Faithfulness

Being faithful. Faithful in the small things.

That's where my heart is at lately, that is what I believe God wants from me. God my creator, who made me in His image, gave me the desire to create and dream big. But dreaming big alone can blind me to the little things I need to be faithful in today.

Just like in weightloss, I need to be faithful each day to eat right and stay within my points in order to see results one bit at a time. The bigger prize will come over time with my cummalative weight loss. On wednesday after 11 weeks of faithfulness to keeping track of points I have lost a total of 16.8 pounds :-)

Lately I've been dreaming big about my future desires and things I would like to accomplish. But I tread slowly and with caution. I want all my actions and things I pursue to be pleasing to God. I want to surrender to his lead daily. I want my God to be glorified. I don't want to become prideful or take away any glory that belongs to my creator alone.

To be faithful, is my desire. Faithful in the day to day. Submitting to the things God has placed in my heart at each moment. I know without a doubt God is urging me to continue to get rid of more "stuff"... Like getting rid of all the extra clothes I have that I don't wear. To minimize, to simplify, so I'm not held back by trying to maintain "stuff" so much that I have no room to accomplish the dreams and desires that God has placed in my heart. It is overwhelming. I push through regardless. It is so easy to become paralyzed, to allow anxiety of the load to trump action. I committ to action. Pushing through one little step at a time...

Ready. Set. Go.

Taste and see...

We do things for a purpose. We do the things we do to fill a need. But what do I really need? All I really need is my creator. Yet I have a tendancy to fill voids in my life with everything else but Him. I allow my self to become busy with the things I've made important in my life. Like I know what is best. I must insult my maker when I don't stop to listen to His sweet whispers, gently guiding me in the direction He wants me to go.

So I continue to fill voids artificially, unnaturally. Eating is a great example. We eat to fulfill a physical hunger. But how many times do I want to eat, not because I'm hungry but because I'm stressed, discouraged, complacent, etc. Food can be a great comfort. But it doesn't last and it's not always satisfying. I can try to stuff myself with a chocolate cake but in the end I don't feel very good after eating and I'm definitely not satisfied. I almost feel that the more I feed my cravings for junk the more I want more of that junk. So it goes with my soul... the more junk in the more junk out. But when I get just a taste of what the Lord has for me, oh boy, do I want more!

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him. (Psalm 34:8, The Message)

weight loss progress & more

Yipee!

As of last week Wednesday I reached the 1st major milestone.

I lost 5% of my starting weight... which happens to be 10lbs.

Here are the stats...

The key for me is persistence and taking it one slow step at a time.

I have an app on my iphone which makes tracking very easy and convenient though i wouldn't say the entire process has been easy. I definitely need to use lots of self-discipline. I do love food and I'm learning to appreciate more of the foods I think God provided for us like fruits and vegetables. It's like fruits are God's candy to me. I still get to have foods i love like ice cream, but everything is in moderation.

And it all comes back full circle... moderation in my life. Limiting and getting rid of the junk. Sifting through the things I really don't need. For my treasure is in heaven. I hold a loose grip on food and the stuff of the world. I am NOT controlled by it. What freedom! I continue on day by day and thank the Lord for the strength I have through Him. I thank Him for His grace. For His grace that is sufficient for me! He is my God who supplies all my needs according to His riches and glory!

Thank you Jesus. I'm in humble adoration of how much you love me and care for me. You are all I really need. Thank you for teaching me and guiding me and loving me. I'm honored to be a part of your creation and I want my life to reflect your glory.

Soul stirring still exists...

Since I last blogged my life has been filled with some big changes and life transitions. One of those big changes is the birth of our third child on June 7th, 2010, Misha Kay Kuuipo Spain.

I still feel a heaviness on my heart to get rid of "stuff". I'm constantly reminded that the more time I spend on managing material things the less time I have dedicated to the things of the heart, the important things like my family and friends, the things that matter to my heavenly father.

One area I feel a sense of importance is maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I feel that when I'm at a healthy place physically and emotionally I'm able to better care for and love those around me. So one of the things I'm focusing on getting rid of is my extra weight. Yesterday was my first week of doing weight watchers. I'm excited for this new committment for so many reasons i must list in order to attempt to contain it all:

• Two of my good friends are in it with me
• Learning to make better food choices
• Being a better stewart of the body God has given me
• Having the opportunity to encourage and motivate others through this
• Moving toward a healthier body and getting rid of carrying extra weight
• Learning moderation vs giving into impulse (discipline)

That last one is what I feel i need. I need moderation, i need less. Less of me and the more of the me that God wants me to be. I want to be refined, so that my body and my way of living gives glory to my maker who loves me and takes care of me. I want a simpler life with less distractions and more quiteness and awareness of God's holy spirit around me.

So with this new jump start into weight watchers I'm hoping to revive this blog I started. I'll be documenting what I'm learning and what's stirring in my soul as I lose some extra weight along the way.