Ten Things for Tuesday - A Un-Themed Event

I haven't time to compose the real blog entries rattling around in my head, so I thought I would resurrect the "Ten Things for Tuesday" entry that I used to do weekly. I often did them on themes, but I don't think I have a theme for you right now, so here's a lot of nothin':


1. I'm not feeling great again. However, my roommate is much sicker than I am. I'm sure we make a pretty pair for our new roommate.

2. Did I tell you about our new roommate? The new youth intern from the church where I work (vs. the church where I attend; they are not the same) needed a place to live for the summer, so...pop! Open door! It's been a week and a few days, and so far she is incredibly...great! Talk about easy to get along with. I only hope we're not too weird for her. I mean, we do watch mostly educational television...

3. Random Thought: I prefer drinking water through a straw but milk & carbonated beverages directly from the cup/glass. I'm not firm on this, but this is my preference.

4. Work is really heating up now. And this makes the timing kinda bad for me to not be sleeping much/well. :-(

5. Random Thought: It matters to me where the seams on my socks land. There's a very narrow area of appropriate placement across the toes, and if the seam moves outside of that, it really irritates me.

6. I've missed my weights routine/class for almost two weeks now due to scheduling conflicts and not feeling well, and I'm kinda startin' to feel jiggly. Eww.

7. Random Thought: I almost always eat cereal for breakfast, and sometimes I eat it for dinner/snack too. It always settles well on my occasionally temperamental stomach.

8. I had a nice time cooking this weekend. Simple recipes, more on-the-fly formations than recipes, really. But I enjoyed just getting to create. I also made snickerdoodles, which are really yummy still hot--crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. YUM! Therefore, I had to give them all away.

9. I made the cookies for my boss & his wife, and took them over and left them on their porch last night, along with a thank you note and instructions to put them in air-tight container with a piece of white bread to maintain their texture (otherwise, they get hard and crunch). Yeah. Fast-forward to this morning when I remember...My boss is at the beach until tonight. Do you think the [now very HARD] cookies are even still there, or do you think dogs got to them first? Bleh. I am such a numbskull sometimes!

10. Random Thought: Empty-ish rooms make feel uncomfortable. If there's too much 'white space' or not enough furniture, it feels very sterile and unwelcoming to me. Ergo, European designs tend to make me feel stressed.

Okay, there you go! Completely random and probably inane information, placed in a list to create a blog entry. Ah--the wonders of the numeral and a period. :-)

Hopin' your brain is less fried than mine,
-J

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. --Philippians 2:12-13, NIV (Sunday's sermon text. It was a great sermon! More on that in the future...)

Celebration Ideas - Your Assistance Needed

Today, this Journey's end seems impossible to reach. I had the roughest week I've ever had at the scale, and for reasons I mostly cannot explain. The numbers were so aberrant that I actually weighed on two different WW scales and questioned them thoroughly about their calibration processes. I don't have any idea how I gained so much weight in a week. Actually, I'm not sure I did; my scale and my clothes don't tell the same story.  I'll have to wait and see how next week's weigh-in goes.

However, even though I don't think I actually gained all that their scale said I did, I am still discouraged by the number...and by the distance it puts between me and my goal (It tripled my pounds-to-lose.). So, to combat the discouragement, I am focusing on a future celebration (kinda like thinking about heaven when life here gets really tough).

It is a common thing for WW members to plan rewards for reaching certain goals. And the reward should NOT be food related! :-) I've not really done that throughout this process, but always thought that I would do one big(-ish) thing at the end of the Journey. So many ideas have come and gone through my head--and frankly, I'm not sure how I will afford any of them. But, today is about dreams not reality (unlike heaven!), so let's dream a little.

I'd like your feedback...and suggestions! Here are some ideas I've had along the way:

** Viking Stand Mixer ($$$) 

** iPod w/Nike+ Sport Kit (running system) ($$)

** Wax Job (sorry guys!) & spray tanning session ($)

** Dutch Oven (like this Le Creuset one) ($$)

** Professional Photo Shoot (I love what I see here) ($$$$)

** A New Wardrobe (though my new-found hobby of thrift shopping has pretty well fixed me up!) ($)

** New Running Shoes (but I had to go ahead and get these before I reached goal lest I hurt myself) ($)

** A Giant Party (so everyone can celebrate with me what Christ has done!  Perhaps in conjunction with another reward.) ($$)

** A Trip to _______ ($$$)

** A Digital Camera ($$)

** Some Other Fabulous Reward You Are Going to Think Up for Me! ($$$$$$$$$$$--send cash!)

Of course, I've forgotten many of my ideas--because I wasn't bright enough to write them down when I thought of them--but this is a start.  So what do you think?  What kind of reward should I plan for reaching my weight-loss goal?  Or should I plan one at all?  After all, this was more about God's work in me than it was about the weight itself.  Perhaps I should just let the marker roll, and continue walking in the truths He has carved into me in the process.  Perhaps I should set up more of an Ebenezer*.  Or, perhaps, I should go get a pedicure and a massage.  So many options...

Anxious to hear your thoughts,

-J

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.  --Philippians 3:20-21, NIV

...what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God.  --Isaiah 49:4b, NIV

*Ebenezer: lit., stone of help.  A physical reminder of God's intervention on your behalf.

(c) 2009

Food, 'Drugs', & 'Rock-n-Roll'

I'm not feeling my best. Mostly it's because I've got a muscle or a nerve in my shoulder that is being exceedingly temperamental...and painful. I've been living on Advil & Tylenol & the heating pad for the past several days. This morning, I felt slightly better, but seem to have lost some feeling in three of my fingers. My body is SO weird.

And then, I waited too long to eat my 'second breakfast' this morning, and my blood sugars dropped and I felt doubly yucky.

But...it's amazing what a little food, some 'drugs', and a touch of music can do to restore a soul. The Tylenol eased my pain, lunch made my sugars stabilize, and then Billy Joel came on my radio singing The Longest Time. I forgot that I used to like Billy Joel, and that tune is so positive and catchy; it made me smile.

And now, I am pain-reduced (not exactly pain-free, but better), full, and happy. That's nice.

But it is only temporary. I will again need to eat. And I know I'm gonna need more 'drugs.' And music, well music is eternal--though God may not choose Billy Joel for us in heaven--but until I reach eternity, I will always be looking for new music to listen to.

And you know, it just made me long even more for that eternal, glorified body we will receive and that most glorious home waiting for us.

I am so grateful God has provided for my temporary needs. But I am MORE grateful that my future holds permanent answers to my permanent needs. Our Hope is so much more than 'fire insurance.' What a generous God we serve!

Now, going back to work while the pain meds are still working,
-J

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. --I Peter 1:3-7, NIV

(c) 2009

A Good Reminder...

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson

Found I needed this today. Pretty sure that says something not great about me, but at least God sent the reminder... ;-)

-J

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. --Colossians 3:12-13, NIV

Faithfulness-ish

Earlier this week, I dove into my blog archive trying to find a piece I had written some time back. And in the process, I learned that I am a s..l..o..w learner. Not the happiest of revelations, but perhaps--since the lesson in question is one of life-long value--it might be worth taking the time to really get this one down.

Over the years since God called me to stay in the South and not go cross-culturally to proclaim Him, God has spoken many truths into a heart now better prepared to hear them. I was reviewing some of that journey/those truths in the blog entry Great Things for God, and was hit again by this particular lesson:

"I don't need you to do great things for Me, J. I AM great, and I WILL show Myself mighty. I am calling YOU to be FAITHFUL."

And last year, this is what I said about that:

Oh, how I still wrestle with this last one, at least in part. I have found peace in the knowledge that God doesn't need great things from me. In fact, I have found relief, as I am pretty sure I can't do great things anyway.

But being faithful, day in and day out, in the little minutiae of life, in the mundane things in my world, this is where I am weak. If you ever need someone to tackle a project or to 'come to the rescue,' I am your woman. I am great in the exceptional moments of life. I am terrible at coming through day after day after day in the piddly details.

This, I might add, is the lesson I am learning in my weight-loss journey. I could easily fast for a day or two. But being consistent in reducing my caloric intake and adding exercise to my schedule regularly are much harder tasks. They require dying to self daily. They require faithfulness in everyday moments.

So here I sit, not going, but growing, learning how to be insignificant, a minutiae-managing pro. It is a lesson I must master, for though perhaps someday God will see fit to add something else to my plate, I will never need to stop being faithful. That is where my calling lies...in the daily. So today, I'm not attempting great things for God; I'm just trying to be faithful. If anything great happens, you can be sure it was all Him. *

And then today, I read Sarah's blog entry from yesterday. It was really wonderful...and convicting. And I found myself saying to her:

Sheesh. Do you live in my head too? Yep, I get this completely. I get overwhelmed quickly (that is my (old) nature) and want to quit immediately, especially if there is ANY sort of a snag or pain involved. But God is teaching me--through weight loss, through exercise (even running, though not as far--yet--as you), through the discipleship & teaching He has me doing--that I must learn to be FAITHFUL, not great. My old nature wants to be GREAT and doesn't want to be there if it's not. My new nature wants GOD to be GREAT, and seeks for me to simply do as required, day in and day out. There's not nearly as much glory for me in that, and I'm pretty sure that's His plan, no? ;-) *sigh* I am so grateful that He is a patient God. It is so very necessary to deal with this wandering child.

Now regular readers may have figured out by now that sometimes I have no idea where my thoughts are leading until I start typing, and that I am often more surprised than you are where I end up. This blog is my processing place, and place where I am forced to formulate into coherent sentences and paragraphs the truths and lies and Truth tumbling through my brain at any given moment. And my reply to Sarah was no exception. Suddenly, I saw this lesson/struggle for what it is:

My old nature vs. My new nature
Self vs. God
My plans vs. God's plans

When I seek greatness, I seek it for me. Others may be able to seek greatness for God, but my motive is--at some level--that I might receive a share of the glory (a particularly repugnant truth when written down and faced with it...). But this daily-grind business God has called me to is surprisingly non-glorious. And thus, if any good at all comes out of this 'Nazareth'**, it could ONLY be God. And that, I know, is how it should be.

So here I go...back to much mundane. My life is good, and I learned long ago how to thrill in the little things. But a blockbuster epic it is not. And I now suspect that God planned it that way. It seems, the glory lands where it should when I'm walking through life's daily muck in faithfulness. And that, I know is my heart's deepest desire. So, though I have yet to master this lesson, I press on and reaffirm again: whatever it takes to be...

To the praise of His glorious grace,
-J

* Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. --I Corinthians 4:2, NIV
* But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness... --Galatians 5:22, NIV

**Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." --John 1:45-47, NIV

(c) 2009

Who I Was vs. Who I Am

In response to my Aftermath post from last Friday, one anonymous commenter noted:

"Not to nit-pick, but you might consider changing your captions to "What I looked like then" and "What I look like now", as neither of them truely [sic] indicate who you WERE ore ARE in Christ."

A great observation. Spot-on accurate. By grace through faith I was saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, and at that moment--unalterably and for all eternity--I was fully justified, standing in Christ's perfection before the throne of God. My photos in no way reflect who I was/am in Christ, as I was and am whole in Him.

And yet...

Weight gain/loss is one of the very few areas on life where your subjugation of your will to the balance Christ calls us to is evident to all. Liars don't wear their lies hanging off the tip of their noses as they walk around this world, nor do adulterers have an actual scarlet 'A' emblazoned on their chests. Yet for the one who has repeatedly and consistently--for whatever reason--not 'beaten their body into submission,*" his or her sin IS worn for all the world to see. And there is no person who carries significant extra weight that does not (whether they admit it or not) feel--to some degree and at some point--the shame of the public nature of their struggles.

And so, though my standing as righteous before God through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ is completely unaltered by my weight--whatever it may be--the evidence of Christ's work in me in IS truly evidenced by the photos I posted. Christ's authority over this area of my life is noticeably absent in the first photo. And while the establishment of His authority is not a prerequisite to the second photo (many have lost weight without victory in Christ), my declaration of His transforming work is confirmed and visible in the second. I was a different person in photo one, a woman whose sinful will was hopelessly triumphing over her. In photo two, I am a woman who has found victory in Christ, one tiny step at a time.

Even as I type this, I find myself trepidatious. There are many toes to be stepped on when you discuss this area of life, even if I only apply these truths to me. I have been on the receiving end of hurtful or convicting comments about my weight, and I didn't like it one bit. So please know that I indict no one. I offer only my story, my understandings, knowing that there are a million caveats, exceptions, unique stories. I make no claim on what other's lives should be (that is the Holy Spirit's job), and I find myself ever cognisant that I live in constant danger of falling back into my previous sins and falling under the judgment of the very words I am now typing. I am NOT saying I have arrived. I am NOT saying I am perfected. My testimony is simply the declaration of what I have seen God do in the past 19 months. But I understand that the truest test is found over time, much time.

I once suffered from really significant, whole-body joint pain. I have described it a couple of times in this blog. The doctors could find no cause nor could they find solutions. No changes I made in my life/lifestyle significantly changed the level of my pain. Even strong medications simply dulled it, and I lived in that pain for almost five years.

Then one Sunday evening, the elders of my church offered--as part of an evening prayer service--to offer to pray over anyone sick in accordance with James 5's admonition: "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord." I went forward, and they did pray over me. The very next verse in James 5 says, "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." And it turns out, God was pleased to heal me that day. But I didn't truly know if I was healed until I had gone off the medication and been off long enough to prove that it wasn't returning, a several month process.

It has now been five years since that day, and I am still pain free and medication-free. It has been time that has proved my healing. It was affected at once, but it was affirmed over time. And so it will be with this Journey.

A few years ago, our church had a guest preacher who said that while he read modern Bible commentators/authors, the ones he liked best were the dead ones, the ones whose lives proved all the way through that they were Christ's man/woman. And so, perhaps, should we view this Journey. It is a journey until this wretched body is glorified. And then...O then...the truest victory. Life over death. Glorification over debasement. No more struggles, no more 'beating our bodies into submission.*' Only perfect rest. And, hopefully, a trail of smaller victories which will echo His greatness throughout all eternity.

So thank you, Anonymous Commenter, for highlighting truth, and for giving me opportunity to consider it. May the rest of my days declare both His saving grace and His transforming grace, so that I may always be...

To the praise of His glorious grace,
-J

Eternally, in Christ, I am:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. --Ephesians 1:3-14, NIV

*1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NIV): Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

(c) 2009

Aftermath

I am still reeling from Wednesday's emotion/post. You should just know that I had a complete breakdown after posting that. (And I'm not really prone to breakdowns.) Suddenly, it all became real. The weight and gravity of God's work in my life completely overwhelmed me, and I just started sobbing. First at my desk, then in the restroom, then at my desk again while on the phone with my best friend. Then again when my boss came into my office. And later when I shared a bit with my other boss and his wife. (Well, for that one I just teared up a bit.)

Then yesterday, I found myself discussing the goodness of our God with a member of the church here...and the tears (not sobbing at least) started again. Then someone came in who had read my post, and the saltwater started to flow again. My daddy always said that God gave us tear ducts for a reason. And apparently, there aren't daily limits set on usage. :-)

A friend suggested that I must have really increased my prayer life with conversations starting, "God, please help me not to think about [food item]..." Totally appropriate in many areas of life, and I have absolutely prayed those prayers over many things. But in this area, things were different. Here was my response:

You know, I actually didn't have many conversations with God about "Help me to not think about..." When I say He set me free, I really mean it. Through His providential grace, one day food simply stopped holding sway over me. I had a few moments were I decided to visit the place of my imprisonment, but it became a (sinful) choice at that point, not a mandate. In so many ways, this journey has paralleled and illustrated what Paul is trying to describe to us in Romans 6 - We are DEAD to sin; therefore, it no longer holds sway over us. (Ergo, quit living like it still has power over you! my paraphrase) Max Lucado wrote a wonderful children's book about this that keeps coming to mind. Of course its name does not... :-( (Anybody know that book?)

Yesterday, I found myself sharing this with a friend, and I feel it really sums up well:

Just to be absolutely clear: This was in no way 'me.' It was in EVERY way Christ. Even my obedience was fueled by His strength. There has been nothing in my life that I've known to be so fully & completely His work as this journey.

I don't know *exactly* how we get from point A to point B, but point A is our struggle, and point B is our victory, and the path there is Christ. Somehow, freedom is found in Him. In my life, the tools He used were Weight Watchers & a gym membership. But they were tools only; the transformation was His.

I have so many thoughts and emotions rolling through me on this subject that I can't even sort them out well here, the place where I sort. I'll work on it, though, 'cause I'm pretty sure this Journey is a story worth telling well. But this one thing I do know, I AM FREE and JESUS WAS THE ONE WHO SET ME FREE! And yep, I'm yelling it. It is that important. :-)

Who I was:

Who I am:

Outta here for now,

-J

P.S. Oh yeah. I'm crying again.

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!"

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!"

The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.

--Revelation 5:11-14, NIV

(c) 2009

One.One.Zero

One. One. Zero.

One hundred ten.

Contemplate that number for a moment. It's the percent of effort we give (110%!). It's the speed we'd like to drive in our parents' mustang when we're 18. It's two large and one small bags of dog food. Twenty-two bags of sugar. Four-hundred-forty sticks of butter.

Now, picture that amount, gone. Can you imagine the size of the hole if you were to dig out 110 pounds of dirt from your garden?

Now, picture me. Only, picture me one-hundred-ten pounds lighter.

That's the second time I've ever written that number about myself, and it is just as surreal the second time around as it was the first. I'm actually a little light-headed right now, not in a celebratory way, just in a "whooooa" kinda way.

And I'm almost home. Less than five pounds, actually. And oh the things the Lord has taught me and is teaching me through this journey! And the most magnificent lesson is this:

Jesus has set me FREE!

I cannot explain (yet) all that this means. I will keep trying, maybe all my life. This journey wasn't ultimately about weight-loss; it was about the changes God wanted to create in me. How good and gracious is our God? There are no lengths to which He will not go to show Himself mighty! And how mighty He is! I. AM. FREE!

This is all the more poignant when you know this truth: Several years before I began this journey, I had a dreadful realization one day. If your TRUE theology (what you believe about God) is demonstrated in how you live (and it IS), then I did not believe that God could set me free from my addiction to food. I would have said I believed that God could free anyone from anything. ("Of course He can! He's God!") But my life made it very clear that at the most basic levels, I did not believe this to be true. Otherwise, why was I living life hand-to-mouth, literally?

So today, when I say I am free, know that part of what God has done is change my theology. He has played His hand...and as it turns out, He CAN set ANYONE FREE!!

Celebrating HIS GREATNESS,
-J

...Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace... But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. --Romans 6:11-14, 17-18, NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. --Romans 8:1-3, NIV

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. --Revelation 1:6, NIV

(c) 2009

The Rumors of My Death are Greatly Exaggerated...

Okay, so it's been 31 days since I've posted, but that doesn't mean I'm actually dead. I just thought I'd clarify that right off the bat, since some of you have been kind enough to inquire. I also didn't fall off the face of the earth, another common misconception, apparently.

I have, however, not been great--though death was never a consideration. I've really had some crazy health struggles over the past month. Of a digestive nature. And no, you don't want to know more. Which is good, 'cause I'm not planning on posting my medical history online for all the world to see.

However, these medical issues have left me drained and seriously unmotivated to do much more than was minimally required. (They have also left me with about $800 more in medical debt with very little to show for it, but who's worrying? *wink*) And thus, my absence here.

However, I do believe I'm on the upswing now (probiotics--yea!!!), and decided to just drop a little Mark Twain (see title) on ya to let you know I was all right. And since even a month's absence hasn't stopped me from composing blog entries in my mind daily, I'm guessing you'll be seeing a lot more of me here. Assuming anyone is still out there after my untimely abandonment...

So just to bring you a bit up to speed on things around here, here are some highlights of the past month:
* X-rays :-(
* A new niece :-)
* An MRI :-( (with barium - double frown face)
* Learning that I could run 2.5+ miles :-)
* Learning that I actually LIKE running 2.5+ miles :-)
* Taking oodles and oodles of meds for my digestive tract...and getting almost no benefit :-(
* Talking with my far-out sister and kin--twice! :-)
* Two doctors visits :-(
* Hearing the joy and exhaustion in my brother's voice as he told of my preemie niece's birth and growth :-)
* Getting conjunctivitis (aka, pink-eye) :-(
* Hearing that one of the girls in my Sunday School class accepted Christ!!!!!! :-D
* Helping the youth with an ultimate scavenger hunt 8-P
* Getting within 5 pounds of my weight-loss goal!!!! :-D
* Being able to reduce the prescriptions I'm on to ONE! (maintenance meds for my very well-controlled asthma) :-)
* Getting the best blood work of my life back from my physical :-)
* Many sweet, corrective & instructive words spoken to my heart my Lord (I'm guessing you'll be hearing more about that...)

So as you can see, things are mostly good around here. I hope you can say the same.

Until we meet again (which will be soon, I promise),
-J

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. -3 John 1:2, NIV

(c) 2009