Fitness Friday

It has not been a good week in the world of healthy habits. I had another binge this Wednesday. It was the WW snacks again. They are now on my list of junk food. Adding a food to that list is very helpful. I added Cheez-its to that list a few months ago because I kept binging on those. I haven't eaten them since.

I've also been lazy on my exercise. We have been to the gym this week and we did go for a walk after work yesterday. But I haven't been doing my tv exercises (I do them while we are watching television) - stretching, abs, strength training.

It occurred to me this morning, that my apathy for all things healthy is probably related to PMS. Duh. I knew it was getting close and my breasts were tender. It just hadn't occurred to me that the food cravings and apathy were related to it. Actually, my PMS has been pretty mild the past few months. Probably because I have been eating well. I haven't been eating too well the past couple weeks. Not bad, just more sugar and flour than usual - especially last Wednesday. Anyway, I checked the dates and TOM should be here Saturday or Sunday and then all the cravings will be gone and I will feel better. It is amazing how much better I feel once it arrives, even though I still have to suffer through it.

Saturday is also the beginning of a brand new month and a new "Healthy Habits Spreadsheet." I love the beginning of the month. I'm happy it is starting on Saturday because I am always very motivated at the beginning of the month and that is just what I need to make it through the holiday weekend without over-indulging.

Closer

I am so glad that I signed up for the Beth Moore Bible study. I have felt stagnant in my walk with God lately. I haven't been finding joy in my bible reading, in my devotionals, in listening to Christian music. But now I am. I am really looking forward to these next 10 weeks of doing this study. I am excited to see what God will reveal to me and what He will do in my life during this time.

C.S. Lewis on Forgiving Versus Excusing

I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiveness says “Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before.” But excusing says “I see that you couldn’t help it or didn’t mean it; you weren’t really to blame.” If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive. In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites. Of course, in dozens of cases, either between God and man, or between one man and another, there may be a mixture of the two. Part of what seemed at first to be the sins turns out to be really nobody’s fault and is excused; the bit that is left over is forgiven...But the trouble is that what we call “asking God’s forgiveness” very often really consists in asking God to accept our excuses. What leads us into this mistake is the fact that there usually is some amount of excuse, some “extenuating circumstances.” We are so very anxious to point these out to God (and to ourselves) that we are apt to forget the really important thing; that is, the bit left over, the bit which the excuses don’t cover, the bit which is inexcusable but not, thank God, unforgivable. And if we forget this, we shall go away imagining that we have repented and been forgiven when all that has really happened is that we have satisfied ourselves with our own excuses. They may be very bad excuses; we are all too easily satisfied about ourselves. —from “On Forgiveness” (The Weight of Glory)

Random Acts of Email

I received this in an email at work this week from someone I do not know:

When God closes a door, He opens a window... but at times He shuts both, worry not for he would tear down the roof... so His blessings could overflow. Good Luck and have a nice Day!!

I have been reading it all week and being blessed by it and waiting for the roof to come tearing off!

First Beth Moore Class

I went to the first Beth Moore class last night. I knew one of the ladies facilitating and she asked me to be a table leader. It shouldn't be too difficult, but I feel a little out of place at the table. Five of the ladies already know each other and four of them are young marrieds with children or wanting to have children. But, a lady at work is going to be coming and there is space for her at the table. (She couldn't come last night because she had a prior commitment.)

Something I learned last night. When God showed Moses the vision of the tabernacle that He wanted him to build, it was not just a vision he saw. It was THE heavenly tabernacle. I real place. Not just a picture or a drawing. A real place that someday we will all see.

Rejoicing over spilt coffee

Several things went wrong this morning. I got up and we had forgot to set the dishwasher to run last night so I had to start it. When I went to pour my coffee, it had not been started (in the process of starting the dishwasher, I forgot to start the coffee). When I was preparing my coffee, the big metal 2 TBSP scoop I use to measure my powdered milk dropped on the floor making a loud noise which disturbed my still sleeping husband. After I poured my coffee and sat down to drink it and I had forgotten the sweetner. I got back up for sweetner and on the way to coffee pot, sloshed coffee out of my mug and on the floor. This was the point where I started to get frustrated. But then a thought occurred to me. You know how sometimes when you are taking the right steps in your relationship with God, bad things sometimes happen? I think it is the devil trying to frustrate us, make us mad, and move us away from God. So, instead of getting frustrated, I rejoiced that my relationship with God must be moving in the right direction.

What could have been a bad start to the day, turned into a good start. :)

The Spiritual Search

"What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will he give him a stone?" ~ Matthew 7:9
The illustration of prayer that our Lord uses here is one of a good child asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God heard us regardless of what of our relationship to Him (see Matthew 5:45). Never say it is not God's will to give you what you ask. Don't faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a "good child" in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, "I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings"? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a "good child."
We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God's child among my relatives and friends (see Matthew 7:12).
I am a child of God only by by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I "walk in the light." (1 John 1:7) For most of us, prayer simply becaomse some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong - a friendship, unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, "Everyone who asks receives..." (Matthew 7:8) ~ From My Utmost for His Highest

Ouch! This one convicted me. I have been praying for a new job for a LONG time. This convicted me that I have not been a good employee where I am currently. I have spent too much time checking personal emails, reading blogs, and surfing the net while I am at work. So, if you don't see as many comments from me, please don't be offended. I am just working.

New Bible Study

I am thinking about going to a Beth Moore bible study on Tuesday evenings. It is "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place. I haven't committed to it yet though. It starts this Tuesday. Sugar Pop and I haven't been in a small group since the first of the year and he does not want to join one right now because he is spending a lot of time at the church with the praise team. I would like to do something, but I have heard Beth Moore studies are pretty intense (and have homework!) and I am currently reading through the bible which takes a lot of my quiet time in the morning.

I must make a decision SOON!

Please comment.

Fitness Friday - Part 2

I forgot to mention in my Fitness Friday post that I broke my pedometer this week. It flipped off my pants onto a tile floor and broke. I have been wearing a pedometer for about two years. I also have been recording my daily steps at www.fitnessjournal.org during this same time. My first inclination was to get a new pedometer, but then I decided to stop wearing one for awhile. It is probably "unnecessary striving." I have worn one long enough to have a pretty good idea of how many steps I am getting. To reach 5,000 steps on a workday, I need to walk at least 10 minutes on the treadmill. Desk jobs are horrible for getting high steps. I very seldom would good the 10,000 steps that "they" recommend. That takes at least 40 minutes of cardio - and probably running for me to get there. It was always kind of a pain to record those steps at Fitness Journal, which is why I called it unnecessary striving.

Fitness Friday

I binged this week. I had been 144 days since the last time. So what led to this binge? It was not anything big, probably a lot of little things: overwhelmed at work, finally talked to the guy about the franchise, email from SIL about how nephew is doing, decision/fear to write letter pat, possibility of having friends over to eat this weekend, the chicken on my big salad at lunch, craving for licorice but no licorice to satisfy, trying to satisfy craving with payday bar, having ww snacks in my office for over a week now, giving in to one ww snack which turned into eating 4 more. The binge was on Wednesday. It stopped after the payday and the 5 ww snacks and I have eaten normally since then. Thursday was a struggle. I wanted to binge again, but it was just the processed food talking. I am feeling better today.

We've made it to the gym twice the week. It is Sugar Pop's early week, so I have walked on the treadmill for 10 minutes four mornings this week. I used to hate early week because it threw off my routine and I didn't have any alone time in the house after work. I still don't have the alone time after work, but I have altered my morning routine for the week and walking on the treadmill is something I look forward to on these weeks.

I am still maintaining my weight within my weight range. I was up a little over the range earlier in the week, but that was water retention from the Italian food we had on Saturday night. Even with my mid-week binge, I am still "in the range." It is a great place to be.

Prayer-Battle in "The Secret Place"

From My Utmost for His Highest:

"When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret. place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." ~ Matthew 6:6
Jesus did not say, "Dream about your Father who is in the secret place," but He said, "...pray to your Father who is in the secret place..." Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idle and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful, deliberate prayer.
We must have a specially selected place for prayer, but once we get there this plague of wandering thoughts begins, as we begin to think to ourselves, "This needs to be done, and I have to do that today." Jesus says to "shut your door." Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. God is in secret, and He sees us from "the secret place" -- He does not see us as other people do, or as we see ourselves. When we truly live in "the secret place," it becomes impossible for us to doubt God. We become more sure of Him than of anyone or anything else. Enter into "the secret place," and you will find that God was right in the middle of your everyday circumstances all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and "pray to your Father who is in the secret place," every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God.

My prayer life has not been great lately. I have my "quiet" time that is spent doing my bible reading, but I am not spending much (really any) time in prayer and silence before the Lord. I will start working on that even if it means setting a timer for 5 minutes to just get myself started.

Utility Closet

Here are the before and after pictures of my utility closet. I love the new green (even if Sugar Pop thinks I'm crazy for painting it that color). I also got rid of a bunch of cleaners that I didn't like (they are in a basket for Sugar Pop to take the next time he buys a house). You can also see that I switched to using Mrs. Meyes Clean Day products. I love these. They do a good job and don't smell like chemicals!

Set Your Hope

Today's Scripture
“Set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed” (I Peter 1:13).
Today's Word from Joel and Victoria
Is your hope set on God’s divine favor in your life today? One translation of this verse says, “Look forward to more and more of God’s favor.” That’s God’s dream—to pour out His goodness and grace upon you. He wants to help you get ahead in this life. He wants to lead you to the right job. [italics and color mine] He wants to lead you to the right relationship. But here’s the key: we have to be on the lookout for more of God’s favor. That tells me that we can’t get stagnant. Don’t ever think that you can’t rise any higher. God wants to do more than you can even ask or think. It says in Ephesians, He wants to show us the immeasurable, limitless, surpassing greatness of His free favor. In other words, God wants to go far and above what we’re used to! He wants to show you favor in unusual and extraordinary ways. Set your hopes higher today. Increase your expectations of what God will do in your life. As you open your heart and mind to His unlimited favor, you will experience the abundance He has in store for you!
A Prayer for Today
Father, thank You for your increase in every area of my life today. I choose to set my hope in You knowing that You want to do more in my life than I can ever imagine. Teach me to be a vessel used by You today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Pray for Restoration

As we grow to become more like Christ, our behavior grows more distinctive from the world. Believers should be known for their eagerness to do good and help others.

Get it straight: Someone who sees grace as permission to sin has missed grace entirely. Mercy understood is holiness desired. "[Jesus] gave himself for us so he might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to him--people who are always wanting to do good deeds" (Titus 2:14)

Note the last phrase: "people who are always wanting to do good deeds." Grace fosters an eagerness for good. Grace doesn't spawn a desire to sin. If one has truly embraced God's gift, he will not mock it. In fact, if a person uses God's mercy as liberty to sin, one might wonder whether the person ever knew God's mercy at all.

When my father gave me his [credit] card, he didn't attach a list of regulations. There was no contract for me to sign or rules for me to read. He didn't tell me to place my hand on the Bible and pledge to reimburse him for any expenses. In fact, he didn't ask for any payment at all. As things turned out, I went a few weeks into the semester without using it. Why? Because he gave me more than a card; he gave me his trust. And where I might break his rules, I wasn't about to abuse his trust.

God's trust makes us eager to do right. Such is the genius of grace. The law can show us where we do wrong, but it can't make us eager to do right. Grace can. Or as Paul answers, "Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants" (Romans 3:31). ~ From In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado via the Life Lessons in my Devotional Bible.

This reminded me of something that happened several years ago. Sugar Pop's daughter Rosebud was driving to visit her sister - a six hour drive. Her car was fairly reliable, but we gave her one of our cell phones just in case she had any problems. We explained that he had limited minutes on our plan and that we just wanted her to have a phone in case she had any problems. She racked up over $300 in charges on the phone during that trip. She totally abused our trust. I could go one at list similar incidents with her, but that would only serve to make me angry. Please just pray for her because she is estranged from her parents, grandparents, siblings, and her own daughter. Mostly she is estranged from God. If her relationship with God is restored, all the other relationships in her life will be restored.

The Favor of God

Today's Scripture
“God earnestly longs to be gracious to you...to have mercy on you and show you His loving-kindness” (Isaiah 30:18).
Today's Word from Joel and Victoria
God longs to pour out His favor upon you. He wants to remove your burdens so you can enjoy life. He wants you to be free and living each day full of peace. He wants to assist you and give you special advantages every single day. Today’s verse talks about God’s grace, mercy, and loving-kindness—which are all part of His favor! When you receive that favor by faith, you’ll have tremendous advantage! God’s favor will cause you to be promoted even though you weren’t the most qualified. God’s favor will open a door for you that may not open for someone else. God’s favor will bring unexpected blessing from unexpected sources. Activate your faith in this area today by declaring God’s favor in your life. Thank Him for his mercy and loving-kindness. As you expect His favor, God will do unusual and extraordinary things in your life and you’ll live the life of victory that God has in store for you!
A Prayer for Today
Father, thank you for your favor on my life today. Thank you for guiding me and reminding me of your presence in everything I do. Give me strength and peace today so that I can live in your victory today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Bent Appetities

Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence. Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that obviously either Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct, as it now is, has gone wrong. One or the other. Of course, being a Christian, I think it is the instinct which has gone wrong.

But I have other reasons for thinking so. The biological purpose of sex is children, just as the biological purpose of eating is to repair the body. Now if we eat whenever we feel inclined and just as much as we want, it is quite true most of us will eat too much: but not terrifically too much. One man may eat enough for two, but he does not eat enough for ten. The appetite goes a little beyond its biological purpose, but not enormously. But if a healthy young man indulged his sexual appetite whenever he felt inclined, and if each act produced a baby, then in ten years he might easily populate a small village. This appetite is in ludicrous and preposterous excess of its function.

Or take it another way. You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act—that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you come to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? And would not anyone who had grown up in a different world think there was something equally queer about the state of the sex instinct among us? ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Fitness Friday

I DID IT! I finally worked up to running on the treadmill at 6.0 mph for thirty minutes! I started working on the Couch to 5K back in the spring. I never "officially" finished the Couch to 5K program. I got to about week 6 or 7 - when you have the 27 minute run - and then we went to Nashville for a week and I got off track. In June I started with 30 minutes at 5.0 mph and with each run I have increased my speed by .1 mph. I did good with getting lots of runs in during June, but we started going to the gym more often in July and August and I do not run at the gym.

For my run yesterday I listened to DJ Steveboy's Podrunner Podcast Running Out of Summer. It is a tempo of 149 bpm which was just perfect for 6.0 mph. Having the steady beat really helped keep in a rhythm and made the run easier.

I've had a slight challenge at work this week. We are doing the Weight Watchers at Work program. This week the office manager sent her assistant to the Weight Watchers office to buy Weight Watchers snacks for people to buy. They have all ending up in my office (because I have a door that locks to keep the cleaning people from taking them). I have not had ANY of them. They contain high fructose corn syrup and dozens of other ingredients that I can't pronounce (or spell). I have an established habit of bring snacks to work and what I bring is ALWAYS better than any of those WW snacks.

Keeping a Tidy Bathroom

When I wash my face at night, I use a washcloth to dry my face instead of a hand towel. This keeps my hand towels from getting bits of makeup and mascara on them when I don't get my face quite clean. I then leave that washcloth on the counter. In the morning I use it to dry my hands when I am getting ready and that gives it just enough dampness to swipe down the counter top, sink, faucet, the pulls on the drawers, the windowsill, and the back of the commode. Because of the humidity and hair products used in the bathroom, everything would be covered in a sticky, dusty mess if I didn't stay on top of it daily. This only adds a few seconds to my daily routine.

I have another bathroom tidiness tip. I apologize if this is TMI. When I am going to "go #2," I put a kleenex in the bottom of the toilet bowl first. This keeps any "marks" from being left behind in the bowl when it is flushed.

C.S. Lewis on Romance Novels (or Why I don't watch soap operas anymore)

People get from books the idea that if you have married the right person you may expect to go on ‘being in love’ for ever. As a result, when they find they are not, they think this proves they have made a mistake and are entitled to a change—not realizing that, when they have changed, the glamour will presently go out of the new love just as it went out of the old one. In this department of life, as in every other thrills come at the beginning and do not last. The sort of thrill a boy has at the first idea of flying will not go on when he has joined the R.A.F. and is really learning to fly. The thrill you feel on first seeing some delightful place dies away when you really go to live there. Another notion we get from novels and plays is that ‘falling in love’ is something quite irresistible; something that just happens to one, like measles. And because they believe this, some married people throw up the sponge and give in when they find themselves attracted by a new acquaintance. But I am inclined to think that these irresistible passions are much rarer in real life than in books, at any rate when one is grown up. When we meet someone beautiful and clever and sympathetic, of course we ought, in one sense, to admire and love these good qualities. But is it not very largely in our own choice whether this love shall, or shall not, turn into what we call ‘being in love’? No doubt, if our minds are full of novels and plays and sentimental songs, and our bodies full of alcohol, we shall turn any love we feel into that kind of love: just as if you have a rut in your path all the rainwater will run into that rut, and if you wear blue spectacles everything you see will turn blue. But that will be our own fault. — from Mere Christianity

I used to be addicted to Days of Our Lives. I would come home for lunch every day to watch it and would record it if I missed it. The problem with soap operas is they give us an unrealistic expectations of what relationships (and life) should be like. I found myself mad at my dear husband because he wasn't as romantic as the characters and didn't plan big romantic get-aways and evenings for us. I had unrealistic expectations that came from watching television (and I was expected my husband to fill all the empty places in my heart that only God can fill). I gave up Days of Our Lives years ago and I've been much happier since.

Perfectly Complete

Today's Scripture
“Be confident of this. He who began a good work in you will continue to perform it until it’s perfectly complete” (Philippians 1:6).
Today's Word from Joel and Victoria
Do you have dreams that have not yet come to pass? Are there promises that you are standing on in your health, finances, or relationships? Know this: God is a god of completion. He wants to finish what He’s started in your life. No matter how long you’ve been praying, don’t let the enemy tempt you into thinking that it’s never going to happen. Be encouraged today because God is called the Author and the Finisher of your faith. That means He’s working behind the scenes on your behalf. Anything He begins, any dream He puts in your heart, He is well-able to finish. Stand strong on this promise. Be confident even when it looks like it’s not going to happen. No matter how long it takes, stay in faith and keep your hopes up because God has promised to finish the good work He’s started in your life!
A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, thank you for your promise to complete what you’ve started in my life. Thank you for your faithfulness and for showing me your goodness. Give me strength to stand strong so that I can experience your fulfillment in my life today. I love you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Only doing what I should

When you do everything you have been told to do, you must say, 'We are not any special servants. We have done only what we should have done.' ~ Luke 17:10

Last time I went to the grocery store the checkout lines were long. In the line next the the one I was in, there was a couple buying ice cream and fried pies. When I finally got to the front of the line, they were still waiting, so I asked the cashier to check them out first. The cashier made a really big deal about it, but I was only doing what I should have done.

Painting

I painted my first room all by myself. Sugar Pop usually does the painting and I sometimes help. This time I painted - by myself. I even opened the paint cans and poured the paint myself. Of course the "room" I painted wasn't really a room. It is the closet for the washer and dryer. Once they get put back along with the cleaning supplies, towels, and lightbulbs, most of the paint job will be covered up. That made it a good room for me to start with because I didn't have to worry about everything being perfect.

In a few days, when everything is pu back in place, I will post a before and after picture.

Dying

What sort of a lover am I to think so much about my affliction and so much less about hers? Even the insane call, 'Come back,' is all for my own sake. I never even raised the question whether such a return, if it were possible, would be good for her. I want her back as an ingredient in the restoration of my past. Could I have wished her anything worse? Having got once through death, to come back and then, at some later date, have all her dying to do over again? They call Stephen the first martyr. Hadn't Lazarus the rawer deal? ~ from A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

In the past 5 years, I have had three people very close to me pass away. My mom, my dad, and my nephew/godson. I miss them all terribly. However, they all had much suffering to endure before their deaths.

Mom had ovarian cancer and underwent surgery and had three chemotherapy treatments. It was the chemo that contributed to her death. She contracted a blood infection due to her immune system being compromised.

Dad was ill for a very long time. We never really had a diagnosis of what was wrong with him. He had various ailments and was on dialysis and oxygen. A year before his death he fell and broke his hip and was never able to go back home and had to use a walker or wheel chair from that point on. He was very sensitive to medications, except for pain medicine which he took a lot of, and had a lot of side effects. (I am also sensitive to medicines, except for pain medicine - I take half doses of cold/allergy medicines, but take double does of ibuprofen for headaches.)

My nephew suffered from cystic fibrosis which was not diagnosed until he was about 15. Somehow he managed to avoid antibiotics and hospitals until he was 19. He had two trips to the hospital this spring. He was on oxygen, very sensitive to chemicals/allergens, took numerous enzymes/supplements with every meal to help with his digestion, and endured lots of breathing treatments. In the end, he refused to go to the hospital again and passed away at home.

So, even though I miss them and wish they were still here, I would not want them to have to endure that suffering again.

Fitness Friday

I am deep into weight maintenance this week. I've been right in the middle of my weight range (130-134) all week. I added another 2 points to my daily target this week, so I am now at 26 points a day. Those extra points make a difference. When I am in weight loss mode and eating 20 points a day, it takes every point to get in all my healthy guidelines. At 26 points I easily get them all in and have to be careful I don't eat junk with the extra points because I've already had all my dairy, produce, healthy oils, whole grains, and nuts for the day.

My workouts haven't been as good this week as I would have liked. It's been a busy week. I haven't done very good on my strength training. I will definitely need to spend some time doing a 30-40 minute video to be able to make the 4.5 hour monthly goal I have set for myself. I havne't done any running this week. My next run will be at 5.9 mph and the following will be 6.0 mph. I set a goal to run at 6.0 mph back in June and wanted to work up to that my July 4th. I've slacked off on my running because Sugar Pop has actually been wanting to go to the gym and I have been doing cardio there. I do not like to run at the gym - I don't want anyone to watch me and Sugar Pop only wants to stay for 30 minutes and with my warm ups and cool downs, it takes me 40 minutes when I run. Sometime this week (maybe today) I will get in the 5.9 mph run.

Pedicure

On Monday Sugar Pop did some cleaning in his studio/office. He ran across a gift certificate I had made for him long enough ago that I don't remember when it was. It was for a pedicure from me.

So, last night I gave him his pedicure. He absolutely LOVED it.

When we were dating I used to give him pedicure quite often. The first time I gave him a pedicure it was because he had these ridges and discoloration in his toenails (he probably had a fungus or something in his nails). I just buffed that all away and he was AMAZED at how much better his toenails looked. After doing that a few times, his toenails looked normal all the time.

8 Quick Time–Outs for Your Soul

This was set to me by a co-worker today:

When life seems overwhelming and you are worried or feeling frazzled, do you yearn for some kind of escape Here are some ways to get through those unquiet times. Each two-minute activity includes an inspiring passage from Scripture for you to read.

When you feel like Complaining
Read: Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever. ~ 1 Chronicles 16:34
Prayer: All too often, my focus is on what I don’t have, Lord. Please forgive me and help me to focus on and be grateful for what I do have.

When you feel that you’ve failed
Read: Each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. ~ 1 Corinthians 7:7
Prayer: Father, I’ve been guilty of coveting the gifts You’ve given others while disparaging the ones You’ve given me. Help me know what You’ve created me to do and give me opportunities to do it.

When you’re feeling down
Read: Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful ~ 1 Kings 21:7
Prayer: I praise and celebrate You today, Lord, in spite of my aching heart.

When you’re feeling frazzled
Read: If there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ~ Philippians 4:8
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for this great idea. I remember when ________________________________________________________ (you fill in the blank)

When you’re feeling stuck in your job
Read: The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks him. ~ Lamentations 3:25
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for the grace to keep doing, joyfully and patiently, what You’ve called me to do until You tell me to do something different. I believe You have a plan; please don’t let my impatience mess it up.

When you’re struggling with a problem
Read: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. ~ Proverbs 3:5
Prayer: Father, forgive me for trying to help You answer my prayers, and thank You for answering them better than I could have imagined.

When you’re thinking negative thoughts about someone
Read: Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful ~ Luke 6:36
Prayer: Lord, forgive my critical attitude toward ________________________(you fill in the blank) and help me to see the positive qualities You’ve put within him/her.

When you’re worried
Read: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! ~ Mark 9:24
Prayer: I do want to trust You more, Lord. Please help me overcome my unbelief.

Rest

The following is from Disciplines of the Heart by Anne Ortlund via the Life Lessons in my devotional bible:

For you to rest -- that is, to live in total acceptance of God's way -- demands quiet...

To rest in God permanently means to hand over each activity, each situation of your life, to Him and to learn the habit of trusting Him to work for you.

We don't naturally rest. Naturally we are stewers, tinkerers, and fussers...

Have you too much o do? Are you pushed, rushed, harried?

Said George Fox long ago, "Come out of the bustlings you that are bustling."

To guard your inner life, you must guard your outer life. How's your pace? Are you too busy?...

Does your pace allow you to keep in touch with yourself -- with your inner needs and feelings and longings? Does it allow you time to think, plan, make changes? Does it allow you time to observe carefully the dear ones around you and care for their needs -- physical and emotional? Do you have time to really live?...

Asian theologian Kosuke Koyama says that in human affairs God moves at something like three miles an hour, the pace at which a person walks, not runs! Are you synchronized to your world, maybe even your Christian world, but out of sync with God?...

You will change when your inner life changes. But I just said your inner life is affected by your outer life! Then is the whole thing a vicious cycle that can't be stopped?

No, the change begins with a decision. Your heart is your headquarters. Even as you read this chapter, make the decision, by a conscious act of your will, that you will learn to rest in God both in your inner life and your outer life. Once the decision is made -- and you implement it as God opens your eyes to ways to implement it -- gradually, gradually over the weeks or years, the changes will come. Your heart will start listening to a different pulse deep within you, and with joy you'll begin to match your steps to that lovely, restful beat.

Obsessions

I have a tendency to get obsessed about things. If I am working on some sort of project, it becomes all-consuming. I think about it constantly to the detriment of other things in my life.

In the past I have done this when I was dieting. I would think about my diet and research my diet and plan and think and think and think. Then when some other thing came along that demanded my attention, I would obsess about that and all my dieting would fly out the window and the pounds would creep back on.

But not this time. Yes, at one point during this final weight loss journey I was very obsessed. However, now that I have been on maintenance for a while and I have finally made a lifestyle change, I can obsess about other things but not falter on my healthy eating and fitness routine. There are days when I am not able to eat as healthy as like or get in any exercise. Instead of just giving up totally on those days, I do what I can do, and then go right back to my routine as soon as I can.

Yesterday was such a day. We had company for brunch and for supper. I didn't have a chance to eat some of my healthy foods - like whole grains and my Fiber One cereal. I didn't have time by myself to get any exercise in. I didn't get in my 5,000 steps. I had sugar and flour and I had a dessert after 9 pm. I am not going to beat myself up about what I did and didn't do yesterday. I am not going to continue lounging around all day, eating sugar, flour, and not getting in enough fresh fruits and veggies. Instead, I am returning to my healthy lifestyle today. This is the person I have become. I have obsessed about these habits for so long that now I don't have to. The are natural to me. I like them. I enjoy the treats I have on off days, but I enjoy my healthy lifestyle just as much. I am never deprived.

Family and Food Day

Today we spent the day with Butterfly, her fiance, and his daughter. We had brunch and supper with them (no lunch).

I did not do well on my healthy habits or my routines, but that is ok. We don't get to see them very often and I have every other day to work habits and routines.

Ordinarily, history has made nonsense of promises of peace achieved by war, but the history of God's kingdom shows that the peace of God is indeed achieved by waging war in Christ against all the powers of evil that disguise themselves as unimportant temptations to sin. ~ Magnificat 10/26/06

So wide is God's mercy that no sin is too great or too small for forgiveness. So much narrower is our charity that we often find the small annoyances the hardest to forgive. The more often we turn in prayer to the all-forgiving God, the more we will become like him in extending the hand of pardon to others in every daily circumstance. ~ Magnificat 10-27-06

Let not the cross be a joy to you merely in the time of peace, but keep the same faith during persecution. ~ St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Sin is a subtle prison. So accustomed can we become to its walls that we cease to recognize that we are dying in slow and unseen ways. Yet God gave his very Son to break its stranglehold. Let us call out to Him for help. ~ Magnificat 11/3-6

Fitness Friday

Here I am on another Friday talking about Fitness. This was a fairly uneventful week this week on the fitness front. Although, Wednesday did start a new month and along with that come a new Healthy Habits Spreadsheet. This is what is on my habit list for this month:

• Journal Food & Activity
• Blog
• Keep in Touch
• Get Ready in 50 minutes or less (shower, hair, makeup, dressed, bathroom swiped and bed made)
• At least 5000 Steps
• Cardio - at least 10 minutes
• Core - at least 5 minutes
• Strength - No less than 5 minutes, but aiming for at least 10
• Stretch/Yoga - at least 5 minutes
• 2nd Vitamin
• Produce - 5 serving minimum
• Dairy - 2 serving minimum
• Healthy Oil
• Nuts - 1/2 serving to 1 serving
• Fiber One - 1/2 cup to 1 cup
• Whole Grain - at least one serving
• Limit Caffeine to 1 Coffee+1 G.Tea
• Alcohol~ 1 or fewer servings
• No Sugar
• No Flour
• No Junk - currently defined as: Popcorn, Gum, Hot Chocolate packets (but cocoa in my coffee is ok), Soda, Chips, Frozen Novelties, Fast Food, Cheezits
• No HFCS or partially hydrogenated oils
• No Food after 9 pm (beverages are ok)
• Clean or Declutter for at least 5 minutes
• Enter Receipts
• Pick out (and hopefully iron) tomorrow's clothes
• One Tax Item (Work's Fiscal year-end was 6/30, so I am working on getting stuff ready to go to the accountant who prepares the tax return)
• Pampering
• Bedtime Routine (wash, tone, moisturize face; brush & floss; moisturize hands and feet)
• Bed before 11 pm

Other monthly goals are:

• Get 4.5 hours of strength training for the month
• Be 100% on at least 10 of the above habits
• (Finally) work up to running 6.0 mph for 30 minutes (today I ran at 5.8 mph)
• Workout Diversity - Do as many different types of workouts as I can this month

Home Updates

I love our house.

Sugar Pop and I like to go look at open houses on Sunday afternoons. We particularly like going to open houses in our subdivision and the ones surrounding us. It is interesting to see what people have (or haven't) done to houses that were built about the same time (1966) as ours. I am always more grateful for my house when we do this. Our house is in great shape and there is no updating that would have to be done before someone could move in (if we had to put it on the market for some reason).

• The colors in our house are basically all neutral except for the master bedroom (it is a dark taupe) and the kitchen (that is sage green).
• The carpet is a light tan (the color is called antler).
• When we got the new carpet in 2006, we also had the old marble tile in the entry way removed and replaced it with something "slate" looking.
• We have laminate floors in the office, kitchen, dining, and sunroom.
• We added a sunroom in 2002 and did in very nicely - foundation poured to the same height as the rest of the house, it is bricked in and the roof was existing over the back patio so there is no weird flat roof thing happening that is so common with add-ons.
• At the time we did the sunroom, we added french doors from it to the master bedroom changing the entrance to the bedroom and creating a new walk-in closet where the original entrance had been.
• In 2004, we completed gutted the master bath. It is still a small bathroom but is updated and feels bigger because we put in a glass shower instead of the walled in shower.
• This year we updated the kitchen.
• We got new windows and siding in 2004.
• New front door in 2004.
• The air conditioner and furnace were replaced in 2005. The blower used to be in the hall closet, but at that time we had it moved to the attic - greatly reducing how much you could hear it running in the living room.
• The hot water heater was replaced in 2005.
• We had a lot of point-up work done on the brick in 2004, when we re-did the masterbath.
• We replaced the window in the garage with glass block in 2004.
• New toilet in hall bath in 2006.

Things I would still like to do:

• Replace the wooden top of the built-in desk in my office with a laminate top that matches the kitchen.
• Re-do the guest bathroom - remove wall paper, texture walls, remove furdown above mirror, new light fixture.
• Paint the inside of the laundry closet. (Done!)
• Take the popcorn of the ceiling in the living room and texture it.
• Replace interior doors and/or door knobs.
• Change entryway light fixture.

Demanding Perfection

If we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord's confidence in God, and in what God's grace could do for someone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone. ~ My Utmost for His Highest (revised edition), July 30th