New Goal!

Goal #2 - Get to 185 lbs by 02/20/2010

15 weeks to go

Goal #2 Starting Weight: 206 lbs

Current Weight: 204 lbs.

Weight Loss This Week: -2 lbs
Total Goal 2 Weight Loss: -2 lbs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Starting Weight: 242 lbs
Total Weight Loss: -38 lbs

I wanted to get a new goal going for myself, since the Casting Crowns concert is now just a memory and a couple of pictures (and of course my post about how much of a goober I can be). So, my new goal is to get to 185 pounds by February 20, 2010, which happens to be the scheduled Mark Schultz concert in Lakeland.

I don't think that 21 pounds is a huge goal, but it is the next stepping stone, as my doctor doesn't want me to try to get much below that 180-185 pound range before we re-assess my health at that juncture. That's only an average of 1.4 pounds per week, and it is definitely do-able. Now that I am again and just one of the other many listeners to The Joy FM, I am curious to learn just how motivated I am to continue getting more healthy, and this time, to reach my ultimate goal weight.

I do much better when I have a goal, no matter how modest it may be. I'm actually hoping that I can do even better than that, but I also want to be realistic. I lost a LOT of weight the first four months, approximately 2 pounds per week, and that cannot continue at the same pace; I do have less weight to lose than when I started.

Plus which, a great concert at the end of a challenge is a fun thing to do as a celebration, instead of wolfing down a high-calorie, high-fat sweet treat. I love the way that Mark Schultz tells stories in his songs that never fail to tug at my heart, and get me thinking about the Lord. If I get to meet him, maybe I will be a teensy bit more articulate!. Plus, of course, he knows the proper way to spell "Schultz" with all the consonants, so to my mind those are reasons enough that I've already cleared the way with Carl to go to the event (I'll be blogging about THAT later on, I'm sure!).

So here we go! I've got a goal, I've got the motivation, and I definitely have the best wishes and prayers from a lot of people who now know my story. Ya'll really help keep me bolstered.

If you're feeling restless or without focus, or you've just looked away from your finish line for a while, try setting yourself a short-term touchstone or two on the way to your big finish. It is very important to feel good about your efforts, and not be depressed if you've been shooting for the moon.

My prayer for you this week is that you figure out some yard-markers (Aha! The picture finally is paired to my theme!) along the way to your ultimate end-place. And of course, the ultimate end-place is just another yard-marker along the way to the REALLY big finish - YOU know what I mean!

"... I love your work..."

<<< "Hey, Goober, I love your WORK!"

Signed, Ima Dork

"Judee, judee, judee" >>>>

I knew I would only have about 30 seconds within which to tell MARK HALL of Casting Crowns how much I admire his ability to take scripture and make it not only live and breathe with a message relevant to today, but also to sing itself right into my heart, and how much I appreciate both of the books he has written, "Lifestories" and "Your Own Jesus", and to thank him for the contribution to my faith in Christ that he has made.

What did I say to this man who has made such a spiritual impact in my life? I said, "I really love your work." Not just once but three times. I'm STILL rolling my eyes and shaking my head at myself, and I did it Friday night. It is now Sunday evening. I am a huge goober. The one sentence every hardworking artistic person wants LEAST to hear - "I love your work" - that sounds like I have absolutely no idea who he is, but I want to say something nice, so I say, "I love your work." Freaking lovely. Heidi Schultz, who is rarely at a loss for words, says, "I love your work."

It is just so ironic. I've been such a fan of Mark Hall for so long, since I started hearing Casting Crowns music on the radio oh, four or five years ago, and first heard them live on a rainy night at the Plant City Strawberry Festival grounds. I am such a fan of his that I don't even think of him as "Mark" - I think of him as "MARK HALL" as in "MARK HALL of Casting Crowns."

A completely forgettable encounter for MARK HALL of Casting Crowns, I'm sure.

Talking on the radio and having I dunno how many people stuck in cars that HAVE to listen, or change the channel is no problem. Being on stage with Dave, Bill and Carmen was fun for me. I can stand in front of 3,200 people and wave my wobbly arms around and grin like a ... well, goober, ... and I have no qualms. Ladies in the bathroom told me congratulations and I can piece together a warm, "thank you" like they're neighbors or something. But MARK HALL of Casting Crowns?

If your kids are allergic to peanuts, please don't let them get within 10 feet of me for the next couple of days.

Thank you if you were at the concert Friday night for being so sweet and supportive of me. My next post will be about where I'm going from here!

Have a great week, and get your goobers out to the gym!

And, Mr. Hall? I really, really REALLY love your work.

Final Weigh-in Before Casting Crowns

Starting Weight: 242 lbs
Current Weight: 206 lbs
Weight Loss This Week: -2 lbs
Total Weight Loss: -36 lbs

Just 6 more pounds before I say goodbye to the 200s once and for all. That'll take me about 3 weeks if I continue the way I have been going, and I think that's good. Right in the middle is Thanksgiving, but this time around I can stick to my plan.

I have finally bounced back from that self-sabotage mode I was in a few weeks back. Probably what helps is that I'm not sitting around the house and looking for things to eat when I'm bored. 'Cause I'm working again! Yay! Go, God!

I've been making a point this first week at my new job to make sure I am packing lunch and snacks for the day so I don't get too hungry and do stupid things like head out to Starbucks or Wendy's or McDonald's (all within 5 minutes of the office). I'm planning to stay disciplined and take my food every day so that I can stay true to the healthy work I've done so far. Plus, I'm so busy that I don't often take time for my afternoon snacks until I'm on the way home from work! Busy is good, very good!

I feel like I'm contributing to my family again, and that is a good thing. Plus I like my clients that I've spoken to so far, and I want to help them obtain the benefits they deserve. My attorneys are great people and I enjoy everyone I've come into contact with in the office. Funny, isn't it, I talk sometimes about attorneys being jerks, but then the ones I work for now and most of the ones I've worked for in the past, with one or two heavy exceptions, are always terrific people.

And Casting Crowns concert in Brandon is tomorrow night! I am so excited. I would be excited even if I weren't getting the amazing opportunity to meet Mark Hall, for whom I have so much respect and admiration, and the rest of the band. I like the way Mark writes the lyrics to songs that are so "in your face" on one hand, but on the other, he never fails to let you know that God is, well, God! His books are the same way. If you've never read one of his books, check them out sometime. I especially love "Your Own Jesus" which is his most recent one to date. I'm reading it again so I can catch some of the stuff I missed the first time around; I read way too fast for my own good.

I hope I see you in Brandon tomorrow night, but if not, I'll be posting about the experience, so come back in a few days.

I'm praying that you have a week of seeing God everywhere around you... in your children's faces, in your reflection in the mirror, in a crisp fall (finally!) Florida morning, in a bird's flight, just everywhere. Be looking for Him, will you?

When I see Him, I'll tell Him you said "hey."

Weigh In Week 17 - "Let Go!"

Starting Weight: 242 lbs

Current Weight: 208 lbs

This week's results: -2 lbs

Total results: -34 lbs

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

I was excited to see my best bud GT at the turkey stop in Valrico this week - he'd helped me immensely a while ago by asking me if I was committed... see way, way, way below for that post. The picture is somewhat sideways, because so is Dan Brody, who took the picture of us! Not in the picture but there also was Leslie, the latte lady. I love these guys!

In fact, I love all the people associated with The Joy FM; artists, DJs, staff, producers, go-fers, volunteers, Brother Jim; just everybody. I've never seen a workplace so full of people willing to help each other out and who all know that their Boss is the best ever.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the chapter in my life that is about to close. I still have a long way to go to get to my ultimate weight loss goal, but the first public part of that journey is just about done. Next Friday night, I'll be at the Casting Crowns concert, and hopefully will get to publicly thank everyone who has ever listened to me on The Joy FM radio station with Dave, Bill and Carmen of The Morning Cruise; anyone who has ever read this blog or prayed for my fight against my all-too-human self and for taking control of the things that I CAN control; anyone who has ever stopped me and said to keep up the good work; anyone who has complimented me on my efforts; everyone! Then I'll be doing this without anyone looking in on me... kind of.

My husband Carl tells me he is afraid that sometimes my faith in God and His role in my life is too simplistic; he worries that I'm going to "let go and let God" without making the effort myself to change my circumstances. He and I don't see eye-to-eye on this issue. I think Carl underestimates God. The Lord has had power over my life ever since I was a child. Somehow I knew, no matter what, no matter how bad things were, that He would be there holding me in His arms. That when the absolute worst things that could happen to me, did, He saved me. When I couldn't do anything more, He stepped in and finished the job.

The job! A wonderful case in point. I've been beating my head against a stone wall trying to find a job. I prayed for a job, one that would help me to make a living, to be able to help Carl with our finances and to work toward solid ground. Last night I had given my unemployment up to God and told Him I had done all I could, if I was to have this job, then could we please get on with it? Boy, when He answers, HE ANSWERS!

You see, God doesn't do anything halfway, not for anyone. He knew I was at the end of my financial rope and that THIS job, more than the countless others for which I submitted resumes and got no answers, was the one for me. Oh, He made me work for it, make no mistake about that! I've worked for two years at jobs that didn't meet my financial expectations. I let a prior employer rob me of my self-confidence in my skills and abilities. I had to sweat it out, and so did Carl, of course, since February 2007.

I found out about the workers' compensation legal assistant job from the placement agency I had contacted, about two weeks ago. The headhunter sent them my resume... no response. I called my headhunter again just yesterday and asked her whether that job had been filled yet and said (only half-joking) that I was starting to feel like I had leprosy. She checked with the law firm, and things started to roll from there. Today I had a telephone interview at 9:30 a.m. At 10:15 the attorney I was speaking to asked me to come to the office... today. I asked her when; she said, "How soon can you get here?" By noon they offered and I accepted my chance to get back into the kind of legal work that I have always loved. I got the job. I got the job!

I know that God had His Hand in this. I'm not saying good things come for everyone who believes, just because that's what THEY want. I still walked through a glass door and lacerated my legs at the age of 12 years, and I still broke my shoulder while biking along Hillsborough Avenue when I was struck by a semi at the age of 15 years. God didn't protect me from those injuries. My father still died even though I begged God to give us more time with him. My aunt still suffered from cancer even though countless friends and family prayed for her to be delivered from that horrible, wasteful disease. My ex-husband still wanted to end our marriage even though we made a vow that we would be married to each other until death separated us. Other terrible things have happened in my life, to me, to my loved ones, and to total strangers, with tragedies and senselessness that have rocked our world with their horrible impact.

What I believed, and always will, is that no matter what happens, God is with us. He doesn't make people do things; we have the free will to follow Him, to do the right things, or not. He somehow takes those outcomes, though, and makes something new from them. Out of every senseless, destructive, horrifying event, I believe that some miracle comes from it.

I know that today is a gift, and I can either use it or squander it. I'm not promised that I will even wake up tomorrow, so I'm trying to live each day the best way I know how - striving not to be lazy or petty, keeping watch over my temper and my language, and trying to be the person God knows I can be. I'm not very successful; I'm horrible at it! Some days I haven't even gotten out of bed and I've managed to mess something up. But I have faith in our Father, that He sent His Son to take my sins upon Himself so that I will live forever.

So maybe my faith IS simplistic. Maybe I DO "let go and let God" too often. The fact that I do, and He does, is enough for me - its everything.

Here's hoping that you realize that your prayers are answered, in whichever ways the Lord sees fit, and that you see His Hand in your life. He gives us strength for the journey.