26 September 2017

Another day is over, and I need to journal my thoughts about it. 

I actually am missing this process over the weekends... it's like a diary for the world to see my simple life and goals and efforts and challenges and faith in Something Bigger than me for all the things I cannot control (or fix). 

Trusting GOD for these things can really be a big challenge at times... we want everything bad to go away in a minute and everything good to stay forever... if God doesn't see these things happen, well... we think it's His problem, not ours.  It isn't something you learn once and then you have it conquered.  Every new problem brings a new path through this process... a new thing to learn about God and how we fit into His plans instead of Him fitting into ours.

I keep praying about the same things, it seems... wondering when the answer will get to me... wondering how other Christians fight their enemies... spiritual and human.  I try to find people in the Bible that have struggled in similar ways to help me find out how God deals with these issues, what I may need to do, etc.  I seem to think about things I haven't heard sermons about.  I don't know when an answer will come when I am searching for it, I just keep searching.

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My new business cards arrived today.  :-)
I posted photos at Facebook groups, Twitter,  and ??? can't remember where else.
Now I have to get my website updated... new links ready for December... prices and payments figured out, and benefit structures.  It's getting "real" now, my December effort on social media and wherever else I think of by then.  I hope God blesses this effort.

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An old friend that is on Facebook had a post about needing to get back into the gym for exercise.  I don't go to gyms but I have been trying to get back to a schedule on my son's eliptical machine.  I was trying to do five minutes at a time, starting with one session and building up to my 30-minute goal.  Winter is indoor season... even more now that I live so far from the bus and am getting older, with health issues.  I have been planning for a long future through being homebound, but aware that I may not make it to tomorrow.  I am still not ready to die, but I am getting the details figured out.  Exercise is part of my long-term effort.  Losing weight, getting back to my normal range, is part of my long-term effort.  Soon I am going to have to get on a scale and see where I am at.  I hate the thought of finding out I barely lost a pound...  :-( 

One of my food control efforts is to learn menu planning for my calories.  It isn't an exact science for me, but I am getting better at it.  I found a grocery shopping form at Every Dollar (daveramsey.com) and wound up using it for a meal planner.  Now I have created a better one for myself on my restarted old computer, not attached to the internet... or wi-fi.  I am working on more fruit and veggies, less fattening foods, and (right now!) I am struggling to stop eating the caramels I made!!! 

I wasn't able to coat them in chocolate and bag them up yet, because I need more chocolate I think.  I wound up eating 2 or 3 more... they are thick so they are lots of calories... and SO GOOD!  I can see this is going to be a problem that needs a solution.  I am thinking :: a separate kitchen for all my products, health department approved, where packaging and shipping are taken care of... far away from my personal space!  That will work for me.  Now, how to get to that solution...............   :-)

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I think it was Dr. Lustig, or Dr. Amen, that said "salad is the meal."  I discovered balsamic and olive oil as a dressing that I like, and they are my current dressing choice.  I know it was Lustig that says "a calorie is a calorie..." so you have to make sure the calories you eat are good for you.  Salad is good, caramel is not so good.  They are part of my inspiration for increasing my veggies.  I guess fruits are full of calories as well as health, but veggies are low in calories and big on health... so I am working at increasing my veggies.

It is hard to get away from the meal concept... big meals three times a day, plus snacks.  I am working on smaller meals as a calorie measure.  When you start to see the calories in what you eat, it is amazing how little you can fit into 400 calorie meals.  The 21-Day-Fix teaches this small meal perspective... and has lots of ideas... lots of veggies, too.  Their materials state that 1200 calories are the absolute minimum for ongoing health needs, and I agree.  I have a book by Rocco DiSpirito that says you can go down to 850, I think, and still be OK if you eat the right foods.  I think that seems low, too low.  Even at 1200 calories you have to spread the meals around.  I think I can reach my goal of two meals and a snack at the 1200 calories... that would let me have 500/500/200 as breakfast/dinner/ mid-day snack.  I think that might work.  I'm looking for food ideas to fit into the calories I want to limit myself to.  Pinterest has some great links for that, so does YouTube, I think.  It's all in the search terms.  I can flex if I want to, like my Friday Free Night.  It is getting to be a good thing, but I still have to be careful one exception doesn't turn into a continuous treat.

This caramel binge is really messing up my food challenge!  That's why food is so big on my mind right now.

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If you have seen my Facebook posts, you know I finished my big easel chalkboard painting project and posted photos.  My second item is almost done.  My sanding task has a wait on it so I can figure out how to sand it withing ruining it.  I may find a buffer and see what that does.  It is such a mess... tons of bubble holes.  My effort to make a chalkboard gift from recycled materials is also still in progress.  After I get the little easel done tomorrow, I will be able to get on to the FIMO molds I want to do.  I want to get my molded projects listed first... they will be more achievable for orders.

It is all beginning to take shape.  I have so many directions to move in that it takes the whole process longer to move forward.  I have often said I have "conflicting goals" or that I can't decide where to focus first... because it all connects to each other.

I have to pray through every day... and then leave it to GOD.

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Well, that is enough for today. I like the new book I am reading so I will try to take notes on the best things to share from it. I tend to get carried away with the moment, the happenings of the day, and then forget to share the deeper thoughts I process about spiritual issues.  I have lived by faith alone for so many years that I consider everything part of my process... trusting God... getting from here to there.  It is probably boring for you, so I hope to find other things to write about.  :-)

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May GOD help me to overcome the spiritual battles I pray about often.
May GOD show His Power in these battles and glorify His Name through the things He does.
May GOD be the One I cling to, the One I remember, the One that matters more in my decisions.
May GOD protect the innocent, have mercy on those who need it, and judge the ones who cannot change.
May GOD bless my efforts, provide what I need, and help me to walk toward His work in my life.
Amen.