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There are two segments...

Chapter One:

The beauty of Saul's story is that when God steps into a person's life, unexpected things happen.

Saul hated Christians.  Saul was there, approving, when Stephen was stoned.   Saul went from house to house, dragging Christians off to jail.  Saul's purpose was to destroy the Christian church.

Saul hated Christians.

Then Christ stepped into his life.

Transformed, Saul became Paul.  He ended up ministering to the very people that he stoned, imprisoned, persecuted and hated.

He loved and cared for those he had hated.

Years ago I attended church with a woman who was unashamedly racist.  She knew what she liked and she stuck by it.  Then Christ moved in an unexpected way.

Our church sponsored Haitian refugees and there were a lot of them in New York City.  We had collected a large amount of food and clothing and there was a conflict of scheduling the church van.  Somehow or another, this woman ended up driving her personal van, taking food and clothes to a group of people that were (racially) part of a group that she, to say the least, had no love for.

She got there, met the people, met more.  Stayed...stayed longer.

She came backed changed.  She came back very changed.  She became mother, grandmother, godmother to this group of people that our church adopted as part of our own.

She loved and cared for those she had hated.

When God moves, unexpected things happen.

Here's the photo

I weighed in on the wrong day, so I can't weigh again for nearly 2 weeks (3/17). But...this week...nice loss...very nice... ...continue reading →

Somebody said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Well...Diet wise, that somebody was right.  I spent a week on Core and (by my scales) lost somewhere in the area of 5 pounds.  Changing from Flex to Core (shaking it up) worked.

Exercise, most experts will tell you that getting in a rut exercises only the same muscles - shaking up your routine uses different muscles and you get a different (and better) result.

How much of life is like that?  "If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got."

Do I know that high sodium the day before I weigh in is going to mess me up?  Well...of course.  Does that stop me from using all the rest of my daily points on a jr. chili mac plate?  Um...no.

Where else to I need to shake it up?  Homework, clothing choices (as I lose weight, I'm choosing "younger" -not immodest- clothing).

Even doing one little thing differently can shake things up...

for backpacking, although I might get another set for my desk.  They're very cute.

Tom is planning a 2-week backpacking trip on Isle Royale, so he's "gearing up".  Otherwise, not much is going on.  I've been listening to the Mark Driscoll series on Ruth...I generally like Driscoll, but this series is telling me that sometimes "expository" is not all it's cracked up to be...

The series is well worth listening to - Ruth is one of the most beautiful love stories in history.

I've taken a week off (and I'm up to date on homework - my life is seeming to revolve around Dreamweaver and Access).

This week...I'm going to start posting more often (but not daily).

On the weight loss front...I'm off the plateau. I've lost 3 weeks in a row, I'm looking at both my 10% mini-goal AND my 20 pound point.

On the exercise side, I'm hitting 100,000 steps today for this month, and I'm over 290,000 steps for the year! At this time last month, I was at 59,000 steps - that's an improvement!

Walk Away the Pounds, I'm at 32.5 for the month, 94.5 for the year. This time last month I was 17.5! I've even done the Walk/jog dvd twice!

Weight Watchers:

• 1/2 pound lost this week
• I lost only 2 pounds since the first Saturday in January...BUT...
• I take measurements in 6 places and lost a total of 5 inches.
• I think I broke through the plateau (I've lost 2 weeks in a row - 1 1/2 pounds total)
• I (finally) hit the 15 pound mark and got my next 5 pound star!

Resolutions:

• The problem with winter sports is the cold and snow...
• I'm not eating on the beach until summer...or on a boat.
• 500 miles. Change that to 2,000,000 steps and 500 miles of Walk Away the Pounds -I am ON TRACK! In January I logged 205058 steps and 62 miles of WATP
• Goal Weight - I cannot make goal at this rate. BUT...on a yahoo group I'm on, the signature of one woman is "Faster isn't better. Better is better, no matter how long it takes" I'm going for better, not faster.
• Stop biting my nails. On track for that!
• I've read a little Riddlebarger on amillenialism and a book on "can you believe in God and evolution" (not convincing)
• Finally getting my AA (the credits are done, but I want to GET it) My AA is done, but I haven't gotten the certificate yet.
• transferring to a 4-year university - I may actually stay at the 2-year college for another semester or two - brush up on Spanish and get a couple more psych classes in.
• Loving and living...an ongoing process.
• Reading more of: Spurgeon (in the form of sermons and biographies - yes); Weight Watchers recipes (sort of, as much as I get into recipes); Greek (change that to Spanish - yes!); James White (started "King James Only Controversy)

I weighed in last Friday morning and had lost 1 pound (puts me at the lowest official Weight Watchers weight). I splurged and bought (not the season pass) the 12 week Blue Cross discounted pass ($119 for 12 weeks). I also bought the new "eating out" guide and the new "every food out there" guide.

• It will probably still cost me $10 a pound to lose weight (hopefully I'll get into a groove again but for right now I'm hoping for a pound a week average). The support of the meeting that I go to - sharing highs and lows, recipes, planning, etc. is what I like. I can get (and have and appreciate) accountability - it's the face to face support that I missed the couple of weeks that I didn't go.
• The "Eating Out" guide is great. I bought a make up pouch that will hold all of my weight watchers stuff and the size is good. There are new restaurants, but my favorite coffee shop (Beaners) is still not in there. Also, there are some REALLY high points foods that are not included in some restaurants and if you want to use off of you flex points in one day, you'll have to research for yourself
• The (every food out there) Food List is ok but I think in the long run it will be easier for me to research foods as I go along and put them on index cards to keep handy. Kashi cereal is in there, but no Kashi bars, which is what I eat.
• Official update (resolutions and weight) will be coming up on Saturday.

On the home school front:

The federal government, in its "wisdom" has decided for me that once Amanda turned 18, she had to be enrolled full time in a "government approved" school - that doesn't include home school. She has not officially graduated so the college won't let her go full time. So, for the time being, she's enrolled in the high school in our "attendance area". I'm not happy about it, but she's okay with it (she gets to go to prom). They will take all of her college classes and give her credit for them and part of her homeschooling into consideration, but not all. She will be 1 semester class short (1/2 of a credit) of being "able" to graduate". One option is to let her finish the year at the public school and officially graduate her as a home schooler. Sending her back to school is my least favorite option, but I can't afford to turn my back on the money from my widow's annuity.

On the "products" front:

These are really (REALLY) good. Four sticks equal one point and they are so dark and rich, one stick at a time is plenty!

I've backed way off of blogging, both writing and reading. There are a variety of reasons, some of which are good, others not so good.
I'm having a bit of difficulty settling into this semester's routine - the online class is too easy to put off doing. The fitness class (combined with my diet plan and being determined to break this plateau) is consuming a lot of time. I've walked over 12,000 steps two days in a row (which is time consuming), including 5 or 6 miles worth of Walk Away the Pounds.

After work stuff - doctor's appointment, class work, kid work.

• Amanda is going to have to be enrolled in a public school this semester (or the government cuts off my widow's benefits) so we've been dealing with that. I'm not happy, but that's the way it has to be for right now. There are other options, but not many.
• Doctor stuff - more upcoming. I'm getting to the point where my doctor used the "h" word (hysterectomy). I don't want that and I'm not at the point where having one is better than not having one. But we're doing a bone density test, ultrasound, etc.
• Playing around too much. Tonight I need to get to business and I have a lot of after school running around to do.

On hold for next week - posting the last of "When a Baby Dies" - comparing and contrasting Arminian thinking and Reformed thinking.

I'm weighing in tomorrow morning...I think this will be a good week!