I weighted myself this morning and was disappointed to have not lost anything since yesterday. Normally I weigh only once a week to avoid these disappointments. However, since I'm on this fast it's important to keep a closer watch on my weight.
Yes, this fast is mostly about turning my will over to Jesus, but it's also about loosing weight. I guess right now I'm really struggling with having the proper motivation for this. I also have to remember that it's not healthy to loose too much weight too fast. Slow and steady wins the race as they say.
I keep finding myself saying things like, "I WILL loose this weight!" Even though I've told the Lord that if He prefers to keep me at this weight, that will be ok with me. Arrrgh! Is NO part of this ever easy??
It's just so easy to get caught up in seeing those pounds drop and wanting to see it happen faster. LORD, please help me to keep my focus on YOU!
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 165
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Day 8
I feel like I'm learning so much! God is growing me in ways that I may not even recognize right away. Since yesterday I've been pondering the question, "Am I obeying God for the blessings, or am I obeying Him BECAUSE I'm blessed??" I find that it can be a hard line to distinguish and a very easy one to cross over without ever realizing it.
In my lesson this morning I learned about being "poor in spirit". Basically acknowledging that I have NOTHING to offer to God and without Him I am NOTHING.
Yesterday, after church, MyHero decided to take us all to the mall since there were a couple of things he needed to get. My kids were NOT thrilled and kept complaining that they just wanted to go home. I told them numerous times that they needed to "deny themselves".
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23
As I read my lesson this morning and pondered what it means to be "poor in spirit" I thought, "If you are emptied of yourself, then it would be much easier to deny yourself!" As I was typing this out another thought came to me! "As you deny yourself, it is easier to become emptied of yourself!" I think it's going to take some time to wrap my head around all that this implies!
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 165
In my lesson this morning I learned about being "poor in spirit". Basically acknowledging that I have NOTHING to offer to God and without Him I am NOTHING.
Yesterday, after church, MyHero decided to take us all to the mall since there were a couple of things he needed to get. My kids were NOT thrilled and kept complaining that they just wanted to go home. I told them numerous times that they needed to "deny themselves".
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23
As I read my lesson this morning and pondered what it means to be "poor in spirit" I thought, "If you are emptied of yourself, then it would be much easier to deny yourself!" As I was typing this out another thought came to me! "As you deny yourself, it is easier to become emptied of yourself!" I think it's going to take some time to wrap my head around all that this implies!
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 165
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Day 6
My big news today, I think I've been released to crochet again! My arm is feeling much better. It only pains me once in a while now. Also, I'm much more aware of my motivation for crochet. I think my first project, before I go back to the afghan I was working on will be something for my daughter's birthday.
She wants me to make a crochet cat for her, so I'd like to do that. But I also want to make her some crocheted rollers for her hair. She's been using small towels and wash cloths from our linens to attempt to curl her long, very thick hair. I've found some really cool patterns for crocheted curlers and think this would be much easier for her. Not to mention looking much less silly! Also, I can stuff these with cotton wool so that they will absorb the moisture from her hair better. Because her hair is so thick it takes FOREVER to dry!
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 166
She wants me to make a crochet cat for her, so I'd like to do that. But I also want to make her some crocheted rollers for her hair. She's been using small towels and wash cloths from our linens to attempt to curl her long, very thick hair. I've found some really cool patterns for crocheted curlers and think this would be much easier for her. Not to mention looking much less silly! Also, I can stuff these with cotton wool so that they will absorb the moisture from her hair better. Because her hair is so thick it takes FOREVER to dry!
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 166
Friday, January 27, 2012
Food is Not the Problem-Day 5
Bet you can guess what my lesson was about today. Food is not the reason that I'm overweight. I'm overweight because I like to over indulge! That and I don't like to exercise. Basically, I lack self-control in those areas. I'm allowing my Lord to teach me self-control.
The passage that grabbed me from today's study in "The Lord's Table" is, "The Christian life is not about legalistically following a set of rules, conforming to a man-made religion, or denying ourselves certain kinds of foods. It is about being full of Christ and enjoying Him."
"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!'? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Colossians 2:20-23
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 167
The passage that grabbed me from today's study in "The Lord's Table" is, "The Christian life is not about legalistically following a set of rules, conforming to a man-made religion, or denying ourselves certain kinds of foods. It is about being full of Christ and enjoying Him."
"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!'? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Colossians 2:20-23
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 167
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Focusing on Others, Day 4
In my reading today, I was learning what fasting should look like Biblically. Isaiah 58 is all about God's views on fasting. Verse 10 says, "And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."
I've been avoiding the kitchen and cooking. My kids have been more than happy to step up and do the cooking not so much the clean up. Now I'm starting to think, perhaps I should go back to doing the cooking and stop avoiding the clean up as well.
There are also verses that talk about keeping your fast secret. I'm struggling with those. Not sure how you would keep a 20 day fast secret. My purpose in writing about it here is more for my own benefit than for anyone else. Writing helps me to process what I'm learning. Also having this here adds accountability to my fast.
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 168
I've been avoiding the kitchen and cooking. My kids have been more than happy to step up and do the cooking not so much the clean up. Now I'm starting to think, perhaps I should go back to doing the cooking and stop avoiding the clean up as well.
There are also verses that talk about keeping your fast secret. I'm struggling with those. Not sure how you would keep a 20 day fast secret. My purpose in writing about it here is more for my own benefit than for anyone else. Writing helps me to process what I'm learning. Also having this here adds accountability to my fast.
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 168
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Placing my Gold in the Dust, Day 3
It's day 3! The start of my actual juice fast. I'm down 1lb more today. The thought occurred to me this morning after weighing myself, "If I can continue to loose just one pound a day, by the end of this fast I'll have lost 20 lbs!!" That's an encouraging thought, BUT I have to keep reminding myself that this fast is not so much about loosing weight as it is about learning to feast on the Word.
This morning one of the scriptures I read was Job 22:21-26. In my NIV it reads like this, "Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from His mouth and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God."
This spoke to me of regarding my most valued possessions as dust compared to the fulfillment I receive from Christ Jesus. Yes, Lord, I want to seek my fullness in YOU, not in food or even my family or my crochet!
"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man (woman) who takes refuge in Him. Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." Psalm 34:8-9
Amen!! I can trust my LORD to give me everything I need!! All I need to do is be feasting on HIM!
I will be needing to remind myself of these verses and truths as my stomach complains. Last night, even though I had a salad for dinner, I was tempted to have a bite of the rice the rest of the family had left over from their dinner. I quickly reminded myself that was not allowed. Then I turned and saw the loaf of bread in the pantry, "Oh, one slice of bread would be so good right now!" "Nope! You're not going to have one!"
Leaving my crochet alone has been almost as hard. Yesterday, I finished taking out some stitches on the afghan I'm making. I was not pleased with how they were turning out and need to rework them. Also, we have a part-time doggie friend who stays with us during the day while her "mommy" is at work. Eloise has a history of pulling out and generally making a knotted mess of her "mommy's" knitting project. I didn't want the same thing to happen to my crochet project and wanted to get it up out of her reach. To do that I needed to finish pulling out the stitches I'd started pulling out a few days ago. I didn't do any actual crochet, just pulled out the stitches.
I'm dying to get back to this project though. Partially because it is NEARLY done and that is the time when I usually get that surge to push on and finish it. But also simply because my hands miss the feel of my crochet hook. I'm going to be obedient and leave it alone until I'm given the go-ahead by my LORD. Not sure, just how I'll know when that is. Perhaps when my arm completely heals, it's still been sore.
I'm thinking that God wants to break something in me concerning my crochet though. As much as I hate to admit it, I think it has become an idol in my life. I'm trusting that God will give it back to me. Please, Lord?? Perhaps I just need to continually examine my heart motivation to crochet and make sure that it is for God's glory and not my own.
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 170
This morning one of the scriptures I read was Job 22:21-26. In my NIV it reads like this, "Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from His mouth and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God."
This spoke to me of regarding my most valued possessions as dust compared to the fulfillment I receive from Christ Jesus. Yes, Lord, I want to seek my fullness in YOU, not in food or even my family or my crochet!
"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man (woman) who takes refuge in Him. Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." Psalm 34:8-9
Amen!! I can trust my LORD to give me everything I need!! All I need to do is be feasting on HIM!
I will be needing to remind myself of these verses and truths as my stomach complains. Last night, even though I had a salad for dinner, I was tempted to have a bite of the rice the rest of the family had left over from their dinner. I quickly reminded myself that was not allowed. Then I turned and saw the loaf of bread in the pantry, "Oh, one slice of bread would be so good right now!" "Nope! You're not going to have one!"
Leaving my crochet alone has been almost as hard. Yesterday, I finished taking out some stitches on the afghan I'm making. I was not pleased with how they were turning out and need to rework them. Also, we have a part-time doggie friend who stays with us during the day while her "mommy" is at work. Eloise has a history of pulling out and generally making a knotted mess of her "mommy's" knitting project. I didn't want the same thing to happen to my crochet project and wanted to get it up out of her reach. To do that I needed to finish pulling out the stitches I'd started pulling out a few days ago. I didn't do any actual crochet, just pulled out the stitches.
I'm dying to get back to this project though. Partially because it is NEARLY done and that is the time when I usually get that surge to push on and finish it. But also simply because my hands miss the feel of my crochet hook. I'm going to be obedient and leave it alone until I'm given the go-ahead by my LORD. Not sure, just how I'll know when that is. Perhaps when my arm completely heals, it's still been sore.
I'm thinking that God wants to break something in me concerning my crochet though. As much as I hate to admit it, I think it has become an idol in my life. I'm trusting that God will give it back to me. Please, Lord?? Perhaps I just need to continually examine my heart motivation to crochet and make sure that it is for God's glory and not my own.
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 170
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Off to a Great Start! Day 2
I started out my day feasting on the Word. My lesson today was about seeking my fulfillment in Christ rather than food in those times when I'm not really hungry but still find myself reaching for food. Great lesson!
I'm down by 2 lbs since yesterday. Well, I'm not totally sure just how accurate that is. I forgot to weigh myself before I got dressed yesterday. Therefore, yesterday's weight included the weight of my clothes. So I'm probably actually only down 1 lb. It's something though! I have to remember that this is not supposed to be so much about loosing weight as it is about getting my heart back in line with God's.
On the homeschool front, we are plugging along. ManBoy has taken to telling me, "Yes!" when I first get up, anticipating my question, "Did you do school yet??" He's my early riser. Then there's RoboBoy who will sleep past noon if I let him! Forget roadschooling! We need to figure out how to sleep school with him!
I'm down by 2 lbs since yesterday. Well, I'm not totally sure just how accurate that is. I forgot to weigh myself before I got dressed yesterday. Therefore, yesterday's weight included the weight of my clothes. So I'm probably actually only down 1 lb. It's something though! I have to remember that this is not supposed to be so much about loosing weight as it is about getting my heart back in line with God's.
On the homeschool front, we are plugging along. ManBoy has taken to telling me, "Yes!" when I first get up, anticipating my question, "Did you do school yet??" He's my early riser. Then there's RoboBoy who will sleep past noon if I let him! Forget roadschooling! We need to figure out how to sleep school with him!
Monday, January 23, 2012
A Post Script to the Last Post
As I sat here chewing on what the Spirit told me this morning, "Any motive other than to glorify God becomes hypocrisy and idolatry." I started thinking, "What is my motivation in my crochet???" Oh no, Lord! This is getting really personal now!! Lord, do you REALLY want to go there??
I'm thinking that He DOES want to go there and He wants me to follow in obedience. Otherwise, I may be dragged there kicking and screaming, like a spoiled child who needs discipline.
You see, I've been having some pretty intense pain in my right arm for at least a week now. It has been intense enough to keep me awake at night. It's hard to say where this pain is coming from or what caused it, but I suspect that it is from my crochet. I've been working on an afghan that has become rather large and heavy.
My Mother-in-law loaned me a carpel tunnel brace for my right arm. I already had one for my left arm, go figure! My thinking was that this is something simple that I can try to see if it helps with the pain. Last night, I had some pain, but not as much as what I've been experiencing.
Now I'm wondering if my Lord wants me to not only fast from solid food but also from my crochet for a time. Not sure if it will be for the full 20 days same as my juice fast. However, this fast is all about getting my heart and motivations in line with my Savior's.
I'm thinking that He DOES want to go there and He wants me to follow in obedience. Otherwise, I may be dragged there kicking and screaming, like a spoiled child who needs discipline.
You see, I've been having some pretty intense pain in my right arm for at least a week now. It has been intense enough to keep me awake at night. It's hard to say where this pain is coming from or what caused it, but I suspect that it is from my crochet. I've been working on an afghan that has become rather large and heavy.
My Mother-in-law loaned me a carpel tunnel brace for my right arm. I already had one for my left arm, go figure! My thinking was that this is something simple that I can try to see if it helps with the pain. Last night, I had some pain, but not as much as what I've been experiencing.
Now I'm wondering if my Lord wants me to not only fast from solid food but also from my crochet for a time. Not sure if it will be for the full 20 days same as my juice fast. However, this fast is all about getting my heart and motivations in line with my Savior's.
Ready or NOT!! DAY 1
Probably about 2 years ago now, I participated in a weight loss program called, "The Lord's Table". If you are interested in finding out more about it, you can find it over at, Setting Captives Free. It was wonderful, MyHero and I did it together and we both lost weight.
At the end of course 1 they offer an optional course 2 which consists of a 20 day juice fast. I chose to do the fast. It was extremely difficult and wonderful. I didn't loose much weight during the fast, but I do believe that my relationship with my Lord was strengthened.
Recently my friend, who turned me on to "The Lord's Table" in the first place, asked me to do this fast again, this time with her. She has an amazing and encouraging tale of her own! Check it out at More of Jesus, Less of Michele.
At the time she asked me, I spontaneously said, "I need to do something since I've not been feeling motivated to do anything healthy for my body lately!" The closer I got to actually starting the fast, I started to balk. I knew that this is going to be HARD! I mean who, in their right mind, enjoys denying their flesh?? Michele, graciously encouraged me and I decided that yes, I DO need to do this!
So here I sit on DAY 1, eating my breakfast of fruit. The first 2 days of the fast are transition days. You have only raw fruits and veggies before moving to nothing but veggie broth and fruit smoothies for the next 16 days.
I'm supposed to be giving up my coffee as well. Maybe the Lord will have to convict my heart on this one, but I just don't see it as the vice so many want to make it out to be. I only have my two cups in the morning then I switch to water.
Along with this fast I am doing my best to FEAST on God's Word! I decided that the perfect Bible study to go along with this fast would be my printed copy of "The Lord's Table" course 1 study guide. It is filled with scripture and will help to set me in the right frame of mind for this fast. So this morning I read Day 1 "Proper Motivation: The Glory of God".
I have to confess that my motivation to loose weight has NOT been God's glory for quite some time now. I'm asking Him to change my heart to want to glorify Him in my weight loss.
One sentence near the end of today's lesson caught at my heart today. It says, "In closing, we must have proper motives to live our lives correctly, including the forming of proper eating habits." I felt the Spirit whisper to me, "Any motive other than to glorify God becomes hypocrisy and idolatry." OUCH!!! I guess I'll be chewing on that one for a while, even as I transition into 16 days of no physical chewing!
My Beginning Weight: 173
At the end of course 1 they offer an optional course 2 which consists of a 20 day juice fast. I chose to do the fast. It was extremely difficult and wonderful. I didn't loose much weight during the fast, but I do believe that my relationship with my Lord was strengthened.
Recently my friend, who turned me on to "The Lord's Table" in the first place, asked me to do this fast again, this time with her. She has an amazing and encouraging tale of her own! Check it out at More of Jesus, Less of Michele.
At the time she asked me, I spontaneously said, "I need to do something since I've not been feeling motivated to do anything healthy for my body lately!" The closer I got to actually starting the fast, I started to balk. I knew that this is going to be HARD! I mean who, in their right mind, enjoys denying their flesh?? Michele, graciously encouraged me and I decided that yes, I DO need to do this!
So here I sit on DAY 1, eating my breakfast of fruit. The first 2 days of the fast are transition days. You have only raw fruits and veggies before moving to nothing but veggie broth and fruit smoothies for the next 16 days.
I'm supposed to be giving up my coffee as well. Maybe the Lord will have to convict my heart on this one, but I just don't see it as the vice so many want to make it out to be. I only have my two cups in the morning then I switch to water.
Along with this fast I am doing my best to FEAST on God's Word! I decided that the perfect Bible study to go along with this fast would be my printed copy of "The Lord's Table" course 1 study guide. It is filled with scripture and will help to set me in the right frame of mind for this fast. So this morning I read Day 1 "Proper Motivation: The Glory of God".
I have to confess that my motivation to loose weight has NOT been God's glory for quite some time now. I'm asking Him to change my heart to want to glorify Him in my weight loss.
One sentence near the end of today's lesson caught at my heart today. It says, "In closing, we must have proper motives to live our lives correctly, including the forming of proper eating habits." I felt the Spirit whisper to me, "Any motive other than to glorify God becomes hypocrisy and idolatry." OUCH!!! I guess I'll be chewing on that one for a while, even as I transition into 16 days of no physical chewing!
My Beginning Weight: 173
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Love to see Them Read!
Yesterday my kids were discussing one of their favorite books. My kids have fallen in love with the Percy Jackson Series. It's fun to listen to them and know that by reading these books they are improving their vocabulary and reading skills.
My daughter was reading one of the "Little House" books yesterday as well. It warms my heart to see my kids reading and to know that I taught them that skill!
My hubby and I started watching a documentary on the public school system the other night. One of the things they were talking about is the perpetuation of generations of kids who can't read at grade level. Many of these kids are not even offered the chance to improve their skills with remedial reading programs. Makes me very sad. We were too tired to finish watching the documentary so didn't see what the conclusions or offered solutions were. However, the bit that we did see only served to strengthen our resolve to continue homeschooling our children.
My daughter was reading one of the "Little House" books yesterday as well. It warms my heart to see my kids reading and to know that I taught them that skill!
My hubby and I started watching a documentary on the public school system the other night. One of the things they were talking about is the perpetuation of generations of kids who can't read at grade level. Many of these kids are not even offered the chance to improve their skills with remedial reading programs. Makes me very sad. We were too tired to finish watching the documentary so didn't see what the conclusions or offered solutions were. However, the bit that we did see only served to strengthen our resolve to continue homeschooling our children.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Lesson in Finishing
RoboBoy has his very first keyboard/piano lesson today. I was corrected for calling it a piano. Oops! I told him last night that he needs to clear a path in their room so he and his piano teacher can get to the keyboard! We don't want her to take one peek into that room and run away screaming!
In other news, (this is my best newscaster voice, by the way!), we started back to school this week. My kids do pretty well with our Time4Learning curriculum. However, ManBoy took issue when I told him that he needed to work on his FLVS assignment. FLVS is our state online schooling program. We get to use it for free and still be registered as homeschoolers.
So back to what I was saying. ManBoy is taking a math class with FLVS and HATING it. It wasn't so bad in the beginning, when we could have opted out with no penalty. But now he tells me that it's too much for his brain. The problem is that now we can't drop the course without him getting an F for all his work. At the moment he has a C in this class. He is about halfway through it so with mom's help and "encouragement" (Mwhahahaha!!!) he's going to keep trudging through it.
The way I see it, this is a great lesson for him in finishing what you start. Hmm, maybe I need to take this lesson in finishing that blog writing course I started a while back and then got too busy to finish!
In other news, (this is my best newscaster voice, by the way!), we started back to school this week. My kids do pretty well with our Time4Learning curriculum. However, ManBoy took issue when I told him that he needed to work on his FLVS assignment. FLVS is our state online schooling program. We get to use it for free and still be registered as homeschoolers.
So back to what I was saying. ManBoy is taking a math class with FLVS and HATING it. It wasn't so bad in the beginning, when we could have opted out with no penalty. But now he tells me that it's too much for his brain. The problem is that now we can't drop the course without him getting an F for all his work. At the moment he has a C in this class. He is about halfway through it so with mom's help and "encouragement" (Mwhahahaha!!!) he's going to keep trudging through it.
The way I see it, this is a great lesson for him in finishing what you start. Hmm, maybe I need to take this lesson in finishing that blog writing course I started a while back and then got too busy to finish!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Back to the ole Grind!
Most of you probably started back to school this past week. I put it off for another week. My hubby had Monday off and quite frankly I'm not looking forward to getting the kids back into doing school. It's not going to be easy pulling them away from their games and they have gotten used to being lazy. Ok, so I guess I have too! It's just been so nice to not have to worry about school for a while.
So I did manage to get lesson plans done for this coming week. Although I did it kicking and screaming and throwing a 2 year old tantrum. LOL Anyone else feeling my pain???
RoboBoy, who got a new keyboard for Christmas, (thanks to the Lord leading us to a FANTASTIC sale!) will be starting lessons on Wednesday. A dear friend has a daughter who has been wanting to start teaching.
ManBoy got his 200 piece art kit for Christmas so I believe I will have him go through the art lessons on Time4Learning again. May even throw in a few art games just to keep things fun for him.
Things will pretty much be business as usual for Fashionista as far as school goes. I may have her go through the art lessons again as well. She loves Japanese Anime, especially girly pics. She's informing me that it's also called Manga. She says that Manga is books and Anime is shows. Wow! I just learned something new today!
Hmmm, maybe getting back into the swing of things will not be as painful as I'm anticipating!
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| One of Fashionista's drawings. |
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