Day 14, I weighed

I will not be near a scale tomorrow which is the day I said I would weigh. So, I weighed this a.m. - you know, the normal way - AFTER I pee, BEFORE I take a drink, STARK naked and with the scale in EXACTLY the same spot on the floor as last time.

I weigh EXACTLY the same as I did 14 days ago.

So, yeah. Blogging burns very little calories. BUTT, I mean But, it is a new day, a new week, and I am on a life long journey. I am NOT going backwards, I am constantly moving foward. And forward motion is good.

Goals this week are eat greens every day, drink water omg, get shoes and start walking.

Here was my devotional this a.m. I found it quite fitting. Enjoy!

The Verse that Made Me Cringe 7 Mar 2011 Lysa TerKeurst "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV) For years, I cringed every time I read a verse about honoring God with my body and my body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to please God.  But did it have to be with my body?  I had set out with great enthusiasm to get healthy so many times but always slipped back into complacency.  I didn't want to try and just be reminded of my failures again. Then I found the most interesting story in the Old Testament about how serious God is about people taking care of the temple entrusted to them.  It stepped on my toes and messed with my heart in the best kind of way. Before the Holy Spirit was given to us and our bodies became the temple, there used to be physical locations for the Spirit of God to dwell.  In Haggai chapter 1 God's people had returned from being in exile in Babylon.  One of the first things they set about doing was to rebuild the temple. They started with great enthusiasm and wonderful intentions but slowly slipped back into complacency and eventually stopped their work on the temple all together.  Other things seemed more urgent, higher priorities, and all together more appealing to work on. Haggai 1:2-8 says: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.’ ” Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD." Oh this reminds me just how divided my heart can be when it comes to taking care of my body – God's temple.  Like these Jewish people, I could easily say, "I'm not in a season where it's feasible to take care of my body.  I just can't find the time between the kids, my work responsibilities, running a home, paying the bills, and all the day to day activities." However, if I was really honest, I made time for what I wanted to make time for.  Just the same, the Jews who returned from Babylon obviously had time to do things they really wanted to do as well.  They found the time and energy to put paneling up in their own homes while ignoring the home of the Lord. So, where's the hope? I found it in the challenge the Lord issues in verse 7: "Give careful thought to our ways" and make time to "build the house" so that he may be honored.  Verse 8 says, "Go up into the mountains."  In other words, escape the ruts of my same old patterns by heading onward and upward.  Give careful thought to each decision I make from here. I realized each decision mattered. So, every day I started waking up and lifting up my willingness to head in a new direction to the Lord.  As I took positive steps, the Lord strengthened my heart day by day.  One good decision turned into two, turned into three, and eventually turned into victory.  Like my Pastor says, "You must do what only you can do.  Then God will do what only He can do." Slowly, I rebuilt my temple and learned to honor God with my body.  Me. The girl who used to cringe at the thought of this verse.  Sweet sister, if I can do it, so can you. Dear Lord, I want to honor You in every way.  I want to honor You with my mind – help me release the excuses.  I want to honor You with my heart – help me make taking care of my body more of a priority.  And I want to honor You with my body – help me look at my body as Your temple and make caring for it a priority.  In Jesus' Name, Amen. Related Resources: Click here to listen to a short video of Lysa sharing some encouragement you don't want to miss. If this devotion resonated with you, don't miss Lysa's new book: Made to Crave. Also, you'll want to consider doing the 6 week Bible study using this DVD set:  Made to Crave DVD by Lysa TerKeurst and the accompanying workbook: Made to Crave Participant's Guide. When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, you touch eternity because your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost. We wish we could, but we simply can’t compete with prices offered by huge online warehouses. Therefore, we are extremely grateful for each and every purchase you make with us. Thank you!

Day 13

Another normal day with one exception.

I HAVEN'T HAD ONE DRINK OF WATER!!!

Isn't that a cryin' shame?

And I feel parched!! So dumb, so dumb, so dumb.

Got some greens in, didn't walk more than down my stairs and back.

Huh. Blogging isn't doing much except for showing me my weaknesses!!!

Gulp.

Day 12, a victory

Yesterday, day 12, was pretty good eating wise. I went to a party to celebrate the promotion of my husband's co-workers and there was a load of food laid out. Good food, and good drink. But my choices were not my own and had to be made by my Spirit and not my Flesh. I had one wine cooler, and then 3 large cups of ice water. While everyone snarfed, I visited and told stories that made people laugh till they cried. (My favorite part of life) Towards the end of the night I got a small small bowl of 7 layer salad thingie, then one scoop of home made ice cream and the edge of one brownie. Then more water.

Yep, that's a far cry from what I normally would have done.

Then I sat around a table with several women, 2 who have had bi-pass surgery and lost a ton of weight, and talked about my fat fingers and back fat. Lots of laughter, which is good for their soul and mine. I'd rather talk about it and laugh about it while I'm changing instead of hide in a corner of my bedroom and cry myself into a tizzy.

Tizzy. Is that really a word?

Day 11

Day 11 wasn't so bad. I did walk a little, and I painted a bathroom where Mike is working which was the walls and ceiling so that was more stretching and movement than I normally do and I have the stiff neck to prove it.

I did eat pretty well and didn't have any crazy cravings except for a coke which I got while we were painting and I shared it with a thirsty Rebecca.

This coming week, I get my OWN SHOES. I have not had a pair of tennis shoes that are mine for, ever. I have had men's shoes given to Mike which fit me. But to have my own shoes has been a long time.

I bought a pair of Sketcher Shape Ups which I was VERY excited about. My friend had them for sale for 80.00, normally I think around 120.00. She never wore them and they were my size. However, I didn't realize Sketchers run about a half size small and my toes said, NOOOOOOO. I gave them to Kylin whose toes said YESSSSS and she enjoys them.

But next week, ahhhh yes, next week, I will but them, and then I will walk and walk and walk and walk with my ipod playing the soundtrack to Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Blue Man Group, and Susan Ashton, and Rush and whatever else the heck I want because I will own that road.

Yep - I feel a stirring a comin.

Day 10, Laugh with me

I woke up this a.m. with a horrible thought. I know in the lifelong plan of being healthy this should not matter to me, but I'm talking to you this a.m. from my flesh. I woke up thinking, I think I'm gaining weight! Yeah, good morning fear.

My fingers are swollen this a.m. It started last night when I realized I couldn't take my mommy's ring off. I did get it off eventually, unlike my class ring a few years ago when I woke up with swollen fingers and had to get it cut off at the hospital, where it took them 30 minutes because they couldn't fit their cutting thingie under my ring.

So since my fingers are swollen I automatically think the rest of me must be swelling and the scale is going to shock me. So, I don't step on it. And the only reason I do not step on that scale is because I told you that I would do it on day 15, and I keep my word.

I remember when I lost weight back in 2003, I would eat very well and walk, and a few days of that I would step on the scale and say, IT WORKS!! What a shocker. Eat well, exercise, and the extra fat comes off. But the way I felt this a.m. was that if I stepped on the scales and it showed a gain or no change I would say, "Well really? You mean I can make a very small change and not exercise at all and it stays the same or goes up??" WHAT A SHOCKER.

I can tell you one thing. The Lord is my just scale. He measures me not by what I am on the outside, but by my heart. I will not let my failures at weight loss and health determine my worth to God. Nope. Not gonna do it. I love my children when they are failing miserably, and that is only because I am loved like that from my own Father in Heaven.

HOWEVER, what are the chances I am going to be healthier if I do not make a huge effort to do so? Slim to none.

Brian Regan says it best. Laugh with me. .Brian Regan at the Doctor

Day 9..is a magic number

Isn't that what schoolhouse rock  use to say? Well, I feel rather unmagical today. It was a day of water, no salads and no walking.

I get the feeling that I may very well be insane...repeating the same thing over and over and expecting different results. 

Yep, that's insanity. STOP the insanity. Isn't that what the blonde chick used to scream at the tv?

Good night, day 9. I didn't enjoy you.

Day ate I mean 8

To the point:
Ate a good breakfast, big salad at lunch with chicken burrito, no sweets which caused a headache and long nap wherein I therefore dreamed of Coke. Dinner was home made chili with cornbread. I ate a bowl of chili, one piece of cornbread and another large salad. And then another piece of cornbread which really wasn't a piece, it was a slab. A big one.

I drank more water today but I did not walk. I'm seeing a pattern. But it's so dern cold still! And that is why I also cannot use my elliptical. Errrhum.

I ran an errand with my son and we went past a McDonald's where the 1.00 Coke asked me if I wanted it and I said no. I came home proud of myself and while standing in the kitchen reminiscing over the whining that had just taken place in my ear by a child, I ate more slabs of cornbread, with butter, but these slabs were broken up so I had several to make sure I got one whole slab. Then I was thirsty so I washed it all down with a glass of milk and a shot of Kahlua.

Yep - there you have it. The butt ugly truth. More salad and water does not make an obedient girl.

Must try harder, but the words of Yoda ring in my ear - Do or do not, there is no "try".