Moving On

I'm taking a break from blogging about this particular topic right now. I started this blog for more personal reasons and I'm glad for any of you that have read and followed along and maybe even been inspired or curious in any way about my personal growth and my relationship with God.

Right now I'm just enjoying being a mom, wife and homemaker as this is where God has put me at this season of my life. I love what God is calling me to do right now. I think so many woman think that being a mom and homemaker seems so boring and unimportant, but in fact it is one of the most important things that we were put on this earth to do and it's something I take very seriously and want to do my very best at. Raising kids for God is no easy task and neither is keeping a healthy marriage together and one that is a good example to our kids, but with guidance and faith, it can be done and does not have to be scary!

God amazes me daily with how personal He can get and how our relationship continues to deepen. I'm excited to see what He has in store for me. I will continue to blog about my life here in California on my other blog if anyone wants to follow along:

http://www.ourlivesinca.blogspot.com/

LOVES!

Spiritually Hungry

Okay, I know my last post was really short and brief but that's what having a new born, a four year old and moving to a new state will leave you time to do. We've been here a month and a half now and I'm finally starting to feel settled. I've unpacked my last box and hung my last picture. I've enrolled Toby in preschool and soccer and have somewhat got caught up on some work. In the midst of doing all of this however, one thing I have not done was spend time in God's word and find time to myself to feed the spiritual hunger that we all have. Because of that, I have found myself feeling anxious and restless at times and I've noticed I was snacking a lot more. We all know when we eat, it gives us a temporary calm that we've been longing for. Problem is is that it doesn't last and what happens instead is we end up feeling more anxious and then the pounds start to creep on and hence starts the downward spiraling that Satan loves.

During my pregnancy I still tried to just follow the Weighdown guidelines and listen to my body and what it was calling for. Yes, it was harder because there were times when I wasn't hungry and would eat anyway because something would sound really good but overall, I did pretty good and only gained 20 pounds. When I weighed myself a few weeks after giving birth I was back down to where I was when I first got pregnant. Problem is is that I know and recognize that I have started going back to my old habits of eating and snacking, especially when I'm feeling stressed or anxious. Well I'm re-committing again and I'm starting with getting back into God's word and a bible study because I know the only way to start is to try to feed my spiritual, not physical hunger.

So, yesterday Toby was at preschool and Tyce was sleeping and I decided to open my bible and get out my bible study that I had started a few months ago but never finished. Although I've been praying all along, it's the first time in a long time that I really felt like I had quiet time to really just concentrate and spend quality time talking to God. I immediately started feeling Him filling up that hunger in my soul and it felt SO great! I also went through and re-read a lot of my old posts from last year and that really helped to motivate me and it also helped me to realize how much I didn't want to be stuck in my old ways again as well. I got back on the Weighdown message boards to get re-connected with other woman for support and I started reading the Weighdown chronicles again. I also want to re-read the Rise Above book as well. It's so important to stay focused and connected and that was a huge help to me before and I know I need that now more then ever! I want to loose between 40 to 50 pounds and I know this is the only way to do it. My heart and relationship with food needs to continue to change and more important then even the weight loss, I long for an intimate relationship with God, deeper then it's ever been so if anyone is reading this, please pray for me because the road is a long one but one that will be SOOOOOO worth it in the end!

We Moved to California!

Whew! What a wild past few months! I had my baby and we moved to California. Check out my new blog about our lives in Cali!

http://ourlivesinca.blogspot.com/

So far, so good! God took care of everything just like I knew He would!

FAITH & TRUST

Wow! Time sure flies! I can't believe we are already to April! I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy to have made it to Spring and to feel the weather warming up and hear birds chirping that I feel giddy inside! This winter has seemed SO long to me and I think God was really teaching me PATIENCE more then ever and to TRUST in Him more then ever. My faith has grown even deeper over the past few months as I have had to completely rely on my trust in God to even make it through.

Robb lost his job right before Christmas and did not qualify for unemployment and my job has been in limbo for months now too, where I haven't even known from week to week if I would get a paycheck. We're to April now and so far every month something has come through and we've be able to pay our bills and have plenty of food and although we've had to live on credit a little bit too, we haven't gone without anything and God has supplied all our needs through this time.

When I look back over the past five months I can really see how God has been using this time to grow me more spiritually and to change my heart and mind towards a direction in our lives that I really feel He is leading us to. Robb is leaving tomorrow to California to apply for a job and train for a position as a crane operator and I know if I hadn't been through what we have in the last few months, I would not be ready to move to Bakersfield and would be bitter and angry and fighting it, but because He has showed me and taken me through what we've been through, instead I am actually totally at peace with it and even excited about it which I'm still amazed at!

The baby will be here in less then two months and I have always been a person who has to be totally prepared and stable and we are everything but that right now, but because my trust and faith in God has grown SOOO much deeper then it was even five months ago (and I thought it was pretty deep then) I am just not scared! I know that wherever we end up, God is with us either way and is taking us there and I am just going to trust in Him and not fear and have peace which only He brings me!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Half Way

I cannot believe that I am already 20 and a half weeks along in my pregnancy! Time FLIES! I still feel like I have so much to do before my little guy gets here and although I still have a few months, I still feel like it's going too fast at times!

I went to the doctor yesterday and I was so relieved when he weighed me and I hadn't gained even a pound! The last two doc appointments I had gained weight so I was just holding my breath this time since we just got through the holidays on top of everything. I don't feel like I've been out of control or pigging out but I definitely have more of an appetite this time then I did with my last pregnancy. Anyway, total so far is only ten pounds so I'm doing good. I'm just still trying to listen to what my body is calling for and wait until I'm hungry to eat.

I love the second trimester because I've had more energy and I'm starting to feel him move more which is the best part of being pregnant. Now if I could just start tackling my to do list that would be fantastic!

January Bla's

Well, we made it to January. The start of another year. A fresh start. Christmas was so awesome and Toby was cuter then ever and so much fun! It was fun having Amanda here for a few weeks, getting together with all the family and it was fun celebrating Jesus's birthday.

But now it's January. BLA!! It has always been my least favorite month of the entire year. Sure there are times when I do feel a bit relieved the holidays are behind us and we get a fresh start with a new year, but mostly it's just cold and dreary outside and there is just not a lot to look forward to in January. Then on top of it it is the month that my mom died (18 years ago today) and now my nephew Jacob too. I am not one to wallow in despair though or try to only look at the negative so I have really tried this week to stay focused on the positives and all of the many many reasons I have to be happy and grateful, and there are many! I also love to watch all the sunny movies I can get my hand on too in the months of January and February. It really does let you espcape for just a couple hours and dream of being there! A few of my favorites:

• My Father the Hero
• Pirates of the Carribbean
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• Into the Blue
• After the Sunset

So here's to a very Happy New Year and a fantastic new decade!!

Christmas is Coming!!

I'm really excited for Christmas this year because my sister Amanda is going to be here most of the month of December staying with us and when we were little, it was always her and I and would get the most excited together about everything and have the most fun around Christmas.

I remember after my mom died and we moved in with my Dad, me and Amanda went and got our own little Christmas tree at the lot and took it up to our room and decorated it and put our little gifts around it. It really brightened up our room and made it special up there! (See pic)

This past year has been the most spiritually awakening year of my life and we as a family have really been through a lot. When Christmas time comes around and we get to spend more time together, it makes me so grateful and happy that we have each other and so much love. Christmas this year just seems extra special and I don't want to forget the greatest gift we've ever been given and the reason we celebrate it: Jesus.

My Thankfuls

Like every other year, I have SOOOOOOOO many things to be thankful for. Here are a few:

• I have life growing inside of me!
• My baby boy is three years old and strong and healthy and such a joy to us!
• My husband. We've been through so much together and through it all have come out deeper in love.
• PEACE within- I've experienced true peace this year
• My large family. Where would I be without the support system that my family provides and the love that we have for each other? I think daily how lucky I am to not only come from such a big family, but one that is loving, caring and would do anything for anyone.
• A warm house to live in
• Our jobs
• The food we have to eat
• This country that I am so blessed to be born in
• The relationships I've made this year in my church family
• My brother Mark. I'm so thankful he's back and him and his kids are a part of our lives again
• God. The peace He gives me every day. The joy that I only find in Him. Knowing that with Him I never have to worry about a thing and that He has me in the palm of His hand and loves me unconditionally.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (I Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV).

I had my second doctor appointment two days ago so of course they had to weigh me. I was holding my breath because I knew I had gained some weight because of how much I had been eating. I read that you technically at this stage only need about 300 extra calories a day but I definitely had been eating more then that. Then on top of it, I have been so tired so I felt like I was laying down most days and hardly even moving! Well, sure enough, I had gained 4 pounds in one month! I thought that was too much!

The good news is that my first trimester is almost over and I'm already starting to feel less nauseous and I do feel like I'm getting a little bit of energy back as well. So the last few days I've cut back and have really just tried to go back to listening to what my body is calling for and nothing more. I also want to start getting in some more activity in my day too and I have lists of things that I want to try to get done during my second trimester before I get too big. I'm going to start eating smaller amounts again because I noticed just in the last few weeks I had started eating way bigger amounts then I needed for sure. I'm way excited though because I got to hear the heart beat again and everything is right on schedule! I get to find out what the sex is 3 weeks from today and I can't WAIT!!

My Pregnancy Challenge

I am ten weeks along right now so in two more weeks I will be ending my first trimester. I have really been trying hard most days to still listen to my body and wait until I'm hungry but it has been really hard to let my stomach empty completely out because the second I even start to feel slightly hungry, I also start getting really nauseated and super weak. If I stay a little ahead of the game and eat something small and light before I start getting hungry then I don't get that way. I don't want to gain a bunch of weight this pregnancy and I don't think my body needs to since I'm already about 30 pounds overweight so I really want to keep things in check and listen to what my body needs.

It wasn't this way with my first pregnancy at all and I never even got sick so it's definitely different this time. All the books are saying that usually after the first trimester the sickness goes away so I'm really hoping for that so that I can go back to just waiting for true hunger. I know if I just listen to what my body needs throughout this pregnancy and continue to eat small amounts I shouldn't have to worry about gaining a lot of weight. That is my challenge right now. I will still apply everything I've learned through Weighdown while pregnant and the great thing is is because it's not a diet of any sort, I still can.

The Miracle of Life

I had my first doctor's appointment on Monday. I am just over 8 weeks but because I had a miscarriage back in March, he wanted me to get an ultrasound right away just to see it and make sure everything looked good. So yesterday me, Robb and Toby went and saw our little peanut on the screen. "It's" little heart was beating and you could see the little stubs starting to form already where it's little arms are. I just can't even believe how in love I can already be with it when we haven't even met yet but seeing it in there, heart beating and all, makes my heart melt! I still can't believe I get to assist God in this miracle of life! I feel so blessed and lucky to be a women and get to experience this!

I was Blind but now I SEE!

I know it's been a while since I've blogged but I have good reasons! First off, I weighed myself the week before last and was down one more pound. That's make a total of 15 which still is an average of about a pound a week. I didn't weigh last week or this week because I've been so sidetracked with my good news:

Baby #2 is on the way!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited because we really wanted to get pregnant and once again I am blown away by how good God is to me!

When I had a miscarriage back in March I wasn't surprised at all. It's weird but when I found out I was pregnant then, I knew something wasn't right. I kept taking pregnancy tests and they kept coming out positive so finally after a few weeks I started to accept that maybe I was. Then I miscarried. At the time although I was a little bit sad, I wasn't worried because I knew that God's timing was perfect and that there must be a reason.

Now, looking back over the past few months, the reason was this; I had a LOT of spiritual growing and learning to do and a lot of past hurts in my marriage that I needed to face and let go of before we were ready to grow our family. God knew that.

What He revealed to me over the past few months just since then has blown my mind! I feel our marriage had a turning point that it has needed for a while and I feel closer to my husband now then I ever have. God has revealed SO much to me about Him, my relationships, and myself and I don't think I've ever in my life had such a spiritual awakening as I have the past few months. It's been hard at times but God brought me through it and I can see why every single thing He was showing me needed to be dealt with and re-surfaced. He wanted to be invited into those parts of my heart that needed healing and when I let Him in, HE HEALED THEM!! I feel like "I was blind and now I see!" WOW!! God is SO amazing when we can trust Him with ALL areas of our lives!

So last month I prayed to God and told Him that I felt like I was ready now to get pregnant but I trust His perfect timing and not my own. I told him how I felt, but left it up to His will. Well lo and behold, I conceived less then a week after I prayed that prayer! When I trust God with all areas of my life, I am free!! He is so awesome and continues to amaze me every day!

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalm 28:7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

I had a great weekend and worked through a lot of what I was feeling and why and I actually feel really great today! I'm excited to be back on track and I really feel like God is taking care of everything, including me. Just like I thought, I'm coming out of it stronger and closer to Him then I was before! It's amazing to me how that happens!

I'm SO excited for fall and the beautiful days ahead and I decided I'm going to start decorating early this year so I can enjoy it longer. The colors have already started changing here on the mountains anyway, so why not? I remember my mom used to say every fall that it looks like God just took a big paint brush and painted our world with warm colors for us to enjoy!

I just read this quote today and really related:

"There is just something about knowing that my failures, hardships, mistakes, losses and pain have meaning. For me, that understanding eases some of the agony of life and encourages me to keep on keeping on."

Frustrated

My heart has felt heavy lately and I'm going through some personal things and have not felt much like blogging. I weighed on Friday and I had lost almost 1 pound since last week but I still am struggling a lot. I haven't been binging or eating a lot but I know I can wait longer to eat and I know I can eat less when I do. I've been turning to food with my insecurities and find myself snacking unnecessarily and it's been frustrating! I know that I need to be turning to God. I try, and I've been praying, but I feel drained and sad for some reason and I feel like God is testing me right now and I'm failing miserably which only makes me more sad and frustrated! I just feel sad and my heart feels heavy right now but I just keep giving it back to God and that's all I can do. I heard the other day that a lot of times before something awesome happens, we will experience more pain or trials so I'm holding onto that right now knowing that whatever is going on with me, God will use it for good or to draw me closer to Him in the long run.

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:5-6

Re-Committed

I weighed last week and I had not lost a single pound. It's been almost a month and the scale hasn't gone down at all. Luckily it hasn't gone up either but there is no reason it wouldn't have gone down if I would have been keeping my focus where it needed to be and following some of the basic rules of Weighdown.

I was getting frustrated because I started to feel like food was having a pull on me again and that I was turning to it more and more. Then every time I would hit my "re-start" button to try to start fresh it wouldn't last, which was making me more frustrated and the more frustrated I was getting, the less I was focused and following the basics!

This past month has been really emotional for me and a lot of things from my past have been re-surfacing because I asked God to heal my heart completely and make it whole again. Well in order for Him to do that, He has had to stir things up a bit and bring things to the surface so that I could invite Him into those deep areas in my heart that needed healing. Through this entire process I have learned how much I still run to food for comfort or when I'm feeling anxious. I should be turning to God completely for that. Here I was bragging because I literally felt like I had just about made it to the "Promised Land" with my eating habits and I really didn't think food had any pull on me anymore, but then the second things got stirred up a bit, where did I turn? To my first love and idol; food. I am ashamed at that. God has showed me from this past month that no matter what I am feeling, and especially when I'm feeling emotional, that is when He wants me to turn to Him the most and lean on Him and trust Him to comfort me and sooth my fears and insecurities.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Notice how the bible says to trust in the Lord with ALL our hearts and to acknowledge Him in ALL our ways?! Well I definitely was not doing that and when things got a little murky, I ran instead to what I knew would bring me temporary comfort- food.

The problem with running to food is the comfort it gives doesn't even last past the first bite before the guilt sets in. When I run to God, not only does it last more then a moment, it lasts a lifetime. It even goes beyond my lifetime because I will also be setting an example for Toby that will last his lifetime as well. God does not need anything from us but asks only that we obey Him and love Him and put Him first above all else!

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity-in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground.
Deuteronomy 28:11, 13-14

So do I want to run to my old love of food and continue to be miserable and get nothing back in return, or do I want to run to God for everything and have Him pour out His never ending love and blessings on me for eternity?! It seems so simple, yet the problem is that Satan is constantly on the attack and looking for ways to destroy it and get me to turn away from God. That is why I need to remember to put on the full armour of God DAILY and be prepared to fight the spiritual battle that is going on all around me!

So today I have prayed and asked God to forgive me for turning to food and I have re-committed to start fresh and go back to the basics that I learned in the beginning and the things that were really helping me from the start:

1. NO GROWL- NO CHEWING
2. SMALL SMALL SMALL AMOUNTS
3. When I am feeling anxious and find myself reaching for food I will grab my bible instead and "chew" on it.
4. PRAY PRAY PRAY for the strength that I need every moment to resist Satan's temptations and plans to hold me back and distract me!
5. Sart the listening to the Breakthrough cd's again to be reminded of the basics and to help keep me focused.
6. Continue to weigh once a week on Thursdays and continue my blog.
7. Get back on the Weighdown website chat rooms and stay in contact with the women that are also with me in the "desert".
8. Read the Weighdown Chronicles every day for inspiration.
9. Read the Rise Above book again. (That really helped to keep me focused)
10. Read at least one success story a day from the Weighdown website

I feel excited and focused and ready to let God lead me again!

Fine Tuning

Well I'm not going to lie. The last two weeks I've really been struggling again with eating and it's been frustrating!! I had been doing really well and really felt like that desire to eat when I wasn't hungry was gone but the last two weeks I've been having to pray for strength more then ever for some reason and I didn't even weigh on Thursday because I was afraid to. I don't feel like I've gained any weight but I definitely don't feel like I've lost any either. I haven't been binging or anything like that but I just felt like I've been eating more at mealtimes and sometimes I don't always wait until I'm totally hungry, just barely hungry and it's been frustrating! I think it's just a big reminder though that I am not in control and that I need God every moment of every day and that when I start to loose focus I will start going backwards again and that is NOT where I ever want to go. I am going to weigh this Thursday again to see where I am to and I am really just trying to stay focused "up" right now and stay in God's will and boundaries. I have been reading from the Weighdown Chronicles every day and the one I just read really hit home with me right now. Here is only part of what it said but it hit the nail on the head for me:

In the beginning of our love relationship with God, we often don’t realize just how much He expects of us. At first He asks little, but as we grow and mature, we face more choices about just how much of ourselves we are willing to give to Him. Just as a parent has to re-direct and discipline a child for his own good, God must do the same with us. We simply can’t have everything we think we want! The world will continue to distract us and beg for our attention, but God remains constant in that only HE can provide us with everything we need.

SO true so I'm staying tuned in to what else He is trying to teach me because I know He is going to keep fine tuning me until I am completely His and His alone with no other stronghold or idols!

Happy THIRD Birthday Toby!!

Yesterday my baby boy turned THREE and I am in disbelief that it's already been three years since he came into this world! It's funny because I remember when I was only about three weeks from my due date with him we went to Lake Powell with my brother and sister and their spouses. I remember the last morning as we were leaving and driving over the dam to head home I got this overwhelming feeling of emotions come over me because I knew it was the last trip that me and Robb were ever going to take together before becoming parents. I was so nervous about how our lives would change and how it would never be just about us anymore and I just burst into tears that I couldn't stop! Robb was a little surprised (as most husbands are when their wives just burst into tears out-of-the-blue) and after telling him what I was feeling and why I was crying he smiled sympathetically and I will never forget what he said because he hit the nail on the head. He told me that having a child is going to bring about an entire new set of adventures and that even though our old life and what we were used to would no longer exist, we had an entire new adventure ahead of us to look forward to.

Well our lives have changed tremendously from the couple who had been married ten years with no kids but I cannot even imagine what that life used to be like without Toby in it! Although it's hard at times and there are times I truly don't understand what is going on, it has been one of the greatest adventures of my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world! God blessed us with Toby and along with that it's brought us such life and joy and laughter! I feel like I'm constantly learning but the most amazing thing to me of all is how God has been using Toby to teach me about His love for us! I can't count how many times as a mother I take situations that I'm learning with Toby and think, WOW, that's how God must feel about His children! It happens all the time! From frustration to pure joy, God is using Toby to draw me closer to Him. Because I love Toby, I discipline him. Because I love Toby, I challenge him. Because I love Toby I teach him, take care of him, do what I KNOW is best for him. He doesn't always understand why I'm doing what I'm doing or agree with it, but I know that it's what is best for him and I do it out of love. God does the same. We may not always understand why or what we are going through, but God does and there is always purpose for it and if we trust HIM and have faith, He will use it for our good! I have such an unconditional love in my heart for Toby and it's so completely overwhelming at times and when I think that God loves me more then I even love Toby I don't even know how that is possible, yet I know it's true! God is taking me on an adventure as well and although my old life as I knew it before is gone, it's a far better life then I ever imagined! Although it's hard at times and I don't always understand what He has planned or why, I know without doubt that He loves me and has my best interest at Heart and what a peace that gives me!

So Happy Birthday to my baby boy Toby that God has blessed me and changed my life with and thank you God for the constant adventures that you are taking me on as well! "My cup runneth over!"

Weighed in today and I've lost another two pounds since last week!

Okay, have I mentioned how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE summertime? Well, I do! This month of July is flying by but it has been SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun! Between the 4th, boating, swimming, Powell and all of the July birthday's we've had, it has been such a crazy month.

We went to Lake Powell last weekend (see pic) and it was SO beautiful and serene! I love going because it's a trip that is total relaxation through and through and I come back feeling so rested and renewed. This time was no different. When I was there I just kept thinking about how beautiful God's creations are and on the last night on the lake when we were headed back on the boat the sky was so gorgeous and I couldn't stop looking at it. One of the clouds literally looked like a giant dove in the sky with it's wings open flying into heaven and then the rays of sunlight were streaming through. I just felt that God painted that sky just for me (He is a romancer you know) and it just made me smile.

I waited until yesterday to weigh again and when I did I was happy because the scale is continuing to go down! I was down another pound! That makes 11 pounds total to date. I can't wait until I hit the 20 pound mark!

I'm reading another book right now called "Women, Food and God". It's funny because I bought the book a while ago and forgot I had it and then Oprah had it on her show as a recommended read so I pulled it out. We all know that if she read it then it must be golden right ;)... It's been really interesting to read because it teaches a lot of the same things that Weighdown does as far as eating between hunger and fullness and that when you eat past that it's emotional eating but she definitely has some different views on how to fill that void then just filling up with God. I'm not quite done with it yet but it has been interesting to read knowing what I already believe and have been practicing. I'm really just trying to stay focused "UP" right now more then ever because I want to continue to loose weight and stay out of myself and I know that the only way to do that is by fillng up with God instead of this world and it's not always easy to do when you have so much going on but I've realized quickly over the last few months that that is my lifeline, not the things of this world...

It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Matthew 4:4

Freedom!!!

This weekend is the 4th of July, a day in which Americans celebrate our independence and our freedom and liberty. I LOVE the 4th of July and I LOVE this great country that we are so blessed to live in and celebrate this time of year! Patriotism has always run very deep in our family and courses through our blood! I LOVE what freedom represents and I love that it is God that gave us that freedom and that freedom is preached all throughout the Bible:

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corn. 3:17

In him [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Eph. 3:12

The freedom and patriotism that I feel for my beloved country is overwhelming in my heart but it doesn't even hold a candle to the freedom that I feel and received from the Holy Spirit in my heart! This 4th of July I will be celebrating not only the freedom from this country but I feel more blessed then ever that God has freed me from the slavery of overeating and SOOOO many other strongholds of this world and has brought me out of the land of "Egypt" and is taking me to the promised land!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. Psalm 118:5

I have hit the 10 pound mark as of yesterday and I was SO excited to hit my first big milestone that I was seeing fireworks go off a few days early!!

Weigh In Day

Today was my weigh in day and I lost another pound since last Thursday! That makes a total of 8.5 down. When I get to 10 pounds I am really going to celebrate (not by eating anything) but by doing something fun in the sun. I hope that's by next week. It's been so nice not having to stress at all about it. It feels really good to see the scale continuing to go down each week but that is not my focus. I'm also excited because I'm starting a new bible study tomorrow morning called "Experiencing Spiritual Intimacy" and I'm really looking forward to getting into it. God is becoming more personal to me but it's a work in process and I'm continuing to learn every day what it means to be spiritually intimate with Him so this study will be exciting.

His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Ephesians 4:30 MSG