Tag: Habits

Choices, Devotional, Friends, Quiet Time

Word for 2023!

Ali

If you have followed me for any length of time, y’all know I usually choose one word to focus, inspire and work on. Well this year I have chosen three:

CHOICES, SELF-CONTROL, EXCUSES 

As I have mentioned over the past few months I am actively and consciously working on my relationship with the Lord, trying to make healthy choices when it comes to eating (notice I said trying as I know this is a lifelong battle for me), building stronger and healthier relationships with family and friends and continuing to see myself as God sees me. I came up with these three words through conversations with my bestie, Dee, and other friends in my circle of confidants.

What? I share certain things with some and not others ~ well yes I do. If I have learned one thing over the past 65 years not everyone who says they are your friend are really friends, some have taken things I said and used them to hurt me by gossiping and telling tales. On Facebook I have 481 “friends” and what I share on Facebook is me…me to a degree as some things I have learned not to share there and that’s okay BECAUSE everyone doesn’t need to know everything ~ do you agree? (choices)

As many people do at the beginning of the New Year make resolutions or goals and I am no different though I think the goals I am working on are a continuation of the last six months or even years. This is what my goals look like this January 2023 ~

  • Moisturize
  • Work out 3x a week
  • Check my Blood Sugar morning and night
  • Spend time in the Word
  • Blog/Journal 3x a week
  • Drink more water

And then of course I add to my To Do List things that need to be done for that day or week. This week my To Do List has included:

  • Organize all our food cupboards ~ DONE
  • Organize both freezers ~ DONE
  • Setup 2023 Financials ~ in process
  • Make a monthly meal calendar ~ goal is to use up groceries we have on hand before buying more
  • Setup doctor appointments ~ must be done in January!
  • Sort & organize my yarn
  • Send Thank You cards ~ specifically related to our recent trip to Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
  • Send addresses to M & M for upcoming wedding celebration!!!

As you can see a couple of things have been completed and I am sure in the days and weeks to come things will get completed and more things will be added.

CHOICES ~ specifically focusing on making healthy food choices and to move this body of mine

SELF-CONTROL ~ another way to say this, as discussed with my bestie is MODERATION ~ I need this in so many areas of my life as I tend to be an all or nothing type of person. Crocheting, Eating, Buying Yarn, repeat 😜

EXCUSES ~ I think I would call myself a professional excuse maker LOL! But what I realize is that there are reasons and excuses…in my book reasons are truth and excuses are just that ~ excuses for doing or not doing something. In thinking of what “excuses” means to me my goal this year is to continue to strive to be honest in regards to my thinking and words I say. To challenge myself in identifying my misbeliefs that come in the form of excuses.

The above is just a lead in to where I’m at today and what’s on my mind and heart. This morning my devotions included Experiencing God Devotional and January Scripture Writing Prompts.

 and

Once again I am amazed at how the Lord brings things together. As I am evaluating where my life is, what my goals are how my two separate devotionals all come together. In identifying areas of my life I realize I am not the same person I used to be, not six months ago and definitely not years ago.

One of the questions asked in my JSWP was “what will I release this year…?” and think about my words for 2023…choices I make, am I using moderation/self-control in my life and how do I let the excuses go and replace them with truths. To finish the sentence of “what will I release this year…I want to release the thinking/feelings that I am not the misbeliefs I have been fed over the years…one that comes in mind quite often is “I am one of my mom’s 3 mistakes” which is a big misbelief/lie and replace it with I was made in God’s image, God is love, thus I am loveable. Am I perfect ~ nope not at all, BUT with Abba God I can be perfect in His eyes!

As I read Isaiah 66:2 I hear God telling me to be open to what He says in his word, believe and own what He says and to get excited for what He is going to show me.

I hope my writing today has not been too confusing – I just want to continue to journal and write about where I am and how I feel I am growing in the Lord. As I have told many friends and family ~ I want to be an encourager and hope my blog just does that.

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Do you make resolutions or goals?
Do you choose a word for the year?

Habits, TBRI, Tired

I Need Some…

Ali
I really do…need to do my Weekly Log Notes, need to finish getting dinner ready, need some energy as I am really dragging…
…and here I sit, staring at the computer, scrolling through some of the stories & poems I have written over the years and I came across this one


Blood Sugars
By Ali Workentin
January 7, 2008

Blood sugars
Something I deal with every day
It seems to be in control of me!
Shouldn’t I be the one in control of them?

Blood sugars
Bothersome at times
Little pricks 4 to 5 times a day
Ouch!
Obstacle to my daily routine
Dangerous if too low or too high

Sweets, pasta, bread all effect my life
Usually I can tell if they are dropping or rising
Grateful I can still see and walk
Always have to be aware
Remember its just one part of my life
Something I deal with every day of my life.

Blood sugars
Something that I can work to control
They seem to have a mind of their own
Something I have to deal with every day of my life

Blood Sugars

And here it is 12 years later
and I still struggle with diabetes, blood sugars, highs & lows, changes in medication, new medication, stop a medication…I get so tired of checking my blood sugars and when I am physically and emotionally tired I get the attitude “who cares and does it really matter?”  I know it matters, I know when my blood sugars are consistently in range I feel better all the way around…I sleep better, I move better, my emotions are not all over the board and I’m a pretty likable person 😀

At the beginning of the year I participated in 5 Healthy Habits…
…water, drink water first thing in the morning ~ I was doing really well until about four days ago so it is time to get back on the wagon…I set my alarm to remind me to drink some water when I first get up…
…2 minutes in prayer…I have been successful about half the time so let’s get back on track in the morning Girl!!!
…move for two minutes…since Joey came into our life I have been walking every morning except yesterday ~ it was raining, no pouring and this lady does not go for walks in the rain.  I have been walking once and sometimes twice around the circle right after getting up…you know Joey needs to do his thing!!
…eat a healthy breakfast…well that has not been going so well…need to be more intentional on having a good breakfast.  It’s not that I have don’t have the stuff to make breakfast…I have eggs, bacon, veggies, oatmeal, eggs & sausage burritos…I just need to focus on the NEW HABITS
Image result for I just need to do it

The 15 days I did the Healthy Habits my blood sugars were in range 75% of the time…and as Katrina said from Day 1…if you do one thing different each day towards the betterment of your health you are one step closer to being healthy more times than not.  And to remember to give yourself credit for what you do that is healthy!!!

So here’s to new beginnings and as they say in TBRI…time for a ReDo!!!

How do you keep motivated to stick to healthy habits?

Habits, I Corinthians 9:24~25, Rest, Uncategorized

Sabbath = Rest and today it was!

Ali
This morning I woke up before the kids or Ron…I enjoyed reading a few scriptures and checking in to Healthy Free Life Community (a Facebook group) to see what Habit #5 was for today.
To refresh
Habit #1 ~ Drink water
Habit #2 ~ Pray for 2 minutes
Habit #3 ~ Eat a healthy breakfast
Habit #4 ~ Get moving
Habit #5 ~ Breathe (release stress)
As it was quiet and no one was stirring, not often happens with three little’s, I was able to drink a glass of water and fix my water bottle (it holds 24 oz and my goal is 4 per day and no, I didn’t reach that goal today…only made 48oz but tomorrow is a new day!)  I spent a few minutes in prayer and did a couple of minutes of stretching (hopefully once we are back in Yaokum I can start walking after we take the kidlets to school).  And then two minutes of intentional deep breathing…two minutes is a very long time!!!  But I made it just as the 11 year old was beginning to stir…whispered to her to grab her tablet and to stay quiet….then Little Bit woke up, gave her her tablet and some gummies…and all was quiet for about 45 more minutes.  During that time I was able to read my verses for the day and do a bit of journaling.

I was reminded how much I love my quiet time so definitely going to get back into the routine of getting up at 5:15a each  morning for that hour of quiet time with the Lord, when we get back to the ranch.

What a powerful verse to begin my day ~
God’s Word is Alive!!
God’s Word is Powerful
And God knows what is in my heart!!!

And His mercies are new every morning!
Every morning is a new day, a new slate and lots of opportunities!!

This verse reminds me that my life is not a sprint but a marathon…and that I need to keep my eyes on the prize…the final win will be when I see Jesus!!! And that I need to keep my focus on each day, enjoy life’s moments, not rush through things and see the positive in each situation I find myself in.

Which reminded me of breathing and focus on calmness, to lead our family from chaos to calmness.

So my focus today
has been to rest and just enjoy today.

The weather was beautiful and about 10:00a the kidlets went outside to play and play they did.  They ran, rode bikes, played on the playground, and made more friends…there are three or four families from Quebec in the campground parked in the same loop we are in as well as a couple of other families.
The kids played and played,
Ron slept late and then read his book,
I spent more time coloring and reading as well.
Then I snuck into the bedroom for a nap
and Ron took the kids for Sundaes on Sunday at the Activity Center.

And then more play time outside!!
I am glad the rain has stopped (though it was needed)
and the kids have been getting lots of natural Vitamin D.

We have one more full day here at the campground
and then back to the real world and routines and schedules!

Thank you Lord for this beautiful day of rest and reflection!!!

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Thank you to those who have emailed, texted and commented on my blog,
It is encouraging to me and I appreciate the suggestions.

Blessing to each of you!

Colossians, Crochet, Habits, Movies, Uncategorized, Writing

A Surprisingly Nice Day!

Ali
It is nice to have a nice day…
the sun shone for most of the day,
kidlets played outside from mid~morning till time to get ready to go to the campground potluck…lots of food, kids were great, had a couple of people come up and say how polite they were…always makes a mama’s heart feel good.
I like days where there are no arguments and everyone gets along.  Lots of kids here in the campground which kept the kidlets busy.  
Now they are all settled in for the night watching 
Ron has been busy reading a David Baldacci book “The Long Road to Mercy” and I have continued to just take care of me…I spent some time in the Word
and was encouraged “being renewed” as that is what part of this week camping has been for…to give us new and renewed energy as we begin this new year continuing as House Parents. And along with being renewed having a new attitude towards our health and being responsible and taking care of our physical body…God’s Temple…Habit #4 is Movement…just move at least 2 minutes a day!!

So today I drank 46oz of water (Habit #1) not as much as I would like but better than the 22 oz I had yesterday,

spent time in prayer before crawling out of bed (Habit #2)
eat healthy…I did pretty good at the potluck dinner having only one slice of cake instead of three or four desserts (Habit #3)
I sat outside in the sunshine for most of this afternoon, coloring and thinking of the many projects I would like to accomplish this year.  Lots of unfinished crochet projects, three Temperature Blankets…
Image may contain: stripes
one for Birch Bay, WA, one for Bonney Lake, WA and one for Yoakum, TX.  Once we are home from this camping trip I will be getting all my yarn together and start them…I want to do 5 to 10 rows at a time on each blanket…pictures will follow as they progress.
I also want to work on organizing our home…especially all the little cubbies that has stuff in it and once organized keep it that way.  And then getting our trailer organized so that on days off we can just hook up and go!!!
And like I mentioned yesterday I want to write more.
Right now I am just writing about our days and what is happening but in the days ahead I want to review the poems and short stories I have written and possibly submit some of them for publication.  I belong to a small group of writers and will be doing some guest blogging with them.  
I also want to work on Anne’s stories that she wrote and kept over the years…I would like to get them put on the computer to share with family.  And also finish a cookbook for another sweet friend who passed away many years ago…I would like to get it completed to give to her daughter and friends.
So you can see I have lots of things I want to do, now it’s time to get the lists going and prioritize what I want to work on.  
That brings me to…”I have a question” as Azzy likes to say multiple times a day…what tools do you use to keep track of your projects? your goals?
Do you work on everything a little bit every day OR
 do you set days aside to work on projects?
Do you set a deadline for working on specific things OR
do you just finish them as time permits?
I would love to hear your responses to my questions from today.

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One more thing…if you are the praying type would you say a prayer for our friends who lost their mom this week and another friend waiting to get results from some medical tests.  Thanks!!!!