Why does chocolate taste so good?

I marveled at the girl in my class who could save her candy for later. That lonely piece of candy would scream at me from the corner of her desk, and I couldn't believe she wasn't going to eat it right away. Come on! It could get dusty, or knocked off, or ... or ... I don't know, just forgotten! How could she do this? What gene did she have that I didn't?

I marveled at the girl who didn't eat anything, or very much of anything at lunch. She just didn't seem to care about food. HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE ABOUT FOOD?! She was thin, pretty, and the boys loved her. I cared about eating. I was usually starving by lunch, and don't think about cutting in front of me in line! I wasn't as thin as the girl who didn't care about food, but I wasn't fat either. Until now. I still care about food.

I marvel at my husband, who can save his candy and doesn't care about food. Ok, he cares about food a little, but he FORGETS to eat if he's working. Who forgets to eat? I know, I just told you Chad does. Guess who stays thin? Guess who has tons of energy? Guess who can still wear the same clothes as when we were first married? Chad. Sometimes I want to scream. He got the gene and I didn't.

I don't know if my food issues came from having to guard my plate from my family members. (They would steal food off my plate when I weren't looking, simply to be funny. My grandfather could switch plates with you if you weren't careful. He was good.) Maybe my issues come from growing up very poor, and knowing what food stamps were at a very young age, and what getting food pantry food meant. We went through some hard times when I watched my parents worry about where the next meal was going to come from. My food issues could just be my bad habits, or my desire to seek comfort from food instead of God. All I know is I have issues.

My weight is now a problem. I am lethargic, and my back aches from all the pounds it has to support. I get scared when I accidentally see myself in the mirror when I am changing clothes...I try to avoid it as much as possible. I stopped exercising when I started having kids. I just didn't take the time, I thought joining a sports league was selfish, and finding a babysitter all the time was a hassle. After 8 years of this my body needs a new course of action. Heck, it needs any action it can get!

Keeping the theme of resolutions, here's my physical resolution. Get healthy in 2008. I need accountability and a measurable plan of action. I joined the Temple Builders group at church. Pretty much all I do is weigh myself after church and my friend keeps track of everyone's numbers. My sister has done the same. This gives me a measureable record. I am reading Body Clutter by Marla Cilley and LeAnne Eli. This book is helping me to investigate where my eating philosophy comes from. I haven't gotten too far into it, but it seems to help others. I am actively trying to stop eating after 8 pm. I am only having one plate of food at meals. I am getting up from the table when I am done, even if everyone isn't done yet. (I tend to keep eating to have something to do.) I haven't come up with a plan for exercise yet, I think I have too many excuses (finding a babysitter, the expense of a gym membership, have you ever tried to work out with a video with 5 kids and 2 dogs?!).

I am praying for God to show me how I can fit exercise in my life. He always delivers.

Breaking down Resolutions in 2008

I find myself once again enjoying a fresh new calendar. Yes, this is the 24th day of 2008, and no I didn't just buy a new calendar.

I have a calendar fetish. Big empty squares. Clean white pages. Just waiting for my pencil, my pen, my highlighter, my stickers.

Each month's empty pages hold so much potential for

growth...

change...

hope.

Besides the fact that I love to use my calendar for normal stuff like scheduling doctor appointments for 7 humans and 3 pets, Awana theme nights, and Stampin' Up! events, I use my calendar for making menus, cleaning schedules, recording milestones, and to do lists. My calendar is the epicenter for recording the time eaters of my busy, large family.

What the heck does this have to do with resolutions? The obvious answer is January 1 starts the new calendar and the rush to faux-commit (I made this word up, my family calls this Mera-phrasing!) ourselves to changing every weakness into a strength.

But, I am not always obvious. Thoroughly versed in goal setting and not so thoroughly versed in project planning, I am resolving to break down each resolution into manageable, bite sized action steps. Measurable, with a timeframe. Doable.

My biggest and most sweeping resolution for 2008 is to see myself succeed. I define success as meeting and hopefully exceeding my life goals.

Spiritual
Physical
Relational
Emotional
Professional

Yup, I want a better relationship with the Master Planner. He created hope, change and growth. He created me. Heck, He created calendars!! His word says if I draw near to Him, He will draw near to moi, James 4:8, Mera-phrased. I am pretty much clear on how...schedule and do my Bible reading, commit to praying more alone and with others, journaling what He tells me lest I forget (which I will if I don't write it down!), and reaching out to others for the sake of the Gospel - which will always remind you of His Love.

So...how will I sustain this vertical momentum? Ok, I have started meeting with some beautiful women for accountability and reading. We read 10 chapters a week, and I am marking off what I have read (measurable!) to see how much of the Bible I read by the end of the year.

Romans 15:4 says, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach

us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have

hope." Cool, huh?

I have enlisted Mr. Incredible, aka my hubby, to pray with me for 40 days on a number of things for the people and situations in our lives. We pray every night before we go to bed. YEA!!

I am trying to journal, hence this blog. I will be writing the more personal things ya'll don't care to know in a book at home, but suffice to say you can read most of My Journey '08 right here.

As for sharing the Gospel, I am working on a couple projects that will enable me to be sharing with women in different walks of life. Details aren't solidified, but they will be soon, God willing!

Manageable, measurable, accountable. Success.