Signs....

...of real change are becoming clear. With the program I am on my daily calorie amount changes weekly. It's a 6 week cycle and the last 2 weeks are 2000/2500 calories per day so every time I get to the end of the cycle I plan 1 night out that I can eat whatever I want and as much of it as I want. No guilt allowed. This is the last week of the cycle so I chose to go to Olive Garden and indulge in the "Never Ending Pasta Bowl". This is a tradition for us, we wait every year for them to have it and as is our habit we usually go 2 times while they have this promotion (only 1 time this year). We love it. Anyways, in the past I've always been easily able to enjoy at least 2.5 servings of pasta, plus ample breadsticks and salad. Not this time....I ate all of the original serving, ordered the 2nd serving basically on principle (just had to cause I could) and I was unable to even eat 1/2 of that serving. I could have forced the issue but I was so tickled by the reality that I was aware of being full and chose to stop before I made myself miserable for the next 4 hours that I chose not to. I'm amazed daily at how right choices are becoming second nature and so thankful that when temptation comes that I have a God whose small still voice reminds me of how far I've come. So glad to be a daughter of the Most High God!

Robin...are you really hungry?

I have a small dry erase board on my refrigerator with this question written on it?

After reading my chapter today (Mark 8) and then reading the devotional that our pastor's wife writes every day, my mind and heart have been stirred about hunger all day long.

My first thought is that my body was created to tell me when its hungry, God made it that way and yet over the years I was able to destroy that mechanism by overloading the system on a continual basis. Gradually over the past 6 months I have seen that hunger mechanism being restored in me. It has taken determination, dedication and sheer perseverance at times, but my body is again letting me know when it's hungry.

My next thought is that I believe that when God made me into a new creation a hunger for Him was part of that process. I can see that like the natural hunger mechanism for food that it is possible to ignore the hunger for Him and feed the longings and desires within you with so many other things that you no longer recognize the gnawing feeling as a hunger for God but simply a need from within to fill a void. As with natural hunger I am thankful that He never leaves or forsakes me, I am determined to see that mechanism to be completely restored in me!

Father, I ask right now for restoration of an overwhelming hunger for time with You and time in Your word. Forgive me for feeding my spirit more often than not with things that are not from you. I ask Lord that anybody reading this would also see a need and desire to be truly HUNGRY for YOU! In Jesus name, AMEN!

Revelation 12:11

"I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony." Revelation 12:11

This scripture has been one that I have repeated to myself many times over the past few weeks, it has helped me to walk thru something that in the past would have been a reason to thow up the white flag and surrender to the scale. Instead, I find myself being thankful for the Word of God that speaks life and gives me strength to stand and continue even when at times like this it seems as though I hit a wall.

My understanding of the weight management program that I've been doing was designed so that you wouldn't hit a PLATEAU. I've not lost any weight in 3 weeks and though it has been frustrating and caused me to do some serious looking at what areas I need to be more diligent about, it has not brought self sabotage, instead there is victory! In the past this would have given me every excuse and reason I could possibly have needed or wanted to BINGE and guess what....I DIDN'T!! God is so faithful to send people who encourage, lift me up and are even willing to point out areas that maybe needed some tweaking. I love His people and how He loves me thru them.

I am truly in awe of all that God has done on this journey towards health and an increase in self confidence. There is such a peace about this new way of life and therefore, even though I have been frustrated I have not been deterred, I have truly felt an annointing on this path. I love how I feel, I love that I don't cringe at who I see in the mirror, and mostly I love that I have no thoughts in the back of my head saying "give up" or "just quit", I love that I can see myself healthy and much thinner.

My God is an awesome God and He always cause me to triumph!!

Opportunity....

When opportunity knocks on your door it is your choice to decide what your attitude will be. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to choose between being disappointed or seeing progress even if the progress wasn't as great as I'd have liked. I chose to see PROGRESS, disappoint is a devil word, progress is a God word, I choose GOD's words!!

Cruise Countdown...

Yes, I'm excited I have countdowns again!

We are officially booked for cruise #4!! We'll be leaving New Orleans on February 13, 2010 to go to Belize, Isla Roatan and Cozumel!! Another beautiful 7 days on the open sea! We can't wait, but I suppose we'll have to since we don't leave for another 194 days, but at least its booked! Now the goal is to get it paid in full QUICKLY!!

Somethings God is doing in me...

I am copying and pasting an excerpt written in my blog on January 15, 2009. Mostly because in the past few weeks God has been showing me even more in this area of my life. The peace is amazing, the contentment with my life has been a joy and I am so thankfuly that God loved me and guided me thru some very rocky years to get me where I am today and even more thankful that he isn't done with me yet.

"Now, with that said, my brain has always seen "40" as the year that would be the end of my pursuit. I do not know why this was such a thought in my head, but it has been as long as I can remember. I honestly have never been one to put God on a time schedule, but for some reason it almost gave me a form of peace to know that at "40" I could move on and just let it go. God has something else in mind......I am so very thankful that in October 2006 God healed my heart to a point that I spent 2 years walking in His never ending grace and mercy and was no longer at war with my infertility. He was faithful to show me life was good, my husband is awesome and the love we have for each other was something to celebrate. It was time for us to live our life and not continue to wallow in despair, discontent and disappointment. We had always had a great marriage, he was always supportive and strong for me thru this process but this healing made everything even better. I was able to appreciate him and not take him for granted, I was able to see life outside of the bubble I lived in. Most of all, I was able to be truly and completely happy for friends who were pregnant and having babies. It was like being born again...again. I was constantly thankful for the "peace" I was walking in. Thru this time I was so happy not to be crying all the time that I also got a bit lax about my walk. I was so busy living the life that I had put on hold for so long because of the "what if i get pregnant" syndrome, that I was also a bit stagnant in seeking Him first. Not to be interpretted as I wasn't going to church or that I was out partying or acting like a heathen, but I was not reading and praying as I should. I look back now and can see that it was as if I was avoiding something else going on.

Fast forward to the fall of 2008. Virtuous Women's ministry was starting a new Bible Study, called "Kissed or Dissed". Subject matter: rejection. In all honesty, I never would have looked at myself and consider myself to be somebody who had issues that were related to rejection. Yet, God began to move on my heart that I really needed to attend these meetings and apparently He wanted to be sure that I was listening because our Pastor's wife also made sure that I knew I needed to be there. I had no idea what I was in for. I had no clue how many things and issues in my daily life stemmed back to my feeling rejected at some point in my life. Before the very first session was over I came to a very dark stark realization of something I did not want to face. I tried to sugar coat it, I tried to ignore it, but in the end what I did was suddenly have a 300 pound weight of GUILT on my shoulders. I didn't want to go back, I didn't want to dig deeper, I did not want to rock the boat, I was enjoying the "peace" that I was walking in. Thank God for His grace and His mercy and that it is new every morning. He gently guided me to face head on the biggest rejection issue I had ever hidden from........ The "peace" I had walked in was a farce, it was His grace and His mercy that allowed me to move on, allowed me to live the life I had put on hold for so long. Do not get me wrong I am beyond grateful for grace and mercy, they were my lifeline, but they were just the beginning. God knew me so well and loves me so much that He met me where I was and allowed me to move forward even though He knew that my heart was not truly completely healed. So, the big secret, the one I've not really even shared or discussed except with a very select few was simple.....I moved on because I had accepted that I had been REJECTED by GOD as a mother. Can you imagine the shame and guilt that came with that realization? I have been a Christian for 18 years and for the last 10.5 of those years have come to know that my God is a good God, yet I allowed the devil to put such a horrible thing into my heart and did not recognize it for what it was...a LIE from the pit of hell. God sent His Son to die for me and I know that I know that He would have done it if I had been the only one to accept Him. I know all the right things, I know the word, I know the truth, I accept it as real in my life, yet I was still so easily decieved. But, God, oh my, so forgiving and loving, again my salvation, my strong tower in my time of trouble, He brought me through it and walked it with me. I worked thru the bible study, went to the meetings, was beginning to see my significance and that God had not rejected me, would never reject me and that He loved me, I am His favorite. Yet, even though all of this was being worked out in my life and thought process there was still the guilt from accepting the lie. I didn't know how to get rid of it. I had asked forgiveness over and over, I had made it clear to God that I knew who He was and how He loves with all that He is, but still I was not able to get away from the dark cloud of guilt. Again, my hero knew and loved me enough to meet me where I was. One Sunday morning out of nowhere Pastor had a word of knowledge that somebody had a great spirit of guilt and that God wanted to remove it. I stood there for a moment and was unable to make my feet move forward, it was only 4 steps, hello we are on the front row. I did finally make way to that line and when he laid his hands on me, I knew that what I had to do was FORGIVE MYSELF. It was the missing piece of the puzzle. That analogy stands true for so many things, I had all the other pieces, but that one thing kept my puzzle from WORKING to its full ability. Now, I truly know what it is to walk in God's peace in this area of my life. I believe the desire for a child will be something that is always present, but I am so thankful that it does not control, consume or bring me grief any longer. I am free from the bondage of disappointment and despair."

Several weeks ago on Pastor Appreciation Sunday, a wonderful man of God was up and speaking to honor our pastors, when he was done, he came to Rocky and I and encouraged us that God was saying that "even now, even now God had not forgotten us and our dreams and desires were being manifested". My heart liked to have lept out of my chest, considering you just read the excerpt of my blog that I posted at the beginning of this year, you are aware of all that God has done in my life and the changes that have come because of it. I feel free, I am living my life and a side affect of this change is that I have come to care about myself and my self confidence is increasing. I have started taking care of myself and am eating better, exercising and seeing positive change in my body because of it.

I noticed while reading my past post that what I failed to mention in that last paragraph was that even though I was in this great place and walking in peace and content with my life....that as long as there is breath coming from this body I will never give up the hope (expectation of a future certainty) that God will bless us with a child. That desire is alive and well its just not the only thing I live for, think of or focus on. Life moved forward because it had to, but the genuine faith on the inside of me, because I have confidence in my God and His promises will never cease to exist, HOPE IS ALIVE IN ME.

I guess I felt the need to say it, considering our service this morning was titled "True Faith Speaks". Pastor has been preaching and teaching on True Faith for the past 4 services. It never hurts to have your mind renewed in this area. To be reminded that there is a true faith and a fake faith. As it was so eloquently said this morning, "Fake faith talks about the problem, Genuine true faith, speaks to the problem". I was also reminded that on more than one occasion God speaks to us in His word about standing strong, holding fast to the confession of our faith and not wavering. It was revelation to see that if our faith always worked immediately God wouldn't have seen the need to tell us to hold fast to the confession of our faith, or when you've done all you know to do - STAND. He is so faithful to speak exactly what we need when we need it and my heart is greatful. It was refreshing to be reminded that just because we don't see it come to pass in our time frame doesn't mean it won't come to pass. He is faithful to peform His word.

My life is so different because of all that He has taught me, showed me and prepared for me. It's overwhelming how He has the capacity to love me unconditionally despite all the mistakes I've made.

Pretty much, I just wanted to share what He's doing, how He's growing me and how I am continually in awe of WHO HE IS. So, keep your eyes open and your ears prepared because the day will come when you will here that we are going to be parents. I refuse to limit God, I refuse to put an age on when or how it will happen, but I also refuse to ever give up. Failure only comes if I quit believing! When Jesus was asked by a man to come to his daughter who was dying, He made some stops along the way, the man must have been frantic, yet Jesus was calm and ministering to the people. Some people came to tell the man not to bother the Master because his daughter was dead. Jesus immediately spoke to the man and said..."Do not doubt, ONLY BELIEVE". He then went with the man, and the little girl was raised from the dead. Obviously Jesus knew what He was talking about when He told the man, to only believe. All things are possible to those who believe!!

I think this was probably all over the map, but it was in my heart and I really felt the need to put it out there, even if I'm the only one to read it. When you look at me and see the twinkle in my eye, you'll be able to tell my sweet child one day, that they were always a twinkle in my eye!!

Another update...

Still busy with facebook but thought I'd update since I had my weigh and measured day at Curves yesterday. I am now down 34 pounds and have lost a total of 31 inches. My BMI and body fat are both dropping! So excited to be getting healthy and feeling better about myself!

Update...

Not to much going on in my world. Some work drama, but until some things change I suppose that's going to stay the same. Other than that, good church, good family, good friends and good news. I'm still working out, still eating much better and making right choices and therefore I have lost 30 pounds! Still going strong, here is a recent picture that was taken at my mother-in-laws retirment luncheon on 6-15-09.

Lack of diligence...

...I'm talking about my blogging or lack there of. Facebook is much more exciting than what I'm doing on a daily basis, therefore its become easier and easier to not keep this thing up to date.

On a good note, I have been diligent with my exercise and weight loss. I'll have to do the whole measure and weigh thing again on June 5. I'm excited to see what I accomplished this month. As of May 5, I had lost 19 pounds and 19.5 inches. So we'll see next week what I have to report. I still love going to Curves and their weight management program has been amazing and I'm still going strong.

On another note my God-daughter had a beautiful baby boy yesterday....so here are a few glimpses at Baby C.

Me again...

...I know who else would you be expecting on my blog, but my creativeness for a title was just not working. So there ya have it.

So, I think at some point I must have mentioned that I joined and began going to Curves mid February. I must say I absolutely love it. The 30 minute workouts are perfect and there are no excuses for me to not fit it in 3 times a week. Even weeks like the one coming up, I will have to get up and go at 5:30 on Wednesday morning because I have a busy week in the evenings, but I am dedicated to a new me.

I started this blog in hopes of becoming "Fabulous by Forty". I lost my way somewhere along that road and eventually even changed the name of the blog because every time I came here it was taunting me. I did manage to maintain a 15 pound loss for 2008 but it was by extreme struggle the last 2 months during the holidays. Then the new year started and well it seemed like no matter what I did I could not drop a single pound. I was getting very discouraged and aggravated. I believe that I had shut down my metabolism with all of the yo yo dieting. Lose 10, gain 7, lose 6, gain 10, it was constant for about 2 years, up and down, up and down. Once I made up my mind to at least counteract the food with exercise it became clear to me that even though I was exercising I was not seeing results because I was still eating all I wanted and whatever I wanted. Another friend joined Curves the same time I did and she also began their weight management program. I did not because at that point I knew I was leaving for a cruise in just a few short weeks and didn't feel like yoyoing again.

On the cruise, I was particular not to eat continually and we walked a lot and used the stairs OFTEN. It was not that bad and when I returned I knew I had to face the scale and measurements at Curves in just 3 days time. Praise the Lord, I accomplished what I saw as impossible, I had only gained 1 pound and actually had lost a total of 4.5". This sparked my interest in finally doing something different about my eating. If I could see some result without changing my eating what would it mean to change my eating along with the exercise.

I bought the book on weight management from Curves and I began Phase 1 of the program 2 weeks ago. I just finished day 7 of Phase 2 and I feel better than I have felt in 2 years. I am excited about my next weight/measurement day. Can't wait to report on my progress....I weigh on the 5th of each month but that is on Sunday (they are closed), so I'm not sure if they'll do it on Friday or Monday...but I'll keep you posted......

More Birthday Pictures...

Bailey's Irish Cream Cake

from

That Special Touch

Between Hobby Lobby and Sal & Phil's we went to the

reservoir just to take some pictures!

I was a happy girl...can you tell?

Forgot these....

The only professional pictures I bought on the cruise:

He's as handsome today as the day I married him, 17 years ago!

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!!!

They got me and they know they did!!

I was one of those people that did not believe

they could be surprised.

I have been proven WRONG!!

These pictures are the proof!

Dawn, Dawn & Wendy - thank you will never be words enough

for how this made me feel!

3 hours in a Lexus Stretch Limo

Water in the pretty champagne glass.

They sent me on a scavenger hunt, the goal was to

retrieve something at each location (all places I love to go) to put

in my scrapbook.

Began at Bop's, my favorite dairy dessert.....

Then to Curves, where I work out 3 times a week......

Then to High Street Shell Station where I get my cappuccino's!

Then to Mazzio's where Rocky's entire staff sang Happy Birthday.....

The next clue sent us to Hobby Lobby where I had $20 to spend...

I don't have pictures of this stop yet...(coming soon).

These are us in the limo!!

Dawn, Wendy & Lydia waiting on Dawn to get me to

the church to see my LIMO and head out for

a great girls night out!!!!

Love you guys sooo much!!!!!!

Special Surprises!!

To my surprise this is what our cabin looked like

when we walked in it the first time!

Thank you Sis & Wendy for helping

me to start my birthday celebration

even earlier than normal!

Another pleasant surprise was sent to our dining

room table to celebrate our 17th Anniversary!

Thank you so much Dawn & Jeff!

You all made our cruise even more special than it already was...

to bad you couldn't all be with us!

Cozumel Pictures

We didn't do much in Cozumel so these are the only pictures I took. It was a beautiful little courtyard garden and the ships were in the background. Seemed like a good photo op.

Grand Cayman Pictures

"Town of Hell"

Behind us is a limestone formation that the

islanders imagined is what hell looks like.

That is where the town got its name.

The sun burned my cross into my chest, ha! I guess that's

what I get for visiting Hell.
Iguanas roaming free at the Turtle Farm.

Visit to the Turtle Farm

Smallest 5 Star Hotel on Grand Cayman

"The Check In"

All of their cemeteries are on the beach because

you can't dig farther than 4 foot anywhere else

and not hit solid rock.

Oldest home on the island. They call it the gingerbread house.

Governor's House.

Pictures from the Galley

Very talented fruit carving.

Pegasus Ice Sculpture

WARM MELTING CHOCOLATE CAKES!!!!

Bread Slicer

Got Milk?

Cereal!