My heart is breaking.

Let me explain my new and beautiful blog template.  My heart has been breaking for the Japanese people since the earthquake.  I just seem to be thinking about the children.  I feel so badly for them.  Their families torn apart and saddened.  The death that has swept that region is just so terrible.  I know it is a wealthy country and Japan will likely be back to normal one day in time but the families affected by this will never be the same.   Even now I am listening to a story on NBC and it just brings me to tears.

As I was looking for one I came across this one with this beautiful plum color but I was interested in the name of the actual template which is 'Kokeshi Japanese Doll' by Ammupappa.  I have several Japanese friends and one who is married to an apparently wonderful Japanese woman and I have never heard of what a Kokeshi doll is.  I love the Japanese style and the traditions amaze me.  I even like to use Furoshikis for gift giving at times. Another coincidental thing, about 3 months ago Tyler and I happened into the Grand Asia Market.  I love it!  Yummy pastries, many different items, and bubble tea that Tyler loves and some are addicted to are some of their features.  We have begun making Potstickers and (if I do say so myself) they are pretty good.  I could go on and on.  So, after all these things in my life now, this earthquake happens, I find this blog template, and want to know what a Kokeshi Doll is.  Now, I had to do my thing... Google it. Here is a great site that explains it but basically it is to represent a wish for a healthy child. What really came to my attention was where they originated from, Tohoku region of Northern Japan, an area well-known for its onsen (hot spring) resorts.  Well, I'm thinking "Norther Japan, hmm, where exactly is that?" Look where the Tohoku region is.  Yep, right where the earthquake has done its worst damage.  


So, for a time period I am going to keep my blog set to this.  Please say a prayer for the children when you look at my blog.  Oh goodness, say a prayer every time you hear anything about Japan.  

My Journey!!

              I have been wanting to get this blog done for a while.  I figured now is a good time as any because it is still somewhat the beginning of the year and I am wanting to stay really strong on my goals in this journey.

              I began in May of last year.  It actually has been trying to start for several years now but even my doctor couldn't get anything going right.  See, 6 years ago I found out I have Graves' Disease.  It is an autoimmune disorder where my body attacks my thyroid.  They don't know why by instead of the thyroid dieing, it grows larger to protect itself.  Well, that is the most dangerous part of a thyroid disorder because it causes systems in the body to speed up and that includes the heart, endocrine, metabolism, and many other things.  Unfortunately my heart was starting to get affected before the metabolism so I had to start treatment.  I had a painful reaction to the medication to turn around hyperthyroidism so the only other option was for my thyroid to be removed.  It was done with the R-131 treatment which basically killed it off with radiation.  So, now I don't have a thyroid and for 6 years now I have been working on getting the weight off me.  At some times I worked harder but then I would get discouraged when there was no success.  My Endocrinologist had been tweaking my Synthroid that I take for years since I have been in Monroe.  He is probably the BEST in Charlotte, very sought out by people.  Well, back in the spring of '09 he basically threw up his hands and said "I don't get it.  I can't get your metabolism to budge and can't figure this out."  So, he sent me onto Carolina's Weight Management to see if a doctor he knows of could help with his expertise. 

            My new doctor is Dr. Tomcho or Dr. McWoohoo because every time I go my status on Facebook is Wooohooo!!!!!  When I went to him I was willing to do whatever he thought I needed to do.  I told him I wanted to get it moving and whatever it took, I would do it.  He told me about a diet called the VLCD.  I don't want to share too many details on here because I don't want someone deciding to do it on their own and getting hurt.  You have to do this diet under a doctor supervision.  To sum it up, it is a Very Low Calorie Diet that consists of high protein and low carbs.  Also, when I say low calorie, I mean it.  Too low for the average person.  I have to have a doctor visit every week where they take blood-work and check my fluids.  I have to be sure I am drinking my full amount of water too.  Also, once I started losing, it was easier to stay on track with exercising too.  I have fallen in love with Walk At Home with Leslie Sansone, reverse stomach crunches, and stretching.  My foods I can eat are white poultry and white fish and only non-starchy vegetables. I can have my protein shakes and bars or some kind of a high protein snack.  I can only drink water and decaf coffee or decaf/unsweetened tea.  I can only have a couple of Splendas a day so I don't even dare do the tea.  I can easily do the coffee with that little.

           So, in 7 months I have lost 47lbs and many inches.  I have gained lots of strength too and tons of confidence.  For a few months through the Fall I sorta hit a wall and things started moving really slowly.  I did NOT get discouraged though.  I know the margin of weight loss went down and things just happen that way.  It picked up again and did very good.  I spent the month of January weaning off this diet and have gone back to eating a few higher calories but I will continue keeping my carbs low and protein high.  I will NEVER eat the way I use to.  I am SO done with SO many things.  I can have bites of things when they may be around but I will never eat full servings of anything not good for me again. I have had several times when I could eat a nice meal or great desserts and there have only been a few times where I ate the same amount as those around me.  I am going to try and always eat half of everyone else.  This is gonna be the best way to stay on this track.  When I went for one appointment during my transition, Dr. McWoohoo cheered for me because I had lost 2 pounds in my transition time, which was rare.  For the month of February I am staying at about 1300 calories but in March I am gonna get back on the lower calories but not as low as the VLCD.   

              So, I need all my family and friends and my dear coach to continue to root me on FOREVER.  This is NOT easy and sometimes I wonder why it is so easy for others to lose when they want or even get frustrated because so many people are made differently and don't have to struggle with weight.  But, I know God designed me and knows me and knew that I would be on this journey.  He created me in His image and I understand that that includes so many aspects.  I am a child of His and will continue to always glorify Him in whatever I do.  Psalm 20:4 says

 ⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart
       and make all your plans succeed.
 ⁵ We will shout for joy when you are victorious
       and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
       May the LORD grant all your requests. -Psalm 20:4
 I am lifting my banner HIGH and letting the world know that NONE of this could have happened successfully if not for Christ, my Lord.  He deserves ALL the honor and glory for this journey and weight loss.  I can not say ANY of it was me.  Everything I do with any success is only from my God.  So, if you are interested in a journey like mine and want success, you have to understand that you can do nothing apart from God. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." -John 15:5  Let me know if you are going on a journey and I will pray with you and for you over time. 

         Here is one of the most recent pics of me. This is from October in DC with the boys but all the ones since are not a good angle.  I need to have one taken soon.   I think I've lost about 15lbs since this pic.

CRU

CRU

WOW, this is already an awesome week.  Tonight started the first night of CRU.  CRU is the yearly youth rally our youth minister, Ashley Huneycutt, and our church, Hopewell Baptist, puts on every year in the fall.  It is truely amazing.  I have several pics here for you to see.

This year Criag Tackett and the Jonathan Project have returned to us.  We also have with us this year, Alan Capps.  He is also known as the Jesus Painter.  It was a joy to see him paint tonight.  His picture tonight was of Jesus holding the bread for all.  He IS the Bread of LIFE and is available to all.  It went right along with Craig's message of the Great Commission.

The night always starts off with music for the youth to enjoy while tossing around the beach balls.  Then, Craig opened with a praise song but then had to quickly do one that ALL the youth (young and old ;) love, The Lawnmower Man song.  That is even fun for me.  I don't do all the moves but such fun music I have to participate!!

Then Alan Capps came up to begin his painting.  When he was finished I believe it was time for Craig to speak.  He is so funny the youth just hang on his every last word.  It really is amazing how he can share the gospel and you can go away remembering almost everything he said.  

Following his message there were about 10 people who came forward to make decisions of some kind in their life for Christ.  I really love how Craig doesn't waste the hearts of the youth by toying with their emotions and getting them to make decisions based on feelings.  He can tell if they really are making a true decision for him.  He doesn't draw it out forever until  100 people come forward.  When God is tugging at your heart, it is apparent and they won't be able to stand still. 

 I really had a fabulous time just like always.  I know my boys are loving it more this year too because they are older.  We have two more nights of this and I really don't even care how much it adds to our week to get out three nights of the week.  That is one of the beauties of homeschooling.  We can sleep in and relax and enjoy what God has for us!!!!! 

Looks like homeschooling needs to be a blog of mine soon.  

Ok, I have a couple more pics to share. You can tell in the pics that the place was PACKED.  People were standing in the back and sitting along the walls.  In one pic I posted before this blog post you can see children lying in the isles to hear Craig.  

Perfect pic from my view at CRU!!!

My 3 Guys On My Mind

These are my guys.  Use to be my 'boys' but now I have a preteen, a teen, and Tim. They are not little boys anymore.  I don't know what I would ever do without them.  I have been so blessed and it is only fitting that I list them as the next topic (collectively) on my mind.  This may be a little long but not all my blogs will be this long.

Tim is my hubby.  We have been married for almost 17 years.  We knew each other only 6 months before we got married. We were engaged for 1 month then the wedding was 5 months later.  Many of you know how we met which is pretty funny.  We met at Camp Willow Run.  The first week we met I didn't know he was flirting.  Guess I was just blind to it.  Then the second week I came back to camp was about 3 weeks later.  He had worked it out that we would cross paths.  Then God stepped in and made another way for us to mingle that he had nothing to do with.  I had a boy who was causing problems and I needed his counselor.  Who do you think that was?  Yep, Tim.  So that made it to where we were able to talk.  I heard all about his trials and they didn't bother me.  He asked me out by wanting me to show him around Va. Beach the next weekend.  So, that is what we did.  He came up to Va. Beach and I showed him around.  He and I both knew that day that we were gonna be married.  So, it has been a long time since then.  We have been through ministry moves, seminary, easy times, and hard.  But God has always worked in us both and taught us many new things.  We grow every year.  Tim has been my music minister now for almost 10 years now.  The wild thing is, he will always be my music min.  I love that.  I love being his wife and serving with him in the ministry.  You will learn more about Tim throughout my blog.  

 

Tyler is my oldest.  He is 13.  WOW, a teen.  Yep, I have one.  I do not feel like I should be old enough for a teen. He is a joy to me.  There are so many things about him.  Where do I start?  First off, he is very tenderhearted and compassionate.  He is always putting others ahead of himself.  Since he was very young he would always try and help other people.  Yes, even his brother.  When Tanner was little his speech was really delayed.  Tyler had a lot of compassion for him and would pray for him all the time.  He even wanted to Santa to do something really special for him.  Tyler loves video games and LEGOs.  He is very proud of being a LEGO geek.  I love that he could care less what anyone thinks of him.  He is very outspoken about his faith too.  We homeschool so we get many opportunities to talk about God and what is in the Word.  He will also point stuff out that is Biblically wrong. He is a boy quickly growing to be a honorable and noble young man.  I love watching that.  He use to love tennis.  He doesn't get to play now.  Tennis clubs cost so much for practices.  Oh, I can not leave out how much he loves Science.  He is a part of Science Olympiad this year.  Many exciting things are gonna come from this. Also, Tyler loves school.  He actually gets upset when he'll miss Co Op.  Another thing, Tyler is a child of God.  He accepted Christ when he was 4 but confirmed it when he was 8.  Well, I know I am surely leaving something out but you will learn more about him over time.  

 

Tanner is my youngest who is 12 years old.  Yes, my boys are close in age (13.5 months apart).  They were actually both surprises.  That is another story.  Ok, back to Tanner.  When he was a baby I always said he would be my entertainer. Turns out, he is.  He always tries to make people laugh and make people happy.  He is very talented musically.  He loves playing drums and hearing music.  Tanner has several disabilities so that affects singing.  I can tell that is one thing he wish he could do better.  He is very active and playful too.  He struggles with school but is actually getting better at reading.  That really makes him proud of himself.  He is also the most generous person you will ever meet.  I have seen him countless times give money away or a toy he had because he just felt someone else needed it.  He is gonna be broke when he gets older cuz he gives everything away.  That actually is fine with me.  He loves to skateboard and ride the rip stick.  He is pretty sturdy too, rarely falls and gets hurt.  Did I tell you he loves to make people laugh.  I smile every time I say that.  Tanner also has accepted Christ as his Savior.  He did this in the McDonald's parking lot when he was 8 also. He has a little ways to go in his growing but I can tell he is gonna work hard at being a honorable and noble young man too.  

 

I love all my guys and love that I am the only lady in the house.  I hear many noises and experience crazy smells but what would I do without them?  Oh, did I point out that I am officially the shortest one in the home now?  Yep, Tanner passed me.  I really need to get a picture of this soon.  

I set my mind on that which is good-JESUS!!

This is the first blog post for this blog.  Since I want to share with you my mindset, we should first start with the Savior who consumes my mind.  He determines my thoughts, actions, and decisions.  He is my Father (God)-Son (Jesus Christ)-Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit).  I began living for Him the summer after 8th grade, 1987.  I was 14 years old. 

I had accepted Christ as my Lord when I was 9 but I did not change at all.  I continued to live like I wanted to live. I didn't start spending time with him in the Word (Bible) like I should.  I didn't talk to him (pray) like I should.  I didn't serve him and worship him like He wanted me to and needed me too.  He desired my love and worship for Him and I was selfish and kept it all for music groups, friends, TV, and even playing 'church'.  

So, after a few years of 'messing' up everything in my life at the time, I realized I needed Him and only Him and I wanted to give all my love to Him and show Him my desire to serve in many ways.  I was alone in my room on a summer night with a toilet roll in one hand and wiping my ever flowing eyes with the other.  I gave my life completely over to Him.  Some of you who read this will remember how I changed that summer.  I remember people coming to me and asking me what was different.  I loved that.  I loved that people saw Jesus in me.  


Ok, so now you know who I live my life for and who determines my mind.  He renews it everyday.  Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."


He also tells me in Matthew 22:37  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." So, this is what I intend to do for all the days of my life.   


If you want to know more about how you can know Christ like I do, PLEASE ask me.  Or, if you want to read for yourself first, then here is a great link.  

Me before I was saved and now!

3.5 months and having those valleys.

I am sitting here drinking a small, decaf cup of coffee with very little fat free/sugar free creamer and only two Splendas in it. That is huge for me. I am thinking back to 3.5 months and 33lbs ago when I found out that I did not need to be drinking caffeine anymore. I really wasn’t phased by it when they told me. I just realized that that is something I am gonna have to do to change the way I am. I did it. It took me a day and a half and not too bad of a headache and I was over it. I packed up the coffee stuff and did great. I got it out over time when I thought I could handle less sugar without being tempted to put more. Well, I think now that I am drinking it again, I am becoming that creature of habit and wanting more and more and not drinking as much water. SO, tomorrow, I am gonna pack up the coffee again and ONLY drink it when I am at church or for something special. I have to take these measures to be who I need to be and have that healthy body/temple for serving the Lord. So, anyone want and coffee? I have some to give out. I’ll bring it to church Sunday and have it in the car if anyone wants it. I have decaf and regular (ground and not). I will keep the creamer and Splenda on hand so I can stock my purse for when I go out.
I got discouraged some because I am not losing as many pounds as I was. The margin has dropped and also I am putting on my muscle but I know that I am not doing everything I need to do either. I have wavered from my diet and I need to get back to doing what I was doing. That means not trying to get away with ranch dressing cuz I CAN’T have it right now. So, pray for me still in this journey and y’all will see the fruits of your prayers and encouragement in a few more months. Pray specifically that I not grab those random chips or cookies the boys have and that I put exercising at the gym on my schedule. I HAVE to do it. In my Beck Diet Solution Workbook one of the things it talks about it thinking of some things as NO CHOICE activities. Like showering, brushing teeth, washing clothes. We have NO CHOICE. We HAVE to do those things. Well, some of the things I am doing are gonna be NO CHOICE things to me and I am gonna hold to it.
Thank you, God for guiding me and keeping my mind alert to think on these things you want me to do for myself and my body so that I can eventually serve others better and more and stay healthy and live longer for my family.
Thank you to everyone else too. Lisa, thank you for being the greatest coach and for the little ring band. It is helping me A LOT!!!!!
Love you ALL!!!!!!