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!!!