Never Too Big to Be Carried

For the past few weeks, Kyra has been involved with a summer camp at Children's House Montessori. She is having a blast and it's also a nice introduction as this is where she will be attending preschool in just a few short weeks. Needless to say, with all that fun, she is definitely ready for a nap when all is said and done. Of course, it's interrupted our routine a bit, but flexibility is a wonderful thing and we've adjusted.

Let me just say, Kyra still NEEDS a nap. She can forego them every once in a great while, but she (and I) are much happier to be around if the nap takes place as scheduled. That being said, Kyra has inherited her procrastination skills from two of the best in the business. From extra potty stops, to drinks of water, to any excuse in the book NOT to go to take her nap, she will try it. Yesterday, we got to the base of the steps and looked at me pathetically and says, "I too tired, Mommy. Carry me." Knowing full well this was another tried and true delay tactic, I informed her she was too big to be carried up the steps and she would have to be a big girl and go up simply holding my hand. She did so (with amazing speed, I might add) and was soon on her way to dreamland.

So, where am I going with this tale of stay-at-home-mom-dom? I have gotten in the routine of taking my quiet time with the Lord during the first portion of nap time. I've recently been exchanging "Praise Party" requests with some friends on Facebook. Normally, I don't pay too much attention to request to join the mafia or create a farm, but this particular application intrigued me. You can "pass" your friends praises about our Lord and his many names. Each picture is accompanied by a verse that identifies where you can find said name in the Bible. I believe this particular application has 169 different identities of our Lord. Talk about a neat idea for a daily devotion!

So yesterday, I was looking at the verses for one of the particular praises and I got into Psalm 68. And here's where you begin to realize the planner that God is! Never doubt his timing!

"Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior! For each day he carries us in his arms." - Psalm 68:19 NLT

Now even though I knew it was a delay tactic, what would it have killed me to pick Kyra up and carry her those 13 steps up to her bedroom? True, I was trying to establish some boundaries, but look what our Lord does for us EVERY day! When we feel we are losing the never-ending battle with the laundry; when the dog chews off the eyes of your daughter's favorite teddy bear; when your kids are arguing again over who gets to give the dog a treat; when you feel that if just one more thing goes wrong in your day you are just going to run down the street and never come back - guess who hears you and scoops you up in His abundant arms when you feel like you can't take another step? That, my friends, is LOVE!

What a wonderful example our Lord sets before us! His power is made perfect in our weakness!

Celebrate the Journey

As Easter nears, it suddenly dawned on me that two years ago today, God began a mighty show of his power to transform! Not a day goes by that I do not give thanks to my Lord and Savior for what He has done for me! It is only by His grace that I have been able to accomplish so much!

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

Tonight the Lord called sweet Miss Linda home after a courageous battle with breast cancer. I will miss her smiles, her laughter, her sweet tooth but most her unwaivering devotion to the Lord. I rejoice that she is finally home and free from her pain.

Verses Revisited

I have several favorite Bible verses that I turn to like "old friends" for encouragement in my daily walk. Each one holds special meaning for me yet they are sometimes so "familiar" that I don't take the time to dig in to the text. It's kind of like eating the icing off a piece of cake without tasting the cake. Without said cake, there would be no reason for the oh-so-sweet frosting.

Today I turned to Philippians 4:6(NLT): "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."

Isn't that nifty? Kind of like a little worry-wart checklist. I can check off A, B, C & D whenever I get in a lurch or life comes at me like a Mack truck. Comforting to know God gives me such a good "To Do" list to keep at the ready. Yes, but read on, Becca, you are forgetting why you are going through this checklist!

"If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 (NLT; emphasis added)

Yes, God is good! I may still be a frosting girl at heart, but I need to get some of the cake with the frosting to realize why it is soooooooooooooooo good!

A Dory Kind of Day

Finding Nemo is one of my favorite Disney movies of all time. There are so many great one-liners that I can so often apply to my life and besides that, it makes me laugh.

I am going to make the broad presumption that most of my readers (seeing that most of you have children) have seen Nemo. Remember the part where Dory remembers P. Sherman's address - 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney? She's just so excited and shouts it to the ocean for everyone to hear. Now, Marlin, her counterpart, wants her to be quiet, but it's quite an amazing feat for her so she keeps on.

Today I was doing my Bible study. We're currently talking about frustration. In fact, we were supposed to talk about it this past week, but we got hung up on the previous topic of anxiety (hmmm, I wonder why God has put me in this study?) So, since I read the chapter already, I've been digging a little deeper into the Word and reflecting. And here's what I came across:

On the very day I call to you for help, my enemies will retreat. This I know: God is on my side. -Psalm 56:9 (NLT)

Now, admittedly, I should already know that God is on my side but I just want to be like Dory and shout it to the world. So I am - by way of my blog (and Facebook too since I link this to there).

Now get out there people and just keep swimming!

Embrace the Power!

"I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms." - Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT

After quite a bit of reflection, this scripture speaks volumes to me going forward into this new year. Just imagine what we can accomplish with God's infinite power at our disposal! May the Lord bless each and every one of you in this new year!

A-HA!

I've been in prayer about something for a while now and I was sitting down for my quiet time and I just had one of those "a-ha!" moments! I guess I never will be one of those people the Lord whispers to; He needs to just use a big, fat stick upside the head!

An AMAZING day!

I finally did it! I don't honestly know what took me so long but God really put it on my heart this year that I needed to go forward and be publicly baptized. The weather could not have been more perfect although the cleanliness of the water in Lake Michigan left a little to be desired. I survived though and am so glad that I made this huge step in going forward in my faith!

Thanks to Ms. M for capturing the moment!

Ok, I'll admit it - that wasn't so bad

After fretting over the recent departure of my hairstylist, I got an e-mail reminder yesterday of an upcoming appointment for today. I really like those e-mail reminders - especially when I keep misplacing those little appointment cards. My mind began to panic because (a) I didn't have a sitter lined up, (b) this person definitely wasn't Michael and (c) what if she screwed up my hair and I hated it? I'm such a worry wart sometimes. As of this morning, I still didn't know what I was going to do.

So, I've been studying John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted and this week's chapter is on prayer. One of the items that struck me the most was a section on simple prayer. In my own words, I summarize it as telling God what's on your mind even if it seems selfish. Guess what I did? Yep! And you know what? I got a good haircut and my two kids sat on the couch like angels with nary a peep between the two (I'm sure the girl thought I had drugged them). Not only that, this new girl is making some nice changes to the salon - including creating a children's play area in what is hopefully the near future.

The moral of this little rambling is (a) don't fret over change and (b) take it to God, no matter how small or insignificant it seems.

A Timely Reminder

I just had one of "those" mornings. Actually, it didn't start out too bad. We went to the library and the kids were really well-behaved. I even got some reading done myself. Afterward, we headed to the grocery store. I've really tried to consolidate my shopping into a once-a-week trip and I have a system that works pretty well. Kyra was doing pretty well up until the end when I realized I had forgot a couple of items on my list. She wanted to get out of the cart which, in retrospect, was fatal mistake number one. I let her help put the last two items in the cart and proceeded to checkout. She wanted to "help" put the things on the belt but it turned ito a "let's throw the things on the floor" instead. I gave her a choice to either help nicely or go back in the cart. She defiantly threw something else on the floor, so I fought her back into the cart and belted her in. It was too late to just leave so I just let her scream. Yep, I was THAT mom. I just wanted to crawl into my skin and hide. I held my ground and didn't give in to the screaming though. Still, I came home wiped out and ready to cry. I even snapped at Ian who was actually very good through the whole ordeal.

After taking quite a few deep breaths (I put Kyra down for her nap immediately upon our return), I sat down to do my current bible study. My reading was Psalms 127:1-2 but many of you know the verse that follows immediately thereafter:

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

I shouldn't find it amazing that the Lord is with me even when I am at a low but I do rejoice that He also finds the right words to comfort me when I am down - even when I'm not necessarily looking for them.

Come on a journey with me . . .

A year ago, I handed over my weight struggles to God. I was horribly overweight and out of shape - even what most doctors would consider "morbidly obese". I don't know where I thought the journey would end or if it ever will, but it sure has been a ride. Take a journey back with me:

After my first six-week cycle:

May 22, 2007

Another six weeks later:

June 30, 2007

End of third cycle:

August 30, 2007

End of fourth cycle:

October 8, 2007

End of fifth cycle:

November 19, 2007

People thought I was "the other woman" at Rich's company Christmas party:

December 8, 2007

Would the girl who began this journey in April ever have thought she could run and compete in a triathalon?

February 24, 2008

And here I am today (sorry it is a little blurry, Ian was my photographer):



And, just in case you are really curious about the numbers:

1. I have lost a total of 95 pounds to date (a 38.9% weight loss). That is more than the combined weight of my two children.

2. I went from a size 24 to a size 6.

3. In various areas of my body, I have lost an incredible total of 91 inches.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and continues to support me. Just remember with God, anything is possible!

Riding a spiritual high

I love my Tuesday morning ladies' Bible study for so many reasons but today was an incredible day in our small group. One of my dear friends asked Christ to come into her life and I don't think it is physically possible to be more excited than I am at this moment! Congratulations, M!!!!!

A nice way to start the day

I have to admit, when I got the crazy idea to get up and walk before the kids were up and going, I didn't know how long it would last. Then, I missed a couple of days last week because Rich went out of town and I found that even though I didn't have to get up, I got up anyway and kind of missed those 45 minutes of quiet time.

Anyhow, it was very humid here yesterday. In fact, when they showed our city on the map on the "dew point" index, ours was the only city in the area in the "oppressive" category. This morning though, it wasn't too bad, but you could tell it was still humid - so humid, that if you looked up in the clouds as you were heading east toward the lake, there was the tiniest sliver of a rainbow. It really energized me and made me give thanks to God for allowing me the opportunity to start another great day!

The Good Samaritan

Yesterday, I packed up the kids and headed back to Sun Prairie for closing on our old house. Midway between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac, there was a loud bang and then the dreaded noise that no woman with two children in the car wants to hear - a flat tire.

I was literally in the middle of nowhere, so I called AAA and they told me it would be about 30-45 minutes before someone would get out to me. Kyra woke up from her nap and was not happy that we were not moving and she was stuck in her car seat. Anyhow, a car pulled up and a gentleman asked if I needed help and offered to change me tire. I was so thankful I almost cried.

It only took him about 5-10 minutes. I told him that God was looking down on us and I thanked him for stopping. As it turns out, the man was Paul Bawden, pastor of Grace Evangelical Church in Madison. He was on his way to my church for the Forest Lakes District Conference (see my tale below). He had been on his way to Manitowoc, saw us, turned his car around and came to help.

I was telling my hairdresser this story this morning and she said, "Wow, you have good karma." I told her it wasn't karma, it was God's love in action.