Body: Gotta find my determination:

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"I was reading my blog from this time last year and I have to say that I am currently about 15 pounds heavier than I was this time last year. ugh! I was talking about how I had overcome the desire to overeat- well it was struck down, grew another head and came back like a horror film monster! Gonna try to get back to using WW Point calculator. Help!"


My exercise plan is in place but I have been abandoning my healthy eating plan!
I am ready to get back to it. I am ready!
I am gonna use positive self-talk and plan out my meals!

Spirit: lessons from watching grass grow-

Hi there!
We had a terrible backyard (our builder did not do right by us when we moved into our new home 3 yr.s ago). When we first moved in to our home the back yard was sloped (we could live with that) and it was covered with hay and supposedly had been given top-soil and heavily seeded. We were optimistic. (like a new married couple on their honeymoon when projecting hope toward the future).  Well, after a while, we realized that all we had was a rock filled dirt pile of a yard in which some weeds were growing. It looked like this for about 2 years:

It has dawned on me during this process of now trying to improve the yard - that a bad yard is a metaphor for a bad marriage.  You see you can start out with high hopes but if you do nothing to support growth you end up with a very unpleasant view of the world. 

So what you don't do is -- just keep looking at it and complaining about it and keep hoping and praying it will all of sudden be what you want it to be.  Dumb when you think about it...

What you do is this:

You nurture it- You use a good soil to help give the seeds what they need to flourish-

You also need help from friends and family because building  things up takes alot of work:

You plant seeds by doing things with and for each other in marriage. Looking for resources, planning things to do together and doing them as a team. You also have to put safe-guards and boundaries in place. The netting on the yard keeps the ground from going somewhere that you don't want it to go and eventually away:

Then you water, water, water, and then water some more. If you are lucky God helps you through this process by sending some help your way.
In marriage water is the affection, adoration and attention that you give one another.
When the grass starts to come in -- you admire it and compliment it's strength and beauty and you appreciate that it is there!

halle-lue-yer!

I do know this ---

You could move and get another back yard (it will still need work maybe even more in the long run), you could move to a condo and not have a yard really (give up completely on it), or you could work at it and find out exactly what it needs to flourish and grow and then when it does start growing then you can  feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

But please remember walking around saying "this is awful - I hate this yard" and never doing anything will keep you stuck and you will still have a terrible yard.

But love ... is more than three words

mumbled before bedtime. Love is sustained by action,

 a pattern of devotion in the way we do for each

other every day.~ Nicholas Sparks

Mind/Spirit : planning vacation in Pensacola, Florida

I am getting so excited researching and planning out what we will do on our vacation this year!! It is good to learn about the history and prepare to take in some of the events that the locals would participate in. I cannot wait to just lay on the beach in the sun!! But I also will enjoy doing some of the many things to see and do in Pensacola. Such a great place for bicycling, and music performances (their is a jazz club I am really excited about). Just walking the gorgeous white sand beaches at sunrise is enough -- ohh and don't forget the seafood I will be having all week long!!!!! Can you tell I am excited?!?

 

Pensacola, Florida Florida vacation rentals: "A Spanish sailor first settled in Pensacola, but due to a hurricane leaving devastation, it was abandoned not to be resettled again until the 1600’s. Steeped in amazing history, till this day, it is the home of Florida’s oldest church, The Old Christ Church and the country’s oldest shipwreck, dating back to 1559. Also, St. .Michael’s Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in the state of Florida."

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This photo of Pensacola is courtesy of TripAdvisor
35 days 'til I will be walking along the water's edge with the wind blowing my hair and feeling small compared to the overwhelming site of the ocean!!

Spirit- Stronger

The concept of strength is coming up alot in my life right now. It started around the time that my husband and I were discussing bringing in the groceries... I had noticed him jumping and practically running to help anyone else (mostly his Mama) to bring groceries in, but he doesn't really help me get them in - only if there is a really large amount of bags. Not even the 50 lb. dog food bag seems to phase him into jumping in to lend a hand. I just thought how rude is he?! When I asked him about this I had a huge aha moment. He said (and he meant it) "well, you are so strong and I know you can carry all that easily and Mom can't. You are  able to do it, and probably the strongest female I know."
Now, at first I was like "surely you don't think I am that dumb", but then it hit me - he sees me as CAPABLE  of handling a lot.
People do rely on "strong" people more, and it is true that more may be required of someone that is capable.


I got that - but then in my current bible study (esther - It's tough being a woman by: Beth Moore) when I was reading the 2nd day of week 2 another connection was made for me.
Esther could not have been chosen by the King to be his Queen unless she had the qualities that won his favor. How did she do it - she had grown strong over the years of trials and hard work. She was disciplined in her body (she was beautiful outside as well), and she exhibited self-control (manners and a pleasing attitude).   She was able to do this because she was CAPABLE.


I am positive that at the time her parents were killed and she had to go and live with her Uncle that she didn't know that this is what had to be done in order for her to be the woman she would become, but God knew.


God knew she could handle it and God knows that strength grows out of trials. When I realized that God favored Esther and put her there in the role of Queen because she was capable I got a good dose of chills.


God knows I can handle my role in this life and I want to allow all the hard times in my life to make me stronger -- Not weaker!!!  God has favored me and given me opportunities to overcome adversities, and be a capable woman. A different perspective on the old adage to whom much is given much is required!
 Let it be a good thing and embrace it - positive things come to those ----that are CAPABLE of handling being a
Queen in their own life.


Then when I heard this song - I could not believe that I was getting another connecting piece on the concept of becoming stronger! Love this song!! What a blessing.

Lori Davis Potter

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Lori Davis Potter: "The past is to learn from, the future is uncontrollable, & all we have is our very next choice - Lori Davis Potter"