Wordless Wednesday!

The view out my front door.  {Yes, I know how dirty the window is....just keeping it real for you!  If you come to my house, you will find dirty windows!}

Blessings,

Where Have I Been?

It's been a while, my friends.  I apologize for that.  The reason for my disappearing act is that our computer was broke.  I guess we now know what will happen if you drop a laptop!  It took several weeks to get it fixed, and I took that time to focus on my family and enjoying our summer.  So, I thought I'd share with you what we've been up to the past month!

I hope you are enjoying your summer.  It is flying by way too soon and I've got to start ordering curriculum.  It won't be long until we start our homeschool year again!

Blessings,


{By the way, the picture of me and Sunshine in the van may worry you!  We were at a campground heading to our campsite.  Sunshine was sitting on my lap because IN the campground it is ok because you can only go 10mph.  I would never let him do that if we were on the road!}

Weight Loss Wednesday~Week 4 {Exercise}

 

 

Week 4 of my weight loss journey brings me to a topic I really could do without~exercise.  When we lived in town, it was easy for me to take a bike ride or a walk.  Now that we live in the country, that is a bit difficult.  We live on a state road.  The speed limit is 55.  Taking a bike ride or walk on this road could age me several years.  So how do I fit exercise into my day? 

 

Getting outside has been a start.  We have lots of things to get done outside, so keeping busy out there helps keep me in motion.  We're crossing off things on our to~do list, and burning some calories at the same time.  Now I know that this will not completely cut it for exercise.  I need to elevate my heart rate during exercise.  I  have been gifted a 2 month membership to Curves, and am looking forward to starting there.  I have also been looking at different DVD's to exercise along with at home.

 

Getting the body moving is always a good thing.  I may need to get creative to do it, and I may need to carve out some time during my day.  It will be worth it in the end!

 

 So....how'd I do this week?

My Results:

Weight loss this week~ 1 pound

Total weight loss~  12 pounds

Amount left to get to goal~28 pounds

Not a great number again this week, but it's something!  I sometimes get discouraged about slow weight loss, but I try to remember my ultimate goal here is to get healthy, not just lose weight.  While I definitely DO want to see the numbers shrink along with my waist line, I really want to get healthy.  So I take the numbers as they come!

How did you do this week?

Blessings,

Titus 2~The Godly Mentor

my girls at a bridal show~the oldest is wearing my wedding dress and the youngest is wearing the flower girl dress her older sister wore at the same age

 

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.  Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,  to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.  Titus 2:3-5

When I got married, I had NO clue what it meant to be a Godly wife.  I did not come from a Christian home, and had no idea that God has a purpose for Godly mentors to young women.  What I did know was that I wanted the kind of marriage my in~laws had instead of the marriage my parents had.  I wanted our kids to grow up in a home more like the home my hubby grew up in rather than the home I grew up in.  What I didn't really know was how to get there.

While we did attend a church after we got married, we finally started attending a Bible believing, Bible preaching church a few years after we started having children.  It wasn't until then that I started hearing the term "Titus 2 woman".  As I started studying the Bible and growing in my faith, I started learning what the above verse meant and why it was so important.

I would have loved to have someone in my life during those early years to teach me about being a wife and mother.  Someone to teach me that being at home with my children was a blessing.  Someone to teach me how to be a Godly wife {something I am still working on!}.  Someone to teach me about being the kind of woman God wants for me to be. 

A mentor !

I know having a mentor will not make your life perfect or get rid of all of the problems you may have.  But I do believe that a mentor will make your road a little less bumpy.  If you have a Godly woman directing you based on scripture and her history as a wife and mother, that advice is priceless.  If I would have had someone in my life telling me what worked for her and what didn't work, I am pretty sure I would have made less mistakes in my marriage and mothering.

My challenge to you is this....If you are a young wife or mother, find someone to mentor you.  It could be someone from church, someone you knew growing up, even a family member.  Someone you can go to when you have questions or need advice.  A Godly "older woman" {I'm not going to define older woman!}  who you can trust to lead you as a wife and mother.  Pray for this and I believe that God will show you this woman in your life.   If you are an "older woman" {again, not going there!!}, is there someone you could be mentoring?  Is there a young mother in your church God has placed on your heart?  A new bride maybe?  Even if you think you can't possibly have any good advice for her, God can use you. 

You may be surprised with just how much!

Blessings,

Weight Loss Wednesday~Week 3 {GRACE}

This has been my third week of my weight loss journey.  Already, I've had to extend myself grace.  This week has been one of those weeks where it has been hard to stay on track.  One of our kiddo's had some testing and an appointment at University Hospital.  I have always taken our kiddo's out for lunch after such a morning.  So of course, Sport wanted to go out for lunch~at Arby's {one of my favorite restaurants, too!}.  It was an enjoyable time with just him and I.  Stinkerbelle came home from a mission trip to Haiti and was looking forward to some of her favorite meals.  I was happy to give her this.  We had a graduation party this weekend that included food, lots and lots of food!  Add to this the fact that I am hormonal this week, and I caved.  I had to have peanut butter cups!!

I am really trying not to get too involved in weight loss.  I don't want it to consume my entire day.  I want to learn how to live differently.  Part of this learning is knowing when I have lost my step, and knowing how to get back on track again.  And extending myself grace for the times I have slipped up.

Yes, I had a few bad days.  But it is not the end of the world and I refuse to chastise myself about it over and over again.  This weight was not put on in one week, and it will not be lost in one week either.  I will have successes and failures.  This is normal in any part of life.  I choose to be ok with that~and extend myself grace!

So....how'd I do this week?

My Results:

Weight loss this week~ 1 pound

Total weight loss~  11 pounds

Amount left to get to goal~29 pounds

Not a great number this week, but I'm happy to have lost something, anyway.  I'm back on track and hope next week's numbers will be better.  And again, I AM OK with this!

How did you do this week?

Blessings,