So today is Day 2 of my new journey and I gotta tell ya, it's going pretty well but I have def found my weak points and I don't have the best will power. I doing way better than I thought I would do and have already seen some weight loss after the first day due to the loss of excess fluids hehe.
The water that you make to drink everyday is actually really good and it's better than plain water that's for sure. I am having to drink fat free milk and I can't tell a big difference. Mostly because we normally drink 1% so it's not a huge change.
This is making me think about my serving sizes and what I am actually eating so it's very interesting.
I am often looked at as a quitter bc I dont' always stick to things I say I will do or start but I am determined to do it this time!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
New Journey
Today is the first day of my new journey to take care of the body God has given me so that I can do all he needs me to do.
Today I have started the Flat Belly Diet. It's not one of those fads that make you take out all the carbs and deprive you of all the stuff you love. This was put together with a nutritionist and so it basically is teaching you how to eat smaller serving sizes and to eat healthier using foods that feed your body they way it should be fed.
I am excited to do this and to focus on being healthier. I blame most of my weight on being happy hehe. When you are happy and comfortable you don't worry about trying to eat less to impress or things like that. I am happy in my marriage, with my kids, our financial life is finally good and I have less stress in my life. However, I am also an emotional eater so i know that when I am bored I eat. I will have to trust God for that part and to keep me focused on him.
I will be keeping track of everything on this journey and keep you all posted on the changes!
Today I have started the Flat Belly Diet. It's not one of those fads that make you take out all the carbs and deprive you of all the stuff you love. This was put together with a nutritionist and so it basically is teaching you how to eat smaller serving sizes and to eat healthier using foods that feed your body they way it should be fed.
I am excited to do this and to focus on being healthier. I blame most of my weight on being happy hehe. When you are happy and comfortable you don't worry about trying to eat less to impress or things like that. I am happy in my marriage, with my kids, our financial life is finally good and I have less stress in my life. However, I am also an emotional eater so i know that when I am bored I eat. I will have to trust God for that part and to keep me focused on him.
I will be keeping track of everything on this journey and keep you all posted on the changes!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
So I checked my email today and got this devotional. It really hit home because this is where I am at in my walk with God.
By Starfield
I need to just admit/ My faith is paper thin/ I'm feeling so burned out on religion/ I say an empty prayer/ I sing a tired song/ I need to just admit/ that the passion’s gone/ And I want to get it back
I want to learn to pray/ The way that David prayed/ I want my soul to burn/ when I hear Your name
How often have you felt burning passion for something? And then, how does it feel when that passion is gone; when it feels like the fire has burned out? It suddenly feels like you’re missing out on something. It feels like you lost a part of yourself.
When we start our relationship with Jesus, we are often consumed by that passion. It influences every conversation we have, every decision we make. But over time, sometimes that passion fades, and we begin to feel that our faith is “paper thin.” Often you don’t quite know how you got to the place of just going through the motions, but once you realize you’re there, you have a desire to get back to where you once were.
Almost all of us have experienced this, and even people in the Bible experienced this. King David, who we know went through many highs and lows in his faith, wrote how he felt in Psalm 42:4-6, NLT:
After having incredible moments with God, after seeing God work in amazing ways in his life, David still had times where the passion had fizzled and he felt far from God. But he took those moments to remember who God is. He is the Savior. As we begin to remember all of the things that God has done for us, it’s like the kindling gets sparked. We can begin feeling that passion again, and maybe it will become a roaring fire.
And once that fire begins to burn again, we can pray prayers like David’s in Psalm 86:12-13, NLT:
I know God is AMAZING! I know God is with me every step of the way. He has done some CRAZY things for us in the past 4 years. I don't doubt that I will feel that passion again very soon and it will be overwhelming because I know how much he loves me.
By Starfield
I need to just admit/ My faith is paper thin/ I'm feeling so burned out on religion/ I say an empty prayer/ I sing a tired song/ I need to just admit/ that the passion’s gone/ And I want to get it back
I want to learn to pray/ The way that David prayed/ I want my soul to burn/ when I hear Your name
How often have you felt burning passion for something? And then, how does it feel when that passion is gone; when it feels like the fire has burned out? It suddenly feels like you’re missing out on something. It feels like you lost a part of yourself.
When we start our relationship with Jesus, we are often consumed by that passion. It influences every conversation we have, every decision we make. But over time, sometimes that passion fades, and we begin to feel that our faith is “paper thin.” Often you don’t quite know how you got to the place of just going through the motions, but once you realize you’re there, you have a desire to get back to where you once were.
Almost all of us have experienced this, and even people in the Bible experienced this. King David, who we know went through many highs and lows in his faith, wrote how he felt in Psalm 42:4-6, NLT:
"My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!"
And once that fire begins to burn again, we can pray prayers like David’s in Psalm 86:12-13, NLT:
"With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever, for your love for me is very great. You have rescued me from the depths of death."
I know God is AMAZING! I know God is with me every step of the way. He has done some CRAZY things for us in the past 4 years. I don't doubt that I will feel that passion again very soon and it will be overwhelming because I know how much he loves me.
Books
I love to read! Last year I was able to ready 7 books and I loved each and every one of them.
Most of the books I read are Christian books. I used to love to ready horror books but as I have gotten older, I find that scary things to me are just that, SCARY!!!! So now I ready different books. I like to ready books that about being a more radical christian.
These books have made me look at my life differently and that is what has made me get out into the community more and serve God's people. They make me realize that I wasn't put on this earth to sit on my bum and watch others take care of the poor, widowed and the orphans. God has told us to take care of them because they are his. That is what I intend to do with my life.
So along with serving God's children, my goal for this year is to read 1 book a month. So far I'm not doing so well. I have finished 1 book! hehe It is only April and so the way I see it, I have lots of time.
I realize looking back to what I have written, I kinda went off subject a bit but what can ya do? hehe
Most of the books I read are Christian books. I used to love to ready horror books but as I have gotten older, I find that scary things to me are just that, SCARY!!!! So now I ready different books. I like to ready books that about being a more radical christian.
These books have made me look at my life differently and that is what has made me get out into the community more and serve God's people. They make me realize that I wasn't put on this earth to sit on my bum and watch others take care of the poor, widowed and the orphans. God has told us to take care of them because they are his. That is what I intend to do with my life.
So along with serving God's children, my goal for this year is to read 1 book a month. So far I'm not doing so well. I have finished 1 book! hehe It is only April and so the way I see it, I have lots of time.
I realize looking back to what I have written, I kinda went off subject a bit but what can ya do? hehe
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
To the Rescue!!!!
So yesterday was a bit of an interesting day to say the least.
After I got home with the kids yesterday, Brant wasn't feeling good and so both kids were napping and I was able to just spend some time with myself and do my own thing. All of a sudden I hear the neighbors dogs barking. They usually only bark when a dog is running down the alley, if a person is walking down the alley or of course squirrels.
I consider myself to be a nosey person when it comes to my neighborhood.
So me being nosey, I peak out the back to see what the dogs were barking at and I glanced towards the house to the south of us and I saw the back leg of a man go into the foreclosure house.
I freaked out and didn't know if it was an emergency or not so I called the non-emergency number. I told them what I saw and they said they would send the cops over. So after pacing from front door to back door for about 10 mins and talking to Darren bc I was scared, the dispatch calls back and asks my address again bc they couldn't find it. They of course had the wrong address and so here I am pacing still to see if I see anyone leave the house and still talking to Darren. ( I was giving him a play by play during the whole thing)
So finally the cops show up and we end up with 3 cops out front and one hiding in the alley in case they run out the back. So I can't see anything really bc our house is lined up with this house so all I can see are the cops and I can hear noises and yelling and pounding.
This whole thing lasted about an hour to two hours I think.
So what happened in the end was, they pounded on the door and a girl was in there and they told her to open the door but she couldn't and so they busted down the door with their guns and found a girl and a guy. They think they were trying to steal copper from the unoccupied house. They handcuffed the two people and put them in the cars and searched the house and took pictures of everything. They came and asked me for my statement since I was the one who called them and they asked a lady across the street too bc she is nosey too! hehe She had seen other stuff before and had called the cops but they never did anything.
Anyway, so for me this whole situation was scary and a huge adrenaline rush. However, I know I watch too much tv because I asked the cop if I should be worried about them coming after me since I called on them. They said to call them if ppl come banging on our door otherwise we should be fine. I think we may be looking into a security system here soon.
So the cops stayed and scoped things out for the rest of the evening and now today is back to normal.
So crazy!
After I got home with the kids yesterday, Brant wasn't feeling good and so both kids were napping and I was able to just spend some time with myself and do my own thing. All of a sudden I hear the neighbors dogs barking. They usually only bark when a dog is running down the alley, if a person is walking down the alley or of course squirrels.
I consider myself to be a nosey person when it comes to my neighborhood.
So me being nosey, I peak out the back to see what the dogs were barking at and I glanced towards the house to the south of us and I saw the back leg of a man go into the foreclosure house.
I freaked out and didn't know if it was an emergency or not so I called the non-emergency number. I told them what I saw and they said they would send the cops over. So after pacing from front door to back door for about 10 mins and talking to Darren bc I was scared, the dispatch calls back and asks my address again bc they couldn't find it. They of course had the wrong address and so here I am pacing still to see if I see anyone leave the house and still talking to Darren. ( I was giving him a play by play during the whole thing)
So finally the cops show up and we end up with 3 cops out front and one hiding in the alley in case they run out the back. So I can't see anything really bc our house is lined up with this house so all I can see are the cops and I can hear noises and yelling and pounding.
This whole thing lasted about an hour to two hours I think.
So what happened in the end was, they pounded on the door and a girl was in there and they told her to open the door but she couldn't and so they busted down the door with their guns and found a girl and a guy. They think they were trying to steal copper from the unoccupied house. They handcuffed the two people and put them in the cars and searched the house and took pictures of everything. They came and asked me for my statement since I was the one who called them and they asked a lady across the street too bc she is nosey too! hehe She had seen other stuff before and had called the cops but they never did anything.
Anyway, so for me this whole situation was scary and a huge adrenaline rush. However, I know I watch too much tv because I asked the cop if I should be worried about them coming after me since I called on them. They said to call them if ppl come banging on our door otherwise we should be fine. I think we may be looking into a security system here soon.
So the cops stayed and scoped things out for the rest of the evening and now today is back to normal.
So crazy!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Extra blessings!
So the last few days, I have had wonderful conversations with some of my best friends and felt so very blessed.
I love when I can talk on the phone with them and feel like we are in the same room. I love when I don't see them for weeks at a time and once we get together, it feels like it was just yesterday. These are the friendships that are absolutely AMAZING!!!
It's hard to comprehend that God knows what we need and the kind of people we need in our life. He knows us soo well that simple words from our friends can make everything better just like chocolate! hehe I may actually think that chocolate works a little bit faster because I dont' have to talk to my chocolate to feel better. I just eat it! hehe
I want you all to know that if you are my friend, I consider you an extra blessing in my life and thank God for you in my life!
I love when I can talk on the phone with them and feel like we are in the same room. I love when I don't see them for weeks at a time and once we get together, it feels like it was just yesterday. These are the friendships that are absolutely AMAZING!!!
It's hard to comprehend that God knows what we need and the kind of people we need in our life. He knows us soo well that simple words from our friends can make everything better just like chocolate! hehe I may actually think that chocolate works a little bit faster because I dont' have to talk to my chocolate to feel better. I just eat it! hehe
I want you all to know that if you are my friend, I consider you an extra blessing in my life and thank God for you in my life!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Expectations
Expectations are a dangerous thing in life. We all have them. We have them for ourselves, we have them for our families, friends, spouses, children and the list goes on. They can cause a lot of problems in relationships that's for sure.
I first realized I had expectations when I was in CTO (Called to Obedience) with my husband. During this time we realized what our expectations of each other were doing to our marriage. Let's just say that we had reached the end of our marriage and this class was our last hope.
We learned a lot about ourselves and each other and how we were always letting each other down because of our expectations for each other. They were soo high that we were never going to reach them.
The definition of expectation is this:
anticipation of something happening: a confident belife or strong hope that a particular event will happen
or
notion of something: a mental image of something expected, often compared to it's reality (often used in the plural)
Relationships are a blessing in life. We learn to trust people over time as we place small expectations on them and then they fulfill that expectation. We do this with ourselves, our family, friends, spouses and our kids. It’s not a bad thing to count on others, but it is important that we don’t shift our entire expectation to them.
We are all human and we have to remember that God did not make us perfect. We will always fail eachother and will always let eachother down. That is life and there is no way around it.
When we face difficult times, it can be tempting to turn our expectation to others rather than God. The Bible says that when we are in need of a refuge it is better to trust in the Lord. People can never fulfill our expectation the way that God can. He is the Alimighty!
I first realized I had expectations when I was in CTO (Called to Obedience) with my husband. During this time we realized what our expectations of each other were doing to our marriage. Let's just say that we had reached the end of our marriage and this class was our last hope.
We learned a lot about ourselves and each other and how we were always letting each other down because of our expectations for each other. They were soo high that we were never going to reach them.
The definition of expectation is this:
anticipation of something happening: a confident belife or strong hope that a particular event will happen
or
notion of something: a mental image of something expected, often compared to it's reality (often used in the plural)
Relationships are a blessing in life. We learn to trust people over time as we place small expectations on them and then they fulfill that expectation. We do this with ourselves, our family, friends, spouses and our kids. It’s not a bad thing to count on others, but it is important that we don’t shift our entire expectation to them.
We are all human and we have to remember that God did not make us perfect. We will always fail eachother and will always let eachother down. That is life and there is no way around it.
When we face difficult times, it can be tempting to turn our expectation to others rather than God. The Bible says that when we are in need of a refuge it is better to trust in the Lord. People can never fulfill our expectation the way that God can. He is the Alimighty!
The Bible encourages us to look to “the God of HOPE” who will “fill us with all joy and peace as we TRUST in him” God is the one source of expectation that will never fail us. He never lets us down. We can go to Him with huge expectation; anticipating great things from Him and He is the only one who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever dare to hope for. God not only meets our expectation, He is able to surpass it every time. How crazy is that? That makes me feel soo much love from Him!
No one can live up to all our expectations all the time. Even as Darren and I have learned this and spent lots of time on it, we still have expectations but we also realize that the other will not reach it.
When we are faced with this disappointment our response can either bring peace or anger. ”Gentle answer vs. harsh words” I am not very good with this part but my life is always a work in progress. As my blog is called, Daily Pruning. That is God working non-stop in my life. My mouth tends to open before my head has a chance to realize what is going on.
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger
No matter how disappointing it is when someone we care about lets us down… harsh words never make it any better. Afterwards we always feel sorry for my attitude and our words and this leads to a humbling apology both to God and to the person we are speaking to.
So with all of this, just be prepared to be let down. Know that you are not perfect and neither is anyone else.
We all fall short. When someone is able to fulfill our expectation and encourage us we should appreciate it as a blessing in our life. Not expect it. When someone isn’t able to fulfill our expectation we should forgive it. Just as through Christ, we too have been justified freely by his grace. We all fall short.
Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
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