Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Still chuggin!

Well, so far so good! I think that My Fitness Pal tells me I have been behaving for about 17 days now, so go me! I am pretty excited about the consistency I have been able to maintain. Of course, I know its not me, but rather the strength of the Lord that is pulling me through. It is His strength that has kept my hands out of the bags of cookies my kids' have from their grandparents. It is His strength that is keeping me from buying the Milk Chocolate Blue Bell on HEBs shelves that I saw yesterday at the store. I am thankful for His strength. I really think this time will be different. Lord, how I hope it is! I have also been either riding the trainer or running/walking most every day too, which I am sure is helping. So far, I am down 13 pounds, and that helps keep me going too. I am still very much aware that I am big time obese, but it is truly amazing how just a couple of weeks of consistency can make you feel so much better about everything. I am really thankful. Here's to hoping it will continue! In His strength!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Let's Do This!

Yep...here I am, back again, me, myself and I.  I know nobody really reads this thing, but its fun to write and it helps me sort through all the stuff bouncing in my head, so I am all for it, even if it ends up being for my eyes only.

Well, we had a killer day at church this past Sunday.  One of those days where the Lord just speaks and keeps speaking to you and it really does effect a change in your attitude and in your heart.  It also gives tremendous peace to have an encounter like that.  I remember one of those life-changing God-encounters when I was single and struggling with it.  I was volunteering with  my church at the Super Summer camp we went to with the youth and the last night of the camp we were in the auditorium at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, and Dave Edwards gave the talk and Joel Engle led worship and the combination of what Dave said and the song "All I can  Say" by Joel Engle was used by the Lord to minister to me in mighty powerful ways.  It gave me peace with being single and helped me to know whatever happened, He was big, I belonged to Him, and it would be okay.  Of course, I met my husband soon therafter.  Not sure if that was all God-ordained or not (just kidding...my kids help me to know it was supposed to be!), but whatever the case, it was part of God preparing my heart for what was to come.  For making ME ready to receive what He had, because prior to that I wasn't ready.

Well, this past Sunday at church felt a lot that same way.  Maybe not quite as dramatic, but I still believe He spoke to me in a calming-lets-do-this kind of a way.  It was primarily in regards to my weight.  You know, I have been trying to lose weight for just about as long as I can remember.  Its hard to remember not being fat, because I have been varying degrees of fat since about 1999.  Yep, 13 years of fatness, baby.  I think I have had my doubts as to if it can really, actually happen that I could get un-fat and stay that way.  Like I try, but then get derailed and with every derailment I become more and more doubtful that I could ever not be stuck in this trap.  Well, this Sunday was a breakthrough, I believe...I am claiming it as one anyway.  Alan was preaching about Abraham and his faith.  Our church is doing the E100 Bible Reading Challenge, where we read 100 essential texts from scripture.  We are at the beginning, hence Abraham's story.  Alan talked about how Abraham had a command or a charge...and he had to be obedient...and he had to have FAITH!  Faith is believing what we cannot see.  We also sang "Healer" and my friend Lori sang the lead on it, and since I wasn't singing in the mic on that one, I was able to just stand back, sing, and be ministered to.  "Nothing is impossible for You...Nothing is Impossible..." we sang in the bridge.  And you know what...I GOT it.  I really think I got it--NOTHING is impossible for Him...not even my weight issue.  I have to trust Him and BELIEVE He can give me the discipline I need to make it happen.  I also am believing that He can work my schedule out somehow in such a way that I can get enough sleep as well as have time to exercise.  I don't know how He's gonna do that, I don't know what its going to look like, but I am asking boldly for that to happen, and asking Him, knowing He WILL answer to give me what I need to get healthy.

Good stuff!!!  The kind of stuff that makes you want to storm the gates of Hell with a water pistol.  I am only on day 2 of my eating clean and healthy, but one day at a time and I know it will happen.  I feel like this time can be different because I am trusting, believing, and relying on His strength and not my own.  My strength sucks...His is perfect.  Holding on tight to that! 

I am using My Fitness Pal on my phone to log my food and calories and workouts.  I think it is helping.  I withstood the lure of red velvet cupcakes here at work tonight even...I really am trying!

So yea...Let's Do this!  I am ready, and I am so thankful that I belong to the One for which nothing is impossible!  If He can raise the dead from the grave, surely he can transform a lardbutt into a svelte and  healthy thing of beauty!  Woo hoo!!!!