The Very Hard Difficult Journey of Losing Weight and Gaining Self-Discipline

Loving the beautiful fall color's!

So losing weight is not proving as easy as I thought it would be.  I really thought that hardest part was saying "no" to food I wanted to eat and dealing with some hunger.  This has not been the case.  The hardest part has been my plateau!  Very quickly into my weight loss journey, the weight loss stopped.  So I had lost 12lbs, and then....nothing.  For 4 weeks, even though I was counting my calories and exercising...nothing.  Well, actually that's not completely acccurate. I actually began to gain weight while doing about 1300 - 1400 calories and exercising several hours weekly. So I searched the world via google for answers and I found lots of different advice.  One of the pieces of advice was go off my diet for an entire week and then start back. I decided to try that, and sure enough I began to feel hungry again.  So I thought, Aha!  I have found the problem and fixed it.

Not so.  After I went back on my diet, I have lost what I had gained during the other plateau and 1 additional pound, but so far the weight loss is just not happening.

I know that bodily exercise profits me very little, spiritually speaking.  But I made a commitment to keep on doing the self-discipline of exercise and counting calories, even if I don't lose weight, solely for the purpose of learning self-discipline.  At this point I'm counting calories anywhere from 4 to 7 days per week.  I'm exercising hard from 180 minutes to 240 minutes. 

To be honest, I'm discouraged.  It's hard to keep doing stuff like this when I'm not seeing the results that I want to see.  I'm having to find motivation totally not related to the scale.

So I'm relying on this verse right now (next week it may be a completely different verse or goal that motivates me):

"I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." ~ I Corinthians 9:27

I don't want to be disqualified from serving my God because I lack the discipline to bring my body into subjection.  I don't want to be a hypocrite before my children or others when I tell them that we should live in obedience to God.   So I keep doing what I'm supposed to do with my body.  Hopefully, it will eventually show on the scale and in my pants size.

Treasures from Granny and REAL Treasures

Top left: Nana Shirley (my mother in love's sister), Top Right - Marty (my mother in love) and bottom center - Granny Manders

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
(Pro 13:22)

After my husband's grandmother died, I was asked if I wanted anything of her belongings.  I was honored to be offered anything of this dear woman's and was careful to get things that would not be of value to other's, but I have valued them ever since!

One of my treasures that I came away with was a crocheted egg that opened up and had a little crocheted chick inside of it.  Many other's had already passed over that, and I thought it would make a delightful church toy for my little ones, who were babies at the time. It's hard to make noise in church with a soft crocheted chick!  I think 4 of my children have enjoyed this little treasure.  I have no idea what the story is behind this little crocheted egg. I don't know who made it or why...and definitely not "how"!  I only know that it was important enough to this very neat and tidy home maker to earn a place in her home.  Now, my kids all ask if they may have this treasure one day. 

Adorable crocheted egg.

Here is the little chick inside!

Another treasure I was given from Granny's estate was some crocheted doilies. I can't find my favorite one, a lovely pink and green doilie (I think I let my daughters use it in her room because it's pink and green). There was a variety of color amongst them and they remind me of all the grandmother's in my life...both mine and my children's.

I absolutely LOVE one thing that I had found from her home- a small book that she acquired from the bank apparently, that had "1003 Household Hints" in it.  This little treasure was originally copyrighted in 1948 and it has some of the best tips!  This little book cost .50¢ at the time.  It's so wonderful to read a book from an era when women staying at home was valued and considered a great credit to one's family.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I know lots of women still worked.  But I think over all, stay-at-home wives were highly valued.  Working outside the home was a necessary evil, not an exalted goal.  It includes hints such as:

19. Tenderize chicken and other fowl by rubbing them inside and outside with lemon juice after cleaning and before rinsing.

514. Clean your candles with cloth dampened in alcohol.

516. You'll prevent the inside of your salt shaker metal top from rusting if you paint it with ordinary nail polish. When the lacquer is dry, use a darning needle to open the holes from the inside out.  (Wish I had found this tip sooner.  Guess who's favorite salt shaker has a little bit of rust forming on the inside?)

 I actually rescued this little book in a pile of papers, cards and things that they were going to throw out.  I love this little treasure. I've contemplated framing it and hanging it on the wall, but then I couldn't read it, could I?

 

One last treasure that I was given was actually given to me by Granny herself, while she was still alive.  She told me about how she used to collect "green stamps" and then use those to buy stuff with. She decided she wanted to give her mother-in-law a set of China for their anniversary one year, so she saved and saved her stamps.  She purchased this China set with her savings.  So this belonged to my husbands great grandmother originally.  When I first got it, I thought it was ugly BUT I loved it because Granny Manders chose me to give it to!  Talk about feeling special!  Today, I love this pattern.  I think it's beautiful.  She told me when she gave this to me that her mother-in-law had never used it.  She had stored it in her attic, and she had never used it.  Now, I have it and I've never really used it...which goes against every fiber of my being usually.  I have always said I didn't want to be the "good towels are for company" kind of person. Who is there out there that is more "special" to me than my husband and kids?  Maybe I need to plan a special meal real soon for my family, complete with China, eh?

Does anyone know anything about this China?  What year was it from?  I've googled the info on the back, to no avail. The name of the pattern is Whirl, by Meito

None of these treasures will leave this earth with me.  What really makes them a treasure is who or what they represent. The real treasure is the people that have loved these items, used these items and given these items.  I can think of no better way to show my family that I treasure them than by being a homemaker.  I love being a homemaker!

Idolatrous Homeschoolers

I've been home schooling for 14 years now, and I've been noticing something about some of these wonderful people. They take their role as a parent very seriously and more importantly, they take their responsibility to teach their children about the Lord as a holy ministry.  There is no doubt about it...they are fully committed to their children.

Sometimes, that's the problem that I see. Occasionally, I meet people who are too committed to their children or to home schooling! For some Christian women this is sacrilege to even suggest that there is too much commitment to their God-given job. How can there be too much commitment when it comes to a job that God has given us?

Speaking from experience, it's actually easy to do because it happens so subtly. Satan is usually pretty subtle isn't he?  Here's how it often happens. Usually, Christian women start off with their heart in the right place: wanting to educate their children because they feel God's leading to do this and because they want to bring their children up in the way he should go.  But somewhere along the way, in the midst of diaper changes and scrubbing toilets, that mommy gets tired and worn out. Before you know it, she loses sight of the fact that she is supposed to be serving her Lord by serving her family, NOT serving her family by serving the Lord.  The difference is easy to miss if you are not paying attention yet, it is a profound and very important difference! If we are to serve our Lord without a hint of idolatry, we must not lose sight of Him as we walk along that worn path of day to day life.

It is so easy, as we wipe noses, change diapers, fold laundry, cook, clean, chauffeur,  and kiss boo-boo's, to lose sight of whom we are really serving!

The good news is we can avoid this trap (a subtle trap-scenario that would completely make sense in the book The Screwtape Letters)!

1. We must seek daily to renew our minds (Ps. 51:10, Rom.12:2) in order guard against the sneaky sign of making our ministry to our families our idols.  
2. Pray without ceasing, that God will help you to serve Him and protect you for that evil sin of idolatry. 
3. Write out your goal for homeschooling, and then read it often to remind you it's all about Him.  

You'll be a better Christian mommy if your focus in on the right person.  Lead your kids to Jesus by following Him before.

So my two oldest kids are in Florida with their grandparents leaving me with my 5 youngest children.  What a blessing!  I'm loving my time with these little ones, and it's been surprisingly peaceful.  I had no idea how much the older kids contributed to the disputes around here!

Jessica got her hair cut!  Her hair went all the way to her hiney, and it could get messy when she sat on the potty if she looked up like little girls tend to do when they are bored on the potty~ewwww!  So now she has an adorable bob and looks like Dora the Explorer to me.  What do you think?

I've not got the reading done that I intended to this summer and that's a bummer, because now I need to be planning the new school year.  I'm really not ready for that, mentally speaking.  Most of the kids have continued to do school work all summer due to unfinished school work from the previous school year.  We've also been doing standardized testing this past week and we're not even done with that yet!  I used to have all of my next school year planned by March of the previous school year. Don't hate me.  Then I was blessed with 3 more children, bringing the total up to 7.  My schedule has never been the same since.

We enjoyed a staycation a couple of weeks ago!  We had so much fun and it was much less expensive than going off.

We went to Six Flags over Georgia and brought a couple of the kids friends along with us.

We enjoyed floating down the Chattahoochee River on tubes, in Helen, Georgia.  That was so much fun...but no pics on the river.  Can't get my camera wet, now can I?

I had so much more to say but this was an old post, saved as a draft that I decided to go ahead and post and now I've forgotten it all.

Giving Up

All I've posted lately is some big, sappy blogs, lol.  Bear with me for one more.  My description of this blog includes it being my therapy.  I was half-joking when I said that, but today, I'm half-serious!

I think finding freedom in life requires that one continuously learn how to give up.  Giving up things.  Giving up people.  Giving up dreams.  Face it.  Life requires a series of giving-up's and there is no way to avoid it.  Tragedy's happen like the recent tornadoes and many people found themselves having to "give up" their homes.  People die which requires loved ones to temporarily (if they are born again Christians it's temporary) give them up.

Now while all of this could be a bad thing, I'm convinced that it's actually the best thing for a Christian to learn.  Maybe even one of the keys to happiness? The past couple of weeks I've begun to really gain some freedom from bondage that only is coming as a result of giving up.  As I begun to plan our school year, last year I cried.  I cried all the time.  You see, I knew that I was about to lose something...and someone.  This was my last year homeschooling my oldest son and I knew he was about to embark upon life as an adult.  He's on the threshold looking back at his nest, almost ready to leap and fly. So I cried a lot.  And worried about whether I taught him enough and wondered if I needed Prozac to get me through this.

The thought has occurred to me that the reason I've felt so much anxiety is because I haven't learned the art of Giving Up.  I've had "dreams" that if God had granted them, they would have ended in disaster most likely. I've had to learn to give those up. I've had "things" that cluttered my life and drew me away from God.  God said give them up. The truth is there are things that God never intended to be mine. My kids are one of those things.  The truth is they do not belong to me.  They belong to God!  Always have.

The Lord and I have wrestled about this, this year.  And I can't believe how much peace it has brought me to "Give Up" to God.

I'd wish I could say this is the only thing I've ever wrestled with God about but it's not. I've found that in my life, it's not "dead" to oneself...it's a constant "dying" to oneself that I have to do.  You see, most of the time, I do not even realize that I'm trying to hang on to...control....the things in my life, until I'm faced with changes that I can't control. Once I'm faced with that, I then realize that I have been trying to hang on to some things God wants me to give up. These are the lessons that the Lord is teaching me.

I want to give up every area of my life, to my sovereign God. I can trust Him.  I choose to trust Him.

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
(Mark 8:34-35)

Life in fast forward

Well life happens!  I'm still trying to catch my breath:) 

@Craig, thank you kind sir.  I'm usually not big on poetry of any kind but this one was a nice reminder.  Anne Voskamp actually made me look differently at poetry, with her heart melting, poetic words, lol.

Where have I been?  Learning what it means to let go of "me".  My oldest son is about to graduate and I've been learning what it means to watch yourself lose something of yourself...and finding out how to replace it with something....better. 

Michael went to his prom with his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't even cry.  I was happy for him, though I was NOT a fan of this homeschool prom who's theme was "Casino Royale".  I'm staunch.  I'm black and white.  Gambling bad ergo casino theme bad.  However, there was no gambling there.  Just decor with cards and dice. That's not even a good decor for a prom from a secular view, in my opinion.  He looked quite handsome and his date was beautiful. I was seeing his picture pop on facebook at the prom.  I was so pleased to see him dancing so appropriately with her.  He behaved very gentlemanly with her. The other week, one of the leaders at our high school co-op stopped me to tell me that she had walked in on Michael with his girlfriend several times and they were ALWAYS behaving appropriately.  She pointed out that she had never caught them showing PDA (public displays of affection). This blessed my heart!

He also took his SAT for his second time. I did well on his SAT the first time in the Reading and Essay portion, but his math was not so great.  He's now finished Algebra 2, so he thinks he's made a much better score this time around in his math portion.

He has his graduation ceremony on May 27th but he is not finished with his schooling yet.  He will have to work all summer in order to finish and he have to start school next spring seeing as he's probably going to miss the cut off time to apply to go to college.  He's looking at many different colleges, but would like to attend a Christian college for at least a year or two.  I'm encouraging that.  What would it profit him to gain an education but to lose his own soul to sin or foolishness in the process? 

Speaking of graduation, we wrote him a letter that will be read during his graduation ceremony.  Want to see it?  Here is a sneak peak:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost 18 years ago, you came into our lives and we had no idea what we were in for!  As young inexperienced parents when we first held you we didn't know all the late nights, emergency room visits, and times we'd have to discipline you.  We had NO idea home many tears we'd shed or prayers we'd pray for our little boy when we first looked into your adorable little face.

We also had no idea how much joy you'd bring us! We didn't realize how much fun or how smart you'd be.  We had no idea how deeply philosophical you'd be.  We really had no idea that you would develop such strong convictions, though we hoped you would.  You did not dissappoint us.  We are so very, very proud of you for the young man that you have become and for the young man we see you developing into.  But nothing makes us more proud, or do we consider more important than when you gave your life to the Lord.  What would it profit you, if you gained the whole world and lost your own soul?

Michael, you are reaching an exciting stage in your life!  You have achieved a big step in God's plan for your life but there is so much more in store for you!  We look forward to seeing you grow in the Lord as you attend college.  And we cannot wait to see how you will serve the Lord with your life as an adult!

While we have your undivided attention, let us offer you just a bit more of unsolicited parental advice. Whether you succeed in life according to men does not matter.  Whether you finish college, ultimately, does not matter.  The only thing that really matters is this: That you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and that you love your neighbor as yourself.  God will never ask you how much you earned, how big your house was, or what kind of car you drove. All that will really matter...all that will really make you a success is whether you loved Him and other's as He commanded you to.

The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you,  And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.
Congratulations Michael on your achievment!
Love Mom and Dad

An Ideal Christian Family

In an ideal Christian family....

Christ is given first place.
Happiness prevails.
Rejoicing is heard instead of complaints.
Interruptions don't destroy family peace.
Storms strengthen a family's love.
Tears and disappointments are shared openly.
In difficult times, everyone is drawn closer to God.
A visitor always feels welcome.
Needs of others come before our own needs.

Fussing is not heard.
A time of separation does not sever strong family ties.
Money is kept in proper perspective.
Interest is shown equally in every family member.
Love covers the faults in others.
Young people respect and obey their parents.
                                                          ~Shirley Baker
                                                          February 4, 1992