Guided By Grace Life Coaching

Well, our two days in Mt. Pleasant for the kids' basketball tournaments taught me a few things. For one thing, it taught me again just how blessed we are to have our kids playing basketball with the organizations they are. We are surrounded by amazing coaches, players, fellow parents, and siblings. Our kids are learning a ton about basketball, and even more about friendships and playing to honor God. On Friday night, Mikayla was having all kinds of fun at our hotel with her teammates while Dave took Luke over to hang out and have fun with a bunch of his team. Saturday, when they weren't on the court, they were running around the facility having all kinds of fun with their friends. We all came home 100% worn out from all the fun and competition. Another basketball season is behind us, but what a great one it was! The drive home from Mt. Pleasant taught me how to appreciate the beauty of falling snow...and of driving slowly. It was a long, slow drive home. But we got home saf...

I don't know if it's a sign of how badly I need a vacation or how ready I am for the basketball season to be over...or just that I'm getting frustrated with how hard and slow this weight loss journey is. But I'm about at the end of my rope today! I just had to take a minute to vent and re-group my thoughts back to the "happy place." I know it's there. Somewhere. Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Proverbs 15:13 - "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." Proverbs 17:22 - "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Psalm 9:2 - "I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Psalm 16:9 -"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure." Psalm 28:7 -"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him...

Deuterononmy 2:3 ~ "You've circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north." This is my theme verse lately. It's kind of alarming to me how much progress I can make in my thinking & my habits and yet how quickly all those old ways can come screaming back! I feel like that little orange craving monster has taken up permanent residence in my head the last few days. When will this journey get easier?! I'm starting to come to the rather depressing realization that it probably won't. Just like an alcoholic will always have to struggle to stay away from alcohol and a cocaine addict will always fight the urge to get another fix, those of us who struggle with weight will always have these unhealthy tendencies just lurking around ready to pounce on us at any weak moment. I Peter 5:8 ~ "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I'd never quite taken this so literally...

Wow. My brain is swirling with all kinds of inspiring stories right now. Things like: Corrie ten Boom's life story ~ as I continue to read books about her amazing life, I'm challenged to step outside my comfort zone for God. Challenged to live out my life in such a way that others can see I am a passionate woman of faith. Challenged to be used by God in ways that I can't even fully conceive right now. Lysa TerKeurst's webcast this week. Wow. Best one yet (and her last)! Every one of her guests spoke to me in a powerful way. I have been especially challenged this past week to make this journey ALL about making the self-disciplined choice for the rest of my life. To keep my focus not on what I can't have (certain foods), but on what I CAN have (a deep, personal, powerful relationship with my Creator!). This journey is truly NOT one about weight. It's one about my spiritual life. Oh, friends. This has got me thinking of some BIG things! Big things. Lastly, some ...

Boy, I was sure reeling from that "go all month, work really hard, don't lose a single pound" situation. I wasn't exactly doing the best job of letting it go. I, instead, was hanging on to all the hard feelings associated with that dreaded number on the scale. I mean...REALLY hanging on. (My self-talk since Tuesday's weigh-in haven't exactly been the most uplifting of times.) Then, last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I had a little moment. A moment where I remembered a phone conversation with a friend on January 7th. That friend had asked me how much weight I had lost to that point and I said 21 pounds (and she proceeded to say that she had found it for me...much to her dismay). Hmmm....21 pounds on January 7th? Wait a minute. I must have mis-read my weight loss chart on Tuesday! Could it be?! So this morning, that was one of the first things I did. And to my wonderful joy I find...I was looking at the wrong number on the chart when I thought I had go...

Snow!! It's been one of those rare occasions where the meteorologists have been talking up this storm like it was going to be huge...and it really was! Last night there was so much snowing and blowing and drifting and white-outs just outside our bedroom window, that we slept with the curtains open so we could watch the show throughout the night. That howling wind woke me up a few times and all I could say as I looked out the window was, "Wow!". Truly amazing. Then Dave and I were like kids on Christmas morning as we woke up and started seeing the 3-4 foot drifts in our driveway. And we watched with hilarity as our dog assessed the unusual situation and wasn't quite sure just WHERE he was supposed to go to the bathroom amidst all that white stuff. After an hour + of Dave snow blowing our driveway (while I watched with coffee mug in hand under the covers in our room with the local news on the TV), Dave came inside and we continued to watch the scene out our bedroom ...

I am really glad today was Monday. (Yes, you heard that right.) Monday sounded REALLY good to me today. Last week was an extremely hectic one in our household. Every day had at least two things on the calendar...and Saturday sent all 5 of us scurrying in several different directions. It felt really good to come together as a family on Saturday night and celebrate our day! The culmination of our crazy week was Dave, Luke & Hannah all attending and winning trophies at the Awana Grand Prix (Hannah won two trophies...just like her big sissy did two years in a row), Mikayla traveling to Lansing with her team and winning their game, and me spending day two of the local homeschool convention with one of my bestest friends. A very busy yet successful day. The perfect way to finish out a crazy week! So on Sunday, I literally put "Do Nothing" on the Outlook calendar for the entire afternoon. Dave got a kick out of that when his ipod reminded him to do nothing from noon to 6:00. O...