Mother's Day...Special This Year

Mother's Day is always a good time with our family. My aunt lives nearby and, now, so does my grandma. Today, we had these "moms" in attendance... my cousin (she has a 2 year old), my sister-in-law (she has the 9 year old), my aunt, my mom, and my grandma.

What made this year special was that we were able to spend the day with my grandma at her nursing home. This home is new to her and she seems to be much more lucid these days than she had been a year ago. She seems happier too. The Alzheimer's is slowed down by meds and I'm glad we still have this time with her.

Grandma said something today that really touched me. She told me that her own mother died when she was 4 years old! She said she couldn't even remember what her mother looked like anymore. Since I am 43 and my mother is still very much alive, I can't begin to imagine not having her growing up. My mom has been a huge part of my life, whether I wanted her to be or not. Smile. But I digress.

When my partner and I moved to New Mexico from Virginia 3 years ago, my mom visited us 3 times in the span of less than a year! Twice, she drove out there. She helped us in whatever way she could, even though she didn't have a large income to draw on. My mom and dad just showed me that they loved me more than I could ever know.

We have had a lot of bumps along the way in this life, but I would not be the woman I am if I had lost my mom at an early age. I'm grateful to have her.

So, as you celebrate Mother's Day tomorrow, remember how important your mom is. Even if she wasn't the best mom in the world, she's yours.

Also, say a prayer for those people we know who lost their parents in recent years or in early childhood. It's got to be a difficult day for them. God bless them!

Torture most supported by churchgoers!

I was reading this post on CNN's website and about fell in the floor. I guess I should have known the results of the last Pew Research survey, but I was surprised. It said that 54% of churchgoers supported torture! It said that those who have no religious affiliations seemed to support torture the least.

Wow. I can't imagine that the Jesus I know would ever support torturing, but maybe that's just me!

Sharone

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/religion.torture/index.html

Update

Well, I haven't been walking as much as I was due to several things, but I have been eating better and drinking lots of water, as well as exercising when I can. I've lost two more pounds!
Sharone

My Weight Loss Journey

I have been obese for as long as I can remember. I weighed about 300 lbs when I got out of high school. At my highest weight, I was pushing 400 lbs! When I was in my mid-30's, I opted for gastric bypass surgery after years of trying different diets and exercise plans without success. When I weighed in, I was 377 lbs. I had the surgery in December of 2003. By May of the following year, I had dropped almost 80 lbs! I was so excited. However, as soon as I dipped below the 300 lb mark, I hit an emotional wall. After all those years of being so overweight, I just couldn't imagine being thin. I also had some issues with the fat being a "protection" for me. This relates to childhood abuses and that's not what I'm blogging about, so that's for another time.

Anyway, I have spent the last 6 years seeing my weight inch back up a little and then rest at between 325 and 335 lbs. It's not nearly what I would weigh without having had the surgery, but I'm not nearly where I want to be either!

In the last two weeks, I decided I had been complacent long enough. I don't need this big shell of a body anymore! I'm beginning to believe that God is my protector and He doesn't want me to be unhealthy, so I'm doing something about it. I weighed in at 334 two weeks ago. I have lost 4 lbs since starting and feel better already. I am walking twice a day as well as doing other exercising. I am watching what I eat and, the biggest change of all, I'm drinking water almost exclusively!

So, I will be blogging every weekend to let you know how things are going. Thank you for your support, love and prayers. My goal is to lose 50 lbs by the end of the year.

Sharone (The soon to be skinny!)

It's a New Day!

Well, I'm not sure how widely this blog will get distributed, but I sometimes just want to write, so here I go...

Today, April 2, 2009, has been an extraordinary one. God has shown me some things that really blew my mind.

I was thinking of Spring and of the 4 seasons and God reminded me of a vision he gave me in the early 90's. I was driving to church one night and was looking at the Autumn leaves on the trees. I thought, how beautiful. Then God spoke to me. (Now, I was a little Baptist girl, so this was a new experience!!) He said that he could have made the leaves just turn black and fall to the ground, but he made them turn beautiful colors so that we could enjoy the turning of the season.

Today, He said that Spring is a time of renewal. Yes, it's gorgeous to look and see the flowers starting to bloom and grass returning to that wonderful green color, but it's not just the colorful flowers or blooms that make Spring special. What makes Springtime special is that it's a time when everything comes back from the "dead", so to speak. Trees start to fill in with leaves when they looked as if they'd never sprout again. The ground that was hard as a rock gets softer from the rains and flowers shoot up, almost overnight. The grass that was once brown and thin gets green and full.

This is also the time when we remember our Savior. Jesus died and rose again in the Springtime. (Okay, theologians, maybe is wasn't spring, but it was close. Work with me!) Winter turning to Spring makes me remember how it must have felt for the disciples after Jesus died. I can imagine them feeling that everything around them was dead! Without Jesus, what was the point? The ground was dark and hard. The winds blew and storm clouds were overhead. Then, 3 days later, Jesus Christ emerged from the earth in a glorified body! He came from the ground like Spring flowers popping up. He was renewed. He showed us that death had no hold on Him, or us. Death isn't eternal. Life is. What a wonderful thing to know that we will live forever with God.

It was great to be reminded of what I knew all along, but sometimes momentarily "forget". Jesus loves me. Jesus died for me. Jesus rose again and went to Heaven to get it ready for me! Hallelujah! What joy floods my soul today.

Thanks for letting me share. God bless you.

Sharone