MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas to all of my faithful readers & to family & friends!
May God show you great favor & amazing blessings in the coming year...
God Bless You!

HAPPY THANKSGIVINGzzzzzzz

Sleepy, exhausted, & content.
That pretty much describes how I'm feeling at the moment.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for some of our friends & family today & and I have been on my feet since 7:15 am (after going to bed at 2 am).
But this is what I love to do!
It was a wonderful day and sitting here in the glow of my Christmas tree, I find so many things for which I am thankful.
I am so happy to have my family here with me this year!
And some very dear friends joined us as well. We had a full & happy house.
And now, it's a very SLEEPY house! (thank you Tryptophan!)
Seriously, I think I could go to sleep right now and sleep straight through until Sunday!
At least I won't have to cook again for a couple of days.
I made enough food to feed a small army!

I will try to upload some pictures tomorrow.

I hope YOUR day was equally wonderful.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Let the shopping begin!
Well, maybe after a little nap...

I'm Sorry

God has really convicted me about something...

I went to my first "Healing Place Church Life Groups" meeting today and I just sat there marveling at how far I have come in the past year. Here I am about to lead a life group for Christian weight-loss support and I have not even posted, once, about all God has done for me in this area!

First let me say: I have tried (almost) every diet out there -- Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Low-Fat, Low-Carb, you name it.

A few months after I started writing my book, I felt a still, small voice ask me,
"Are you just going to preach it or are you going to WALK IT OUT?"
So, in mid-February, I decided to put the tenets of my book into practice in my own life.

I have not been perfect; there have been moments when I stumbled and definitely times when I was less than faithful, but for the most part I have tried to be obedient to the message I was given when I first began thinking about writing.

The result?
As of a few days ago, I am down 48 pounds since February.
FORTY-EIGHT POUNDS!!!!

Uh, that's more than my 4-year-old weighs.
I've lost a small person!
And I can honestly say, that I am not following a diet.
Don't get me wrong; I know which foods are healthier choices for me and I know my "trigger foods," but for the most part, I am just being faithful in this walk.
And God has been MORE than faithful to me in return!

I have struggled with my weight off and on for more than 25 years (I'm 38) and this is the first time in my life that I actually believe I will succeed.
I don't just believe it; I KNOW it.

So, I'm sorry for not posting about this sooner and giving glory where glory is due. God has been so good to me and only He can take something that has been such a "curse" for me and turn it into an amazing BLESSING!

We Cry Out

Where do I begin?

How do you blog about everyday life when you feel like you are bleeding on the inside?
When someone has hurt you -- cut you so deep -- and they don't even care?

These are my thoughts over the past week.

Someone who I love and care about has hurt me... not only me, but my husband and my children as well. And the irony is, they think they are "justified" in doing it.

They are so wound up in their own hatred, and resentment, and bitterness that they cannot see the miracles before their very eyes. They focus only on the negative.
They are choosing misery and that makes me very sad.

The "old me" would have lashed out at them, read them the riot act, told them exactly where they could get off...
The old me was full of so much anger and offense, myself, I would have readily engaged in this twisted dance of drama and attention-seeking behavior.

It truly is a cyclical sickness... offense feeding off of offense, producing more offense.

But that's no longer "me."

I find it most remarkable that in our most stretching moments, God truly does show up and reveal to us the changes He has made -- the changes we have allowed Him to make -- in our lives.
I have been so blessed in my life.
My marriage, while not perfect (what marriage is??), is rock-solid. We are so much closer now than we were when we first said, "I do" almost 19 years ago.
My children are healthy and happy, beautiful and so smart, I am constantly amazed by them!
I have been given this vision for my life and I am working so hard to make it a reality and God has been faithful to me every step of the way.
Faithfulness I don't even deserve.

So, yes, I'm crying on the inside.
And daily, I cry out for God to take this situation and use it for His purpose.

I'm no fool.
I know that the enemy loves to use distractions such as this to keep us from seeing the blessings right before our eyes, and more importantly, to keep us from doing the things we ought.
And I also know that to give in to that distraction is to become full of anger and resentment and bitterness, myself.
This is something I refuse to do.

All I can do now is continue to pray for those who hate me and pray that, even in this, God has something amazing for me.
Please pray for me.