Need a Laugh?

I've never heard her before but this is just what I needed to start a long day off right. If you read this in the next 10 hours....pray for the kids home alone and Mike and I leading a workshop. I should be back to normal posting by tomorrow.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Forgiving Once Again

I recently heard a great illustration of forgiveness. I could do a whole post on what forgiveness is NOT and what it IS....but THAT would be a rabbit trail. The great illustration?

When someone has wronged you, you are like a bank that holds a mortgage. Sometimes the banks will sell that mortgage to another bank. The debtor receives a notice telling him that he is no longer in debt to the original mortgage holder, but to the new bank. He still has a debt, but that debt is payable to the new mortgage holder.

Forgiveness is "selling the debt". That's become a phrase I think of often. When someone unknowingly hurts my feelings, when I have to tell a child something I've said a million times, when Mike misses the laundry hamper with his dirty clothes....."sell the debt"...and believe ME they have ample opportunity to learn the same lesson living with me.

I'm preparing for a Bible Study Workshop that Mike and I will be teaching this weekend. He's asked me to take the lead. I've done many of these workshops in many formats: day long, weekend, 4 week Tuesday a.m. - you get the idea. I'm familiar with the process....but guess what?

This morning as I prepare, I note again the great loss of my OLD BIBLE. It was a New Inductive Study Bible. In MY times of study I'd charted most books of the Bible, written in key words etc.....and when I thought this morning, as I got ready to make the final decision about which book we should use for our hands on exercises,...Titus, Ruth, 2 Thess, Jonah..."Let's see what the main points of each book are." I had a complete brain fart and totally expected to find the books outlined, the chapter themes and key words listed.....but my new Bible is gloriously blank...waiting for me to hit those books again in my times of study.

I have sold that debt.

"Lord, those thieves got a priceless gift. May You allow your Word to
end up where it will be read and appreciated. Your Word won't return void
when it is sent out, regardless of how it was sent. ::snort:: I've sold the debt. It's not my business."

I had a good chuckle when I realized the thieves have a nifty cheat sheet I'd created on the Inductive Study Method which was tucked in my Bible. I found a copy....it doesn't appear to be on my computer.

Yes, I would love your prayers as we prepare for Saturday's day long (0900-1500) workshop.

As for today MOPS, Bible Study and School.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Armstrongs!!! and PWOC!!!

You should have seen the excitement when the kids saw that our packages were from Armstrongs.

From 2010-01-20

I told them it was GRAIN. Stacia said, "MOM - it's Armstrong your friend, your friend."

From 2010-01-20

Deja, you were the hero. I "never" buy Gummy Bears so YOU must have sent these. ::snort:: I'm glad you told me about the sale. I'll have to remember this in the future. ::snort:: You ARE a friend, thanks for helping me out with my grain issues. ::snort::

Did y'all know that PWOC is like Doritos? You can't eat just one? It's true. I slipped. I let my boundaries slide. I've spent most of the past two days solely on PWOC. That would be fine, if that's what I'd scheduled. But it isn't. Pure and simple....I slipped. My heart is to serve my women and be readily accessible. I realize this is a ministry/job that will never be totally "complete," therefore, I need to have boundaries. The very first one is one that I've had for years....but we lost after moving to Japan. We've gotten into the habit of turning the computer on, "for just a bit," to see if family is around to Skype. If the computer's on, I check email, I research...do you see where this is going? I'm simply going to have to discipline myself to stay the course. It's really not a PWOC thing....it's a me thing. I learned this lesson in Alaska.

No lectures needed....lecture has been self-administered. ::snort::

Mike and I went out tonight with our calendars. This was fun. Well.....the talking and eating part; not so much the calendar part.

I took a bunch of photos and ordered a flat daddy.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

MLK Jr Day

Mike had MLK Day off. I had forgotten he even HAD a 3 day weekend coming until we didn't go to church on Sunday. I kept wondering why the roads were bothering him enough to stay home. I finally got a clue. The chaplains here rotate on 3 day weekends. They take turns doing all 3 services, so that the other chaplains can have a true 3 day weekend. This sounds like a small thing, but it's the first time in 15 years of military service that we've really benefited from 3 day weekends. Usually, we can't go out of town etc because there is a sermon to finish prepping and a sermon to preach on Sunday. Good on Chapel Team Misawa for taking care of their troops.

Jared wanted to start school. We left him. We had planned to pick up some sleds at Sanwado (none there) or Homac (none there), grab lunch and go to the sledding hill on base. The BX said they've not received sleds yet. We tried Sundays on the way home. They were out of sleds too....but they DID have a big red "snow mover". Mike bought one (they are $45) and we used it to move snow and to sled.

Yeah, when we got home, Mike saw all that snow and we had to dig in...before sledding. We had it clear, but it keeps coming down....and the snow of the roof breaks loose at strange times. The snow mover was put to good use. We miss our snow blower. We have no where to store one, but maybe we'll look for one in the spring/summer when folks are pcsing. We gave ours away when we moved from AK to TX.

This is the tree in the common area (used to sport vending machines)......look how tall the snow is getting. Not a BIG hill, but the kids had fun, learned how to direct the snow mover down a small bump, and we'll look for a true sledding hill shortly....and real SLEDS. All were reminding me yesterday that MY antique sled is in the living room. I thought of it. We USED to use it....the wood is starting to split and it has metal runners....do they use those any more? Is it safe?

We came in cold and tired. We grabbed leftovers. I worked on some PWOC funds things for an upcoming trip. I sent out a few PWOC emails. We read another chapter in Nate Saint. We went to bed tired, sore (some of us) and satisfied.

No children were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Snow....

is certainly starting to collect around town. This is a huge pile.

This is the pile left at the end of the street.....and falling into our yard, driveway, breaking the farmer's fence...but the snow plow got it off the street! ::snort::

I'm constantly warning kids not to stand near the house. Ice...and BIG drifts of snow that all of a sudden break loose and slide off the tin roofs....maybe they're plastic come to think of it. ::snort:: AnyWHO....we hear a pounding, falling, dropping sound above us and WHAMMO - sheets of snow race off the roof.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Dear Diary....

The One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs

I reveiwed "Never Say Diet" by Chantel Hobbs last year. When I was given the opportunity to review, "The One Day Way," by Chantel, I snatched the chance. Chantel has lost over 200 lbs and KEPT it off! She's the type of person I want to listen to.

Chantel SIMPLIFIES weight loss for us one day at a time. Focus on the change you can make today. Celebrate your success today. If you screw up today, it's not the end of ALL your weight loss goals. Today is just one day! We are challenged to make daily goals (and to celebrate our successes) in the areas of faith, food and fitness.

Chantel includes sections on demolishing past failures and actions that lead to failure, laying a foundation for healthy weight loss, building the structure of a new us/life and concludes with a plan for lasting success. Two sets of Ten Commandments are shared: one for "Weight Loss and for Life," and one on how to "Be Fit For Life". Both are great and simple!!!!

I realized anew, as I read this book, I am GREAT at setting goals....specific weight loss/work out goals for the week, month, quarter, year, but when I no longer live walking distance from the gym, or when I don't meet a weight loss goal - I'm stymied. I'm an all or nothing type person. During this PCS (move) I gained 27 lbs (meaning I have 40 - 50 lbs to lose). Yes, circumstances played a part. I wasn't able to get to the gym six days a week, and my age and thyroid lead to a sluggish metabolism that NEEDS a daily jump start which I didn't provide. My big problem, however, is that I'm an all or nothing sort of person. If I can't work out, what's the point of eating six small meals a day? If I can't bake bread, what's the point of avoiding french fries? I still haven't figured out all the details for a working gym plan. I CAN choose ONE THING to change TODAY. I can do this again tomorrow. A small commitment/change is better than none.

I can also celebrate my daily success - regardless of the scale. I can't FORCE weight loss, I can choose to work out, I can choose to eat small meals, I can choose to learn how food words....and I can do this daily. The One Day Way was the shot in the arm I needed as I begin to make daily, healthy choices once again.

For only $13.59 at Amazon, "The One Day Way" is a great investment in your health. For one lucky reader, this book will be free. I'll make it easy. Simply leave a comment to enter the drawing. I'll draw a winner after noon JST, Saturday, 23 Jan. You'll have one week to be sure I have mailing info (which will be destroyed after the book is mailed, I really am NOT building a database ::snort::). If mailing info is not sent to me within a week, I will pick a new winner. Of course, overseas readers can enter....in my book YOU ALL are overseas. ::snort::

This book is on my 2010 Reading List.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I receive no payment, other than the book, for posting this review. If you'd like more information, click the link in the sidebar.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...