Feeling great!

I may be another year older but I feel better than I have in years!! For the past three weeks I have made some significant changes...and I am grateful I did.

Gone are the days of toast and donuts...now it is apples & peanut butter or a package of seaweed (which really is not as bad as some may assume ☺) I have cut out just about all processed food, wheat and sugar...it was easier than I thought. My fridge is full of greens, hummus and other healthy treats. My milk is now made from almonds and my cheese comes from goats. My coffee is infused with green tea & Gota Kola...ok, my first cup of the day is still made from dark roast beans & strong...but then I am drinking the Javita for the rest of the day. These are all big changes for me.

I admit to being a bit of a skeptic (I know huh...who knew)!! Anyway I was not sure if this little experiment would work, if I would be able to keep doing it or if I would be able to enjoy any of it. The results however  speak for themselves: I have been sleeping well (you know that does not happen often), I wake up feeling rested and feel ready to face the day, I have energy, I am not hungry, I do not feel the need to nap and the bonus....I have lost 5 pounds!!

Last night Jordan took me out for a birthday dinner at Paliotti's (Italian) and I ate some fabulous whole wheat seafood pasta. It was accompanied by a great glass of Merlot,I do not feel guilty at all and  we had a great time. I only share this because when we came home I actually felt the need to have a quick nap for the first time in 3 weeks...I do not believe it was coincidence. I will still on occasion eat my beloved pasta but I no longer crave it (or a sandwich) and I am very happy about that. So I will continue to eat whole foods, walk and drink my special coffee....who knows what will happen if I decide to go to gym as well?? Nah, not quite there yet ☺

I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.
    You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. 

 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you restored my health.

Psalm 30: 1-2 NLT

Next step....

It is hard to believe that it is June already. As I sit here with my morning coffee I can not help but contemplate the many changes of the past year and wonder what the next one will hold. I know the average person considers December the end of the year but for me (must be the years of retail) I always consider it to be June. 

This past year, you followed me on a journey that I could not elaborate on too much for fear of involving the innocent ☺
Thank you for the support as I delved into my past and some of the feelings that followed me from that. A couple of weeks ago I graduated from the course I was taking which means it is time to take the next step. As you know two years ago I entered a makeover contest, it was the catalyst that started me on a journey of healing and personal health. The contest helped me look at my attitude towards myself I saw the need for some change. Then I took a course that would take me into some of the painful corners of my life that I could no longer ignore...and now

Well now, now it is my year of physical health! I am tired of being tired!! I have spent the last two weeks preparing for yet another lifestyle change. I started doing more walking, and I shall change my eating habits. It seems that my thyroid is 'dysfunctional' (kind of funny if you ask me) so I will try to naturally jump start it. As most of you know Jordan is a type 1 Diabetic, this means that we eat very healthy...I changed the way I cooked once he was diagnosed and yet somehow I have still remained grossly overweight. This leads me to the hardest part, it seems that I will also need to take wheat out of my diet, since I LOVE bread, this will be a bit of an issue. I have no doubt that it will be difficult to give up and there may be moments where it may be dangerous to be in the same room as me but I am determined...which is one reason I share this with you.

I am committed to being healthy.....to being able to play with my gorgeous grandson, to feeling good about the person that God created me to be!! This week I will commit the following verse to memory:

 "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.
 And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

A measure of success.

How do we measure success? This is a question that has come up a few times as of late and it got me wondering....I know how to define professional success but how do I measure personal success?

May is always a busy month for me, I will share a couple of the events that I was helping plan. At the beginning of the month I was involved in a fund-raising event for Gallery 7, a local theatre that I love. At the last minute we had to change the format and although I was excited about the prospect in the end we did not meet our financial goals. Does this mean it was unsuccessful? Not at all, in the end we found that it was less work, less stressful and more fun!! With some work and some tweaking we can make this event much better next year....so yes, it was successful!

Then this weekend I spent 36 hours at History Makers, a local youth event that hosts about 3,500 teens. This is the third year I have been involved in this weekend and although it is a TON of work I love doing it. After all was said and done I was asked, was it successful?? I can't go into the financial side of it but what if I simply look at the teens that I met, interacted with and heard about? One young man was brought up in a satanic home, he was thrilled to purchase a t-shirt that read "God's got your back" and his leader felt he was ready to commit to living a Christ filled life; a young girl whose bible of 8 years was devastated that it was falling apart, it was an older bible that was no longer in print...if only I could describe the sheer joy on her face when I went to the store and found an old leather bible that matched her beloved tattered paperback; the young girl who was finally gaining some independence and making friends; the young man who had attended the last 3 years and greeted us like old friends; thousands of teens in a worship concert with hands raised, praising God....I could go on and  I should because yes, it was successful!!

That leads me to wonder how do we measure personal success? In order to measure our personal success, we have to be able to look past how much money or power we have gained. Personal success is also marked by examining spiritual growth, emotional growth and attitude towards life. As I make a mental list of all that I have accomplished these past 20 years I can see what I deem successes and failures. As I make an inventory of them I wonder what does God think? How would he measure my success?  

As I started to search the bible I am thrilled to find answers...starting with King David as he spoke to Solomon, "Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go." 1 Kings 2:3. I continued to search and find more than 20 references to success (not exhausted at all) and I can take comfort...my success is measured by the Lord.