May Challenge Time!

It's challenge time again! Attached is the calendar I want you to follow for the next month....its all about BURPEES and SQUATS:)
Each day follow the number of reps you have to do and GO FOR IT! It doesn't matter if you get 1 or all the reps asked for, I just want you to be consistent.
You can also earn a Figure By Faith tank or T-shirt too!
This is what you need to do:

1. Commit by posting here or on Facebook that you are in!
2. Post daily your rep accomplishment.
3. Encourage others! Share with one or more to join in the fun:)

Also, I would take a photo within the 1st couple of days and then the last day...not required however its a GREAT motivator!  Lastly, HAVE FUN and see what inner strength you have.

Holy Hugs,
~Deb

YES, YOU CAN!

Have you ever had a "God Thing" happen to you?? After what I just experienced yesterday and just posting about food being our friend.....I had to share.

Yesterday I met with the group of kids who are special needs (awesome I may add) and we were having our devotion and weekly motivation/plan time.  I shared that this week is all about staying motivated and "YES, YOU CAN!" The scripture is one of my favorites: Philippians 4:13 ~ "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

After our talk, one of the kids came up to me and shared something with me that they were feeling guilty about....eating 2 molten cakes.  Personally, I was jealous because I LOVE those things :), however I could see there was concern and guilt being felt about eating them.  Sometimes all reason is not there for these kids.....but then again is it for me too? Justification about it being giving and not upsetting someone who gives you something, then not having it go to waste if no one else was going to eat it.  I let him share all his thoughts and feelings and replied with:

• What is done is done
• If you are not feeling good about what you choose to do then we need to remember this if it happens again
• Tell the person trying to give you something thank you, however you choose not to have more

Then I asked, If you were given a plate of broccoli or apple would you have eaten it? Answer ~ Well no Miss Deb because those are healthy options. :)

I got the honest answer! This made me think about times I would "think" I was so hungry that I just had to have it, however it was often junk food and not clean healthy food. 

You can say yes or you can say no....YOU have the choice!

Food is your FRIEND, not your enemy!

A battle with food is not a way to live.  I have been there and now realize food is my friend.  Do I ever have days I feel like I am losing??...holidays, parties and stress....YES! When I focus on that the food fuels my body to function and that cookie or treat will always be there tomorrow,  I am able to stay on track with portion control.

Try and focus on eating 5-6 meals per day.  You may be saying: EATING 5-6 MEALS PER DAY IS SO MUCH FOOD. I CAN’T EAT IT ALL!
The idea with clean eating is not to eat extra food, but to take the normal amount of food you eat (or should eat) and divide that into your 5-6 meals per day.
If you are struggling with the number of meals to cook and what to prepare, use your normal 3 meals for the day and then divide them in half and spread them out to every 2-3 hours.  This is a great way to create a habit of eating every 2-3 hours and getting 5-6 meals in daily.  I have even suggested to clients to set a reminder in you calendar to eat.
My typical day looks like this:
6-7ish ~ breakfast
9-10am ~ snack
12-1 ~ lunch
2-3 ~ snack
5-6 ~ meal
8 ~ snack if starving:)

Now is the time to have control of food and create that special friendship!!!

Choose Life!

We will never enjoy life unless we make a quality decision to do so. Satan is an expert at stealing and our joy is one of his favorite targets. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. In John 10:10 we are told that "the thief" comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but that Jesus came that we might have and enjoy life. Satan is the thief, and one of the things he seeks to steal is our joy. If he can steal our joy from us, we will be weak; and when we are weak, the enemy takes advantage of us.
Weak believers are no threat to him and his work of destruction. In order to live as God intends for us to live, the first thing we must do is truly believe that it is God's will for us to experience continual joy. Then we must decide to enter into that joy. Experiencing enjoyment in our souls is vitally important to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." It is God's will for us to enjoy life! Now it is time to decide to enter into the full and abundant life that God wills for us.

Joy and enjoyment are available just as misery is available. Righteousness and peace are available and so are condemnation and turmoil. There are blessings and curses available, and that is why Deuteronomy 30:19 tells us to choose life and blessings.
From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

New Day, New You devotional ~ day 4

Love: Your First Priority
1 Corinthians 12:31

Where does love fit into your list of priorities? Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you" (JOHN 13:34 NKJV). It seems to me that Jesus was saying love is the main thing on which we should concentrate. The apostle Paul states that "faith, hope, love abide . . . but the greatest of these is love" (1 CORINTHIANS 13:13).

Love should be number one on our spiritual priority list. We should study love, pray about love, and develop the fruit of love by practicing loving others. God is love, so when we walk in His love we abide in Him.

Because we walk in God's love by receiving and expressing it, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we can love God while we hate other people (SEE 1 JOHN 4:20). It took me about forty-five years to realize that my priorities were mixed up and that I was not making love the main thing in my life. The commitment to learn how to walk in love has been the single best decision I have ever made as a Christian.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

New Day, New You ~ Day 3

It's Okay to Laugh


Psalms 32:11 ~ "Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!"

Many serious things are going on in this world, and we need to be aware of them and prepared for them. But at the same time we need to learn to relax and take things as they come without getting all nervous and upset about them. We need to learn how to enjoy the good life God has provided for us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ (SEE JOHN 10:10). In spite of all the troubling things going on around us in the world, our daily confession should be, "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Something we Christians need to do more of is laugh. We tend to be so heavy about everything - our sin, expecting perfection from ourselves, our growth in God, our prayer life, the gifts of the Spirit, and memorizing Bible verses. We carry around such heavy burdens. If we would just laugh a little more - be of good cheer, "cheer up" - we would find that a little bit of laughter makes that load much lighter.

In the world we live in, there isn't a great deal to laugh about so we will need to do it on purpose. It is easy to find plenty to worry about. To be happy, we need to work on it a little. We need to laugh and have a good time.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

New Day, New You devotional ~ Day 2

Let Your Mess Become Your Message

2 Corinthians 3:18

I encourage people to let go of their past, but never to run from it. The only way to gain victory over the pain of our past is to let God walk us back through that doorway of pain and into victory. No one can achieve victory for us; we have to work out our own salvation. Paul explained this truth in his letter to the Philippian church, saying:

"Therefore, my dear ones . . . work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight" (PHILIPPIANS 2:12,13 AMP).

We have to let God take us through things and let Him work in us so our mess becomes our message. Difficult things that we have endured in our past prepare us for God's blessings in our future.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

New Day, New You Devotional ~ Day 1

Willpower: The Fair-weather Friend

Galatians 5:16

Willpower sure sounds like a great thing. We are led to believe that we have enough of it to fight off every temptation that comes our way. And sometimes it works. But let me tell you a little secret about willpower. Willpower is your best friend when things go well, but it's the first friend to check out when you get weary. I have found that if I really don't want to do something, my mind gives me plenty of reasons why I don't have to. My emotions even join in, saying, "I agree because I don't feel like doing it anyway."

Our soul (mind, will, emotions) would love to run our lives, but the Bible says we are to be led by God's Spirit. We are never instructed to be willpower-led, we are told to be Spirit-led. Willpower and discipline are important and vitally necessary to a successful life, but willpower alone won't be enough. Determination gets you started and keeps you going for awhile, but it is never enough to bring you across the finish line. Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV) says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."

What happens if, instead of turning first to willpower in your time of need, you turn to God instead? God releases His power into your willpower and energizes it to bring you across the finish line. Willpower does not get the credit for our success, God does. Jesus said in John 15:5 (AMP), "Apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing." This is one of the most important and most difficult lessons we must learn if we want to enjoy the life Jesus died to give us.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2007 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

The Ultimate Hope ~ day 4

WAITING FOR GOOD
Psalms 33:20

TALKING TO GOD
Thank God for planning good things for your family. Ask God to teach you to rely on Him even while you're waiting for those good things to come.

DIVING IN
Gather Popsicle sticks, white glue (not contact cement) and a ball of yarn. Create a cross by gluing two Popsicle sticks together. Wait patiently until the glue dries completely — this will take awhile. Then, spread a thin layer of glue on the sticks and wrap yarn around each section of the cross. You may need to untangle the yarn as you work. When the cross is completely decorated in yarn, tie the loose ends together.

GOING DEEPER
Waiting for the glue to dry and untangling the yarn were not the fun parts of the craft, but they were necessary parts. Consider how patience played a key role in finishing the cross. Noah followed God's directions for building the ark. Then he waited 40 days and nights for the rain to stop. The Israelites followed God through the Red Sea. Then they all waited 40 years in the desert before they saw the Promised Land. Being patient isn't easy. We often want to overcome challenges and problems as quickly as possible. But waiting for a breakthrough is easier when we put our hope in the Lord, knowing that in time He will bring good things — such as the rainbow and the Promised Land. We can strengthen our hope in God, and learn how to wait on Him, as we pray and read His Word.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER
- Describe a situation that took patience for you to work through.
- During your "wait," how did you find ways to be patient?


*Credit to YouVersion*

The Ultimate Hope ~ day 3

PLUGGED INTO THE POWER SOURCE
Isaiah 40:31

TALKING TO GOD

Thank God that you can rely on His strength. Ask Him to show you how to rely on Him more.

DIVING IN

Place a drain plug in the kitchen or bathroom sink, and hold a dry tissue flat over the sink. Have each family member place one quarter on the tissue. Slowly drip water onto the tissue and count how many seconds it takes for the quarters to rip through. Repeat this activity using a washcloth in place of the tissue.

GOING DEEPER

Discuss the different outcomes from this activity. The tissue wasn't able to support the weight of the quarters for very long, but the washcloth never fell apart. It was strong enough. It's easy for us to feel strong when things are going well. But when things begin to fall apart around us, we can lose hope. If you run a long race and start out in the front of the pack, it's easy to feel encouraged and strong. But as the race goes on and others start to pass you, it's only natural to feel tired and discouraged. In the same way, when we face a challenge, it might be easy to rely on our own strength or resources for a while. But our energy can eventually wear out. Fortunately, God's strength never does. When we've exhausted all our resources, we can find hope in our all-powerful God.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER

Name some areas in your life where you feel you might be running out of strength. What can you do to renew your strength?

*Credit YouVersion*

The Ultimate Hope ~ day 2

A HOPE-FILLED RELATIONSHIP
Romans 5:5

TALKING TO GOD
Thank God for the hope He gives you every day. Ask Him to help you see that as your relationship with Him grows, so does your hope.

DIVING IN
Gather in a room that has little natural light. Although it is not necessary that the room be completely dark, prepare the room for this activity by turning off all lamps and main light sources. Have one family member stand in the middle of the room with his eyes closed — no peeking! Gently spin him around and then have another family member turn on the brightest lamp in the room. The "blind" person's challenge is to find his way to the light without opening his eyes.

GOING DEEPER
In the Bible, Jesus calls himself "the light of the world" (John 8:12). Although we cannot see Jesus with our eyes, we can better recognize His light by learning His Word and knowing His character. Disappointments at school or struggles at home can be hard to endure. Even if we don't understand why God is allowing us to struggle with something, Jesus proves through His faithfulness that He is deserving of our hope. If we focus on Jesus during our "dark times," we can have hope.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER
- When has God turned a hopeless situation in your life into a hope-filled one?
- How can we share the hope of God with others?

*credit to YouVersion

The Ultimate Hope ~ day 1

THE BIG PICTURE

TALKING TO GOD

Thank God for giving you the blessing of hope on earth and in heaven.

DIVING IN

While it's easy for us to focus simply on the things around us, God always sees the entire story. Looking at life from our own limited view is like seeing the comic strip one frame at a time. Sometimes events in life may look disappointing. But we know that God sees the entire picture from beginning to end, and this knowledge gives us hope.

GOING DEEPER

Consider the disciples. While Jesus was on the Cross, His disciples must have felt confused and disappointed. They trusted that Jesus was going to be the Savior and King, yet He died. How could that be? God knew all along that Jesus would conquer death, but His suffering came before being glorified. Only after enduring three dark days without Jesus did the disciples start to understand the much bigger picture God had in mind. Because of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, our life in heaven is secure. We live with hope, not just for today, but for eternity.

TALKING TO EACH OTHER

- What is something that's easy for you to do?

- How might this same task be complicated for a younger child?

- What is something that may be simple for God but would be complicated for you?"

*credit to YouVersion*