Accomplishments feel so good!

 Well, it's been a little over a week eating Keto, reading my bible and praying.  Have I been perfect??  NO!

BUT, I've done so much better.  I didn't lose as much as I thought I would on my first week of Keto. In looking back, I think I'm eating too many almonds and cheese. I've cut back on that.  The goal is to not eat processed foods-eat whole foods. 

That Chaffle maker has been kept hot!  I love that appliance! Is it an appliance?  It's so small! LOL  But it whips up some delicious stuff.  One of my favorites I made Sunday was shredded cheese, thinly sliced onion with more cheese. YUMMMMMM!

I studied in Book of John

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

This whole passage just brought me peace-deep in my heart. I think we all get a lot more grace than we deserve. I know I do. I love being told in God's word that Jesus was full of grace and truth.  He was the only perfect person to ever live. I truly believe that.  So, it's easy for me to believe everything is going to be ok and work out.  God knows exactly what is going on here on earth and he cares so much about His children.  While the world is worrying and wondering what will happen, our FAITH needs to kick in and keep us calm.  Just let God do the worrying.  

Have a great day!!

Praying for you!

Karen

Happy New Year!! Goals and Reflection

 I can honestly say that 2020 was not bad for me nor my family.  We were blessed in many ways. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I want to count my blessings!

It's so easy to dwell on the negatives.  We have to train our hearts and minds to look for the good and dwell on that.  It's a choice we make daily. We can choose joy, regardless of our circumstances.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

My goals this year are to break some bad habits-including the way I eat and exercise.  (same as everyone right!) 
I also want to read my bible and pray a lot more.
I know God will lead me in the right directions if I'll do my part.

I've started reading the bible at John 1.

I started Keto 12/28/20 (I don't like to put it off when I know that's what I want)

I feel like I waste a lot of time on social media.  I'm cutting back on that too.  That's where extra bible reading and prayer will come in handy!

If you are reading this, I'm praying for you too!!  It's a new year, a new day, new mercies from God!!

Have a blessed day!!

TSFL Week One finished

You know the first week is always the hardest.  I made it!!  I lost 5 pds. Monday's weight 227.
I took my measurements again-nothing changed.  I didn't expect that anyway.

I ordered my Medifast food and it arrived in two days! Super quick!  Wanted to try the new mashed potatoes-they are great!  Sour cream & chive. Yummmmm.

I've been walking my shih Tzu for several weeks now.  Approximately 20 minutes.  He's 4 pds overweight.  Don't laugh!  When you only weight 22 pds-4 pds is a BIG DEAL! 
I want him to have the best life possible-so he's got to exercise.

Made the trip to Sam's to buy HUGE amounts of chicken!  I love chicken salads.  Eat them almost every day-I just don't get tired of them.  Especially now with the garden tomatoes and cucumbers.  I've been blessed to have friends that have given me some.  Was able to freeze some tomatoes for later.

I'm feeling a lot less bloated.  I drink tons of water-so my legs ache sometimes.  The way to solve that-Power-Ade Zero.  Puts back the sodium and magnesium I'm washing out.

I've joined the 12 week challenge that is going on starting Monday.  You can join for FREE too!

Go here- Stop. Challenge. Choose.

I'll check in next week.  Until then-I hope your Living for Tomorrow Today!

Karen
 

I'm starting over-Medifast is my friend!

How many times do we go on a diet-lose weight....stop diet-gain weight...usually gaining more than we lost?  SO FRUSTRATING!!

When will I learn the proper way to eat?

I found the only eating plan that has EVER worked for me.  Take Shape For Life.  Get that last part-FOR LIFE?  It works if you do what the doctor says!!

I lost 75 pds in about 8 months.  Oct 2012-June 2013.  Then I started losing my focus. Eating a little extra (or something I really shouldn't eat at all) here and there.  It took several months-but I've gained 45 pds back. 

I'm not going to wait till I gain it all back.  I'm starting again TODAY!!!!

Starting weight 232.  I took all my measurements.  I've dusted off my books and I'm back serious!

I now have a 2nd grandchild and I've got even more incentive to get as healthy as I can.  I want to live a long time and enjoy every minute of them growing up!

I'm praying that new way of looking at food and feeding my body will be ingrained in me to the point I'll never go back to the old eating habits and patterns.

 

Building Your Happiness

United Heath Care published a thin little magazine.  It had this fantastic article in there on how being happy is part of living longer.

I wanted to share some of the statements that was made.

Happiness isn't something you chase-it's something you recognize.

Another word for this: Gratitude.  It can be hard to be grateful for things you take for granted.  That's why we come up with ways to remind ourselves to be grateful, like saying grace at meals.

There's actual neuroscience behind this:  Keeping a gratitude journal modifies brain activity.   When people write down 3 good things about their day for a few weeks, their brain chemistry actually changes.  These effects last for months.



My day just started-I'm so grateful for a new day.  God has blessed me with a new day!
I pray I'll be able to share a smile, hug, prayer or kind word with someone today.

I'm grateful for my health.  There are so many of my friends that have 24/7 pain. Who don't rest well. Who are confined to their home. I never want to take my health for granted.

I'm grateful for my warm home.

What are you grateful for?

Have a blessed day!

 

Walk by Faith -Not by Sight

Happy New Year! Wow!  2014 -sounds strange. 

Have you seen other bloggers sharing their "word" for the new year?
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about one word that I'd want to focus on for a whole year.  I've never thought about it like that.

Wendy Blight, a wonderful woman of God, has shared her heart and prayer for 2014.  It really encouraged me to get in prayer and figure out what God's plan for me will be/should be.  Here's a link to her blog-HERE

My heart breaks for the people I meet and family and friends that don't know and experience the love, grace and mercy that God gives.

People are hurting. All around the world.  For all different reasons.

Job 28:23-28

“God alone knows the way to Wisdom, he knows the exact place to find it. He knows where everything is on earth, he sees everything under heaven. After he commanded the winds to blow and measured out the waters, Arranged for the rain and set off explosions of thunder and lightning, He focused on Wisdom, made sure it was all set and tested and ready. Then he addressed the human race: ‘Here it is! Fear-of-the-Lord—that’s Wisdom, and Insight means shunning evil.’”

Job 28:22-24

I've chosen the word "FOCUS" to ponder and explore this year.


God is in control. There are many cruel things happening in the world. Many mean and cruel people. We can't let our focus be on the circumstances around us. We can't give up hope.
As a Christian, I want to be different.  I want to share how great my God is!
I want to focus on what God can do. Focus on what God can do thru me.

In several ways 2 Corinthians 5:7 has come to me. “we walk by faith, not by sight” and verse 9 “we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent to be pleasing to Him”
That is my prayer and focus for 2014.
Lord, my deepest desire is to hear from you and follow your lead in 2014. There are so many distractions and is so easy to lose my focus. I pray I’ll allow you to keep me on the narrow path so that I may serve you. Be your hands and feet. Love others. Share your love and grace to others.
Thank you Lord for all you have done and continue to do! In Jesus name-Amen!

I pray you and your family have a Happy & prosperous 2014!
Put God first and he'll take care of the rest!

 

Lost, but now I'm found!

I took my focus off my goal...I stumbled.  Gained this week. 188.2.
I wasn't happy.  I do take the blame-don't want to blame others or my circumstances.

Life happens. My son, DIL & granddaughter was visiting.  My eating and exercising routine changed. I ate stuff that is not on my eating plan.

I did learn some lessons the past 2 weeks.  I eat when I'm bored.  Wow! What an eye opener!!
Work has been a little slow & I've had extra time.  My mind immediately turned to "what can I eat"
I ate what I had extra-peanuts, turkey pepperoni, cheese blocks.  If eaten in SMALL portions-these are OK on my diet plan-but when eaten  till gone-it spells disaster!

Some of my old habits crept back in. Oh no!

Then my family was eating food that's unhealthy for them and certainly unhealthy for me.  I joined in. Just a little wouldn't hurt-or did it?

I'm reminded of the story in the bible:

"'Yes, come,' Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. 'Save me, Lord!' he shouted." Matthew 14:29-30 (NLT)

I started to sink when I had my weigh in on Monday.  I've cried out to God to help me! I don't want to gain back the weight. I don't want to feel bad and tired. I don't want to be unhealthy!

This is my saving verse:

Proverbs 4:25-27, "Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil." (NLT)

I am NOT alone! Yeah!! God is with me. Every day-every step of the way.  I'm going to keep my focus on HIM!  

Thank you Lord.  You were with me all the time-I just lost my focus on you. Thank you for reminding me where my strength comes from!!

We all have weak moments.  It's OK. Shake it off, get back in the saddle and refocus on the Lord.

Have a blessed day!!   

Repost Joyce Meyers Devotional

Loving One Another

by Joyce Meyer - posted July 07, 2013

Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in dark­ness even until now. Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [in Christ] is in darkness and walking ­(living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. —1 John 2:9–11

Hate is an extremely strong and harsh word. Any discussion among believers about hating other Christians would lead most of them to say, “I don’t believe I have ever hated anyone.” If we think about these words of John, however, perhaps he didn’t mean hate as we think of it—feeling great hostility or animosity toward someone. Perhaps our form of hatred today is more like indifference. We don’t really dislike people, but we don’t care enough to help them when they have troubles and problems.
“Most of the loving I see today in the church is based on convenience,” someone told me recently. He went on to say that we will reach out to others as long as it’s convenient or doesn’t demand too much time or effort.
This opens a wide door of opportunity for Satan to separate us from those who most need our love. Jesus commanded us to love each other. In John 13:34–35, He said that people would recognize us as His disciples by our expressions of love toward one another. Perhaps one reason they don’t say that about many of today’s Christians is because too often we’re unwilling to go out of our way to meet the needs of others.
Love is an action verb. If you love others, you do things for them. To hate (in the biblical sense) is to do nothing or to turn away. To make it worse, you judge and criticize others and think, If they really loved God, they wouldn’t be in such a predicament.
You need to see that if you practice God’s “love walk,” you not only grow yourself, but you enable others to grow. The devil can’t do you much harm if you truly walk in loving relationship with others.
In my book Battlefield of the Mind, I shared the story of how I was extremely sick during my fourth pregnancy. When I prayed for healing, God reminded me that I had criticized another woman in our church who was always tired and sick during her pregnancy. Now, here I was in the same circumstances. I realized how wrong I had been and repented. But it took more than repenting—it also became a time of learning for me. God forced me to realize how often I had judged or criticized others because they didn’t measure up to the standards I thought they ought to live by.
All of us make mistakes. All of us have weaknesses. God didn’t call us to point out those weaknesses to the person (or worse, to someone else), but He did call us to care—to show Christ’s love in any way we can. The Bible tells us to be tenderhearted, understanding, and forgiving. That’s how we can win over satanic attacks. Paul says it this way: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30–32).
God used these verses to help me see that being Jesus’ disciple means being kind to others, tenderhearted, and forgiving. I also realized it meant overlooking their weaknesses and shortcomings. If we truly love others as Christ loves us, it isn’t difficult at all.

Lord Jesus, I want to love others, and I want to be kind and caring. I also know that I fail at times. In Your name, I ask You to forgive me, and enable me to forgive others who hurt me or don’t live up to my standards. Amen.

You Matter!

Yes, you.

I know that it’s sometimes hard to hold to, this truth that you are important.
But it is true.  You have been chosen by God for this place and this time in this world.
Your heart matters to Him, so much that He would not allow sin to hold power over you and keep you from His presence.  He sent Jesus to redeem you, because He loved you and He wanted your heart for His own.  Your heart, created by His non-erring hand, is valuable to Him…

..and you are valuable to the rest of us, to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to the people in your life who don’t know Him.

You have a story to tell. 

Whether it’s through your actions or through your words… maybe through music or painting… maybe through the food you take to those who are hurt or hungry… perhaps in the phone call you make when someone crosses your mind… perhaps in the faithful way you do your job and speak kindly to those around you… however you tell it, your story is important because it is the truth of a God who loves us, who reaches into our lives and sets us free.  This is a treasure in your hands, my friend… the fact that He has made you new, has called you Son or Daughter, has filled you with His Spirit. We bear witness to His grace… and when we all tell our piece of the Great Story, His Good News, we reveal Him to the people around us.

When we all tell our stories, I believe He is revealed to the entire world.

But here’s what can happen ~ Satan, our enemy who seeks to destroy and to devour any image-bearer of God, sneaks in and tells you that no one notices you.  You might as well be invisible, whether you’re sitting at home or on a church pew or walking around at work.  You don’t have anything to offer… everybody else says it better.  Everybody else knows more.  Everybody else… well, they have it covered.  Who needs you?

If he can persuade you to believe that you are insignificant, he silences your testimony.  He silences your story… because he wants to silence the Gospel.

Do not believe his lies.  Do not be silenced.

God has chosen you.  He has called you to be a witness of His mercy.  He has created you with all of those gifts and personality-quirks that make you you…

and we need you.


See the whole article at  Christian Women Online

“We are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” ~Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”~Ephesians 1:11

 

8 mths & going strong

Since starting my Take Shape For Life program in Oct 2012, I've lost a total of 74 pounds. 
The last few weeks have been tougher.  My focus has been wavering.
I've had to remind myself why I'm on this journey.

Wearing a size 12-14 is definitely a major prize!
But more importantly, I'm able to play with my extremely active 18 mth old granddaughter.
I've been able to come off of one of my high blood pressure pills, decreased my depression med from 225mg to 75 mg. Deleted my sleeping pill.

My doctors are ecstatic! 

I'm exercising daily and loving every minute! 

Since I've gotten rid of all my "bigger" clothes-there will be NO turning back!

Healthy life-I'm here to stay!!