HBC Less of Me

This is a page for the people of Heritage Baptist Church to go on a day to day basis to receive encouragement from brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope that you will end your search for a friendly church by visiting Heritage Baptist Church!

Friday, June 30, 2006

Once Again Patience Pays Off!!!

Well, I’m on the way back to better and smaller days. The scale is now going down again instead of up which is the way that it should be. Summers are hard on everyone I think. I’m not even in school anymore, and it just feels like I should not be dieting. It’s crazy. I have a goal to make, I’ve said that more than once in all these blogs. But now, my goal includes more than just losing a certain amount of weight before a certain event in my life. I started this blog in order to encourage other people who were going through the same things that I was going through, and to gain encouragement from those same people. I feel like you guys are doing your part, but in my opinion, I’ve slacked. I used to maintain this web site a little better, but now I have an excuse…I’m just too busy. Well, it’s an excuse…so I’m not going to hide behind excuses anymore. I’m going to try to be a better encouragement to those of you who read this. I want to start doing the recipe thing again and if you have a recipe that you’ve tried…please let us know about it. April did just the other day…then our family tried it at recipe night and it was delicious. You don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve not tried the recipes that were put on here in the earlier days of this blog. Anyways, I’m going to update tomorrow, so please look and see what our new recipe for the week will be…or month…I haven’t decided yet. I’m going to try to make it better, with new things and such, but I might have to change the address…if that’s the case, please help me spread the word once it’s done and I will make sure to post it on here as well so all can see.

Okay…on to spiritual things :). Galatians 6:9 - And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. This is a great verse for dieters. Just look at it. What is it saying? Let us NOT be weary in well doing. I think that we are all trying to do well by losing weight…right? So, this is a prayer that we should pray, let us not be weary in well doing. Then we see the end result…for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. If we stick to our diets and don’t waiver (or faint), we WILL reap the benefits. I don’t know about you, but I know that I personally have already reaped some benefits…and look forward to a lot more. I hope that this prayer will constantly be on your lips throughout your dieting period. Until Next Time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Come Boldly

So many times I find myself worrying. I worry about positively everything. I worry about losing enough weight to be healthy, I worry about my family, friends, etc, and I worry about putting someone out. I don’t want people to go out of their way in order to help me. I feel bad when I have to ask for a favor, I don’t want people to think I’m using them. This becomes a habit in my everyday life and then it pours over into my spiritual life. Our church family and our pastor are there for us to bounce ideas off of and to keep us going in the right direction spiritually, but I know personally, I’m so busy trying to do it all on my own. When times get really tough, it is then that I finally realize that I don’t have to do it by myself. If there is no one else around, I still have my Creator that I can lean upon and count on to help me through whatever it is I am going through. The thing is, I need to remember before I stress out and go crazy. Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. We are commanded to come boldly before the throne of grace that we may find mercy. 2 terms that I love the most are mentioned here. Grace, God gives us what we DON’T deserve, and Mercy, God doesn’t give us what we DO deserve. We’re not supposed to cower before God, NO, He says to come boldly with your requests. When you need help, let Him know…not that He doesn’t already know, but He patiently waits for us to ask. He will never step in where He is not wanted (even though He might want to in order to protect His children), but He will only intervene when asked. Ask boldly and remember that you don’t have to do this alone.

We had another meeting, Thank you Joyce for heading it up. You are a blessing. We were down in attendance, but I was glad to see those that did come. We lost a collective 17 pounds…it is always encouraging to lose as a group. I hope to see all of you at the next meeting. I’m not sure when it will be, but I will let you know as soon as a decision has been made. Thank you once again for all who attended and to Joyce for challenging our brains with a little reminder quiz. Until Next Time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!

Friday, June 23, 2006

I will not be a Slave to you!!!

So many times we get discouraged, and as you guys know…I am completely honest in doing this…so I have to be honest. I went a cheating binge…about 2 weeks worth (I know, you’re thinking that’s nothing), but this is part of the reason that I have not updated this page in almost 2 weeks. I feel hypocritical if I’m trying to help you spiritually with your weight, when I am not practicing what I preach. I am back on the bandwagon, and to be quite honest with you…I think my body needed that 2 weeks hiatus. I had gained back about 4 pounds, and since Tuesday (when I went back on), I’ve lost 5 pounds. Sometimes our bodies need to be reset just like the clocks that hang on our wall. Our physical battery runs down, and it has to be replaced and reset to make up for “lost time”. Our bodies hit a dead-end and need a break. I know now that I shouldn’t be ashamed for falling off my weight loss wagon, but I need to stand up, dust myself off and get back on with more passion and fervor than I did before. It’s not how you fall off…it’s not how long you stay off…it’s if you pick yourself up and jump back on that matters the most. Galatians 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Sometimes we become a slave to our body and if it’s not our body, then it’s our weight loss program. DO NOT allow yourself to become a slave to either of these things. The only person you need to please is God. Remember that in the Psalms, God tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made…not awefully and scarily. We are beautiful in God’s eyes and once you begin to see how wonderful that is…you will not worry about what others think of you anymore.

Please do not forget that our next Less of Me meeting is this Sunday night June 25, 2006, right after evening service. There is a sign-up sheet on the back table if you would like to bring something…otherwise, there will be no food this meeting. Until next time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!!

Monday, June 12, 2006

Give me a Sign!

Sometimes, life doesn’t go as planned. We make all these plans for our lives, and then one day something happens and it changes our plans. You decide to go on a diet…you completely forgot that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. You can’t be on a diet during the Holidays…okay, you’ll stick with your diet and only cheat on those 2 days. That never happens, that, or you do well until the holidays and then completely blow it on the holidays. I can’t tell you how many times just this past 3 months that I’ve had a “cheat week” just because I can’t cheat just one day. When I do it…I do it big J What usually comes after those cheat days though??? For me, there is a lot of remorse and disappointment in myself…especially when I step on the scale and see what the damage is. I get so angry at myself and wonder why I allowed myself to do that. I made so much progress and blew it in 1 day, or 1 week…whichever the case may be for you. The one thing I struggle to understand is how it takes soooo long (at times it feels like eternity) to lose it, but only 1 cheat day to gain it all back. Okay, so I’m over exaggerating a little, but you get the point. A lot of times, we just want a sign…Am I ever going to reach my weight loss goal? Am I ever going to fit into that dress I bought when I started my diet? Give me a sign! Matthew 12:39 - But he answered and said unto them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.' A lot of times, we have signs all around us…the button that popped off your favorite pair of jeans…perhaps that’s a sign J or maybe the blouse that fits just a little tighter than it did last year…or maybe it’s the signs that I know all of our ladies have been seeing and that’s the looser fitting of our clothing. The pants that are getting a little too big or the baggy shirts that we have to wear because we just can’t afford to buy a new one. These are all different kinds of signs. In a world where everyone wants an answer now, we have to realize that God didn’t say it was going to be easy. He never promised that he would remove the obstacles from our path, He only promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. You can know one thing is for sure, and that is the fact that God is with you, no matter what problem you face and no matter where you are He is with you and His love is forever.


Just a simple reminder for all who weren’t at the last Less of Me meeting, and for those who were and might have forgot, our next meeting is going to be at the end of this month. The exact date is June 25, 2006 and there will be a sign up sheet in the foyer this Wednesday night for people to bring some wonderful goodies for us to taste test. Please help us out with this ladies…we don’t want the same ladies to feel obligated to bring something each time. Thank you for your support of this ministry, Until Next Time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!!

Friday, June 09, 2006

The Answer to ALL your problems!!!

“Are you bored, tired, restless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular? Well, all the answers to your problems are in this little bottle…vitameatavegemin.” Do you remember this episode of “I Love Lucy”? This was the episode that we used to wish would come on because it was so funny. Looking back, I can see one change that could be made to this sentence for it to become completely truthful. All the answers to your problems are in this little Bible!!! I believe that God’s Holy Word has the answers to every problem that we face today. Psalm 119:105…thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It’s a wonderful thing to look through the Bible and see the struggles that God’s people faced, but even more rewarding to look at how they made it through. Their accounts are found throughout the Bible and there were times they wanted to give up, but they pushed on. I know that there are times I just don’t want to be on a diet anymore. I’m ready to give up, but when I think of all I’ve been through, and the progress that I’ve made, it just doesn’t seem worth it. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into getting where I’m at, and I’m so close to my goal…just 40 pounds left to go…I can’t give up…I won’t give up. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengtheneth me!!! Until Next Time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Outcast?

Have you ever felt like you just didn’t belong??? My biggest pet peeve is shopping with someone who is smaller than me and having to go into what I call the “skinny” stores. I feel like the biggest person there and I begin to wonder what everyone around me is thinking about me. In my head, I’m sure they’re wondering why I’m in “their” store and they’re hoping I don’t try anything on. (I don’t know if this is what is really going on or even what is being thought, but it still makes me feel like I have a contagious disease or something.) It seems as if I walk into those stores and all eyes immediately turn to me and I’m the center of attention…and not in a good way. There were a lot of people in the Bible that felt that way. I could give you story after story of people who had a similar experience to this, but I want to focus on a man who was full of leprosy. Luke 5:12 - And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, 'Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.' A lot of times, bigger people feel like outcasts and honestly, this is an unforgiving world. People try their hardest it seems like, in order to exclude those of us who are not as skinny as the world thinks we should be. People are down right rude in some instances, but we have to look past that because there is only one opinion that we must worry about. This one opinion belongs to Christ and he says in Psalms that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. He didn’t say that He threw us together as quickly as He could…no He took His time with each one of us. So the next time you feel like an outcast, or you feel like you’re being looked upon as if you have a disease…remember that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and also remember ‘Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.’ Until Next Time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!!

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Looking through dirty windows

Sometimes life can be scary…especially if you don’t know what is around the corner. I think that is one of the things that people are most anxious about when dieting. They don’t know what is around the corner. Am I going to gain a pound this week or am I going to lose inches??? The list of worries and anxieties goes on and on. I think the thing I’m most excited but anxious about is…I want to know what I’m going to look like once I’ve reached my goal weight. If you’re like me…you’ve been at the weight you are for a long time and you just don’t remember what you looked like when you were 50 pounds lighter. I can’t even remember if I’ve ever been skinny. It’s just scary at times. Also, the thought that I’m sure runs through every woman’s head…if I lose too much weight, I’ll have to buy a whole new wardrobe. While this is a nice idea, who has the money to spend on a whole new wardrobe to fit your new body? I know that I don’t. So there are all kinds of fears that we face in dieting. I can’t wait to see what I’m going to look like in a couple of months, once I’ve reached my final destination, but the anxiety and the roller coasters that we ride on the way there, are sometimes more than we can bare. 1 Corinthians 13:12 - For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Right now, we’re looking through a colored glass. We can’t see the way things are going to be, when all we can see is the way things are now…but eventually, we’ll be face to face with reality. Right now, we only know the part of it…we know what we look like after what we’ve lost right now, but eventually, we’re going to know the whole of it. Once you’ve reached your goal, you will know what you are going to look like…right? Of course, but until then, we only see in part. Remember this verse next time you become anxious for results. God doesn’t want us to have results immediately, he wants us to be patient and wait on Him.

For those of you who were not at the meeting last Sunday night, our next meeting will be June 25, after the evening service. Also, we had a nice group of ladies show up to eat tortilla soup and tortellini soup…it was wonderful…thanks to Joyce Hampton and Jana MacDonald for making those for us and providing each of us with the recipe. Of the ladies who were there, we lost a total of 101.25 pounds. I’m very proud of all of our ladies in their search to remodel their temples of God. Until Next Time…Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!!