A Snowy Sunday Morning

"And now the King of Kings says, "As long as you live under the Kingdom of God, THIS is how you will live! You will love your enemies, you will pray for those who hate you, and when they mistreat you because you are a Christian, you will CELEBRATE because they recognized you as one of MINE. Now as long as you in this house, this is the way you live!" Jesus is Lord!"
--Mike Glenn

I love this quote...Pastor Mike said it last Tuesday at Kairos s0mewhat summarizing the whole lesson. (More on that in the last blog if you missed it) :) Just had to share it.

Here's the rundown for this past week.
Total days worked out: 3.
*Sigh.* 1 less than the goal. I'd blame it on the snow this weekend but we have a treadmill at our house so I can't truthfully use that excuse.
Total Minutes worked out: 120+ minutes
Still met the minimum amount of minutes I wanted to workout a week (30 minutes/4 times a week) in only 3 workouts. Still wish I'd gone Friday but glad I at least got to the minutes.
Total Weightloss: 1 pound (7 total, thus far)
After two weeks of losing 3 pounds, i was a little down but nevertheless a loss is a loss...just gotta keep going.

Not a bad week at all...just not as good as others :)

That's all for now! :)

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Just some between class thinking...

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who are good to you,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.
And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.
But love your enemies, do good to them,
and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.
Then your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the Most High,
because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful
. Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
-Luke 6:31-37

(If you skipped that, shame on you! :) Go back up there and read it!)
Starting after Christmas and going all the way through Easter, we're going through the book of Luke in Kairos. I was a little hesitant when Pastor Mike told us we'd be doing that....that's a looonnng time to stay in one book.

Now, though, I'm so grateful we are. These past 3 weeks have been those nights where God chooses to speak through Pastor Mike to exactly where I am in life right now. It's been some of the most powerful and passionate preaching I've heard filled with those moments when you wonder if there's even anyone else in the room but you.

Anyways...I just thought I'd share those verses up there with you. Those were some of the verses we went through last night and the ones that spoke most to my heart. Pastor Mike took a good portion of the night and concentrated on loving your enemies. He really drove the point to us that there are no exceptions to this rule. It's not "love your enemies until they become your friend." ...or..."Love your enemies but stop if they don't change." It's "Love your enemies." no exceptions. You see...we are owned by God. We are His. His rules become ours.

One thing he said at the end of his sermon was "If you're treated unjustly because you're a Christian, don't get mad or upset about it. Celebrate that they noticed."

That made me think...do people that don't really know me notice something different about me? Do they see Christ's love through me? If I didn't tell them I was a Christian, would they know it just by my actions? If not then my words mean nothing.

That's all for today, friends. Just had a few minutes to blog between classes.

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Rainy Sundays

Hebrews 12:26-29
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire.

This verse was the main verse last night for church...I love it. Pastor really emphasized the fact that the main purpose in this shaken world is to emphasize that things in life that cannot be shaken/destroyed...i.e. God and His kingdom. Love it.


Alrighty...If you've read that last "mini" post then you know but if not, here it is again:

I lost 3 more lbs this week! That's a total of 6 lbs in the last two weeks. (Hooray!)

I was SO excited when I got on the scales and saw that I'd lost more weight. I'm going to do it this time. I'm determined.

I've set up a "plan" for getting results. At first I wanted to set my goal to working out at least 5-6 times a week. I realized as soon as classes started up that it just wasn't going to be realistic for me to set that goal. So my new goal is 4 definite workout days a week, and then any other days I can add on are an added bonus, so to speak. Here's the workout schedule for this semester:

Workout days: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. (4 days)
Off days: Saturday, Monday, Wednesday. (3 days)

Weigh-in day: Friday or Saturday Morning. (not sure yet.)

That's the plan! :) So far it's working great and I'm loving it. Oddly enough, working out isn't as bad as I thought it'd be. The gym I go to has a cardio movie theater that I've found is the best place for me to workout in for two reason: 1. It's much darker in there...which means I don't pay nearly as much attention to everything around me. Less distractions, less comparing myself to those around me. 2. movie. need I say more? It's "me" time and workout time all in one. Most of the time it's a great movie on that keeps my attention and I find myself working out longer than I planned.

One thing I have learned that I cannot go into the cardio theater for is scary movies. Anyone who knows me knows...I don't do scary movies. at. all. So Friday night, I walk into the theater and don't even look at the sign before entering that tells what movie is on. (Mistake number one). The movie has just started...great timing, i think to myself. I sit down on the stationary, start peddling and enjoy the movie. Harrison Ford is in it. Great. I love him. This is going to be a great movie, right? Wrong. Suddenly everything gets really creepy. Odd things start happening, I get that "This probably isn't such a happy movie" feeling. I know I should leave but think...maybe it won't be so bad (Mistake number two). Correct I was. It was "What Lies Beneath". Needless to say, when suspenseful part came about and I about jumped off the bike and let out a little squeal, I decided it was time for me to leave. Scary movies and I do not get along. At least I provided a little entertainment to the guy behind me who thought my little fright session was entertaining. :) Lesson Learned: always read the sign for which movie it is before entering.

Alright, my dear friends, it's time for me to wrap this up and get busy with some school work. (heh.)

Hope you all have an incredible week.

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Mini update

About to head to the gym but thought i'd give a really quick update on how this gym/weightloss thing is going.

I lost 3 more pounds this week! :) Thats a total of 6 since I started working out etc. last week! WOO!

I'm ecstatic! :)

I've set my realistic workout goal for the week to Four cardio workouts consisting of at least 30 minutes a week. I think this is realistic with my school/work schedule. That's not to say I won't be going more, just a minimum!

I'll redo this blog later, I just had to update yall...gym time!

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Pancakes are food...but not friends. :)

Hello, Friends!

First off, thanks to all of you for the comments you left on my last blog. It was really encouraging to read them. Ya'll are great. :)

GREAT news...and some lessons learned.

I joined the gym on Monday....signed at 18 month membership agreement and got 3 months free! Since joining I've gone 5 times in 4 days. I. Love. It. Apparently I like it more than I thought. :)

and...according to the scales this morning, I've lost 3-4 pounds (depending on what time I weigh. haha). I'm so excited.

Okay, that was the good news...now the lesson learned.

Pancakes are not my friend.
I went today and did 35 minutes of cardio with 15 minutes in the sauna before and after. I came home crazing eggs and turkey sausage. (healthy, right?) So I go to the fridge but none the less, our eggs have expired. So what do i do? resort to pancakes. not a good substitute. Now I'm sitting here with that "Ugh my stomach is going to explode" feeling from eating too much. So new rule: No pancakes for dinner anymore. To add to that, I cooked what I thought to be turkey sausage....turns out it was regular sausage. Boo to that. I came very close to going over my calorie intake for today.

Lesson learned, though.

In other news, classes started today. I'm excited about this semester although it'll be another busy one with three studio classes (Drawing 2, Typography, B&W Photography) and Art History. Biggest fear/goal of the semester: balancing working out with school work.

I believe that's all for now. Hope ya'll have had a good week!

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Back on track...wait...is there a track?

"If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end."

Alrighty, friends.

Here's the deal. Most of you know that I started a "weight loss" diet/thing last year. Well here I am, beginning of 2010, the exact same as 2009. Why? My Fault. Did you read that right? yes. It's MY FAULT. No more blaming anyone but myself. If I want to be healthy and get to a healthy weight it's all on me. No one else.

So here I am...I'm going to be completely transparent with you starting with some confessions.

1. I hate exercising. This is going to be the biggest challenge for me, I believe. When I have free time, the last thing I want to do is go to a gym and sweat. I'd rather spend it painting, talking to friends...or...the dreaded S word...shopping! But none the less, I must, must, must start. I'm going to join a gym and make a point to get there at the very least 3 times a week for cardio exercising. Not only that, but I'm going to try to be a more faithful blogger and write out my exercise schedules for the week on here. My thinking is that if I post it, maybe I'll be more likely to follow through with it.

2. I love cooking. This is not a bad thing. The bad thing is that I'm not cooking the right things. Solution? I've bought a healthy cooking cookbook. If i learn what my body needs as opposed to what it wants and cook by that, I'm convinced it'll make a difference.

3. I need help! I need you. I need people to hold me accountable. Comment on my page if I'm not updating you on how it's going. Ask me if I've made it to the gym. and if i make excuses...call me out on it. It's easy for me to make excuses. Heck. I've made them for years now. My health is going to have to become a priority. I'd rather choose to make it one before it gets the best of me and then I have no choice.

4. This is so much more than a physical issue. What most people don't understand about overweight/obese/fat/whatever you want to call us people is the emotional/spiritual side of it. It's easy to stand from the outside looking in and call us fat and lazy and tell us to just eat less and take a walk. It's not easy to sit down and understand the emotional stress of it all. Ask any overweight person you know and if they answer truthfully, they DO care what you think of them. The world's opinion of us is one of the hardest things to look past. I'm making it a point to work on this completely. Not just losing weight but working on how I view myself and looking past what others think of me.

Everyone who knows me knows this isn't a "oh my word, I need to lose 20 pounds." type of thing. The fact of the matter is that it's much more than that. and I realize that it may take a while but sticking with it will be key.

I can go ahead and warn you that there will be blogs where I'm flat out over it. I give you permission to tell me to get out of my pity party and push through.

I have a lot to look forward to. I've set goals and rewards for those goals (i.e. new outfits, girls nights etc). I'm excited to see results. Once I've got it all sorted out, I'll post them in another post.

I've got a lot to look forward to this year and a lot of things that will benefit from losing this weight...
Connor is turning 2 in November...gotta keep up with him!
My best friend is getting married in December/January...gotta look good in a bridesmaid dress!
Summer...need i say anything more than swimsuit? bleh.
and sooo much more! :)

Anyways, I believe that all for today...going to do some more WiiFit! :) and make a call or two about joining the gym!

Thanks for reading, friends.

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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Eat this, not that.

So, I bought a book last night at SuperTarget (my new love).

It's called "Eat This, not That" and It's all about making better choices about what you put into your body. I bought it because in the last few weeks I've been really interested in exactly what is put into the food we eat....like the chemicals companies put in, the genetically modified foods, the hidden ingredients (like beetles in yoplait strawberry yogurt. yes. beetles. look it up! ) Anyways...SUCH a good investment if you're interested in that type of stuff.


Like I said, it's a very interesting read. There's a section that talks about FDA regulations for foods and you'll be surprised at the stuff that is allowed in our food. It's shocking and will make you want to but everything organic....ha! If only I had the money/time for that!

Regardless, I'm trying to start a healthier lifestyle. Starting first and foremost about being educated about the food I put into my body.

That's all for today :) Thought I'd share my new favorite book!

Love. Love. Love.
Katie

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