Good Tuesday morning everyone!  Time to rise and shine.  Gotta cook those grits and spray those pits!  LOL  Just for you Dayner!  It is going to be a wonderful Tuesday! 

Our challenge for today is to go out of your way to do something nice for a stranger.  OH NO!  not me! Yes! YOU!  Strangers love it when someone goes out of their way to hold a door, say a nice word, let them in front of you in the grocery line, just to do something nice and kind for them.  You never know when you may make a new friend.  I dare you to do this today and watch how good you feel.  You'll be amazed!

So, who's up this morning?  What cha sippin' on?  I am enjoying my Boca Java Chocolate Hazelnut and it sure is good!  This coffee blends the best of two worlds to me.  Chocolate and Hazelnut.  Two of my favorite coffees.  If you have never been to Bocajava.com, you'll be surprised at how cheap the coffee is.  My Caribou Coffee mug from our Minnesota friends makes it even better!  I think of all of you every time I sip my coffee from it.  

Y'all have a wonderful Tuesday as you go out of your way to do something nice for a stranger!

Hi, Everyone.
I don't know about you, but I sure can make excuses, especially when it comes to my weight-loss journey. I wonder what would happen if I adopted a "No Excuses!" policy. Hmm...something to consider. :)
Please pray for those having surgery today and for those recovering from surgery. Please pray for those who are finding it difficult to afford the ongoing post-surgery maintenance costs, that they will look to God to provide their needs.
Please pray for my daughter's fella who is traveling to Kansas today, for a safe trip and for a pleasant week's stay. I know it's silly, but I'm nervous about meeting him. I shouldn't be. I'm pretty sure he's the one I've been praying for since my daughter was born 33 years ago. :)
Have a great day, everyone. As always, I love hearing from you. It blesses and encourages me.

Life Plan Devotion #159 [Excuses, excuses]

John 6:5-9 [NLT] "Jesus saw a huge crowd of people [about 5,000 men plus women and children] coming to look for Him. Turning to Philip, He asked, 'Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?' He was testing Philip, for He already knew what He was going to do. Philip replied, 'Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them!' Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. 'There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?'"

     Jesus used a young boy's lunch and fed over 5,000 people with it. I often wonder what an impact that sight much have had on that boy. I have a feeling that boy took home many of the 12 baskets of leftovers, to feed his entire village.
     God uses people as channels of His grace. He allows us to have a part in what He does. When we willingly dedicate our own resources--time, talents, or possessions--to God, He can work a miracle for us and through us. God can take our limited resources and multiply them beyond our wildest expectations.

What this has to do with weight loss: How many excuses have you given for why you cannot be successful on your weight-loss journey? "I can't afford to eat the right kinds of food." "I don't have time to exercise." "The protein shakes and vitamins I have taste yucky."
     What if you gave each of your excuses to God? What if you said to Him, "I have $100 for groceries this week. Please help me find the right foods on sale." What if you said to God, "I have 10 minutes to exercise in the morning and again at night. Please help my metabolism to speed up." What if you said to Him, "The protein shakes and vitamins I have taste awful. Please help me to take them until You provide replacements." Become a partner with God, rather than an excuse maker, and you will see Him work a miracle!

Today, be honest about excuses you make. Ask God to help you, partner with Him, and see how your cir****tances will change. What could you do in life, if you quit making excuses? Here's an example:
http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=19d8ac11627107892b66

Blessings,
Mary

Hi, Trish.
I'm so sorry that things are so rough for you right now. Please know that I am praying for you and sending a big (((hug))) your way. While I cannot empathize with all of what you're going through, I do know how difficult it is to face trauma from one's past...what had been buried for many, many years.
What I came to realize is that, despite how inadequate I felt at the time, the Lord obviously knew that it was time for me to remember, to face, to verbalize, to deal with, to work through, and then put away, healed, those memories. How very strange to remember and feel like something horrible had just happened, yet knowing that it had happened 30 years ago. Very strange. It takes time and assistance, but with your willingness to face it all, and with the help of your therapist and most definitely the Lord, you will get through this.
Of course, the enemy will try (and it sounds like he already has tried) to pounce upon this opportunity, to drag you down. You must fight him, knowing that you are already more than a conqueror.
I would encourage you to live in the Psalms for the time being. Every spare moment you have, read through a Psalm. Read it outloud when you can, to yourself when you have to. David went through fear, depression, sin, murder, and more. You will find a kindred spirit in his words, and you will see how he was honest with God and then allowed God to heal the broken places.
I have no doubt that you will do the same. Remember, He is as close as the mention of His Name.
(((Prayers))),
Mary

Holding Donna & Miss Lucy up in prayer. Let is know how the surgery went, please.

Blessings,

Hi, Everyone.
For those of you following the "great romance of the century" (between my 33-year-old daughter and the godly man God has brought into her and my 9-year-old grandson's life), he is coming to visit for a week, on Tuesday, to "court" my daughter. How cute is that! I'm excited to meet the man for whom I've prayed since the day my daughter was born. I'll keep you posted. :)
Please pray for all those having surgery today, for those having surgery this week, and for those recovering from surgery. Please pray for those awaiting insurance approval, and for those who have been denied but are working the appeal process. Pray for God's awesome intervention in each cir****tance. Pray, also, for those who are dealing with personal trials, whether physically, financially, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, that each one will seek God's face in prayer and look to God's Word for guidance. Thank you for lifting up each other in prayer.

Life Plan Devotion #158 [Do you want to get well?]

John 5:6-8 [NLT] "When Jesus saw [the paralyzed man lying by the pool of Bethesda] and knew he had been ill for [38 years], He asked him, 'Would you like to get well?' 'I can't, sir,' the sick man said, 'for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.' Jesus told him, 'Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!'" [Note: Information added in brackets by author, for clarity.]

     In Jesus' day, there was a pool where people went, hoping to experience miraculous healing. Can you imagine the surprise this hopelessly-paralyzed man must have experienced when he heard Jesus ask him, "Would you like to get well?" Perhaps this was the first time anyone responded with "Duh!" Surely the man felt frustrated that he had gone as far as he could, was so close to the place where healing could happen, yet, year after year, nothing changed.
     Nothing had changed, so it was easy for this paralyzed man to answer Jesus' question "Would you like to get well?" with, "I can't,...for I have no one to put me into the [water]..." Jesus wanted to know that the man had done all he could do. The paralyzed man needed to know that Jesus would do what he could not. The result? Jesus commanded, the man responded, and he walked!

What this has to do with weight loss: When someone lives year after year after year with the physical and emotional results of overeating, it is easy to become so discouraged that you doubt that anything can change. However, there is always hope for a changed body, a changed life.

Today, hear Jesus ask you, "Do you want to get well?" If your honest answer is "Yes," prove that by doing all you can do, each day, and then trust Him to meet you and take you the rest of the way. Listen to Tonya Ferguson singing "I Can't Make It On My Own," and make it your prayer today. http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=d06474593700d2931e0 a

Blessings,
Mary