No TV???

This just might be more difficult than I thought. It's Jan. 3 and a Saturday. I was gone most of the morning and when I got home for lunch I was exhausted. I just wanted to eat my lunch and sit in my chair and relax. Problem! My daughter wanted to watch TV. Sure I could have said no, but her brother and sister were with their Mom, so she was alone, and I didn't have the heart to send her to the other room. Sure, I could have gone to the other room but I'd been working outside so I didn't want to lay in my bed and the floor is just too hard.

Anyway, this is going to be tough. When you cut out something that takes up so much of your time it can be difficult to find things to fill that time. Plus, if the kids are watching TV then I have to be elsewhere. I don't multi-task well, so I can't sit in front of the TV and do anything else but watch it.

This is definitely a work in progress. I'll get it figured out. I have some projects that need some attention.

I had a bad day with the weight loss thing, also. I exercised but didn't do so hot with my meals. Sausage kolaches for breakfast and a burger for lunch (homemade, so less greasy) and a grilled chicken salad for dinner.

Obviously, it's all a work in progress so I'll keep posting to let you know how things are going for me.

The "Doing life together" post is still in the works. The words weren't coming today. I'll post it when it all comes together.

Enjoy the ride.

New Year, new goals

First of all, I'm not a goal setter. Never have been. At least not in the sense of writing them down and checking them off as I accomplish them. I know, for some of you, this is a big stinking deal. Sorry, it's just not something that I was ever educated about. I was well into my 20s before I ever heard the concept of writing down goals and it has just not stuck with me.

So with that said, I'm going to be posting these few simple goals for all the world to see. Hopefully, this will provide me with some accountability. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Read through the Bible this year. (The director of the men's ministry at my church challenged me on this one so it's not my idea.)

2. No TV (with minor allowances for Extreme Home Makeover, family movie nights, and UFC fights - not the reality show; so I'll get 1 hour a week with occasional bursts to 4 hours.) This is a big deal for me - I've wasted a lot of time in front of the TV. This should free up plenty of time for #1.

3. Drop my weight to 200 - 210 and maintain it in that range. I remember how good I felt at that weight. And at 40, with cholesterol issues, I need to make some changes. (Any help with a diet plan would be appreciated, if it includes burgers that's a plus.)

4. Regular blog updates of day-to-day happenings in my life and on these goals. I should have plenty of time since I'm cutting out (mostly) TV.

God bless all of you. I hope that you had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.

Next post: Doing life together. I started it on 12/2 and I think that I should finish it.

Enjoy the ride...

Struggles in Faith

The Lord has me on a journey. I believe that I have a calling on my life and I'm not sure what that means or where I'm going, but I know He's leading the way. And since He's in charge, I'm going to follow.

The problem comes when I start trying to figure out what He's up to and where He has me going. And unfortunately, this happens all too often, so I struggle: Is this real? Is it from God? Why haven't I heard from Him in a while? It gets kind of ridiculous.

The really frustrating part is that I've given things up to the Lord in the past and He's always come through. Why not this time? Why do I seem to spend so much time thinking about where He's taking me? I feel called to the Ministry but I don't know what that looks like, so what's going on Lord?

Due to all of these questions, I struggle with my faith: Do I really have faith that God will provide, that He will reveal the calling to me, that I have the patience for His timing, am I worthy, etc...? It goes on and on.

Haven't we all been there before?? You want so badly to be moving in God's will for your life but you're just not sure what that is.

I know why these struggles come and I know how to alleviate them, and I even struggle in that. The answer is Him. It's always Him and yet I still avoid the answer. Not completely - never completely - just enough that I have trouble resting in His grace and peace. My problem is that I let busy-ness get in the way of spending time with Him - in His Word and in praying. I've got to get the kids to school, I have a meeting for work, I want another hour of sleep (that's my biggest problem), etc.... I let "stuff" get in the way of the most important thing that I can do each day, which is spending time with my God.

I read a scripture last week that really brought this into focus for me: "6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 6-7 NLT)

I highlite the word "then" for a reason. You have do what verse 6 says in order to receive the promise in verse 7. Who would have ever thought the word "then" would have such a profound affect on my thinking. That's the key word in those two verses: if I pray about anything and everything - give it to God, then I will receive the promise of His peace and that peace will guard my heart and my mind. And my mind can be my biggest problem because the heart is usually in the right place.

The next 2 verses really add to this and drive it home, but I'll let you read those yourself.

Enjoy the ride!!!