Give thanks to the LORD for He is good. His love endures forever. I am in a little bit of a funk today. I am feeling sad, so I am going to do one of my favorite things to do when I am feeling down...
I am going to count my blessings. I am healthy. I have a beautiful home. We have food to eat. We have clothes to wear. We have two nice cars. We have friends, and family who love us unconditionally. I have a absolutely gorgeous husband who loves me, cherishes me, and tells me every day that he loves me, that I am beautiful, and how proud he is that I am his wife.
I have a heart that is filled with hope for the future, that God has good plans in store for me. I have friends who make me laugh so hard my sides hurt. I live in the greatest country in the world, the United States of America. I have a job that I love. I work with people who are creative, intelligent, and challenge me to find practical solutions to everyday life problems.
Both of my parents are still alive, and we have a great relationship. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, niece, wife, and friend. I enjoy most of the people who are in my life, and those few people who are difficult to get along with give me the opportunity to exercise patience, and grace. I am blessed to know so many people who love me just as I am.
I could continue to list all the reasons I am thankful, but instead, could you do me a favor? Would you take a few minutes to reflect of how you have been blessed, and write down those blessings, one by one. When you are finished writing down your blessings, count them. I did.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
2008 Year End Review Thanksgiving Reflections
In a previous blog, I explained about how I no longer create New Years Resolutions. Instead, I pick one bible verse to meditate upon, memorize, and practically apply to my daily life. I have been doing this since October 2002, and this one activity has radically changed my life.
I will be reflecting on some of the specific changes, and results that I have experienced over the past seven years. First of all, I am a much more "mellow christian" as a result of this habit. I used to feel this compulsion to study and read my bible for hours every day, at the neglect of building relationships, and even doing the basic daily lifestyle habits that create order, and beauty in every day living. Such as, meeting friends for lunch, going for walks, doing laundry, or straightening up around the house.
The truth is, we all have 24 hrs available to us every day. We all choose how we will spend those hours. I have found that there is a holiness in the mundane every day life activities. Simply meeting a friend for coffee, or preparing dinner for your family, or even going grocery shopping, these activities can bring honor to God. I have learned that these activities can be deeply and profoundly moving us to a more intimate communion with God. We were created to worship, and worship is a lifestyle of bringing your everyday, normal lifestyle activities into alignment with a Extraordinarily Gracious God.
Think about what your life would look like if you acknowledged your daily choices as an opportunity to worship the Almighty God. How would that change your attitude to sweeping the front porch? Imagine viewing everything that you own as God's property, and you as the manager of his property. How would that change the way you view your job? your boss? housework? errands? yard work? budgeting and bill paying? your playtime, recreation, and entertainment choices? Everything that you have belongs to God. You are the manager of all that he has entrusted to you: home, cars, personal property, children, spouse, career, business, it all belongs to God. He is the CEO, the boss. You are the manager.
I have been living my life this way for several years, and this awareness, that everything belongs to God has created a deep sense of gratitude and joyfulness in my everyday life. I get a deep sense of pleasure in my daily routine. So in honor of my past Seven Year Journey, I want to encourage you to stop making new years resolutions. Instead, in the next couple of weeks spend several days praying and asking God to reveal His will for you in the upcoming year. Ask for a verse that He wants to imprint on your life. God's word (the Bible) will change your life. It is a book full of hope, wisdom, comfort, and love. Open it up, give it a try. I dare you.
I will be reflecting on some of the specific changes, and results that I have experienced over the past seven years. First of all, I am a much more "mellow christian" as a result of this habit. I used to feel this compulsion to study and read my bible for hours every day, at the neglect of building relationships, and even doing the basic daily lifestyle habits that create order, and beauty in every day living. Such as, meeting friends for lunch, going for walks, doing laundry, or straightening up around the house.
The truth is, we all have 24 hrs available to us every day. We all choose how we will spend those hours. I have found that there is a holiness in the mundane every day life activities. Simply meeting a friend for coffee, or preparing dinner for your family, or even going grocery shopping, these activities can bring honor to God. I have learned that these activities can be deeply and profoundly moving us to a more intimate communion with God. We were created to worship, and worship is a lifestyle of bringing your everyday, normal lifestyle activities into alignment with a Extraordinarily Gracious God.
Think about what your life would look like if you acknowledged your daily choices as an opportunity to worship the Almighty God. How would that change your attitude to sweeping the front porch? Imagine viewing everything that you own as God's property, and you as the manager of his property. How would that change the way you view your job? your boss? housework? errands? yard work? budgeting and bill paying? your playtime, recreation, and entertainment choices? Everything that you have belongs to God. You are the manager of all that he has entrusted to you: home, cars, personal property, children, spouse, career, business, it all belongs to God. He is the CEO, the boss. You are the manager.
I have been living my life this way for several years, and this awareness, that everything belongs to God has created a deep sense of gratitude and joyfulness in my everyday life. I get a deep sense of pleasure in my daily routine. So in honor of my past Seven Year Journey, I want to encourage you to stop making new years resolutions. Instead, in the next couple of weeks spend several days praying and asking God to reveal His will for you in the upcoming year. Ask for a verse that He wants to imprint on your life. God's word (the Bible) will change your life. It is a book full of hope, wisdom, comfort, and love. Open it up, give it a try. I dare you.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
How to Stay Positive During Deployemnts
I am an Army Wife. I have been married to my husband Mike for 9 years, in December, and he has been in the US Army for 12 years this April. I have a love/hate relationship with the Army. I am proud beyond words to be married to a man who is willing to lay down his life to protect the freedoms and way of life we enjoy as American citizens, and I love the community of women I have been privileged to meet as we have traveled the world. I respect my husband and his career choice. But...
I hate the deployments. I hate being married, yet functioning as a single person for 3,6,9 months, even a year at a time. So, I have this outgoing, friendly, always optimistic personality type, and people always ask me, how do you stay positive during the deployments...so here's a few things I do to stay positive during the long separations...
First, I allow myself to have an "off" day every now and then. No one can be positive all the time. I have days that I decide to stay in bed and cry, or have a movie day and stay in my pj's all day, or just be really angry, and make a list of everything that I am frustrated about. Then, I get back to normal. I go for a walk, call a friend, get together with a girlfriend for a lunch date, make an appointment to get my hair or nails done, get a massage...whatever it is that makes you feel "cared for"
Another tip for staying positive is to surround yourself with a network of people who will encourage you, and support you. Get involved in your community, or an activity or cause that you care about. There is something magical about helping other people, taking the focus off of yourself, and focusing your energies on helping others that just automatically lifts the blues and helps you to feel happy.
I also spend a lot of time thinking about my husband, making lists of all the things I love about him, remember the day we met, playing good memories of our time together over in my mind. "Love keeps no records of wrongs" I am a really good record keeper, so I have twisted this verse, to my new phrase"love keeps good records of rights" When my husband is deployed, I spend a lot of time thinking about all the things that are right in our marriage.
Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder, absence, simply makes us forget. So, I choose to remember. The worst part about the deployments is feeling disconnected from your spouse. That feeling that "we just aren't as close as we used to be" So I remind myself, it could be worse, we could be living in the same house and feel that way. I remind myself, the reason we feel disconnected is because we are.... by space...but God in His infinite wisdom and perfect timing gives us glimpses of "connection" Reminders that we are still connected. We are still one. We will be rejoined again.
I am fortunate to have a husband who loves God, and when I asked him several years ago during his second deployment to Iraq, "What can I do for you while you are gone" and his answer was simple, to the point, that it has been my mantra and focus during each deployment we have experienced. Here was his request, "Keep focused on God. Keep focused on our marriage." It really is that simple. You can do this. You are not alone.
The best piece of advice I ever recied was from a 4 star Generals Wife, she said, "Honey, a deployemnt will not make or break your marrage, if a marrage has problems during the deployment, there were problems before the deployemnt." That advice has really stuck with me. She had been married for 30 years, and I asked her, "does it get easier?" She said, "No sweetheart, it gets harder." Now you may not look at it this way, but those words were very encouraging to me.
You see, encouragement is not pumping someone up, flattery, or saying flowery words that people want to hear. Encouragemnt is Truth. The truth is marrage is hard work, no matter who you are. We all have special circumstances and challenges. To hear that it gets harder encouraged me to never let my guard down. To continue to work hard on my marrage while my hubby is home, so that we have a solid foundation to build upon when he's "traveling for work"...I hope this helps. I love my man. And I am dedicated to my marrage...for better or worse. I hope this encourages you to do the hard and incredibly rewarding work of investing in your marrage. You can get through just about anything life throws at you if you maintain a positive attitude, and have a pj day every now and then : )
I hate the deployments. I hate being married, yet functioning as a single person for 3,6,9 months, even a year at a time. So, I have this outgoing, friendly, always optimistic personality type, and people always ask me, how do you stay positive during the deployments...so here's a few things I do to stay positive during the long separations...
First, I allow myself to have an "off" day every now and then. No one can be positive all the time. I have days that I decide to stay in bed and cry, or have a movie day and stay in my pj's all day, or just be really angry, and make a list of everything that I am frustrated about. Then, I get back to normal. I go for a walk, call a friend, get together with a girlfriend for a lunch date, make an appointment to get my hair or nails done, get a massage...whatever it is that makes you feel "cared for"
Another tip for staying positive is to surround yourself with a network of people who will encourage you, and support you. Get involved in your community, or an activity or cause that you care about. There is something magical about helping other people, taking the focus off of yourself, and focusing your energies on helping others that just automatically lifts the blues and helps you to feel happy.
I also spend a lot of time thinking about my husband, making lists of all the things I love about him, remember the day we met, playing good memories of our time together over in my mind. "Love keeps no records of wrongs" I am a really good record keeper, so I have twisted this verse, to my new phrase"love keeps good records of rights" When my husband is deployed, I spend a lot of time thinking about all the things that are right in our marriage.
Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder, absence, simply makes us forget. So, I choose to remember. The worst part about the deployments is feeling disconnected from your spouse. That feeling that "we just aren't as close as we used to be" So I remind myself, it could be worse, we could be living in the same house and feel that way. I remind myself, the reason we feel disconnected is because we are.... by space...but God in His infinite wisdom and perfect timing gives us glimpses of "connection" Reminders that we are still connected. We are still one. We will be rejoined again.
I am fortunate to have a husband who loves God, and when I asked him several years ago during his second deployment to Iraq, "What can I do for you while you are gone" and his answer was simple, to the point, that it has been my mantra and focus during each deployment we have experienced. Here was his request, "Keep focused on God. Keep focused on our marriage." It really is that simple. You can do this. You are not alone.
The best piece of advice I ever recied was from a 4 star Generals Wife, she said, "Honey, a deployemnt will not make or break your marrage, if a marrage has problems during the deployment, there were problems before the deployemnt." That advice has really stuck with me. She had been married for 30 years, and I asked her, "does it get easier?" She said, "No sweetheart, it gets harder." Now you may not look at it this way, but those words were very encouraging to me.
You see, encouragement is not pumping someone up, flattery, or saying flowery words that people want to hear. Encouragemnt is Truth. The truth is marrage is hard work, no matter who you are. We all have special circumstances and challenges. To hear that it gets harder encouraged me to never let my guard down. To continue to work hard on my marrage while my hubby is home, so that we have a solid foundation to build upon when he's "traveling for work"...I hope this helps. I love my man. And I am dedicated to my marrage...for better or worse. I hope this encourages you to do the hard and incredibly rewarding work of investing in your marrage. You can get through just about anything life throws at you if you maintain a positive attitude, and have a pj day every now and then : )
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Love is Kind
About 10 years ago, I embarked on a journey that would change my life forever. I was living in Louisiana with my sister Kathy, and I was about 150 pounds over weight....I hated the way I looked, but I lacked the motivation to actually DO anything about it.
So I prayed. And prayed. And prayed. I didn't know what to do, and honestly it took me almost 3 years of praying to get to the point where I actually wanted to do something to change my situation So, I prayed this prayer...Lord, please deliver me from the bondage of obesity.
I had no idea at the time how that simple little prayer would radically change my life forever. I heard somewhere, when you pray, watch, and listen, very closely to what happens next...that is your answer. So, here's what happened....
I made a decision to join Weight Watchers in April 2005, and that decision has changed my life forever. I had no real faith that this program would work, that I would actually loose weight, but I made a commitment to give it a try, and as the pounds literally melted off my body. I realized that the true goal wasn't weight loss, the goal was-and is character development.
You see, weight loss was simply a by-product of the real work that God wanted to do in my life, he wanted to transform me from the inside out. He wanted to change my thinking, my attitudes, my habits, my lifestyle...EVERYTHING!!! He wanted me to be his 100% Not just to follow a food plan, or an activity plan (exercise) It was about so much more that that...This was about Character Development.
So let me give you a glimpse into this transformation that he has done in me through the vehicle of weight loss. He has taught me about love. Self Love. You see, when when Jesus was asked the question "what is the most important commandment" This was his answer, "To love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to Love your neighbor as yourself"
The part of this verse that I want to focus on is the last part, the part that says to love your neighbor...as yourself. Jesus taught that we should love ourselves! Think about that! When is the last time that you got impatient with yourself, frustrated with yourself for not completing a goal, or following through with a phone call, or note you indented to send. When is the last time you thought an unkind thought towards yourself. "you look fat in that!" "I can't believe you ate that!" You look so disgusting in that photograph!! In my opinion, THOSE are NOT kind thoughts!
So here's what I have realized in my 100 pound weight loss journey. It's all about love. Love is Patient. It takes a really long time to loose that much weight...you must exersize patience...it is a character trait that will serve you well in loosing weight, and keeping it off.
Love is Kind. As the pounds started melting off, I realized, that when I would see an extremely large person, like 300-400 pounds, I would think to myself, They look gross. or disgusting! This revelation, and my honest evaluation of my thoughts, made me see, that even though I didn't acknowledge it at the time, those are the thoughts I thought towards myself when I weighed 287 pounds. You see, I am only 5'4. I thought I looked fantastic when I looked in the mirror. I thought I had healthy self-esteem. I jokingly refer to my condition as "reverse anorexic" You know, the anorexic is super-skinny bones sticking out, and thinks they are fat....we'll I had "reverse anorexia" I was SUPER FAT and I thought I looked great!
Now, I realize I was in denial. It was a photograph that finally woke me up to the reality that I wanted to change. That and the fact that I weighed more than my 6"ft tall husband. I am learning to live a more healthy life-style. Slowly. I have made small changes, and consistency has been the key to my success. "It's not what you do every once in awhile that counts, it's what you do every day that makes the difference."
I hope you are encouraged by my success. If I can do this, so can you. Make up your mind that you want to change, and spend 5mts every day focusing on your goal, and where you want to be. "If you don't know where you want to go, you'll never know when you get there" Be patient with yourself, you will fall down. There is no such thing as failure...only feedback. When you fall down, get back up, and make an honest assessment of what went wrong, what went right, and what you will do differently the next time.
And most importantly, love yourself...and one way to start doing this is to be kind to yourself. Allow room for mistakes. Think positive thoughts about yourself. I can do this. I am able. I want to succeed. You are worth it! You deserve it. Go for it!
Wishing you the joy of freedom,
Jennifer
So I prayed. And prayed. And prayed. I didn't know what to do, and honestly it took me almost 3 years of praying to get to the point where I actually wanted to do something to change my situation So, I prayed this prayer...Lord, please deliver me from the bondage of obesity.
I had no idea at the time how that simple little prayer would radically change my life forever. I heard somewhere, when you pray, watch, and listen, very closely to what happens next...that is your answer. So, here's what happened....
I made a decision to join Weight Watchers in April 2005, and that decision has changed my life forever. I had no real faith that this program would work, that I would actually loose weight, but I made a commitment to give it a try, and as the pounds literally melted off my body. I realized that the true goal wasn't weight loss, the goal was-and is character development.
You see, weight loss was simply a by-product of the real work that God wanted to do in my life, he wanted to transform me from the inside out. He wanted to change my thinking, my attitudes, my habits, my lifestyle...EVERYTHING!!! He wanted me to be his 100% Not just to follow a food plan, or an activity plan (exercise) It was about so much more that that...This was about Character Development.
So let me give you a glimpse into this transformation that he has done in me through the vehicle of weight loss. He has taught me about love. Self Love. You see, when when Jesus was asked the question "what is the most important commandment" This was his answer, "To love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to Love your neighbor as yourself"
The part of this verse that I want to focus on is the last part, the part that says to love your neighbor...as yourself. Jesus taught that we should love ourselves! Think about that! When is the last time that you got impatient with yourself, frustrated with yourself for not completing a goal, or following through with a phone call, or note you indented to send. When is the last time you thought an unkind thought towards yourself. "you look fat in that!" "I can't believe you ate that!" You look so disgusting in that photograph!! In my opinion, THOSE are NOT kind thoughts!
So here's what I have realized in my 100 pound weight loss journey. It's all about love. Love is Patient. It takes a really long time to loose that much weight...you must exersize patience...it is a character trait that will serve you well in loosing weight, and keeping it off.
Love is Kind. As the pounds started melting off, I realized, that when I would see an extremely large person, like 300-400 pounds, I would think to myself, They look gross. or disgusting! This revelation, and my honest evaluation of my thoughts, made me see, that even though I didn't acknowledge it at the time, those are the thoughts I thought towards myself when I weighed 287 pounds. You see, I am only 5'4. I thought I looked fantastic when I looked in the mirror. I thought I had healthy self-esteem. I jokingly refer to my condition as "reverse anorexic" You know, the anorexic is super-skinny bones sticking out, and thinks they are fat....we'll I had "reverse anorexia" I was SUPER FAT and I thought I looked great!
Now, I realize I was in denial. It was a photograph that finally woke me up to the reality that I wanted to change. That and the fact that I weighed more than my 6"ft tall husband. I am learning to live a more healthy life-style. Slowly. I have made small changes, and consistency has been the key to my success. "It's not what you do every once in awhile that counts, it's what you do every day that makes the difference."
I hope you are encouraged by my success. If I can do this, so can you. Make up your mind that you want to change, and spend 5mts every day focusing on your goal, and where you want to be. "If you don't know where you want to go, you'll never know when you get there" Be patient with yourself, you will fall down. There is no such thing as failure...only feedback. When you fall down, get back up, and make an honest assessment of what went wrong, what went right, and what you will do differently the next time.
And most importantly, love yourself...and one way to start doing this is to be kind to yourself. Allow room for mistakes. Think positive thoughts about yourself. I can do this. I am able. I want to succeed. You are worth it! You deserve it. Go for it!
Wishing you the joy of freedom,
Jennifer
Sunday, November 9, 2008
New Years Resolutions
About seven years ago I met a woman who told me that she didn't set New Years Resolutions. Every Year, around October, she would reflect on the upcoming year, and pray and ask God for wisdom and direction for the upcoming year.
In lieu of a resolution, she would set intentions for the upcoming year. Three areas that she wanted to grow, or change. And pick one character trait that she would meditate, and reflect on, an pick a verse from the bible to memorize, and instead of trying to be different, and picking arbitrary goals, she would focus her energies, and she had been doing this for over 20 years. I was amazed, and inspired.
I decided to apply this habit to my life, and every year, around the beginning of October, I start praying and asking God for wisdom, and guidance, to reveal to me what His plan is for my life in the upcoming year. I will say, this one habit has radically changed my life, and given me the gift of clarity, and intentional focus.
Now, instead of feeling guilty when I don't "spend enough time in the word" I continue to meditate on one scripture for the entire year. For example, this past year, 2008, my focus was on developing the character trait of righteousness. My verse was, 1 John 1:9 "If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
In later blogs, I will post some of the results I have experienced during this 7 year journey. My decision to stop making New Years resolutions, has changed my life. As with any change that you want to make in your life, the only way you will achieve success is by replacing the old negative habit (the one that isn't working) with a new positive habit.
Here's to you having focus and clarity for 2009.
In lieu of a resolution, she would set intentions for the upcoming year. Three areas that she wanted to grow, or change. And pick one character trait that she would meditate, and reflect on, an pick a verse from the bible to memorize, and instead of trying to be different, and picking arbitrary goals, she would focus her energies, and she had been doing this for over 20 years. I was amazed, and inspired.
I decided to apply this habit to my life, and every year, around the beginning of October, I start praying and asking God for wisdom, and guidance, to reveal to me what His plan is for my life in the upcoming year. I will say, this one habit has radically changed my life, and given me the gift of clarity, and intentional focus.
Now, instead of feeling guilty when I don't "spend enough time in the word" I continue to meditate on one scripture for the entire year. For example, this past year, 2008, my focus was on developing the character trait of righteousness. My verse was, 1 John 1:9 "If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
In later blogs, I will post some of the results I have experienced during this 7 year journey. My decision to stop making New Years resolutions, has changed my life. As with any change that you want to make in your life, the only way you will achieve success is by replacing the old negative habit (the one that isn't working) with a new positive habit.
Here's to you having focus and clarity for 2009.
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