Thank you Bargoo. I do love that verse. I don't know if it's hypocritical of me or not, but I take great comfort from many scriptures, even though I don't consider myself religious in any traditional sense.

I really appreciate your thinking of me.

JEWCY, God is not making you feel that way. He created you and loves you more than you can imagine.

Oursleves, mankind and Satan are causing you to hate yourself...

In spite of that God is trying to draw you closer to Him, so He, and He alone, can lift that burden from you....

He is calling you with arms wide open...

It's up to you to walk to Him....

If you do, it will be one awesome hug.

Prayers

Jewcy If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask the wonderful folks here who will answer anything you ask when you ask it.

Also, I know there is a big thing about providing links, so maybe I could just say try FICM .org If that is inappropriate to post. Someone can remove it I'm new here and maybe I don't know all the rules yet.

I agree with EZ...be encouraged today

It is hard to believe it will be Easter in 2 more weeks. We attend a church that is nearly 2 hours from here, so with gas prices as they are, it is tough to make it every week.
Hope you all were able to attend your places of worship today.

Angie and I did

And the flowers were from us in honor of the birth of GRANDdaughter2 2 weeks ago and GRANDdaughter1's first birthday today

The flowers were beautiful, I will post pictures later today or tomorrow after the party stuff and visits to my sis in law are taken care of.

be good

Gary: So sorry to hear about your SIL. I'll be praying!

Bargoo: Congratulations on the new grandaughter. So exciting!

Jewcy: I'm glad to see you here. I agree with all the previous posts. God loves you so much and doesn't want to see you hurt. If you look for Him you will find him and he will give you the peace you're looking for.

I had a great day yesterday even thought the eating wasn't all it should be. Back on track today! We had my family over for an early Easter celebration. There were 17 of us in our little house. Very cozy.

Of course, our little grandson was the star of the show. He's becoming a bit of a showoff and we all love it! He's certainly not playing strange yet.

My plan for this week is to eat more veggies and lean meats and stay away from the sweet things. I had candy for yesterday and brought it to work to share so that I don't snack on it at home.

Well, we went shopping today; and picked up my new blinds for the windows before the heat comes. The store didn't have my favorite peanut butter easter egg, so I won't get one this year unless we can find one somewhere else next week.

Today, I bought some really tasty beef jerky for the first time; and it's very good. 20 grams (1/4 bag) are only 60 calories and 1.75 grams fat -- I think I found my snack. HEck, the whole bag is ony 240 calories, but it's so flavorful you only want a few pieces at a time.

I can hear some small birdies chirping away in my lilac bush near my office window -- sounds of spring for sure. A friend gave us a bright red, new birdhouse for a house warming gift, just before they moved away (back to Manitoba), so we will be putting that up there very shortly.

Eating has been going well for March; only had a couple of days of carb cravings and managed to keep the damage under control -- staying under my calories for the day or my cap on one occasion. That's not too bad really; I'm getting better at this -- Thank you GOD for sharing your strength each day!

The is shining bright today, but the temps are just a tad colder than last week. We had a sprinkle of the white stuff overnight but that is pretty well gone now. Hope you all have a wonderful, spring-like week wherever you are ...

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and just wanted to say hello and wish you all many blessings in your health goals.

I'm 30 years old, from Colorado but have been living in Ireland for the past 5+ years and have struggled with weight issues since I was 11/12 years old. It's an ongoing battle and I'm worried about my heart and any other hidden health problems that could be lurking from all the years of bad eating and unhealthy habits.

I've been a Christian most of my life but really only started a close personal relationship with Christ about 8 years ago. I came to Ireland to work in youth ministry and have been blessed to be able to stay and continue it and desperately want to be a good steward of my body so I can do His work and will.

My family are all back in the States and are strong Christians, which is wonderful, and they are very supportive of me being here. My dad had a scare with kidney cancer back in 2006 and God healed him completely, but also in conjunction with a drastic change in diet and lifestyle (he went on the Hallelujah Diet and moved to a quieter area to reduce stress). I miss them terribly but am blessed to be surrounded by good Christian friends here and have a wonderful and supportive boyfriend who loves the Lord and is supporting me on this health journey.

I'm trying to lose about 40-50 lbs and to keep my heart/health in good check. I lived off of fast food for most of my young adult years, was a smoker and did recreational drugs as a teenager so I worry about the effects it had on my body. Plus, I'd love to get to a physical point where I can hike mountains with my boyfriend (he's a mountaineer and MAJOR outdoorsman) without feeling like I'm going to pass out or vomit.

I'm currently doing an adapted version of Eat to Live and doing regular exercise which is going fairly well at the moment.

Anyway, that's me. Thanks for listening; it's so wonderful to have a place to be open and share. I'd love to get to know more of you and be an encouragement in your journey as well. It's a real first to find a Christian forum on something like this, and makes a world of difference. In fact, it's a real answer to prayer!

Blessings,
Dernhelm

to Dernhelm and Jewcy! Glad to have more new people here!

Jewcy-I'm glad you joined us. I know struggles cause us to doubt, but God told us that He wouldn't allow us to have more struggles than we can deal with. Of course, He meant we as in Him and us together He told us that we are 'fearfully and wonderfully made" and that we are not of this world: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I (Jesus) have overcome the world." (John 16:33), "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19) If you're feeling like you hate this world, God's Holy Spirit may be speaking to you. Is there a Christian pastor or Bible study group near you that you could visit and talk to? God's not asking us to leave this world, but not to be conformed to it. Walk with God, read His word, and I bet He'll show you some answers to the feelings you're having.

So, that has been my last few days! In a nutshell: having trouble finding Mom 100% cotton hospital gowns, so may have to make them; my sister is now in the process of trying to back out of her commitment to stay with Mom for the 2 weeks after she comes home from the hospital, so I'll need to figure out how to stay with Mom and still get DS3 to soccer, games, do his homeschooling, etc, when we live 25 minutes away; my grandma's last brother passed away Monday, so that was sad; there was an appalling and disgusting (& totally unChristian) incident at DS2's dorm that has him (& us) very upset and thinking about changing colleges, as the RA seems to have no intention of disciplining the offenders, even though the act was totally against written school policy; and on and on and on......

Right now, I just feel so tired and aggravated. Need a vacation!!!!
And, wish my first response to stress wasn't to head to the kitchen

Don't let anyone tell you that Satan isn't on a continual mission to mess us up. That's his whole life. He just keeps messing and messing and messing-we just have to stand strong and rely on God to carry us when the burden gets too heavy-do I hear an 'Amen!'?

Well, gotta get the DS back on his lessons-spring fever has hit waaaayyy toooo early this year, due to the lack of snow! Can't imagine what's going on inside the schools-LOL!

Take care, friends!

RONNIE ~ I say AMEN & AMEN to that, for sure ... let GOD carry us through (Isaiah 46:4). Listen, you made some mistakes, but just keep going; and when the stress eases off a bit, you will do better. We all have stresses that come up each day; trust me. Many people just don't talk about them much -- which I think is too bad, becuz that gives a false impression of perfection (that everybody else's lives are better than ours, when they are not).

We ALL have problems & issues that we must rely on GOD to help us with. GOD will help us find amiable solutions and show us how to overcome these worldly troubles, just like He promised. That's why sharing with other Christians and asking for prayers is so important. Will send up ^prayers^ for you & your DS2, and that situation too.

DERNHELM ~ glad to see that you have found us over here; nice to have you join us. Sounds like quite an adventure you are having over there in Ireland; and it is so nice to have a supportive partner (mine is too). We have Irish ancestry on both sides of our family.


DH and I spent yesterday AM putting up the big aluminum blind in our master bedroom; that was a task & a half, but we got it done and well too! Thank you LORD for strength, but I hurt my lower back a bit while doing it; could use prayers that it heals up quickly. That's the area the spina bifida causes a problem with a weak, open spine ... so I am resting up today.

Well, we had a major drop of ***** last night; DH was out clearing the lane this AM. Not enuff for his snowblower, but enuff that he had to shovel a a good while. The temps have fallen to around 32 F and seems like they will be staying there well into April -- April fool's anyone? I think we got fooled that spring was here to stay ...

Still, I'm sure it will melt pretty fast with a few days of and warmer temps in April. Glad we got some shopping done on Monday. We won't have to go again til the first week of April at least. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday ...

HI

I am here and have read...

busy....

I will post all updates soon...

Hi GALS ~

Taking a few minutes to catch up a bit.

Sue has been moved to a nursing home near us. She will need much therapy before she can come home as she needs constant care. She is doing better though and, well, only time will tell how much better she will get. She has a lot of family here to see her through it. In fact most of my side of the family has stopped seeing her as it is just too much on her right now with all the church members stopping by too.

I have been off this week which is good as we are tearing walls down in the kitchen in preparation for the new cabinets and flooring. We are opening up the kitchen to the dining and living rooms, something Angie has wanted to do ever since she married me and moved in here. I will post pictures of course when the work is finished.

I am still trying how to get pictures out of my phone into the computer so I can psot them here of the new GRANDdaughter2...she is so beautiful As soon as Angie and I catch our breath we will solve the problem, we have new phones and everything is different for us.

The birthday party for GRANDdaughter1 was so much fun. My chili was a big hit, my son and daughter in law said the teachers that were at the party were still talking about it yesterday! The kids said I am a chili hero at his high school...said they may ask me to cook a bunch of it for a fundraiser for his track team......I think he was kidding of course...I hope so!

Gotta go...be back soon

Well, we had another day today -- so some more of that white stuff was melting today. The roads are all clear again, so DH went out for a bike run & visited some friends. While he was out, some friends popped by for a visit, and left just before he got back ...

I haven't been doing much the last two days; just the essentials -- taking it easy to let my body heal a bit, but my back feels fine. I think the funny weather changes aggravates my old injuries some; the best remedy for that is rest. DH has fallen asleep already, so I am going to turn in early too and do some reading for a while.

Eating went really good this week; ate a bit lighter today. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend; do take care now ...

^Prayers^ continue for SUE & family; and all other concerns too!

Just thought i would let y'all know still around here just been busy and under the weather but not under the weather anymore. Givng Mother in law party tomorrow but suppose to have help. She is 85 years old .

HEY BOOTSIE ~ thanks for popping by; hope the party goes well ... remember to enjoy yourself too!


Had G-R-E-A-T news this AM -- I finally braved the scale and hit a 20-year low for me. I will be weighing myself for the next two days to make sure it sticks though before I change my stats in my signature, but I am so happy to have lost about 2 lbs per month over the winter.

All that cycling calories, dancing, hand-weights, toning exercises (which I increased), and upping calories on those hungry days have paid off ... thank you, GOD!!!

Happy Palm Sunday Everyone!

Enjoy your Holy Week...

a roller coaster of emotions.