Fitness Friday and One Weigh at a Time

It's Friday and that means that this morning I stepped on the scale. Here are my results: I was 179.8 last week and this week.... 182.4 :(:(:(: A 2.6 pound gain...

I have to be honest. I was binging this week. Whenever my time of month comes around I get the serious munchies! I do have to say that even though I binged it wasn't as bad as it usually gets! I was able to control my binging if that makes sense. I knew that if I didn't give into the cravings that I would go off and really go crazy with the food. So when I had the craving I gave in but had half of what I wanted instead of a whole serving.

I should be getting my EA Sports Active sometime next week! I am so excited and can't wait to start the 30 day challenge. My Mom is getting the fitness game too so she will be doing the challenge with me. I love doing stuff with my Mom!!! When I had my gym membership at Lucille Roberts, my Mom was one of my gym buddies. We both need to lose weight so it will be fun doing the challenge with her and motivating each other to get fit!

So my question this week: Ladies, how do you control cravings when you hit that time of the month?

Summer Reading Programs- 2009

Julia has really discovered the joy of reading (last summer she got her 1st library card!) and I have been looking into different reading programs to do with her this summer that are fun and free to mix things up a little for her. She has a great reading program at her school and I want to extend what they are doing in school during the summer.

Here are some of the programs I have found: 

http://www.bookadventure.org/

Book Adventure is a FREE reading  program for children in grades K-8.They can creat their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their progress. Book Adventure was created by and is maintained by Sylvan Learning.

What is cool about this program is that there is a free component for parent's to monitor their child's progress. The Parent's Place let's you monitor their reading activities, track their quiz results and approve their prize selection. Their our tools and resources to help parents motivate their children to read longer, more frequently and with better comprehension.

Another great program is being sponsored by Barnes and Noble. You can learn more about this great summer reading program at Latina On A Mission. She has a great write up on what Barnes and Noble is offering with their reading program and again I have to stress it is FREE!

The Brooklyn Public Library also has a summer reading program. They are updating their website for 2009 so when I get more information I will post about what they have to offer!

Check your local library and see if they have a similar program for the summer. Also if your child doesn't have a library card, sign them up for one! They can borrow any of the books in the above mentioned summer reading programs instead of buying them. If they really enjoy a book you can always go and purchase it for their collection!

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Wordless Wednesday

No Longer Desolate- Recap of Women's Fellowship at Christ Tabernacle

I've been attending Christ Tabernacle for two years and have never attended one of their women's fellowships. I finally got to go to one on Saturday and it was awesome! A great outpouring of praise, fellowship and healing happened that day.

I went with my Mom and my Titi Nilka. We arrived early to enjoy the free breakfast they were offering. Little did we know that we should have gone into the main worship hall to save seats first! But it worked out because we were able to sit in the choir seats on the platform! Best seats in the house!!!

The title of the fellowship was No Longer Desolate. The theme was healing from all types of abuse, including sexual abuse. They highlighted Isaiah 62:4 and 62:12

⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
       or name your land Desolate.
       But you will be called Hephzibah,
       and your land Beulah ;
       for the LORD will take delight in you,
       and your land will be married.
¹² They will be called the Holy People,
       the Redeemed of the LORD;
       and you will be called Sought After,
       the City No Longer Desolate

There was great worship music and Oraia (a Christian spoken word artist- you can hear some of her work here) did this beautiful piece about being beautifully broken. I wish I could find it online but to summarize her spoken word she said that our scars can be used to help others like Jesus's scars have helped us, his scars gave us salvation and were left on Him as proof. I wish I could do better justice to her piece! It was powerful and gave me goosebumps and my tears were flowing. And this was just the beginning!

One of the many points that were made through a video presentation, Maria Durso and the main speaker was that abuse has long term lasting affects and affect not only the abuser but those around them for a long time. Our kids are affected even if we don't realize it. Sometimes we think we have dealt with our past but something will pop up and if we don't deal with it head we can end up hurting ourselves and others.

The healing process is one step at a time and as Maria Durso said we need to push through and heal from our pasts. Then we can start to help others.

The main speaker's story was so heartrenching but this woman's strength, courage and resiliency was inspiring. She was sexaully abused by her Uncle and by age 14 was pregnant with his kid. She had the baby after many attempt by the Uncle to rid himself of the "problem". He did not succeed and the story that unfolded was amazing. I won't go into too many details because again I won't do her story justice. But I will say this was her first time sharing her testimony in a public setting. Yet she was so natural, so raw and so honest. Her story was one of pain, sadness, joy, redemption, healing and forgiveness. Her words have impacted me in a great way. I came away with such insight and clarity.

She highlighted the following verses and I want to leave you with these powerful words from: Psalms 139: 13-16


 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.
 ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.
 ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
 ¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book

What precious words to here!  God bless you all! The next Women's Fellowship is October 17th so if you are in the NY area and like to attend a Women's Fellowship at Christ Tabernacle keep this date in mind!