Temple of the Holy Spirit

I've had a hard time controlling my weight all my life.  I've known for quite some time that it's more controlling what enters my mouth than controlling my weight.  I've always exercised and kept moving nearly daily ever since I can remember, I love activities so that part isn't hard for me.  What I have realized is that as positive as I am to the outside world and all those I speak with and see on a daily basis, I am not that positive to myself.  I didn't ever realize I was doing this until it was brought to my attention by my Health Coach (I'll explain more about him later).  I set some goals for the year and at the end my coach asked me what my confidence level was in achieving those goals...after hearing my response, he encouraged me to never look back only look forward at the now and the future.  There is no need to be regretful or to beat yourself up for something you messed up on, just forget about it and try hard again the next day!  My coach was referring to food and eating habits, but I have since then applied these thoughts to my exercise and mental well being to result in the easiest time I've ever had trying to lose weight.  I'm not feeling guilty about what I eat like I always did, I feel excited about getting healthy not just trying to lose weight and I'm not being negative to myself.  All of this has made my relationship with God so much deeper and exciting.  I believe when we read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we should honor our God with our bodies in more ways than one and health is one of those ways.

Some resources and ideas that have helped me along the way include:

I found a couple exercise buddies that I meet with at regularly scheduled times and I have scheduled what I will do on the other days where I don't have anyone holding me accountable.

Christian Care Ministry is a health alternative to insurance that I highly recommend you looking into if you don't receive wonderful benefits from an employer or other source of benefits.  We did lots of research for nearly a year on this whole concept as well as the main companies providing the service and Christian Care Ministry was our #1 pick.  This is where I am currently receiving my Health Coach services from as well, it's part of my program to get healthy and SO worth it to have a Christian Health Coach that has been a personal trainer, educator and is committed to holding me accountable through prayer and phone calls.  Their website is like a personal trainer too, with so many more resources than I have EVER gotten from any health insurance company!

Organic Liaison is a fun website with an AWESOME Recipe Book - that's my main resource for using this site, but there are some other fun things about it too like the 100 Days to Dance.

Hungry Girl is a tips and tricks and recipes guide to eating low calorie and I signed up for the email newsletter and use that as my resource more than the website.  Sometimes I get a great recipe from the email and sometimes I don't get anything, but the colors and the fun attitude are part of what keep me going, happy and enjoying this journey!

Health Initiatives Exercise videos and Engine 2 Exercise videos are a FREE way to get exercise ideas for strength training because no equipment is necessary.  I don't like paying gyms, I don't like paying boot camps, I don't like paying anybody really, but I have paid them all at some point along the way...but now I have educated myself so much and armed myself with so much ammunition in exercise ideas that I don't need to spend any money to do it!!!

Free groups that are self help or 12 step programs might be something you need as well and don't even realize it.  There is a way to keep Jesus as your center in these meetings so don't let their "higher power" talk deter you.

I pray that this blog has inspired you and given you some new ideas and resources to help your weight loss journey be successful because I know how important it is to you and your walk with God...one of my favorite lines from a song lately is, "I can do it, I can do it, oh God I need your help"

Things to Think About During Desperate Times

Don't EVER let ANYBODY let you think they have the whole marriage thing down, no matter how perfect they seem as a couple in front of you. Things go on behind doors in EVERY marriage.  There are a couple MAIN things to keep in mind:

You are the ONLY one who knows BOTH sides of your marriage (your spouse does too, but I mean for people you will ever talk to or consult about your marriage)

Once you evaluate your marriage appropriately, you really need to decide whether you are IN or you are OUT and STICK with that decision otherwise it's not fair to yourself, your spouse or your kids to go up and down up and down emotionally...I know we should have made this decision when we said our wedding vows, but things change and people change after that day UNFORTUNATELY.

Are you and/or your spouse Christians and how is your RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ? Not just attending church or doing prayers, but your direct relationships with Jesus Christ? You both need to have this relationship on your own before any marriage can work the way marriage was made to work. So if one or both of you is not close to Jesus Christ then 1st YOU need to become a Christian, I can help you do that if you want and 2nd YOU need to live a life as a beautiful bride so that your spouse will be drawn to that lifestyle.  This is THE determining factor in your marriage along with knowing that YOU are the ONLY thing you can change.
Hopefully these are some good things to think about:) I Corinthians 7:12-16

Don't Hold Back if there is even a chance to Plant a Seed!

I am SO proud of my husband and how he has the Lord's touch in helping men and their marriages!  I really think ALL of us have that certain type of somebody or some way we get across best to a certain kind of people...for me, I think I am a good listener and encourager to women who are having a tough time in marriage and for my husband, I think he is good at doing the same thing for men, but in a "Men kind of way" :)...you know, not saying much, but saying enough to make the man think and then checking back in at a later date to see if anything struck a chord. 

We are seeing the Lord's work right now in a married couple that we care so very much for and it is such a beautiful thing.  We feel like we have ridden the roller coaster with them for the last few years and they are back on God's side again, it's so beautiful!  We wish them well and know that with God at the Center, they can do it!!!  Mark 10:27-28

Great Facebook Cause close to my heart

I used to serve with Every Generation Ministries in Temecula, CA and still have a deep love for the ministry they do around the world! Please join me in praying for this cause they are celebrating on Facebook along with a dear friend of mine's birthday:) By following the link above, you will read about a great Bride of Christ in Romania, I have met his brother who also serves with EGM in Romania and is doing great work there. You can also read more about EGM at their website. "Transforming children in Christ through HIS church" is the mission of EGM. Never will a child be passed by. Mark 10:13

Remembering a Legacy of a Bride!

It's been 1 year already since my precious Grammie passed away. We just buried her ashes on Friday and I am convinced she left a legacy that will NEVER be forgotten! The memories that were recalled among us ALWAYS referred to her sweet sweet personality that would never say anything bad about anyone, always on her knees in prayer when she was going through hard times and always encouraging others during their times of distress. My Grammie is a prime example of how we should live our life as a member of the Bride of Christ. Grammie quoted Ephesians 4:32 in the Memorial DVD from her interviews in 2006 when I recorded her talking about her life story.

Why would anyone look at the glass half empty?

I have been wanting to share something for a few months, but have been scared too. BUT that's what I want this Blog to be about, is helping each other on the things that really ARE tough. Even though I have God in my life everything isn't easy, BUT how can I look at a glass half empty when I know that God WILL take care of me...and now when I look back at the last several months, it is all the more encouraging how much He carried me!

I have been able to share with two marriages what I am going to share with hopefully many many more now as I write this and please pass it along to all you know because it seems to hit me every time I say it, just how important it is to remember. When my husband and I got married, we agreed that we would NEVER mention divorce and so we never really ever even think that way, let alone say it. Well, we had some rough times these past 6 months and I never thought my marriage would get to that point so it was then that I had to make the decision so that I WOULD NOT think that way anymore. It was like I had to renew my vow to myself. My choices were 1) Do you want to stay with this man no matter what? If yes, then you must continue trudging forward and never look back, working every situation through and continue living according to the promise we made when we married, Divorce is NOT an option. 2) Do you want to keep letting yourself get SO angry every time we hit a rough spot and let my mind get to the point of hurt and sorrow that it was at? If so, then you will not be happy and you are not living as God would want you to live with this husband of yours.

If you would simply love your husband the right way and look at the situations/confrontations the right way, ALL will be at peace. Thankfully I chose option 1 and I am so blessed that I did. I'm not saying it was easy from that day forward, but it really was because I chose not to look back, I made a decision to live a certain way and without God, it would NOT have been possible. I looked at the Glass Half Full and it was way more than half full when I relied on God and now when I look back, that's what got me through without a doubt! Thank you Lord for saving me, what can I say, You are my Everything, I will sing Your praise! Great are You Lord, Your truth has set me FREE! Revelations 21:2-4

Good Viral Forwarding:) I PROMISE!

I received this in an Email today and couldn't help, but share it with you all!

Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God!

God closes doors no man can open.
God opens doors no man can close.

"God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever...." -Psalms 73:26

What a Way to Celebrate!

For the second year in a row, I participated in a "Cross-Walk" in Temecula, CA. I had never heard of such a thing prior to last year and now I can't seem to stop spreading the word, but my ultimate plan is to continue in this tradition no matter where I live...AND if there isn't one, start one! Think BIG because God is in control:) We walk about the distance Christ walked to His crucifixion. Several crosses of varying sizes are carried along the route and last year a woman was playing a violin as we walked (how precious the sound was)!

This year, I walked with my cousin and her three precious children, singing youth worship songs towards the end. What a sweet, sweet time to think about our Lord and how grueling that walk must have been (already having been beaten, then being forced to carry a huge log-like cross, for hours because he could barely walk). Thank you Lord for saving me, what can I say, you are my everything, I'll sing your praise! Great are you Lord! Happy Easter! Read Luke 23 and John 19 to see it for yourself, read slowly and take in deeply what our Lord did for us!

Submit a post to share on the blog about what you did for Easter, or what touched you during this holiday that maybe you've never thought about before and I'll send you the movie Fireproof or the book Love Dare, whichever you prefer!

Do the Love Dare...You'll Be Glad You Did!

In my previous post "Don't Wait to Fireproof Your Marriage," I wrote to you about the movie Fireproof (based on the book Love Dare). I hadn't started the book at that point and honestly, I was being pretty stubborn not to. Well, I finally started it early December and it's only supposed to take 40 days to do it, but I'm only on Day 16 over a month later! It's not that I haven't been loyal to it, it's that I promised myself I wouldn't go on unless I fully accomplished the daily dare and I'm so glad that I have stuck to my word. The Lord has been working on me really hard so be ready for Him to mold you and break you and don't put it off like I did...you're ready now whether you think your marriage needs it or not. So go buy the book or if funds are too tight right now...I was on the Family Life website today (the same website I recommended in "Treat Yourself to a Retreat") and they email a dare every day and you can do it with them leading up to Valentine's Day.

I find it works best for me to review my day in the evening so I will reread my dare and make notes about it if I completed the dare or put the book away and work on it the next day. If I completed it, I will read the next days dare after I make notes and begin preparing my plans for the following day (beginning with prayer). Well, I was blown away yesterday with God's perfect timing because I had a really hard day in marriage-ville, which thankfully doesn't happen very often, but when I reread the dare for me to report on I immediately began to weep. The Lord knew all along that this was the exact Day I needed to be on on January 12 or it never would have affected me like it did...thus once again I am very glad I have taken my time in this book. 1 Peter 3:3-4 is what I needed to remember yesterday.

Laugh...It'll make you feel better!

Don't forget to smile, laugh, kiss, hug or any of those other feel good actions you do when you love someone. I know, sometimes I don't feel like doing it either, but have found that in those times when you least feel like it is when you should do it the most. It makes me feel a lot better because I know that's what God wants most...JOY in my life (Psalms 30)!

So next time your husband leaves the house and you didn't have a warm departure, be sure that when he walks back through that door at the end of the day...he only feels warmth and sees a smile on your face. That's how you would greet the Lord wouldn't you? I pray for us to have renewed love for our husbands daily through the Lord and that He may have JOY watching us interact with our husband knowing that we are just practicing for the day we meet up with Him in the clouds! Woohoo!!! 1 Thessalonians 4:17