A Time for Everything

Slept just over 3 and a half hours last night, waking at 1:25 a.m.  After tossing and turning for almost two hours I finally decided to get up and start my day.  Read my emails and scrolled through Facebook ~ found quite a few friends who were also unable to sleep and who were up early and beginning their days.

First up for me was to make a "Ali's Daily To Do List"...so much easier for me to stay on task when I have a list where I can check things off.  Here's a peak at my new list - (the 1 after each number is really a square on my actual list so I can check it when it is completed.  I have it done in 3 columns = 3 days.

Ali’s Daily To Do List

Date: ________________________________

1.  1Get up at 5:00 a.m.

2. 1 Have my quiet time with the Lord, journal my prayer time.

3. 1 Do my Slim in 6 DVD

4. 1 Shower & have a great day at work!

5. 1 Drink a Smoothie for breakfast

6. 1 Limit my time on the computer

7. 1 Work on one craft project

8. 1 Make healthy food choices

9. 1Write in my Gratitude Journal

10. 1 Make a delicious dinner for myself & hubby

11.  1___________________________________

12. 1 ___________________________________

13. 1 ___________________________________

14. 1 ___________________________________

15. 1 ___________________________________

16. 1 ___________________________________

17. 1 ___________________________________

18. 1 ___________________________________

19. 1___________________________________

20. 1 ___________________________________

it has 10 things that have to be done each day and 10 lines to add additional things that may need to get done that day.  I printed up two sheets/6 days worth.  Additionally on my day for today is to do laundry :) & go to Silver Dollar City for the evening concert.  I made it a template so if you would like a copy to make your own Daily To Do List just let me know and I will send it to you.

So this morning I grabbed my first bottle of water, 23.7 oz - need to drink 3 to 4 of these each day.  And then picked up my Bible, journal & devotional book.  Once again I had to chuckle with how God encourages me with his sense of humor...my scripture reading from the Old Testament today was Ecclesiastes 3.  See last night I made a decision that I need to get back on the healthy track, get back to losing weight, eating healthy meals and making my time with the Lord to be a meaningful time not just something I could check off my To Do List.

Vs 1 ~ There is a time for everything!!  Today is the day for me to start to get healthy!!  I am 54 years old, the age my sister, Kathy was when she died of a massive heart attack and I have too much to live for - my life with my hubby, with my son's, with my daughters-in-love and our grandchildren!!!  Friends to see, family to visit with and this wonderful country to travel around.  It is time for me to get healthy!!

Vs 6 ~ A time to lose!!  Okay, I don't think God was specifically telling us to lose weight but just maybe today he was telling me ~ it is time to lose that weight sweet daughter of mine!!!  At least that is how it read to me this morning!!

Vs 13 ~ Enjoy the good of all that God has given me (which I had also just read from the book "Almost Amish" where the character Julie realized that she could enjoy the daily responsibilities in her life like making a shoo-fly pie).  That I need to find JOY in everything I do!!

And then in my New Testament reading I Cor. 8 where God tells us not to have idols in our lives, not to put those idols before Him.  What I heard was "Don't let food or my goal of losing weight become my main focus.  But I need to keep my focus on the Lord and he will help me reach my goals, the desires of my heart."

Completing my devotions this morning I was also reminded to seek God, ask for His help, He wants us to be successful and wants to give us the desires of our heart.  So in my prayer time I laid it on the line...telling God one of my biggest struggles is making healthy food choices and so I asked Him to help me in making those good choices today.  And putting it out there to Him and writing it out in my prayer journal and reflecting on it again now as I write...I know the Lord will help me ~ I just have to remember to ask Him for that help and then follow His leading in my life.  And then I gave thanks (I don't think we do that often enough) for the many blessings I have in my life: the anticipation of a new grandson due 1/4/13 but who will probably arrive in late December, for a job that lets me have fun while doing it ~ so often it doesn't feel like work, it is fun to help others have a great vacation whether it is for one night or a week or two, and for the reflecting I did yesterday while writing an email to a special person in my life on my life today, how healthy I am emotionally and spiritually and how I now can keep those wild horses corralled so not to live in chaos every day, every hour, every minute of my life.  And also thanked him for little Andrew Christopher who was born this week weighing in at 3 lbs 11 oz, 13" long - who was delivered safe and is growing every day and will soon be able to go home with his momma, Stephanie & daddy, Matt and oh, so many more things to be thankful for!!

Have a great day ~ it is TIME for me to some exercises and get the blood pumping in my body!!!  On to a more healthy me!!!

My Chat with God this Morning

Busyness has seemed to be my life lately.  I have been dealing with a sore back ~ was a bit too zealous with a new exercise and getting healthy routine.  Then I got an ingrown toenail...do you know how hard it is to walk with a very sore toe.  And I have allowed the computer to become my idol.  On the computer in the mornings, on the computer throughout the day, and then 2 or even 4 hours in the evening ~~~  yeah, a bit too much.

Had some different dreams last night.  Can't remember all of them but little snippets (I like that word this morning ~ more about this in a bit).

1.  Offered to buy a group of young people lunch and what was supposed to be simple hot dogs and burgers turned into a fiasco, with a ton of dirty dishes and no one willing to help me clean it up.  Woke up thinking ~ I need to think things through completely before committing to do it; make sure I have a plan that is possible to follow through on.

 2.  Was visiting with a friend and she asked me where something that I promised to do was?  I remember looking at her and saying "Oh, I got busy doing this and that."  She looked at me and said "you promised."  I woke up thinking...I keep saying I am going to do this for, and this for and even this for...and yet I am allowing computer time to rule my life. 

See the theme going on here.  And then I got up and began my normal day.  I always start with writing out what I/we did the day before and then read in my Bible and Guideposts devotional.  And boy did the Lord talk to me this morning:

Snippets from my devotion this morning:

From Job 37:14 "Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God."

A young man asks God "Why didn't you give the things I asked?" God replied "I could have BUT I wanted to make you happy ." Remember God wants the best for us. Trust Him with your whole heart ~ He is the original heart surgeon.

Faithfulness means continuing quietly with the job we have been given in the situation where we have been placed...a lot of the road to heaven has to be traveled at thirty miles per hour, not speeding by at 150 miles per hour. ~ Evelyn Underhill KEEP ON KEEPING ON!!!

Love these reminders this morning to BE STILL AND KNOW I AM GOD!!

I needed these reminders this morning, they went right along with my thoughts after waking from a couple of dreams in the night.

So I had a little chat with God this morning, rather he had a chat with me :)  And I have decided I need to make some changes in my evenings as I spending way too much time on the computer and not enough time BEING with my hubby,  working on projects (cross-stitch, crochet, writing) or keeping our home clean, enjoyable and a fun place to relax. 

So my new tentative schedule is this:  AND YES, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ME HOW I AM DOING WITH IT!!!

Up, drink a bottle of water
Have my quiet time w/the Lord
Do my scheduled exercise for the day ~ Slim in 6, Stretching, Yoga w/Dr. Marian, Wii Country Dancing or Wii Sports.  These exercise routines are from 20 to 60 minutes and need to be a part of daily routine
Shower, Breakfast and go to work

Lunch - and computer time :)

Dinner ~ continuing to work on making healthy dinners and not going out to eat too often (big fail this week as we went out to lunch 2 days in a row :( )

Evenings will be spending time chatting with Ron, cross-stitching, crocheting, going to different activities
and then doing a quick clean-up before heading to bed.

Using my two days a week I am off (Tuesday's and Saturday's) to spend some scheduled time writing.  I take pictures and think of things to blog about and yet don't take the time to write them.  I also want to get back to writing my book about healing from abuse and trusting and allowing God to heal.

Thank you Lord for speaking to me through my dreams, through your word this morning, in my prayer time and thank you for this  new day to start again on being who YOU want me to be.