Lose Weight in 2008!

Have you resolved to lose weight this year, but find yourself skeptical, since every past attempt has only ended in failure? This year, instead of relying on your strength alone, I encourage you to get connected and draw strength in three ways.

Why three? Well first of all, the Bible tells us that a chord of three is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12), so that’s one reason, but perhaps more importantly I draw this conclusion from a letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 13:1, he wrote, “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (NIV). This matter of two or three witnesses is echoed throughout the Bible, both in Deuteronomy and again in Matthew. Jesus also illustrates the power of unity by saying, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” – Matthew 18:19 & 20, NIV.

Matthew chapter four tells us that after Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, He was tempted of the devil. What harm could it have caused if He had yielded to temptation and eaten one slice of bread? He may have asked Himself the same question when He was tempted to do so, but in wisdom, He chose not to sin. Instead He rebuked the temptation, saying, “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” – Matthew 4:4, NIV. His ability to press on proved that He rested on the strength of God, and on Him alone.

Through the temptations that Jesus faced, He understands the struggles that you face as well--struggles with addiction, struggles with food... He understands your desire to be released from this stronghold, and like Him, you can be. His mercy and grace are there to add strength to our weakness. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:15&16

David also understood the power that fellowship with God holds when he prayed, “Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." - Psalm 5:1-3, NIV.

By their examples we see men, who while tested, remained focused—waiting and expecting God to move in their lives.

Are you living your life with eyes open, focused on the goal set before you? Or are you mindlessly moving along without thought?

Keeping our lives in communion with God is the best way to stay focused, and to live out a purposed life. It keeps us not only accountable to ourselves, but also accountable to God. Through prayer and meditation we tend to do a little soul searching, while we provide an invitation for God to do the same. Listening to and following the Spirit allows us to discover and deal with negative behavior.

Keeping a journal is another way in which to discover bad habits and behaviors that may otherwise go unnoticed. In fact it's been proven that monitored behavior equals improved behavior--even if we're monitoring ourselves. We may not be so eager to grab a second handful of chips if we know that it won't be going unnoticed this time, right ladies? In fact we just might be inclined to drop that handful to half since we're marking it down.

There is also a third way to keep ourselves accountable, which is highly important. That is the accountability of a good partner. Proverbs 27:17, tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (NIV)

Stop for a moment to consider some of the people that you’ve been close to over the years—the good and the bad. Now close your eyes and think of one thing that you picked up from each of them. Let your mind go back to that time, and find at least one thing that has stuck with you till now. Perhaps they had a way of bringing out your feminine side, perhaps they led you to Homeschooling your kids, maybe it was a deeper walk of faith, maybe it was a love for shopping, or maybe it was sending you here. Whatever it is, people have a way of rubbing off on us whether we realize it or not.

It’s unfortunate when a child returns home from school clucking like a chicken for two weeks because one kid convinced him that he is one, but on the other hand, it’s a blessing when he later takes his Bible to school because another child spurred him on. It’s hardly different for us. We’re still little kids inside, picking up this habit and that one, from the world around us.

Because of this exchange of habits, it’s important for us to seek out the “iron” in our lives--those who sharpen our senses and spur us on to do good. Where do they come from? When you start living the way that you purpose to live, they have a way of finding you. It’s often been found that, “like minds attract.”

You can also take the initiative to seek them out at places like the gym, a weight loss group, online, or at church. Just keep a prayerful watch, and see who God sends your way. But while you do, a word of caution—the wrong mentor can attribute to your failure, as easily as the right one can to your success. In fact it’s been said that it’s far easier to be lowered into a pit than to be pulled out from one.

How do we know a good accountability partner when we meet one? They should make us think twice about the decisions we make, by either their example, or their words. A good mentor will both challenge and encourage us through the journey.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NIV

When you do find a partner, remember that with every relationship you’re getting something from, you’re also giving something back. That responsibility makes me wonder what I’ve planted in the past, in hopes that I've been a good influence on my friends. Hebrews 10:24, reminds us, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”(NIV) Again, it’s not mindless activity; we should consider ways to encourage one another and to spur them on too.

This year, I encourage you to be accountable in three ways:

1. To God by keeping yourself in daily communion with Him. Read the Bible, and develop a stronger prayer life.
2. To yourself, by journalizing the activities that you’d like to see changed or improved on. Write down what you eat, and how much you exercise so that you can see where you need to make change.
3. Finally, to another person, either by finding a partner, joining a support group, or by praying that God will send someone your way. I've recently made a decision to pray with my accountability partner about the goals that we have in common. Perhaps this is a habit that you'd also like to pick up.

Till next month, ladies—be accountable, and Live Well!

©2008, Darlene Schacht

*We advise that you always consult your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program.

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Weigh in on your progress each Wednesday at:

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Christ-Centered 12 Steps

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our dependencies - that our life had become unmanageable.

For I know that nothing good lives in me that is, in my sinful nature; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7:18

2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:1-3

3.We made a decision to turn our will and our life over to the care of God as we understood him.

Therefore, I urge you, therefore, brothers, in view of God's mercy , to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1

4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40

5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs.

Therefore, confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. James 5:16a

6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10

7. We humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9

8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31

9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, first go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24

10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! I Corinthians 10:12

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Colossians 3:16a

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1

Imagination

SparkPeople Translation
Has your life become stale or redundant? Most of us have days when life seems like it is the same as the day before. Try to think of new ways to approach your life. Look at the things you are having problems with and try to think of new ways to solve them. Thinking creatively is an important characteristic in terms of leadership.

My Interpretation
I had a Pastor who used to admonish us to use our "sanctified imagination." I was never quite sure what he meant by that, but I think he wanted us to picture something in our minds that we had not seen yet or was from the past. To imagine is to have dreams that we can hope for. To hope is to rely on the One who is the Dream giver. Only He can make our dreams come true because He is the One who puts the dreams within us. So, go on and use your "sanctified imagination." Just remember to ask the Dream giver to give it to you.

Honesty

SparkPeople Translation
Sometimes goals are just hard to achieve. Even if you have been actively working for improvement, the end can seem far away. Take a minute, however, and look around you. Many times, the path to that goal can be filled with beneficial side effects. Perhaps your goal was to lose weight, and although you are still trying to lose that last 10 pounds, a benefit you’ve gained is that you feel less tired during the day, with much more positive energy to exert. So instead of giving up, keep on pushing, for good is bound to come, even if it is from unexpected places. You learn amazing things along the way. Aim high, and enjoy the ride to the top.

My Interpretation
It takes perseverance to achieve a goals, no matter how hard we think it is to reach it. Nothing is easy in life, so you've got to keep plugging along to what you think is important to you. Joyce Meyer wrote a book entitled "Enjoying Where You Are, On The Way to Where You're Going." God just may want to give you a gift so don't be so focused on the goal line that you miss the scenery around you.

Happiness

SparkPeople Translation
Are you able to find inner peace? This is a difficult task for many of us since the world is so busy and often frantic around us. In order to maintain good personal health it is necessary to think about inner peace. Find ways to reflect on your life and accept the things you cannot change. Meditation and breathing exercises can often help you calm your body down and find inner peace. If you cannot be at peace with yourself, it will be hard to be at peace at all...remember this as you try to become a more peaceful person.

My Interpretation
Ah, the elusive 'happiness.' I agree with SparkPeople that inner peace is necessary. However, true peace can only be found in Jesus Christ. You can meditate and take deep, cleansing breaths until you're blue in the face, but if you're not meditating on the One that has your answer, you're wasting your time on temporary relief. As the serenity prayer says, we can be reasonably happy in this life, but extremely happy in the next with Him. Happiness is found within so long as Jesus is there.

Goals

SparkPeople Translation
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve tried to plan everything? Do you get frustrated when your plans don’t work? Many times we try to plan every aspect of a project or vacation and when it doesn’t go exactly as we had planned it to go, we get angry or anxious. The next time you have a project to work on or an event to plan, try to make contingency plans. You might find that the ability to be flexible is an extremely important characteristic of a good leader.

My Interpretation
Well of course you get frustrated when your plans don't work. Who wants to be a failure? Who wants their high hopes of grandeur to come crashing down? We don't want to fail, but for some reason we do, time after time after time. Why? Because we forget to add provisions for life to interrupt our best laid plans. We also fail to seek advice on our plans. "Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances (Prov.11:14, Message). Sometimes, we need the opinions of others because they may be able to see us better than we can. Just make sure it's someone who has your best interests at heart.

Friendships

SparkPeople Translation
Our really great friends are the ones that help us celebrate our victories no matter how big or small. Evaluate yourself, are you someone who can give people the credit they are due or are you someone that needs to always be number one? Evaluate your friendships and acquaintances and try to spend more time with people who can help you live your purpose.

My Interpretation
I've always liked this quote. Probably because I've spent a lifetime looking for just this person - the one that can help me live my purpose. It has taken me a lifetime and a 350 mile move to find what I was looking for. From the Holy Spirit's promptings, I was able to fearlessly move to an uncertain future. But I knew it had to be better than the one I was leaving behind. You know what? It is. When I finally allowed God to direct my steps, He allowed me to glimpse His will for my life and it's what I've been waiting a lifetime for.

Dreams

SparkPeople Translation
Do you stop trying when you think you’ve reached your limit? Many people use “limitations” as a stop sign in their lives. It is important to know your limits because injury and burn out can be a product of going too far. But the flip side of the coin is that you should never use your limitations as an excuse. Everyone needs to learn to take a chance and try. If you never try you will never grow as an individual. Are you using the same limits that you set for yourself years ago? Think about the things you wish you could do. What’s stopping you? Are your personal limitations getting in the way of your life? If they are, maybe it’s time to set some new goals to help you overcome your limitations?

My Interpretation
Limits are usually reached with anger and an "I'm through! I can't do this anymore!" We, as human beings, can only go so far and then what? Then we can either let go of the reigns of our mess and ask God to pick them up or we can stand in front of that limit and retry to figure out how to fix it. The correct answer seems easy to make, but usually isn't. It would have been much easier to give them to Him in the first place, but better late than never. Why do we do that? Why do we always think we can take care of everything on our own? PRIDE! Proverbs 11:2 says "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." That wisdom is from God. We all have our limits, but if we begin the journey with God, our limits can come a lot closer to our goals than we ever thought possible.

Determination

SparkPeople Translation
People that quit because of failure are being shortsighted. It’s not their fault. They’ve bought into the popular idea that failure and success are opposite ends of the scale. You either achieve one or the other. This kind of thinking ignores the fact that they can actually be part of the same, longer-term process. A process that eventually, inevitably, results in triumph. Failure is just another step closer to your goal. Edison knew that every time one of his lightbulb prototypes blew up, he was that much closer to success than to ultimate failure. He knew that if he had enough failures (and he had thousands), that he would reach the right answer. And in the end, he is famous for that one right answer and his failures may well have never existed. So don’t give up on your dreams. You never know when you might hit on that right answer.

My Interpretation
It is so tempting to give up, isn't it? "Why bother?", we say, "It's too hard, I'm not strong enough, I'll never make it." It is hard. No one ever promised that this walk would be easy or smooth, especially when we do it alone. It's time to grow up and realize that it is only with the Lord's help and guidance that we can come out as pure gold from a whole lot of tarnish and rust. We all fail sometimes. Never let anyone convince you that there is perfection in any other human being. There is only One who can claim that title and He is the One to be worshiped and praised. We're all a work in progress and our failures prove that at least we're trying. Keep going on; the trip is well worth the prize.

Creativity

SparkPeople Translation
Life is really an art form. No two lives are alike, and we each try to craft the best one possible out of what we’re given. Along the way we make mistakes. What you do with those mistakes is up to you. Some mistakes, like wearing your boxers on the outside of your pants, are just silly and can be ignored, no harm done. Others have more of an impact. With these mistakes, you have to know what part to keep and which part to throw away. You can keep the embarrassment of looking stupid, or the guilt of a bad decision. Or you can keep what they teach you and toss the rest. There’s no universal formula for good living. But by adding the lessons of experience while subtracting the fear of failure, you’re guaranteed to come out ahead.

My Interpretation
Life is really an art form, crafted by God. He has crafted us to be perfect in His Son, Jesus, but along the way we make mistakes. It's inevitable, so no matter how hard we try to be perfect, we still fail. That's because we fail in our own strength. We can only reach perfection in Him, but it's so hard to let go of the reigns of our lives. I see mistakes as choices we make when we come to a fork in the road. Which way to go? The way that seems right in our own eyes or the one the Holy Spirit is gently nudging us toward? Only one way is the correct way, the other leads us to a spiritual bumper that will hopefully knock us back on the road where we belong, unless we choose to jump over it and keep going down the wrong road. That's where experience comes in. We learn from our mistakes, eventually, then continue on until we hit another fork and have to decide again. That's the beauty of Life.

Courage

SparkPeople Translation
Have you ever let the opinions of others determine your path in life? If you have, you are like the majority of people. In our society, it is easy to be consumed by social pressured and to leave what you want to do with your life on a back burner. This reminds us that it is important to define what you want to do with your life. Do not accept it when others tell you which path you should take. Define yourself!

My Interpretation
Why is it that the opinions of the masses mean so much to us? I was just telling my son "you was born an original, don't die a copy." I have to remind myself that God created me so unique that my finger and hand prints are unlike anyone else's in the world. I'm different and am now just learning that it's okay to be so. The Lord knows what's best for us, not our parents, friends, spouses, or associates. Since His will for your life will be done anyway, why waste time agonizing over the opinions of others? Follow your passion and at the end of the road, He'll be waiting to say "well done, good and faithful servant."

Cloth

I'm almost finished with the VTech cloth. I found out that I can drop it off at Ben Franklin so that'll give me extra time to work on it. Only thing is, my shoulder hurts.

I've finished the cloth. I'll try to post a picture tomorrow. I think it's bigger than 8x8 but I'll give it in anyway.

Consistency

SparkPeople Translation
Personal improvement, whether it’s weight loss or skill building, is about creating or losing a habit. Still, somewhere along the way, it’s become an event. People diet until they lose 20 pounds – and then stop the smart eating and exercise that got them there. Once they reach their goal, they go back to the way they lived before and wonder why the weight comes back. For permanent change, habits need to stick around for the long run. In what way would you like to be excellent? What do people who are excellent in this way do on a regular basis? Can you do just one of those small things today? Of course one act does not build a foundation, but it does get you started. With repetition and time, that one action will seem more normal. Once it becomes a habit, it becomes part of who you are, and the transformation is complete.

My Interpretation
Why are good habits so difficult to form? Is it the time and energy it takes to form them? Or is it because it's just so much easier to stay where we are? No matter how much we desire change, if we try to do it alone, we will fail. We were not put on this earth as a solo act. Those who have gone before know what it's like. They've been there and are willing to lend a helping hand, shoulder to cry on, and/or ear to listen. They can tell you that without God, they couldn't have done it. So you now have at least two to walk with you down this path. Why go it alone?

Character

SparkPeople Translation
Ever get the feeling that you should be doing something other than what you are? Not just in the area of good vs. evil, but in everyday life. Do you ever feel guilty about doing a half-hearted job on a project or neglecting your duty to family? Listen to your conscience. It's telling you that you're getting off track. It knows what you're capable of and where your priorities are. If you neglect those standards, if you get your priorities mixed up, it's going to let you know about it. When you work, turn out a product that would make you proud, even if you think nobody notices. When you plan your day, make sure it agrees with the direction you want to head. That'll keep that nagging inner voice from reminding you that something is not quite right here. You may think no one is looking, but somebody is - you are.

My Interpretation
What exactly is this "it" that has been translated? It's the Holy Spirit that will tell you that you're getting off track. God's Spirit within you will let you know you're going in the wrong direction if it is away from the direction God wants you to go in. Not only are you looking, but the Spirit is, also.

Achievement

SparkPeople Translation
Do you hold yourself to the standards of other people, wishing you could be better than the next guy? Maybe this is motivating you, but an even greater skill is to just want to be better than yourself. How about pushing yourself to eat better, or walk longer after dinner each day? Goal setting is a great way to "compete" against yourself. You select the end result that you want in any concentration that you choose. Then, it is up to you, and only you, to work to achieve those goals. Thus, you'll be pushing yourself towards greatness, not creating unnecessary competition against others.

My Interpretation
Holding yourself to the standards of other people is a waste of time and energy. Why not hold yourself to the standards of the God that created you? That way, you'll see that maybe you aren't a bad as you thought. In fact, you may find that your biggest competitors (negative thoughts)are not as big as you once thought. That way, the end result will be closer in sight than you thought and the greatness you seek is reachable.

What I'm Working on Now

I'm completing my one contribution to the Virginia Tech memorial fund by knitting an illusion ribbon square. Once that's done, I'm going to begin knitting a pair of socks on two circular needles. I also have other squares on other needles which I can get to anytime, but these are my two main focuses. At least for now. I'll post pictures soon.