There's a We on the calendar

Wednesday. The word starts with We. A reminder right there on your calendar, in the middle of your week, that you are not alone. If you are there, the Lord is with you. If you need a friend, there is another Christian who will pray with you, for you or just listen. I hope We all have a fantastic Wednesday knowing we are never forsaken and never alone.

Just a short note of encouragement to some women I know who are having a tough week. Their husbands are military men and many of them are deployed. If you know one, encourage her today. Don't forget that there are husbands who have deployed wives. Stand by them in friendship and encouragement. Sometimes we forget that they worry too. I know my own husband, a retired Army infantry sergeant, worried a lot while I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. He worried maybe more than a civilian husband because he's been deployed himself and his training prepared him for the worst. While I was deployed his imagination and training memories warred.

Our friends from church really came alongside him during the time I was away. I'm so proud of them, and grateful to them, for how well they kept him uplifted. It's been a couple of years since that time. So, the memories of being separated are softer. I hope my own experience will help encourage others who are facing separation. Just remember it's WEdnesday and We are not alone in any struggle.

Nutrition for body and soul

A couple of months have passed since starting my diet and I’ve learned a few tricks that are helping me. After the first 20 pounds of loss, I’ve quit getting on the scale. Mostly because I realize it isn’t about the number but now it’s about how I feel. I feel better. I’m in a smaller size and depending on the clothing sometimes two sizes smaller. But I still am avoiding that dirty diet word – exercise.

I have to do it. I hate it until I get going so I have to do something. I started out using my Wii Fit plus and that was fun. But then I tapered off and now I’m not doing anything again. That has to change.

I have several friends that are on various programs and they are encouraging. We don’t have to be on the same program, we just have to give each other support. That is the first key to success for me. I need the mutual support of others.

The next key is for dealing with my lack of willpower. One of my favorite little mantras is, “It looks better on that tray than it will look in my seat.” I just don’t give myself room to wiggle in hopes that my seat will have more wiggle room. I’ve also found that by experimenting with new ideas and giving makeovers to recipes, I can have some pretty tasty meals and I don’t feel deprived. Third in the category of tricks is to look up the nutrition information for meals at my favorite restaurants. I pick where we go by what the choices are. If the place has no offerings that fit my plan, I become one of , “those customers,” and I ask for everything on the side or get a salad and carry my own spray bottle of dressing.

I’m a little single-minded when it comes to making this program of relearning eating habits work, but it does work.

My next exciting defining moment has nothing to do with my outward appearance. I’ve volunteered to facilitate a writing group at my church aimed at helping people write their testimony and then helping them overcome the fear of speaking about it to others. It will be sort of a writing group and public speaking class. The idea is to help formulate a written testimony and then learn to present it publicly by starting in a small, supportive group of people learning to do the same thing. The goal isn’t to preach to anyone but to be able to share what God has done in our own lives.

I’d found myself coasting lately. You know that feeling. Everything is coasting along just fine, no problems but at the same time you just don’t feel that you’re doing anything or growing as a person. I was there in that comfortable rut. Nothing was wrong with life. I was just feeling like a lump of flesh taking up space on earth until it was time to take the train to heaven. Not a very good feeling for me. I’m one of those that if I’m not actively growing, I’m waiting for the other shoe to fall and for my world to explode. I hate that. So, I considered, prayed and I volunteered. I will help get the writing started, edit where I am asked and then we will practice telling the stories of our lives to each other. I’m excited and fearful all at once.

We’ll start out once a month and see how it goes. Maybe after all the testimonies are done, we can continue to meet and, those who enjoy writing can help coach each other through the word-smithing process. Maybe we will help with resume writing and cover letters. Could be we’ll help with college entrance applications. There are a ton of possibilities and that alone has brightened my little world.

For now I'm enjoying the effects of better nutrition for both my body and my soul.