Five on Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  Time for Five on Friday!  Today I am sharing my top five moments of the week!  

1.  I got out and socialized a lot this week!  One dinner with my Young Living group and two gathering with my awesome church ladies!

2.  Lots of good moments with my fur baby, Cash.  A convertible ride and snuggles.  And I even caught him loving up on my mother-in-law (he usually tries to eat her(.

3.  Had an amazing time at my youngest son's football game last night (he is the one actually waving, which is a miracle since we are an embarrassment to his whole life).  And my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews (the two cuties) came to cheer him on to victory.  Matthew even got his name announced on the loud speaker for an awesome tackle.

4.  My new shirt (mine is blue though) came in just in time for tonight's football game, where I will be cheering on my oldest son who is the lead snare drum player in the marching band!

5.  My favorite scripture from this week's studies and quiet times!

This is hard to keep to 5 things!!!! I am already planning what to share next week!

Praying you all have an amazing weekend!

Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Manna and Mercy

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

So a common theme among lots of groups and studies I have been doing lately has been that God's mercies are new every morning.  Many days (especially lately with CRAZY schedules and three kids needing to be in three places at the same time) I feel empty by the end of the day and I dread getting up to do it all over again.

I think especially as a mother (but not only) we give and give and give and give every single day until our cup is empty.  And we MUST refill our cup so we do not burn out and become so overwhelmed that we simply give up.  But how do we do this in the crazy busy lives we live.  

And then this scripture came to me:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day."

Exodus 16:4

Yes, this is from the Old Testament, but it still applies to our lives today in 2015.  The people of Israel had just gained their freedom from slavery in Egypt, something they were really wanting for a long time.  And they are finally free and what do they do, gripe! Sound familiar at all? How many times do we base our joy and happiness on whens or whats? Anyway, that is a whole different topic.  But the Israelite's were complaining that they were hungry, and they might as well just go back to being a slave so they could eat. 

BUT GOD! (I just love those 2 little words that pack such a punch)  God provided for them.  He told them that each morning He would send down manna and each evening he would send down quail. BUT, they had to only gather as much as they needed for one day at a time (with the exception of the Sabbath).  What kind of trust did that require? They were starving and God tells them to only gather enough for each day.  This is where the what-ifs probably started; what if there is no more tomorrow? what if I need more? what if, what if, what if? And some people tested God and took more than they needed and guess what? It was filled with maggots and stunk! God never failed the people, He provided what they needed each day, but no more.

What a lesson we can learn from this.  God will provide what we need to get through each and every day.  He will fill our cup each morning so we can pour it out little by little throughout the day.  But we must do out part too.  We must allow Him to fill our cups.  We must read His word and seek His will and pray.

And when we go to bed each evening, we may be empty, exhausted, overwhelmed. But guess what? Tomorrow He will give me exactly what I need to make it through that day!

So when you feel like you just can't, like the cup is empty, remember that only God can fill it up, only He can give you what you need and HE WILL EACH AND EVERY TIME!

Sending love and healthy wishes!

I NEED YOU! and Other Stuff

Happy Transformation Tuesday!

Unfortunately, I have no new story to share with you today. I am still on the search for more stories to share for Transformation Tuesday! If you would like a chance to tell your story, click here to fill out the form or e-mail me your story at klgoodman1976@gmail.com I LOVE seeing all of the inspiration and we have to lift each other up! We are all in this together!

So get to sharing!

So yesterday evening I did something that was very difficult for me. I attended a Celebrate Recovery meeting at a local church. This is a Christ-centered 12-step recovery program. I loved how the leaders said it was for hurts, habits and hang-ups. I'm still processing a lot and trying to figure out exactly where I want to begin, but I know I have some food issues and anxiety issues to work on. I will be sharing more as I process more. 

I haven't shared this here before, but my nephew has been staying with my family since March. He is 15! He brought a cat, gecko and fish into our family when he moved in. And yesterday we added another new member; a fat tailed leopard gecko named Waldo

And Cinder, the cat, gave him the formal welcome

So we now have 5 cats, 2 geckos, 1 dog, 1 fish, 3 teenage boys, a husband and a mother in law here! We are bursting with activity and joy!

And my nephew, Logan started soccer practice tonight! Isn't he handsome:

I also had a consult with a new chiropractor today. This back pain just keeps getting worse. I feel really good about my visit (even though I'm sore from his adjustment) and I go back Thursday. I'm hoping to get this pain under better control. 

Lastly, it was girl's night out with my church ladies tonight. I had so much fun and I'm so happy that I'm getting out of my shell and bonding with other women!

Sending you all love and healthy wishes!!!

Break your chains,

Kari

Breaking the Chains

 

Happy Monday friends!

I am glad to be back to blogging this week!

I have taken some time off to really work on some things and I am back feeling better than ever!

I have realized that I was allowing myself to be chained up by so many things and I am finally working on breaking free!

I am tired and worn out of being a victim. 

I have played the victim from circumstances in my life:

• losing my vision
• depression
• becoming a young widow
• diagnosed with fibromyalgia
• anxiety
• low self esteem
• being overweight
• blah blah blah blah

NO MORE! I am going to start focusing on the things I can control and stop being obsessive about the things I cannot control.

I went to an all day workshop for Young Living Essential Oils on Saturday and something that was said there really stuck with me. And that was to live above the line.  Under the line are all the negatives that weigh us down and keep us stuck (illness, circumstances, stress), but if we focus on enhancing our life above the line things will be so much happier and joyful.

I am working really hard on getting out of my shell and making a point to interact with other people.  I have another thing I am really going to try to get the courage to do soon and I will share as soon as I can.

I have also been working on redesigning my blog site some, so take a look and give me some feedback!

And if you have a minute, listen to this song.  Going to be my anthem for awhile!

So that is all today to save you from reading FOREVER!  We are so busy this week with soccer, football and marching band so I will be sharing pics from the boys all week!

Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Break the chains,

Kari

I'm here!!!!!!!!!

Howdy friends!!!

Have you missed me??

I'm still here, still doing good. 

Just taking this month to get back in the swing of school, homeschooling my nephew, football, band and soccer schedules. Whew! I'm a busy momma!!

I'm also working on re (kinda) designing my blog. 

So, I'll be back soon. 

Just wanted to pop in and say HI!!!

Sending you all love, health and happiness!!!

Keep Losing,

Kari

Mental Health Monday - Marriage Woes

Welcome to Mental Health Monday! This was born out of Liz and Steph's  session on Depression, Anxiety and Healthy Living from Fitbloggin’ 15. Every 1st and 3rd Monday one of us will host a link up for others to share their experiences with Mental illness – either from their own experience or from the experience of helping and walking with others. Our goal is to reach out to the world and let people know that they are not alone in their struggles. You are never alone. Join us – link up, visit new blogs, support others. Speak out: “I am crazy…CRAZY AWESOME!”

I apologize for my absence the past few weeks here.  I have had a lot of crap going on in my life and it has just been nuts.  I have really been thinking a lot about my blog and what I am wanting it to become since getting back from Fitbloggin.  I am considering revamping it a little bit to fit more into what my journey has become over the past few years.  I will share more as I make some decisions.  I will keep blogging, but shifting my focus away from only fitness and weight loss.

I am going to share a very personal struggle here today.  One I have not shared with anyone before, but in the name of transparency, I feel I should talk about it some.

My marriage has been struggling a little.  Now don't start worrying, we are not separating or divorcing or even using those words.  We have just been going through a lot of stress lately with our business and life in general.  And it has taken its toll on our relationship some.  We are working hard together to rekindle some of the closeness we had in the beginning.  And I think this is very common in a lot of relationships and not discussed enough.  

As I have been studying and reading, I came across the poem/story called "Perfect Love," author unknown.  This is like God's letter to the Christian woman regarding perfect love:

Wait, not until you are first satisfied, fulfilled, and content with being loved by Me can I bring you true love.  You see, first you must give yourself totally and unreservedly to Me, discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found. Only then, will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have for you. You will never be fully united with another until you are united with Me.  Exclusive to anyone or anything else, I want you to stop planning, stop wishing and allow Me to bring it to you.  You must keep watching and experiencing the satisfaction that I am, expecting Me to do the greatest of things.  Most importantly, keep listening and learning the things I show you,  Just wait...That's all!  Don't be anxious and don't worry.  Don't look at the things others have received, or that I have given them.  You just keep looking at Me, or you'll miss what I am teaching you.  Then, when you're ready, I'll give you a love far more wonderful than any you will ever dream about.  Most of all, I want you to see in his flesh, a picture of your relationship with Me and enjoy the everlasting union of beauty, perfection, and love that I offer you.  "Believe it and be satisfied."  My daughter, until you are ready - I am working even this moment to have you both ready at the same time.  Until you are both satisfied and content with Me and the life I have prepared for you; you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, thus, perfect love.

These words really hit home to me.  I have been working so hard on loving myself, even liking myself, let alone receiving the love my husband has to offer me.  But this really speaks to just rest in Him, focus on Him and it will all be okay.

That is really all I have to say for now.  This was not planned for a post, but I really felt the need to share with all of you,

Sending you all love and healthy wishes!

Keep Losing,
Kari