A New Year, A New Commitment

This past year has been very challenging for me on a personal level. I have been more physically tired than I've been in my life (I'm wondering if it's medical - I'll be going to the doctor later this month to find out). But this has taken a toll on me as a mom and a woman of faith.

I have been lazy and neglected my time with God and my personal health. So this weekend, I spent some time in prayer and asked God to help me focus myself to see what goals I should have for this year. I have started a Health Journal to help me with my physical, social, spiritual and marital goals in an effort to become more healthy.

This means that tomorrow I will be starting a healthier "diet" plan, exercising and making sure I spend time in prayer every morning. I will also be working through a book of the Bible each month to help me become closer to God. How can I know His heart if I don't spend time in His Word?

The verse God keeps calling me back to is Deuteronomy 8:3b, "...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." This is going to be my life verse for 2008, to keep reminding myself that I need to spend time in the Word and that food is not all-important!

For January, I will be looking at the book of Daniel, since that's the book I'm feeling led to right now.

I'm trusting God that 2008 will be a year of tremendous growth for me on a spiritual level and on a physical level. I know that means I will likely go through some difficult stuff, but I know God will help me through it and teach me as we go through it.

I made this pretty Health Journal to help me stay motivated to journal what I'm doing! Hopefully that will help keep me on track!

Grandparents

What a blessing for our boys to have wonderful grandparents (on both sides of the family!). Last night, Ian's parents came over for supper, and lavished attention on Adam and Noah. Adam loved wrestling with Grandpa and listening to stories with Grandma. Noah loves to snuggle with them! Tomorrow, we'll leave for Kelowna to see my mom and John, and I know the boys will get lots of attention there, too.

Crazy Hat Day!

On Thursday it was crazy hat day at AWANA, so here's what I came up with in my infinite creativity! We took Adam's pirate hat and pinned stars to it! I drew the stars, he coloured them, and I cut them out. He was quite proud of his hat, and he wanted to wear it for days afterwards! Noah seems to like it too!

To My Dad

It has been ten years today that my dad passed away from colon cancer. His passing has gotten easier as the years have gone by, but this year seems particularly difficult. Ten years seems like such a long time to be without him, but it has gone so quickly. It feels like he was here only yesterday.

I was blessed to have two wonderful parents who loved each other and my sister and me, and who spent lots of time with us growing up. My dad was always involved in our sports activities and our school work. He encouraged us to always try our best, be honest, be on time as a courtesy to others, and to honour our commitments.

My favourite memory of my dad is just a few weeks before he died. He was in bed (it was afternoon, but he was very tired), and I was lying with my head on his chest. I was apologizing to him for not being the best daughter. I had been a pretty obnoxious teenager and felt I needed to say sorry for that! He told me to stop apologizing, and he said, "You'll never know how special you are." To me, that is such an amazing picture of a parent's love. I am so grateful for the 23 years I had with him, though it was much too short.

I love you, Daddy. I am so glad that I'll see you again in Heaven!

East to West

Okay, this is my new favourite song!

East to West - Casting Crowns

Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight

I know You've cast my sins as far
As the East is from the West
And I stand before You now as
As though I've never sinned but today
I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Jesus can You show me
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
Cause You know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again
Your truth Is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Jesus can You show me
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

I know You've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
But by the truth Your Word reveals
I'm not holding on to you
But You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far
The East is from the West
I don't have to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
(The arms of your mercy I find rest)
Cause You know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other (x2)

(Just how far, the East is from the West) (x3)

From one scarred hand to the other

On Cancer...

It's almost 2:30 in the morning, and I can't sleep. I think it's because I had three big diet cokes with supper and now the caffeine is keeping me buzzed. I'm so tired I can't even think straight!

I've been reading on my other blog about how people have been affected by cancer. It is so horrible. October is breast cancer awareness month, so I've gone pink on my main blog. I shared my story about my dad (you can read it on the link above) and invited people to share their own stories. One lady wrote that she is currently fighting the same cancer my dad had, and has been for three years. It looks like she is a believer from her blog profile. She has children and a husband. She says her prognosis isn't good.

What a horrible disease. It seems so random. How can one person get it and another not? Why does one person survive and another doesn't? The hopelessness of it can seem overwhelming.

Fortunately, there is a God who surpasses all hopelessness and randomness. He is in control and He has a plan. I am thankful that the above woman knows the Lord. Her life won't end when (if) she loses the fight with cancer. I am thankful that my dad came to know the Lord on the day he died so I know that I will see him again. (I'll share that story soon!)

Getting Out of the Food Pit!

Okay, it's been awhile since I posted here, so I'd better get something down! Actually, my devotional/prayer life has been going amazingly well. I made a commitment to get up early (VERY difficult for me!) so I can spend some time in prayer before the boys get up. I can't believe what a difference it makes to just commit the day to the Lord and give thanks for His care before I start the day. What a great God we serve!

I've been reading the Beth Moore book "Get Out of that Pit!" It's amazing! I have several pits that I've allowed myself to fall into (and some I've even climbed into on my own). One of them is the pit of overeating. I use food as entertainment, comfort, all sorts of things. Eating, of course, isn't sinful, but I had allowed food to become too much of an influence in my life. Besides being overweight, another consequence is that I think about food constantly - what am I going to eat next? when can I eat that yummy snack? what should I eat while I watch TV? It was all-consuming. I have tried every diet there is. Nothing works.

Beth has shown me that God is the only One who can get me out of the pit. And amazingly enough, He is pulling me out! I actually don't think about food all the time anymore. I don't feel like eating when I'm not hungry anymore (a miracle!). Beth uses the image of holding onto God's leg while He steps out of the pit. That's what I'm doing - I'm holding on for dear life! And He's climbing out with me!

This seems like a small thing, but it was all-consuming in my life. Food was taking God's place in my heart and mind, and now God is taking back His rightful place. I feel a lot freer now. It is amazing - and I can't wait to see how He pulls me out of the other pits I'm in!