Friendships

Last weekend I attended a women's retreat organized by several members of my Sunday school class.  It was just us girls from the class and it was awesome.  We spent time being silly, staying up late, eating, and learning about each other and God's Word.  Our speaker was Tammie Head, a woman for our church who founded Totally Captivated Ministries. She was incredible!  We learned that our insecurities keep us from close relationship with God and with other women.  Well, it's a concept I always knew but when she said it and explained it - it finally clicked.  I have to just say, my church is awesome!  I mean, not only has Tammie been a result of our church's focus on ministry and encouraging everyone in the purpose God has given them, but also Beth Moore.  And Tammie is Becky's mentor, encouraging her in ministry as well.  I know we also have several other ladies who have written Christian books or studies too.  It's that emphasis on living out your faith rather than demanding to just be fed, that led D and I to join.

To learn more about our retreat visit Becky's and Ally's blogs - they really captured the entire event.

At the end of the retreat, we all shared what we learned and, wow, did we ever learn!  We discovered we were all craving deeper relationships with each other but let our insecurities keep us from each other.  We made a decision to reach out to each other more and keep cliques from our class. 

Then, this week I came upon this post at Kelly's Korner telling us about Lisa Whelchel's (of Facts of Life fame) new book, Friendships for Grown Ups.  And today Kelly posted an interview with Lisa where they discussed friendship. 

Check out Lisa's book and Kelly's post if you are struggling with this issue.  I cannot wait to read it! 

Let's all reach out to each other a little bit more.

Great Family Movies

The Hubs and I are avid movie goers (or DVD at home goers).  We saw two awesome family-friendly films this weekend I thought I'd share. 

First is Jonah A Veggie Tales Movie.   As we were watching I just about fell out my chair when one of the characters (Carlisle the caterpillar) called Jonah Grumpypants.  I know, I know it's silly - I just never thought I'd hear someone else called my name.  And really it's a great way to introduce the trailer I found.  Enjoy!



Can you tell I really like this movie?

Next was Disney's Princess and the Frog.  Love, love, love this movie!  First, because it is set in our home state of Louisiana.  Second, Raymond!  Raymond is the cajun firefly from the swamp and he so reminds me of some of my relatives.  D and I rolled when he asked if the frogs were from Shreveport.  If you love all the classic Disney animated films (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, etc)  you will love this.

Here We Go Again

Well, a few months ago I posted that I was beginning the P90X challenge.  And boy was it ever!  I have never worked out so hard, even with personal trainers.  Unfortunately, after 4 months of hard work (including watching what I ate) not one single pound or inch came off my body.  Talk about discouraging.  I cannot blame the P90X DVDs.  Most of my problem comes from my thyroid/hormone issues.  Those issues are being resolved, but it still makes loosing 20 -30 pounds a big challenge.  Anyway, I have to admit that for the past month I have fallen off the wagon big time.  I was so discouraged by my nil results that I just gave up for a few weeks.  But I am revitalized and have a plan.  I will begin my working out again next week by using the P90X Lean Circuit.  And I am ordering Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism book.  I am such a type A melancholy and I crave details.  Well, I've heard that Jillian's book it full of them.  Wish me luck, again, as I continue this challenge. 

I have some great websites I'd like to share which contain a ton of great info about weight loss and healthy living:

1)  My friend Erin, the dietitian and certified trainer.  Erin has launched a series of services and informative posts on her blog.  When you get to her page, scroll down the right side and click on the button with the bird titled Nutrition and Fitness Series.  I am so excited that Erin is finally sharing all her incredible knowledge.  I am very tempted to hire her for the Grocery Store Tour.  Navigating the grocery store as someone trying to eat healthy is a huge challenge.  I highly recommend you visit this site.  Even if you never hire Erin, she gives some great tips on her posts.

2)  SimplyFitMama and VitaMama.  I love these two blogs!  They are just two mom's trying to feed their families healthy - eliminating preservatives and fat by buying and cooking smart.  They have awesome tips and info for anyone ready to make the change for a healthy life for yourself and your family.

3)  FitBottomedGirls and Sparkpeople.  These two sites have so much info and tools at your fingertips.  I especially like Fitbottomedgirls DVD reviews.  It can get pretty confusing choosing a DVD or two to develop your workout routing, especially considering that some programs can cost up to $120. 

4)  American Dietetic Association.  The public tab of this site has so much wonderful info on healthy living, lots of tools (like a BMI calculator), and expert reviews of diets (such as Dr. Oz, Jillian Micheals' Master Your Metabolism, and many others). 

I hope these sites encourage you, as they have me, to dust myself off and try again.  My true motivation is two-fold:  1)  Get myself healthy and take care of this body God has given me.  I never want to be unable to serve him because I did not take care of myself.  Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.  I Corinthians 3:16-17.  2)  I want to give my future children a good example of healthy living and eating.  I never want them to deal with being overweight because of my laziness as a parent (i.e. eating out all the time, serving frozen premade meals regularly, feeding them sugary snacks).  It is so easy in this busy culture of ours to fall back on fast food.  I want to give my children something better. 

So, I know this is not going to be easy and will take a lot of time.  But I'm ready.  I'm tired of not liking my body, of feeling like crap, and having no energy.  I do not want to tell God No simply because I am too lazy to get up off the couch and change my body.

Will you join me?  Even if you can't right now, would you pray for me?  This is totally a spiritual battle.  Satan would love for me to continue on my current path and destroy my body - making me unusable by God in so many ways.  I refuse to give him that power.  I AM READY!