A Heavy Heart

This week I have a heavy heart. Why, you might ask? I know people are grieving.

We had a father in church Sunday talk about his son’s birthday being just around the corner. You would think that this would be an exciting, happy occasion, but this son passed away before entering this world. He would be five years old if he had lived.

The pain never goes away. It softens over time, but it’s always there. There’s always hope. Hope of seeing that child again. Hope of one day your family being together as one unit.

My last class reunion was four years ago. At that time, everyone in my class was still living as far as I know. Since then, several have passed. One classmate that recently passed had a sibling that passed about a year ago. Both children are gone. Their parents are still living, but all of their children are gone.

It seems so wrong, so unfair–something that a parent should never have to go through. Burying one child is bad enough, but all of your children?

Our family has experienced this before. We have had a time where it seemed like all we did was attend funerals. It seems like we have entered that pattern again of late. It makes a heart heavy. This too, will pass.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

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Celebrating 100 Days of Bright Line Eating

Last week I reached 100 days of Bright Line Eating.  Were all my days perfect?  Not at all.  I’m sure I had a few days in there that were a complete failure.  But, I did feel like I had acomplished something–that I had reached a milestone.

I’m glad that I stuck with it for this long.  I feel like it’s taken me this long to get in my “groove” so to speak.  It really never was difficult at all, but now it feels like a breeze most days.  I think some of the automaticity is starting to kick in.

I am losing weight, but at a snail’s pace.  It can be discouraging sometimes to see other people losing it at a much higher rate.  When this happens, I remind myself that losing weight at a snail’s pace is much better than gaining or none at all.

The peace of mind Bright Line Eating has given me is worth the slower pace.  Since I’m no longer eating foods that are addictive, most of the time my saboteur is kept at bay.  He’s locked away in his little cage, and I don’t want to go back to eating sugar and flour and releasing him from his little prison.

After losing over 105 lbs. through other methods, I am now finally dealing with my relationship with food.  I now realize that I am a binger.  Just as the Lay’s commercial says, “Bet you can’t eat just one,” I really can’t.  I cannot open a bag of chips and eat just part of the bag.  I cannot open a sleeve of cookies and eat one or two cookies.  I cannot leave a pan of brownies sitting on the stove without eating one every time I walk by.

Bright Line Eating has given me the consistency to beat the addciction.  Since my meals are planned the night before at a time when my stomach is satisfied and I’m thinking clearly, I can make the right choices.  If I wait until right before mealtime or when I’m already hungry, I’m liable to eat the first thing I find.  Since all my food is weighed now, I know exactly what and how much to eat.  My saboteur cannot later whisper into my ear and question my food, my quantities, anything.

Whether you have weight to lose or not, you can have peace of mind too.  Bright Line Eating is a lifestyle, not a diet.  There is a program for weight loss, but there is also a program for maintenance.  You too can be happy, thin, and free.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  
I Corinthians 10:31

 

A Sentence a Day for March 2018.

I cannot take credit for this idea. This is something that I saw somewhere out on the blogosphere. I thought it looked like a fun idea. I thought it would be fun to also include a few pictures from throughout the month. For April, I will concentrate on making each entry a complete sentence and making each sentence more descriptive.

3rd, Saturday.  Ran the Liberty Hospital 5K and completely exhausted myself by walking home.

4th, Sunday.  Church, out to eat, and then a windy but warm trail walk.

5th, Monday.  Was hard to watch, but went to see Tortured for Christ.

6th, Tuesday.  A very windy, gray day to stay inside.

7th, Wednesday.  Ran 4 miles tonight–first time since last fall.

8th, Thursday.  Took a walk to the end of the street and back with my oldest whom I hadn’t seen for a few weeks.

9th, Friday.  The cat escaped from the house today, but we found her lying on the deck railing in the warm sunshine.

10th, Saturday.  Another cloudy, blah day.

11th, Sunday.  Went to see 15:17 to Paris.

12th, Monday.  Went with DH to his dentist appointment and then ate lunch at the Little General Store.

13th, Tuesday.  Cinderella is happy that she got her cleats and shingards for soccer.

14th, Wednesday.  Supporting  a friend through a difficult time.

15th, Thursday.  A perfect day weatherwise, so we took the princess to the park.

16th, Friday.  A day to stay home and do some house cleaning.

17th, Saturday.  Cinderella had her first soccer game, and they won!

18th, Sunday.  Sundays are often the busiest day of the week!

19th, Monday.  Today was a hard day, so I stayed home instead of running with my friends.

20th, Tuesday.  A cloudy, cold day to start Couch to 5K.

21st, Wednesday.  Cinderella was extremely disappointed that soccer practice was cancelled tonight.

22nd, Thursday.  It’s finally starting to feel like spring!

23rd, Friday.  It was an eventful day starting with a field trip, the library, and then the hospital!

24th, Saturday.  Liam Alistair enters the world at 2:14 am.

25th, Sunday.  Got to visit Liam this afternoon, but Nurse Ratched won’t even let me hold him.

26th, Monday.  I spent the afternoon and night at the hospital with Liam.

27th, Tuesday.  Liam came home this afternoon.

28th, Wednesday.  Ran in the rain tonight with Cinderella.

29th, Thursday.  It was a cold run tonight, but at least it was dry.

30th, Friday.  Finally, sunshine!

31st, Saturday.  Preparing for Easter Sunday.

Stopping the Binge

Monday was a day to get up early and get Cinderella to her gardening class.  I’ll have to admit that her little garden plot looks better than anything I have growing around the house.

My running has shifted to evenings now that our running group is meeting.  We meet at 7:00 pm, so I have also shifted all of my meals.  I cannot eat a meal more than three hours before running.  Breakfast has now become brunch.  Lunch and dinner are now “linner,” and I eat a very late supper somewhere around 8:30 or 9:00 pm.

Since Cinderella had her class and we often don’t get back until after lunch, I fixed my breakfast and took it with me.  I waited as long as I could stand to eat it, but I woke up hungry Monday morning–most likely because I went to bed hungry Sunday night.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get groceries.  The refrigerator was completely empty after going out of town the week before, so it was a big haul.  And, of course, I let Cinderella talk me into buying a few things I normally wouldn’t.

I was starting to get hungry again by the time we got home right after noon.  I knew this was bad news since my next meal wasn’t scheduled until 4:00 pm.  Cinderella opened the treats I let her pick out–a few chocolate covered raisins from the bulk section of the store and a bag of Pirate’s Booty we found in the clearance section.

I was curious about our unexpected purchases, so I gave them a taste.  And then I mindlessly ate another, and another, and another.  I was putting food away in more ways than one.

Then my mind said, “STOP!  What are you doing?  You’d be better off eating a whole other meal instead of binging on this junk!”  I immediately stopped and fixed myself a healthy snack that would hold me over until 4:00.

This, my friends, is monumental!  Why?  Because never before has my mind reacted in such a way.  Never before have I been mindlessly stuffing my pie hole only to have my brain wake up and yell, “STOP!”

What do I think precipitated this?  I have only made one change to my eating habits.  I am following a food plan, planning all of my meals ahead of time, and weighing my food.  This sounds like a lot of work, but it’s really not.  This has taken a load off of my mind as far as thinking about food, what I’m going to eat, when, was it the right amount, etc.  I have been eating three meals a day, so I think that eating outside of this framework made red flags start popping up.

We have to have food to survive.  It’s everywhere, and marketers are intentionally manufacturing foods that are addictive and appeal to all of our senses.  We can give up certain foods, but we can’t give up eating all together to break the addiction.  It’s easy to see why controlling our food intake (at least in this country) may be one of the most difficult hurdles for a large portion of the population.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31

What Does “Natural” Really Mean?

Last week I was in my local Sam’s store when I came across a couple of young ladies giving out samples. Actually, they saw me and asked me to come over and try their wares. Their wares were mini frozen pizzas of different flavors that you could heat up for just a few minutes in the oven or just a few seconds in the microwave oven. These were being pushed as an “all natural,” healthy snack to feed your family.

When I heard the words “all natural” I almost burst out laughing. I can think of all kinds of “all natural” things that aren’t necessarily good for me and that I don’t want to put in my mouth.

The truth is that the FDA has not come up with a definition of the word “natural.” When it comes to our food, manufacturers can put “natural” on their box, and it can mean just about anything.  Don’t be fooled.

 

 

Book Ends, the Movie

Here’s a short movie (about 15 minutes) made by young man from our church. It has a great ending and is well worth your time.

Planned Parenthood President: Life Begins at Delivery

Planned Parenthood President: Life Begins at Delivery

Jeremiah 1:5 begins, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, . . .”

All of our days are ordained long before we are even born.  From Psalm 139:

“13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

As humans can we discern, decide, or even comprehend when life truly begins?  Clearly, God recognizes us and knows us before we were even formed–formed by Him.  Who are we to determine when life begins?  Clearly, we cannot delineate a precise point in time which life begins or in which God recognizes our life.  However, the prideful, all-knowing humanist thinks he can determine these things.  The goal is to keep pushing the date back.  The whole idea is to make life meaningless and of no value.  That will pave the path to all kinds of ideologies such as abortion at any stage during and after pregnancy, euthanasia, etc.

We live in a world that is dying from truth deprivation.

“We live in a world that is dying from truth deprivation.”

Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview by Israel Wayne

By Lori Camper

Bill Nye/Ken Ham Debate Free Live Streaming

Don’t miss the FREE live streaming of the Bill Nye/Ken Ham Debate.  The debate starts at 7:00 pm ET.  Set your alarm!

Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham | Answers in Genesis.

Bill Nye/Ken Ham Debate Tomorrow Night

Watch FREE live streaming of the Bill Nye/Ken Ham debate Tuesday, February 4th at 7:00 pm ET.  Homeschoolers, this could be an addition to your regular studies.

By Lori Camper