February 2013
1 post
The Day After Valentine's Day
I remember it like it was yesterday. That feeling of relief the day after Valentine’s Day. Relief that all the attention was finally off of me. I was a single girl in a world of couples. Shame. Embarrassment. Oh, how I dreaded that day. Loathed it, actually. It was filled with loneliness. Plain and simple. All the lucky girls with their bouquets of flowers, heart boxes of chocolates, and...
November 2012
5 posts
1 tag
Five Minute Friday: Stay
“Stay with me, mama,” he said.
How could I not? He had been sick for 8 days now, and I could not breathe if I left his side.
The beeping of the machines. The rise and fall of his chest. The busy chaos outside his door. The still quiet within my head. It was all there in that small room. Twenty-three floors above the ground.
It had been 8 days that I had seen his little sister and...
2 tags
Lessons From My Daughter on the Holy Spirit
“There are two voices you usually hear, Mama.”
She is six, and loves to talk about a mile a minute when you get her in a car.
“And, God usually gets your attention first and then tells you what to do.”
Really.
“Yes, mama. God gets your attention. Kinda how he got Paul’s attention to keep him from killing Christians. Well, maybe not exactly like how He got...
1 tag
Five Minute Friday: Quiet
Topic: Quiet
The news is deafening.
“Run to me,” He says. “Run to Me. Hide here.”
The chaos and screaming ensues but I am am still in my mind. Cowering to the pain of his words.
Quiet.
It sears.
It bleeds.
The screaming is mine; I hear it.
“Hide here,” He says. “Stay close, Beloved.”
Despair creeps in like a stone statue of a weeping...
Five Minute Friday: Roots
Lisa Jo Baker from Gypsy Mama hosts a five minute writing project every friday and provides a community of awesome bloggers with a single topic. We write for five minutes flat and post what we write, without extreme editing! Just pure thoughts and nothing else. Click on the link above to check out other bloggers thoughts on the same topic. I would love to hear what you think!
TOPIC: Roots
I...
Goodbye, October. Hello, November.
What a month October has been: a month of growth and blessings. Thank you for taking the 31 Day Writing Challenge with me. As always, God blesses the writer before the reader. He has blessed me outrageously this month by through the challenge, and I hope you found blessings sprinkled throughout as well. You can read the whole series here on this link. One of my favorite posts...
October 2012
33 posts
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 31: Sing a New Song}
There comes a time where you have to lay your burdens down and surrender. If you are like me, may be you try every avenue stubbornly. May be you think in the back of your mind “if I can just get to the point of thin, I could maintain it.” May be you try one more quick fix, one more unhealthy treatment for your body, your temple. When you are done with the quick fixes and done trying...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 30: Jesus is My Super...
Throughout this series, I have been writing about how to look at weight loss with a different lens. A lens that focuses on Christ, his love for us, and the amazing Holy Spirit He left us with. I am not going to tell you anything new today.
Jesus is my super power. He rocks my world every single day. I get into trouble and He hears my call every time. Just today, I let the enemy have a stronghold....
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 29: The Perfect and...
I used to want to be the perfect and good girl with potential. So perfect that no one would ever leave me or lie to me or tell me I was unlovable. So much potential that I had lots of possibilities to be good and perfect. I tried so hard. It was a tough cycle to follow, but I kept at it. I worked hard at showing everyone just how perfect and good I was. In fact, I almost convinced myself.
I...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 28: Wanderer}
I am prone to wander. It is in my nature. I take rabbit trails. I lazily look for short cuts. I get distracted by beauty. I get caught up in the moment and toss off pressing responsibilities. I have a horrible sense of direction because I am too busy having fun riding along. God knows this about me. He made me sensitive to my surroundings. He made me an artist so that I could witness His beauty...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 27: Gratitude}
I don’t know about you, but I have spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself over the years. Instead of being grateful for the things I did have, I wasted a lot of time wishing something awesome would fall into my lap. It did not happen that way.
How awesome did happen was I started being grateful. God opened my world up. I started being grateful and telling Him thank you for guiding...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 26: God Knows}
I worked almost five months on my weight loss before anyone noticed. It was disappointing and tested my faith. One day my ever-observant-six-year- old-daughter brought my eyes back to the Lord. Children have a way of doing that; don’t they?
“God sees everything; doesn’t He mommy?” Yes, He sure does.
God spoke truth to me through my daughter. If we listen, even through...
1 tag
Five Minute Friday:
Lisa Jo Baker from Gypsy Mama hosts a five minute writing project every friday and provides a community of awesome bloggers with a topic. We write for five minutes flat and post what we write, without extreme editting! Just pure thoughts and nothing else. Click on the link above to check out others bloggers thoughts on the same topic. I woould love to hear what you think. So please leave a...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 25: Fight for Your...
Satan wants to destroy you; this is not news. He will do anything to keep your faith from growing. Anything. In fact, I am quite certain that the one thing he doesn’t want to happen is for you to put all your faith in Jesus Christ. Do it anyway.
The first thing he is going to do is tell you that you can’ t do this weight loss/change your life thing. “It’s too hard, and...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 24: Be a Tree}
Throughout my life I have focused on the wrong things. I have not only focused on the wrong things, but I have carefully tended them and aspired to grow them. I have reached out to the wrong people. Repeatedly. Wished instead of prayed. Gambled on sin instead of looking to the certainty of the Lord. In short, I have been a bush rather than a tree.
This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 23: Cake and Bread}
Over this last weekend God blessed me with a spectacular weekend at our church’s Women’s Retreat. I spent the weekend learning about Simon Peter and a small section of scripture that inspired me to be more effective and productive in my life.
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a...
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 22: Marathon}
I am a marathon runner.
In my heart, and a few awesome dreams, I run marathons. I mean, I seriously run them like a Kenyan boss. But those dreams are not the reality of my life. Truth is, I may never actually run a marathon for one reason or another. Maybe too much damage done to my knees from years of basketball and softball or maybe, sigh, that is just not God’s plan for me. Only God...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 21: Sing Praises}
I remember exactly where I was when I truly realized what it meant to sing praises over another human being. I was sitting in a NICU, and he was barely three pounds of flesh and bones. I sang praises over him this 8 week old premature baby boy of mine. I didn’t care of i sang off key or if I knew the words or if anyone heard me. All I could do was thank God for his little life and sing...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 20: Spiritual...
I have this reoccurring dream where I am in a dense fog. I want to wake up, but I can’t. I lie there body paralyzed, but mentally I am fully aware of my surroundings. I can’t go forward, and I can’t go back. It’s debilitating. It’s maddening. It’s depressing. These dreams are as close as I can come to describing the spiritual depression I went though when my...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 19: Trials, Tests,...
When we face trails and tests we have a choice in how we handle them. From the devastating trials to the tests, we have a choice to rely on ourselves or trust Jesus. As hard as our flesh makes it upon our spirits, we can choose to trust Jesus.
In the last year, I have been faced with trials that have been devastating. Typically, in the past, these high caliber trials would have sunk my weight...
1 tag
Five Minute Friday: Look
Hello Five Minute Friday!
Lisa Jo Baker from Gypsy Mama hosts a five minute writing project every friday and provides a community of awesome bloggers with a topic. We write for five minutes flat and post what we write, without extreme editting! Just pure thoughts and nothing else. Click on the link above to check out others bloggers thoughts on the same topic. I woould love to hear what you...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 18: Wisdom}
I want to imagine you are remodeling your house. Before you begin on your remodel, would you put some thought into it? Maybe some prayer? Would you ask God to bless your every choice? Would you pray for the finances for the building materials and most importantly, the wisdom to use them properly? With a decision as important as your home, I am certain thoughtful prayer and godly counsel would be...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 17: Shame}
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”Psalm 34:5
This is a delicate subject: shame. I will prayerfully handle it with honesty and great care:
There are two kinds of shame in this world: true shame and false shame. We feel true shame if we sin ourselves. We feel false shame is someone else sins against us. All shame keeps us from having a...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 16: Don't Miss Your...
“Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” Romans 6:14
This summer I made a choice. I followed the advice given to me by a friend many summers before. This time, God gave me ears to hear her advice.
My choice was to quit missing my life.
Every summer I watch my kids swim from the...
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 15: Forgiveness}
We all fall. We all stumble. We all make mistakes. Forgive yourself and begin again.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
No matter where you are today. No matter if you think you blew it terribly. Start fresh right now with an attitude of forgiveness for yourself. Turn you mind,...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 14: Make it Personal}...
Over the years of trying to lose weight, I noticed an attitude of cynicism had taken root in my heart. Either telling myself I was never going to be thin or resolving to an unhealthy life because of the luck of the draw genetically, these attitudes became a toxin in my spiritual life.
As time passed, these cynicisms gave way to desperation and I began to spiral. Then I had to pay consequences....
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 13: Come Thirsty-part...
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4: 13
I can relate to the woman at the well. Battered from the world. A little rough around the edges. Walked on. Forgotten. Can you relate?
The woman at the well...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 12: Come Thirsty-Part...
How thirsty are you? Do you drink from the well everyday?
This is a two part post concerning thirst.
Before you do anything else today, pray that God will make you thirsty for His Word and for water.
Second, ask yourself how much water are you drinking each day? This is really a very simple concept. Our bodies were made to require water. Do whatever you need to do to drink the water, but...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 11: Vows}
Do you make vows to yourself? Have you said to yourself, “I will never get that fat again.” Does it sound a little like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind? In my head, I have played out that scene too many times. I no longer make vows to myself. To be honest, I can’t keep them regarding my diet and exercise.
I do make vows to Jesus. I vow to honor, love and cherish...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 10: Will Power}
I don’t know about you, but I hear a lot about will power. Many times along my journey someone has said to me, “you must have a whole lot of will power. I sure don’t.”
Yeah, no. I have no will power whatsoever.
The world would have you think that you are capable of will power. There is a lot of money in helping you to curb your appetite for more, so that you can weigh...
31 Days Series {Day 9: Exercise}
There is no way around this one. If you want a healthier you, you need to exercise your body.
When I started, I walked. Honestly, I walked up the street and back. Then, I walked through my neighborhood (very hilly). Then, I got a partner and a routine. Then, I got a health club membership. Are you seeing where I am going with this? Start small. Make one choice today. Then get up tomorrow and...
31 Days Series: {Day 8: Tools}
One of the tools I have used, and still use, for my weight loss journey is Weight Watchers. For a year I prayed and asked god for guidance regarding food. For a year, He asked me to first learn to obey and rely on Him for everything. I waited on His answer like a tax refund coming in the mail. About the time, I forgot to be anxious and impatient, His answer came.
This last January, I joined...
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31 Days Series: {Day 7: Rest}
Rest is one of the most underestimated healthy habits. We all need rest. Even God rested. Our bodies require rest and plenty of it.
When my body does not get the rest it needs, I compensate. I drink too many caffeinated products, and I make poor choices with what I eat. The grumpier I get, the more I am tempted to emotional eating. Being tired compromises my thinking. And, I drift away from...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 6: Honesty}
When I started this series, I promised I would be transparent and honest. My goal is to tell God’s story of redemption in my life, a story filled with hope, love, and honesty: nothing less.
At different starting points (also known as stops) along my journey, I have had to have this conversation with myself. It goes like this:
“Be honest with yourself. Stop telling lies. Stop...
2 tags
31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 5: Faith}
Faith is a choice.
Faith requires you to walk to a destination that you cannot see your surroundings and you cannot lead yourself. For much of my life I just could not wrap my mind around it. But that was the problem: my mind.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).
When I started realizing that my heart had faith, but my...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 4: Prayer}
God loves to hear our voices. He longs to fill our void and heal our hurts. He loves to hear the joy in our voice when we celebrate. He loves to hear us sing praises to Him. He loves to hear us call Him by name.
Nothing has helped me more in my weight loss journey than prayer. I have prayed over my health everyday of the last two years. Praying at first for a miracle cure. Praying for the easy...
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31 Days of Weight Loss: {Day 3: Set Yourself Up...
One of the things I do as a mom is do the best I can to set my children up for success. Mind you, I do not pave the way for them, fluff them up, or provide a false sense of security. After all, I am raising godly spouses and parents. I don’t want them ill prepared for those jobs. I want their minds focused on the Lord, their bodies prepared for whatever may come, and their souls armed for...
2 tags
31 Days: Weight Loss {Day 2: Take Out the Trash}
One of the first things I did once I had resolved to stand down, die to myself, and allow God to resurrect my health, was to take a good look at my surroundings. In other words, I took out some trash.
First, I went through my freezer. Being a good ol’ fashioned rocky road kind of girl, I dumped all the things that were standing in my way to good health: ice cream. Anything I liked that...
2 tags
31 Days: Weight Loss {Day 1: Die to Yourself}
{DAY 1} Die to Yourself
The first thing I did when I actually became serious about changing my life, my body, my health, my weight was to get rid of myself. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” Luke 9:23 ESV. I had to deny myself. I had to deny myself daily. I still do. I had to walk away from who I was and the way I felt...
2 tags
31 Days: Weight Loss
Hello, October! For the next 31 days I will be writing on the topic of Weight Loss, prayerfully, in a way that you haven’t considered, and all the while sharing with you what God has laid on my heart in the most significant way. For each day of October, I will be sharing my experiences, blessings, struggles, prayers, and praises of my weight loss journey. Along with other bloggers from...
September 2012
4 posts
1 tag
Grasp
Hello Five Minute Friday! Lisa Jo Baker from Gypsy Mama hosts a 5 minute writing project every friday and provides a topic. Bloggers write for five minutes flat and post what they write, without editting ANYTHING! Just pure thoughts and nothing else. Click on the link above to check out others bloggers thoughts on the topic and feel free to write away in the comment section about the topic...
2 tags
Superheros
We talk a lot about superheros in our house. In fact, it is part of our everyday life these days. Who is better? Who runs faster? Who is cooler? Who has the most power? In fact, the everlasting conversation about Marvel Comic Superheros versus DC Comic Justice League Superheros lives on and on and on.
My 8 year old in his Ironman mask and Justice League pajamas said, ” I don’t get...
Setting a Pace
I have been walking a lot this past summer. Walking in my physical life, but more importantly walking in my spiritual one. God has me in a season of sowing, so I walk. I walk to cleanse my soul of hidden toxins. Sometimes, I walk a little faster, teetering on the edge of running, to outrun the old self I am trying desperately to leave behind and running to the new self I so desperately want.
...
July 2012
3 posts
2 tags
Time Out for a Season Change
I am always the first to miss the obvious. It just escapes me. Sometimes, I am so taken by the little things that the great big elephant standing in front of me just goes unnoticed. For example, I never see the seasons changing. They take me by surprise every time mainly because like many of you I don’t like change. The seasons of change in my children’s lives, the seasons of growth...
1 tag
Roadtrip: Top 10 Things My Kids Say
Recently my kids and I took a road trip. We spent a great deal of time in the car. Some interesting things came up. Here is my top ten list of the crazy, sweet, interesting things my lovies said.
10. Mom, are we there yet? (Said five minutes into the thirteen hour trip.) Answer: Yes, we are just looking for a place to park (I cannot lay claim to this response. It is my plumberman’s!).
9....
1 tag
Pinterest Monday: Count Your Blessings
Every Monday, I share something that inspires me on Pinterest. Something that keeps me looking towards the Father. Something that makes me stop and think about the Father’s love and all the blessings in my life, and I like to share them with you.
I love all the wonderful artwork and quotes on Pinterest. Here is one of my favorites. I looked up the verses that remind me of the sentiments on this...
June 2012
14 posts
1 tag
Give Love Friday: Part Two
This post orginally aired last friday (June 22nd). This is part two of that giveaway. Please leave a comment and you are entered for the love. Will draw a name via Random.org. Thank you!
Happy Friday, my friends!
Every Friday, I make a crafty-something to give a little love to you, to love my neighbor, and give love, as Jesus commanded. “A new command I give you: Love one another,” (John...
Clarity
This last November when my son returned home with us after a 13 day hospital stay, I came home a different person. I left the old person with my old habits behind. God had started something new in me and I chose to accept and embrace my new beginning (Isaiah 43:19).
When I was a kid, I recieved a baby blue hard plastic deck with sparkly blue spinning...
2 tags
Pinterest Monday: How Will They Remember Me?
By the time you read this post this morning, I will be driving to my father’s house in Oregon with my three children. Driving to spend some precious time with my Dad who is in the middle of a grueling battle with Cancer. My dad who all my life was easily described as one of the toughest men a man has ever met. He is a man’s man. He is a determined man. God made him that way. Praise,...
1 tag
Give Love Friday
Happy Friday, my friends!
Every Friday, I make a crafty-something to give a little love to you, to love my neighbor, and give love, as Jesus commanded. “A new command I give you: Love one another,” (John 13:34-35). It is giving for the sake of giving, expecting nothing in return. Just love: all Jesus. In a sin-sick world, we do what we can to show love to one another. This is one way I can use...
