Say NO to the Holidays' Side Effect!!!

Source

It's coming...it's approaching...there's no denying...

And you know the drill well.

Christmas shopping lists.

Holiday decorations.

Ornaments.

Teacher gifts.

Class parties.

Stocking stuffers.

Christmas parties.

Holiday meals.

Cookie exchanges.

Christmas cards.

Wrapping.

Flights. 

Travel.

Turkeys.

New Year's Eve parties.

As you DO ALL THIS PLANNING for the holidays...do you also plan on gaining weight?!?!

Probably not. That's not a real fun side effect of all that work!

But, be honest, did you end up doing so last year?

Where will you be in early January 2013? Standing in front of a mirror pledging that THIS TIME you'll make a change...only to find yourself later snacking again when you didn't want to?

I want to offer you something to COUNTER ACT THAT SYNDROME!!

Last year, I put out a challenge to join with me in a challenge where we daily encourage one another to live a life of health and balance. See last year's post here.

I lost twenty pounds since I wrote that post!

REALLY!!!

Another friend in our group lost 91 pounds. Yes, that's for real!

Another lost 10, another 20, another 25 and yet another 70.

We are the serious ones. We have supported one another ALL YEAR LONG. And it has made ALL the difference!!

Yes, this has been our year!! :)

I'm going to open up another group to people who would like to END THEIR TREND of holiday weight gain!

Would you like to kick the extra squish on your tummy/hips in the butt this year?

Would you be willing to join me and a small group of others in a Facebook accountability group?

Would you be willing to post a little something about how your day went each evening?

Would you be willing to say YES to daily exercise through the cold winter months when what is natural is to snuggle down and eat sweets? (You can STILL do this in a controlled way...just AFTER your workout is in! ;))

If this sounds like something you want to do...then drop me a comment here or friend me on Facebook and send me a private message. (You'll find my Facebook badge on the sidebar down near the bottom of this blog.)

We will use Beachbody products as I am a true believer in them and have had nothing but fabulous flying success using them! (And the variety is AWESOME!) Hop on over to my Beachbody page and click "shop" to look through the many different programs available.

Let's enjoy the holidays without the side effect!!!

More Blessed to Give...

Know who these sweet girls are?

Two precious gals in my life!

One is Lara, a well-known blogger and momma to one of Zeb's former orphanage-mates. A dear boy named Ambrose whom I hope we can see again soon someday!

The other is Rebecca, a precious ten year old orphan, formerly living in one of the children prisons that Sixty Feet serves.

Lara just posted this picture on my wall all the way from Uganda!

Rebecca has been "ours" for about 6 months now. We sponsor her through the work that Lara does for Sixty Feet. Rebecca's story is not mine to share here but she has been a great delight in our life. We have her picture up and our kids love to pray for her and write her letters. We sent a bundle of pictures over to her and we were so happy to receive pictures hand drawn and letters back to us.

This precious life is changed because of the work that Sixty Feet does...and I want you to know that our giving to support her is really a BIG deal to her, but it is OUR BLESSING that is greater.

Lara told me today that Rebecca clung to her all day long today and told her repeatedly how she prays for us.

Prayer.

Honestly, there is no more powerful force. Hailing the Lord Almighty, this dear child cries out on our behalf.

That moves me.

Amazes me.

Soon, she'll be praying for another orphaned child in China. A little one we are working to bring home. She doesn't know about him now, but she will soon, and I am sure, she will ask for God to open doors and provide the funding.

We may give to her, but truly, WE are the truly blessed ones!

Tis more sweet to give than to receive!!!

Creative Love for Orphans

Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday.

What a great idea! Focus the people in the church to care for the millions of children around the world who would desperately love to join a family.

Oh Lord, please answer these sweet children's heartfelt prayers!

What can you do for orphans?

Become their forever family!

You are not ready to foster or adopt, you say.

That's okay.

Start where you are. You'll be surprised there are MANY ways to care for orphans that you never thought about!

You already know you can pray and give to organizations who are working with God's most precious children. And you can always donate directly to families who are adopting. That was a huge blessing in our own story.

But did you know you can do other things too?

Like what?

My dear friend is a foster mom with a heart of gold. She brainstormed this awesome and practical list of how to help a foster child and their family:

Pray: Choosing to foster is a decision that affects every member of the family. There are adjustments fro everyone. Additionally, the children in care have often only known abuse. But Jesus is bigger than any challenges that arise! Pray for healing for the children, for their biological parents to rehabilitate, the Holy Spirit's discernment for foster parents and God's covering over foster families.

Drive: Foster parents do a lot of driving to and from appointments: doctor, dental, and visits with the birth family, etc. Helping with transportation would really be a blessing!

Encourage: Gracious or encouraging words can be LIFE-giving! (Many foster moms are met with admonishing words to "be careful" rather than being lifted up and encouraged!)

Mentor: Take interest in a foster child. People of all ages can teach them a hobby, babysit, bake cookies together, offer to help with homework or teach life skills such as balancing a checkbook.

Serve: Many times accepting a new foster care placement is an emergency situation and families are harried. Offering to help with small tasks such as organizing a pantry, cooking, or laundry can really lighten the load and help the foster family and new child adjust.

Donate: Did you know that many children arrive at a foster home with their belongings thrown into trash bags? You can donate items such as suitcases, school supplies, clothes, shoes or even toys. Be sure that you are donating items in good repair. (If you wouldn't want your own children to wear it, don't send it to foster care agencies or foster families.)

Great ideas, friend!!

Did you know that you can do many of these for adoptive families as well? We were blessed so greatly by the people that brought us meals when we first came home. Coming over and handling laundry or grocery shopping for a family in their adjustment period is a BIG blessing!

Another "classic" way to help orphans is to find a trustworthy organization and sponsor a child. I am thrilled to begin my sponsorship of a 14 year old girl I met and fell in love with while in Uganda! She and I met while I visited one of the prisons that Sixty Feet works with...and she shared her story and I was broken for her. (If only I could have adopted her too!) Please consider SPONSORING A CHILD from the Sixty Feet site or Compassion or World Vision. Make an ongoing difference in the life of a child without leaving your living room!

Did you know you can also SHOP to benefit orphans?! I created a list of people selling online things that will have the proceeds benefit orphans. 

Shopping List to Help Orphans!

Handcrafted, personalized jewelry with all proceeds benefitting Joel and Lisa Bailey’s Ethiopian adoption!

www.munchkinmama.com Now through November 25, 2011.

Glass Christmas ornaments. Benefit a family adopting 2 children who have been stuck in Uganda for 7 months without income.

www.makingroomformoore.blogspot.com

Tee shirts of many varieties are sold and benefit individual adopting families. Here is a browsing list:

http://gracekeepsme.blogspot.com/p/t-shirts_25.html

http://www.thebrownbrigade.com/p/adoption-store.html

http://hopeshirts.blogspot.com/

http://www.projecthopeful.org/shop/

More jewelry! All benefiting the world’s orphans.

http://www.funkyfishdesigns.com/

Ugandan made paper bead necklaces. Made by children in the prisons Sixty Feet works with...proceeds benefitting a family’s Ugandan adoption.

http://lovewithrecklessabandonment.blogspot.com

Bible study bags, adorable coffee sleeves that benefit a family adopting one of Zareb's friends from his orphanage!

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/Nebraskaree 

Hats, gloves, scarves--FASHION that benefits the world’s orphans along with home items and jewelry!

http://www.sarabrinton.noondaycollection.com/ambassador-sarabrinton.html

Tee shirts, jackets, dolls, totes, bracelets that help bring home orphans from China! This is Stephen Curtis Chapman’s organization.

http://store.showhope.org

Buy the amazing book Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis and 50% of the proceeds benefit her incredible work with orphans in Uganda. This and so much more at 

http://www.147millionorphans.com (Book sales only during the month of November!)

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”                              James 1:27 

Decide to GAIN weight for Christmas?!?!

With P90X creator Tony Horton at the Diamond
Beachbody Coach Gala party in LA

As many people know, I am proud to be a Beachbody Coach. I just LOVE it! However, due to our adoption process and going independently, I've not been able to focus on it intensely.

And I've learned that adopting a child is VERY SIMILAR to having a birth child...life is thrown completely out of whack and regular workouts are a distant memory! I've heard it said that adopting an older child is just like having a newborn except that they don't lay down for a nap every 2-3 hours! RIGHT!!

Granted I didn't gain that dreaded pregnancy weight this time, but I have really struggled to get time to workout as I had so regularly done before.

So... I decided to jump back in with a Fitness Challenge that will stretch across the holidays like a big blanket of snow! I mean really--how many of us actually WANT to gain that  5-10 pounds that are SOOOOO easy to pick up during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years?

Do you know that if you do not decide to lose weight during the holidays you will actually gain it? So if you do nothing, you are in effect deciding to gain weight for Christmas!!!! Hey, please pass the fudge. ;)

Think about what it would be like to hit New Year's Eve and realize, "I AM ALREADY LIVING LIKE I WANT TO," and your only resolution to be "keep it up?"

Not possible? Hmmmm. I think you can do it!

So, that's where this challenge is going to come in!! :)

I am offering to coach FIVE people over the holidays and into the New Year (to Grandmother's house we go!). We will develop a community of encouragement and accountability all striving to improve our health TOGETHER. This is a beta test group so there are going to be some requirements so we can get good results.

What are the requirements?

*You must be committed for 90 days. That stretch will look like mid-November through mid-February.

*You need to drink Shakeology daily. And we are hoping for that awesome new TROPICAL vegan flavor to come out in the first quarter of 2012!!!

*You must commit to a Beachbody program. Nearly all programs are 6 days a week of exercise. Some are 5. The daily time commitment is usually 45 - 60 minutes.

*You must be on Facebook. The reason for this requirement is that I want to have all of us in a private group together where we can build relationships, encourage and stay accountable.

*I will recommend that people log their nutrition into an online fitness app like MyFitnessPal. We can all "friend" each other there and stay accountable that way too!

Now for some good news!

On November 1, 2011 Beachbody will release the "Challenge Packs" which include:
* a home direct order of Shakeology,
*a fitness program of your choice,
* 1 free month of the Beachbody Club (The Club includes an awesome meal planner and other great weight loss/fitness related tools).

There are three packs to choose from but since they have not been officially released, I cannot post which fitness programs are in which pack. However, the prices are in the neighborhood of $160 for the beginning programs up to $205 for the more advanced programs. Each pack will come with free shipping and will also save on the whole cost from $25-$45 (than if you ordered Shakeology and the fitness program separately). :)

If this sounds like something  you are ready to COMMIT to...then add a comment to this post and let me know. I will not publish your comments. Supply me with an email and if we aren't already Facebook friends, then request me or give me your page in the comment and I'll look you up.

I'm excited to see who God brings together for this challenge and I'm ready to kick myself back into gear after our adoption!

Holiday weight gain? Not me!! Not YOU! ;)

More about the Children's Prisons and Sixty Feet

I just read an excellent post written by a staff member of Sixty Feet named Joy on her family blog. She gives a great explanation of WHY these children are locked up in these prisons in Uganda. Please click here to read this and gain a better understanding of what is happening 8,000 miles away.

Again I encourage you to see what you might do to help the situation. There are many different ways. I know that PRAYER is the #1 need. Will you commit to pray for the children who are stuck in these conditions? Will you pray for the staff of Sixty Feet? They have both Ugandan and American team members. Would you consider saving up your loose change to help out in one of their repair projects? Would you be willing to sponsor a child so they are sure to have their daily needs met? Or maybe you love to bake and you would be willing to bake some cupcakes for our Cupcake Kids sale next month? Or, if you live far from me, might you be willing to host your own Cupcake Kids sale?

So many ways to be involved.

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.”

                                                                       

                             Jesus in Revelation 2:19

Do you "Just LOVE Coffee?"

There's something really neat that happens when you embark on the journey of adoption. A lot really! But one thing that has delighted my heart is interacting with the amazing community of fellow adoptive families. I have been so blessed and enriched by them! I feel like I am just beginning to dip my toes in the waters of adoption and and already I am just so blessed!

One such blessing I have come across is a family by the name of Rob and Emily Webb. They have adopted daughters from Ethiopia and while doing their preparation research, they discovered that COFFEE was born in Ethiopia. (I didn't know that! Did you?) This was interesting information to him in particular, not just because they loved coffee, but because Rob and family owned and operated a coffee roasting house in Tennessee. He was brokenhearted by the way coffee farmers often were unfairly compensated for their work and decided to make a difference. He now runs Just Love Coffee that roasts FAIR TRADE coffee and donates a portion of the proceeds from each bag ($5 each!) to the orphanage where his daughters once lived. This alone would be really cool, but Rob has gone further. He has opened up this coffee loving venture to any family who is in the process of adopting as well!

Coffee in your favorite mug is always the best!

So you coffee enthusiasts, you can order your next bag of beans from Rob and support our adoption at the same time! I love things like this! You can make a slight change in your routine and by that slight change, make a big impact! (Picture the image of a pebble making big ripples in the lake!) If you were to order your coffee online from Rob instead of picking up your next bag at the supermarket, you will help us get a step closer to reducing the orphan population by two. And that is a big thing when you are those two orphans.

You can click on the link above (the name in white) in this post or you can use the widget on the side of the blog to be directed to our Just Love Coffee account. I thank you in advance for your java-drinking-orphan-loving support! Hey! It's time to brew!