Gods Workmanship

I have been doing a study called "The Temple" by Laurie Cole. I thought it would be great seeing as that really is the basis for my blog. Honoring God through my body His Temple. It has been my plan to exchange bad habits for good ones and in the process rid my body of this excess weight but not because I want to look great but because I want to feel great. After all how can I serve the God I love with a broken down body? Ephesians 2:10 says, We are all God's workmanship and as I just found out from Laurie Cole that the word workmanship in Greek translates to "poiema" and it means " a work of art or a masterpiece." If you look closely at the word "poiema", you can see the word poem. So what this verse is saying is that we are God's poem, God's masterpiece, God's workmanship. Wow!!! Isn't that amazing? Now I need to rethink my whole plan for honoring God. It is not that simple. If I am God's workmanship and I have taken on excess weight due to my self control issue what does that say about God's poem for my life. I have never been accused of being a deep thinker. I see things rather simply and more to the point. My point today is my desire to honor God is not just with my physical body but with my inner self. He desires me to honor him with my whole being because I am His workmanship, His poem.

Tip : Take the time with me to refocus your plans, read I Timothy 4:8 , I Samuel 16:7

Lets us not only honor God with our outer selves but with our inner selves.

Over Active Fork

Are you suffering from "Over Active Fork(OAF)?" Here are the symptoms:

1. You are 20 pounds or more overweight

2. You lack energy.

3. You cannot sleep well.

3. You panic when you have to fit into a small space (ie turn stiles, restaurant booths, husband's sports car etc.)

4. You use shopping carts as walkers.

5. If you have extreme OAF your feet may not get wet when you shower.

6. You cannot be in the same room with food without eating something.

7. You hide fast food wrappers and bags from other members of your family.

8. When planning an event, your first consideration is what food is going to be served.

9. The length of your pants is shorter than your waist measurement.

10. Just watching an exercise video makes you tired.

Maybe these symptoms have put a smile on your face but they are real. I suffer from a few of them myself.

Now what are we going to do to about them. Let us put our focus on Romans 6:6

For we know that our old self was crucified with him that our body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin . Now isn't that good news? We are no longer a slave to sin because our sin was crucified with Christ on the cross. Lets take that thought and think on it for awhile Let it resonate in our hearts. Let us count on that promise and be free from the symptoms of OAF.

Tip : I read this, and am counting on it to be true. Be consistent. Imagine a plane taking off. In the beginning, a lot of energy is spent to simply get moving down the runway. But as speed and momentum take over, the plane is pulled forward and up into the sky, faster and further by the second. Consistent action, no matter how small, has more power that you ever imagined.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well a new year is well underway and this is the first I have written since October. You may have given up on me. Believe me I have felt like giving up on myself. I haven't lost anymore weight. The holiday trilogy certainly did a number on my plans to break my bad habits. It showed me underneath the surface are the old habits just waiting to get out. Guess what I opened the door wide and let them come in. The result was that I ended up the old year a couple pounds heavier than my last entry. I really got off pretty well weight wise all things considered but when I saw how far off base I can get and how easy it was to get there. It really made me stop and rethink this habit breaking thing. What does it actually take to break those habits and never think about them again? I have been reading Proverbs lately and I came across this in chapter 6 verse 6. Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. So I considered the ant and I realized something ants just never give up. They work hard at accomplishing their goals and they help one another. They do not let disasters stop them. Step on an ant hill and the next day you will see it rebuilt. They each have a job to do within their community and they do it. Now I see why God directs us to consider their ways and we will be wise. Let us be wise this new year and never take our eyes off the our goals. We should not give up even when disaster strikes. For a person trying to shed excess weight that disaster can be as simple as a weak moment of eating something we know we shouldn't. Well pick yourself up and start again! Like I said before ants also help one another out. My husband Bob just retired and I have asked him to take a more active roll in helping me out. Every once in awhile he may even make a blog entry. He is much better at this kind of thing than me. Hopefully we can all work together to honor God by taking care of our bodies, after all they are His Temple.

Please share with me how you did over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I need to know what works and doesn't work for you. We are in this together. Remember to consider the ANT.

Where are we going?

The other day I was remembering an incident that happened with my parents a few years ago. My husband and I decided to take my parents on a little day trip to visit the family farm we used to visit so often when I was a child. It was a beautiful day and my parents were eager, as was I, to get out for a drive. When we reached the town where the farm was my dad instructed me where to turn. He told me turn right here and turn left there. Go straight turn right again etc. About 10 or 15 minutes passed with my dad giving me these instructions and then he turned to me and asked "Where are we going?" You see my dad had Alzheimer's and for the first part of the trip he was completely lucid, and then suddenly he lost his way. I smile every time I remember that day. My dad even had to laugh.

Lately I got to thinking about that story and I had to relate it to what I have been trying to do with changing this beaten down, overweight temple, I call my body. I have lost my way. My weight is holding at a 25 pound loss and it should be over 30 at this time. Now it is I asking myself "where are you going?" "Do you know where to turn, to get back on the right track?" "Do you have your goals set before you?" "Do you know how to achieve what you have set out to do?" I thought I knew the answers to those questions but lately I haven't seen the results that I want. When we couldn't find the farm that day we had to find help. I know I need to do the same thing to get back on track. Today at church I found out though Pastor Arndt using God's Word how to get back on the right road. He preached a sermon from Matthew 26:41 where Jesus asked his disciples to "watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak." Pastor said, "one of the keys to handling temptation is what we do before temptations comes."

TIP: For you and for me. Watch and pray so that we can be prepared to handle all of what life has in store for us tomorrow.

Iron Man

Acts 17:28 For in him we live and move and have our being.

Well this past weekend I certainly saw a lot of movement as our grand niece, Melissa, competed in the Iron Man competition. What an amazing girl she is. I have posted a picture of her after she just completed 2.5 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking (much of it uphill), and finally running 26 miles. How exciting and fun it was to be with other family members and cheer on this accomplished athlete. While we stood at the finish line we cheered on other competitors as well. Some were shouting, others ringing cow bells and still others clapping. It was a such an emotional and thrilling experience. My niece, Annie, turned to me and said "can you imagine what heaven will be like with our loved ones cheering us on as we approach the finish line." I thought that was a very good analogy. Isn't that what we are all here for, to cheer each other across that finish line into the arms of our loving Savior and friend, Jesus?

Embrace your family and friends, encourage them to keep going when they are too tired to go on. Cheer them on to finish the race. I Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. The prize Paul is speaking of is heaven. It is my prayer that you win the prize.

Notice the smile on Melissa's face. How did she manage to be doing so well after that grueling experience? Well first of all Melissa didn't just decide the day before to compete in the Iron Man she decided a year ago. She was committed to endure the pain of practice, practice, practice. She was self disciplined. No one would have thought she was weak if she would have said forget it I don't want to work this hard anymore. This was something she wanted to do and nothing was going to stop her. Certainly not pain or fatigue. What drive!

Well Melissa, your endurance is certainly an inspiration to me and my goal of honoring God by getting this body, God's Temple into shape. So what is your idea of an Iron Man? Maybe it is like mine, walking 3 miles, taking a shower and going for an evening bike ride. Not as grueling for sure but what can one expect from an older, out of shape gal. Whatever your idea of an Iron Man is lets get moving and complete the race!!!

By the way did I mention that she came in 14th in her age division? Go Melissa!!!!

My great accomplishment is that I moved another half pound closer to my goal making my total loss 24 1/2 and working towards my next goal of 25. It pales in comparison but races are won one step at a time.

TIP :To make yourself accountable, start keeping a food journal. My cousin Mary does this and she is proof that it works. Give it a try.

Restoring Honor

Hello,

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted anything on my blog and I thought I better get to it. The primary reason for my silence is that my weight has stayed the same since I last wrote. We did a little traveling and had some fun visiting with family. Believe me, being with my family it is a real challenge staying the same weight.

What we did this past week end brings me to posting something today. Bob, Nancy (my sister in-law) and myself went to Washington DC to the Glenn Beck rally "Restoring Honor" it was an amazing event. We went by bus Friday morning with 57 other people it took 12 hours and some pretty sore bottoms to get there but we made it!!! Saturday morning we left the hotel at 6:15 to walk 8 blocks to the Lincoln Memorial for the rally that was scheduled to start at 10:00 am. The picture above shows what we saw when we arrived . There was a sea of people from the Lincoln Memorial all the way down to the Washington Monument. People waving flags and some carrying crosses. My heart was filled with such hope knowing that there are so many like minded people from across our country. People who desire to return this nation back to its founding principals. People who have grown weary of the direction this country is going. People who have faith, honor and integrity. People who desire to make a difference not only in their personal lives but in the lives of others. Everyone was so kind and nice, they were willing to squeeze over so others would have a place to sit or stand. In the crowd that size and in that heat it is hard to imagine no one starting a riot but we did not see or hear any anger. We saw some who helped carry wheelchairs up steps and some who gave their seats so others could rest for awhile. Right near us there was a man who just returned from Iraq and his little girl. What a beautiful little sweetheart she was. So many friendly people in our immediate surroundings.

I am thanking God for Glenn Beck, Elvita King (MLK's neice) and others like them whose lives have been threated but still decide to speak their message of hope. I am reminded of a verse found in Esther 4:14 when Queen Esther was asked by Mordecai to speak with the king so that the Jews could be delivered. Queen Esther being a Jew herself, was fearful for her life and this is what Mordecai said to her "who knows but you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" It is an amazing story too lengthy to tell at this time but not too long for you to read on your own. Please do so, it is truly worth your while.

My point is that if Glenn Beck and Elvita King whose lives have been threatened for speaking the truth do that for us, what is stopping us from standing with them and speaking the truth to those in our circle of relatives and friends? At the rally we were asked to spread Faith, Hope and Charity starting with our families and friends. Another thing that Glenn said that truly had an impact on me was "that what our children gaze upon they become" he asked us to pray with the door open so that our children could see us. My friends what does your children and grand children gaze upon? I pray they see Faith, Hope and Charity in your life and mine. Remember you may be called for such a time as this!

I am going to get off my soap box now but before I do I beg you to watch Glenn Beck nightly on Fox Cable News at 5:00 pm he is an amazing man and truly worth your time. If you can't watch him at five record him and watch him when you can. Please do not let the opinions of others determine what you feel about what he says. Watch and then make up your own mind.

God Bless You,

Caroline

Good News

Hello Everyone,

Check out two new recipes in the entries below this one.

I also wanted to catch you up on my weight loss. I am at a 22 pound loss and working towards 25. It is a wonderful feeling. Hey, I think our Thanksgiving turkey weighted that last year!! I can't believe this turkey lost a turkey!! I couldn't have done it without your support and I thank you for that. I pray you are doing good in your attempts to get in shape as well. Please keep me informed as to your progress.

What has really helped me these past two weeks is that I increased the number of times I exercise. Leslie Sansone "Walk Away the Pounds" goes in every morning. I now do her two mile walk on a regular basis and have recently added in the three mile. Guess what I can do the three mile without feeling like I am going to die. Next week my plan is to do the three mile twice a week and the two mile three times a week. I don't know you Leslie but I thank God I found you!!

TIP: Increase your exercising it does help but do it gradually so your body can adjust. Never lose site of your goal and stay focused.

Weigh yourself just once a week. Record it in a secret place and then say good bye to that number for you will never see it again.