The little things.....

A couple of days ago when I wrote my "losing weight" blog, God showed me he was listening. I had quoted Julie Hadden from The Biggest Loser in that blog, and that evening my husband came home and said he had a gift for me. He hadn't read my blog that day so I was so surprised and yet delighted when he handed me Julie Hadden's book "Fat Chance". My husband knows what a struggle my weight has always been, and I'm so thankful he bought me this book. It just showed me yet again that God hears me, and is there for me, and will help me through this journey.

I have been reading this non-stop since I have recieved it and it's an amazing book. I recommend it out there for anyone who is on this journey of losing weight.

"Trying" to lose weight...

For those of you who have followed my blog from the begginning... you have heard time and time again how I was "trying" to lose weight.. trying this... trying that.... and of course.... unfortunately... I am a few pounds lighter, but not the amount that I wanted to be....

Yet again I am going to try.... but this time... I am praying.... things will be different. I have watched the biggest loser the past few seasons.... I get inspired.... change for a few weeks and then nothing......


As I was online one day I was looking at some information from a christian radio station up here.... and Julie Hadden was on.... you know runner-up from one of the seasons of The Biggest Loser..... well I went to her website... and they had a quote of hers.... it just touched me....

This is what Julie has to say...

"All my life I had tried to please God. But it became increasingly apparent that I had not treated my body as a temple; I had treated it as a fair ground. I thought God was mad at me because I was fat. And although He wants us to care for the body He has given us, I realized He was far more concerned with the condition of my heart than any number on the scale. When I began to truly see the 'Julie' God created me to be instead of the 'Julie' I had created through a lifetime of bad habits, my life was changed forever."

- Julie Hadden


I have embarked on the journey of losing weight so many times.... what I'm learning in my new bible study Thin Within is that eating is like anything else in our lives. We have to trust God and seek his will for our lives, and that includes what we put and how much we put into our bodies.

I am combining this with Weight Watchers in hopes to reach my "God given natural size". My first "weigh-in" is on monday and I will share off and on about my weight loss journey.

I am not going to put a lot of pressure on myself, because I have seen women (and men) who for years have tried to lose weight, and I know it's process and a journey. What is different this time is I'm learning why I eat and learning that those emotions that drive me to eating, should be driving me to the Lord. I can cast those emotions on him and he through the Holy Spirit will give me the strength I need to just say no to that cheesburger... or piece of cheescake or whatever the tempting thing might be at the time.

Also I'm learning that "All things are permissible but not all things are beneficial". Cheescake isn't bad, but at some moments it may not be the best thing for my body. One of the biggest things I'm learning is to only eat when I am truly hungry, and stop when I feel satisified. It may sound simple but it's amazing how we keep eating even though our bodies have had more than enough.

Another quote that really stood out to me this week from the study was "Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing."

I just ask anyone who reads this to say a prayer for me. I am praying that throughout this process my relationship with Christ will grow stronger, and because of that I know I will be under attack and hopefully scripture combined with prayer I will come out victorious, and lose (release) the weight for good.

Ever have one of those days????

Have you ever woke up only to find everything is going wrong? It just feels like one thing after the other? I have heard a great song on the radio recently that fits this kind of day just perfectly.

We need to realize God can use every situation, frustation or problem to bring us closer to him. He is invested in the small details of our lives and wants us to lean on him.

So the next time I am changing a diaper where the poop has went everywhere but in the diaper... I'm going to try and remember that... :-)

Enjoy!

The best valentine cards......

Aside from the incredible cards I get from my husband each year, I'm discovering some of the best cards yet...... ones from my children! This particular card is one that Joseph made for me in his Sunday School class today. He was so proud and couldn't wait to show me and it almost made me cry when I saw it....

To feel how much a child loves you.... it's really overwhelming.... they love you despite your faults.... despite the things about yourself that you can't stand... they look past it all and love you... unconditionally.... because your their mother.... SO incredible!

(that's me and him at the bottom) :-)

Ya... It's probably me..... :-)

Let me start off this blog with a little history of why I am the way that I am....

When I was growing up, at age 9 my father died, so my mom wasn't able to make it to alot of my sports games and stuff because she was very busy running a household by herself. My older sisters would help by taking me to games. Well my sister Krista was a catcher. When I started playing softball I knew I wanted to be just like her and be a catcher too. Infact I even think one of my other sisters Kelly was a catcher as well.




My sister Krista being that she was a catcher and knew what to do felt the need to help her little sister out. She thought the best way to do that was to stand right up against the fence right behind me as I was catching and yell out instructions to me during the whole game... :-) At the time I didn't like it too much but looking back I can see how slowly but surely I became a better catcher each game. I even got to play High School softball as a catcher, no doubt because of her efforts of wanting to teach me how to play that position and play it well. I realize how blessed I was to have someone "rooting" for me while I was playing.



Well....... I'm finding myself becoming my sister as I watch my children play sports. Right now Joseph has played t-ball, football and is now playing basketball. Sometimes I find myself standing and shouting instructions across the entire gym as parents turn around and look at me with strange looks on their faces. Most of the time I don't seem to notice, just as I'm sure my sister didn't always notice the glances she received. I just want my little boy to hear my voice... and know that I care... I'm cheering for him.... and hopefully helping him learn something too.






So if you are at a game.... and you hear this wacko parent yelling out instructions to her son.... ya... it's probably me!!! :-)

back to blogging????

Well the other day I was inspired to start writing again.... my best friend (a great blogger by the way!!) had a blog and encouraged people to start a blog. I'm not a great writer, but I do love to share things I'm learning in my life and things that God is showing and teaching me.

So I find myself back in the blogging world. I don't know how many people will read what I am writing, but the ones that are supposed to will, and maybe as I learn to live for God and go through the daily struggles of life, I will hopefully inspire and encourage others.

So I'm back... Thanks Chrissy

I'd like to leave you all with a poem I came across....

BEING A MOM

The house is untidy from window to door,
Marks on the walls and food on the floor.

The washing's unwashed
and the dishes are too,
...There's scum in the bathroom
And fat on the stew.

There are toys in the passage
And under our feet;
The garden's a jungle
When seen from the street.

So what have I done, then
To earn my repose?
To just look around me
You'd say no-one knows!
I've held a small hand
As his first steps he took.

I've made animal noises
As we read a book.

I've built a mud pie
And admired a snail.

I've rescued the cat
From a grip on her tail.

I've wiped away tears,
And I've listened to tales.

I've used mediation
To get smiles from wails.

So I guess what I've done
Isn't easy to see -
It won't clean the house
And it won't cook the tea.

But if I have helped make a child feel good,
know that he's loved and
that he's understood,
then I know that my work,
though not easy to see,
is just as important as any could be.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

Sometimes it's easy to get overwhelmed with all that we have to do as moms, but we always need to keep in mind the bigger picture. :-)

Goodbye for a while

For those of you who occassionally read my blog, you might have noticed it's been almost a month since I blogged last. I was so good there for a while, but lately I just haven't kept up..... and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back to it enough to actually post a blog more than once a month, so until then a goodbye.

I'll leave you with some of the things I missed blogging about....


We went to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis and the boys had a blast...









We went back to Missouri to visit with our family and went swimming at Grandma Janet's house...









Jonathan got his first haircut! What was so special about this is the barber is the same barber that cut mike's first haircut, michael's, joseph's and samuel's. It was only fitting that he should cut Jonathan's hair the first time as well. He didn't get upset, not even once, such a big boy!










And most recently my firstborn.... Joseph... turned 6!!!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by.... and now he is starting school in just 2 weeks! To start 2 pictures from when he was littler... one from when he was a baby... and then one from his 4th birthday party with me holding him.... how I wish I could freeze time some times.. :-) But I think all mommies wish that once in a while.....













As you can see I missed a lot of opportunities to blog :-) Thanks for all who have read up until now, and if you want to know when I start blogging again please leave a message so I can let you know...

God bless!