Let's Celebrate!!

I did it! I broke 150! Yay!! Now I just have to keep it going.

Hmmm....so how should I celebrate? From the looks of this hideous photo I need to reward myself with a good pedicure! Ha! Especially now that spring is here.

My Church (Part 2)

As I said in my previous post our first church is special to me and I was in no way completely unhappy there. But a little over a year and a half ago I starting feeling I needed to be somewhere else. I won't go into all of the details but basically there were certain things, programs, I wanted for myself and my girls I could not find at our church. Programs, groups and studies I felt I needed in order to strengthen my relationship with God. The church was also huge. If you did not get there 30 minutes before service there was a good chance you were going to have to sit in the hallways or the dining area and listen to the service through speakers or on television. For someone like myself who is on the shy side, it was easy to get lost in the crowd. I brought up the subject of looking for another church to Ed. He understood my feelings and felt the same way about some of the issues I had. Work was crazy stressful for him at the time. He worked seven days a week which left me flying solo on the new search.

I began to really think and pray about what I was missing, what I wanted and what God wanted. In a lot of ways I was not looking forward to looking for a new church but I intended to take as long as necessary to find the right place for us even if that meant six months or more of attending a different church every Sunday.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2008 Gabrielle and I visited the second church on our list. Immediately I really liked the church. I was greeted by friendly faces and hello's. The music was incredible. I really enjoyed the service and decided we would go back the next week. And so each Sunday we continued to attend this church. For the first year there were plenty of missed Sundays. Once I hit the 8 month mark during my pregnancy with Samantha I was really feeling miserable. None of my clothes fit and I had no energy at all. After Samantha was born I was anxious to get back though. Once we finally made it back to church I had that initial feeling from my first visit all over again. By the summer Ed's work situation had eased up enough he was able to attend church with us. It felt good to be back at church as a whole family - now bigger by one.

Although we had been continuously attending church I had not given much thought into becoming a member. When Samantha was six months old I inquired about having her baptized. The church office told me one of the parents had to be a member of the church to have her baptized in the church. As part of the baptism the parents reconfirm their commitment to the church. I did not want to become a member for the sole purpose of having Samantha baptized so her baptism was put to the side temporarily so I could focus and pray on whether this was indeed the church for us.

During this time I did begin to have some doubts. It was only the second church we attended. Didn't I need to visit a lot more churches to make such a decision? Also after a year of attending this church I had yet to really meet anyone or get involved with anything. This is where I get to brag on my husband a little bit. I talked to him about what was going on in my head. His response was basically this, "If you really want to go to some more churches we'll go but do you really think you've given this one a real chance?" He words were exactly what I needed to hear. Sure, Ed liked this church and he was not thrilled at all about looking for another one again. But he was going to support how I was feeling. He also wanted me to be sure this was what I wanted. He knew how much I wanted to get involved and he also knew I had not put any effort in getting involved yet. After all, there was not anything about the church I didn't like so far, I was just feeling "lost in the crowd" once again.

After more prayer I decided I did need to give it a real chance. That is sort of where my Sunday school new year resolution came into play. And no, I still haven't been to Sunday school but other great things have happened. This brings me to January of this year. In the next post I'll go into the things God has done in the past couple of months to make me realize this is indeed the church for us.

My Church (part 1)

Next Sunday, March 21st I will become an official member of the church we have been attending for the past year and a half. For me this is a very big deal. I have never been a member of a church. I am excited not just by the idea of being a member but by the fact I have found a church I want to be a part of, one I can call mine. For the next few blog posts I will be writing about my thoughts and prayers and the journey that has brought me to joining this church.

I was raised in a church. We attended every Sunday morning, Sunday school, most Sunday night services and every church dinner. I was always involved in any children programs, Vacation Bible School and youth group. I went to church camp for a week the summer I was 15 years old and it was then I gave my heart to the Lord. My mom was very involved from teaching Sunday school to directing VBS to attending Women's Meetings. We were a very involved family even though none of us, including my parents, ever became members. When I think about growing up and my childhood, church is a huge part of those memories.

For most of my twenties my church attendance was very sporadic. Unfortunately church and God were no longer an important part of my life (at least that is what I told myself at the time). I may have attended church by invitation with a friend a couple of times. Anytime I was visiting my parents on the weekend I went to the church where I grew up. In my mid-twenties I attended church with my brother and his family fairly regularly for a period of time. It was then I started to realize just how much I really needed church and God. I wanted to find a church where I felt like I "fit" but once I stopped attending my brother's church I only attended church a handful of times.

Once Ed and I were married, finding a church we could attend together became a priority. We talked a little bit about what churches we should try. We were raised in fairly different denominations so we were trying to find a middle ground. After visiting only one other church one time, we actually agreed on a church of the same denomination Ed was raised.

At my first new member meeting three weeks ago the pastor asked us this question - what is special about the church you are coming from? As we went around the room introducing ourselves we were to also give a brief answer to this question. I'm not one for speaking in public. When it was my turn to speak I nervously sputtered out my name and a very rough and quick explanation of how I ended up finding this church. I wasn't prepared at all to answer the question not just because of nerves but because I had never really thought about it. Ever since the question was posed I have thought about it a lot. If ever again I am asked what was special about our previous church this is the answer I would give:

The church was special because it was the first church Ed and I attended together. It was the first church we chose together, one of the first bigger decisions we made as a newly married couple. It was also the first church either of us had attended regularly since we were in high school. Our first daughter was baptized in that church. I started attending a playgroup through the church and the other mommies I met there were a great support for me, a new stay-at-home and often lonely mom. The church was special because it was while I was there each Sunday morning I felt the need to have a real relationship with God again.

We attended that church for over four years. I may have chosen to leave that church and I may not ever attend there again but it will always hold a very special place in my heart.

I'll stop with that thought for now. The story to be continued...

Weigh-In Friday = Boredom!

Anyone else bored to tears with this blog? I'm not bored with the purpose or concept of the blog but I have to say I'm really tired of seeing basically the same number week after week. I'm also bored with telling myself the same thing over and over.

I need some new motivation.

I need some new recipes.

I need some new exercises.

I need a new "push"!!

Any ideas? Any suggestions? I'm open to listening to any advice!

Weigh-In Friday

To be honest this was a big surprise to me. I'm not sure how I managed to get back down to this weight by today. I still haven't gotten back into any kind of exercise routine and I have not been super picky about my eating. I guess I did cut back on the junk food the past couple of days (except for the occasional tablespoon of mini chocolate chips - a great way to satisfy that sweet and chocolate craving). And I prayed and begged God a lot! Ha! Maybe God took pity on me. While God is certainly capable of all things I'm not sure He wants me to depend on His goodwill to lose the weight. I'm fairly certain He expects me to put forth some effort and put in some work. Hopefully next week I can get back to exercising at least 2-3 days a week and eat a little better as well.

Quick Update

This will be a short and quick post - I have one child up begging for breakfast and the other one is stirring as well.

Yes, I did weigh-in last week and while I definitely did not like the number I saw that is not the reason I didn't post it. I'm trying to spend less time on the computer and in doing so I have to sort of set priorities as to what I get accomplished the short time I'm on the computer. And then I honestly just kept forgetting about posting the photo.... but here it is...



I've been in a serious slump the past couple of weeks. I am determined to get out of it this week.

Philippians 4:13
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

From The Upper Room March-April devotion book
March 1st. "Thought of the Day"
"Each choice or action moves us either toward God or away."
(Yes I do believe this even applies to our eating - or any other bad habit we can't seem to break. I believe giving in time and time again to our bad habits does distance us from being the person God would have us to be, distance us from relying completely on Him.)

The other statement from the March 1st devotion that has stuck with me:
"It takes effort and often courage to live purposefully, but the reward is worth it: deeper companionship with our loving God."

Those are my thoughts for this week. Hopefully I'll be more prompt with my next "Weigh-In" posting. And now I really need to get my kids fed!