WOOHOO!!!

I am still shaking with adrenalin. Today was such an incredible day for me. No, I didn’t come into any money and nothing particularly great happened, but I accomplished something incredible…well, at least incredible for me!

I mentioned in the last post that my I was doing abdominal work and running every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. Well, I have been doing 210 crunches (3 set of 70, each set includes 30 lower ab crunches, 30 upper ab crunches, and 10 total ab crunches). This morning I upped that to 4 sets, so 280 crunches. By the last set I couldn’t even feel my stomach burning anymore. It was the weirdest sensation. Afterwards my abs still felt as though they were contracted for about 20 minutes. It was great.

I also ran tonight.  Monday I did two nine minute runs in my interval training, but today was a big day. Today was my first 20 minute run. I was honestly very nervous about this, but I climbed on the elliptical tonight and started. I didn’t want to 5 minute warm up to end, but it did and I started running. I was SOOO glad to hear the bell on my app ding to tell me I was half way through, and that little sound…that heavenly ding that gave an angel somewhere its wings…gave me a second wind. I ran the next ten minutes with enthusiasm.

As soon as the bell sounded again to tell me I was finished running, I actually yelled out loud. I have never had an exercise high like this. I don’t think I’ve smiled this big in a long time…at least not for something I did rather than something my daughter did. I am amazed at how far I have come. Just 6 weeks ago I was struggling to run for 1 minute straight, but tonight I went for 20 minutes. In two weeks I’ll be running for 30 minutes! I am so happy right now!

I am SO grateful that God didn’t let me continue on the road I was on. I am so grateful He made my body so that it would adapt to a healthier state, and to where it would stand up to the abuse I gave it the past few years. I am so grateful he gave me the ability to run tonight, and I am so glad I didn’t throw that blessing away.

For those of you reading this, thank you! I’m very grateful that you were willing to take a few minutes to cheer me on by reading this.  

I'm Losing It!

So, no one reads this, but I thought I should start blogging again anyway. Aria is now 5.5 months old! She’s getting SO big. She rolls everywhere, but doesn’t crawl yet. I am so incredibly in love with her, I can’t begin to explain.

Being a mom is the most amazing thing in the world, and I’m looking forward to having many more children to love. Unfortunately, I can’t do that as I am. By the end of my pregnancy with Aria I was preeclamptic and had gained over 70 pounds (now some of that was water-weight, but still horrible). On top of that I was already 50 pounds overweight when I got pregnant, so I was only supposed to gain 20.

After I had Aria I made a promise to myself and to my husband to get healthy before I had another baby. 10 days after we came home with Aria I had lost 10 lbs of water weight, and then the work began. I lost another 25 lbs by six weeks, when I started weight watchers. I have been on weight watchers for 19 weeks (since March) but for at least 5 of those I did not follow the rules. The past five weeks I have been extremely dedicated to weight watchers and an exercise routine. I am doing a running routine on the elliptical my husband bought me for mother’s day (used on Craig’s list for a great price) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. As a result I have lost an additional 19 pounds since starting Weight Watchers.

That puts me nearly 45 pounds down at this point, with 66 pounds to go. Just typing these numbers is embarrassing, but I think I need to put my accomplishments and goals somewhere public. I can’t promise I will post every day, actually I can promise I won’t. But I will try to check in twice a week. Every Saturday, which is my weigh in day, and then once in the middle of the week. I will also post pictures periodically. Today I am including my before picture. This was from when my daughter was 2 weeks old.  I will have my husband take a current picture of me this weekend, so everyone (the whole 1 of you who may read this…hi mom) can see the progress made so far. And, don’t worry I will be fully clothed in all pictures.

I must forewarn you, there will be many references to what God is doing during this journey. Much of this dedication is due to the realization that I was taking God’s gift of my body for granted. After running the first time (it’s a progressive interval running program that trains for a 5K) I realized I was killing myself. I was running to praise music, and as I was doing my cool down the song “I Am Free” came one. The chorus says “I am free to run,” and I began to sob. I was huffing and puffing, and the longest continuous run that day was only 60 seconds. I felt like my heart would explode. I realized that I was taking away a freedom that God gave me. I was taking away the freedom to play with my children, the freedom to ride bikes as a family, the freedom of health. Now, I only have three weeks left of the running program, and today I am running 2 nine minute intervals. And, my heart no longer feels like it will explode after running.

Oh, and just so you know, this is not going to be a magic, overnight transformation. I don’t plan on reaching my goal before next May. If I do that will be great, but no pressure. I am doing this for a long term change, not a microwave result. This is a sustainable change, and a learning progress. And, while I’m doing this I will be completing my last year of college! So, next May will be a very exciting time for me!! YAY!

In case you are interested in either resource I am using for this weight loss journey, check out www.weightwatchers.com (I am doing the program completely online, though they do have meetings if you’re interested in them). Also check out http://easeinto5k.bluefinapps.com/. I am starting week 6 of 8 of this program. Blue Fin Apps also has a 10K app that I will go into as soon as I finish this program. I believe one version of the 10K program starts includes the 5K program and the  bridge to 10K program I will continue with.

Life Now

Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted on here. Life has been crazy since my last post…crazy, but wonderful. I had to quit work a few weeks early due to mild preeclampsia. Aria waited, and waited, and at 39 weeks we were induced due to my high blood pressure. Aria came into the world at a perfect 6 lbs 10 oz, and 20 inches long. No one could believe how alert she was from the very beginning. She is still extremely alert, and in my very biased opinion is the most beautiful baby in the world.

Anyway, throughout this entire thing God has continued teaching me about His plans and His timing. He has made it very clear that His plans are not my plans, and that my timing is not His. Proverbs 16:9 has become very true in my life. I may make plans, but God paves the way. I can go nowhere without His guidance.

I had planned to not be induced, but I was induced, and it was an incredible experience. My labor, though painful until I got the epidural (I don’t care what anyone says, it was the right thing for me). Even while I was pushing the labor was fun. It was nice to be able to make joked between pushes, knowing that my doctor would be cracking jokes with me. It didn’t happen as I had planned it, but I don’t think anyone would have planned laughter during delivery.  And, aria came out perfectly alert, after 5 pushes. She was, and is, perfect.

I had also planned to exclusively nurse my little angel. It took 3 weeks of her not gaining weight (not even getting back to her birth weight), and then another 4 weeks of very slow weight gain and constant nursing before I admitted there was a problem. My plan was to exclusively nurse, but due to an extremely sensitive gag reflex and a low milk supply I am now pumping and bottle feeding. We are also feeding formula when needed. And, guess what…my little girl is much happier and is gaining weight steadily. I finally listened to my God given instincts, rather than my selfish desires, and my baby is better off for it.

Finally, and mostly what I wanted to write about, Cam has had plans for his job for quite some time now. You may remember that in December he interviewed for a job and was very disappointed when he didn’t get it. Well, nearly four months later we may have a clue as to why. That same position has opened up in the Tulsa office. We don’t know if he’ll get the job, but we do know that they can offer him more money, and that they are under pressure to get a high producer in there (and he is the highest producer in the state). We also know that there are several people interceding for him, both in prayer and with the hiring manager. He has had so many influential people recommend him for this job (including the vice president of the company). He interviews on Tuesday. We have no earthly idea if he will get it or not, but we know it would be a beautiful picture of how God’s plans were made perfect by our temporary disappointment.

I hope to have good news next week, but I won’t promise to post if I do. Being a full time mom is easier than I expected it to be, but my time is spent entertaining Miss Aria more than I expected it to be. I thought newborns slept all day, but that is not true of my little one. She likes her play time.  And, she’s calling for that play time now. I’m going to go entertain my little blessing. And I will thank God for His timing to bring her into our lives. She has definitely increased our faith, but that’s another blog entry.

Parental Pride

John 1:6-9

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."

I have been thinking a lot about my unborn daughter today. She has been especially active and I have enjoyed feeling her move around as I wrote a paper and sat in church. I feel so blessed to have her within me.

Lately I’ve been having problems sleeping, so I’ve begun daydreaming until I fall asleep (counting sheep doesn’t work for me). As I lay in bed last night trying to fall asleep I imagined what my daughter will be like. Not what she will be like as a baby, but as an adult. I dreamt up her wedding, and prayed for her future husband. I dreamt of what she may look like, and how much she will love her daddy. But mostly I imagined how she will love God.

I was just daydreaming, but I can’t describe the pride I felt as I imagined our daughter giving her heart to the Lord and telling others about him. It made me wonder about how much joy Zechariah and Elizabeth must have felt watching their son grow.

This is the same Zechariah that temporarily lost his voice after doubting Gabriel’s proclamation that he would have a son. I know he and Elizabeth would have been more than proud of any child, but their child was prophesied about as the one who will clear the way for the Messiah. According to John, he was there to testify and witness about the Messiah. He was so popular people actually thought he was the Messiah.

I wonder about the pride they felt as their son learned the Jewish traditions. I also wonder if they got to see him as an adult. I wonder if they were there when he baptized the true Messiah. If so I can’t imagine the pride they felt as he lowered his earthly cousin, but his heavenly savior, into the water and raised his sinless body from the river.

I wonder how often Elizabeth prayed that her son wouldn’t get caught up in his own popularity. I wonder if she ever had to remind him that he was not the important one, but God was. I wonder if she ever felt inferior while raising the man who was to testify to the living Messiah.

I am so excited that I get to pray for my daughter. I’ve already begun praying for her salvation. I can’t wait until the day she tells me that Jesus is living within her. I know that moment will be one of the greatest moments of my life, and I feel blessed that I get to teach my daughter about Christ, and live an example of a Christian life for her.

Dear God, thank you for giving us parents to learn from in the bible. Help us to remember that the greatest gift we can ever give a child is a personal relationship with You. Thank you so much for calling us to share Your love with the world. We love you! Amen

God's Will

This morning I realized that almost everyone I know is in the place of waiting on God. Even if they are beginning new things in one aspect of life, they are waiting on God in another. At first I wondered if it would ever stop; if we would ever not be waiting on God to do something, and then I realized I don’t want it to stop.

The moment I am no longer waiting on God is the moment I am in Heaven with Him. It means He has finished with me on earth, and I’m not ready for that yet. I want to see more people come to know Him. I want to teach others about His love. I want to see victories in the lives of other Christians.

During church we were given our purpose. “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17). My purpose is to bring Glory to God and to proclaim His name in all the earth. I know I personally will not proclaim His name in all the earth, but maybe through writing about Him, His name will be proclaimed by new believers.

I don’t have any idea what God has planned for me, but I do know that it will be all about Him if I let it. I believe He wants me to write about Him, so I will continue to share His word through this blog.

 I want to encourage all believers to listen to God and not to hesitate when He asks you to do something. He will never force you to do anything, but remember that if you don’t do something He asks, He will eventually ask someone else to do it. Don’t miss a chance to serve the Lord.

Lying in the Valley

I have to say something more about God accomplishing His plans in His ways. Earlier this week we were shocked to find out Cameron didn’t get a job he had applied for. He had basically been told he got it, and then he received a phone call saying he didn’t. He didn’t not get the job because of anything he did, if anything they said he was overqualified.

Anyway, the why doesn’t matter, what does is that it hurt. It hurt bad! We had really thought this was God’s way of giving us the insurance we so badly need for our newborn. Well, it wasn’t. We had been obedient in our timing of having a child, even though we didn’t understand about the insurance, but all of a sudden we couldn’t see how it was going to happen. We felt like I imagine Mary feeling about Christ being born in Bethlehem. We knew God had a plan…and we sincerely thanked Him for that plan, but it was still hard not to ask “how will we get insurance for our baby.”

There are reasons she can’t be on my insurance, and Cameron can’t get a personal policy, so he’s gone without health insurance for a little over a year. But yesterday he came home and told me his boss hired a group insurance specialist to come to the office to show their options. Today, we found out that we WILL be offered group insurance! We don’t know about the price, but we trust that God will take care of that! He provides all of our needs, and today we were honored to see Him providing for our needs in a situation when just two days ago we couldn’t imagine how He would meet them.

Today I am grateful that Cameron didn’t get the job for a big reason: if he had, I wouldn’t have been able to see God making an impossible situation possible. I told my dad, sometimes it’s nice to be thrown off a mountain, because you land in a valley. It’s the best feeling in the world to lie in the grass next to my Jesus and see the magnificence of his works rolling by like clouds in the sky!

God's Census

^“1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.” – Luke 2:1-3

Back to the Christmas theme today! Sorry it’s taken so long to get back on track.

This little passage means to world to me! In Micah it was prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and this verse in Luke tells us how God accomplished that. Much of the time I don’t understand how God is doing something. I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but God is really revealing His infinite power to me in this area.

I’ll be honest, I don’t like it when I know that God is going to accomplish something, but I don’t understand how. I’m sure Mary had some of the same questions running through her mind. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, not Bethlehem…so how was this prophecy going to be fulfilled? I know this question would have worried me to no end if I were her. But, God had that problem all figured out (haha, He knew from the beginning of time how He was going to accomplish this).

Not only does the fact that God had it all planned out amaze me, but how He did it is amazing. Luke tells us he had Caesar Augustus order a census…and then adds that “this was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.” WOW! Not only did God use an ungodly man, a ROMAN, to accomplish His will, but apparently this was a rare thing.

This touched me deeply today, because it let me know god will accomplish His will in ways we can never imagine. I know that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), but it is incredible to really see how he can use such unlikely circumstances to fulfill his promise!

Lord, thank you for using ordinary circumstances to accomplish Your will! Thank you for being the one who gives all power to the leaders over us (Romans 13:1). Thank you for always accomplishing Your will, and for allowing us to play a part in that. In Your name I pray, Amen.