Wednesday Worship: Bridge Over Troubled Water, RIP Whitney

There's a quiet place where I can talk to the Lord...

I was very saddened by the death of Whitney Houston for so many reasons.  On some level, I related to Whitney.  We were the same age.  We married less than a year apart, although thank God, my marriage is still in tact.  We had children not far apart.  She was from New Jersey; I'm from New York.

I admired her from afar.  She was the first of my generation to hit superstardom in the music world.  She was gifted to sing and to touch lives through her singing.

I see her music as the soundtrack for my transition into adulthood.  I enjoyed The Bodyguard (movie and soundtrack), but those weren't my favorites.  I enjoyed the dance cuts, the soulful ballads, especially the early ones, seemingly before Trouble, with a capital "T", found Whitney.

And I don't think it's fair to cast all her problems at the feet of Bobby Brown.  Whitney never struck me as someone who was led around by the nose.  She thought for herself and made decisions, big girl decisions, albeit less than constructive ones as times, all by herself.

The world feels slightly less populated without Whitney.  There's definitely a void.

My prayers go out to her family, especially to her mother and to Bobbi Christina.  No parent should have to bury their child.  No child should lose their mother just as she is making her transition into adulthood.

Couldn't pick a favorite Whitney song--there are so many--so I'll share a few.

From The Preacher's Wife soundtrack, I Love the Lord/Joy To the World:

Then there was this early performance on the Arsenio Hall Show with BeBe and CeCe Winans of Hold Up the Light:

Finally, another song with CeCe.  If you've been around her for a bit you know Bridge Over Troubled Water is one of my favorite songs.  What better than to hear Whitney sing it?

Rest in peace, Whitney.  May the Lord bless your daughter, to free her from the demons that stole her mother away from her too soon and to walk confidently and gracefully into the unique destiny that He has for her.

Peace & Blessings,

Patricia

Wednesday Worship: I Feel Good

I feel good.

That's a statement, not a question.  It's an affirmation.  It can even be an expression of my desire or motivation if it's not a 100% true right now.

Because sometimes you have to affirm what you are or even what you need and hope to be in order to lift your spirit.

Fred Hammond has a new album out, God, Love & Romance, and the first single is "I Feel Good".  If you don't feel good before you listen, I'm pretty sure you will when you're done.  It's that kind of song.

Makes me think of hot sun, summer, riding in a convertible with the top down sipping from an ice cold water bottle heading to the beach.

Now don't you feel good?  What does the song make you think of?

Peace & Blessings,

Patricia

Making My Way Down the Weight Loss Mountain

Time for an update.   Here's how I'm thinking about my weight-loss.  Not an uphill battle, but a downhill desent.

Downhill is far easier than uphill.  If weight loss efforts get too hard, mentally, that is, they're doomed.

Goal weight is a steep mountain, to be sure, but absolutely one I can get down.  Can't run or I'll trip and fall, but if I take careful steps, before I know it, I'll reach my goal to get to goal weight.

Given that, since the beginning of the year, I'd say my progress is pretty good.  Here's how I've done.

Eat Less:  I'm definitely eating less, but consciously so.  Using the MyFitnessPal app on my smartphone is the absolute best way to keep track of and be conscious of not only what I eat but more importantly, how much.  There's a bit of guesswork when the exact food product isn't in the database, and I eyeball my portion sizes rather than weigh and measure, but I'd still say it's 80-85% accurate.  And that's enough to keep me honest.  So since my last post, when I was still slightly up after the holidays, I've dropped a net four pounds.  "Net" four.    From up to down. Just watching what and how much.  No special diet plan.  Still a little too much snacking but I pay for it by not having enough calories left at the end of the day to have an evening snack without going over my daily allotment.  Not bad.  Trending in the right direction.

Move More:  I began using public transportation to commute to work last month.  That alone has me walking more.  But Hubby and I have also been going for longer walks on the weekend, like 3 miles or more.  Definitely more.  Good progress with room for improvement.

Write:  Ah, something had to give.  Actually, I wrote more in January than I did in December, so that's good.  I put my wip aside for a bit to work on a short story, and didn't finish the wip as planned.  Also, back to sharing my laptop with my oldest who has a slew of papers he's working on.  Still, have to push myself to get back into a daily writing routine.  Not beating myself up, but definitely can and have to do better.

How's your progress against your goals going?  If you're with me on this weight loss journey, how's it going? Do you view it as climbing up or coming down the mountain?

Peace & Blessings,

Patricia

Wednesday Worship: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

Spoken word is worship too.

So today I'm featuring the video that has gone viral with something like 17 million views, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.

Listen.

Think.

Love Jesus.

Peace & Blessings,

Patricia

There Are No Shortcuts

There really aren't any shortcuts to losing weight and getting healthy.

We all would much prefer a "magic bullet" to the hard work and discipline required to get in shape.

I would, but I haven't found one.

Oh, I've tried and had limited success with a number of different types of what I will call diet aids--Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, Atkins, low carb, low fat, protein shakes, HCG--but nothing lasting.

Because if it isn't about real change, it isn't sustainable.

So here I am again, down somewhat from where I was before, but not nearly where I should or want to be after so many years of toiling in this struggle.

I think I'm finally accepting that getting to an ideal weight for my height and age, and staying there, requires significant, monumental changes.

I've begun tracking everything I eat using a cool app that my husband introduced me to, MyFitnessPal.  Every morsel.

What I like about this one over other weight loss journaling tools I've used in the past is that it's at my fingertips via my phone; most foods, even brand names, are already in the app so I don't have to guess; and it tells me what my caloric intake should be in a day, another thing that has pretty much been guesswork.

No more guessing.  Guesswork = poor results.

The things that I eat that are pretty healthy, like one egg for breakfast, a half cup of fruit salad, an apple, salad, even chili, have pretty reasonable calorie counts. The things I know I shouldn't eat, like Cheez-its, cookies, potato chips, have pretty enormous calories, even in tiny servings.  Of course, I knew that, but seeing the actual numbers is a huge wake-up call.

I can tell you it is totally possible to eat twice as much as one should in a given day without feeling completely fat and greedy.

Totally.

Those not-so-great calories really add up.

What will it take for change to become permanent?

I'm doing laundry last night and I'm thinking, as I whisper a prayer, then congratulate myself for bypassing the hard candy, that I've never really trusted God with my weight loss struggle.

Why not?

Then, I read an article in the paper this morning about Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and his incredible discipline for healthy living.  He regularly admonishes his family, especially his mother.  Lewis says, "I stay mad at my mom because she spends so much time with God but doesn't trust God with her body."

Incoming dart.  Right between the eyes.

I would hate for my boys to feel this way.  They could say this to me now, as Lewis did about his mother, and they would be right.

When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. -- Matthew 9:28-30

Little faith, little success.

Great faith, great success.

I trust God for many things, but somehow not for this.

Why?

I don't have an answer for that one.  I'll be pondering it for a while.

Methinks there are no shortcuts to faith either.

Do you trust--truly trust--God with your chronic struggles?  If you (we) did, would the struggle be chronic or would the struggle be over?

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

Eat Less:  Overall, not so great, but heading in the right direction.  Becoming conscious of everything I'm putting in my mouth.

Move More:  Sometimes life works with you when it seems like it's working against you.  A little car trouble, resulting in the use of public transportation, goes a long way toward moving more.  Walking daily.

Write:  This is my other focus area, the one that contributes to my mental and emotional health.  Made some progress on the daily writing front, not as much as I would like, but definitely trending in the right direction.

Renewal of Mind = Body Transformation

Here's something I've learned:  you have to be careful who you share with.  Because if you share with people what God is speaking into your heart/life, and they don't see what they consider to be concrete the evidence of the blessings God has promised you, according to their chosen measuring stick, they badmouth you.

Who is "they"?

Friends, family, co-workers, neighbors...could be anyone.

Sometimes, it feels like things are to be shared only after they have come into fruition.  But faith is not that way.  We have to believe--and share--the things we cannot see so that when they do come into fruition, God will be glorified.

I feel that way about a lot of things, one of which is my weight loss.  Feels like I've been sharing and making progress, not so obviously evident progress, for years.  Some may wonder why I bother or at least why I keep talking about it.

Because, with God's help, I'm going to make my goal weight.

This year.  

I've got a little extra motivation this year, but I'll keep that to myself.  For now.

Sure, I've talked a lot here about my weight struggles.  Seems like I'm constantly hitting a snag, gaining more than losing and restarting with a newfound zeal.

Truth is, in the past five years, I've lost weight.  I began this new year lighter than I have in a long time.  

Not where I want to be.  Not even close.

But encouraged.

Even with the four lbs I gained over the holidays (the least I can ever remember gaining during this time of the year).

So I'm not restarting because that would mean I'd have to go back to where I was before.

I'm recommitting.

Not a New Year's resolution.  I actually started working on this before Thanksgiving which is how I managed to gain so little.  (I'm usually good for 10+ lbs.)

More like a renewal of the mind.

Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (NIV, 1984)

Renewing the mind brings about transformation.

I'm going to transform this body.

This year.

And I'm going with the completely simple, fool-proof method:  eat less, move more.

This, believe it or not, has worked well for many, including myself, in the past.

Oh there's more, including the types of foods I choose, how often I eat, and in what quantities, but this simple phrase--"eat less, move more"--succinctly summarizes the plan.  It rings in my head which makes it easier to follow.

Anybody with me?

Wednesday Worship: Bridge Over Troubled Water

I was looking for Angels We Have Heard On High, but God knew what I needed to hear.

Enjoy this rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Josh Groban and Brian McKnight.

May you enjoy peace this Christmas season and should you need one, may you find your bridge over troubled waters in Him.

Peace & Blessings,

Patricia