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Come visit me over my other blog.  Beginning April 1st, I'll be posting everything in one place!  I hate to leave HomeschoolBlogger.  The community here is so wonderful but I'm looking forward to moving in to my new place and making it home.  I'll be popping back over here to visit friends though.  Hope to see you soon!

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I've been contemplating moving this blog for sometime.  I actually had to set a deadline of 100 posts because I could see that it was going to take forever for me to decide.  Well I hit 100 posts yesterday. 

I have another blog over at Blogger which was my original blog.  It was only designed to be inspirational in nature and I planned to update it every blue moon.  Then I realized that I had more to say that more directly tied into my daily life so I started one over here at HomeschoolBlogger.  I love it here and I love the community but frankly as I blog more, Blogger is just so much easier to use.

Right now, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to still maintain an "inspirational blog" and a "daily blog" over at Blogger or combine them and just let it all hang out in one place.

Anyway, why am I saying this?  I guess I'm trying to see if anyone can give me a reason why I shouldn't leave the homeschool blog here?  I'm open if there is something I'm overlooking.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the possible move/possible merger.

Thanks in advance....

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and I'm addicted to sugar. 

I've been fighting an uphill/downhill battle with my diet and exercise since the holidays and it dawned on me yesterday that what's been occurring is more than meets the eye.  It's been a slippery slope as it relates to my resolve.  What had gotten so easy before the holidays has become increasingly more difficult to manage.  My exercise is good but my diet is ALL OVER THE PLACE.  My main problem.  SUGAR....

I checked out addiction at www.dictionary.com and this is what I found for a definition:  the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

Let's see...eating sugar is a habit.  I always need something sweet to end a meal, even if it is only a mint.  I hit lows and will eat healthy things like veggies, and protein to stave the specific hunger, but nothing besides an Oreo will do the trick.  And let's be real.  You can't just eat one.  I'd gotten a $50 gift certificate to Starbucks for Christmas that has led me to believe that, since it was free, frequent drive-bys were OK.  I would throw in the Milk Chocolate Graham Crackers just because.

What about "cessation causes severe trauma".  Well, let's just say that I've detoxed before.  The first couple of days is MADNESS.  I'm crabby, I get headaches, and just overall feel like something isn't right.  If I'm not loopy, that sounds like drug rehab.  Truth be told, I've probably had my share of the shakes...

I've been fighting this Romans 7 battle for my whole life and I'm SO tired of it.  Granted, I've been losing weight gradually but my true desire is not to be double-minded about my commitment to nutrition and health.  Sugar makes me double-minded.

I can decide NOT to have any cake....until my sister orders some.  So, my response?...I'll just have one bite.  You know where that leads....TO DESTRUCTION!

I have self-control in more than a few areas of my life but when it comes to sugar, I'm just a basketcase.

I've been studying Romans in my BSF class and chapter 12 hit me like a ton of bricks. 

Romans 12:1-2 (New International Version) On Living Sacrifices Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

My body doesn't belong to me. 

Some people trash their bodies with alcohol, some with drugs, some with tobacco.  Trashing with sugar (or overeating) does not put me in some higher class.

So...I'm a sugar addict.  I'm probably a carb addict too but one thing at a time.

From what I understand, an addict always has to go through a period of withdrawal and once habit-free will always have to know their limitations.  For the rest of their lives, they will have to choose to be addiction-free.

I'm committed to going 7 days without refined sugar.  I might stretch it to 14 days and then to 21 but right now I can't think that far.  I'm avoiding "sweets",  allowing myself natural sweetener on occasion (honey in tea for example).  No oreos, no ice cream, no brownies, no sweet tea, no candy bars, no chocolate chip cookies (Lord help me), no Starbucks, etc..  None of these things I'm consume everday now but the problem is that when I know I SHOULDN'T eat them.  I STILL DO.

So no sugar...even if I burn 600 calories at the gym.

Anybody want to join me?

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One thing that is always heavy on my heart is making available to other Moms the resources that I happen upon that bless me. 

The link below holds a great resource for Moms.  I can't always go out of town to attend a conference but I can get online!  There are quite a few online conference calls that I've participated in from Marilyn Moll's Urban Homemaker and I always learn something.

Here's the link for the conference call.

Click on Mar 15, 2007 - Marilyn with Lori and Lisa

I took a few notes for my own benefit.  I'd like to share.  Be sure to come back and leave a comment here on the blog if you listen and are blessed!

When you are training your children in obedience there is an acronym to help you and your kids remember what obedience really is:  CRIJ - Completely Respectfully Immediately Joyfully (sparkle in your eyes)

Obedience isn't just an action but it is an attitude of the heart.  Our concern for our children should be the heart.  Not just the behavior.

Require your children to get their chores done before breakfast.  The Bible says if you don't work you don't eat.  There is value in work.  The first thing to do when your children have obedience issues is to give them additional WORK.

The most important job of a mother of young children is to be at home.  Many a mother is burnt out and frazzled because she is attempting to balance more than she is designed to handle.  The church many times even subtly puts pressure on mothers to minister in the church, running programs and such.  However, the most important ministry of a young mother is the ministry to her children.  Every need does NOT constitute a ministry. 

The key to doing a good job in your home is to BE AT HOME!  Many SAHMs are not at home very often.

Interested in Gardening? - Take a look at the gardening book by Elliott Coleman (didn't get the name), Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew, or Cinderblock Gardening (author not mentioned).

Know that however you may insecure in your abilities as a wife and a mother, there are other people like you!  Keep trodding along.  God will lead you to the people and places that you need in order to be all that he has created you to be!

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I've been away from blog land.  It's Spring Break and I've been hanging out with my kiddos...

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Be sure to check out more blogging ladies participating in the Ultimate Blog Party.  You can find the list of blogs by clicking on the image below and scrolling down a bit.. The fun will be going on until March 9th!

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My weight has been stagnant since before the holidays.  While that was comforting for awhile, as my eating during the Christmas season was slightly less than pristine, the same numbers showing up on the scale got a little old.  I had been getting some exercise since.  Hopping in and out of the gym had been my New Year routine, so, in order to jolt my system, I joined Jay's Bootcamp. 

For the last three weeks, I've been getting up at dark-thirty to drive 30 minutes, be barked at for an hour, only to return home and start my REAL day.  Oh the joy :|

I deliberately hadn't checked the scale because I was saving up my excitement - you know...so I could see a BIG change in numbers in between weigh ins.  I'd been working so hard during that Boot Camp....

I'd made an agreement with myself that I would not darken the doorsteps of Starbucks again until I was within five pounds of my goal.

Last weekend, I hopped on the scale.  I made a special trip to do it too.  I got up on a Saturday morning, left the kids sleeping, put on my "weigh-in" clothes, and drove to the gym - yes... just to weigh in.  I wish you could have been there.  My bottom lip added an extra 2 lbs to the scale when it dropped and hit near my feet in utter amazement.  After two grueling weeks of working out and eating a little better than normal, I had GAINED 3 lbs.  Can I just stop for a second and spell D-E-J-E-C-T-E-D??!?!!?

I got off the scale, left the gym, and stopped at Donutlicious to celebrate my victory.
 

I worked out this past week half heartedly.  I did the work but without the heart.  My thought life was ridden with fears of not ever being able to lose weight again because I was nearing 35 and I've heard that somewhere in the 30-35 age bracket losing weight becomes a laughing matter.  I began to believe that I was permanently frozen at 1__ (it's higher than you think), and that I should go ahead and have the number tatooed on my forehead.

So this week I bought a scale.  Actually I bought two.  One basic scale and one with bells and whistles (body fat, hydration percentage, weight change, etc).  I dunno.  Maybe the disaster of driving to the gym to weigh made me decide that I could serve up drastic disappointment at home and save gas.  I left both of them in the box for a week.

I took the plain Jane one out of it's box and stepped on it to weigh.   81.5 lbs is what the scale told me.  OH GREAT!  Now I have a broken scale.  I opened up and tried the fancy scale....82.5.  Two broken scales?  OK...maybe it's me.  I called the maker of the plain scale and sat on hold for 15 minutes to be told that I can't weigh on carpet :|

I knew that...UGH...

So to the tile we go.  I stepped on and weighed.  I stared at the wall in front of me thinking that it was pointless to look down at the numbers.  I finally got up enough guts to look down....and.....I'd gone down five pounds from the previous week and two pounds from my stable weight.  What does this mean?  I'm within FIVE POUNDS of my short-term weight loss goal.!!!

I CAN FINALLY CHANGE MY TICKER!

Now the only question remaining is...DO I DARKEN THE DOORS OF STARBUCKS TO CELEBRATE? 

Hmmmm...the jury is still out on that one :)

Oh...and the fancy scale is going back.  I decided I can only handle one set of numbers right now.  I'm obsessed enough as it is.  Body fat, hydration, and weight change might just send me over the top.

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The last time I checked, the count over at the party was over 800!  There is NO WAY I can make it through the list...well..not and get the dishes done :)  So I've devised a strategy.  It will allow me to get through the list in my own way.  I won't be able to hit them all but I can hit more than a few in a random fashion and still have time to keep my kiddos from ripping my house to shreds!

I'm hitting multiples of 5's.  This is giving me a sense of accomplishment so that I can move through the list and feel like I'm actually getting somewhere.  Now, I am stopping every now and then to grave a "non-multiple" that looks interesting but the idea is not to stop too often or else my strategy won't work.

As the week draws to a close I may just randomly pick another starting point and continue with multiples but we'll see. 

I can say that I've met a few neat folks and added to my blogs-to-check list.  The party idea was wonderful for a meet and greet.  

OK...now on to tackle my list.

What's your strategy?

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There are six of us in this house.  The 15 year old and the 11 year old girls both share similarly sized feet as do my 4yo and 2yo boys.  This equals sock pandemonium.  I have two solutions.  First, I have trained the members of my household (all but the 2yo) to clip their dirty socks together with a clothespin (cheap from WalMart) before they drop them in the dirty clothes basket.  This equals easy-to-match socks. 

When the socks are folded and put away however, my oldest boys socks seemed to make their way to the younger boys and so on.  My solution?  A good friend of mine told me about the "dot system"

My oldest boy is my number three child.  My youngest boy is my #4 child.  I dot their socks with the appropriate number of tiny circles (courtesy of a blue Sharpie in this case) and I never have to figure out whose socks are whose! 

This system also works for clothes. 

Now for those bright minds that are wondering what happens if I have more children or when my kiddos grow our their socks/clothes...here's your answers.

I buy oldest boy (child #3) new socks.  I put 3 dots on them.  His old socks with 3 dots get passed down to youngest boy (child #4).  I add one dot to those socks giving him a total of 4!  Then if we have baby #5 (hint to hubby if he's reading this) then I can take all of youngest boy's socks (or whatever) and add 1 dot making 5!  Simple enough....you will either love this system or wonder why I am making life so hard on myself :)

Be sure to check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips

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Sometime there comes a time in your life where you have sunk into a pit that you cannot seem to come out of.  You are six feet under before you realize that you have been buried beneath ground.  Such has been the case with me.  Everyday I've thought about this blog and how I've been negligent, but I was too embarrassed about my state of being to show this side of myself to the world and the public in general.

For the sake of honesty and transparency, I feel compelled to share.  Perhaps the very act of sharing my trouble will provide more accountability.  Perhaps the decision to bare another side of myself will help me to live a more successful, productive, and joyful life.

Well, here you have it....here is the depth of my drama, the crack in my emotional sidewalk, and the cross that I carry:

Yes...that's right...I'm addicted to Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha (w/Extra Whip) and the ever-so-perfect-companion of MILK CHOCOLATE COVERED GRAHAM CRACKERS.

Why has this kept me away you say.  Well, let's just say that this is representative of my eating patterns over the last couple of weeks.

Because of this sad addiction I've been getting up at 4:45 a.m. 4-6 times a week to workout.  I'm still enjoying Jay;s Boot Camp....or should I say ENDURING this monstrousity of a workout (can you say MILITARY STYLE).

I've been TOO TIRED to blog.  At 10 - 11 p.m., my prime blogging hour, all I've been able to think about his how much sleep I need and how I have to rise again this next day.

I'm happy to say that my body has slowly adjusted and I hope to get more consistent in my writing.

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This post is a few days old but I couldn't pass up the cute pics.

We are studying E & F.  I decided from the Letter of the Week that I wanted to do the egg carton project with my 3yo.  Emerald, the angel in my backyard, was scheduled to come and be with him while I took the baby (yea...he's almost 2) to therapy.  So I handed that project off to her.

Now...if I would have done the project, we would have cut out the cartons and DRAWN the eyes and antennae with a Sharpie. 

Not Emerald...

Since it was a beautiful day, she first took Tre' outside and read the "E" and "F" books with him  on the trampoline. How fun!

Then she marched Tre' out the front door and took him on a nature walk.  They collected leaves and rocks so that the egg carton caterpillar would be in it's natural habitat.  I had no idea of what was happening b/c I was with my little one at his appointment.  When I got back home I was met with a surprise.

Here's the finished project. 
Praise the Lord for photos that keep better than the actual projects!

All of this happened on the same day as our visit from the fire truck.

What an amazing day.  It would have been good anyway.  Emerald made it great. My 15yo made it even better by snapping great photos (in between her schoolwork) so I didn't miss out on sharing the joy!

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I was crashing and crashing fast.  After a reeling and wild holiday season, coupled with surgery for my youngest son, my house was spinning out of control.  I was sleep deprived, short on energy, and short on hours in my day.  My husband was traveling so much of what was on my plate I had to do myself but he was so sensitive about my state.  His solution?  I needed help.

BUT I DIDN'T WANT HELP.

I was proud confident in my ability to run my household myself.  I was convinced that I shouldn't need assistance with my duties as a wife and mother.  I've always worked under pressure.  I've always been able to keep more than a few plates spinning.  In fact, I love the adrenaline rush from just meeting a deadline.  I liked my life and didn't want anyone else in the picture to share the glory job that was supposed to be mine.

I listed off all the women in my life that don't have help.  All of the women who I know to be superwomen or who would get help if they could but can't afford it.  Whatever their case may be...it was mine too.  I like being a superwoman and I CAN'T afford it.

Besides, we had tried helpers/babysitters here and there over a few years and it just drove me insane to have someone else in my space.  I'd clean up before the cleaning people came, or I'd find mindless activities for the person to do while I cleaned up my kitchen!  I was too embarrassed to let someone clean my bathroom, and I didn't like the idea of someone vacuuming my floor - they didn't do it like me!  Even when the helper was available to spend some time with my little ones so that I could do other things that only I could do, my heart would race at the thought of someone else endearing themselves to my boys.

This is all from the same lady that 15 years ago dropped her baby girl off at the sitter at age 3 weeks and left her everyday all day from 7am to 6pm.  This is all from the same lady who hired cleaning people to clean an 800 sq. ft. apartment.   Maybe the pendulum swung too far the other way?

I sat in front of my computer following that discussion, paying bills into the wee hours of the morning.  Somewhere between 2 - 3 am, I sighed and verbally said to the Lord, "If you want me to have help, you are going to have to bring the person to me". 

Enter Emerald, the Angel in My Backyard. 

Emerald, I know you are gonna hate this photo.
Take a good one next time you come over and I'll replace it!

I know Emerald from my church.  I lead Praise & Worship every now and then and she sings with me.  Well, Emerald called me one day out of the blue and left me a message.  I didn't think anything of it but I did wonder what she needed as we were not currently working on any upcoming ministry.  I received another message from her later in the same week.  Seeing that the phone calls were a little out of the ordinary, I called her back promptly after the second message.  Emerald told me that she'd had a dream that  she was at my house helping me with the boys.  She wanted to know if I needed help.  You know what my answer was.  Emerald went on to say that the next morning after this dream, she went to work and got laid off.

Oh, I get it.  She needs some extra money and she thinks I'm rich.

I flat out told her that although Jessie would love for me to have an extra pair of hands, we really didn't have any money for that right now.  Emerald told me that she still wanted to help me.  She felt that her dream was from the Lord and had nothing to do with money.

WHAT!?!?!? OK Lord, what are you trying to pull?

We agreed that she could come and visit a couple of times during the holidays to help me get over my hump and to see if she would like hanging out in our household.

That will be the last straw.  Once she gets here and sees firsthand how "nutso" I am, she'll never want to work here.  Ms. Emerald will be blasted by the severity of my Type A-ness and run for cover!

So Emerald came.  She saw.  She worked.  She came back....?  She came.  She saw.  She worked again....and then asked me about working out a regular schedule for the upcoming months.

OK Lord, so you are gonna FORCE this down my throat?

We agreed to continue on our little journey together and I told her I would get back with her on the amount I could pay.

Surely, that will be the end of the road...

I came back to here a week later with an ungodly, low hourly amount.  She said that was fine.

Unheard of...

So, Emerald has been coming, every week, to help me.  She is nothing short of amazing.  She gets "me" and seeks to do things around the house the way I want them done.  My kiddos (teens and tots) love her and she has been nothing short of a Godsend.

Emerald is in school and needed a REAL job to pay for tuition, books, cell phone, and car pymt.  She works 20 hours a week at that job and still helps me for the measley amount of money I can give her.

Lord, you are nothing short of amazing...

Not only did he bring me Emerald to me ( I never in a million years would have thought of her as a helper option - even if I was looking), but he brought me just what I needed.

Emerald has now been helping me for two months.  She has made things flow smoother throughout our day.   She has a knack for things that embellish what I'm doing in my home and with my children.  Emerald always goes the extra mile.  She is a hard worker and doesn't mind doing ANYTHING I ask her to do (but I still haven't had her do my bathroom).   I am blessed.

I don't know how long the Lord will allow me to keep her but I needed her NOW and I'm grateful for His gift to me.  He knew what I needed for this season.



So, I know you are asking...WHY IN THE WORLD IS CHRYSTAL TELLING ME THIS!?!?!

Two reasons:  First of all, we moms (especially homeschooling moms) have got to get off of this I-can-do-it-all kick.  As a recovering do-it-all-aholic, I am attempting to let go of the expectations I have of myself and rest in the Lord's expectations for me.  Secondly, God is in the business of showing us He loves us.  Who'd of really thunk that God would respond to my pitiful, sarcastic request for help at dark-thirty last November.

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Q:  Does the borax harm any surfaces (that you've tried), or not? I have all these ingredients on hand... I should try this! :)
A:  Nope....not that I've tried.  The author of Clean House Clean Planet says that this concoction "can be used the refrigerator, walls, tile, shower, and toilets. "  She also says that it works well on shower walls, doorknobs, fingerprints on walls, cabinets, toilet area, and trash can deoderizer.

Q:  Is this mix going to get a bathroom disinfected? Is a pre-schooler safe to wield it? (I don't know anything about Borax.)
A:  The book says "This recipe has a little bit of mildly toxic borax in it.  Although technically not a disinfectant, borax is reputed to have antifungal and antiseptic qualities.  Borax is toxic to ingest, so please be sure to label the bottle with the ingredients, and keep out of the reach of children."  That said.  I would probably give a go of the recipe minus the Borax.  If you find that it works...let me know.  One more thing.  The author mentions using this spray with baking soda sprinkled on the surface to clean first for a more powerful clean.  If you X the Borax you might want to try using the spray in conjunction with baking soda.

Bottom line on the toxicity - this cleaner is toxic but probably in a much milder form than most of the commercial cleaners out there.  I enjoy making these because it keeps my grocery/household costs down, because I get to choose my scents, and because it doesn't hurt my head or nose to get things clean!

Hope that helps!

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I was busy making breakfast this morning.  I got a late start so my schedule wasn't quite going as planned.  As I stirred the oatmeal, my little ones were running a bit wild looking for stuff to get into.  I repeatedly grabbed one off my bed and instructed them to stop jumping, or grabbed a pen out of a hand to stop the writing on the wall, or shooed someone away from the computer.

But when I couldn't find my youngest, I wasn't prepared for this!

Who knew that all of my hard work in teaching good hygiene was sinking in!

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I'm great for talking about all of the things I'd like to do as a Mom.  I great at planning.  I'm great at cruising the web looking for ideas...

but I'm not a natural doer. 

So normally I envy those Moms that do nice things for their kids.  I feel inadequate when I see how other Moms celebrate the holidays with their kids, and make wonderful memories.  Normally, I'm disgusted with myself at the end of a day that I failed to implement my plan.

Today, however, was a new day!  I actually followed through on my ideas!

Most importantly, I took Jana's suggestion and posted sticky notes all over.  He ran into them everywhere.  I laid his card in his car with a single rose for him to find when he got in to drive to work.  On his computer, in his computer, on his glasses, keys, car window, etc. He's been giving me this sheepish smile all day :)

For my oldest daughter, a card and a single rose were in order.  Just as I did for her Dad, I made sure that she would "find" them at some random point during the day.

My little ones had fun too.  After leaving the gym this morning, I stopped at Wal-mart to pick up a couple of "cheapie" odds and ends.  So here's how our day went:

A Valentine's balloon was the centerpiece for the table. 


We started our day with heart shaped pancakes served on themed paper plates.





My preschooler worked on my arts and crafts idea for the day.  My mommy's helper helped him out and, of course, took my idea WAY FURTHER than I would have ever taken it!







We strung hearts together to represent the tying together of our family's heartstrings- one heart for each member!



Kanaan stayed busy working on his own "project".  Oh the joys of a highchair!



Our next fun thing to do was bake...SUGAR COOKIES!







I had never baked sugar cookies from scratch before...not to mention attempted to decorate.





At least we tried....

The day was wonderful.  My three year old is STILL talking about Valentine's Day.  Memories are a wonderful thing.

I'm so glad I followed through on one of my ideas...maybe this will motivate me to do that more often!

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I have started making my own cleaner after reading frequently about the danger of chemicals in the home.  In addition, I've been trying to watch my costs at the grocery store. It's actually not hard and I have come to love the control I have over my fragrances.

I picked up Clean House Clean Planet by Karen Logan.  This booked is chalked FULL of great homemade cleaner ideas!  Here's the way you make your own multipurpose cleaner.

Ingredients:  Liquid soap or detergent (I use Original Dawn, or Lemon Joy), white distilled vinegar, borax, purified water, and an essential oils for fragrance.

How to Make:  Mix 2T of vinegar with 1tsp borax.  Pour through a funnel into a spray bottle of 16 oz.  (I use a 32 oz bottle so I double this recipe for my container).   Fill the rest of the bottle with very hot water.  Shake until the borax is dissolved.  Add the 1/4 cup of liquid soap or 1/8 cup of liquid detergent last.  To scent, add 10 to 15 drops ( or whatever smells good to you) of essential oil.  I like to use a combination of lavender/lemon, orange/lemon, or lemon/peppermint!

Here all of my supplies...



Here is my finished product...

Be sure to check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.

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OK.  I admit it.  I've been avoiding the whole diet and exercise conversation.  Why?  Well, I've been a bit...umm...off track.   Oh, I've been working out.  I even participated in a week-long Boot Camp Blast designed to jolt my system into burning the fat again.  I'd fallen from my routine of going to the gym and I felt like a little pick-me-up would do the trick.  The week of intense exercise was great.  My muscles were screaming at the end of the week, I'd re-conditioned myself to running (w/o feeling like I was going to pass out), and my body clock was going off at 5am faithfully. 

So Saturday, I took off to go the gym and weigh in.  I was crossing my fingers and hoping for a one pound loss.  I stepped on the scale and the scale showed a GAIN of two pounds.  WHAT!?!?!? 

I'd been working hard, burning calories, and drowning in water.  How did that happen?

And then a fundamental idea came to me...I'd put in a lot more work, effort, and movement but I hadn't actually done my best with the nutrition side of things.  Really, deep down, I knew this to be true.  This is probably  why I've avoided weighing in for three weeks (I'm supposed to weight in weekly). 

Exercise doesn't mean much when the food intake is lacking or ...should I said...in excess.

I'd spent a lot of energy moving around and not enough effort and time planning my meals and eating well...

My spiritual life has been a mirror of my journey into better health and hopefully a lighter physique.  I've been busy DOING for the Lord.  Church, discipleship, and even ministry to family have been keeping me on my toes.  I am definitely busy doing a lot of great things.  I haven't been putting quite as much energy on the nutritional side of things.

Diet and exercise.  That is what's required, huh?

A very healthy and in shape friend once told me that losing weight and keeping it off is 10% what you do and 90% what you put in you mouth.   I think this works just as well with my walk with the Lord.  It mostly depends on ingesting the Word and then letting the Lord "finish the work that He's started in me".    I expect that all of my efforts in pleasing Him would go a lot further if I was on a regimen that he prescribed for getting me into shape.

So my prayer this week is focus....the ability to focus on putting first things first.  Physically and spiritually...but in the reverse order. 

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