A nice relaxing day

 After church yesterday we stopped at Mr. Goodcents for a sandwich.  Didn't want to try a restaurant (way too crowded for me), nor the deli, nor burgers.... and one of these sandwiches sounded good - and it was! And hubby bought "since it was Mother's Day".  So that worked as well.  Coming home, he took a nap (I didn't mean to go to sleep! he says... and I just comment back "every time you get in that chair you fall asleep!)  Ok - maybe not EVERY time.  

My youngest son and his wife, her son, and our great-granddaughter stopped by for a little while late afternoon.  He brought me two plaques - one of my maiden name, and the coat of arms for it.  Interesting read, for sure. And yes, I did read it all.  I'm just not sure where I will put it.  But I will find a place.  And one night when hubby is gone, I will put them up.  I don't want his help. I want to do it by myself.

Pastor Lindsay spoke yesterday at church and she is amazing.  After service, they gave each of us mothers a small plastic bag for Mother's Day, and in each one was a pen, a 6" ruler with the books of the Bible on it, and a purple marker.  Nice of them to do that.  Last year they let us pick out a small  3-5" vase and they had flowers that we could pick one or two and cut it down to put in it.  I love how this church does the 'little things' to make one feel special.  I handed off my books to Pastor Josh and he said he and the other staff (for teaching) would meet and go through them. I don't care that I teach them or not - I just might take the class under someone else!

APS turned off our power last night from 10PM - 2AM in this entire area, in fact.  We had to go around last night and turn off power surge cords, unplug things and all that - so that when the power came back on nothing got 'burned up'. Whatever that word is.  Talk about the house being 'pitch black' last night!  Luckily I have a watch that lights up - that was the only way I could find my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night!  I woke up about 3-ish, I think - but stayed in bed and tried to sleep until 4AM and finally came in here and started plugging everything back in.  Interesting, I saw a light in the kitchen - had I turned on one of the under cabinet lights when I was unplugging?  I don't know - and I didn't go check. No biggie.  I still need to go around the house and plug in everything we unplugged.  Hubby was talking about having to plug in around his desk so that he could do his study this morning.  I'm sure he hasn't plugged in much else - other than the coffee pot.  I do need my coffee. LOL  Still have clocks to reset as well.  

If I focus on what needs to get done for work today, I will have a very busy day.  I'm expecting an order from our company store to be shipped here soon - and then I need to get envelopes and stuff them with the order, and address each one, take to the post office and mail.  About 220 items.  And that's ok.  The company will reimburse me for the postage and envelopes so no worries there.  It's something for the nurses as last week was Nurses Week, and the higher ups thought about it mid-week - just as they did last year - and had to scramble to get a small gift purchased and now to receive the order, stuff, and mail out.  One of the directors offered to help - but I'll do it myself.  

After my youngest son left, we started watching NCIS, but they were ones we had seen before and were telling each other the ending - decided to switch to a movie.  For some reason, War Room came to mind and I knew hubby liked it as well.  If you haven't watched it - I would highly recommend it.  There are some funny parts, and some parts that will cause your eyes to water.  I love when God's Grace is shown through.  That movie encourages me not to give up when I am struggling just to be me.  Some of you may understand that comment.  Others won't have a clue.  Anyway - I encourage you to watch it - it is a very good movie.

We are going to be eating out a lot this week.  Tonight we are meeting friends at Cheddars.  The husband sent me a coupon or something that if you go to Cheddars and say 'Kyle hit the top 8' - you get chips and homemade queso - with an adult entre order.  What is that about?  Kyle drives the Cheddar car in Nascar.  Guess he hit the top 8!  

Tomorrow night we will probably go to the rehab to see our friend as we didn't go yesterday and can't go tonight.  Saturday we have dinner with hubby's Thursday night guy and his wife, and then Sunday we will head to Texas Roadhouse with Pastor Josh and his wife.  Haven't met her yet  -  or if I have seen her, I didn't know it was her.  Have not been to a Texas Roadhouse in ages - so asked if we could go at 4PM as we like to eat early.  Give food time to settle down before heading to bed!

Psalm 73:26  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

When I've talked about my weight.... I know that it isn't all hereditary - although my mother and her siblings were heavy.  Well, I have said they had the 'big belly' curse that they passed on.  But think about it - don't we usually sugarcoat our eating and justify that (and I'm talking about me here), that I sit at a desk all day - which is why I just keep getting rounder and spreading.... when in reality - it is just my lack of self-control.  My laziness in exercise.  I love food.  I've mentioned that many times.  I love to cook, and I love to eat.  I sneak cookies!  I've mentioned how I hide them under my shirt to walk past hubby just so that I can eat a cookie in peace.  (Don't you dare tell on me!)  But the reality of 'my problem' isn't my weight, it is a spiritual problem.  I depend on food to bring comfort to my discomfort.  I look to food because there was a time every bite was watched (or so it seemed in my mind).  I use food for defiance (don't you tell me what to do!)  and sneak chips or cookies just because I 'think' I'm justified in eating them.  Yeah, way more confession than I need to share, right?

Even though I go to the gym twice a week and work out with Morgan, it doesn't help a whole lot when I come home and sit - after gorging myself with food - or perhaps not gorging, but eating things that I shouldn't.  That are not good for my body.  Too lazy to exercise on my own, although I have equipment here at home.  

But you know what I have discovered?  And I'm still working on this, so please don't call me out because I fail at times.... if I apply myself - by applying discipline - and in some cases, growth in my walk with Jesus - I should focus less on my weight.  Why?  Because when I'm walking on the treadmill, or jumping on the rebounder, I can pray.  I can learn scripture and practice saying them.  I can draw closer to God by keeping my focus on Him, and not on whether or not I am losing weight.  Novel thought, you think?  I can grow in my faith, I can exercise, I can discipline myself - when I lean into Him and let Him take over.  God is truly the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Is He yours?  Is He your strength?  Do you call out to Him just when you need Him to fix something?  Or do you stop and pause daily and ask God to help you through that day - regardless of what may come at you?  

Why not start discipling yourself to do just that?  Pause and just let God be God.  Let Him take your burdens for today.  Let Him take your fears, your worries - and even your joy - and bless you with His presence.  When you do, you will want Him near you always.

Blessings!

Saturday - for me, a day of rest....and busyness

 It felt good that I knew I could sleep in this morning, and it was after 5AM before I awoke and got up.  Hubby had gotten up a little bit before.  I could have stayed in bed and sleep more, but even getting up early and giving up additional sleep is a gift to God.  I still haven't caught up on my Bible reading of the New Testament to get back on schedule - and I may need to just keep plugging away and read several chapters a day.  But I will get caught up.  It's just a challenge, anyway, not a requirement. Not going to beat myself up about it.   I did sleep well last night, after a night of restless sleep.  

I told hubby last night I may go ahead and change my fasting from just vegetables and fruits to my BBCD.  It's still hard to do - no beef, no bread, no chocolate and no desserts.  But, I feel I need to eat more protein (rather than just drink my protein shakes).  With my work, I need to stay alert and attentive to things (found out yesterday I have forgotten to schedule a meeting before the board meetings so need to work on it first thing Monday) and lately I haven't given it all my undivided attention. May start that today - which means I am sure, hubby will want me to cook breakfast, and although I may fix sausage patties for him, I won't have any. Maybe I'll fry potatoes and onions and then pour eggs over it with jalapenos like I have done in the past.  So good. Eggs have protein.

I tried to get a case of green beans yesterday and am grateful they were out.  I didn't think about how much 30 pounds of green beans would be.  In my combo box of food I did receive 5 pound of fresh green beans and lots of other fruits and veggies - and took the green beans and a few other things up to my DIL.  At least I know my son likes the green beans.  I love sharing my boxes with different ones.  Especially since there are some that I don't like all that is in them - like the eggplant.  I did keep one this time and I will try to figure out how to fix it (for hubby) and may even try taking a bite to see if I can handle it.  Rotten mashed potatoes is how it tastes to me - and it's a real turn-off.

This may make you shake your head.... I had my meeting with Virta yesterday.  I did get online and canceled the one appointment.  Hubby was busy doing something, so I shut my door so that I could talk privately. I didn't know what they would be asking.  And it was a Zoom call on my personal computer.  So I shut the door quietly. I take my ten minute call.  As I turned off my computer to get back on the work computer, hubby opens my door.  He asks, "Are you in a private meeting or did you just shut your door?" I responded, "I was in a private meeting, but am off now."  He goes "Ok, I saw the door was shut and didn't know why you had shut it so wondered if you meant to."  Hello?  Does it matter?  I also have meetings for work of which I need to shut my door so that I can focus.  Sometimes, even when I'm on camera, he will have to come in and talk to me or kiss me goodbye if he is going someplace.  I think I have him 'trained' now to just wave to me from the door so that everyone does see him on camera.  

Reminds me of one friend who said she was on camera for a meeting and their printer was in the office at home.  She heard her husband come in and get something off the printer but didn't turn around nor pay any attention to him - until someone commented.... he had come in the room in his very skimpy swimming trunks!!  That resulted in a talk with him to NOT come in unless he was completely dressed! LOL  At last I don't have to worry about that - we have our own printers, only because my daughter had given me one after we had bought one - so I keep it in here. My company won't let me print from my work computer here, so I email to my personal email then print.  Not much work stuff to print anyway; it's usually stuff I want to keep.

It's January and tax time will be here before we know it.  I've already started sorting through some receipts that I have here on the desk.  I imagine if I moved all the receipts to the bed to sort through that my desk would be cleaned off.  Novel thought.  

I bought 16 boxes of girl scout cookies from a great granddaughter and they arrived yesterday. I didn't expect them for a few weeks.  Shipping just about killed me - nearly $28 to ship!  My sister bought 4 boxes and it was $12 for shipping! That is ridiculous.  Because of the fast, I put all but 4 of the boxes into the freezer.  I put 4 boxes in the pantry 'just because'.  Not any of my favorite (trefoils), but in case we have company, and I need a dessert to put out.  I don't even remember which ones I put in there.  Oh - when hubby saw me open the box and exclaim "Oh, my girl scout cookies!" he comes over to see what I bought.  "How many did you buy?"  "16", I respond.  He started to ask "why" - then he saw the two boxes of mint - and commented - "Oh, those are my favorite!"  Haha.  I bought four boxes of Trefoils cause they are MY favorite!  I thought it was funny.  Just a way this man's mind thinks.  If I decide to order more, I may ask my granddaughter to put in freezer until we do a trip down there in maybe late February or March.  We will have a new great-granddaughter by then and I want to hold her!

Today should be kind of quiet except I need to work on the message for next Sunday.  I need to have title and scripture by tomorrow as the RV church will be calling me to get that information for their bulletins. Yes, they still do bulletins.  Helps me stay on track too.  I'll work on it a few hours this afternoon and then revise it during the week and make my changes.  Only have 3 or 4 left this 'season'. 

Psalm 118:5-6 (NIV):  When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?

When you feel you are in a 'hard place' in life, do you reach out and cry out to God to help you?  I sure do!  And what I find is that He is willing to give me the peace (spacious place?) that I am seeking; the strength to endure whatever I need to get through (in my case, currently, thinking about working out and the weight is so heavy and I'm struggling to get through it - I frequently cry out "Lord, HELP!").  But seriously, there are other times I cry out to the Lord.  I cry out to Him for my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, and even future generations.  I cry out to Him for hubby, to help him think clearly and to give him the strength he needs.  I pray for friends who are struggling or ill.  I pray for myself as well.  Sometimes we are in that 'hard place' and we don't always realize it until we feel there is no place to turn.  I have found that when I first start feeling overwhelmed by what is around me (and anymore, that is getting more and more frequent) and I can cry out to the Lord to just PLEASE HELP ME to get through this.  And He always does.

Why does God help us?  Because He loves us so much and He wants nothing more than for us to worship Him and honor Him and give Him the glory in all things.  When we seek Him, we are acknowledging He is above all things and can do all things.  Don't let the devil tell you otherwise.  The devil is one who uses us and causes us such discomfort. But Jesus is our Peace, and He always will be.  Go to Him. Call out to Him. Wait on Him. Be still, and listen.  You just may hear His voice.

Blessings!