[pattygirl63]

Rosebud Looks like things are starting to work in your favor in your situation. So glad your DH is home and doing better. Will continue to pray for things to be finalized in your favor in the situation and that tests will show that the cancer is gone and will stay away. Also pray DH will continue to do better. God is Able!!! Praise God!!!

I pray everyone is doing well.

[pattygirl63]

I just have to share with y'all how the Lord has blessed me with new revelation concerning my losing weight. Y'all know that I recently asked y'all to pray for me because I was feeling so low. Most of the time I get like this because of the frustration I feel with my weight loss.

Well on Easter Sunday our minister asked us to fill out the prayer list and name the things we needed to help with changing in our lives because of the new series he was going to be teaching on in his Sunday sermons. He wanted to know what we wanted hear that would help us. I named a couple of things and then added, "I really need help on how to get back on a diet I can live with and get this weight off".

Well, his 1st sermon to set up the series was Paul's teaching in Romans 7 & 8 where he talks about the war with flesh... how things he didn't want to do, he did and the things I wanted to do, he didn't". And then Paul says that the One who can help him is Jesus Christ. That day the pastor said. "No matter how may times you have tried in the past and it didn't work, DO NOT be afraid to try it again". Answer #1 for me. But he went on to tell us that this time to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.

But yesterday was the biggy for me. I know and understand Grace enough to not beat myself up when I make mistakes in my everyday life/Christian walk. However, I never realized that I was never applying it to my weight loss program. I know that when I mess up in my everyday walk, I'm forgiven because I accept the fact that Jesus has taken care of my sins so I let it go and move on expecting to do better next time. But I have never allowed myself the same privilege in my dieting.

Pastor said "No one is perfect and never will be. God doesn't expect you to be perfect that is why Jesus came because He knew we couldn't be perfect". That is when it hit me. I was raised by perfectionists who weren't perfect. I knew they weren't, but they expected me to be and thus I always expected it from myself. When I couldn't lose the weight and keep it off, then everyone around me even some doctors made me feel like I was a failure and I got the message real quick. And the battle has gone on all these years.

What I saw yesterday is that if I can't be perfect in other areas in my life, but I can accept God's forgiveness, pick myself up and move one hoping to do better next time then why aren't I doing the same thing with my weight loss program. When we feel like a failure everytime we eat that "forbidden" cookie or whatever or have an extra snack we didn't plan or wasn't OP, how in the world do ever expect to be successful. It isn't Perfection we should be seeking, it should be successful results that should be our goal. I believe that I have to learn that "Yes" there are going to be slip ups from time to time, but that does not mean that I am a failure and give up. It just means that I ate Off Plan. It's no BIG DEAL unless I let all those negative thoughts haunt me into giving up. I must learn to let it be what it is. I ate the extra snack because at the moment that is what I wanted to do. I can move on. I can stay on track from that point on and make just part of the plan or just forget about it and consider it as a "things happen" moment. The main thing is that IT REALLY ISN'T IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO DERAIL ME and stop me from reaching my GOAL.

Thank you for your prayers and if you read the whole thing... THANKS FOR LISTENING.

Love and blessings to all of you. Thanks for being here.

[bargoo]

Trish, thanks for sharing this. It shows great insight on your part. You can do this, I expect to one day read that you have reached goal. Congratulations on making a start.

[Justwant2Bhealthy]

TRISH -- I agree with both you and your pastor; that's what GRACE is all about. We need GRACE becuz down here we cannot be perfect no matter how much we try, so what do we do? We pray and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and power; and we accept GOD's GRACE for our mistakes of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

When you slip and fall -- you can continue on becuz that mistake is covered by the blood of JESUS CHRIST. You are forgiven already; so now you can forgive yourself and move on. Just keep going, no matter what.

Glad that you've had this marvellous break-through; and we all can use a reminder as we tend to forget and slip back onto old habits again i.e. like beating ourselves up for every mistake. You may feel like giving up but you don't need to do that any more. Now you don't have to live by your feelings -- you are forgiven -- period!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE ON TODAY'S TESTS AND CHEMO PREP & EXAM ~

My doctor explained to me that the steroids we are on, do make us gain weight and they make you hungry on top of that -- so that's a double whammy. Also, my tumor was using up a lot of my nutrients before but now it's gone, so I need less food in total. The steroids lower our metabolism so we don't need as much food as before, so we gain weight in a rebound.

I had less swelling this time, so I will continue to eat more salads for lunch; fruit for snacks and desserts; and less food overall and see how that helps. They say it will take a bit more time. The doctor says that they will arrange for physio-therapy that will help me get into shape and lose a bit of weight later on (after the chemo is done).

My blood platelets were only 94 today, but they will let me take the chemo tomorrow (Tuesday), but they are going to lower the dose a bit. They said the dose I have been getting is the strongest they have, so there was a lot of room to alter it. So I need prayers for #5 chemo round to go well with minimal side effects as per usual. I did have a reaction in the gums of my mouth so I had to take a Benadryl allergy pill today, and that took it totally away -- PRAIZE GOD!!!

I had a problem with a funny pain in my right lower back over the last while and it was starting to concern me. I originally thought it was a pulled muscle, but was concerned that it could possible be my right kidney but the DA said my kidney numbers were great. So, they xrayed it today to make sure it wasn't any rogue cancer cells causing it. Turns out I have some slow degeneration of my bones: the right hip and lower spine. This is age related and losing weight will help it a lot but they want me to wait until the chemo is finished, but I can continue to do the more healthy meals as I was doing.

I see some hope at the end of the tunnel for sure; thanks for your prayers ...