Update

I realize that I desperately need to update my blog, but honestly, I haven't had the time! An in-depth update will be coming soon! Promise!

Passion - What will it take to make me stop?

In preparation for my lovely Pampered Chef party at my home on Friday, I was cleaning my office last night when I noticed some VERY unwelcomed guests. Near my dog's crate and his food was a steady stream of ants. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that not only had they taken over the wall, but they were on the floor and in my dog's food storage bin. I was ticked off! If you know me at all, you know that I like my stuff clean (not necessarily neat and tidy, but clean - no dust, dirt, and especially no bugs).
I immediately started killing every little ant I could see. They started scrambling for cover, but I wasn't finished yet. I continued to pursue these little creatures. I got out the broom and swept up as much as I could. Then, I got out the hand vac and went to town! I vacuumed EVERYWHERE in that office and took great joy in ridding my house of these little bugs.

Main Point: I was passionate about getting rid of what I didn't want in my house.

During my rantful cleaning, God spoke to me. What if I was that passionate about getting things out of my life that didn't belong? The message this past Sunday at church was about submitting completely to God and giving Him everything. What if all of us as Christians did that? Imagine how blessed and open our lives would be!

So as I continue to work on getting rid of my ants (which is going very well), I will be examining my life and hope you will examine yours to look for a passion to get rid of what doesn't belong or even just to find a passion for what God wants you to do.

KidSpring

AMAZED! That's the only word that I can come up with to describe how I feel right now. A few weeks ago, I got to walk through the new KidSpring building at our church, NewSpring. It blew me away and it wasn't even halfway done yet. I went home and God spoke to me so clearly about having this amazing passion. On Tuesday night, we had volunteer training and got to see a pretty much completed building. However, still no kids yet. My anticipation grew stronger. Tonight, Friday night, we had our first look at KidSpring with actual kids. WOW!! God is so much bigger than any plan I have ever thought or any idea of what I could have imagined. All of these kids were running around and SOOO excited about their new building. Imagine...God is going to give us the amazing opportunity to take all of the excitement about the building and turn it into lives being changed for Him. It blows my mind that He would allow me to be part of something this huge. God is at work and I am so humbled by His grace. I don't deserve any of this, but He has chosen to bless me and my church. THANK YOU GOD!!

So, if you haven't checked out KidSpring yet, do it! Opening this Sunday!

One Year - A Tribute to an Amazing Grandmother

Tomorrow, or Feb. 12th, is the anniversary of my grandmother's death. I know that all of my blog rollers love me and understand me, so please bear with me as I use this as a way of writing down my feelings, regrets, and most importantly memories of a truly amazing woman.

My grandmother passed away a year ago. As the pastor said at her funeral, the biggest lie that was ever written about her was that she died. She is so alive right now and I believe that with all of my heart. She lived an incredible life. Everything she did was a testimony to her belief in an amazing God that she loved dearly. I believe that she is with that amazing God now. I wish that everyone could have known how precious she was. She lived through a LOT of rough stuff. Her mother died when she was young, she had a lot of siblings, she had her first baby while her husband was in another country and raised that baby for a year without him there. Can you imagine??

She was also one of the best grandmothers you could ask for. She took care of us when we were sick. She kept up with all of our toys that we left at her house. She fed us (and good too)! She prayed for us. She taught us Bible verses. She played with us and even went along with our jokes and pranks.

I regret so much not taking the time to talk to her and thank her when I had the chance. I know that I can't change that now and I know that she knew that I loved her, but it still bothers me that I didn't cherish EVERY moment, even when she bothered me (or so I thought).

So the top things that I miss about my grandmother....

1) I miss her smile.

2) I miss watching her fall asleep when she just meant to "sit down and rest a minute."

3) I miss her cards and letters.

4) I miss smelling her cooking.

5) I miss talking to her on the phone.

6) I miss her advice.

7) I miss her sewing and hemming....you have to understand that NOTHING fits on me the way it should.

8) I miss hearing her talk to the answering machine (Hey Kristy. It's Granny. How are you? I'm doing good today. Just wanted to call and tell you....Kristy, are you there? It's Granny.). LOVED that.

9) I miss calling her about cooking advice and her thinking it was the greatest thing in the world.

10) But most importantly, I just miss her. I miss EVERYTHING about her.

Don't get me wrong. I watched her suffer through a painful battle with cancer. I wouldn't DARE wish her back here for anything. She is in the most wonderful place that I can ever imagine and praising her Creator. I am exetremely happy for her. I just miss her. So please, take some time today and call up your family members, even the ones that annoy you. Don't take them for granted. And if you don't mind, please keep my family in your prayers today especially.

I love you all!

A New Year

Wow, I can't believe how awesome 2008 has been to me. While I did go through some "storms," God has blessed me in amazing ways that I couldn't have even imagined. What is the main thing that I have learned this year? NEVER sell God short! He has AMAZING plans for us and all He wants us to do is submit to Him completely. God has done amazing things in my personal life, but also in the life of my church. I pray for Him to do so much more this upcoming year!

It's hard for me to think that my life can get much better, but I know that God has plans for me that I haven't even considered yet. In light of the new year, I am going to post some resolutions and I expect for all my blogger friends to help me uphold them! (These are in not in order of importance!)

Resolution #1: Lose at least 25 pounds this year.
Resolution #2: Love my husband more passionately than ever before.
Resolution #3: Take a walk with Justice, my dog, daily.
Resolution #4: Train for a 5K (or possibly a 10K) and compete in one!
Resolution #5: MOST IMPORTANT!! Fall deeper in love with Jesus and become more of the person that He wants me to be.

I love all of my friends and family very much! Thanks for making 2008 a GREAT year!

My Weight Loss Journey

This is me prior to Weight Watchers (around November 07).
This is me after (November 08).

So, I celebrated my one year anniversary with Weight Watchers on October 13. I did some major reflecting over the weekend and realized a lot of things.

1. I am officially down 27.2 pounds from October 13, 2007. WOOT!

2. I didn't lose as much as I wanted to in one year. I had dreams that I would lose at least 50 pounds in one year, but I didn't. However, I did still lose in the healthy weight loss range, so I was happy. My new goal for the next year - to lose 33.8 pounds. That will put me at my ideal weight. I would actually be happy with losing only another 21.8 pounds, but we'll see how that goes.

3. I have dropped two pants sizes this past year and one top size.

4. I have changed my body in ways that I didn't think was possible.

5. It took me getting to the point where I was so frustrated with my inability to do things (paint my toenails, go up and down my stairs, etc.) that I decided to make a change.

6. I NEVER want to go back to where I was again. My goal is to be able to get down low enough that even when I get pregnant, that I will not be the weight I was when I started this journey.

Lastly, the three most important:
7. I couldn't have done this without the support, help, and love of my dear hubby. He has supported me in so many ways it's unbelievable.

8. I couldn't have done this without my family. My mom especially. She made it possible for me to do this. And my dad....WOW! He has lost about 48 pounds now and has actually obtained a job with Weight Watchers! Go Pops!

9. My Jesus. Can I say enough? I couldn't have lost this weight without Him answering my prayers and helping me with self-discipline. Love Him with all my heart!

10. I learned that even losing 27.2 pounds wouldn't make me happy if I didn't have Jesus in my heart. I could be the largest person alive, but as long as I have Jesus, I have everything I need. Also, I was beautiful before I lost my weight. Jesus said so! However, losing the weight just made my outside feel like my inside!

I would encourage anyone who feels discouraged about or controlled by their weight to join Weight Watchers. It is a great program that works! However, don't expect it to make a world of difference in your happiness level if you don't KNOW Jesus.

Wish me luck in my next year!

HELP!

Someone please help me! I have no idea how to work this blog. I want to put in a slideshow and do all the fun things that everyone else has, but I have no idea how to work this! Please help me! I need blog resource!!