New Year............second chance (third, fourth, etc.)

I started out with this blog thinking I could lose weight. And boy, do I need to lose weight. I have two boys and a husband who needs me to take care of them. I have a family history of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes....the whole spectrum.

I realized this Christmas season that I need to take control. Many friends took pictures, which I was in just by chance. I saw that I had gained even more weight this year.

I am going to have to make some goals......I need to live. I don't think God is done with me.

I am tired.
I get stressed easily.
I have back and knee pain.
I need more energy.
I don't sleep more than 2 hours at a time. I believe I may have sleep apnea.

So...............

Goals for 2014

1. Have quiet time each morning.
2. Exercise each morning.
3. Keep up with multi-vitamin and supplement.
4. Study my Korean every day.
5. Do my study from the Tuesday night study everyday.
 6. Have family time with God every night.

I have to have God's help with this. I know this.

So, God.....I need You to do this. I want to change my life now! I know that my body is Your temple. And you have given me this temple to use for YOUR purpose here on earth.....not for my leisure.

II Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Wow! There it is.....self discipline.....it is a Godly trait!

So, God.....let's do this!

Well, here I am posting after almost a year on this blog. I have gained some of the weight I lost when I came to Korea. My son is wanting to get in shape and get more healthy, also.

So we started yesterday! We are drinking water like crazy and making sure we get in some fruits and veggies everyday. We have cut down the sugar and junk food. I am so proud of JC! He has done great!

I can tell already that I lost some of the bloat I had.

I am researching more on ways we can get more healthy. One thing I am trying to pound in our thoughts is that this is a lifestyle change! This is forever!

Hoping to post often with good news!

Back to Korea!

I know I haven't posted on this blog in months! However, the kids got out school the end of June, and we flew home to see our family and friends. We were in Mississippi and in Texas.

I didn't realize it, but when I got back to the states....I weighed myself! I had lost about 15 pounds. Not much....but it was something. (15 lbs lost since moving to Korea).

Before I went back, I went for a check up. I had lost another 8 lbs during my visit home! So, now I am back on track hopefully. I am close to where I was when I found out I was pregnant with JC.

Praying I can get back on track, lose more weight, and get back on track with my relationship with God. I have gotten so busy that my times with Him have not been what they need to be. I need to grow more committed to growing closer to my Father in heaven. That is the only way I will have the strength to lose all this weight and get in shape!!

Down Week

I definitely did not do well this week. I think it was mostly because I had my own 'pity party' going on. I have been frustrated with my 3 year old who seems to be hanging on to the terrible two's, the transition here in South Korea, and life in general. I have not been able to make a lot of friends here....not because people are not reaching out, but because I have to keep a constant eye on my youngest son. He will take off in a second! (Another reason I need to lose weight....to chase him??)

Well, all in all, I did not walk as much, did not watch what I ate, etc.

Then, God drew me to listen some to Beth Moore yesterday and Joyce Meyer today. I have been making this "plan" on how I was going to lose all this weight and have more energy and surprise people when I got back home.....

Whoa! There are too many "I's" in that paragraph......

I haven't turned to God about this. My time with God is not consistent at all. I am barely getting by during the day with what I need to do as a wife and mom. I have been living my plan, not God's.

I was reading in Proverbs today....since it is March 16th...I read Proverbs 16.

'Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.' Proverbs 16:3

Okay, God. I cannot do this by myself. I have tried year after year....and fail miserably.

I turn to You now, Lord. I can't do this without You. I will follow Your leading.

I know this....
- You do not want me to put anything in my body through my mouth that will not be good for me.
- You want me to move everyday.
- But, most importantly, You want me to spend time with You every morning and night.....so that I can discern how I need to be as a wife, mom, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, friend.

God, I know You've got this! Help me to just follow Your leading and watch it happen!!!



Hair Color in South Korea

I thought I would just have to endure letting my roots grow out and let the gray do its thing. But, No! There is Barbie hair color!!!! (You think I am kidding? Check it out!)

This was the only blonde that I could find in Homeplus.

Yes, I was very nervous about this....looks like something you would get for a little girl's Barbie collection. However, I thought what do I have to lose???

Yeah....I got really nervous with the directions in Korean.....So, I relied on what I knew to do from home. And prayed I would get some similar color as those in the color chart!

Well.....here we go......

This was the result. I guess it is not so bad......not a professional job like back home...but it sure feels better.....and no more roots! Aaarrrgghhh!

Oh, and sorry about the toys in the background. Someone had his 3rd birthday this week.....and he is into all of them today! :)

Beth Moore Physical Health Part 2 of 2

Beth Moore Physical Health Part 1 of 2

I so need this teaching....watch parts 1 and 2!!!

Still on course.........

So sorry I haven't posted! I am still walking some everyday, but I slacked off some the first of last week. However, starting Thursday, I think I have walked at least a mile each day. Today, I think we got in 2 miles at least! :)

I finally bought a scale here. My husband is going to keep me accountable each week! Yay!

I have lost 10 lbs since we came here. I want to keep driving forward!

Better eating.............

I have been walking a lot lately. However, I am guilty of eating whatever is in the house. We are going grocery shopping tonight. Hope I can find some healthy items. Snacking is my downfall!

Here are some pics I made Saturday morning. I figure I am down around 5 pounds so far.

Phil and Amy Parham

Here are some videos of Phil and Amy Parham...the couple who have been on Biggest Loser Season 6...and have authored two books that I will be reading over the next few months.

http://youtu.be/nWpbKcIZHZI

New Life in South Korea

I haven't posted on this blog in a while. I am going to use this one for my personal journey to spiritual, mental and physical health. The other blog will be more for the adventure of our whole family.

We arrived in Ulsan, South Korea about 4 weeks ago. Here we live in a foreigner's compound in a 3 bedroom, one bath apartment. It is not huge but any standard in America....but it is compared to what most Koreans live in. Most of the apartments available for the average "Joe" here is very small...like a studio apartment.

My six year old is now in the Foreign School, right down the hill from our apartment. We walk there everyday. We also are right up the hill from the clubhouse. My husband has a car that is provided by his company. He takes it to work. And, I don't have an international driver's license, so I can't drive over here.

So, if I want to get anywhere, I have to walk. And, my two year old has to go with me. It is quite the challenge to get this 2 year old boy to walk at a steady pace. However, we seem to manage. I try to get in some walking every day. However, I get frustrated a lot since I have Micah in tow. He likes to stop every once and awhile....and collapses to his knees when he doesn't want to go any further.

I know things will get better as he gets older. I am going to start reading two books by a Christian couple named Phil and Amy Parham. They were on Season Six of the Biggest Loser. They have lost over 250 pounds together. Here is my first challenge....

1. Drink only water every day.
2. Always eat breakfast.
3. Move whenever you can.

The water....I got it. We have a great mineral water dispenser here at the apartment. When we run out of water, we just put the empty jug outside and a new bottle is replaced!

The breakfast part...it is hard. Cereal is expensive, and I have not been able to find oatmeal yet. Well, I haven't looked for it yet. We go shopping on Monday, so I will look then. I will do eggs and bananas.

And, I can move! I have to walk everyday. I just have to work on doing some exercises here in the apartment. Going to the gym just won't work out right now. I could go early in the morning, but if our little one wakes up , and I'm not there....he goes ballistic! He will start preschool in the fall, so maybe I can go while he is in school during the morning.

So, join me in this journey. I will try to post according to what I am learning and achieving. I don't have scales or measuring tape here. Another item for the shopping list!

I can tell I have lost some weight already. I have hiked up a mountain, walked around a lake, trecked up and down hills, and made some major accomplishments.

This is just the beginning! Cannot wait to see what life holds for me at my ideal weight and being fit!

Stalled

I have let life get in the way...and have stalled my new healthy life.

I went to TX to visit family....and did not eat right at all. I literally may have to "detox" this week..haha! I will not be discouraged or derailed. I will move on.

Here's to a new year...a new me!

2012 Goals

Here are my goals for the new year.....

- read the Bible through the year.
- read Bible and pray each day.
- lose weight and get in shape.
- spend time in the Word with my family each day.
- be organized.
- no excuses.
- learn Korean.

Mandisa - Journey To 100 - Video #1

Oh, how I love this lady! This is her journey to losing 100 lbs about 2 1/2 years ago.

And now.....on with my journey to health and fitness! :)

Christmas Challenge 2011!

Okay....my goal? Eat right, log in my food, and work out everyday! :) Gotta start a routine now before we move to South Korea!

Mandisa's scriptures for her journey

About two years ago, Mandisa (christian recording artist and former American Idol contestant) started a Journey to 100.....100 lbs lost.

Here are some of the scriptures she memorized and used over and over during the journey. I hope to do the same during this life change.......

1 Corinthians 10:13- No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Deuteronomy 8:3b- Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Philippians 3:13-14- I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:12-13- I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
1 Corinthians 6:12- “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
Mark 9:23b- “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Isaiah 50:7- Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
Proverbs 13:25- The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.
2 Timothy 1:12b- I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
Romans 8:1-2- Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Deuteronomy 30:15/Joshua 24:15- See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction…then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…we will serve the LORD.
2 Corinthians 10:5- We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Isaiah 55:1-2- Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
John 8:32- Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20- Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Galatians 5:16- So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
1 Peter 5:8- Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Psalm 139:23-24- Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Ephesians 3:20- Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
Romans 12:1- Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
1 Corinthians 6:14-15a- By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?

My New Life!

I turned 40 the beginning of this month. I am married to an HSE manager who has been working in Singapore. He came home in September for about 2 weeks....then headed back.

He will be moving to South Korea the middle of December, then come home the middle of January to pick up me and the boys....our two boys, ages 2 and 6.

This will be a new adventure for us. I am a southern girl who has never lived outside of Mississippi! And, I have never flown!

South Korea will be a big change for us. I am praying it will keep me on track.

You see, I am very overweight. I have struggled with my weight since childhood. I have done the diets, watched the shows, done the workout dvd's......but never gotten truly serious about a life change.

This is it! I have to do this! I want to feel better about myself. I want to be beautiful for my husband. I don't want my children to be embarrassed of me. I want to chase my boys!

So, join me on this weight loss....wait...no....life change journey. Hope it will keep me accountable and inspire someone!

So, here we go....some will shop in the morning....I will be working out!

One of my inspirations...Abby Rike. :)