August 31, 2012 - Fighting On This End

I hope you don't mind that I sometimes include you in my conversations with other family members. :) Yesterday, I heard from a couple of people who are basically REALLY tired - tired of "dieting," tired of always having to cook, tired of fighting. After hearing some of these, I went to my office and I felt the Lord bring a word of hope to my spirit. Here's the truth - we either FIGHT on this end or we FIGHT on the other end. Let me explain. While fighting to find time to cook or denying our flesh that Cinnabon - we can grown tired and convince ourselves that the FIGHT is "just not worth it." Let me tell you this - I would rather fight for new recipes (plan to come to my house Sunday night), fight to get my water in, fight to stay on plan than FIGHT cancer, diabetes, or heart disease later in life. Somebody shout "AMEN." Getting our water in daily is a WHOLE LOT EASIER THAN LOOSING A FOOT! Sometimes we all need a reality check. Life is a series of battles, but occasionally we get to "pick and choose" where our battles lie. I choose to FIGHT at this end and not against disease. We need to really put that TRUTH in the front of our thoughts. God designed the vessel (our bodies) and he placed around us the tools needed to keep us healthy......as stewards we have a responsibility to the Maker to do the best we can to watch over the vessel. (AMEN -preaching again!) Let's give our bodies and cells a FIGHTING chance. "Well, you don't understand how busy I am.........." Listen, we are all busy, but I am NEVER TOO BUSY to fight for my life. (can you tell I am passionate about this?) If you are tired of the fight, I want to encourage you to speak truth into the atmosphere of your life today. I want you to make declarations INTO THE AIR so your spirit hears the truth and you are renewed in your passion to fight on this end. Repeat this verse: I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. Phil 4:13 Msg 13 Christ gives me the strength to face anything. Phil 4:13 CEV I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who[a]infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. Phil 4:13 AMP Okay gang - come Sunday night! Bring a friend. I am making South of the Border Meatloaf (new recipe from last night), and Chocolate Pound Cake. YUM! PK

August 30, 2012 - Never Fuel The Fires of Failure

Good morning and happy Thursday! (Friday is just around the corner - yea!) And, college football starts this weekend, so my life is full. YES! During Bible study last night, we were talking about how the enemy of our soul targets certain sheep and they become EASY prey. We then discussed how certain types of people actually fuel the attack of the enemy - discontent, discouraged, downcast, depressed. I want to use that and talk about our journey for a moment. In my life, I have been a yo-yo with my weight management. During years when life was "perfect" it was easier to control my weight and make fairly decent choices. BUT WHEN THE DARK CLOUDS CAME.......fighting for my health went out the window. Eventually I lost the will and the desire to fight for anything. I accepted defeat and comforted myself with BAD excuses. I actually fueled the fires of failure. On the inside I was CRYING for help and hope, on the outside I was simply being the yo-yo. I spoke with someone yesterday who was reliving my journey.....yo-yo, yo-yo, yo-yo. I knew that God had plans for my life and some days I could grab that well - others not so. Somedays I could make great choices and some days not. WHY???? I honestly believe that being desperate to LIVE is the key. As I spoke with someone yesterday, they said, "well, i'll be okay if I could slow down on the sugar. I really try hard and do good sometimes, but then the sugar." I looked at this person and said, "then you are not desperate to live. Statements like that simply FUEL THE FIRES OF FAILURE." They responded, "Is that like being desperate to get saved? Like when you know you have no hope and turn to Jesus and you make every effort to live in the truth? I remember being desperate to be free and needing Jesus." YES! YES! YES! Being desperate to be free from sin and born again - DESPERATE enough to never look back - is what I'm talking about. I know all of us have days of struggle, but let's not fuel the fires of failure. If you're starving - EAT.......but eat something on plan. Don't reward bad behavior. Be aggressive with your fueling - refuel your cells, refuel you body with fluids, refuel your spirit with the Word daily. If we are refueling fires - let's refuel fires that give us light, hope, and health by making wise choices daily as opposed to refueling fires of failure by making excuses. Fire it up today and choose life! Much love - PK

August 29, 2012 - The Big Hit

Good morning to you all, I am home from the retreat with our interns and back into the swing of life. I have met with several people lately who are making great changes to their health plan and some who are starting the journey. Either way - I am so proud that people are choosing LIFE over prison. Even while with the interns, I cut peaches into slivers, with the skin remaining, and sprinkled them with Truvia for a snack FOR ME and within seconds, the whole bowl was gone. They were amazed that peaches tasted soooo good. :) I laughed - whole food, with the skin, no white sugar and they were fighting over the last one. Someone asked, "those are not real peaches, right?" YES! Real, whole peaches that bring life and health. It's amazing how these "healthy" foods are hidden behind processed milk shakes and desserts from boxes. But, wow did the flavor POP and WOW did that whole bowl get consumed. I just smiled - kids eating healthy and fighting over a REAL peach. Go figure. The other big hit was spaghetti squash. Most had never seen one and were amazed at how they flaked like angel hair pasta. But the BIG HIT was the coconut whipped cream with xylitol, which I used over fresh strawberries and blueberries for dessert Sunday night. I normally make brownies, but not this year. It was a BIG hit. They ate it like ice cream. NOW, I did buy some cookies and a few other things, but there were healthy options and they ate those too! The moral of the story - our families can be trained to enjoy whole foods and perhaps come to a place of choosing them. Our job - provide them with the "good stuff" and train them to enjoy the "real" over the processed. It requires more planned effort - but our families are worth it. Cooking for the interns proved to me that teens, sometimes the MOST picky, can PICK correctly if healthy food tastes good. wink-wink Have an awesome Wednesday! Are you planning and preparing for a football weekend and Labor Day parties??? I am! :) PS - Life Group meets at my house at 6:00 this Sunday. Bring a healthy dish and the recipe to share. :) We had a great time last month. ALLL are welcome and bring a friend (people who are not in our family are invited as well - any desiring to get new, healthy recipes). We eat, share, and pray for our health. Please let me know if you are coming so I know how to prepare. PK

August 24, 2012 - Healing In The Fluid

Happy Friday everyone, Just a quick thought today and word to bring encouragement. I woke up yesterday morning with fluid running from my left eye. As I opened my eye, I realized it was hurting - perhaps I scratched it accidentally in the night. :( As I sat yesterday trying to get the water to slow down, I remembered that when we have a blister arise, from whatever, it is important to never puncture the blister but allow the FLUID to remain around the wound until the blister releases on it's on. There's healing in the fluid. The fluid protects the new growth and shields in from the harshness it may encounter until new skin, or cells, have brought new life to that area. Isn't it cool that FLUIDS, especially water, are so vital to our health journey. If we are going to lose weight and keep it off, our water intake has to be at the top of the list of "must do's." Our organs - all of them - need water for health. Fat that metabolizes must be flushed from our system or within 24 hours, will reconstitute and store AGAIN as fat. Water helps keep us full and our heart beating in good rhythm. Fluid plays a part in keeping us from fatigue, dizziness, and headaches. There's healing in the fluid. But BEST OF ALL - on a spiritual level the Holy Spirit is often represented as water and his heart is always to bring healing to areas of our lives. Let's hydrate ourselves today BOTH in the natural and the spiritual realms. Healing..... here we come! Have a great weekend, PK

August 23, 2012 - Are You Smiling?

Is anyone else sensing an unusually cool August? I love the cooler temps, but so do my roses. As soon as the temperature begins to fall, they seem to smile. Although we water them, they simply don't do as well in the blistering heat. They don't do well in a semi-shade situation either, but respond well to the cooler temps. Picky, right? But isn't that the way most of us are? I do much better in certain situations than others. I wish I responded the same way EACH time to all situations. But that is not the way God created me. While He never promised we would go through life drama free, he does promise (in multiple places in His Word) to be ON CALL to help when we need him. The trials and periods of testing can be intense at times........really intense. Drama seems to always show up at my house when I am hungry. But while drama comes, it also leaves. We have to remember.....to everything there is a season (Proverbs). While some of us are fighting desperately with a low number of calories right now, some are resting and working the plan. Some are wrestling with the "last 10" while others are cruising toward their goal weight. We cannot compare and we cannot become discouraged. Being faithful to weigh, eat, rest and hydrate properly will ensure that some of these seasons conclude as they are supposed to. Making excuses to take a bite of this, or take a bite of that may prolong a season. While we have NO control over the seasons in nature, I am CONVINCED that we do have some control over the seasons in our lives - especially as that relates to our health. I was looking at some photo albums 2 nights ago and I almost cried - I had NO idea that I was THAT heavy! My daughter said, "mom, does that make you want to cry?" My husband said, "you look so unhappy." I was and I never seemed to find a way out, a change, a new season. My bad choices kept me in that season for most of my life. I never WANTED to accept the fact I had a large portion of control in changing the temperature of that season. I just "lived" there and was miserable! I am in a different "season" now and with everything in my heart - I plan to hang right here. My smile is different now; not simply because I weigh less, but because I am healthy. Are you smiling? PK

August 22, 2012 - Living Beyond The Fast Food Lane

Good morning friends, As I listened last night to a report on the "TERRIBLE plight" of our country due to the drought and the effect of the failed corn crop, I was shocked at some of the statistics. I had no clue that 75% of everything we purchase has corn or high fructose corn syrup in it. The reporter continued to elaborate on the importance of corn as a filler - even in some of our toothpaste. UGH! They then journeyed down the road of where we would see the immediate impact of this failed crop - the grocery store and gas pump. For a wee bit - I was concerned as I know food cost for healthy eaters can be higher than normal anyway. Then, I started "processing" what they were saying. They were saying, REALLY, that PROCESSED foods contain this corn filler and were going to increase in cost. Those "fast lane" choices are pumped with a corn product so the cost can remain low. AHHHHH......I began to see this beautiful picture. The reporters then stated that meat will increase, as most animals are fed with corn, but fruits and veggies may go down. Shelf foods will increase while "whole foods" may actually decrease in cost so that markets can remain in business. YES!!!!! That's good news for us - we try as often as possible to stay in the "whole foods lane" as opposed to the "fast lane" of processed foods. Right? This means we HAVE TO COOK, yes, but while everyone else is scrambling, we can be a beacon of hope. We have discussed many times that cooking whole foods takes planning - but we can take one day a week and cook a BUNCH (southern term) and reheat. I don't need canned squash or canned beans or twinkies.......I cook REAL foods and make my own desserts. You know what's funny - I made a sugar free chocolate pound cake with almond flour to take to a staff party yesterday and sitting RIGHT BESIDE the healthy cake and fruit (sweetened with xylitol) was a chocolate, store bought cake and ice cream. At the end of lunch, all my stuff was gone and the processed, FAST LANE stuff was still sitting there. We CAN ride through this "corn storm" with a smile because we already choose the fruits and veggies and bake our own stuff. Yes, meat may increase, so start watching for your cuts of meat NOW and get those to the freezer for the winter. Going to restaurants may increase as they use a lot of processed items, that's okay too. I can take my food to work (and not go out for lunch) and cook at home until the storm passes. And, maybe we could start doing some HEALTHY dinner parties instead of going out???? Whole foods, great taste, less cost, and great fellowship too. Maybe we could get together and do big cooking days, share the cost and burden so we have healthy things in the fridge and freezer??? Let's look ahead at all these BLEAK reports and smile because God has been preparing us for some time now to live beyond the fast food lane. All our whole foods have NO fillers and are not going to be consumed by the failed corn crop. YEA!!!! Smile today and hug someone - it lowers your blood pressure! PK

August 21, 2012 - Is God Your Diet Pill?

Good morning to all, I am back to the world of internet. AT&T had taken a hit in our area and we had nothing - phone, internet or cell. Isn't it amazing how dependent we are on those devices for communication? HOWEVER, I am blessed to have those tools at my finger tips in order to communicate. Mixed feelings, but I KNOW I'd rather live WITH them than without. :) I was reading last night from Oswald Chambers' devotional and a passage jumped out at me. Many of us know that God's word teaches that he answers prayer. We know that God hears us and God cares! The real issue is not IF GOD HEARS, the issue comes when he doesn't answer the way we feel he should. For many years I begged God to release me from the prison of obesity in which I found myself. I prayed and I begged while opening my mouth and ingesting 4000+ calories each day. Sometimes I became angry with God. I really thought He was "my diet pill." Can we be honest??? Oswald Chambers stated this, "the point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only to get answers, we will become irritated and angry." That was SO me! I felt like God didn't want to help ME and I even said, "well, God must want me to be fat." NO!!! That was irritation and anger speaking because I wanted to be skinny and eat as I wanted. I wanted God to be my magic DIET PILL. Guess what? I would have stayed right there for the remainder of my life if I had not turned that agitation and desperation into something positive. And, maybe God's answer was to allow my frustration to develop to a place where he knew I WOULD FINALLY FIGHT MY WAY OUT! God does answer prayer; God does hear every prayer; and God does CARE! But God never promises that our life will be void of discipline or restriction. He DOES promise to never leave us or forsake us! He does promise to guide us beside still waters - but he NEVER promised to be our diet pill. :) I hope you see what I'm trying to say. Pray without ceasing because you love God and want a relationship with him..........awesome...............no strings attached! Then, get up from prayer, plan a healthy day and stick to it. Amen? Loving you from my home this morning, PK PS - I KNOW you can do it.