Monday, March 31, 2008

First Destination >>>



Hi everyone, it's been a while, hasn't it! I've been in hibernation due to a) a labour intensive immunisation course (which I'm only half way through, but in denial about at the moment :o) ), and b) I discovered Facebook, and have been having a bit too much fun on there when I could have been studying, or writing another post!

I've had many thoughts over the past weeks which I could have written about- thoughts about Joseph (i.e. king of dreams)... (I love Joseph; one of my favourite Bible characters), and also thoughts about posting some of my favourite recipes & crowd pleasers, but since I tend to cook the yummiest things without regard for fat & sugar content when I am entertaining, I thought that might be a bit counter productive considering my main blog theme is weight loss & living a healthy lifestyle!

But today I was reading a small portion of Karen Scalf Linamen's book "Just hand over the chocolate, and no-one will get hurt!" In it, she suggested a bit of armchair travelling for those of us who are tired, run down, or just needing a bit of a break, without wanting to break the bank! From her suggestions I came up with a fun idea to do with the whole family- a family holiday night. Essentially, one person decides where we are going, and transports us there as the tour guide, via powerpoint- with pictures from the internet, local music, historical facts and a whirlwind tour of the area's places of interest. With a week's notice, on request I can also whip up a dish of the local fare to top it all off! A marvellous idea- education, fun, and precious family time all rolled into one!

I mentioned my little plan to my darling hubby, who I must say, was somewhat less than enthused, but nonetheless willing to go along with it for a trial... well you do usually marry someone opposite to yourself- you'd think after almost 15 years of marriage I'd have cottoned on to the fact that he would most likely NOT respond to my wacky idea with leaps and whoops of sanguine excitement! Anyway, undeterred, I press on!



Tonight's vacation is to Bologna, Italy, owing to the fact that I had already taken mince out for the family fave- Spaghetti Bolognese! Reflecting on it for a minute, I realised I know nothing whatsoever about Bologna, so it will be a great place to start our family tour! I have yet to begin our power point, but I have just learnt my first fact- Bologna's location. Most of us have heard that Italy is the shape of a leg with a boot on, well if that's the case, Bologna is in the mid-to-upper thigh region, or in medical terms, the vastus lateralis muscle, right where our darling babies have their infant injections (don't cry, mummies, immunisations are important!)
Bologna is not far from Florence, or Firenze, as it is known there, and also from Verona, where my fair namesake died an untimely death! (Actually, no, that was fiction, wasn't it!)
I'm looking forward to this... a new place to explore!
It's time for me to get started now, but I'll make sure I let you know how it goes, and share all of my interesting facts. Hasta la vista, baby! (ooh no, not that one... hmm let me see...)
Arrivederci! (Ah, that's better!)


Thursday, March 13, 2008

Christian Glitter

Hi everyone, I just stopped by to show you this great site I found... christianglitter.com, which has all sorts of little scripture tags and statements which you can add to your blogs... I expect you'll see my blog become a bit more blingy now!
Here's some samples that I liked:






Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.com


There were also some links to other groovy blog tags sites... lots to play with! Happy browsing everyone!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Never, Ever...


This week I was handed an ancient manuscript... well OK, it wasn't an ancient manuscript at all, but I immediately recognised that the original had been typed on a TYPEWRITER!... Remember those archaic things? I mean, how long has it been since you used a typewriter?? We thought they were great at the time, but I can tell you now, man, I am not going back! Never.... ever! Just remember all that fiddling around with Tippex, and carbon paper, and margins and stuff. No thanks!

But speaking of never ever, the subject of this ancient document was awesome! It is called 'My Never Again List', and I share it with you now so you, too can be challenged by it.



My Never Again List:
A Bold Challenge to speak the Word of God

  • Never again will I confess "I can't", for "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
  • Never again will I confess lack, for "My God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
  • Never again will I confess fear, for "God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind!" (2 Timothy 1:7)
  • Never again will I confess doubt and lack of faith, for "God has given to every man the measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)
  • Never again will I confess weakness, for "The Lord is the strength of my life." (Psalm 27:1) and "The people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits." (Daniel 11:32)... I like that one!!
  • Never again will I confess supremacy of Satan over my life, for "Greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world!" (1 John 4:4)
  • Never again will I confess defeat, for "God always causes me to triumph in Christ Jesus." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
  • Never again will I confess lack of wisdom, for "He sent Christ Jesus to save us, and make us wise, acceptable and holy." (1 Corinthians 1:30) (I admit, I translated this one from the old KJV to the Contempory English Version, as it was hard to get my head around it!)
  • Never again will I confess sickness, for "By His stripes I am healed." (Isaiah 53:5) and Jesus "Himself took my infirmities and bore my sicknesses." (Matthew 8:17)
  • Never again will I confess worries and frustrations, for I am "Casting all my cares upon Him who cares for me." (1 Peter 5:7) In Christ I am "care-free!"
  • Never again will I confess bondage, for "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17), and my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit!
  • Never again will I confess condemnation, for "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) I am in Christ; therefore I am free from condemnation!
Yay, are any of you feeling EXCITED! and OUCH! at the same time?? I know I am! I am especially challenged by the ones that state I will never again confess "I can't", weakness, defeat and bondage. I think these are the areas I really struggle with!

But the Word of God is what will make us strong, everyone, so I am going to put these statements on cards, on my mirror and my car sun visor, and confess them until I live them!! Whenever we are tempted and down, there's nothing that can give us a faith boost and help us get back up on our feet and keep walking forward like God's Word can!

So if you're with me, I encourage you to snaffle up some promises from the Bible, put 'em up all over the place, and say 'em like you mean 'em! Remember what James said in the Bible about the tongue being powerful like a small rudder on a great big ship- it is able to change your direction and alter your entire course in life! So speak the good stuff, and do it continually, and you (and me!!!) will be steered toward freedom, power, victory, healing and faith!


Bring it on!!!