Beware...

of the "Old Prophet."

Let's be clear. I'm not saying disregard or, worse still, disrespect those older or more mature than you, I just saying that you should beware...

Let's read this passage* which I'll use as the backdrop for this piece together...

Watch your weight...

I know this can be a touchy subject because so many people are working (or is it "wishing") so hard to reduce their weight and keep it off. There may be some people, like me, who have also been more like wishing hard to add weight...just a little. Recently, I surprised a medicare professional when I said "At last!" after I stepped on the scale and saw I had added about 6 kgs in the past 6 years. Indeed, I'd been working on it not just wishing. Of course, now I need to watch it.* The bottom line is, it's a challenge for people for different reasons.

Well besides our diet and low/no exercise level, there are many other reasons why people gain weight. In fact I was not surprised to discover that these 2 reasons which can be the root cause (symptom) and result of each other - almost like a cycle: 

1. Lack of sleep**
2. Lots of stress**

There are some of us that don't sleep enough at all or at times - including me. I know that personally there are times when despite my best intentions, because I let all I need to do get to me and stress me, I don't sleep long or well enough to be refreshed enough to properly deal with the work-load (& stress) facing me. Then when I don't perform as well as I expect myself to, I worry about it, get stressed and don't sleep well and the cycle continues. Guess what, as this cycle continues, one's body only gets better at retaining fat and some people add on to that by eating to hopefully ease the stress and both cause weight increase.

This whole thing is so aptly put in Prov 12:25 says:

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. (NLT)

So let me help you "up" here. Watch your weight - as you monitor your BMI,* remember to:

 

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Pet 5:7 - NLT)

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). (Ps 55:22 - Amplified)

When you do, your physical weight will improve as you're less stressed and sleep more.

Sources:

*http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

**http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/5-surprising-reasons-you-are-gaining-weight

ASAP...asap

Just yesterday I shared on: "Pray without ceasing, in all seasons." Then this morning, one of the verses I read was:

Philippians 4:6 - Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (NLT)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, nothing in life beats praying. It's definitely less stressful than worrying. Let me explain my prespective on this. We're almost always in a hurry... well I am - sometimes. An example is when I send emails to people - personally and professionally - and ask them to respond to me asap (as soon as possible).

Pray...

...without ceasing, and may I add, in all seasons.

Just this morning, while I was laying in bed and rather reluctant to get out, I wondered...and then prayed that my family would think of treating me to breakfast in bed. So you see it from my viewpoint, Sunday was Mother's Day and we had to leave early for church so as usual, "breakfast is for children." Now here we were on a family day off and I wanted to sleep in and hopefully be pampered - even if a little...

Within minutes of that "prayer," my husband came into our bedroom tray in hand urging me to "Arise and Eat" - now what a treat that was... It's amazing how true the word of God is even in what you'd call "small things."

Thank God that my family never thought that I should have slept in our kitchen.

I couldn't go to bed tonight without sharing this testimony - hoping to encourage you to always take God at His Word and Pray without ceasing and in all seasons. God bless.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all Mothers everywhere a wonderful day - remain the gem you are.

After I saw this, I realised that my friend whose birthday is today also has a place in my heart that no other friend can take. Happy Birthday and Happy Mother's Day Precious One.

MYOB

"MYOB" is something I say quite a bit in my home. Well what else do you say when one child thinks that he is entitled to the same rights i.e. privileges as his sibling without the same level responsibility? Some other times when I need to say "MYOB" is when my children try to strive for equality - thinking it's the same thing as equity. As hard as you may try, you cannot treat each child equally but you must be careful to treat them fairly and not be partial to any  (i.e. equity). It's tough but possible. Let me share an example from a personal experience: A few days ago, I decided to make omelettes for my children. When I was done, I noticed that both omelettes were not the same size or shape - i.e. were not equal, although I was careful to ensure equity - one egg per child.
Before I go off track and come up with health family recipes, let's go back to the topic..."MYOB"

Did you know that Jesus also had an occassion to say "MYOB" - though not in the same words. It happened after Jesus restored Peter and Peter felt that he had to ask about John. Let's read how it played out in John 21:21-22: