My Month Without Sweets

Here is what I have learned this past month, by not eating/drinking anything sweet for the entire month of September?

• I love Chocolate!
• I don't need chocolate to survive.
• Water isn't too bad, once you get used to it.
• After only drinking water, your body actually craves it.
• I snack less, when there isn't anything sweet to snack on.
• My pants fit a little better these days.
• My skin is clearer without all the sweets.
• I have great Will Power.
• Once I put my mind to something, I follow through.

Yes, I am going to eat sweets starting tomorrow. No, I'm not going to eat nearly as many. That was the whole point of this experiment, to train myself to not be so dependent on Sweets. I will definitely be more careful before I put something in my mouth. Now that I know I can go without, it will make it easier to say no.

So, what should I go without next month? Any Ideas... Let me know.

It's Giveaway Day!

Head over to the Nesting Place for Giveaway day! She is giving away so many cute things, you have to check it out!

The One Flaw in Women

This is for all the wonderful Women out there

By the time the Lord made woman, He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An angel appeared and said, 'Why are you spending so much time on this one?'
And the Lord answered, 'Have you seen my spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart -and she will do everything with only two hands.' The angel was astounded at the requirements. 'Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish.' 'But I won't,' the Lord protested. 'I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days.' The angel moved closer and touched the woman. 'But you have made her so soft, Lord.' 'She is soft,' the Lord agreed, 'but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.' 'Will she be able to think?' asked the angel. The Lord replied, 'Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate.' The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek. 'Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.' 'That's not a leak,' the Lord corrected, 'that's a tear!' 'What's the tear for?' the angel asked. The Lord said, 'The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride.' The angel was impressed. 'You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing.'

And she is! Women have strengths that amaze men. They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy. They smile when they want to scream. They sing when they want to cry. They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous. They fight for what they believe in. They stand up to justice. They don't take 'no' for an answer when they believe there is a better solution. They go without so their family can have. They go to the doctor with a frightened friend. They love unconditionally. They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards. They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding. Their hearts break when a friend dies. They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left. They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart. Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you. The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. They bring joy, hope and love. They have compassion and ideals. They give moral support to their family and friends. Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE TINY FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

A little bit of everything

It's been a while since I posted a new blog. So here is just a little bit of what's going on:

- For the Bible Study that I am currently working through, we are supposed to memorize Psalm 121. It has been a long time since I memorized any scripture, so I'm a little nervous / excited about learning this one. It is a very familiar verse, so I'm hoping it will be easy to recall the entire thing. This week I need to have the first four verses memorized.

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made Heaven and Earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep."

- Today marks 3 weeks without any sweets! Only one more week to go! 8 more days! I will not eat any sweets...I will not eat any sweets...I will not eat any sweets.

- Last weeks, the city of Gaffney, SC pulled together to honor a fallen hero. On Wednesday, we lined the streets of Gaffney as his body was transported from the airport to the funeral home. Thousands of people lined the streets holding American Flags, with tears in our eyes, as the processional went past. In the words of a local child, "It was the coolest, saddest thing I have ever seen." I have never been more proud of my community as I was last week. The funeral was on Friday, so again, thousands of people lined the streets from the church to the cemetery to honor a 20 year old who had given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Homecoming of a True American Hero

Just a quick note to let everyone know whats going on regarding the homecoming of LC Chris Fowlkes. Chris Fowlkes, is the young soldier from Cherokee County who died of wounds sustained in combat in Afghanistan. He is the first soldier from Cherokee County to be killed in combat since the Viet Nam war.
Please help us give this soldier and his family the support they deserve by lining the streets of Gaffney to honor his service for our freedom!
He will arrive at the Greenville/Spartanburg Airport on Wednesday, September 16th at approximately 3:00 pm. He then will be escorted to Gaffney by the Patriot Guard, other military personnel, family, and highway patrol. This processional will come through downtown Gaffney sometime between 4 and 4:30 Wednesday afternoon.

THE BODY OF LANCE CORPORAL CHRISTOPHER FOWLKES WILL PROCEED AS FOLLOWS:
I-85 TO EXIT 90
TRAVEL FROM EXIT 90 DOWN HYATT ST TO THE INTERSECTION OF HWY 29 AND HYATT ST.
TRAVEL ACROSS HWY. 29 TO PETTY ST.
TURN LEFT ONTO PETTY ST.
TRAVEL ON PETTY ST. TO E. FREDERICK ST.
TURN LEFT ONTO FREDERICK ST.
TRAVEL TO THE INTERSECTION OF LIMESTONE ST. AND E. FREDERICK ST.
TURN LEFT ONTO LIMESTONE ST.
TRAVEL TO THE INTERSECTION ON LIMESTONE ST. AND FLOYD BAKER BLVD.

Everyone is asked to line the streets downtown beginning at Frederick Street toward City Hall....if there is overflow....the lining will continue up Floyd Baker towards Blakely Funeral Home.
Receiving Friends will be on Thursday at Blakely from 6 to 9. The funeral will be at First Baptist Church on Friday at 4:00 with Interment at Frederick Memorial Gardens afterwards.
Again, we ask that the community line the streets from First Baptist to Frederick Memorial to honor him and support the Chris Fowlkes family!
If you have a flag, bring it. Otherwise, flags will be available on the street Wednesday and Friday to hold and wave as we honor a true hero!

Half Way There!

Today marks the halfway point of my Month with No Sweets! I can't believe I have gone 14 days already. It is going by really fast, and it hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it would. I am starting to find myself liking the water, and actually craving water to drink. I am also not craving sweets in the afternoon, like I used to. Like I said at the beginning of this. I'm not doing this to lose weight, but to become more healthy. As far as I can tell, it's working. Just two more weeks to go. I'm thinking about October, and maybe doing No Fried Foods, but we'll wait and see how this month finishes out.

We Will Always remember

It was a tuesday morning. I had just got out of my 8:00am New Testement Class at North Greenville College, and I heard the news that would change this country forever. 2 planes had crashed into the World Trade Centers! I could not believe what was going on. That day changed us as Americans. We Will Always Remember.

1 week down - 3 more to go

It has been one week without eating or drinking anything sweet! I survived! Some days I didn't know if I could do it, but I persevered. The hardest might have been on Monday at Henry's Birthday Party. There was Cake and homemade Ice Cream, lots of candy and all kinds of sweet goodness, but I stood strong and said NO! Instead I ate a bowl of Watermelon, which was yummy. Three more weeks! I can do it!

Free Chick-fil-a Sandwich

In honor of Labor Day, and the start of Foot Ball Season, Every Chick-fil-A is giving away a free chick-fil-A sandwich to anyone wearing a sports team logo. So head out to your nearest Chick-fil-A and take advantage of this wonderful deal!

Happy Birthday Henry!

Today, my nephew Henry turns 3! If you go to my sister's blog, you can watch the little video montage she put together for his birthday.

Happy Birthday Henry! I hope you have a great day celebrating.

The Heart of our Desires

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Last weekend, I attended the Beth Moore Simulcast. She was live in Wisconsin, and we were sitting in a church in Duncan, SC participating. The whole event was wonderful, and I am so grateful that I was able to participate. Travis Cottrell led worship before each session, and he did an amazing job. Being able to worship with 400 women, and knowing that all over the world there were over 90,000 women coming together to Worship God was incredible. There were a total of 516 locations doing the simulcast in 4 countries. AMAZING!

The theme for the conference was “The Heart of Our Desires,” and God knew exactly what I needed before I stepped one foot into the church. Beth gave 7 points to go along with Psalm 37:1-9, but she focused mainly on verse 4.
1) Nothing dictates our lives like our desires.
-- Desire is a sustained longing that is unaffected by mood or situation.
2) Beneath the desires of our hearts, is the heart of our desires.
-- What motivates you more than anything else?
-- Look for what is present, in the absence of your desires.
3) Delighting in God, adapts our desires into inevitabilities.
-- Grant me a heart that delights in you Lord.
4) Nothing external can steal our right to delight – NOTHING!
-- What is taking a bite out of my delight?
---- Jealousy vs. 1
---- Anger vs. 8
---- Worry vs. 1 & 8
5) To make room for delight, we’ve got to commit to HIM.
-- Stop doubting and believe
6) Nothing is passive about patiently waiting for desire to turn into delight.vs. 7
-- God is not inactive; He is always at work. Sometimes you just need to be silent and listen.You never learn anything while talking.
7) Till faith becomes sight, Trust God and do good. vs. 3
-- Dwell in the land that God has given you and feed off of his faithfulness.
-- It is more important to do good, than to be right.

At the very end of the event, she had us find a partner, hold hands, look them in the eye, and repeat the following “Commission” to them:

My Dear Sister
God has not overlooked you
He has not ignored you
He hears every petition
And intimately knows
The heart beneath it.
Give Him full access
To all your longings
Pray every single day
To become a person who delights in Him.
When it seems to disappear
Remember to check your JAW
Are you jealous?
Are you angry?
Are you worried?
Roll it all on Jesus
He's strong enough to carry it
Big enough to handle it.
Trust God with all your heart
Now leave this place
And go into the world
And do some GOOD.

I was there with my dear friend Jennifer, so with tears in our eyes, we commissioned one another. What an incredible way to end an incredible weekend.

Talk about willpower

Tonight at Bible Study, someone brought this dessert to share with everyone. I am so proud to say that I stood strong, and did not even eat a single bite.

So, Day one of my Month of no sweets was a success! 1 day down...29 days left.