I love Facebook! It's allowed me to stay in contact with people, make new friends, and advertise my book and ministry. It really is wonderful! So, what I'm about to say, is in no way meant to take anything away from Facebook's "fabulousness" lol.
I've personally notice that sometimes Facebook hinders me from moving on. Have you experienced this? Before Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites, when a season ended, it ended! We wouldn't see those people anymore, or hear about certain events, or programs.
Social networking has made it difficult for many of us to identify the end of some seasons, and the beginning of others. We can easily hang on to old even dead season because we are still connected online. It's like a piece of our soul never fully release those things from our past because we continually see parts of the past daily.
Instead of focusing on what's ahead we are able to check-up on old friends, co-workers and so forth. Sometimes, this is a good thing because we are able to build bridges with people that time never allowed us to in person. That to me, is a God thing!
Unfortunately, most times it is negative, because God wants us to move on. We've all heard the sayings about people not making into our future for reason, right? (I don't know the exact quotes, but you know what I mean, hopefully.) Social networking gives us a false sense that certain people have made it into our future, because we see their online activities, hear about their lives, and occasionally even share a few comments back and forth.
On Facebook you are able to connect with childhood friends, school year friends and more. I'm not 100% sure this is a good thing. I don't believe God wants us collecting a bunch of people from out past in our present. I know some may disagree, but the key is following the Holy Spirit. God is in the buisness of bringing people back around, so some old connections could be a blessing, but make sure to check in with Jesus first. Last thing any of us need is the enemy bringing a bunch of old stuff to clutter all the wonderful new stuff God is doing in our lives.
Anyway that's my two cents about facebook and seasons.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Weight Loss The Jabez Way
So here's what I want you to do,
God helping you: Take your everyday,
ordinary life - your sleeping, eating,
going-to-work, and walking-around life -
and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you
is the best thing you can do for him.
-Romans 12:1 The Message
I feel like I've been trying to lose weight my whole life. Yes, my whole life! I remember being aware of dieting even before elementary school. The sad part is, though weight loss has taken up much of my emotional and mental space ALL my life, I've seen little, if any results. I've actually gained weight. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize there must be something deeper, some root issue allowing this wall to remain. I've tried almost everything, just like most people trying to lose weight. Some plans even worked for a season, but nothing permanent or long lasting. One summer, years ago, I lost so much weight that I was wearing a size small blouse. It was pretty amazing, but only lasted 6-8mths.
I know the weight loss facts. You know, calories in vs calories out, sugar, carbs, trans fats, and cardio work-outs. I intellectually know all this and yet my intellectual knowledge of this "junk" hasn't really helped me one bit. All it's caused is cycles of yo-yo dieting my whole life, which has only left me heavier. Being a counseling student for a few years, and a reader of many books, it's easy for me to see there is more to this whole weight loss thing than meets the eye.
If it was as simple as doing a,b, and c then everyone would be as thin as they desired to be. I mean, who in this shallow society would choose to be over weight? No one would choose it and yet here we are, for reasons only God knows! Yep that's right, God knows! I personally don't know why some are successful at losing weight and others struggle their whole life, but I have to believe and have confidence in the fact that God knows! He sees us and knows every corner and hidden room of our hearts. He understands what we can't, He knows where all the pieces of the puzzle go. It's no mystery to Him! I'm thankful that as I continue to prayer through this, that He's leading me.
When I was younger I didn't think of praying about my weight loss goals. I didn't even know God cared about such things, but as I've gotten older and grown in intimacy with Jesus, I see more clearly that God wants us to surrender everything to Him. Even calories and cardio!! So, I've been waving my white-flag concerning this issue. I've lifted my hands in surrender, asking the Lord to move mountains, and do the seemingly impossible in my life.
Over the past 2-3 years I have lost a slow 30lbs. However, in the past year I've been feeling stuck. I've gained and lost the same 10-15lbs at least 3 times, and enough is enough! As I was digging through my closet I found a book called "Weight Loss The Jabez Way" by Dr. Scott Conard. Now, I'm no sucker for propaganda and sales gimmicks, but as I read through the first few chapters I did find some interesting information. Information that's motivated me to get back up and keep moving!
My inspiration was found in Chapter 4: The Seven Healers. In this chapter the author talks about 7 "healers" - air, water, sleep, food, play, relationships and purpose- that will cause weight loss and optimum health. I know many of these "healers" are obvious, and have been shouted from every weight loss program mountain, but it motivated me - lit a fire in me to try again.
Healer One- Air
"Did you know that your body removes more waste through breathing than by any other way? If you take shallow rapid breaths, your hands and feet will get cold and you will feel tense and anxious. It takes only 3 minutes of deep breathing to restore a healthy internal balance of air. With 20 minutes of deep breathing you can significantly alter the stress hormone level of your body and move yourself toward peace and away from stress" (pg. 63 Weight Loss the Jabez Way)
Healer Two - Water
"Water cleanses and detoxifies your body. Drinking enough every day improves digestion, clarity of thought, mobility, skin health, muscle aches, etc. Are you forgetful or irritable? Do you have trouble concentrating? These can all be signs of dehydration. To get your body moving in the right direction, drink 8 to 16 ounces of water when you first wake up. When you feel like snaking, try drinking a glass of water instead. Keep drinking water each day until your urine is clear all the time." (pg. 63-64 Weight Loss the Jabez Way)
Healer Three- Sleep
Healer Four- Food
Healer Five - Play
"Play is training or exercise that you enjoy! Exercise is the best medicine for your body. You were made to move. The less you move, the less you want to move and less you are able to move. Remember, play doesn't have to be strenuous, all activity counts! Play at least 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes. Try to get a minimum of 6,000 steps daily, if possible stretch goal to 10,000" ( pg. 66 Weight Loss the Jabez Way)
Healer Six - Relationships
"Relationships are rooted in love, and without love, people die. True friends bring out the best in you. Unhealthy relationships are stressful and actually make you sick. Choose to be in relationship with people who positively support your goals and purposes, and challenge you to grow closer to God and live a healthy life. Giving a receiving forgiveness are the keys to having healthy relationships." (pg. 66-67 Weight Loss the Jabez Way)
Healer Seven - Purpose
"Discovering your purpose unleashes your motivation for living. It is the "why" behind everything you do, including why you get up every day and go to work, why you believe what you believe and why you want to lose weight and be healthy. Know your purpose comes from discerning your gifts and talents and how and where to use them"
The "7 Healers" opened my eyes and helped confirm a few things the Lord had already been speaking to me. It motivated me to get out of this hole of discouragement concerning this issue. A few of these "healers" are already woven into my daily life, and yet others seems to continually trip me up. It's those issues in which I must keep praying and seeking the Lord.
The song lyrics that bubble out of my heart as I type this are, "You can begin again, you can believe, you can be healed, you can be free. For God is here and He will make a way."
I guess tomorrow is a new day! I'm going to begin again! I believe walls that have stopped me from moving forward will be knocked down, or God's grace will help me fly over them. Either way, it's time to start fresh. It doesn't matter how much weight I've lost and gained repeatedly this last year or so, because tomorrow I'm wiping the slate clean.
I can begin again!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Blog Award
Thanks to Rachelle from PiNK for giving me this award. This is a great way to know other bloggers!
How It Works:
- Thank the person who gave you the award by linking back to them in your post.
-Tell us 7 things about yourself.
-Award 15-16 recently discovered bloggers (or however many you choose)
-Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news!
1. I'm an Independent Author, working on publishing my 2nd book.
2. I'm recently engaged to my best friend of 11 years.
3. I love dogs and cats! I've always owned at least 2 of EACH for most of my life. One day I'd love to own a few birds!!
4.I'm a firm believer that it's not the quantity of friends but the quality of friends that matters.
5. I love big purses/earrings, pink lipstick, sparkly nail polish, gaudy rings, and flip flops!
6. I'm always up for a road trip out into the country! There's nothing like wide open spaces, good music, laughs and conversation!
7. Jesus is my King
Blogs I Award:
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