What I didn't do last week.

It been a very different week here at the Philipps' house.  One that I admit hasn't been focused on God.  With Scott and I starting our lifestyle change I was focused on that.  Reading books and cookbooks about it.  Thinking about it; what I'm going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Cruising the Atkins website for tips, recipes and encouragement.  I spent a lot of time talking to Scott about it.  How I'm feeling both mentally and physically, what we are going to have for dinner that night.  

What I didn't do this week I realized Thursday with Life Group the next morning. I realized that I didn't spend time with just God.  I didn't read my bible.  I didn't ask God what he wants from me.  I didn't pray to Him like I usually do.  I didn't seek the wisdom and encouragement that only my Father in heaven can provide.  And you know what, I felt something was missing.  But I am grateful that God always takes me back with open arms.

So I am going to start this week over.  I'm going to reconnect with God and make sure that I put him first in everything I do.

Until next time~

Our Path

"Direction, not intention determines destination."   - Andy Stanley

In our Friday morning Life Group we are reading the book The Principal of the Path by Andy Stanley .  As my good friend Cherie wrote on her blog. "Each choice we make from the food we put into our mouths, to the books we read, to how we spend our money has brought us to where we are today.  The cool thing is we can change directions at anytime and as a result, change our destination."

When Scott and I met I was 140 lbs and a size 6.  Granted I have had 2 more kids since May 19, 2007.  With the busyness that is our life with the 3 girls our eating habits took a turn for the unhealthy.   I am now 45 heavier and in the double digits for my pants.  Most people would be ashamed to reveal this.  But I look at it this way, it is what it is.  As Dr. Phil says " You can't change what you don't acknowledge."   Now I'm not alone in this.  As our motto is : We are a team and in this together.

So, we have decided to change our path.  We are making a life style change, together.  We are beginning the Atkins Diet, together.  The key word here is together.  Scott has done this twice before with great success.  He has attempted it several times in the past 3 years and hasn't been able to keep up with it.  So this time we are going to use each other as support as we adjust to changing our eating habits.  Life can be tough and we tend to turn to unhealthy things for comfort.  Now we are going to be relying on each other and on God as we slim down, increase our energy and make our bodies nice and healthy.

Until next time~

Connections

As you know I’ve been having difficultly connecting with God lately.  Truth be told I’ve been feeling disconnected from Scott and those around me as well.  I know that you get out of relationships what you put into them.  I also know that Scott and I need to get out on more dates than we actually do.  With having 3 kids, working and our closest family is 35 minutes away; dates are few and far between.

When I found out that the Rock and Worship Roadshow was going to be in Madison on February 5^th I decided that Scott and I were going.  It was an executive decision and I really should have consulted my husband about it first, but I didn’t.  Oops.  I did tell him the day before that if he didn’t want to go then we didn’t have to.  He said that because I was excited about it we could go.  Besides the tickets were only $10 so we didn’t have much to lose.  We had no idea what to expect.  I knew that there were going to be several bands there but that was it. Scott was afraid that it was going to be boring.

We arrived about 15 minutes before the show was set to start.  Tickets were first come first serve and the people were still flooding in.  We found 2 seats in a very good spot where I could easily take some pictures.  We settled in and just took in all the people that were there, must have been thousands.  What I loved the most was seeing all the kids there.  Little kids there with their parents and teenagers there with a group of friends.  Seeing all the kids really gives me some hope for the world.  They are the ones to come after my time here is done; knowing that they are followers of Christ is awesome.

The first band to play was  the Afters. Then Matt Maher.  What really surprised us was the third band, Disciple.  Wow is all we could say.  They are hard. hard rock.  A lot of head banging, jumping around and shouting.  We had no idea what they were saying.  But there were 3 boys a few rows down from us that were really enjoying them, head banging themselves.  Next up, the final act of the night, Mercy Me.  I love this band.  Their songs are on the radio a lot and we sing them in church.  In 2009 when my dear mother-in-law passed away we played the song ‘I can only imagine’ by Mercy Me.  To this day I still tear up and cry upon hearing this song.  That night was no different.  It was one of the last songs they played.  When it started I just joined arms with Scott and let the tears flow.  There is so much that Harla has missed over the last 15 months and the pain of her absence is still present.

The presence of God was truly there that night in the Coliseum.  It’s not something that I know how to put into words but I’ll try.  One could describe it as the good feeling you get after a baby is born or at a wedding.  But it’s different.  This feeling is for something, someone much, much bigger than we can even imagine.  I left the concert feeling incredibly at peace, connected with God and reconnected with Scott.  There is so much that life can throw at us to cause us to take our focus off God.  And when we take the focus off God we end up taking the focus off each other.  When that happens there is only one thing we can do.  Make the effort to put into our relationships what we want to get out of them.


Until next time~

I just can't get it together.

These past few days have been weird.  With the snow coming, most everyone in the house is sick and doing my usual duties around the house I've been feeling very disconnected from God.  I have a couple of books that I'm reading right now.  One on my own and the other one is for Life Group that starts up again on Friday.  I talk to Him almost hourly (raising a 3 year old requires a lot of help) and talk about Him daily. Yet, I still feel far away.

I read once that God with purposefully pull away to test us.  I feel it happening know.  But He won't get rid of me that easily =)  I'll keep plugging along.  We have an exciting weekend coming up.  On Saturday Scott and I are going on date to the Rock and Worship Roadshow here in Madison.  Singing Christian music with others always helps me feel close to God.  And on Sunday we are having a party with family and friends.  Celebrating something reminds me of the blessings He has placed in my life.

Until next time~