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I must pause here though --
A good portion of my excitement about this movie has been replaced by grief and a heavy heart. I know it's all over the news today, but as a believer I must urge all of us to stop today and pray for the victims of the midnight premier shooting in Colorado last night. May each person even remotely affected by this horrible tragedy know the comfort and grace of God. And...let us not stop there. While we are in prayer for those affected as victims, may we also pray for the seriously lost soul who would even think to commit such a malicious crime as to take human life.
There have been multiple times in my life when I have wanted to hate people who have committed horrible crimes and done horrible things to me and/or to my family. I am reminded of two passages of scripture when I feel that way:
1 -- The Beatitudes
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:2-12
2 -- Anger
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. - Matthew 5:21-26
That is all to say that we should not forget to pray for the lost soul of James Holmes as well as the many who have become his victims.
Okay, so let's get the ball rolling...
...or at least that's what I keep saying to myself about losing weight on Weight Watchers. So far, I've lost a grand total of 1.2 lb. since I started. I'm going into week four and I'm insanely discouraged!
What should/will my plan of action be? Honestly, I have no clue. But for the time being, I've decided to cut back on my carbs (even my whole grains), up my fiber intake, up my veggie intake, and work out more/harder. Any help our encouragement would be much appreciated!
I called my mom yesterday, who is a lifetime WW member. The new plan I just listed was her advice to me, since eating patterns along those lines have worked for me in the past. She made me reflect on habits that have worked for me before: running everyday and eating about 800 calories per day and cutting out all carbs including fruit. Neither of these options are sustainable, which explains why I've always gained the weight back. So we decided that I would just modify my WW plan to look a little more like both of those and see what happens in the next couple of weeks.
I've just gotta take a second to say that my mom is incredible! During our conversation yesterday I started to get really stressed out about losing weight and what I'm going to look like for my wedding. My mom has never told me that I need to lose weight or that I'm fat (she'd never dream of saying something like that), but she knows that it's an uphill battle I've faced my whole life. She has been on this very slow rolling ball (and sometimes stuck) with me for many many years. But yesterday when I started freaking out about my wedding, she was jumped straight from friend-ish mode [trying to help me figure out a plan] into mom mode.
She assured me that I WILL look beautiful on my wedding day because I AM beautiful. We found the most figure flattering dress possible and it's gorgeous on me. Things that I'm self conscience of, the dress hides. Things that I like about myself, the dress extenuates. PLUS, she reminded me that I have a man who loves me for me and thinks I'm beautiful NO MATTER WHAT!
For any of you who may be struggling with the same type of battle, let me assure you of something: you ARE beautiful! You are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. There is no food, no weight gained or lost, no item clothing, no big event, NOTHING, that can ever take that away from you! So, when you start to feel defeated and when you start to feel like your on a ball that is not rolling anywhere, go to someone (like I did with my mom) who will A) Help you figure out a plan and B) Encourage your socks off!
I'll step off my soap box now and quit my rambling for the day. I hope you have been overall encouraged today. First of all, I hope you're encouraged to pray. Pray for Colorado, and pray for the lost. Second of all, I hope that you're encouraged to know that you are beautiful. And last, I hope that you are encouraged to know that we're in this together.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
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