“In the Psalms: Part 2” | Sabbath School Panel by 3ABN - Lesson 9 Q2 2025

Multiple Trial Runs Through the Years

 I have attempted to lose weight a half dozen times or more over my adult life. And it would end up where I would lose some weight - maybe 50 pounds at the most before I fell off the wagon and then slowly gain the weight back. 

Back in 2017 I attempted to lose 50 pounds before I turned 50 years old, only to lost about 36 pounds or so before some major stress hit and knocked me off the wagon. Over the last 7 or 8 years I have tried several times but got knocked off. And in 2024 I came to a place I did not think I would ever be able to lose very much weight. I even went through my clothes and got rid of everything that was more than 1 size down. 

As I was thinking about all these failures, I realized that the biggest issue was that I had not fully committed to the lifestyle approach. I had made several trial runs, but I wasn't all in.  But even though I wasn't all in God had used each and every time to teach me different lessons that I needed to learn. Those lessons helped equip me for what I needed to make the choices I made this time. To fully commit to taking care of me. Of putting my main focus on health and losing weight as a happy bonus. 

Have you attempted to reach some goals and just keep failing at it? Don't give up. Use the knowledge that you glean each time to help propel you to success.  Sometimes trial runs are all we need to finally have success. :O) 

***The next blog post should be a 6 months Update. See you soon. 

You Won't Regret It

In the early part of 2017 I set a goal to lose 50 pounds by the time I turned 50 years old. I felt this was a reasonable goal since it gave me a couple of years. 

It seemed like everything was going along smoothly till the "Keto" movement hit. Several of my facebook friend got into selling "Pruvit" products which meant they had to make a huge production about the weight they were losing. Now keep in mind neither of these ladies really had that much weight that they needed to lose. Even some ladies at my church were complementing them about "ALL" the weight they had lost. Meanwhile the 30 something pounds I had lost didn't seem to be noticed. :0( 

God tried to help me by giving me a special message one morning while in my quiet time I shared with Him my frustrations. 

"I know you are frustrated but keep working towards your goals - you won't regret it." 

August 24, 2017

Boy, do I wish I could have been at the place where I hadn't placed so much emphasis on weight loss so I could have worked passed all the distractions. Had health been my #1 goal with weight loss as a happy bonus, then I could have ignored all the hoopla and focused on me and my health. 

I also wish I had listened to God's message back then because I would have been so much closer to my goal at this point had I listened. But I had a lot to learn in the years that followed. All the lessons that had helped me get to where I am today. 

But wouldn't you know it just months into my new way of eating and taking care of myself and another diet craze hits. And at first, I felt those negative feelings rising up in me. But I took a couple of deep breaths, and I refocused on why I am doing what I am doing. It isn't about fast weight loss. Yes - weight loss is a happy bonus for me, and I am thrilled about it but I am looking out for my overall health. Not some lose weight fast object which for the long term does NOT work. I will not allow other peoples supposed quick weight lose discourage me. I am losing weight in a very healthy way. I get to eat real food. No paying big bucks for packaged food - highly processed package food at that. I am eating the awesome foods that God created for us to eat. The foods that naturally provide the nutrients that we need.  

So sadly, I have to say I did not reach my 50 by 50 goal. But that is a past failure, and I am moving forward. I am setting doable goals for myself along with journey and I have meant each goal ahead of time so far. So, my overall goal from when I started a little over 5 months ago was to lose a total of 93 pounds. Well really, I did not shoot that high at first but when I realized that it is God who gives the victory, and I can depend on Him to help me through each trial and temptation -that is when I set my sights on this goal. When I reach this goal of losing 93 pounds I will be like my high school weight, I believe. :O) As of today, I have lost 42 pounds- which means I have 51 more pounds to go. I realize it may take me till next June to reach this goal - and that is alright. A shorter-term goal is to lose 56 pounds by the time I turn 56 years old - later this year- as you can see, I am 14 pounds away from that goal. I will certainly post when I reach this goal- I believe it will be before I turn 56, maybe by a couple of months. But that is alright because also have a goal that I have set for the end of 2025. 

Remember if you are working towards goals and struggling - you may be frustrated but keep working towards those goals. You will NOT regret it!! :O) 

“In the Psalms: Part 1” | Sabbath School Panel by 3ABN - Lesson 8 Q2 2025

God's Timing

 

I had received the movie "The Forge" for Christmas and had kept wanting to watch it but it just didn't work out. Then on January 29th my husband suggested we watch it. Halfway through the movie I had my husband pause the move. With tears in my eyes, I said that God had delayed me watching this movie on purpose! You see 1 month earlier I would not have realized that a main lesson in the movie was for me. 

I hate to have a bit of a spoiler of the movie here but it's important for this post. I month earlier I would not realize that I needed to forgive anyone. But as I stated in my last post that my dad and stepmom had both done things that had really upset me. Forgiveness was a very important lesson that I needed at the exact time. It had been God's timing as to when we watched this movie. Sometimes there are delays and we don't understand but we need to trust that God is in control. 

Long before Zacchaeus couldn't see 

the tree was planted to meet his need. 

tend what you can reach | DEVOTIONAL

An important question to ponder: 

Are you wiping or smudging? 

All Thy Journey Through

Five and a half months ago I made a major lifestyle change. And to be honest sometimes I am still so surprised at where God has led me and the peace he has given me about these choices. The last 5 months have been full of things that had I not had God helping me, I would have been knocked off the path. I know this because so much less has knocked me off the path in the past. 

What triggered these changes in my life was the fact that my Dad's Alzheimer's was getting worse. And within 1 month - on January 23rd he passed away. There were a few things that happened before he passed away, involving my stepmom. And then a couple days after he passed, I got a message from my stepmom that cut me to the core. Something that my dad had done that spoke volumes to my heart that he did not love me. It was a very ugly thing for my stepmom to do- unnecessary and very hurtful. This caused me to struggle with this ugliness for a couple of weeks. 

Trust me all that transpired over that month was enough to drive me back to seeking solace in comfort foods, but God was faithful. He had led me to where I was, and he helped me through. And in the months since many more challenges have been faced and instead of allowing them to be stumbling blocks, I have held onto my trust in God to get me through. He had led me onto this path, and He continues to give me the strength and courage to stay the course. 

"He who hath helped thee hitherto will help thee all thy journey through." 

 

5 reasons EVERYONE should be eating REAL whole grains

Good afternoon my friends! It is great to finally have some time to get some things posted here on my blog. This is a great video that I have wanted to share for a while and just hadn't gotten on here to get it posted. But here it finally is!! Also I am happy to report that I will have some health journey posts on Mondays and Thursdays. Yay!! Enjoy! 

“Foundations for Prophecy” | Sabbath School Panel by 3ABN - Lesson 7 Q2 ...