Counting My Blessings...

"I was lost but now am found!"
Okay, this post is not so deep as a lost soul that has now discovered and embraced the grace of Jesus..... I'm talking about losing and finding my church KEYS! I was seriously going crazy on Saturday as I looked everywhere imaginable for those keys! I was praying like mad and asked the kids to join in praying too.... And then last night as I was praying I thought of another place they may have been tucked away and then checked this morning. Yeah! Praise God for answered prayer! I seriously started shouting "thank you Jesus" all over the house as I danced with glee:-) The kids thought mommy was a little "strange" but were clearly pleased that Jesus answered mommy's prayer:-) So, thanks, Lord!

Not Walking the Talk

I've struggled with 0-5 eating a few times over the past few days. Just when I feel like 0-5 eating is like breathing in and out...I fall flat! Gotta keep relying on God.

I can't...but God, You can!

Wednesday night was the beginning of the slipping and sliding. I did okay with 0-5 eating until supper/evening. I wasn't hungry at supper time so I skipped supper and figured I'd just eat at the ladies' event at church that evening, expecting I'd be at #0 by that time. I ended up not being empty at that point either (unless I just had missed it in the busyness of the day...not sure). I had a little too much sweets that evening... Then I got sick in the night.

Thursday went okay despite (and probably due) to feeling a little sick. I ate LOTS of yogurt! haha! That was the bulk of what I ate:-)

Last night went okay except that I went slightly past #5 at supper. I could feel that greed rearing its head once again.

And that brings me to today. I was a little off this afternoon and evening. I definitely don't feel I was eating like a "naturally thin eater." I went to our church potluck this evening and certainly did NOT pre-plan for trials. I didn't practice conscious present time eating very effectively. And when I got home I had some more sweets...which is classic for me, after a social occasion when I'm feeling tired and wanting to kick back and relax. On the positive note, I did hold off on taking some more pie despite wanting it very much! I prayed and asked God for help...and started folding laundry (shock of all shocks!) and have made it thus far without digging in further and slipping and sliding further down that slippery slope!

Well, it's time for another serious three day challenge. No excuses or rationalizing! I must see each and every temptation as the opportunity that God is providing me to rely on Him for strength and to find satisfaction in Him alone. Time to walk the talk!

Counting My Blessings...

God's hand of protection
I keep forgetting to mention this episode where I can see God's hand of protection evident in my life. Last weekend I was painting my daughter's room and was moving her metal bed frame out of her room. I thought it was bolted together...but it was actually just connected by a sliding lock system and when I was carrying it, it came apart and one of the sharp jagged pieces of metal came straight toward me and hit me right in the center of my neck. I right aways checked to see if I was bleeding and was relieved to see I wasn't. I still have a mark there one week later. I am realizing more and more how God was protecting me in that moment. Thank you, Lord.

Counting My Blessings...

SOLD!

Well, God works in interesting ways! About 10 years ago we bought a very "strange" (or maybe a better term would be unique!) piano (as pictured above). It is a unique electric piano. It has no sound board but has all the hammers and strings like a regular piano. So you just have to hook up an amp or speakers to the piano to control the volume.

The reason I bring this up, is that it was SUCH a strange piano but also the absolute perfect piano for us as we were fairly transient during those first years of our married life. Also, the piano played like a "real" acoustic piano so it was reasonable to prepare for a higher level piano exam on it. Plus it folded down nicely and compactly allowing it to be moved about easily and also be in a spare bedroom, folded down when company came. Plus it was fairly maintenance free, saving us tons of money over the years! Plus it was of course quiet, which made it much less annoying for my husband and our neighbours (who we shared a side-by-side house with).

Now, I say all this to just show how God's hand was in the purchase of that "strange" piano:-)

Well, we now have got a nice brand new acoustic piano (in June) and were needing to resell this "strange" piano. We were not sure how on earth we were going to sell this "beast":-) It really is not all that lovely to look at, just so you know:-)

The first few weeks there were no bites. Well over the past week we have received lots of phone calls from all over the States (and we're here in Canada!). And then today we actually had a guy say he was heading up this way, a 20 hour drive each way, to pick up our "strange" piano:-) Plus he's giving us $75 more then our asking price and he has already transferred the money into our account via paypal a week ahead of his arrival!

All I can say is PRAISE GOD! I really can see how God took care of us through the years in even these "small" things with this lovely "strange" piano:-) I just have to chuckle at this whole situation... Who knew we had such a unique collector's item on our hands all along!

Thank you, Lord, for your care and meeting our needs in even these "small things"!

Counting My Blessings...

My kids' soft tender hearts.
I'm very thankful that my children have soft hearts towards God and towards us as parents. My youngest has been a handful lately and lately has also been going to God more in confession. Thanks, Lord!

Lunch hour indoor recess went fine.
It was my first time being on duty indoors, in charge of about 40 grade one kids in two different classrooms... And I survived...and even had some fun:-) How crazy and great is that;-) I'm very thankful for the strength God provided me with as I was quite tired out today (due to being kept up at night with a powerful thunderstorm and my daughter who was scared of the storm). Anyways, the lunch hour went smoothly praise God!

#5 Wake-Up Call

Today I was more aware of stopping at or before #5 at supper. To feel essentially "nothing" after a satisfying supper meal is not what I've been doing lately! I'll take that as my wake-up call to re-examine what my #5 is! Thanks, Lord, for the wake-up call:-) Amen.

Another Three Days (and a weigh-in)

Well, another three day time period has come and gone. I have felt so thankful for this challenge to push myself to focus on a three day stretch at a time. It really helps me to not see temptations as "just this one time" because it is part of a three day chunk of time.

I felt like eating 0-5 was almost like breathing the past three days. It felt like it just fell into place wonderfully and came naturally. I hope and pray this continues. I know God helped me through a few tempting spots as well...one of them being when my husband was eating ice cream late at night and I didn't join him as I wasn't hungry. Praise God.

I stepped on the scale as I'd felt prompted to do on this day. I'm a little discouraged because the scale reads 151 lbs. However, at the same time I'm not letting it pull me down or derail my progress. I think the #'s may reflect a bit too much dessert at night. I think I've been a little greedy in that regard.
And then I also haven't been hungry as early in the morning as I used to (used to be hungry by 7:30am...but lately it's been closer to 9am). My observation from this is that I'm probably eating a bit too much at suppertime (particularily in the sweet department). I need to re-examine my #5 for suppertimes.

For some strange reason I just feel at peace right now despite not seeing progress (even a couple pounds up) reflected on the scale. I know that I'm in the place I want to be in regards to eating, exercise and most importantly in my relationship with God. I also know that I don't want the scale to be a central part of my journey. I'm not really sure when I next want to step on the scale, but I'm leaning towards the end of next month. (in some ways I want to discard it until xmas! but that seems a bit too bold at this time! i'll see if I continue to feel led to that!)

So I continue pressing on. I want to continue with these three day challenges and focus on dealing with temptation head on. I also can see that I need to focus on not being mastered by sweets. (I've had a lot of ice cream and mini coffee crisp bars this past week) Praise God for helping me through each moment though! I'm really thankful for His presence, provision, pardon and power! So I continue on....onto another three days:-)

Counting My Blessings...

Here's a "BIG" thing!

Last post was about being thankful for "small" things... Well, this time I have to praise God for something that is actually very BIG! I can't believe I forgot to list it last week! My mom went for some cancer tests about a month ago. There was a bit of anxiety to say the least! She was annoited and prayed over by some pastors back in early summer, prior to her surgery on August 20th, and began to then feel God's peace flood her. Anyways, she went to the specialist for the follow-up appointment just last week....and was told she was fine. The pathology tests didn't come in yet, but the specialist was not at all concerned about the cancer risk... So is that a PRAISE GOD or what?!!!!:-)

Counting My Blessings...

"Small" things
This evening I just kept feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for the "small" things... Our supper of delicious storebought buns & cheese and some soup out of a can (!) is certainly a huge blessing. As my daughter reminded us all, it sure beats the uncooked corn flour paste that the orphans regularily ate prior to being rescued by the Fletchers (the family run orphanage we visitted this summer). Then as I washed the dishes it hit me how thankful I am for pots and pans! I know we take so many of these little things for granted and yet they are such a blessing. So, a big THANK YOU LORD, for all these "small" things!

Counting My Blessings...

Paint project is done.
I'm thankful for the energy and the resources to paint my daughter's room. It took lots of work, but it's done, and she's happy. She's waited a year for me to get to this project.

Good night's rest.
Wow, last night's rest felt good for the body! I was exhausted and am so thankful I slept a solid 7 hrs:-) Praise God!

Three Days

I felt like I needed to give myself a time frame with no excuses or rationalizing for eating outside 0-5 allowed! I decided three days was a reasonable start. My first three day time frame was Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. It went great! PRAISE GOD! I ate at #0 each and every time and only one time ate to a #6, otherwise I was within 0-5. That feels like a huge step for me right now. I'm very thankful for God's presence, power and provisions that helped me through each and every step of the way.

I was busy painting my daughter's room on Friday... Oh, the exhaustion!!!!! I hardly sat down between Thursday at 1pm until Friday at 5pm! It was a BIG job but is all done now:-) I DID manage to find time to eat...but it was definitely delayed quite often past #0 due to being in the middle of a project. So I did great with 0-5 eating....except that I rationalized a bowl of ice cream in the evening after the kids were in bed....despite having a satisfying supper and dessert at my parent's place that evening. I was tired out (that's an understatement) and pre-planned that bowl of ice-cream earlier in the day. I still don't feel "guilty" about that bowl of ice cream. I've prayed about it and asked the Lord to convict me if it was displeasing to Him. Not sure what to make of my emotions in that regard as I know I was outside 0-5 and was being a little bit greedy. I'll keep seeking God on this one.

Okay, moving on, today I'm going to start another three day one-step-at-a-time challenge. I find it easier to consider dealing with temptation head on when it is within a specific time frame. It doesn't seem like "just this one time" when I look at it that way! I'm not sure if that makes sense! I want to lean on God throughout temptations.....right now I tend to just give in. I'm hoping this pushes me to find God's way out in the midst of temptation.

Well, enough from me for today. I'm off to deal with the crazy messes around the rest of the house due to the painting project! Praising God for a new day! My prayer this morning was "You alone are God. I surrender."

New Creation

Well, the last few days have been going well. I am feeling amazingly free with the goal of staying away from the scale. I think I just *may* be ready this time! I think I feel ready to be weaned and focussing on the 0-5 scale instead. Praise God!

The last few days I have been thinking that I need to take each moment at a time and focus on victory in the PRESENT moment. I wanted to take three days with no excuses, no rationalizing when wanting to eat outside 0-5. I was going to say I did two days 0-5 eating already....but actually looking at my private food log I see that it actually was only Tuesday that was 100% and today has been good....each moment I choose to be obedient to God certainly DOES feel like a big deal!! So, I will continue with the three days plan for today and tomorrow. I want to take these tempting moments as opportunities that I *really* do go before the Lord...as far too often I bypass fighting the temptation and I do things in my own flesh.

These verses really spoke to me on Sunday in my devotions...

"Lord God, in my inner being I delight in Your law, but I see another
law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. How wretched am I?! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 7:22-25

I can totally relate to these verses! I often feel like a prisoner to my fleshly desires--greed and gluttony, lack of self control, strong emotions, a loose tongue and more... Oh Lord, how wretched am I!!!! Thank you for providing a way out of this mess through Jesus Christ!

Then Monday morning as I was jogging (boy do I ever have some good times with God in those moments:-)...the following verses began to hit me...

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me." Galations 2:20

Wow, I really AM a new creation! Why do I doubt this and live like I'm the "old" creation?! Satan keeps on dragging me down with temptation and with discouragement... But I'm not that "old" person anymore...the "old" has been crucified and Christ lives in ME and I've been made NEW! Praise God for these miracles!

Then I read this thread on the thinwithin forums and was greatly encouraged and challenged... I found it encouraging reading how others deal with temptation head on. It's time for me to really and truly do the same as I am a NEW creation! I desire to glorify God in all I eat, drink, think, say and do. I'll end with some these inspiring words...

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Turning over a new leaf

Okay, that title just seemed fitting as we enter the fall months, so I had to use it!
It's been an interesting past month, after our return from our trip to Mexico. I can say that one thing I'm thankful for is that I haven't completely slipped up and fallen back into pre-TW type days, as I have after most vacations. The last two years I have managed to lose a few pounds prior to vacation and maintain over vacation...but upon returning I would continue eating in vacation-style mode and end up gaining it all back plus some. I feel there have been some real changes that have taken place within because of the Lord, and I also feel better equipped for this journey then in past years, also because of the Lord.

I think I'm going to take a bit of a change in direction and focus over the next while...so here go my ramblings of my thoughts in this regard.

1.) As I said just a couple days ago...I'll stay away from the scale until the end of the month or so. I *think* I want to wean myself of needing to use a scale to stay on top of my weight...

2.) I'm going to keep a private food log at this time. I just feel the need to step away from the public eye at this time with this area, keeping it between me and the Lord.

3.) I also mentioned that I want to sacrifice the last bites of each meal to the Lord once again. I think that needs to become a focus as I notice how difficult that is to do.

4.) I need to be on "watch". How do I watch? I think I need to prepare and plan for trials. I need to take each temptation as an opportunity to experience victory and success with the Lord's power and strength. I too often look at each temptation as "just this one time." I need to remember that God has began a great project and I don't want to stop this great project from being completed!

5.) Most importantly, I want to spend quality time with the Lord, in quietness, prayer, in His word and just moment by moment with Him. I want to fill up on Him and be satisfied by Him alone.

I think, now that my jobs (lunch monitor and piano teaching) have gotten into full swing, that I can take a breath and hopefully find a good rhythm for each day. I'm optimistic that this should be possible!

So, I press on. I watch and pray. I hold on to the truth of God's word, knowing that He has began a good work in me and will bring it to completion. I move forward fixing my eyes on Jesus.

Counting My Blessings...

My 6-year-old daughter asked Jesus to come into her heart and life tonight!

Her first spiritual milestone was at age 3 when she asked Jesus to forgive her sins. She was very young yet also had that childlike simple faith and truly believed.

Now, three years later, she is more grown up and capable of making much more conscious personal decisions. Tonight God's spirit was definitely moving in her little heart. She said she really felt separated from God. She was remembering sins from long ago that still hung over her head. (Apparently, when she was 5 years old, she had disobeyed me in regards to taking another cookie and she still remembered the conversation she had with Jon as he found out... I can't remember this episode...but her tender heart certainly did!)

Anyways, she was begging me to read through this little tract from VBS so we read through it and she really connected with it and I could tell that God was at work. She definitely wanted to pray. She didn't want sin to separate her from God. She wanted to ask God to forgive all her sins. She very definitely wanted to follow Jesus and wanted Him to come into her heart and life. It was so beautiful to pray with her. She said with such enthusiasm, "I just want to HUG God right now! How can I do that mom?" How very special! (so we blew some kisses to God and gave some hugs and told Him we loved Him!) She was just glowing and clearly felt different, and actually said she felt different:-) Praise God! My heart is rejoicing...and I know there is a party up in Heaven tonight:-)

Scale Challenge

Okay, I think it's time to take on the scale challenge once again...or more correctly the "no scale" challenge! So I'm going to take on a manageable goal first. I will aim to not step on the scale until September 21st, nine days from now, also marking the end of my 30 day food log challenge and completion of the TW book once again. Then after that I will hope to lengthen the time scale-free to a month...

I'm so curious what my natural God-given body weight will end up at. I wonder if I will need to accept my body being around this 150lbs mark... Maybe this is the way I'm just meant to be. I pray that whatever size I end up stopping at, as I obediently follow my God-given hunger/satisfaction cues, that I will accept and embrace and love the way God created me to be ME:-)

Last night I ate supper when I wasn't hungry. I felt that I "needed" to eat at that time as we had a busy evening ahead (although deep down I think I knew there was a bit of rationalizing going on). However, what I found so interesting about last night was that I actually found the idea of eating unappealing (yet sadly, not unappealing enough to not eat at that time *sigh*). I felt like it was a sign of going in the right direction though...more so if I'd followed through!

I pray for more of those kind of moments when to eat at anything but #0 is actually undesirable! If that happened regularily and I actually followed through and did what I know deep down is right and pleasing to God, that would actually be a miracle I tell you!!!

Five for Fifty challenge

One of my friends popped in for coffee today and we had such a good chat. What an inspiration she was as words just kept tumbling out of her mouth reflecting her true heart for the poor, the orphanned, the widows, the hungry, the needy. She started talking about the five for fifty challenge , which I think allows us, as Christ followers, to break down a giant problem into bite sized ways God wants us to help. I need to seek God's will and direction in my life in this regard. What does He want me to do? Where does He want me to go? What does He want me to give or sacrifice? I know that God is drawing me along on a journey...and I really have no idea what the destination is...or even what kinds of stops will be along the way!!! Now THAT is exciting and scary all in a nutshell!

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink… whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:35,40

Taking one step at a time...

I can't believe how busy life is right now! I'm adjusting to my two jobs: lunch monitor at school and teaching piano two evenings a week....plus trying to keep up with all the other tasks around the house, husband, the kids, friends, church, exercise, cooking, my blog, emails etc...!

I trust that things will settle down in the next week or so and that I'll be able to take a breath and find a good rhythm for each day! :-) I have many dreams and plans but am ever mindful that I need God's direction and guidance each step of the way. I've been on the treadmill of life so frequently (even when I was a stay-at-home mom!!). I don't want to feel like I'm on that treadmill again! I want to move forward with God's purpose and direction EACH and every step of the way! So I am moving forward cautiously mindful that...

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

In regards to eating... I've had my ups and downs. Since my last post I've really been zoning in on doing more observing and correcting. I think this has been a step in the right direction. I am feeling a little convicted about my food choices. I feel that I may need to be more discerning in what I eat...though I'm not entirely convinced enough to overhaul my food choices... One step at a time in that regards. Also, I'm feeling a slight nagging conviction to start leaving that last bite as a sacrifice to the Lord once again. I'm not looking forward to that...which tells me that it really does need to be done!!! God is prompting and working to cut out that root of greed obviously! Also, I feel convicted to really pray each and every time I eat that God would tell me when to stop... I haven't been doing that lately either. One more step in surrender.

Another thing I have been feeling convicted of lately is to put the scale away for a time. I am not sure when and for how long...but I am feeling led to do this. It would be absolutely amazing to live without the need of the man-made scale to maintain my weight! That would be really awesome! I think this is the direction I want to go.

I'm trying to stay active and fit some cardio exercise in every other day or so. I've really been enjoying it so far. I don't set high expectations! I just want to do something that gets my heart pumping a bit extra a few days a week:-) This morning I was thinking that I want a "healthy heart" and "marvelous muscles":-) That's my goal:-)

In regards to time with the Lord... I am trying to carve out time with Him. I still want to develop my time in prayer with Him more. This is one of my big goals this year. I can relate to Heidi's post today about being still before the Lord. I want to just bask in His presence. As I get used to the routines in my life I hope to carve out time to spend in concentrated time with Him...and of course continue seeking to practice His presence each moment of the day. I have been doing the "Breaking Free" study by Beth Moore and getting a little bogged down as I can't relate to much of the material (though it is an INCREDIBLE study!). I'll keep on doing the study as often as I get a chance as I'm sure there will be things God will teach me through it... I went back to the daily study of David (another Beth Moore study that I was working through) and once again the Lord spoke to me through my reading today... This was encouraging for me! I am so thankful for God speaking into my life and uncovering areas that need to be further surrendered or focussed on. The thing that stuck out for me today was not allowing bitter roots to grow.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:15

I right aways knew where God was directing my attention!

So, I think that is my life in a nutshell! I have ups and downs and everything in between! I am so thankful that God is God!

Belief, Action, Results

Lately, I have noticed that I have often been avoiding applying observation and correction to my eating outside 0-5. Maybe I'm a bit ashamed to really deal with the roots of greed. Maybe I'm just feeling rebellious and don't feel repentant. Maybe I'm getting lazy. Maybe I'm getting into the "greasy grace" trap. Probably each and every one of those reasons has been true at certain times.

As I was reading TW ch. 14 today I applied the exercises listed on p. 146 & 149 that delve into beliefs, actions & results. Here's what I noted:

False belief: Making exceptions to 0-5 eating is okay I rationalize. I want what I want when I want it!
Actions that follow: I eat outside 0-5.
Results: I feel guilty. I feel off-track and out of tune with my body. I will not reach my God-given natural size.


True belief: God satisfies my deepest needs. He will provide me with the power I need to get through these moments of temptation. As I WATCH (which I think is all about observing & correcting) and PRAY (approaching His throne of grace with confidence) I will not fall into temptation.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. Matthew 26:41

Actions that follow: I will stop, observe (confess), call out to God in prayer and correct (repent).
Results: I will experience God's grace & victory. I will eat within 0-5. I will feel healthy. I will feel FREE from the captivity of greed & gluttony! I will be encouraged by God's power and answer to my call. I will experience increased intimacy with God. My confidence and trust in God will increase which will help with future temptations.

A few verses were highlighted today in my devotions. I felt they were very applicable to this TW journey I'm on.

Therefore since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach th throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus understands what I'm going through as I struggle with sin. He can sympathize. He has gone down the same path....yet He was able to remain sinless! I find this very encouraging. And that last sentence is just awesome! I can approach God with CONFIDENCE! He will shower me with MERCY and GRACE right now, as I struggle with greed & gluttony & rebellion....and He will HELP me! Thank you Jesus!

Counting My Blessings...

I made it through my first day of work (as a lunch monitor at my kids' school)!
My heart felt prayer was really and truly, "Lord, help me!". I did not feel prepared for the day... But the Lord helped me through each moment. I can see areas that I will need to work on and change, but I made it:-) And I'm looking forward to the year ahead!

I can't...But God, You can

I just wanted to highlight a few quotes from TW chapter 11 that stood out to me in my reading this morning...

As we begin to take captive all of our thoughts that are contrary to
Christ's and replace them with the truth of God's Word, we will want to give Him our bodies and our lives... Not only are you a temple, a sanctuary in which God has chosen to dwell, but you are set apart by Him and for Him. TW p. 111

True Freedom:

As we surrender ourselves to Him we experience the joy and abundance of a life lived on the edge of adventure. We won't know what comes next, but His provision supplies and equips us for everything to which He calls us. He empowers us to run the race with endurance. We can live in peace, knowing that our lives belong to God, that we are His responsibility. This is true freedom. TW p. 112

This was a great reminder!

Our Lord has purchased your PARDON.
Our Lord has purchased your PROVISION.
Our Lord's PRESENCE is always at your side.
Our Lord's POWER is available to you in any moment. TW p. 114

And this quote really struck me as worth pondering... I love the last sentence.

Bible teacher and author, Kay Arthur, says "Don't struggle in self-effort to be better. Don't determine that you are going to 'try harder.'
Acknowledge your need of His all-sufficient grace and go forward, surrendering and trusting in the power of God's transforming grace. 'As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him' (Col. 2:6). You were saved by faith; therefore, you are to walk in faith. It may be one step at a time, but walk. You can say, 'I can't,' as long as in the next breath you say, 'But God, You can.'" TW p. 114

God's Work in Progress

Lil said it was time for a before and after picture... So, here's the best I can do for now (thanks to my husband's handy computer talents)! It's hard to really capture the physical difference that releasing 24 pounds makes...let alone the spiritual and internal difference it makes :-) I'm really blown away by all that God has done thus far. I'm looking forward to continued spiritual growth...and the release of more weight! I am certainly God's work in progress! I want all glory to go straight to God for all that He has done (and continues to do) in my life! What grace, mercy, love, tenderness, patience, power and faithfulness I have experienced! My heart is praising God.

“…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6