MY REVOLUTION: A JOURNEY TO A HEALTHY ME: Day 5 Back On Weight Watchers

Y'all give my sweet sister-girl some love. I am soooo proud of her!! You are not defined by how many times you BEGIN the journey, just how you FINISH it... and that you DO finish it!! :)


MY REVOLUTION: A JOURNEY TO A HEALTHY ME: Day 5 Back On Weight Watchers: Greetings all I am new to this blogging thing as you can probably tell. I decided to do this after being inspired by my niece and watching...

I struggle, on a daily basis, to do what the Lord has called me to do. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Actually, I don't generally have a problem doing what the Lord has called me to do. Surprisingly enough, I really don't. For this past people-pleaser who never knew how to say "no", I have grown. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not so much. I may veer too far on the other end now just because I have become jaded. I don't really care about people pleasing anymore. I have no problem saying what I feel or what I feel I need to say because of this. I think that this is God's use of a bad thing made good. If I don't care about people-pleasing or what others will think, I'm not afraid to share the message He has for me. I do seek to care for people, be there for them as much as I can, and try to be a good friend. But I'm not so sure that I always am. I'm scared to, quite honestly. I don't trust people. I don't trust them not to hurt me, to cause me pain. I am jaded. A wise friend once told me (repeatedly) that having expectations on others only hurts you in the end. I thought that was a kinda cynical viewpoint, which really surprised me because I didn't see this person as particularly cynical. But the dreamer in me fought that. I thought- people will only rise to the level that you expect of them. But I've learned differently. People are disappointing. And rarely ever what you think they are or make them out to be. I don't want to be a cynic, but a dreamer doesn't fare well. Too much brokenness lies in the past of a dreamer. So a realist is better, right? So can't I just be "real"? Why must I constantly be disappointed by the expectations I have that others are better people than who they really are? It's so continually disappointing.

For me, my daily "sins", if you will, are that of trying to maintain my dignity and purpose and not allow my spirit to be crushed. It is in trying to be the strong Christian that God has called me to be and not to succumb to the enemies plots to destroy my joy. It is in trying to FIND my joy in the LORD and NOT in MAN! Really- that part isn't too hard anymore because I'm so burned out in that area that I don't expect to find joy there anymore. Problem solved! But it's hard when we are surrounded by sin and negativity. Like our Sunday school teacher said this past week- just a little sedation here, little sedation there- this is okay, that's okay- not a big deal here, not a big deal there... just keep on being sedated by the things of this world and before you know it, you're under. THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING IN THE WORLD TO ME IS THIS... PEOPLE NEVER KNOW THEY'VE BEEN SEDATED!!!!!!!!! UGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I could scream at the top of my lungs for days on end 'til my lungs collapse from my frustration with this! They won't listen, they don't hear you, they are CLUELESS! They think they're A-OK! All good on God's list! And that's fine if it doesn't affect any one else's life in any way (actually it's not, but I digress...), but when it DOES... what to do? I am HORRIBLE at just "let go and let God" with this. HORRIBLE. God knows, I'm not going to pull any punches with you. HORRIBLE. I want to pound them over the head with a Bible 'til I beat the truth into them. I want to pull my hair out and scream. I get SO frustrated by what seems SO SIMPLE and BLATANTLY OBVIOUS to ME. But that's just it... TO ME. God has revealed these things TO ME because I have made myself open to them. I have requested the truth and He has opened my blinded eyes to see. If you don't want to see, if you do not ASK to see- you will NOT see. Of course, then there are those who KNOW to ask and still do not ask and their judgment is on their own heads. It's not that they haven't had access to the truth, it's just easier for them to live on in their "ignorance is bliss" and "what I do is not sin" mindset and that works for them. Or so they think. But they're not fooling anyone (at least not me) and they're CERTAINLY NOT fooling GOD! They will figure this out eventually, I pray.

Patience is not my virtue. Compassion is my strong suit, though. So I pray for more patience so that my compassion may be better utilized. People don't respond as well to a brick over the head as they do a soft shoulder, I know this. Or- as my Grandmother used to say- you can catch more flies with honey than you can vinegar. I haven't tried either, but I believe it to be true. However, I think there is a time to give a soft answer and there is a time for strong truth. I think there is such a gray covering over people in this day that we have TOTALLY lost sight of the black and white we are to live our lives by and they NEED a strong dose of reality, soft wont' do it! It's black & white. It's God's or satan's- period. There IS no gray area. It's black, it's white. If it's not OF God, it's OF satan. Period. That movie you're watching, that song you're listening to, that book you're reading- is God in it? Do you see God ANYWHERE in it? Then guess who it belongs to? It's not that hard to figure it out. Now average your day based on how many things you're partaking in that belong to God, versus how many belong to you-know-who... the other guy... So who owns your day? But do you think of it that way? No, probably not. You're a "good person", right? Get real. Wake up before it's too late. People living with blinders on because they don't want to see the TRUTH.

So what was this blog about, really? I don't know. What did you get out of it? What did I get by typing it out? Isn't that enough? There wasn't any real theme, other than to say that people living in delusion frustrate me and that people purposely do so- most likely, so that they may continue on in the sin that their committing and not feel guilty about it. So don't. Do what you want to do and don't feel guilty about it. But do not for one second believe that your lack of guilt about it means that you will have a lack of consequences or judgment for it because that's just not true. You will. Someday you will have grave consequences for it and I pray that you have a strong heart for that day. I pray that the Lord goes easy on you for all the harm you have done to His elect. But I know that He won't. Because He is a God of justice. His heart is for mercy, but you choose your own and will reap accordingly.

Today, I made a choice. It was not an easy choice, in fact, I was quite conflicted about it. And I'm sure that I will get flack for this post, but here goes...

Ever since I heard that the Susan G. Komen center supports abortions, I had vowed not to support them anymore. It's a fact that made me sad because even though I have not been a huge supporter with any vast donations, etc., I had, however, on many occasions opted to buy products specifically because they had the little pink ribbon on them. So many instances that I can't even name them all, just because I knew that it was going to help breast cancer awareness, treatments and, possibly, a cure. Though I will say that I don't believe there will EVER be a cure for cancer- breast or otherwise- because that's just not the way this world works and we're just not as smart as we think we are, but that's a blog for another day. All that to say, I had made a definitive mind switch about supporting them, just as I had stopped going to Starbuck's for the very same reason. It's not an easy decision (especially the Starbuck's one!), but one I felt convicted of so I have to remain true to that. Until today...

Today, my hubby was running in the "race for the cure" in Tyler, in honor of his Mom who he lost to breast cancer 14 years ago. When he told me he had signed up for this race, he also precluded it by saying- "now, I know how you feel about them..." I appreciated his understanding of my conviction. But I was faced with a dilemma... stay true to my conviction or support my husband. I feel I am called to do both. So when faced with a choice BETWEEN them, what do you do? I told him I would have to pray over it and I would let him know what I decided. I felt very strong in my conviction, but at the same time, I could not IMAGINE my husband going to run a race (especially in honor of his Mom!) and me NOT being there for him. I have been there for every race he has ran in and it would be very sad for me to miss it. In the end, I made the choice to go and support my husband. And I felt I held true to my conviction at the same time. I did not, personally, provide money to their organization. My husband did and that's between him and God. I did not purchase anything while I was there, did not promote it in any way, other than to support my husband running in it. At the end of the day, I felt I made the right choice and that God was pleased with my decision.

But while we're on the subject, I have to say this... this is what came to my mind while sitting there at the awards ceremony, seeing all the survivors of breast cancer come filing in. It made me very happy for them, that they are winning their battle with breast cancer. But I also found it very ironic. How do you spend countless hours upon hours in research and fundraising and working to try and find a cure for breast cancer and all the money that it entails to do that- how do you decide that all those women's lives are worthy of doing ALL that, but that the innocent life of an unborn child is just meaningless? How do you go through all that to save as many women (and men) as you can possibly hope to save, working towards a "cure", but throw out the unborn children with the trash. I'm sorry, that's harsh, but it IS the reality! Like I told Bri... if a baby was just a day old and you killed it, life in prison. Right? But INSIDE the womb, different story? Bull. Bull. Bull. Bull. And bull! I'm not buying it and neither is God, quite frankly. God puts children high, high, high up on His list and people discarding them like yesterday's trash... all I can say is I'm glad I'm not one of them. I can't understand it. Cannot comprehend it. Cannot wrap my mind around it. I thank my God that despite ALLLLLL my mistakes, that is one that I never, ever could wrap my mind around. And my heart breaks, it weeps deeply for all those precious babies that have been deemed unworthy of life. You know what though- judgment comes for those who disregard their precious little lives. And God rewards them. "But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun." ~ New Living Translation (©2007)

So no, I will not/cannot support Susan G. Komen any longer. That is my conviction. I will no longer support Starbuck's any longer. And any others that come up that I find out about. Because I can only do something about the ones I know about, that's where my conviction begins. But once you know and DON'T act, that's when judgment comes... (blog written on Saturday May 12, 2012)

American Express... lot of hype, no reward.

American Express Prepaid Cards... DON'T DO IT!!! I don't recall which coupon, freebie-lovin' Momma somethin' page that I took the advice from to get these things, but I would like to apologize if any of you took it from me and got one. They are worthless! It has cost me almost $5 every time I wanted to put money on the stupid thing and IF you want to use your bank acct to do it instead, it takes like a WEEK just to put the funds on there! Additionally, 80% of the time that I tried to use it, they wouldn't take it! Because a lot of merchants can't afford the exorbitant fees that American Express charges just to accept their cards. It's ridiculous!! To add to this frustration, and please understand me here... I have friends from India, had a best friend from there, in fact, but let's face it- there IS a communication barrier there and every time I called them to get my elusive "free $25 gift card" just for getting one of these stupid cards, I had to repeat myself over and over and they STILL didn't understand me half the time and I couldn't understand them half the time so it's just insult to injury here. Bottom line- I'm not going to get even ONE of the $25 gift cards for getting the prepaid cards, much less the "limit of 3" I'd been promised because somewhere, apparently, was the fine, fine (like- nonexistent) print that said you ONLY got that deal if you received an exclusive email from American Express themselves. Huh. Imagine that. After 2 months of dealing with this thing and being told it would be "4-6 weeks" repeatedly, NOW it's that I needed some elusive email. Can't imagine why this was not mentioned- oh, say- like the first TEN times I've called!!
Soooo... moral of the story is... if it sounds too good to be true... ya'. This is my rant and it's over now and I'm truly, truly sorry if any of you have this same experience because of my taking it in good faith from a source that I trusted that this deal was legit. Bogus. Sorry!

Gratefulness

Recently, I read somewhere that a woman had determined to write down at least one thing, everyday, that she was grateful for. In an attempt to get herself through some hard times, she thought it might help to remember the blessings, as well. I thought this was such a great idea so I took my organizer and on the daily sections, I write down at least one thing that I am grateful for that day. I have tried to stay consistent with this and do it when I do my morning devotional. As I have a tendency to do, I have days that I have missed, but I don't know that that's so important as what it does on the days that I do remember to do it. Some days life can be so overwhelming and the problems of the day tend to take over. That's the life we live in the world that we live in. Thank God for Heaven, is all I can say! I will be SO glad to get out of this stinking, sin-cursed, fallen world (as our Pastor calls it) and spend eternity in perfection! But until that day, I have to get through each and every day of relationship problems, family squabbles, money issues, and just general life. Sometimes I truly hate it. Sin is everywhere I turn and I detest it. And more upsetting to me than anything is how those I love and those who claim to know better fall victim to it. We seem to rate ourselves on a sliding scale of "well, at least..." fill in the blank. At least I'm not as bad as ________, at least I don't ________, and so on. We trick ourselves into thinking that we are somehow better than the rest because we are *saved*. But Jesus didn't come to save us so that we could frolic in that same sin. He didn't lay down His life so that we could dabble in "smaller" sins. The things that we chalk up to just being human are not of God and the proof of that is in the destruction that they cause. If there was "nothing wrong with it" then nothing would become of it. But we have a responsibility... when someone calls our attention to it, when we hear a word that rebukes it, when we are made aware of it- we have a responsibility to acknowledge it as sin and turn from it. If we do not, it festers and creates a deep wound that- if not taken care of- over time will just grow deeper and deeper until it rots the core and affects everything else. "You will know them by their fruits". There is a fundamental truth and it is that you will be judged by every action and word and deed. If you're okay with that it doesn't mean that you're right, it just means that you're probably in some serious denial. And your denial of the truth doesn't make it any less true. So what am I grateful for today? Today, I am grateful that God has given me a deep moral compass that- when I listen to it- will steer me clear of temptation and pain. I am grateful for a conviction that brings me to my knees and gives me a clear conscience. I am grateful for a God who loves me enough to direct me in the right path when I'm going down the wrong one. And I'm grateful that I can hear the voice of the Lord through others and heed their warning. I realize that this is not so common, apparently, so I am grateful for it.

Sprittibee!

Just found this ADORABLE blog called "Sprittibee". It is PRECIOUS! You have to check it out!! AND she's giving away an entire set of AWESOME, WHOLESOME movies!!

Here's the link...
http://sbees.blogspot.com/2011/03/family-friendly-movie-night-give-away-5.html

be blessed...
Melanie

Church Signs...

I saw these in a video and just wanted to post them here. Clever, clever stuff. Love it!

* Don't Give Up! Moses was once a basket case! *

* "TRY JESUS"! If you don't like Him, the devil will take you back! *

* If you don't like the way you were born, try being "born again"! *

* FREE COFFEE ~ EVERLASTING LIFE ~ Yes, membership has its privileges! *

* ATM INSIDE ~ Atonement, Truth, Mercy *

* Be as good a person as your pet believes you are *

* God does not believe in atheists, therefore, atheists do not exist! *

* What part of "THOU SHALL NOT* don't you understand? *

* Let's meet at my house Sunday before the game ~ God *

* Forgive your enemies, it messes with their heads * (love it!!)

* YOU'RE on Heaven's "Most Wanted" list! *

* (and on an old gas station light up sign) JESUS - COMING SOON *

* Don't be so open-minded, your brains fall out * (ba ha ha ha!)

* Can't sleep? Counting sheep? Talk to "the shepherd"! *

* You may party in hell, but YOU will be the BBQ!!!! *

* God so loved the world that He did not send a committee! * (can I get an AMEN!)

* Keep using my name in vain... I'll make rush hour LONGER! * (my personal fave!!)

* Tomorrow's Forecast... God Reigns and the Son Shines! * (CUTE!)

* We believe in UFO's... "Unity, Forgiveness, and Outreach *

* To be "Almost Saved" is to be Totally Lost! * (AMEN!!)

* If God had a refrigerator, YOUR picture would be on it! *

* Life stinks... we have a "pew" for you! *

* Read the Bible... it will scare the HELL out of you! * (GREATNESS!!)

* There ARE SOME questions that CAN'T be answered by Google! *

* Wal-mart isn't the only saving place in town! *

and this one I actually saw at a church here in Tyler...

* if you don't evangelize, you will fossilize! *


Hope you have enjoyed these! Orleans Christian Church in Orleans, Indiana gets credit for compiling the video with all the signs. :)

be blessed...
Melanie