Getting Back on the Horse

Dear Ones:

I hope you had a terrific weekend!

Mine was busy with family and friends. Best of all, Carl was home for the weekend, and we were finally able to visit a church in our new home base. We moved from Lakeland to live with our daughter Lindsay, her husband Scott, and our grandbabies Phoebe (2 years) and Pierson (almost 6 months), about 3 months ago. I'd been trying to get back to our home church at first, but the distance (45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic) is just too prohibitive for me to participate in choir or any other activities during the week. It also made for some lazy Sunday mornings, since I can talk myself into (or out of) just about anything, like not attending worship... or having that slice of wedding cake!

I hated to leave my friends of 19 to 20 years behind in Lakeland, but there's a comfort in knowing that I've got another place of worship where I can go and be remembered, welcomed, and loved.

I got a huge helping (food reference!) of that on Saturday, as Carl and I were able to share in the joy of witnessing the Lakeland wedding of Frannie, the daughter of one of my closest gal-pals, Barbara, to Michael, the love of Frannie's young life. Pastor Carol's sermon to them touched and inspired me, as all her sermons have in the past, and I got to hear again the divinely inspired musical gifts of Bill, the church organist and choir director. I remembered our own wedding and the joy of that day, and all the days that have followed. I also got to hug and be hugged by Rusty and Arlene, Nate, Courtney, Barbara, Mark, Anthony, Pastor Carol, Brenda and Larry, Dean and Lynn, Shannon, David and Victoria, Bob, and best of all, Big Dave and Helen-Ann, among so many others. Its great to go home again!

I liked the new church and Pastors, and the congregation seems very friendly. The praise team was very good, and the contemporary music familiar. They are active in the community and with each other, and committed to being disciples of Christ. I am sure I will develop and gain friends and acquaintances in the new surroundings. How can I already know this? Because in the middle of the contemporary worship, the sermon was given by a man who recently lost his sister, and he talked about his nephew, a semi-truck driver, who felt the double sting of both loss of his mother and of believing he disappointed both his parents by becoming a truck driver, rather than succumb to the higher worldly hopes that they had for him.

My beloved Carl is a long-distance truck driver himself, so I knew God was saying to us, "Hey - this is a place you can call your worship home."

Carl is normally gone for 2 weeks before returning for a weekend home, so we do not get to see a lot of each other, to say the least. We are in constant daily communication with each other, thanks to the invention of the cell phone (yeah, we're older than those, too, obviously). Because of this, though, I believe we have gained a greater appreciation of each other when we are together, because of the physical distances that his work takes him.

In addition to the wedding, we also got to share family time this weekend. Son Jeremy turned 32 years old today, and we enjoyed ribs and loaded potato cassarole and all the trimmings. Our granddaughter Brianna was here also, so we had most everyone on our twig of the family tree at the house. Daughter Elizabeth is in Salt Lake City, and daughter Allison is in Pittsburgh, so it wasn't a complete family reunion without them, but they both called their brother to congratulate him on his accomplishment! Since Elizabeth lives in SLC, and Allie is living with family in Pittsburgh in between semesters at Thiel College, their home visits are few and far between.

Which brings me to my title, finally. What with the wedding and family get-together and all, I definitely wasn't true to my so-recent calling. I did get 5 workouts completed last week, so I didn't schedule anything for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in that vein. I won't make that mistake again! Exercise seems to be the cornerstone of my weight loss journey this time around, and I missed it keeping me centered. I had an Italian feast at Frannie's wedding, as well as wedding cake and a little wine. Today, I had a BBQ pig-out, literally, with pork ribs and my family-famous loaded potato casserole, and of course birthday cake.

What did I learn? I had a good time at both events, but the best of the weekend didn't have to do with food. The menus were delicious, but the nourishment they provided was fleeting. I have to eat again the next time around (oh, if I never had to eat again, my problems would be over!). Unfortunately, the obsession and lack of control over food belongs all to me. I didn't prepare most of the food this weekend, but I sampled pretty much all of it. I did prepare the casserole with all the full-calorie ingredients I always have, so as "not to disappoint the kids" - a/k/a me. I can take comfort in the fact that I didn't head back for seconds or thirds, but at the same time I could have been more diligent. My name is Heidi and I am addicted to food. I need to learn to keep food in its proper prospective and treat it like fire - its a good friend, but a destructive enemy.

Do you know the Sun-tzu quote? "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer"? This does not apply to food! Get those enemies out of there! Don't turn your back on your enemy (food). Its kind of like when I fail to keep Christ in the center of my life. When I keep Him in my uppermost thoughts, I am helpful, unselfish, generous, and kind. When I forget about Him and concentrate only on myself, I am lazy, selfish, gluttonous, and petty. I fuss with Carl and give him a difficult time when the very thing I want to do is make him happy to be home, not happy to leave.

I want to be different. Better. More in control of myself and how I handle others and food. I can't control anyone else, now can I?! I'll pray for you for the same things that I am praying for myself. More self control and better treatment of those I love.

"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13