Weekly Weigh-In

I have to be honest - I've been avoiding this post all day.

Weight - 222.3 (that's .6 pounds gained - Ugh!)

I guess those pieces of candy yesterday morning and the multiple sodas this week have taken their toll.

How are you guys doing?? I haven't heard from many of you in a while - any updates?

~ Kim

Holy, Holy, Holy

Currently I'm reading the book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I'm only in the first chapter so far, but must say that I'm already in love with the book. I actually had to read the preface twice - that must be the mark of a good book. Anyway, last night I read something that I really enjoyed. Here's a snippit:

"God is holy. A lot of people say that whatever you believe about God is fine, so long as you are sincere. But that is comparable to describing your friend in one instance as a three-hundred pound sumo wrestler and in another a s a five-foot-two, ninety-pound gymnast. No matter how sincere you are in your explanations, both descriptions of your friend simply cannot be true.
The preposterous part about our doing this to God is that He already has a name, an identity. We don't get to decide who God is. God said to Moses, 'I am who I am'. We don't change that.
To say that God is holy is to say that He is set apart, distinct from us. And because of His set apart-ness, there is no way we can ever fathom all of who He is. To the Jews, saying something three times demonstrated its perfection, so to call God 'Holy, Holy, Holy' is to say that He is perfectly set apart, with nothing and no one to compare Him to. That is what it means to be 'holy'."

I LOVE the sumo-wrestling friend analogy. We don't get to decide who God is. He already is. We can learn who He is to a certain degree. And despite my seemingly constant state of confusion about what He's going to do next, I am grateful that I will never fully understand God. If God were able to be fully understood, what kind of God would that be? I enjoy the big-ness of God - the fact that His ways are not my ways. But that He is bigger than I know, more powerful than I could dream of, He is beyond my wildest imaginations - that's the God I love!
I'm reminded of an old children's song at this moment. I know it's a little silly - but there is so much truth in the words of the song. Come on, sing it with me now:
"My God is so BIG!, so strong and so mighty - there's nothing my God cannot do! "

I'm believing God's BIG-ness today!

Weekly Weigh-In

Weight: 221.7
Waist: 48.5

That's 1.3 pounds this week, and 0 inches.

I did lose .5 inches in my hips & .5 inches in my bust, though - so Yeah!

I haven't been working out - but I will do better this week, so hopefully my numbers will be better next week.

I've lost a total of almost 12 pounds now - and am starting to see and feel a difference - yeah again!

Giving Opportunities

I figure since it's coming up on the "season of giving", I could share with you a few opportunities I've recently come across. All are wonderful organizations/efforts - and would greatly appreciate your help. You can click on any of the logos to visit their websites.

Operation Christmas Child




Basically, you take a regular shoe box and fill it with little toys, hygeine items, and other things. You specify if it's for a boy or girl, and include $7 for shipping. Then you drop it off at a specified location and Samaritan's Purse delivers it for you. Really easy - and inexpensive - way to help a child at Christmas time.

Shoes 4 Souls



This was new to me this year - but I'm seeing it everywhere. It's such a great organization that has already made such an impact around the world. Check out their fall newsletter for more great info about what they're doing. It's as easy as it sounds - you can donate shoes or donate money for shoes for as little as $5.

Give Worship



This is also a very cool idea. Basically, you can purchase musical equipment for worship leaders across the globe. I LOVE this idea. You can even purchase something as small as guitar picks or a guitar strap. What a beautiful way to participate in worship all over the world. Please check it out.

Amazima Ministries International

This ministry is very dear to my heart right now. A young woman named Katie started this organization. She ministers to the children in Uganda - the hurting, the sick, the orphaned, the poor. Her story of what she is a part of in Uganda is absolutely beautiful. She helps to take care of the basic needs of these children while also providing them with education. But she cannot do it alone. In order to send all 150 children to school, and provide for their basic needs - Amazima Ministries needs donations of ANY amount to help. You can donate as little as $1 if that's all you have to give. Please visit Katie's blog for more information on how to donate.


I hope that these organizations inspire you to give of your time, resources and love to those who need your help.

Giving Opportunities

I figure since it's coming up on the "season of giving", I could share with you a few opportunities I've recently come across. All are wonderful organizations/efforts - and would greatly appreciate your help. You can click on any of the logos to visit their websites.


Operation Christmas Child

First, this is an organization that Elisa and I have participated in for a couple of years now. It's a fun and easy thing that her and I do together each year. She has so much fun wrapping and putting together the shoe box full of stuff.






Basically, you take a regular shoe box and fill it with little toys, hygeine items, and other things. You specify if it's for a boy or girl, and include $7 for shipping. Then you drop it off at a specified location and Samaritan's Purse delivers it for you. Really easy - and inexpensive - way to help a child at Christmas time.


Shoes 4 Souls





This was new to me this year - but I'm seeing it everywhere. It's such a great organization that has already made such an impact around the world. Check out their fall newsletter for more great info about what they're doing. It's as easy as it sounds - you can donate shoes or donate money for shoes for as little as $5.


Give Worship



This is also a very cool idea. Basically, you can purchase musical equipment for worship leaders across the globe. I LOVE this idea. You can even purchase something as small as guitar picks or a guitar strap. What a beautiful way to participate in worship all over the world. Please check it out.


Amazima Ministries International

This ministry is very dear to my heart right now. A young woman named Katie started this organization. She ministers to the children in Uganda - the hurting, the sick, the orphaned, the poor. Her story of what she is a part of in Uganda is absolutely beautiful. She helps to take care of the basic needs of these children while also providing them with education. But she cannot do it alone. In order to send all 150 children to school, and provide for their basic needs - Amazima Ministries needs donations of ANY amount to help. You can donate as little as $1 if that's all you have to give. Please visit Katie's blog for more information on how to donate.




I hope that these organizations inspire you to give of your time, resources and love to those who need your help.

Weekly Weigh-In

Well, it's better than I expected but worse than I hoped.

Weight: 223 (.5 lbs lost)
Waist: 48.5 (1.5" lost)

I lost .5 pounds this week (but have now lost a total of 10.5)
I lost 1.5" in my waist, 1" in my bust & 1" in my hips this week (for a total of 2.5"- waist, 1.5"- bust & 2" -hips)

(by the way - I've decided to use the newer scale - so that I can account for even the .5 pound that I lost this week :)

Although I'm quite disappointed in myself for falling off the wagon this week a little, I can live with those numbers. 10.5 pounds is quite a lot.

Ricky was hugging me this morning before he left for work and said that I feel different. That really made me feel good - so although I vow to do better next week, I'm not discouraged yet.

How did you guys do?

Lessons from a 2 Year Old

Yesterday afternoon I was grappling with something God is currently showing me - that will require giant amounts of faith on my part - in trusting that He knows what He is doing and will do what He said He will do.

I really wanted to spend some alone time in prayer, but with 2 little ones - it wasn't an option at the time. So I decided to take the 2 little ones with me and take a walk to go pick up Elisa from school. I got both girls loaded up into the 2 person stroller (which is wonderful, by the way) and off we went.
We were barely to the sidewalk when Syd (my 2 year old) started telling me (not so politely, I might add) that I was going the wrong way. "No, this way Mommy!!" she kept telling me. "Wrong way - go that way!" she said. I laughed a little at the fact that my tiny little 2 year old thought she knew better how to get there than I did, then I sweetly said to her - "Sydney, I promise I know the way - why don't you just sit there and enjoy the ride."

Immediately I felt as though I was the funny little 2 year old, and God was the one laughing at me saying, "Kimberly, I promise I know the way (in fact, I am the Way) - why don't you just sit back and enjoy the ride."

I smiled a little as tears began to stream down my face. I am so tickled sometimes at how God chooses to speak to me.

Kisses from Katie

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

You need to read this young woman's blog about her ministry in Uganda. I was blown away not only by her and her ministry - but also by the incredible things God is doing through her in the lives of children there.

Please especially read this post.

Katie - I am honored to have stumbled on your blog today. I am praying for you today - and will continue to pray. You touched my life today - thank you!

Mr Potato Head on Gratitude

Talk about creative!!! Enjoy


SSCC FamJam - The 10 Lepers, Mr. Potato Man Style, A Lesson in Gratitude from Fred McKinnon on Vimeo.

Weekly Weigh-In

Okay, so I have a bit of a dilemna. My mom bought me a new digital scale about a week and a half ago b/c my old scale was looking pretty stupid - and everybody was telling me it was wrong. Well, I weighed myself on both scales for the last 2 weigh-ins and both times they were about 6.5 pounds different.

Last monday, my old scale said 220, but the new scale said 226.6
This morning, my old scale said 217, but the new scale said 223.5 - I lost 3 pounds this week!

SO - do I add 6.5 pounds to my original numbers and start only using the new scale?? I'd rather have correct numbers than to continue using the wrong ones. But the idea of adding 6.5 pounds to my numbers is kinda sad. Either way - I've lost the same number of pounds - so that's the good news.

What should I do? - any opinions??

I Surrender All

I read something tonight in "My Utmost for His Highest" that I loved how it was written. Oswald Chambers has such a way with words! Here's the part I loved the most of all:

"If I obey Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When God's redemption brings a human soul to the point of obedience, it always produces. If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God."

My pastor talked this morning (we're learning about Jonah) about how our obedience (or rather lack of) not only affects us, but also those around us. I am humbled by the idea that my life is such a small part of the big picture. My sister has been saying recently that my life is just a tiny part on a canvas that is bigger than I can see or imagine (I'm pretty sure I quoted that wrong - but you get the idea).

I'm overwhelmed today with how small I am and how large He is. But yet also how important it is that I live daily and in every circumstance in complete surrender and in total obedience to Him.

Picture Tag...and I'm it

My friend Mandy "tagged" me to go to My pictures, and find the 4th folder and 4th pic and describe it...so here it is:

Funny. This is Maya - at about 3 1/2 months old - it was taken on July 1st. I love this picture - I wonder what she was thinking. Like maybe, why the heck are you taking so many pictures of me?? She still makes faces like this pretty frequently - love it.

So there you go - enjoy.

The empty parts of me

I'm in the middle of Beth Moore's "Living Free" Bible study, which I'm doing along with a handful of other ladies. I needed to flesh out a little of what I've been pondering this week.

One of the things Beth said is this:

"The mystery I will never fully understand is why we would trade God, the only source of genuine satisfaction, for worthless idols that can never satisfy. Yet that transaction calls to you and to me every day of our lives."

I loved this statement. I agree with it. I, too, am a little confused by the truth in it.

It makes me think of what Paul said in Romans 7:15:

"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." (ESV)

I am a little encouraged that I am not alone in this. It amazes me how I continue to seek out satisfaction in things - in people, relationships, attention of others, food, and so many other things - that I already know won't give me what I want or need.

I've had moments where I knew God was trying to teach me to depend solely on Him - that there isn't anything else (or anyone else) that can fill my soul. I remember one of those moments came when Elisa was a baby. She was about 5 or 6 months old - and Ricky had very recently been diagnosed with Leukemia. I was trying to stop depending on my relationship with my husband to satisfy my soul, because I had no idea whether or not he'd still be here in a year - and I didn't want to be left entirely devastated. So, then, without even realizing it - I turned to my perfect little baby to fill the empty spaces in me. I would stay awake at night and watch her sleep because I was afraid that if I left her side for a moment that she would stop breathing and my whole world would come apart. She became everything to me - to the exclusion of the One I really needed.

One night, when I was watching Elisa sleep - I began to cry. I was so terrified of losing my husband and daughter that the fear was beginning to consume me. I was beginning to have a hard time functioning normally. I had become crazy overprotective, and was beginning to hate that part of me. I pulled out my Bible and began to read. I started to read through the Psalms and found so many verses that talk about finding my satisfaction in God alone, He alone is God, God alone is my rock and my salvation, and so many more. I was overwhelmed with the understanding that God wanted me to look only to Him to satisfy me. That night I surrendered my husband and my Elisa to Him. I came to understand that God could take them away from me in a split second if He thought it was best and there would be nothing I could do about it. I had to come to grips with the fact that they are not mine at all, but God's - and they will never satisfy the empty parts of me. Only God can do that.

I will never forget that night - I will never forget that moment of surrender. It's been almost 8 years since that night - but I still have to surrender them to God on a regular basis - sometimes even daily. How quickly we return to our old ways. I am so grateful that I know a God who so often and so freely gives grace to those who seek Him.

Jesus, thank You for Your grace today. For Your desire and ability to fill me up in all of my empty places. I pray that today I will look only to You to sustain me. That You alone will be my desire.

"You open Your hand and satisfy the desies of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD,
let every creature praise His Holy Name forever and ever!"

(Psalm 145:16-21)

My favorite quote

If you've known me for very long, you've probably heard my favorite quote. I actually have two. One is "The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground." which goes along with my life verse "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." - Isaiah 7:9

The quote I'm talking about, though is this one...

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." I first heard it over 10 years ago in high school drill team. It dramatically changed my life. I have probably quoted it over a hundred times since then - at least. I also about 5 years ago fell in love with Charles Swindoll - his book "The Grace Awakening" especially. I consider him to have had a huge impact on my walk with Christ. I LOVE that the man who has had the most impact on my spiritual walk is responsible for the quote that has had the most significant impact on my character.

I don't know why I never looked it up to see who wrote it - but I am so glad I now know. Here is the whole quote:


"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education,
than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes,
than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.
It will make or break a company … a church … a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude …
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you … we are in charge of our Attitudes.

~ Charles Swindoll

Thanks to Rachel Rowell for the information - it made my day (maybe even my week)

Family Night #1

Tonight was our first ever themed family night - inspired by Heather Whitaker

Since Friday is Halloween, it seemed appropriate to have a Halloween family night.

We started with dinner, including...

Mummy Pizza (you have to really want to see it :)

Worms (which Sydney LOVED!):

Jack-O-Lantern Sandwiches:
And for dessert,

Jack-O-Lantern Jell-O:

Mummy-mallows

Then we carved pumpkins...

Then we tried on costumes...

It was a really fun night. Elisa started the night as a farmer - b/c Syd is a cow. But ended the night as Super Girl - actually she decided she was actually Word Girl. She also wore a scarf around her nose while carving the pumpkin because of the smell. Funny. I also love Maya's expression in the pic w/ all 3 girls - like "what the heck is going on?" Hilarious.

This might be the most beautiful and touching thing I've ever read on the subject of enduring trials.

You really have to read it for yourself, but here's a really great snippit:

"Honestly, what must God think of us when we are so unwilling to sit patiently under any blows from His divine hammer and chisel? What can He do through those who complain every time they find themselves temporarily imprisoned by life’s difficulties? Don’t live a bland and tasteless life. Allow God to use the seasoning of hardships to enrich your relationship with Him. The next time you find yourself in a place where your flesh must grow small, learn to like it so that your trust in God can grow big." (Omar C. Garcia, Missions & Evangelism Pastor from Kingsland Baptist Church)

I am reminded of a close friend's "life verse" - John 3:30 says, "He must become greater, I must become less."

I hope this challenges you as much as it did me today.

Weekly Weigh-In

Well, it's weekly weigh in time - drummroll please......

Weight - 220
Waist - 49

3 pounds lost, but no inches. I did, however, lose a half an inch in my bust and a half an inch in my hips - yeah!!

My clothes are starting to fit a little better - which is really cool.

I did NOT do well with working out this week, though. I also kind of fell of the no soda train a time or two. But for the most part, I'm still plugging along. I've lost 7 pounds total so far - yeah!

How are you guys doing?

What is Love?

I don't know how legitimate this is - but I love it anyway. I found it here. I bolded my favorites.


A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, ‘What does love mean?’
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:
——————————————————————————–
‘When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.’
Rebecca- age 8
——————————————————————————–
‘When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’
Billy - age 4
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.’
Karl - age 5
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’
Chrissy - age 6
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’
Terri - age 4
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.’
Danny - age 7
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss’
Emily - age 8
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.’
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
——————————————————————————–
‘If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,’
Nikka - age 6
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.’
Noelle - age 7
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’
Tommy - age 6
——————————————————————————–
‘During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.’
Cindy - age 8
——————————————————————————–
‘My mommy loves me more than anybodyYou don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.’
Clare - age 6
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’
Elaine-age 5
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’
Chris - age 7
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.’
Mary Ann - age 4
——————————————————————————–
‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’
Lauren - age 4
——————————————————————————–
‘When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’ (what an image)
Karen - age 7
——————————————————————————–
‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.’
Mark - age 6
——————————————————————————–
‘You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.’
Jessica - age 8
————————————————————————————————–
And the final one
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,‘Nothing, I just helped him cry’

Weekly Weigh-In

Well,I weighed in this morning,but I can't find my camera to prove it - so you'll just have to take my word for it.

I haven't done any measurements - but the scale said 223! Yeah! That's 4 pounds!

I had one soda on Wednesday night and a little bit of soda on Saturday night - but other than that I've done really well with the soda thing. I'm also calorie counting - which is a little time consuming - but I thinkit's pretty worth it.

I walked every day (except Sat & Sun) for at least an hour a day - most days 2hours, and did Pilates on 2 days,too.

I worked really hard this last week trying to change habits - so I'mexcited to see that I've made progress.

Iknow that this upcoming week will be the hard one, though. I'm starting to miss coke and cheesecake & mexican food.

How about everyone else? Wanna share your stats?

How goes it, losers?

Here are our Biggest Losers:
Kim
Ricky
Mandy
Kristen
Carrie
Kristy
Charly
Wendy
Hazeline
Melissa
Courtney

How are you guys doing??? Have you made changes to the way you eat - have you started to work out? Give us a progress report :)

Back 2 School Rally 2008

Here's the video I made to recap the rally a couple months ago. Keep in mind that I'm no professional :)



You can see my other videos here.

I love Jesus, but I drink a little

One of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.



You're welcome.

Here is my heart

“Making the decision to have a child - it’s momentous.
It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
Elizabeth Stone

Here is my heart.

I've been struggling a lot lately with Elisa. She is 8 years old now, going on 13. When she was little I would always say that when you're a mom, there are good days and bad days. One day you will feel like the worst mom in the world, and the next you feel like a genious mom. Well, now that she's 8 - those genious days are very few and far between. I feel like I'm constantly screwing up. I know it has to be normal to worry all the time about whether or not I'm doing things right, and about what kind of woman my little baby girl will turn out to be. I hope I'm not alone in my constant second guessing, and my perpetual cycle of worry and guilt. I knew being a mom was hard from the moment she was born. It started out crazy hard - adjusting to a new little life I was responsible for. It got a little easier when she began to understand me and I began to understand her. Then it got really fun for a while - when she was constantly learning new things. Every day was an adventure of what new thing little Elisa would master today. Then it began to get hard again. Each day it feels like I understand her a little less. Each day I feel more and more that I have no flippin idea what I'm doing. I am beginning to really understand the importance of praying for her daily. The importance of praying with her daily. I feel like I have no control whatsoever of who she turns out to be - and that scares the pants off of me. She is so frustrated all the time - and I have absolutely no idea how to help her to deal with life. Mostly because she and I deal with life so very differently. I don't understand the way she processes and interprets things. I'm trying desperately to understand.

When Elisa was itty bitty - I believed she would be my only child. Although I was desperately in love with my child, I always wanted more children. After several years of pleading with God to give us another child, she was still my only. I accepted it - and began to look forward to spending all my effort and love on her. I had this dream of her growing up to be my best friend in the world. We would be so much alike and do everything together (like the Gilmore Girls - one of the reasons I love that show so much). I'm beginning to realize that my dream is just that - a dream. She and I are so very different. I always wonder how someone so very different than me could have been raised by me - weird. I am reminded, though - that although she is not like me so much - she was created in the image of God. She is more special and beautiful than I ever could have dreamed of. She is unique. She is exactly who God planned her to be.

With that in mind, my prayer is that God would give me the ability to understand her better, to relate to her better, to love her the way she needs to be loved, to teach her His ways in ways she understands, and to always appreciate the uniqueness of her character.

I am renewed today with a tremendous love and appreciation for my little girl. I pray that tomorrow it will be renewed again. I pray that God will make me into the mother that Elisa needs today - and that through my love, she will see Him more clearly.

One more loser...

I forgot to blog this yesterday, but Kristy will be joining us in the Biggest Loser Contest!!

Yeah, Kristy!

My vacuum sucks - or rather doesn't

I know this probably isn't blogworthy, but I had to vent. I'm on at least my second or third vacuum within the last year. I don't know what I'm doing wrong - but every time I buy a new vacuum it goes kaput within a few months. I'm pretty fed up. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. I use it multiple times per day - is it possible they only are good for so many vacuum's?? I doubt it. What the heck?

Anybody have a vacuum that they just LOVE and that has lasted a while?? I'm ready to invest a little more money in one if I know it'll last more than a couple of months. I feel like I'm just throwing money away.

It's making me entirely crazy!! Help!!