We Were Made To Praise!

Woo-Hoo!!!
"I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High."!!! Psalm 9:1-2
Beautiful week! I just LOVE to see God's hands at work all around me. The very privelage of having my eyes opened humbles me, and saddens me at the same time. Yet, my heart bursts with JOY over His faithfulness and His grace and His patience and forgiveness...Beautiful week :)...
So, I really only had 2 good solid days of hard workouts this week. God kept me very busy hanging out with some of His lost sheep and serving my brothers and sisters in Christ. But that's OK! Somehow I managed to lose 3 lbs but gained 1in in my waist. Meals were all out of whack since our schedule was quite a mess (lots of pizza/junkfood/sweets). Regardless, today I woke up just wanting to praise our Father for who He is and everything He does-because HE IS GOOD, and EVERYTHING HE DOES IS GOOD! Have an obedient and purposeful week sisters!!! In Christ alone :)

Fishin'!

Good Morning Ladies! (as is every morning, perfect, and "GOOD", praising God with its beautiful smells and colors, showing God's glory and refreshing our spirits faithfully!) Hope your week has been exhaustingly productive in light of His kingdom :)...
We've just completed a series on being "fishers-of-men". As I continue to seek God (1st) and improve my eating and fitness habits, I find that I have more energy and focus on serving God's purpose instead of my own. My "castle" is nowhere near as big as I tend to make it in light of God's kingdom. Sometimes I look at exercise as being a task instead of just part of my day. Trying to "work it in" is not the right attitude. Make a schedule...stick to it...don't think about it...just follow it. Reserve your thoughts for things above and your eyes will be more open for opportunities presented for you to serve/share Jesus :)...
Measurement update: I gained 2lbs (even though I had a stomach virus for 2 days)...gained my inch back in my bust and chest (yipee!)...lost .5in in my hips and .5in in my left arm so now my arms are even :)...hmmm... This week I will alternate cardio & strength training along with a daily bit of morning yoga.
Well, I love you all and love this fellowship God has blessed us with. It's pretty cool to build online relationships with sisters I've never met :)...! Praying daily specifically for you...Holy hugs & kisses!!!

Speaking Of...

Speaking of being fearfully and wonderfully made, grandchild #4 was born yesterday morning...Praise God!!! A bit premie, 5.56lbs, but healthy and beautiful nevertheless...a true miracle that never gets less amazing!!!

Regarding the CCC...I planned to do Tony Horton videos this past week (which I did on Monday and was terribly sore (good thing) on Tuesday morning), however, Monday night a friend of mine gave me some Zumba videos and asked me to try them for 1 week-so naturally I said "Sure!". I did sweat more but I wasn't sore at all so I think I will go back this week to Tony Horton videos and just do Zumba for fun...I also didn't lose any lbs but did lose 1in (in my bust where I'd very much not like to lose any more inches...). Drinking water is easy points for me since all I really ever drink is water (thank you Dani for these bonus points!) so prayerfully this will be a more productive week...busy-busy-busy-but never quit!!!

Eccl. 11:6 "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good." NKJV

Good Monday Morning Sister Crunch Buddies!

Tough week. Didn't get much workout time this past week. Focused more on God's plan for my life...(really needed this). Even during P.E. class we were testing all week for final grades so I sat much of the time. My body feels tired but that won't stop me. This week I'll be doing Tony Horton workouts @ home & new exercises for the kids @ school (which means I have to demo). Dinners are all planned for the week and I'm trying to eat breakfast every day. I wonder how long it will take for my stomach to accept breakfast...Well, I will only be posting on Mondays from now on so that I don't spend so much time on the computer. So far, I've not lost any weight or inches but I won't give up! See you all next Monday & have a blessed and purposeful week!!!
Praise God that we are fearfully and wonderfully made...!!!

Catching up

Tough and challenging weekend: Airshow, game night w/friends, 2 baby showers/1 birthday party and of course, church. So much food! However, this was different. I purposely chose meats over starch, minimal sweets and always drank water. It was kinda cool to eat purposefully...Here are my measurements as of 10/13/10:

w:145 b:37 c:31 w:33 h:40

rt:25.5 lt:25.5 ra:11.5 la:12

I'm so curious to see if anything will have changed by the 20th. I refuse to check before then...:)

Guilty!

So, last night we took the family out to Howah (chinese food-buffet). I had a great day filled with Pilates and Cardio so I thought chinese was a good choice. I purposely took only 1 of each item (lowering my portions) when suddenly my plate had more items than usual. I had to eat everything since we are firm believers in not wasting food and you can't take anything home from a buffet. I think I felt more guilt from being greedy than I felt from being overstuffed! I came home and immediately did a 15 minute after dinner walk (video)-bad idea. Next time I'll make better choices-before, during, and after...
Proverbs 23:1-3 "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite (yikes!). Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food." Yes, Lord...I hear You. So be it!

Have To Share...

Awesome Bible study last night! Studying forgiveness for the very purpose of reconciliation...Carrying around anger & bitterness is such a heavy burden that directly affects our health and our countenance. Yikes! Better deal with THAT ugly disease before it spreads. Daily repentance (putting off AND putting on) is key in transformation of the heart -both spiritually and physically. Today I'm praying that God reveal any hidden and buried "junk" I may have been clogging my pipes with...After all, I am free indeed!!!

Let's Do This!

Hello Sisters! Well, here it is. The ever so dreaded "before" picture. This is me this morning @ 146lbs. That's right! I'm just throwing it all out there so now I can't back out :) ! Here's to us commiting our time and best effort to being good stewards of this one body that God has given us to use for Him and His purpose. Let us not quench the Holy Spirit any longer with our self inflicted restrictions that keep us from doing His work...3-2-1 Blast off!

My Intro - Lynn L.

Hello sisters! My name is Lynn Lopez and I am 43 years old. I have 4 children and 3 3/4 grandchildren, all precious gifts from our Father. I started this last challenge teetering between 151-155 and ended at a steady 149. Today I am at 147 and my goal is to be consistently under 125. I'm only 5'23/4" so that would be my ideal weight. I've always been pretty strong (thanks to my 4 brothers growing up) and active due to all my kids. Now I'm a P.E. Teacher at Northeast Christian Academy for 4th-11th grade so I get my fair share of exercise. My problem is my busy schedule, poor choices in eating on the run, and oh yeah, I love food! All of it! During this last challenge, I've maintained my workouts but started eating smaller portions, cut out some sugars, well, I guess that's about it. But I've actually lost some weight. So now that I'm motivated, I'm going to go into this next challenge with an actual goal to lose at least 10 pounds more. I really miss my 501's!!! Thankfully, I've never really been big on sweets so holidays don't affect me so much (except for all those potatoes and gravy!). So pray for me sisters! I'm weak! :) Fun & games aside, I love this fellowship of healthbound Christian sisters. God brought us all together and I'm so thankful for you all. May God bless this fellowship and this opportunity to be His light in this dark world... Happy Trials!

Lynn L. Recommends...

Committing to a fitness plan will be difficult over the holiday season. If we're going to start this Monday, it helps me to prepare. Make a daily schedule from the time you wake up to bedtime. It has to be a flexible schedule since we never know when God will call on us to serve Him-and we must obey with a willing heart. Prepare your schedule, commit it to the Lord ("Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established." Proverbs 16:3), and He will take care of the rest...Holy hugs & kisses to all!!!
*One last thing-feed your Spirit before you feed your flesh. Don't commit more time to a workout than you would in personal time with God. Our strength comes from the Lord :) !

A Word of Encouragement from Lynn L.

Hello Ladies! Thank you for inviting me to join this health transformation adventure! I'm so excited to see the changes in eating habits, activity choices and overall attitude of my whole family. Then they'll tell 2 friends...who'll tell 2 friends...who'll tell 2 friends... What an awesome opportunity God has given us to build relationships!!! Praise GOD from whom ALL blessings flow!!!