The Healing of a Desperate Woman - Prompted by Pastor's Message on Luke 8:40-48

Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

   As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

 "Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
      When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."

  But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." 

The Healing of a Desperate Woman

My desperation for You leads me 
From my enforced solitude out to the mob.
My heart cries out for Your attention
Stretching for Your hem I land in the dirt.


The chaos around me is overwhelming.
The stench of the filth and dirt fill my senses,
Yet I reach out with all I have 
Knowing You are my only hope.
You alone contain what I so desperately need.


I catch You...


Your gaze upon me is exciting and terrifying at the same time.
You have now exposed me to the others but Your attention,

It alters me...


The look in Your loving eyes enfolds me
And the knowing words from Your lips revive me
Both confirm the healing I feel at my core.


As You turn and move on I know I will never return
To the place I once thought I would never leave.


I am healed.

Sink full of dishes...

I am getting really tired of all the cooking I have to do on this new healthy eating plan.

I am becoming a better cook. Not only am I cooking better healthier food, but my family is eating most of it! This is a wonderful thing except I always have a sink full of dishes. I feel like I am spending so many hours in the kitchen. I keep trying to have a better attitude about them but really, they just annoy me.

So, to shine the pot on this one...
I am going to be thankful I have dishes to do. Money to buy good food to cook for my family. And a family I adore filling up my home, my kitchen dirtying my dishes! Praise the Lord!

Missed another day... moving on...

Having several goals at once is proving to be a challenge! Whew!

Ok, so, what do I have to say today?
Just a prayer. A declaration of Truth.

Dear Lord,
The Truth is what sets me free. Your life bought me complete freedom.

You know the hours, the days, the weeks, the months, the years that I have lived apart from freedom in this area of my life.

I am asking You - because You told me to.
You said, "Jennifer, I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it. If you love Me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you." (personalized from John 14:13-17)

Because You gave me the Holy Spirit, my Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, I have everything I need to walk this path You have called me to. You told me Now is the time for this area of my life to be addressed and submitted to you. 

So, I am asking You to bring transforming, healing, breakthrough from this bondage that has held me for so long so I can live in the freedom You have promised me in Your Word, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."(Galatians 5:1)

I believe it. I receive it. I know You are faithful to accomplish this work in me.  "For the Word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all he does." (Psalm 33:4)

Submitted to You forever,
Your Daughter

A New Recipe!

I LOVE this! I made a bunch and kept it in my fridge. It made a wonderful meal for lunch or dinner! Try it out and let me know what you think!
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1089613

Well, I blew it!

Bummer! 365 blogs will have to be written but I went to bed last night - exhausted with a nagging feeling I was forgetting something... THIS! Oops!

A note in Rachel Cosgrove's book the Female Body Breakthrough she quotes or wrote herself... pressed for time or I'd look it up ... she talks about how when we eat something we know is off our healthy eating plan we often just blow off the whole day and then maybe the next day or the whole week and oh well, I'll start again next Monday.

What she says that is like the mindset of if you are driving your car on your way somewhere and you get a flat tire, instead of fixing it and getting back on the road, you let the air out of all the other tires too and sit there until someone comes to rescue you.

This word picture changed my whole thinking about eating and now about missing a day of blogging. I will blog twice today. No big deal. Back on track for my 365 blogs and 1 year of entries about becoming a fit and healthy me!!

 Here is her website. I have thoroughly loved her book and use it for my workouts 3 days a week.

 http://www.thefemalebodybreakthrough.com/

Where is my Birthday Hangover?

Wow. This year's birthday celebration was so different. The morning started with the familiar old way of thinking... Eeyore style... no need to elaborate there... you know what I am talking about...

Then...I prayed a verse my Mom wrote on one of the tags of the silly socks she sent me (a semi-consistent tradition we both enjoy!) It was Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

It seems like a big DUH to be thankful on your birthday, but the old familiar tapes in my head were playing the same pathetic I wish I was in a different place (fitness level, thinness, emotionally etc.) poor me song.

But - I prayed it in the first person  "God, the peace of Jesus Christ is going to rule my heart today. I am called to peace because I am a member of His Body. I am thankful!"

Within literally 2 minutes I felt the yucky cloud lift and my head clear out the old lies and embrace the truth.

That changed my day. The rest of the day was a delight. Being celebrated by my sons and husband singing happy birthday before Erik went to work, play date in the sunshine at the park, lunch with my husband, some shopping time, making a super yummy dinner for my family, tucking in my little presents, playing Rummikub (a new favorite game for me) and then enjoying some relaxing TV time.

All that also included this sense that God was celebrating my day with me. The peace was so tangible I was completely at rest. I never once felt annoyed at having to wash dishes, make dinner, take care of my family in any way.

The old me always wanted and even at times demanded "princess treatment". Not this year. I felt like a princess. I still do. I truly experienced the fruit of believing in God's love for me and the fullness of heart and spirit that comes with that.

That is why I have no Birthday Hangover - the Let Down you experience when you realize you won't be celebrated for another year... so sad. I am thankful to close the book on that part of my old self. Praise the Lord for His Peace, Love, and Joy that fill me up every day. Birthday or not.

Spectacular Birthday Salad

So, I am still processing all the gifts I received today. I will have to blog about it tomorrow...

For now though I will share the recipe for the Super Duper Yummy Salad I made for my birthday dinner!

Bake Chicken breasts (quantity depends on amount of people you are serving) in Sesame Salad dressing - I used the "Feast from the East" kind that you can get at Costco. Once cooked and cooled, chop up chicken breasts. Remove chicken from cooking "juice". Set chicken aside and put a little fresh dressing on top of it.

Tear or chop up romaine and spinach. Put in a large bowl.

Chop up a fresh pineapple. Add to bowl.

Pour in 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds. Toast some sesame seeds (about 1/4 cup) in the oven - carefully - they burn easy.

So in the large bowl add spinach, romaine, pineapple, sunflower seeds, toasted sesame seeds, and then add the marinated chicken. Toss and enjoy!!

Let me know how yours turns out!

The Last Day...

This is my last day to be 38. I will never be 38 again. Did I use my time well this past year? What will next year hold?

I can't even imagine. I do know that I will do more this year than last year. I am already "doing" more because I am a mom. Doing more just happens as the kids get older. It's not like there isn't plenty to do when they are small. But bigger boys make bigger messes I am finding out. It's good though. I am getting stronger, faster, and thanks to getting rid of the sugar in my diet, thinking clearer than ever before.

So while today is my last day to be 38, I am looking forward to what tomorrow holds.

39 will be a good year. I am sure it will have it's challenges but I KNOW my God is going to provide for my every need. Just like He did last year. My kids will get bigger. My love for my man will grow stronger. My body will get smaller and stronger. My God will remain the same. I love that.

Praise the Lord!

Satisfied

Are you satisfied?

There seems to be so many things to do with our time and energy these days we don't know how to measure that.
Solomon - such a cheerful fellow (can ya hear the sarcasm?) said this in Ecclesiastes 6:7 "All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied."

What are my efforts for? When I look at the limitless supply of dishes and laundry to do, the constant need to maintain the cleanliness of my home, feeding my family, getting exercise, snuggling my kids, focusing on the love of  my life and our marriage... seriously it makes a girl's head spin!

After looking up "satisfied" in the New Testament (NIV) I found several verses all referring to Jesus feeding groups of people and they all "ate and were satisfied". And then I came across this verse in Luke 6:
²¹Blessed are you who hunger now,
      for you will be satisfied.
   Blessed are you who weep now,
      for you will laugh.
After Jesus arrived all who were hungry became satisfied. And in the gospels, there was so much left over after thousands were fed!

The discipline of taking care of all He has given us every day sometimes makes me "weep now" but then He said I will "laugh"! I may hunger now for things I am not to do or eat (both wise and unwise) but He promises "you will be satisfied."

I need to remember when I am "unsatisfied" by what I have accomplished for the day, I need to take it to Him. He is the only One who really knows if I am satisfied or not. I don't even know!

I love this passage. Such a reality check on Who He is and all He has provided for:

Invitation to the Thirsty

 ¹ "Come, all you who are thirsty,
       come to the waters;
       and you who have no money,
       come, buy and eat!
       Come, buy wine and milk
       without money and without cost.  ² Why spend money on what is not bread,
       and your labor on what does not satisfy?
       Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
       and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
 ³ Give ear and come to me;
       hear me, that your soul may live.
       I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
       my faithful love promised to David.

Hear His heart for your satisfaction. I know I am. Soak up His definition of satisfied. Press in to Him for ALL you need. And, without a doubt - You will be satisfied.

FULL...

Tonight I find myself FULL. Full of joy, peace and love.

I was truly blessed tonight by my husband and my dear friends that made the time to celebrate me tonight. It was so precious to be surrounded by people who have loved me for years. Many of them have seen me through extreme pain, heart ache, and many other assorted battle scars of life. It was such a gift to be in the same room with so many different people in so many different stages of life and so many nuggets of wisdom they have deposited in me.

I am in awe of God's love for me. I am refreshed by my friends encouragement of me. I feel celebrated. I feel loved. I feel FULL.

Thank you Lord and thank you to all the dear ones that spent their time with me tonight. I love you too!

Strawberry Birthday Cake - The healthy way...

My husband is throwing me a birthday party. It will be missing my most favorite of celebratory foods - CAKE! It is truly one of the most yummy things I have enjoyed in my past... but this time is different. I committed to the Lord I would follow the Prism guidelines. So I decided to make a yummy dessert from NZ called Pavlova. I began researching sugar substitutes to use that wouldn't mess up the meringue too badly but would provide the desired nest to fill with fresh fruit. As I began to stress over how many I would need to make to serve the guests and the kid birthday party that would take up a chunk of my time the day of the party, I remembered another one of the guidelines... NO DESSERTS of any kind!!! I was so upset! Its my birthday for heaven's sake! Seriously? I called my accountability partner and asked her to pray for me. I was crying out of sheer frustration about what to serve our guests that is in keeping with our new "clean" way of eating. If I am not eating junk anymore I certainly don't want to feed it to people I love! My peaceful and calm friend just said a short prayer for guidance for me and we hung up. In a matter of 15 minutes I had my answer!

In my minds eye I saw a cake - made of strawberries! I shall stack each strawberry using toothpicks to hold it together and make a "cake" of sorts. It will not have anything on it but the lovely green stems God made and the gorgeous red of the fruit.

I am SO thankful for a God who wants to help me obey Him. He wants my obedience not to be hard. He wants it to be easy. We obey for love and for freedom's sake. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free... no longer to be subject to the yoke of slavery (to yucky food that does not contribute to abundant life). That is Galatians 5:1.

I want my kids to obey me so they will be safe. I want them to obey because they love me, not because they are scared of me or are going to earn a reward... I need to respond to my heavenly Father that same way. He wants me to be safe and healthy. He wants me to obey Him because I love Him. I am not doing this for the reward of a thinner me or because I am afraid I will die young of heart disease. I am obeying Him because it is the path to freedom. And I want to know, feel, taste, see, smell, and yes, even hear what that really is.This year, my freedom looks like a birthday cake made from strawberries.


I don't have to just have a "taste" of my birthday cake - I don't have too worry about feeling bloated or a sugar high from eating too much. For my birthday there will be lots of yummy strawberries to savor... just like every day of my life!

Who are YOU?

Today I find myself tired for a zillion reasons. I feel good that the day will work out as it should. I will enjoy my family and get a much needed haircut.

I don't have much brilliant to share other than one of my lessons for the PRISM program really blessed me today. We were to find a picture of our "true self" weight, size, height and coloring. I have never been able to find a picture like that of me or what I think "me" should look like. Today I did. What a relief! Even in my head I don't believe I am supposed to be a size 6. Ever. God made me to be me. I flipped through a catalog I hadn't thrown out yet and there I was... with another woman's face!! SO, I cut my face out of a picture and stuck me on my right weight body! I am so excited to have a visual reference for the first time EVER of what I believe God wants my shape to be. YAY!!

I am on my way!
Blessings on your day!

Time...

As I sit here trying to get today's blog posted before anything else comes in and alters my plans for the day, I am considering what God's plan is for me today.

So far - My plan was to get up early and get my morning devotions and this done before the kids got up.
God's Plan - to spend some time with my arms around my man praying over him and his day
My plan - to get in the shower and get my breakfast before my boys woke up.
God's Plan - Shower, eat quick, post this and hurry to make breakfast for my guys (now watching cartoons) because they are like hungry little wolves in the morning and if I don't feed them they will start eating each other - figuratively speaking of course.

So, as I whip up whole wheat blueberry pancakes for my little guys I am going to pray about what EXACTLY God wants for me to do today, knowing I need to listen for that "still, small voice in my spirit" leading and guiding all of my TIME today...

Honestly

When was the last time your integrity was challenged?

When was the last time you caved in to a craving?

When was the last time you felt God's grace envelop you like a warm blanket?

His heart for us is to obey, quickly and without argument. He created us so He knows we won't always or even often do that. But what if we did?

What if every time our integrity was challenged we chose to make the hard but honest choice?
What if every time we "craved" something we actually asked Him if it was going to bless us or hurt us?
What if every time we failed to do the thing we knew we were supposed to we received His grace instead of beating ourselves up?

Let's try it. See what happens. Let me know.
God bless you!

What defines a "reward" in your world?

I was raised with all sorts of rewards. I got rewards for good behavior, good school work, the fact that we all survived a hard day... all were worthy of reward.

My Mom's heart was always in the right place. She also deserved way more rewards than I did! I know she used other rewards than food to "celebrate" but those are the ones that stuck with me--- literally. For my adult live, especially since we moved to Idaho, my way of rewarding myself was with food. It was comforting, soothing. Made me feel like I had accomplished something of value (whether I did or not!) and it made me happy.

Eating out is a "reward" so I should get to pick whatever I want, right? It is not something we do every day so when we do it - it should be extra great and I should eat whatever sounds the most yummiest!

Here is what ONE of the zillions of scriptures in the NIV says about "reward" (Colossians 3:23-24)
²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

My "reward" is NOT a hot fudge sundae. It is NOT a basket of onion rings or a really great tasting piece  of chocolate cake with the best frosting ever. MY REWARD is my inheritance from the Lord - for doing what? For doing whatever He asks with all my heart as unto HIM and not for men --- not even myself!! HELLO! I am feeling the conviction and the awareness for a major paradigm shift in my thinking...

My REWARD is not related to Food in any way. My demise is specifically related to food! How in the world can I work at all He asks me to do with all my heart - working for Him (not myself or others) if I don't have any energy. My body polluted with stuff that does not bring Life but death... Ugh!

I gotta take this one to Him. I have some repenting to do and I am looking forward to exactly what the Bible says in Romans 12:1-2 "¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do 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."

Praise the Lord! I pray this encourages and strengthens your faith today! I love His Word and the Life changing power that comes in it! 

We must never forget that on this journey we have ALL the strength and power we need to walk in this new way - just like Romans 8:11 says
¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

God bless you today with a deep awareness of His love for you. His Passion for your freedom in all areas of your life is revealed in His Word of Truth. Savor it. Live it. Love Him.

Big hugs to each of you on this journey with me!

Focus... what is mine?

I talked to a friend last night about how hard it is to not obsess about your weight when you are overweight. Of course I know thin people who obsess about their weight too. I figured that is why they are thin - they obsess.

So the question I am posing is what is supposed to be a healthy focus on weight? God made me from a certain gene pool. He designed me in my mother's womb (Psalm 139). He knows every part of me. He also knew that weight would be an issue in my life.

Is it supposed to be my "thorn" like Paul spoke about (Not sure the reference) that I am to accept that His grace is sufficient in my weakness. Well, I am very weak in this area as exposed by the size of my body and the diet I have eaten in the past. Well where is the grace in that? I suppose it comes out in the fact that I have NO medical issues that have arisen from my being what is considered "morbidly obese". It makes me queasy to think about that being a description of me -- ever.

SO, here's the deal. I NEED His grace. It will be sufficient. This journey for me will be a long one. Whether it remains a "thorn" in my flesh to keep me humble like Paul said his was for or whether God will unearth some other malfunction I have later in my life that will be another journey that will require complete submission on my part again...

That brings up another question... what doesn't require "complete" submission to my God. Everything on this journey that I have come across in some way needs to be submitted to God. That is how you keep your Focus on the most important things to Him.

He is asking me to focus during this season of my life on my weight. I am not to obsess on anything but hearing his voice in this season. Yes, no, write, pray. It takes discipline to do that. It is hard. It is good. Today, I recheck my focus. In another 10 minutes I will have to recheck it again... :)

Broccoli

I love broccoli! Do you love broccoli? I have developed a consistent craving for broccoli. This is good. Happy Saturday!!

Temptation still lurks...

Today was my first day to really be tempted by yummy stuff since I started my healthy eating habits. I had MOPS today. Mothers of Preschoolers are awesome about making yummy food. Thankfully I have a friend who is eating healthy with me so she and I cooked something within our dietary guidelines. It was good. I did look longingly at the donuts and some jello salad thing that looked amazing. BUT - I walked past it. I decided when I looked at one of my favorite foods (now of my past) and KNEW it wasn't going to do me any favors - ever. I could just say NO.

I am so thankful for the people I have in my life that encourage me. Today I needed to be encouraged to not take offense when an unfortunate mistake hurt my feelings. I needed to be reminded that it was not intentional - even though I knew it wasn't. I needed to hear that I am loved an appreciated.

I made it through 3 hard workouts and discovered all my efforts are really worth it. I don't know what weight I have lost but I found out how many calories I am burning doing it! 400 calories! 45 minutes of sweating my guts out and working every muscle in my body is worth it!!

For as much as I hate adjusting my eating habits and measuring just about every amount of food that goes in my mouth - I love the exercising! For the first time in my life I can feel LOVE for exercise! I am hoping the attitude towards the food adjustments will improve over time. I think it is more socially acceptable in some circles to work out. But to cut out "standard" foods like bread, white flour, refined sugars, only the people who know and support me think it is a good thing. Most people think I am nuts. Maybe I am reading too much into it???

I feel a little scattered tonight. I am hoping the boys will sleep past 6am and I can get to bed before 11:30pm! Its been that way all week.

I hope this makes sense. I am too tired to even read over it again...

Talk with you tomorrow. Maybe something brilliant will pop out! :)

Day 4 - WOW

I feel like I spent today suspended by bungee cords pulled from one side of my emotions to the other and bouncing back and forth. I had a wonderful chat with my friend at the park and she listened for an hour while I talked and cried.

Then I jumped back to "mommy-land" and made lunches, met my John off the bus and planned the rest of the day.

Then I bounced to the Kroc for my weekly "Writer's Table" meeting and cried some more while these amazing women I meet with spoke life and encouraged me without uttering a single trite statement about "this too shall pass" or "you'll be glad you did this", one of them even brought a big stack of Kleenex just in case I might need it.

Then back to "mommy-land" to pick up the boys and get home, rest time for them, housework for me, then the awareness strikes that I have one diaper left for Peter So we make a "quick" trip to the store. The boys and I had a lovely dinner outside on the back deck and a wonderful time at bedtime. I even cried at the sweet chapter book story I am reading to them.

I have shed lots of tears today. Released a lot of shame and guilt. Attended to those little people in my care and even secured house cleaning assistance for the neighbors across the street.

God's Grace. That is it. That is how I did it. He arranged and ordained each moment. I finish the day in awe of who He is yet again. At peace. Thankful. Wow!

Interesting how the day can change...

I couldn't sleep last night. Too hungry. It was awful. I woke up angry. Angry and Hungry is a bad combo for a stay at home mom with a 5 year old in her bed at 5:45am, a husband who is about to leave town for three days and a busy day ahead.

I got up. I ate. I didn't feel much better because really, I am pretty mad I have to do this at all. Why can't I have some other malfunction? Why do I have to struggle with my weight. I had a friend once tell me, after I told her I was sick of wearing my sin on the outside of my body, that she wouldn't like me as much because I would not be as transparent as I am. I would be to busy hiding some internal sin to be a good friend. Knowing her, she would have loved me anyway, but as one who has struggled all of my adult life, and some in my teen years (crazy for sure now that I look back) with my weight, feeling beautiful, and believing God made me to be beautiful AND healthy seems just out of reach - 140lbs out of reach to be specific.

I have a whole person to lose. It is completely overwhelming. Seem so unreachable. So impossible. So SELFISH. Both what has led me to this point and what I feel now. I feel SELFISH now for spending so much time focusing on my weight, my workouts, making my family eat super healthy (as if that could be bad - seriously ridiculous!), spending the grocery budget not on "fun" stuff but on GOOD body fuel stuff. That mind set is quickly fading away and what is remaining is the SELFISH part of allowing myself to get this way. I am not really sure how it happened. I can blame it on hormones, on the pill, off the pill, whatever. I can blame it on 4 pregnancies in 6 years. Lots of practice eating for two... ;). Or I can just quit blaming anything. Accept it. And MOVE ON!

This song changed my day today. It came up on my ipod at the end of my workout today. God used it. I pray He speaks to you through it right now. Take the 4 minutes and let it minister to you:

Here is a YouTube video of the song and the lyrics. It is pretty powerful.

The lyrics to that song are amazing. A few lines really stood out to me:
"Take a walk into today and don't let your past get in the way" It is hard when every time I look in the mirror I see what hundreds of "yesterdays" have accumulated into. BUT If I don't walk into today and I stay STUCK in the mirror, then where will I be? History.
And then what I think is called the "bridge" in the song:
Every word you are saying
Every prayer you are praying
Every chain you are breaking
History is in the making.

I have to remember that this is bigger than me. I am breaking down old habits of my own, retraining my children how to eat, modifying the diet of the man I want to live with till death do us part over 90! I am breaking away from generations of self-loathing and self-defeat. I am cutting free from the biggest source of "self-comfort" in my life. The history I want to leave behind from this day on is a legacy of LIFE GIVING choices that draw myself, my family, and the people God puts in our path into the abundant Life that comes from abandoning your vices and diving into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

"So leave it all behind you
But let it always remind you of the day
The day that Love made history."

Jesus died for my sins. All of them. Every day. He made history when he hung there on that cross. He has forgiven me because I asked Him to. Who am I to hold on to it if He has let it go?

Going to bed now. Receive Him. His forgiveness. Let it go. Every day. He has.
AND HE WILL NEVER LET YOU GO.

((Hugs)) I will be back tomorrow. Hang in there!

Day 2

So, I survived today without yelling at my kids! Whooo hoooo! This detoxifying thing is making me pretty crabby, but I ate enough protein, veggies, and good healthy carbs (funny the computer doesn't like that abbreviation - it recommends CRABS instead - go figure!) today to keep me fairly balanced emotionally. Of course I didn't put put them to bed tonight which made things a little easier... but it was a pretty good day. Whew!

There were a few bumps but I managed to get on top of them before I did anything silly. I did look longingly at a beautifully made coffee cake ring at Bible Study this morning as I grabbed a couple of slices of cheese. I did wait too long before eating a meal and so did not measure faithfully what I was supposed to. But, for my second day of overhauling my major life challenge of valuing my body enough to put only healthy stuff into it (with reasonable amounts), it wasn't too bad.

How do I feel now? Like I could eat an ox. Or a huge plate of nachos... or... so, that is why I am going to go to bed. No good can come of my continuing my late night feasting habit. My headache will get better with some sleep and breakfast in the morning. I am praying my "detox symptoms" will be over fast. It really sucks to be reminded of how much junk I need to purge out of my body before it will fully function the way God made it to!

I went to my first Prism meeting tonight. It was good to see the faces of the women I will be traveling this journey with. Allan, our fearless leader, his beautiful wife Dene' and their two darling little girls are real treasures. I am so thankful for their willingness to invite us into their home to support us through this transformation process. Some of the women in the group I know, some I don't so it will be fun to enjoy what God has for all of us to learn from each other as we embrace the health God ordained for us from the beginning.

If any of this makes sense it is a blessing from the Lord because I am so hungry the typos and the sentence structure is becoming challenging! May God bless you with Peace as you allow Him to activate the strength He has placed in you to conquer whatever your challenge may be.

Talk with you tomorrow! ;)

Prism Progress...

I have been inspired by the movie Julie and Julia in a strange way. I realized after watching it I have NEVER done anything 365 days in a row. Except maybe use the bathroom... SO - today I begin a new adventure. I am putting to action all the tools the Lord has given me over the years and implementing them for the next year in an attempt to live the transforming life God is calling me to. That may not make tons of sense right now, but follow this blog and it will over time.

My posts on this blog may not be long as I attempt to do this every day. But I really believe that the daily commitment to becoming the healthy and well balanced woman God made me to be will be exposed in the next year.

Prism is a program that will be helping me on this journey. So will Rachel Cosgrove's book the Female Body Breakthrough. So will my husband, friends and family that support and encourage me every day, no matter the size of my booty, the attitude of the moment, or event the words out of my mouth.

Now, off to get a snack for my fellas, laundry, housecleaning, dish doing, etc that is a part of my daily journey.