FACED Accountability

I wanted to go a bit deeper about what I do for accountability.  Many years ago, I started a group called FACEyourday. 

Here is the group description:

Get ready to FACE your day with accountability and support from friends!

FACED is an accountability group that focuses on balance in the following areas:

F: Food - What are your goals for eating right?
A: Academic or Attitude - What are you feeding your mind?
C: Communion - How are you communing with God and others?
E: Exercise - What are you doing to tune your temple?
D: Daily Care - What are your goals for taking care of your loved ones and yourself?

Here is an example of my FACED for yesterday that I just sent to my two accountability partners.

Jan 3 - 1156 Deficit 

.2 pounds away from chai tea! Thank you so much. Accountability works!!  

F: 1333 – Finally into a groove of recording again. 19Pro/52Cho/29Fat/11Sat. Calcium 1082 because less milk yesterday (1200 at 50+ years old) 

A: Glanced at Chronicles of Downton Abbey. Watched The Dark Knight with George. 

C: Genesis 3 and the baptism of Jesus in John and Matthew. Yummy! I went on a walk with George instead of a private praise walk.

E: 2489 – Walk, Pilates, Weights, and Elliptical! My first full workout day since October 10! I have NO BACK PAIN this morning! YAY! I have worked back into it slowly with only going 4.4 pounds over my maximum. Pretty good considering my low calorie burn due to my back and Christmas goodies.

D: Dentist appointments made for all. Started taking down Christmas extras (George took the tree down for trash recycling on Monday). Opted out of a family date to watch The Hobbit so I could work out and have some time alone at home (daily care of myself). Glorious!

When I started it with others we had up to twelve members, and that was too big. I like 3-4 people in each group. Easier to respond with encouragement to others!

Tomorrow I will talk about the BodyBugg!

2013 Movies, Series, Documentaries

JANUARY

1. Gilmore Girls Season 3

2. Miracle on 34th Street (so sweet)

3. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

4. Gilmore Girls Season 4

5. Little Women

6. Doctor Who Series 1

7. Gilmore Girls Season 5

FEBRUARY

8. Gilmore Girls Season 6

9. Gilmore Girls Season 7

10. W (clearplayed)

11. The Conspirator

12. The Real Jane Austen

13. Doctor Who Series 2

14. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (warning: racy part and unexpected for an old movie!)

15. California Suite

MARCH

16. The Hunger Games

17. Funny Face (S'Marvelous, S'Wonderful)

18. Atlas Shrugged (wow)

19. Doctor Who Series 3

20. Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged

APRIL

21. Quartet

22. Doctor Who Series 4

23. The Other Doctor (Doctor Who Christmas)

24. The Duchess of Duke Street Series I

25. Hope Springs (NOT a comedy and pretty yucky)

26. Planet of the Dead (Doctor Who)

27. The Waters of Mars (Doctor Who)

MAY

28. Evening (Clearplayed)

29. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (Clearplayed)

30. Evan Almighty (surprisingly funny and clean!)

31. The Duchess of Duke Street Series 2

32. The End of Time: Part 1 & 2 (Doctor Who)

33. Mad Men Season 5 (Need to Clearplay!)

34. William Faulkner: Famous Author Series

35. Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike

36. Call the Midwife Series 2 (Beautiful in every way)

37. Beasts of the Southern Wild

38. Margin Call (Clearplay it for language)

JUNE

39. Hamlet (brilliant and best David Tennant version)

40: Horatio Hornblower: The Duel

41: Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ships

42. Mad Men Season 6

JULY

43. Doctor Who Series 5

44. Perfect Pitch (Clearplay it)

45: Horatio Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil

46. Sister Wendy's Story of Painting (rewatch delight)

47. Doctor Who: Christmas Carol

48. What to Expect When You're Expecting

49. Watership Down

50. The Way (watched again with Geo in Nov)

AUGUST

51. Doctor Who Series 6

52. The Forsyte Saga (Damian Lewis is amazing)

53. The Truth about Food (Six BBC documentaries)

54. Doctor Who Series 7, Part I

55. The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

56. Pollock

57. Rushmore (Clearplayed)

58. Raising Arizona (Clearplayed)

59. House of Cards

60. Michael Mosely's Eat, Fast, and Live Longer

61. To Play the King (House of Card Trilogy 2)

62. Downton Abbey Series 3 (rewatch)

SEPTEMBER

63. The Final Cut (House of Cards Trilogy 3 WAY racier! So disappointed in the BBC - I covered the TV and listened to the dialogue for parts because no ClearPlay filter!)

64. Failure to Launch

65. $ellebrity (Documentary on Paparazzi)

66. The Buccaneers (rewatch, excellent)

67. Austenland

68. Sicko

69. The Grand Series I & II

70. Blue Jasmine (Cate B. is incredible)

OCTOBER

71. Duck Dynasty Season 1

72. Beverly Hills 90210 (just a few to understand cultural reference in Old Navy commercial!)

NOVEMBER

73. Sister Wives Seasons 1-3

74. Dance Moms Seasons 1-2 (in bed with back injury)

DECEMBER

75. Silver Linings Playbook

76. Beautiful People

77. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

78. The Dark Knight Rises (Because PJ was in it!)

79. Philomena

80. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

2013 Book List

JANUARY

1. Les Miserables - Radio Family Theatre (ER)

2. Dandelion Wine (SBC)

3. Pensees by Pascal (ITC)

4. Pocket Your Dollars (ER)

5. A Year of Biblical Womanhood (SBC)

6. The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico (ER)

7. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book I (ITC)

8. Keeping Christ in Ministry (ER)

9. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

FEBRUARY

10. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey

11. The Catcher in the Rye (BD)

12. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book II (ITC)

13. Practicing God's Presence 24/7

14. Getting Out of Bed in the Morning (ER)

15. Of Virgins and Martyrs: Women and Sexuality in Global Conflict (ER)

16. Warrior: Fighting for Your Faith, Family, etc (ER)

MARCH

17. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book III (ITC)

18. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book IV (ITC)

19: Booked:Literature in the Soul of Me

APRIL

20. Apologia Pro Vita Sua (ITC)

21. The Second Shepherds' Play (ITC)

22. The Federalist (ITC)

23. The Fast Diet

24. I am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced

25. Four Quartets (ITC)

MAY

26. Waiting for God (ITC)

27. Life of Johnson (ITC)

28. The Twilight of the Idols (ITC)

29. My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper

30. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia (ITC)

31. Doctor Johnson's Prayers (ITC)

32. The Temple (ITC)

33. A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (ITC)

34. Fear and Trembling (ITC)

35. Go Down, Moses (ITC)

JUNE

36. Selected Essays of Samuel Johnson (ITC)

37. Watership Down (BD)

38. Call the Midwife

39. Happier at Home

40. The Reading Promise

JULY

41. Swann's Way (abridged audio)

42. Swann in Love (abridged audio)

43. Forty Days with the Messiah

44. Handel's Messiah: Comfort for God's People

45. Out of the Silent Planet

46. Call the Midwife: Shadow of the Workhouse

AUGUST

47. Till We All Have Faces

48. Perelandra

49. The Fifth Season: A Daughter-in-law's Memoir of Caregiving (ER)

50. Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End

51. That Hideous Strength

52. Be Myself (Warren Wiersbe Autobio)

53. Forgotten God

54. This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral and Valet Parking

SEPTEMBER

55. The Great Gatsby

56. Heidi

OCTOBER

57. Walden on Wheels

58. Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity

59. Three Men in a Boat

60. Persuasion

NOVEMBER

61. The King Jesus Gospel

62. The Daughter's Walk

63. The Christ of the Indian Road

DECEMBER

64. Divine Conspiracy

65. Searching for God Knows What

66. Behind the Beautiful Forevers

How I Lost the Weight

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I had someone ask me how I lost the weight, and I had written this email to a couple of friends a few months back. So I am going to just paste it here!

WHY I LOST IT:

I lost it because weight loss was not my goal, maintenance was. Between December 20, 2012 and April 8, 2013, I lost until I was down to a medium frame weight for my height (I was usually within five pounds of the large frame weight, but I think that was too much all those years). I remembered my favorite weight, and that was when I was 19 and playing basketball. My love handles were totally gone then. So, I lost until the love handles went away, and that is the medium frame weight. I also had a rousing email exchange with a radiologist who said that all people’s bone mass are medium frame, and there is no such thing as a “large frame” weight. This is his website for recommendation for your ideal weight. Scroll down to the last box and do the ROBINSON FORMULA. That should be the ideal weight for regular sized women according to this guy (I use the Devine because I am tall): http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

I had the extra motivation of a very tight budget due to George’s job being cut to a barebones salary. So, I didn’t have any extra money for little "treats" here and there, and walking saved me gas money! My LDL, cholesterol, and blood sugar were also a bit high (not in any danger), and my dietician friend says that she recommends a 7% weight loss to get them within normal. Extra motivation really helped me lose too!

(Update: all my blood work came back great Nov 2013!)

HOW I LOST IT: 

I recorded everything for 16 weeks and reported total calories consumed to two other friends by email EVERY DAY. They were free to report when they wanted, but that is what I committed for myself, and I was faithful to do it EVERY DAY no matter how busy I was (and I was very busy).

I also burned at least 2500 calories every day by walking, walking, walking, even in the rain (quitting running was the biggest way I have lost weight because I used to run and take two days to recover due to my back problems – now I just walk three days in a row and burn more calories overall). I committed myself to “Walk for Weight Loss and the World” so I prayer walked and prayed for unreached peoples and for my community!  I did it rain or shine and in the dark even. I made sure I got that 2500 calories in EVERYDAY too.

If I have a busy work day, I make sure I stand a lot and walk, walk, walk. I even walk and do listening prayer, discipleship, and counseling with the women I meet with because one of the things I am also teaching them is that exercise helps with depression, and it really does. I do not go to the gym as much, but I just move a lot more every day. I stand more while doing tasks. If I watch a movie, I move around. I dance around my living room a lot. I am moving, moving, moving all the time!

I do not sit at my computer like I used to (A smart phone has really helped me not sit at my computer as much too.). I quit taking as many photos because I sat too much processing them (also bad for my back).

(Note: the only difference between overweight people and thin people are that they stand more. The article is no longer on the internet, but here is an article about the characteristics of thin people that alludes to this fact: http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/secrets-thin-people.)

Also, I only allowed myself one post for the Bible Book Club for every pound I lost. I wanted to FINISH the Bible Book Club. So, I lost the weight so I could FINISH. Now, I do not let myself have my favorite Chai tea in the morning unless I am under my ideal weight.  (I have modified this since Chai tea is such a wonderful part of my quiet morning ritual. So, I allow myself a single serving of chai without WHIPPED CREAM. If I am at my ideal weight of 173, I allow myself the luxury of whipped cream. That has worked well!) That keeps maintenance because I love my Chai tea (with whip) in the morning!!! LOL!

I also dropped out of one of my book clubs so I wasn’t reading as much; and if I do read, I try to find the audiobook so that I can listen to it while I am walking, working out on an elliptical (I do that sometimes for variety), cleaning, or cooking. I combine working out with pleasure reading that way and am not sitting on my bottom reading a book. Moving while reading is a great thing!

I also got physical therapy for my back so it doesn’t go out as much because I do exercises for it every day. I also get a monthly massage so that my back stays better (my doctor wants it once a week, but that is TOO expensive). So, I burn so many more calories because I am not in bed nursing a hurting back anymore!  (Note: since I wrote this letter, after many months of no pain, it wigged out. So, I could not walk and burn more calories for a couple of months, but I only ended up gaining 4.4 pounds over my ideal weight so I am learning to eat less when I am inactive. Also, I have learned the beauty of self-myofascial release (SMR) with a roller and then static stretching. That and Pilates has kept me pain-free for over two years now. )

Also, I walk or ride my bike everywhere I can (on errands, to discipleship meetings on campus, etc.). Once I reached the goal, I was determined to keep it off and not let it come back on, and I have kept it off for six months (now it is eight months), and I just keep on reporting to those two women! It has been a great year!

I also practice the eight things that help you with your serotonin and dopamine levels (see the VLOG for all about that: http://carolhomeschool2.blogspot.com/search/label/VLOG). I try to do those eight things every day. Sleep is a big one, and I am getting really good sleep and really efficient sleep.

Also, the BodyBugg helped me keep my calorie burn accurate. Sadly, it was bought out by Jawbone, and then Jawbone discontinued it. It was the ONLY accurate calorie tracker out there. The Fitbit and other fitness trackers are WILDLY INACCURATE for calorie burn so please do not go by their estimates that are based on an algorithm and not on accurate body measurements. I went on a hike with a woman who was a foot shorter than me, and her Fitbit said she burned 1400 calories while my BodyBugg said, accurately, that I had burned about 500. I tracked the data with this device for eight years, and my calorie burn - my calorie intake always = the pounds I ended up losing. I think it was 94% accurate because you wore it on your arm (see slideshow), and it measured four things on your body. Beware of the Fitbit because it makes some people fat! http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/can-a-fitbit-make-you-fat.html/comment-page-1#comment-359822

You can watch all my VLOG posts for other tips on weight loss! They are all around a minute long. So, not a big time consuming thing to do but helpful tips:

http://carolhomeschool2.blogspot.com/search/label/VLOG

There you go! Now I have SAT ON MY BUM so long writing this that I must MOVE!!

HOW I HAVE MAINTAINED IT

I already mentioned that I do not allow myself to have my favorite beverage if I am above a certain weight: "No chai tea above 173" is my new motto! (As I mentioned above, I changed that in 2016 to allowing myself a single serving [used to make a double] and allowing WHIPPED CREAM on top only when I am at 173 - like I was this morning! What a treat to have a little WHIP on my chai!)

I examined my pattern weight gain after a period of losing since 2008. I had the data from my Body Media BodyBugg. So that gave me valuable information about what I do. Here is the post with all my analysis of that data: 

"The Good News on My Overeating" 

I had two times since the weight loss where it climbed back up about five pounds. This last time was due to a relapse in my back on October 10th, and I wasn't able to burn a lot of calories because I needed to rest a LOT and could not even stand for long periods of time. All that said, I overate about 233 calories per day during that time period (When in pain, I eat. I also need to eat to keep myself from being nauseated from pain meds.) gaining five pounds. But it is so much easier to "course" correct at five pounds rather than thirty, taking two and a half weeks to lose it rather than fifteen!  So, I am committed to "course correcting" on a regular basis. So, I weigh myself at least every two weeks, but I admit I did not weigh myself between November 25 - December 30 because of the holidays. I was afraid to do it!  But fear is our biggest enemy of weight loss, and I was pleasantly surprised that I had only gained three during the holidays and two from my back injury! YAY!

(2017 update: I lost to goal before England, but I gained again. So, I am committed to maintainance once again this year. It is not good to fluctuate more than 10 pounds for post-menopausal women! See this article: http://www.realsimple.com/health/yo-yo-diet-heart-disease-sudden-cardiac-death)

Maintaining is also easier with the two women who hold me accountable and encourage me. I always have them to email with my "FACEing my day" (see the link to my VLOG videos about FACE.)

(2017 Update: The women quit logging so I felt at a loss. But I am giving my reports everyday to them regardless of whether they report or not. One has reported a few times a week, and the other has not even responded to any of our emails. I am on LoseIt! which has a very nice and encouraging community. Most are losing a large amount of weight, but that is OK. They do have a maintaining group that I hope to be in soon. 2017 Update - As of February, I am in the maintaining group. They are a small group but many have become my friends so we encourage each other. I am still sending my reports to the two I have reported to since 2004!)

As I said at the beginning, maintenance was my goal, not weight loss. I had that mindset from the beginning, and that has really helped. 

(And maintenance still remains my goal even though I lost sight of it when I switched to Pilates over calorie burning exercise. I have loved having no PAIN anywhere, but I have not loved the extra POUNDS that came as a result of the switch in my daily calorie burn. I am dropping one of my Pilates classes so that I can have more time for calorie burn. 2017 update: because of the switch, I was able to get off those last stubborn five pounds. I think four hours of teaching was just right for me. I also have more time for aerobic weight training that strengthens and burns calories while Pilates strengthens and stretches. So, I like this balance much better and will make it easier to maintain.)

I am tired of not maintaining, and this is my commitment for 2017! (And I am doing great so far!)

Carol

My Weight Loss Journey 2013!

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2013 Reading Wrap Up

1. How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? 

I read 66 books. I beat my personal goal of 52.

2.What are your top 5 (or more) favorite stories?  Top 5 least favorites? 

TOP 12 (or 15 if you count the trilogy)

15. Of Virgins and Martyrs: Women and Sexuality in Global Conflict (ER)

19: Booked:Literature in the Soul of Me

26. Waiting for God (ITC)

38. Call the Midwife (all three in the trilogy)

40. The Reading Promise

54. This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral and Valet Parking

56. Heidi

58. Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity

60. Persuasion (second time but loved it all over again)

64. Divine Conspiracy (third time finally did it!)

65. Searching for God Knows What

66. Behind the Beautiful Forevers

BOTTOM 5

2. Dandelion Wine (SBC)

5. A Year of Biblical Womanhood (SBC)

16. Warrior: Fighting for Your Faith, Family, etc (ER)

28. The Twilight of the Idols (ITC)

33. A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (ITC)

3. One book you thought you would never read and was pleasantly surprised you liked it? 

If I can say "one book I thought I would never REread and was pleasantly surprised," I would say The Divine Conspiracy. Willard is so intellectual he makes my head hurt, but I was surprised at how much more I grasped this time around and understood his heart. 

4. Most thrilling unputdownable book? 

It was not "thrilling," but I loved Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity because it was right where I was at. I read it while on a prayer retreat, and I ate it up. So wise and profound. 

5. Did you come across a story that you enjoyed it so much, you turned around and read it again or plan on  rereading it again in 2014? 

I could see my self rereading Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity on a yearly basis.

6. One book you thought you would love, but didn't? 

A Year of Biblical Womanhood

7. Which book or books had the greatest impact on you this year? 

Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity

Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me

Divine Conspiracy

Searching for God Knows Wha

8. Do you have a favorite cover or quote from a story you'd like to share? 

9. What book would you recommend everyone read?  

Silence, Solitude, and Simpicty and Divine Conspiracy or Searching for God Knows What - Divine Conspiracy is really hard for some people. 

10. What was your most favorite part of the challenge? Did you do any of the mini challenges? 

The discipline of writing a review for every book. No, did not do any mini-challenges.

Here is the whole List:

JANUARY

1. Les Miserables - Radio Family Theatre (ER)

2. Dandelion Wine (SBC)

3. Pensees by Pascal (ITC)

4. Pocket Your Dollars (ER)

5. A Year of Biblical Womanhood (SBC)

6. The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico (ER)

7. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book I (ITC)

8. Keeping Christ in Ministry (ER)

9. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

FEBRUARY

10. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey

11. The Catcher in the Rye (BD)

12. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book II (ITC)

13. Practicing God's Presence 24/7

14. Getting Out of Bed in the Morning (ER)

15. Of Virgins and Martyrs: Women and Sexuality in Global Conflict (ER)

16. Warrior: Fighting for Your Faith, Family, etc (ER)

MARCH

17. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book III (ITC)

18. Institutes of the Christian Religion: Book IV (ITC)

19: Booked:Literature in the Soul of Me

APRIL

20. Apologia Pro Vita Sua (ITC)

21. The Second Shepherds' Play (ITC)

22. The Federalist (ITC)

23. The Fast Diet

24. I am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced

25. Four Quartets (ITC)

MAY

26. Waiting for God (ITC)

27. Life of Johnson (ITC)

28. The Twilight of the Idols (ITC)

29. My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper

30. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia (ITC)

31. Doctor Johnson's Prayers (ITC)

32. The Temple (ITC)

33. A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (ITC)

34. Fear and Trembling (ITC)

35. Go Down, Moses (ITC)

JUNE

36. Selected Essays of Samuel Johnson (ITC)

37. Watership Down (BD)

38. Call the Midwife

39. Happier at Home

40. The Reading Promise

JULY

41. Swann's Way (abridged audio)

42. Swann in Love (abridged audio)

43. Forty Days with the Messiah

44. Handel's Messiah: Comfort for God's People

45. Out of the Silent Planet

46. Call the Midwife: Shadow of the Workhouse

AUGUST

47. Till We All Have Faces

48. Perelandra

49. The Fifth Season: A Daughter-in-law's Memoir of Caregiving (ER)

50. Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End

51. That Hideous Strength

52. Be Myself (Warren Wiersbe Autobio)

53. Forgotten God

54. This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral and Valet Parking

SEPTEMBER

55. The Great Gatsby

56. Heidi

OCTOBER

57. Walden on Wheels

58. Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity

59. Three Men in a Boat

60. Persuasion

NOVEMBER

61. The King Jesus Gospel

62. The Daughter's Walk

63. The Christ of the Indian Road

DECEMBER

64. Divine Conspiracy

65. Searching for God Knows What

66. Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Merry Christmas Chai Recipe!

66. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo

"One of the most powerful indictments of economic inequality I've ever read." Barbara Ehrenreich

This may seem like a very unusual book to be reading at Christmas Time, especially since I only read Christmas books last December (I had a backlog of free audiobooks, "gift" books, and an early review book that had been given to me - most of them pretty boring and some downright BAD!). But this book is a perfect for this time of year because it opens your eyes to what is happening to people in underdeveloped countries.  This won the 2012 National Book Award.

This is a profound read that reads more like a novel than non-fiction. I will let the video speak for itself. 




See her website for more informaation: http://www.behindthebeautifulforevers.com/

65. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

I am not sure how I missed this one. I think I like it better than his more famous, Blue Like Jazz! I read it after reading an article that he wrote in a magazine. I knew that this must have come from a book he was writing, and somehow I stumbled across this. Donald is intellectual but more accessible than Dallas Willard in that he does not make your head hurt. He makes a compelling case for the Gospel being more more about relationship than "systematic theology." 

“I think Jesus is saying, Look, you guys are running around like monkeys trying to get people to clap, but people are fallen, they are separated from God, so they have no idea what is good or bad, worthy to be judged or set free, beautiful or ugly to begin with. Why not get your glory from God? Why not accept your feelings of redemption because of His pleasure in you, not the fickle and empty favor of man? And only then will you know who you are, and only then will you have true, uninhibited relationships with others.” ― Donald Miller, Searching for God Knows What

I don't necessarily agree with some of his preachy political conclusions though. He should have left politics out of the book.

64. Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard

This is my third time reading this book. The first time made me head hurt, the second time I grasped a little more, the third time was when I realized that Willard was a genius. While I was blessed to be involved in intentional discipleship through the ministry of the Navigators, I know that most have not had this kind of blessing. That is why I think The Divine Conspiracy is an important read for believers today. 

This is a beautiful book about being intentional about becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, not just someone who has made a decision and never done anything since. The culmination of the book is the "Curriculum for Christlikeness."  We have led three groups through this book, and we have every write one and submit it to others for accountability.

 Here is mine:

Carol’s Curriculum for Christlikeness 2013-14

Life Mission

To Abide in Christ so I can overflow as I encourage women toward abiding fruitfulness in Christ through relational evangelizing, establishing, and equipping.

I.            Enthralling My Mind and Heart with God Through

A.   His Creation

1.     Walk out and worship in creation at least three times a week

2.    Look at pictures of God’s creation when the weather is bad

3.    Look at pictures of peoples whom God created, especially those from other cultures

B.    His Word

1.     Spend daily time in Old Testament with Bible Book Club

2.    Focus on Jesus’ life through daily Jesus Story/Gospel reading

C.     Experience of Jesus

1.     Daily Jesus Story/Gospel reading

2.    Listen to His voice 24/7/365

3.    Theophostic prayer

4.    Read God Guides

II.         Acquiring the Habits of Goodness through the disciplines of . . . 

A.   Solitude and Silence

1.     Daily prayer before everyone gets up

2.    Day of prayer Labor Day, New Year’s Eve, Spring Break, Memorial Day, and mid-Summer with one-two overnighter at St. Benedict Lodge/Shalom Prayer Center/Abbey Retreat Center/Trappist Abbey/The Upper Room

B.    Study and Worship

1.     Daily Creation to Christ Meditation with daily “I wills”

2.    Romans (Knowing the cross) with Rachel and Stephanie every other week

3.    Worship Walks as above

4.    Worship through music by singing and dancing

5.    Worship through the Psalms 

 I love what he says about the Bible, and I could not agree more:

Its purpose is practical, not academic. An intelligent, careful, intensive but straightforward reading—that is, one not governed by obscure and faddish theories or by a mindless orthodoxy—is what it requires to direct us into life in God’s kingdom. Any other approach to the Bible, I believe, conflicts with the picture of the God that, all agree, emerges from Jesus and his tradition.
Willard, Dallas (2009-02-06). The Divine Conspiracy . Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

This is precisely why I started the BIBLE BOOK CLUB in 2007. If anyone reads this post and wants to come along, feel free. It just involved reading the 1-2 chapters of the Bible over a three year period. The people who have finished the previous two cycles have been richly blessed, and maybe you will be too! We start a new cycle on January 1!

63. The Christ of the Indian Road

This was a reread for our ministry. This time, our leader assigned certain chapters, but I think he left out the better ones! I was sorry that the people new to the book didn't get the whole thing!

I love this book. E. Stanley Jones was often called the "Billy Graham of India" and was ahead of his time when it came to having open inter-faith dialogue and understanding the cultural context in which to have that dialogue. He introduced "indigenization" in India. 

Jones was an American missionary to India from 1907-1973. He was a close confidant to FDR in the months leading up to December 7, 1941, trying to avert war with Japan. As a result, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.  His biography on Wikipedia is fascinating. You can read it HERE.  

Also, the book can be viewed in a PDF HERE.

Christmas Eve Freewrite

It has been so long since I have done a freewrite. I haven't been able to sit for as long as I usually do in the mornings, but my back is pretty much free of pain now. I have had repeated visits to Paul (3) and Dr. Myers (5), but the one that turned everything around was with Margaret Bartlett, a PT who does the same thing as OMT. She found something at the base of my skull on the right side that was the cause of much of the problem. She moved all the way down my sciatica to my toes, and I started to get feeling there too. She also gave me exercises to do for my head and for the sciatica down my leg. 

Now I am back to doing Pilates with no problem and have even lifted light weights once. YAY! I am trying not to sit as long, and it really helps for me to get out and walk and workout in the morning to limber up my entire body. It is a good plan and perfectly timed since I am only doing editing for Messiah right now. 

The last two weeks have been fairly intense, but it seems like fall has had a "theme" in that is MARRIAGE. We have been talking with two couples who are not doing well in their marriages, and we have also been doing premarital counseling for a couple who we think it going to do really well. It makes us realize how healthy our marriage really is. We do not want to brag, but it is a blessing to have such peace at home where others have strife. I took a prayer walk yesterday and prayed some "impossible" prayers for one of the couples. The other couple is doing much better, and we are so glad!

We are having Christmas Eve dinner with the Stewarts. I already made a Christmas Tree appetizer out of broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and starfruit; and the pot of Malaysian Chicken Goulash is all ready to just warm up. We will round it out with roti canai and Christmas rice. Then Lisa will bring a green salad, dessert, and drinks. It should be fun and low-key. 

Our Christmas, in general, has been pretty low-key. I don't usually get stressed out about getting gifts, and I like to get things that people will like. I have tried to find what Kellie asked for, but she never responded to my requests for more details about what to get. So, I am giving her a gift card. Lisa was very specific. I got all of my relatives Moonstruck Chocolate that was already wrapped and with a bow. I love that Amazon has free two day shipping so everything got there in time (at least I assume so since I ordered mine a day later, and it came yesterday). One gift that was supposed to come after Christmas even came, and I didn't order it with fast shipping! So, I am excited about that!

2013 has been a very good year. The only "pit" has been the back thing, but most of the year was really great with my back with a "peak" being getting to the Temple Divide in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho without even being winded until the very last part. I was in excellent shape for the trek!  Another "peak" was losing 30 pounds and keeping it off. I have had a bit of fluctuation with not being able to be active with my back, but I think I am OK! I am a bit afraid to weigh myself during this Christmas season, but I know that my capris are still loose on me, and that is a very good sign! Another "pit" was the low-low income for George's OSU job and running out of funding, but the "peak" was the great job at TriQuint!

Well, I think that my time is running out.  So I will sign off and say . . . 

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all!

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Caffeine and Pain

I was having an OK pain day. My quadratus lumborum was feeling pretty good. I went to have a bit of milk chocolate, and I literally felt that muscle tighten in my back, and I was in pain.

Then I got to thinking. Many times I will get up in the morning, and I will feel fine, but as the morning moves on, my back feels worse, even though I have done nothing to irritate it.

All of a sudden, I thought, "Maybe it is caffeine that is causing me more pain."  I realized that if it did it for that little bit of chocolate, then my chai tea (I have four cups of chai in the morning but it has 2 tablespoons of orange pekoe black tea is a LOT of caffeine.), it was probably the source of my unexplained pain later in the morning.

BINGO. I skipped it for two mornings, and I had no pain.

Numerous Google searches turned this up. Why has no doctor told me this before? It makes sense that since caffeine is a stimulant that it would cause muscle contraction, and when you are trying to heal muscles (like I am with my QL after 8 weeks following injury), it is probably something to forgo! 

I read on a massage therapists website that she can tell if someone has had caffeine too. I think I want to go back to having my massages in the afternoon. I have had morning massages lately, and she says I have been very tight. 

I give it up for a while (or maybe put one teaspoon of darjeeling instead of 2 tablespoons of orange pekoe). I do think it is contributing. 

Never would have realized that unless I had felt it after that chocolate. 

Chocolate & Pain

Chocolate is a stronger pain-inducer than coffee or tea. Chocolate causes dramatic increases in muscle tension and pain. Chocolate contains less caffeine than coffee, but has large amounts of theophylline, similar to caffeine. The combined effect of caffeine and theophylline is probably why chocolate makes muscles tense and painful. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

Just in Time for the Holidays: Reconcilosec

62. The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick

This is an Oregon Christian author. I read another book by her that was written in 2009 called A Land of Sheltered Promise. I enjoyed the historical subject matter about Oregon's history of the Rajneeshee, a cult that took over the little town of Antelope, Oregon back in the 1980's.  We prayed and prayed, and they left as quickly as they came. Now it is a Young Life Camp (Two of my friends were instrumental in acquiring the land, and they are mentioned in the story with pseudonyms.). It was fascinating history, but I did not care for the fictional story that surrounded the history. 

This story is different. Two more years of writing under this author's belt has produced an exceptional story. I had read the biography Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America for my other book club. So, when my new book club decided to read this fictional account, I was not very excited, but this one is very well-written and goes into more detail about what happens AFTER the walk across Victorian American and is told in first-person from the daughter's perspective.  I have love for first person narratives (think Jane Eyre) so I was more inclined to love this book. 

Hega Estby was a Norwegian woman who wanted to save the family farm near Spokane, Washington. So she learned of a challenge by sponsors who would reward her $10,000 if she walked from Spokane to New York wearing a "reform dress" that made exercise for women easier and scandalously exposed the ankles! In the process, she dragged her daughter along. I will not tell you the outcome of their journey, but that part is only about 40% of the book. The rest of the book is what happened to the daughter afterwards! I still need to look up what really happened historically, but I will not spoil the book for you by researching and reporting it here. 

This is a worthy read about women's roles, family, faith, community, and love. I really enjoyed it.

The narrator for this audiobook was excellent. She did the Norwegian accents really well.