Wednesday Weigh-in: Week 20

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For those of you wanting to join the weigh-in, please leave a link to your post in comments.  I have not had time to find a solution for Linky this week. 

Today is a day when I would like to put my hand up toward the computer screen, shake my head and say, "I don't want to talk about it."

*sigh*

However, I made a commitment to do this.  To be real.  To tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  So here goes...

I gained 1.5 pounds this week

which lowers my weight-loss total to 25 pounds.

:(

This is the first week I have gained in 20 weeks, and there is a simple reason why.

I did not follow my own advice.  I only made it to MFP once this week and did not carry my food journal with me. 

I was way too busy this week, too.  In the mere seven days since I last reported, I have done the following:

• Lead a monthly mom's meeting
• Take Orville to the orthopedist
• Attend the circus
• Coordinate a Valentine's Day skating party for over 100 people
• Attend a second Vday party
• Lead a science fair committee meeting and finalize registration
• Add a new flute student to my schedule
• Assist the boys in setting up their science fair projects
• Start a new blog and post 3 articles
• Have an article published at MMCW
• Prepare an extra-special Valentine's Day meal for my family
• Tutor or teach flute every week day due to make-up lessons and rearranged schedules for all those meetings and parties!

Oh yeah...

... and there was this thing called homeschool, too.  And somewhere in the midst of all that, I cleaned the house, put together curricular plans for next year, and began registration for classes my husband and I will teach next fall.

And did I mention that THERE WAS CHOCOLATE EVERYWHERE I WENT?!

Valentine's Day was much more difficult to navigate than Thanksgiving and Christmas were.  All of my students gave me boxes of chocolates and they served me chocolate cake while I tutored them.  When a precious child hands you a big red heart filled with chocolate goodness and tells you they love you while smiling from ear-to-ear, you just have to eat some chocolate. 

I gained that weight for the cause of love.

That makes it sound much more noble, doesn't it?

*sigh*

Well anyway, today begins a new weight-loss week for me, and I am thankful for a fresh start.  It is a reminder of God's grace and how totally dependent upon and indebted to Him I am. If I had to earn favor with Him, I would be doomed.  However...

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

of whom I am the foremost. 

But I received mercy for this reason,

that in me, as the foremost,

Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience

as an example to those

who were to believe in him for eternal life. 

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible,

the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. 

Amen.

1Tim 1:15-17

How thankful I am for His perfect patience toward me, that He loves me and I have favor with Him as imperfect as I am.  I can't even stick to a diet perfectly when losing weight is what I most desire for myself.  My weakness causes me to stand in awe of the greatness and perfection of Christ.  Only He is worthy of our praise. 

So this week I will seek the grace to start anew.  The house has been purged of chocolate (I let the boys eat the rest!), and I have my journal close at hand.  I will be seeking extra measures of grace daily, more likely moment-by-moment, to get back on track and do what I know needs to be done. 

Please pray for me this week as follows:

1. For perseverance.  I don't want discouragement to creep in and defeat me.  Pray for God's protection on my thought-life, that I won't "beat myself up" but will just get back to doing what works.
2. For rest.  This week really was too much, and most of it was my doing, meaning there were things on my schedule that did not have to be there.  We have a nice weekend planned to enjoy the Great Backyard Bird Count as a family.  M has Monday off from work, and it looks like the weather is going to be lovely.  I think a few slow days of bird watching will do me some real good.  Pray that I will be refreshed.
3. For wisdom.  Most weeks are not as busy as this past week; however, there are a few things on my schedule that have to go.  The tutoring business is growing for both M and me, and this is something that we have a family vision for doing.  We are praying about what existing commitments have to be removed to make that possible.
4. For a replacement.  I have asked someone to serve as the support group president next year.  I have served for almost 2 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it, but it seems this is one of the things that has to go for the sake of the family business.  I am asking the Lord to send someone to replace me.
5. For good health.  Strep and stomach viruses are moving through our community.  Orville is in bed today sick.  Pray that this will pass through our house quickly and won't keep anyone from enjoying our bird watching weekend.  Pray also that fevers will break and Orville will be able to keep down some food and liquid.
6. For my friends.  I look forward to reading their reports; however, a couple of them are going through rough patches with issues facing their families far more serious than my busy schedule and our viruses.  Pray for them to receive extra measures of grace and that their faith would be increased through these circumstances. 
7. For this blog.  Though my blog may just seem like a weight-loss blog as of late, it is really about me learning to enjoy God while glorifying Him, even in the mundane, even when things don't go my way, like this week's weigh-in.  I pray that all who read and participate in this meme will taste and see that the Lord is good.

Happy Healthy Living!

Dawn