— 1 —
My apartment is a mess. Which wouldn't be a big deal to most people, but it is symbolic of my life being a mess. I recently have gone back to school (for the third and last time) and I find it is taking a lot more time than I anticipated. In the ripe old age of 29 (tomorrow), it is a lot to juggle family, moving, regular workouts, a full time job, making time to cook healthy food and any amount of quiet/prayer time. I am realizing (finally) that I can't do everything! I don't know how people have time to all these amazing things....I seriously am just getting by with all of these responsibilities and not very well. The first two weeks of workouts were hard, but I was able to actually do them. Since I started school last well, I am going to bed way too late and not getting up early enough the next day to go to the gym....ugh!!!
So needless to say, I have been very frustrated this week...any thoughts or suggestions?
March for Life: I am so proud and excited for all the young people that I know at the March for Life this week. Several teens and families from Charlotte are at the March in addition some of my family from Ohio.
Finally joined Pinterest and do my surprise there are so many great ideas on this website. We are moving (like I mentioned above) which I am actually really excited about because we will have more space and we will be getting some new furniture. One of the many ideas I saw on Pinterest for our new place...
— 4 —
Comic Relief for the week is The Mindy Project. Mindy Kaling is hilarious!
Inspiration this week is the new Special K ad. "What will you gain when you lose?"
I love the positive spin on weight loss and hope to gain more "Confidence"!!
Birthday dinner at Amor de Brazil was quite delicious. I have never been to a restaurant where they bring huge slabs of meat on a 3 foot skewer to your table. We had a delicious meal that included a variety of fine cheeses, breads, Brazilian appetizers, juicy cuts of meats topped off with Brazilian flan! It was amazing!! Needless to say, this Birthday week is not going to have good "weight loss" results, but you only turn 29 once...right?
— 7 —
Finally....
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Yesterday, I was having a day of "mental put-downs." It was one of those days where my personal feelings about myself and what I felt I could achieve (or not achieve) was based on what I have been hold about myself in the past. I heard the negative stereotypes or words running through my mind like a broken and (very repetitive) old record. When I finally stopped myself, I realized what that I was internalizing those negatives thoughts and even starting to believe them. By allowing that broken record to keep playing in my head, I was continuing to put myself down and limit the extent of my success.
So today and moving forward, I am going to try and be more aware of this nasty habit of "mental put-downs." I hope to stop myself whenever this starts and ask myself if there is any truth in what I am internalizing about myself. I encourage you to take a minute to stop and recognize the negative thoughts running through your head. Thoughts that are telling you how you are aren't strong enough, you are never going to lose this weight, you aren't enough...
Take some time to ask God to come into those painful memories and change those hurtful or misleading words with His truth. Ask God to speak to those areas of your heart...what would God say instead?
I pray that all of us will get better this year at "seeing our light and not our darkness" !!
