God First?

I've received a couple of good suggestions on fighting my terrible eating habits. Thanks. I'm always open to more. This past weekend would be considered a success in this area. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were fairly controlled when it came to what I placed into my mouth. Even while having some pizza Saturday night. That Halloween candy still remains in bags in the garage for the girls to choose pieces from every now and then. I did steal their Curves granola bars but I don't believe they'll miss those. Those granola bars were a pretty good choice when there is still that full size Hershey's Bar with Almonds in the trick-or-treat bag. One thing I know is that I cannot allow myself to get overly hungry. I lose all control when I reach that point (the Curves bars were to help prevent that state).

Dennis talked about God First when it comes to our giving this Sunday morning. This made me think a lot about my time. Do I offer my time to God first? I believe this is my biggest struggle. I like to blame it on the kids, but it is my own fault. I will watch t.v., eat, spend my time on the computer, jump on the treadmill, or even just veg out. God needs to be first. This morning, I woke up and pulled out my one-year-Bible and read. That's a good start.

It would also be helpful to have God first when I'm eating. Sure, we pray before mealtime when we sit as a family. To be completely honest, when it's just me and the girls, I don't. This could do a lot to change my relationship with food if I would simply give thanks before I place anything into my mouth. After all, he brought the pie, right?

Dear Jesus...

Here’s a picture I don’t want to forget. My girls are eating doughnuts at their little table this morning – praying.

I did not catch the beginning of the prayer but here is what I witnessed:

Their hands are folded as Nikelle thanks God and prays:
“Please help Papa to feel better.”
“Please help Grams to take care of Papa.”
“Please help Papa not to die.”

Jaycie is simply repeating her big sister’s prayer as best as she can:

“Papa. Gaga.”

They are both holding their folded hands at their chins and I see Jaycie looking up (I only see Nike from behind).

“Amen.”

“Amen.”

They unfold their hands and picked up their doughnuts.

Aaah...the heart of a child.

And Jesus said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3

Dad Update 11-3-07

Dad is now out of ICU. His white blood cell count is at 1. Still not good but better. He still has a fever, but again, he's fighting. Things do seem to be improving somewhat. He's been receiving all sorts of different blood transfusions to get his blood counts back to where they need to be. His doctor told him he's in no shape right now to be receiving a stem cell transplant and besides, he thinks he'll likely need one more round of chemotherapy before we reach that step. Please continue to pray that the cancer does not spread while we are waiting on his blood counts.

Is there a problem with my scale?

This morning I stepped on the bathroom scale with hopes that some miracle occurred and I would have lost weight overnight. Here’s why it would have taken nothing shy of a miracle:

I went to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) last night knowing I would be faced with a smorgasbord of delicious food. My goal was to serve myself one plate of food (reasonable) and only one plate of food – that meant not returning for a second helping. Often as I do, however, I went back for that second plate. Deciding I needed to throw my plate in the garbage to prevent me from eating any additional food, I grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and brownie on the way back to my seat. That put me into that “blah” feeling of having eaten too much. Still, when I returned home, I served myself up the leftover (fattening – filled with butter and sugar) sweet potato casserole and watch some television with my husband. (The “Blah” feeling had dissipated by the time I returned home having had a couple hours pass.)

I have an ongoing struggle in this area. My goal at this point in my life is to conquer this sin of gluttony I continually participate in. The difficult part is that I am faced with this temptation many times throughout the day. It is especially difficult for me to stay mindful of what I put into my mouth when I am tired or at a social function.

I’m up for suggestions. I am a lifetime Weight Watchers member and believe in the program. I’m just having a difficult time getting control of my eating habits. It’s not so much about my weight as it is with the amount of food and lack of nutrition I place into my body.

I can make all kinds of excuses but the bottom line is that I enjoy food and eat too much of it. I’m looking for some action steps (or a good kick in the butt). Anyone willing to share some advice?

Dad Update 11-1-07

My dad was able to have the breathing tube taken out this morning! Thank God it did not have to be in any longer. With every moment it was in, there was the possibility of infection. Now he just needs to get out of ICU (every moment he's in there is another possibility of infection).

Doctors have determined that all of this drama with his tongue is due to a staff infection. Whether it is from a new staff infection or it is the same MRSA that has been in his body that decided to attack a sore on his tongue, I don't know. The swelling has gone down and the sores have diminished. (Previously his tongue was black and now my mom said it looks fairly normal.)

The concern is that he still has a fever. Cultures are still being grown to see if he has another infection in his blood. My dad is far from being out of the woods but it is incredibly cool to see how awesome God is through all of this!

Thank you for your continued prayers. Please pray he can fight off this infection(s) so that they can return to focusing on beating this cancer!