Bye, Bye Holiday Foods

Is anyone else glad that holiday eating is over at last?

I love, love, love all the holiday foods. And I don't do a lot to limit my intake of them during the holidays. But by the time the holidays are over, I always feel like a big peanut-butter ball myself!

That's why I equally look forward to getting rid of all the rich foods and bringing out the healthy ones. The last several years I have used the month of January to detox my body and focus myself spiritually. There is nothing at all wrong with feasting. It's Biblical, actually. But there needs to be a bookend. Feasting that lingers is gluttony (which translates into jeans that don't fit).

This year I am not doing an official "fast", but I am making two small (or HUGE) changes during the month of January that help me put a bookend on the holidays.

1. No desserts during the month of January (including but not limited to muffins, dessert breads, and the obvious...cookies, cakes, etc...)
2. I'm allowing myself one cup of tea each morning, and then only water to drink the rest of the day.

It's nothing too drastic or huge. But it's a small death to self as I am overly zealous about good dessert and I so enjoy a cold Diet Coke every day around lunch. Every time I deny myself these "goodies" I am reminded that, oh yeah, I can have self-control and food will not be my master.

Feasting and fasting...both can teach us so much about God and ourselves!

The One Thing

Happy New Year! It's good to be back.

Yesterday at South Bay, we showed a message by Pastor Craig Groeschel entitled "The One Thing". Click here to listen to it. He challenged us to try to focus in on ONE thing that we feel God prompting us to do differently this year. 

• ONE thing to strengthen our relationship with Him...
•  ONE thing we need to let go of in order to move forward... 
• ONE of God's promises we need to cling to. 

Changing just one thing seems like it won't make that much of a difference. It's tempting to want to work on this, and that, and, oh yeah, that thing too. But if we really commit to spending a whole year focused on the ONE thing that God lays on our hearts, it will change who we are. And if we do that every year for an entire decade, we're likely to look like a completely different person.

As I spent some time reflecting on the ONE thing that I felt like God would want me to focus on, I felt led to focus more on prayer. You see, I really enjoy reading my Bible. It's tangible. There's a starting and stopping point. I can "check it off" my reading plan as I read each chapter.

But prayer... prayer just feels so open-ended. It can leave me feeling overwhelmed and guilty, like I could never pray enough.

I enjoy praying with other people. I enjoy writing prayers in my prayer journal. I'm even doing much better at remembering to pray small prayers throughout the day. But I don't really enjoy [just begin honest here] sitting down by myself to pray for an extended period of time.

I want to want to pray. You know what I mean? I think I'll pray for that.

So, here is my ONE THING that I'm committing to focus on in 2012:
I will pray find one 15 minute time block per day to focus on nothing but prayer.

It's not a huge commitment, but it's a good starting point. I think most days I'll do it right after I put Sammy down for his nap. We'll see.

But here's what I know...I am in desperate need of God's hand on my life, on our family, and on this church. When God's Spirit is poured out, it is an unstoppable force. But when it's not, everything we do is just man-made efforts. And I don't want to live my whole life duct taping toothpicks together and calling it a work of God. I want more of HIM in 2012.

So I'm going to get over my "I get bored when I pray" and "My mind wanders" excuses. I'm going to get desperate for God to move in and through my life this year.

I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know what your ONE THING is for 2012.

From Our Family to Yours...

May your Christmas be blessed with the presence of Jesus as we reflect on the most amazing gift ever given to mankind. I'll be back to blogging in the New Year. 

For Unto Us A Child Was Born!

Today my brother & his wife had their first baby, Taylor Lynn Cloud! She is our first female addition among the grandkids on that side of the family. And might I mention that she is perfect in every way, complete with a dimple in her chin! It is so hard for me not to be there in South Carolina today, because that is definitely where my heart is. But I am thankful to already have a plane ticket for January and can't wait to smother her in love and kisses!

6 lbs 12 oz.

19 inches

Born @ 12:21 on 12/22

Let the spoiling begin!

South Bay Staff Christmas Party

It is my joy, once a year, to get to host the South Bay Staff Christmas Party. I don't want them to have to plan their own party or think about anything but getting there. This is my chance to show them how much Andy & I love and appreciate them.

I feel so blessed to get to serve along side people who we truly love and enjoy. 

We had a great time and shared many-a-laughs that night. A couple people threw in some really funny gifts for our gift exchange. Andy and I came home with quite the risque board game called Tantric Love (which Andy is convinced we are going to play)!

The kids had fun too as we had some special activities planned for them. The highlight of my evening was probably watching all the kiddos open their gifts that South Bay had purchased for them (& I got to pick out!). They were so happy and having such a blast playing together. We want each of those precious children to grow up knowing that they are a valuable part of this team!

Here are a few snapshots of our evening...