Today marks day 5 of fasting and it is going well. I'm just eating healthier and starting to not crave so many things. I was at a party over the weekend and the food smelled so good, but it wasn't that hard to not eat it. It was harder to not eat fast friendly food while we were out though. Eating on the run, however I was prepared and brought meals with us. So it worked out.
Of course with no spend month starting, our dishwasher went out. AGH...but we decided that we would still go ahead and buy a new dishwasher because it's something we would buy anyways so it's not just something we can do without like eating out or something like that.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Fasting
Today is the first full day of our fast since we actually started around 12 yesterday after deciding the Lemonade Diet wasn't for us. We are doing good so far, for breakfast I had a banana and some blueberry pomegranate applesauce. For lunch I had leftever skillet stuffed bell peppers from last night.
I am going to share 2 meals a week with a friend and she is going to split two meals with me that way we don't have to cook as many. So today I made up my two meals, spaghetti and chili. Both are things I have had before and we liked so it's not really anything new. Still healthy nontheless.
Since seeing a blog about No Spend Month over at Small Notebook a few months ago. My husband and I have talked about doing it several times. Now seems like the perfect time, so here we go No Spend Month and fasting. We are doing No spend month to get our spending back on track with our goals and to stop the frivolous spending. This is the perfect time, and on top of it we get to go see Dave Ramsey Live next weekend. I'm super excited about focus our time and energies on a better lifestyle.
I started reading Daniel this morning, as it just seemed fitting and it just confirmed why I am wanting to do this. I want to focus in on listening and trusting God wholeheartedly. Daniel was very courageous, wise, and faithful. I've been working on some of these traits for quite some time. Also, this fast is about not giving in to the flesh and simplifying. Thanks be to God for revealing this to me. He is so faithful to answer and give direction if I'm willing to stop and listen.
I am going to share 2 meals a week with a friend and she is going to split two meals with me that way we don't have to cook as many. So today I made up my two meals, spaghetti and chili. Both are things I have had before and we liked so it's not really anything new. Still healthy nontheless.
Since seeing a blog about No Spend Month over at Small Notebook a few months ago. My husband and I have talked about doing it several times. Now seems like the perfect time, so here we go No Spend Month and fasting. We are doing No spend month to get our spending back on track with our goals and to stop the frivolous spending. This is the perfect time, and on top of it we get to go see Dave Ramsey Live next weekend. I'm super excited about focus our time and energies on a better lifestyle.
I started reading Daniel this morning, as it just seemed fitting and it just confirmed why I am wanting to do this. I want to focus in on listening and trusting God wholeheartedly. Daniel was very courageous, wise, and faithful. I've been working on some of these traits for quite some time. Also, this fast is about not giving in to the flesh and simplifying. Thanks be to God for revealing this to me. He is so faithful to answer and give direction if I'm willing to stop and listen.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Spur of the moment
Yesterday a friend said she was going to start a diet and try to get a healtier lifestyle in motion. Now I've told her many times I'm not interested in dieting to be skinny. I just want to be healthy. However in the midst of excitment I agree to join her doing the Lemonade Diet for 4 days followed by the Daniel Fast. I wasn't too excited about the Lemonade Diet but thought the Daniel fast would be good and help to get me focused on creating healthier meals.
I have to world's best husband ever cause when I presented the idea to him he said "I'll eat whatever you make". I wasn't thinking he'd actually do it, but to top it off he agreed to doing both things. Now for him to be willing to try to not drink Dr. Pepper is a huge deal. So I am super excited to start this and truely appreciate his support and love. We went to dinner together and discussed why we wanted to do this and it's mostly to get into better eating habits and hopefully use this time to focus on a relationship with Christ.
So we started the Lemonade Diet this morning, but after I attempted the salt water flush and drinking 1 glass of the Lemonade mix, I was still starving and not feeling so well. After several text messages and agreeing that the Lemonade diet wasn't really what we were looking for we decided to go straight to the Daniel Fast.
So here we go, I hope we can stick this one out. Tonight for dinner we are going to have stuffed bell peppers. That is something we both enjoy, however I will be using beans instead of beef.
I'm ready to get started and get some new healthy recipes in my mind. I went through a cookbook today and came up with several recipes to try. I hope we can incorporate a lot of the new stuff into our regular diet.
I have to world's best husband ever cause when I presented the idea to him he said "I'll eat whatever you make". I wasn't thinking he'd actually do it, but to top it off he agreed to doing both things. Now for him to be willing to try to not drink Dr. Pepper is a huge deal. So I am super excited to start this and truely appreciate his support and love. We went to dinner together and discussed why we wanted to do this and it's mostly to get into better eating habits and hopefully use this time to focus on a relationship with Christ.
So we started the Lemonade Diet this morning, but after I attempted the salt water flush and drinking 1 glass of the Lemonade mix, I was still starving and not feeling so well. After several text messages and agreeing that the Lemonade diet wasn't really what we were looking for we decided to go straight to the Daniel Fast.
So here we go, I hope we can stick this one out. Tonight for dinner we are going to have stuffed bell peppers. That is something we both enjoy, however I will be using beans instead of beef.
I'm ready to get started and get some new healthy recipes in my mind. I went through a cookbook today and came up with several recipes to try. I hope we can incorporate a lot of the new stuff into our regular diet.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
TV
Ok so before kids, the TV was never on. Now, I hate to say it but it's on a lot. We're not always watching it, but it's on. During the day I can be found watching The Price is Right, Don't forget the Lyrics, and the news. Then the evening shows come on first with Wheel of Fortune, then the various evening ones. Well on Mondays The Bachelor is on...why oh why do I watch these shows? My husband doesn't understand and frankly I don't either, except that it's fun remember all the gushy feelings I had when I started dating my hubby. It helps me to remember all the fun we had and how to keep the fun alive. Then bringing up conversations of what it was like the first time he met my parents, and the trips that we took and just the free and spontaneous times we had together.
Now just to keep the romance and the spontenaity going. I want to fall in love with my hubby every day and more than that I want to fall in love daily with my Savior. It's so hard to not get in a rut and just go through the motions of a relationship. I want it to be alive and strong. Anyways, sometimes watching TV does help to keep me focused on how lucky I am that God has choosen this life for me.
Now just to keep the romance and the spontenaity going. I want to fall in love with my hubby every day and more than that I want to fall in love daily with my Savior. It's so hard to not get in a rut and just go through the motions of a relationship. I want it to be alive and strong. Anyways, sometimes watching TV does help to keep me focused on how lucky I am that God has choosen this life for me.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
We are Created to Create
What things to you want to create? A beautful living space, a happy family, the perfect chocolate chip cookies, a garden? Oh the possibilities are endless, I think I desire to create something everyday, after all it's what I was made to do.
At times I find myself comparing myself to others around me and think I can't do what they are doing or if only I had that talent. Well in truth I was made perfect and unique and there is no one else like me nor can I be anyone else. I am a daughter and masterpiece of the Creator of the universe, the magnificent one, the almighty, the most creative of all. Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." If I am a branch of Him who called me to be, then I must have a little smidgen of creativity. It might not be what I think it should be or want it to be, but that is OK. We all have tapes and lies that run through our head of not being good enough or worth enough or not important enough, don't let that paralyze you into what you are capable of. God has given us all talents and gifts to use.
Creation means the act of creating or something that is created such as an orginal work of art. Although some projects may end up messy, too time consuming, a little more difficult than I had imagined, or didn't turn out the way I had visioned they all serve a purpose. Start out small and just keep on keeping on. If one thing doesn't work out it doesn't mean I'm a failure at everything I just need to try something else. I can't let the fear of failure discourage me. So whether it's trying to finally make homemade pizza turn out good, or figuring out how to decorate the house, or making my husband and son smile today I can create something. The things I can do or don't do well don't define who God has made me to be. But by Grace I am able to take the things that don't turn out so well and move on. Besides things here on this earth are only temporary and most of the time you can change them. So why not have fun in the process and start creating.
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
At times I find myself comparing myself to others around me and think I can't do what they are doing or if only I had that talent. Well in truth I was made perfect and unique and there is no one else like me nor can I be anyone else. I am a daughter and masterpiece of the Creator of the universe, the magnificent one, the almighty, the most creative of all. Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." If I am a branch of Him who called me to be, then I must have a little smidgen of creativity. It might not be what I think it should be or want it to be, but that is OK. We all have tapes and lies that run through our head of not being good enough or worth enough or not important enough, don't let that paralyze you into what you are capable of. God has given us all talents and gifts to use.
Creation means the act of creating or something that is created such as an orginal work of art. Although some projects may end up messy, too time consuming, a little more difficult than I had imagined, or didn't turn out the way I had visioned they all serve a purpose. Start out small and just keep on keeping on. If one thing doesn't work out it doesn't mean I'm a failure at everything I just need to try something else. I can't let the fear of failure discourage me. So whether it's trying to finally make homemade pizza turn out good, or figuring out how to decorate the house, or making my husband and son smile today I can create something. The things I can do or don't do well don't define who God has made me to be. But by Grace I am able to take the things that don't turn out so well and move on. Besides things here on this earth are only temporary and most of the time you can change them. So why not have fun in the process and start creating.
Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heartand know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Creative Romance for husbands
What have you planned for Valentines day? Do you have a traditional celebration every year? I'm one of those guys that likes to surprise my wife with something she doesn't expect, just to make it a little more special, and preserve that feeling we get as kids at Christmas time. You know? That feeling of magic, that someone has gone out of their way to do something special for you. So, now that my surprise has been given, I'll share with you an idea I had this year to try something new.
I certainly don't claim to be that guy who thinks he "know's women," but I do try very hard to understand my wife. It turns out that it is not really very hard to figure out what she wants for special occasions. She wants me! That doesn't mean that I'm totally awesome, and she just has to be with me because I'm so great...She wants quality time with me.
So, this year for valentine's day, I decided to take the day off, and plan some time to focus on making the day special for her. I started by posting on facebook last night that I was going into work late, so that we could have breakfast together, and that it was a secret. Then, I *let* her find the post. This morning, I put on my clothes as if I were getting ready for work and I went to IHOP and got breakfast to go for both of us. After eating it at home, I left home to go pick out a couple of gifts I had been thinking about. This allowed me to go shopping without her knowing, and to take my time picking something out. So, some jewelry and a rose that matches sounded like a good idea. I normally try to steer clear of the standard gifts, but that was all the more reason to do so this year. Besides that, she had expressed some interest in similar jewelry a couple times recently.
I certainly don't claim to be that guy who thinks he "know's women," but I do try very hard to understand my wife. It turns out that it is not really very hard to figure out what she wants for special occasions. She wants me! That doesn't mean that I'm totally awesome, and she just has to be with me because I'm so great...She wants quality time with me.
So, this year for valentine's day, I decided to take the day off, and plan some time to focus on making the day special for her. I started by posting on facebook last night that I was going into work late, so that we could have breakfast together, and that it was a secret. Then, I *let* her find the post. This morning, I put on my clothes as if I were getting ready for work and I went to IHOP and got breakfast to go for both of us. After eating it at home, I left home to go pick out a couple of gifts I had been thinking about. This allowed me to go shopping without her knowing, and to take my time picking something out. So, some jewelry and a rose that matches sounded like a good idea. I normally try to steer clear of the standard gifts, but that was all the more reason to do so this year. Besides that, she had expressed some interest in similar jewelry a couple times recently.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Ready, Set, Go!!
I'm ready to start a new venture and collaborate all my ideas and projects. This will be a learning experience with the help of my loving husband. So I've thought about creating a blog for a while but wasn't sure what my focus would be. Then I thought about it and just like my life wanted my blog to have a little bit of this and that...hence the name was born TidBits so read on and enjoy. Hoping it'll be fun and interesting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)