaining 4143 air miles apiece - yay Alaska Air), I will doing so with two children by myself. My last layover (in ATL) is only 45 minutes and I may have to switch terminals. I have my BOB ready and will just throw the kids in there (who will likely be tired and cranky considering we are on a red eye and will arrive in ATL at 6:40 in the morning) and run, but I'm still a bit anxious.

This is the first time I'm traveling by myself with the kids. Not only that, I'm going to be away from home for nearly 6 weeks. I'm SO excited to see my family, but it's getting there that I'm concerned about. I'm trying not to live in the "what if's", but it's really hard for me.

I awoke at 3 a.m. and pretty much just laid there tossed and turned for an hour and a half before I finally gave up to come downstairs. My poor husband was probably relieved when I finally did that, but he was gracious and kept trying to relax me by telling me everything would be okay and rubbing my neck (which is killing me). I have the pre-vacation stress headache and insomnia. This happens quite often for me before a big trip, but it usually doesn't happen until the night before I leave. I've still got one more night.

Anyway....back to the point of the post. Worry is something that is a constant struggle for me. I know that God is in control and that everything will be great, but it is also in my nature to like to have control - shocker, right? All of you that know me....stop snickering....I hear you! If we miss our flight, it really isn't a big deal, there is another that leave a couple hours later that I'm sure we could get on. But that's just it....there isn't a reason to worry and yet I do.

If you could all pray for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Not only that I will let go and let God, but that I won't kill the kids on the trip. *snort*

God, you sent your son to live as an example of how we should live and to die for our sins, so that we can spend eternity with you. Thank you for that and thank you, Jesus for your immense love for us that you were willing to suffer on the cross for me. Little ole me! Help me with my sin of worry. Remind me that You have everything under control. Place others in my life that will remind me to let go and let God. And may I meet the kindness of strangers while on my journey. Thank you for your son and I am so sorry for my constant sin that held him to the cross. Amen.

Here is another look at the same passage above. Here it is from The Message:

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Works for Me Wednesday

I wasn't sure that I would have much to contribute to the Works for Me Wednesday bloggy goodness (from We are THAT Family) I got to thinking about what would I say is something that works for me?

Just then, my son (bless his almost 2 year old heart) got frustrated and threw one of his cars, right into my favorite green wall and chipped some of the paint. Great....I know what I'll be doing during nap time now. Luckily it will only take a minute...literally....to fix.

Years ago, there was a magazine called Budget Living (which I love and dearly miss - I still have all my copies and still look at them), and one of the tips listed in there said to take baby food jars and keep a small amount of paint in them, with a small paint brush to do touch ups when it is needed. This is one of the best things I have ever learned and has saved me a lot of anxiety and frustration. I used to have to find the right paint can in the garage (if I could find it) and hope that the paint was still good, then find a paint brush, then drag it all in, yadda yadda yadda. NOW, I just grab the jar from under my sink and the small brush attached to it, swipe on the paint, wash the brush and put it all back under the sink.

By the way, my son and I had a small chitchat about how God wants us to handle our frustration and how throwing our toys is not the best way to do this. So, anyone got any tips on how to get a 2 year old to understand that?

Baby Blessings

Tonight I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower with a few friends for our friend Nita*. She is pregnant with her first child, a son. A good time was had by all (or so we were all told) and mommy and baby were both showered with many blessings.

I am SO blessed with this group of friends. We all come from different walks of life and are all at various stages of our lives. God was totally at work in bringing me into this group of women. When I joined the group, the rest of them had been meeting for coffee every other Friday for a year. They began this tradition after hanging out at a women's retreat for local churches. I was invited to join them for coffee by Nena and that's where I met the rest of the group. Little did I know that this group of women would change my life. One day I may share a little about each of them, but not until I get their permission to do so.

Moving back to the shower...

One of my favorite parts My favorite part of the evening was the devotional. Bridget was in charge of organizing the devotional and she handled it brilliantly! She had all of her sisters, mom and mil write and read something for her - mil's had to be read by someone else b/c she currently lives in the lower 48. Many tears were shed in love. Two of her sisters were unable to attend due to being out of town, so one of the sisters read all of the letters. They each shared wisdom, encouragement, love and, most importantly, biblical principles on which to stand. It was so amazing to be in a room with SO many Christian women praying over and pouring blessings on Nita and her unborn son.

Until I moved to Kodiak, I don't think I ever attended a baby shower with a devotional - even ones with Christian women or those affiliated with church. Here, one of the women shared that she didn't realize this wasn't the norm and I've been amazed that almost every shower I've attended has had one - the exception was one for myself. This is a tradition I will carry with me and any shower I am a part of will have a devotion.

While this was the best part of the day for me, it was also the hardest. It really made me realize how much I missed during my pregnancy and these early years of my motherhood experience. My sisters and their families have yet to meet my children (who are now 17 and 23 months) and my parents have only seen them for 5 weeks and it's been a year since that time. It truly breaks my heart. I am SO grateful to have the love and support and godly women around me here, especially my soul sister, Melissa, but there is just something missing.

Listening to Nita's mom and sisters read letters to her....I just wished I had been able to have that experience. Family is so important. I'm one of those people who tends to be "out of site, out of mind", so most of the time I can trick myself into believing that I'm fine without living near them, but the honest truth is, I want nothing more than to have my sisters and mom near me to share their wisdom, support and just a hug.

These are the people who have known me my entire life, have loved me at my most unlovable and have helped pick me up from my lowest moments. I'm so thankful that we have the technology to talk on the phone at any time (if you can get over the 3 and 4 hour time differences) or video message one another via skype, but there is nothing quite like sitting together while the kids play and experiencing life together. I'm truly looking forward to doing just this in a few weeks, when my kids meet their cousins, aunts and uncle for the first time. I'm picturing many laughs, possibly a few tears and a lot of love. A good time will be had by all.

*Names are changed (other than Melissa's) b/c I haven't asked permission to blog about them yet!