A CLEAN NEW PAGE TO BEGIN OUR NEW YEAR

THIS NEW YEAR, I HOLD IN MY HANDS


Take twelve whole months,
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness, hate, and jealousy,
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.

Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or
thirty-one different parts,
but don't make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.

Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience, one part of courage,
and one part of work.

Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer,
one part meditation, and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humor.

Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.

You're bound to have a happy new year.

--- Author Unknown


Life is a book in volumes three---
The Past, The Present, And The Yet-To-Be.
The Past is written and laid away
The present we're writing every day,
And the last and best of volumes three
Is locked from sight----GOD KEEPS THE KEY.
author unknown


The old year is almost past, with all of its joys and sorrows, victories and losses. All of the "might have beens",and the "I wish I hads", are never to be seen again. The "I should haves",and all of the, "Oh, I did it all wrong", are in the past. We can not undo what we might like to change but we can go on and do better in this bright new year!

On January 1,2010, we are given a bright new Year. A totally clean page to begin to write the story of our lives upon. 'How will we use those pages,' is in large degree up to each of us. We can keep our pages clean by using love, kindness, thoughtfulness, consideration in large quantities each day. We can be quick to forgive others as we pray that they forgive us. We can be more patient and realize that others have troubles and problems in their lives as well. We can do to others as we would like for them to do unto us.

This past year has held some losses that I was not expecting. It has held some hurts that I didn't think were deserved. It has also held many victories that God gave so freely. He has sent love from many unexpected sources. God fills all the empty places with His ways and His love and then they are full.The victories, He gives are complete and real. We never lose any good things or people in our lives that God does not give us more and more abundantly.

Even at my age, I am still learning. Yes, this past year, I have made mistakes, and my heart has been broken over each one. God gives forgiveness and then lifts us up to carry on and be right and do right. I have no doubt that in this future, for as long as I continue to breath, I will do the wrong thing at times, say the wrong thing at times not be all that I can be at times. But thanks be to God, He knows that is why, I needed a Saviour. His blood has covered each sin, and made my heart as white as snow.

So, as I begin this new year, please Lord, let me not spoil this clean new page with selfishness, pride, and wrong attitudes. Let me represent you in a way that is pleasing and will point others to your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Let me tell others about you more than ever, let me spread your Precious Name to all that will hear. Lord, please each day, make me more like you.

This year has also held much wonder and great victories in my life. I have grown in Christ and learned to trust more, love more than ever before. I have seen many good things happen, protection given, health restored, ways made straight, battles fought, and won, It is to this end, that I thank the Lord, with my whole heart for His answered prayers, His Grace in my life and in the lives of those that I love and that includes even some of you, have been very evident in our lives this year.

So, I close with this poem to sum up all my thoughts:

I do not know what still awaits,
Or what the morrow brings,
But with the glad salute of faith,
I hail it with open wings!

For this I know------THAT IN MY LORD,
Shall all my needs be met,
And I can trust the heart of Him
Who has not failed me yet....
author unknown

THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS NEW YEAR, MAY I USE IT WISELY AND WITH MUCH LOVE AND COMPASSION. Connie

HAVING A HEART TO FEEL, A HEAD TO KNOW, A HAND TO DO.

We can have a heart to feel and a head to know and these are needful qualities but we also need a hand to do. We have to have all three to be able to lose weight effectively. This is what I am learning. With my heart, I have lost hundreds of pounds.

We can have the heart that wants and desires to be in better shape, to have the correct body weight, to be able to walk a block or two without huffing and puffing. Our heart longs to be smaller like others who seems to have no problem with weight control.

We can also have the head for losing weight. We know the right amount of calories to eat to lose a pound. We know we need to exercise. We know we have to stay away from large amounts of certain foods. We know we have to have the right portion control. With my head, I have lost hundreds of pounds.

The heart and the head is NOT ENOUGH. We must have a hand that is willing to DO SOMETHING. We must decide to make the choice that we are GOING to lose weight. So, we put our heart and head together and with the help of our hands we WILL MAKE IT.

We can't waste time feeling sorry for ourselves, wishing upon the stars, making all kinds of excuses about why we did or did not lose weight this week. We have to face the fact that it takes our whole being to physically lose weight. That is not even taking into account our Spiritual Being. We must ask God to help us, to encourage us, to lead us in our choices. Then when we ask, we MUST DO! God will always do His part but it is up to us to do ours.

Hope this next week, you will be blessed by letting your heart, head, hands all work together while getting our strength from the Lord. See you, love you, wish you well. connie

THOUGHTS, A MAGIC WEAPON

PROVERBS 23:7a

FOR AS HE THINKETH IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE:


You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. ~ James Lane Allen


Thought is the seed of action. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


Thoughts are things; they have tremendous power. Thoughts of doubt and fear are pathways to failure. When you conquer negative attitudes of doubt and fear you conquer failure. Thoughts crystallize into habit and habit solidifies into circumstances. Adams, Bryan


This has been a very good week for me. I have had a lot of emotional feelings about a host of things this week. Things that ordinarily would have sent me to get "something to eat." For the most part, God has given me the strength to overcome those feelings of helplessness. The times I failed it was not because of lack of strength that was available to me but the lack of wisdom in choices that I made.

Thoughts are powerful things! We can use them for good or for bad. The thoughts we allow into our mind about food will determine our outcome for the loss of gain of a pound. This week, I have tried to keep positive thoughts in my mind, choose the right foods to eat, have the right portions, and to keep as busy as possible.

I have always known this to be true, concerning thoughts. Most of my life though, where food is concerned, I have allowed my desires to dictate to me. This week, I have made a decision each day, each moment to make right choices concerning food in my life and the place I was going to allow it to have.

I pray that each of you have had positive, helpful thoughts all the week long. If not, it is not too late, just start doing it. It is a choice we each have to make about many things in our lives. We would NEVER let our children be hurt, if possible. So, likewise we have to use wisdom and make good choices for the food that we take into our bodies. Things like the right kind, the right amount, how many times a day we will eat, etc. Lets all work this week to seek God early and ask for the strength we need in this area of our lives.Then with that strength, go on to do the right things in the area of eating. I will pray for you, please pray for me. connie

P.S. I forgot to tell you, I lost 2 1/4 pounds this week. For me that is just about right. Not one pain in my toe. I know I have done it right when that doesn't happen.lol Have a good week!!!

THIS COULD BE YOUR LAST EFFORT-----VICTORY IN SIGHT!!

" The last effort is always the one that matters. So in whatever you do, never give in until it's over as you'll never know - you may just turn the whole thing around." unknown



It has been a very good week for me. I pray that it has for you also. I lost more than I intended to lose but so far no gout or low blood sugar. My weight loss for this week was five pounds. I wanted to keep it at 2 or 3 but it is so hard to just lose a certain amount. I find that when I start losing I want to go all out and for me that can be a bad thing.

I did have some unusual things come up in my routine this week but God helped me to get past them all without over eating. I only had a hard time once and that was last night. I knew that I had eaten all I could for the day and when my mind heard, "You have had all you get for the day," then my stomach said, "BUT I WANT MORE." Thankfully, my heart heard that small still voice that told me, "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. So, today I feel energized and really to go another day.

I do pray that you all are doing well and don't forget, if you give up today, you might just have made it had you waited. DON'T GIVE UP!!!! If things don't go as well as you like today, then try again tomorrow. I am praying for you. connie

SUCCESS COMES IN CANS; FAILURE COMES IN CANT'S

I AM ALL FOR CANS!!!!! Aren't you?????


WILL----Used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent.

WAY----The course traveled from one place to another, a series of actions, or sequence of events leading in a direction or toward an objective.

MY OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE GOD'S WILL, MY WAY.


PHILIPPIANS 4:13

I CAN DO ALL THINGS through CHRIST which strengtheneth me.


AND we can if we keep looking to the Lord for our strength. The way may not be easy. In fact it may get very hard. There may seem like there is just no way to get to our goal but God says that there is. I WILL BELIEVE HIM! We may fail when we want so bad to succeed. But we can only fail if we QUIT. The last few months have been very trying to me. I will not go into all the whys and wherefores but God gives the VICTORY!!! We will go on and look toward that day when all things will be made right and if what we call success is not what God calls success then we will be content to have done our best.

I have begun again this week to keep up better with what the scales say. Please pray for me, I can not lose very much at a time or I will have serious other problems. I have to learn patience in this area, I now know. I have always thought of patience in other areas but I know now, I just have to take it SLOW and STEADY! You know like the turtle (laughing out loud) I have never seen myself as a turtle, I like to go and get it done. When I was young, I was able to go at weight loss this way but it is not the way the Lord has for me now. So, I WILL submit to His will and do it His way. I have come to realize that is why the Lord led me to start this blog anyway. He knew the trials that I would have to go through. So, my objective has not changed: To make God's WILL, my way.

I will be writing on this blog at least once a week, maybe more as God leads. I have learned so much coming here and letting you see my heart. In my letting you see, I have seen more clearly. I must say thank you for being so patient with me and for the encouragement you are to me.

I will see you soon especially as I am able. Have a good weekend, remember your goals as I will mine. I have some things that can make me forget them in the next few days if I let my flesh take control. I will remember that "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I will remember that "Success comes in CANS: Failure come in can'ts.
Keeping my eyes on the goal, connie

I AM A BUTTERFLY~~~~~~~~~~;)

WILL----Used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent.

WAY----The course traveled from one place to another, a series of actions, or sequence of events leading in a direction or toward an objective.

MY OBJECTIVE IS TO MAKE GOD'S WILL, MY WAY.

I guess you thought I had given up or worse yet died. Not neither. I have just had some problems with my hip and could not sit at the computer for long at a time. I tried to keep up with my other blog http://connies-thoughts.blogspot.com but didn't do a very good job of that either.

I wanted to let you know that Curves did not work out for me. Certainly not because I did not love going and I loved doing the exercises but each time that I went, sadly to say my joints hurt me more and more. The doctor told me that I had to quit, it was making my joints inflamed. So, I may have had to quit that part but I have not forgotten what my real goal is. I am not losing but thanks be to God, I am not gaining. I have had to sit more than usual because when my hip gets bad, I can not lay or stand very well.

I hope that each of you are having good success whether you are in a holding pattern or losing with with zeal. If you find you have gained some pounds all is not lost. You just have to make a decision to go again. With each new day renew that decision and continue on.

One day we will celebrate when I finally make it down to that magic number of 200. I will appreciate it more than ever because it has been so much harder to get there this time.

I loved this little picture. We are really butterflies in this weight loss journey. We may just be cocoons in the flesh but God is making us into beautiful butterflies. One day we will spread our wings and fly!! Keep trying. connie

THIS IS NO TIME TO QUIT!!!

QUIT-----To depart from or out of; to leave the company of; to relinquish, abandon, or give over ( as a way of thought, acting, or living): Forsake; to give up; To cease normal, expected, or necessary action; to admit defeat; STOP.

To me this is a very sad definition. I do not want to be found among those who quit, forsake, give up, admit defeat, STOP.

I know it really get hard sometimes, but just think where we would be if we did quit!! What a sad thought. We would never stand a chance at being what God would have us to be. We would never meet that goal that we have. DEFEAT would be our cry!!!

NO, NO, I am out for victory!!! No matter how hard nor how longs it takes me to get there, I know that if I do not faint then the victory is mine.

I am holding my own, not gaining and not losing but I have faith that as I continue on one day those scales will go down just a little bit more bringing me closer to my goal. I want to see it!!

I hope if you are having a hard time that his poem will be an encouragement for you. YOU CAN DO IT. Take a look and see how we may be able to do it a little better and those pounds will come off just like the ones we have already lost. Remember we have not gained them back because we have not quit trying. Have a good week and I will see you again soon. connie