So, Lent is coming up, and while I am not Catholic, I am thinking about giving up something very precious to me for the Lent season. I think my dear friend, Mountain Dew, needs to leave my body for a while, along with most other sugar. I am waaaaaay too dependent on sugar in my diet, mostly as an energy booster (I know, I know, it's good for a quick high but then you come down hard and fast. I KNOW!!). I don't need the unnecessary calories, and sugar packs pounds on me quicker than anything.
I have always had a major sweet tooth. However, when I was pregnant, I had to give up most sugar, and carbs in general, because I had gestational diabetes. Believe it or not, it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I think that's because I knew it was good for Sydney as well as for myself. I worked with a diabetes specialist who really kept me on track, and Sydney was born as a healthy baby on March 19th, 2007 (almost 2 years ago- YIKES!!).
Just after I gave birth to Sydney, I asked Todd to bring me a Mountain Dew. Mistake #1!! I should have NEVER taken that first sip because now I have a Mountain Dew almost every day. UGH!!! Shortly after I came home from the hospital, Wheat Thins (along with Mountain Dew, of course!) became my choice of snack. Mistake #2!! I lost my baby weight very quickly, but as I started introducing more sugar and carbs into my diet, my weight began to creep back up (I have blogged about this before!!). Now, almost two years later, I have an unhealthy dependance on sugar and carbs, and especially on Mountain Dew (not so much on Wheat Thins, though).
I figure that Lent provides a great opportunity for me to try and give up sugar, and more specifically Mountain Dew, in my diet. I'm not fooling myself into thinking it will be easy because it's "only for 40 days." Believe me, it will only be by blood, sweat, and tears that I will be able to do this!! Maybe if I blog about it along the way I will be held more accountable. If I am successful at the whole Lent thing, then maybe I will give up Mountain Dew, and most other sugars and carbs, for good. We will have to wait and see!!
Have you ever give up anything for Lent? If so, how did you do it? Did you stick with it once Lent was over??
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Goose Bumps
Do you ever have experiences with your children that give you goose bumps? I had an experience like that with Sydney tonight. We were riding in the car listening to my new Avalon CD. Avalon is one of my all-time favorite Christian groups, and their new CD is of their Greatest Hits. Each song gives me chills, and I loooooove listening to Avalon for their lyrical and musical talents!
Tonight as Sydney and I were riding in the car listening to Avalon, I had the radio cranked up LOUD. I was singing my heart out as my daughter was clapping, singing, and head banging in the back seat (she likes to do that!). Each time a song would end, Sydney would say, "More, more!" and I would tell her that another song was about to begin. She and I were having such a great time singing and worshiping together!
On Avalon's new Greatest Hits CD, there is one new release called Still My God. When I heard this song, the lyrics spoke VOLUMES to my heart. Here is what the song said:
Up and down
Like the tide is moving in and out
We're in motion
And the ocean pulls us under
And even there You're found
You never change
So I will say
If I'm standing on the mountain
Or drowning in the sea
If I am filled with hope or crying out for mercy
If I'm singing hallelujah
Or scared to make a sound
When I am learning how to walk or when I'm falling down
I'm saying
You are still my God
Jesus, you are still my God
In a world
Where so much seems uncertain
You remain both for the strong and broken
No matter where we are
You are never far
And nothing changes who You are
You were
You are
You will be forever
As I heard this song and began to sing along in praise to God, I looked in the back seat, and Sydney was doing the same. She was clapping and singing louder than I was!! It was such a precious and heart-felt moment for me. To share my love for God with my child who means the world to me, to show her God's love as she grows into the person He desires her to be, is the MOST IMPORTANT thing I can do as her mother. I am by noooo means a perfect mom, and I get a lot of things wrong. BUT if I can demonstrate my love for God to my daughter, and if she can grow to love Him as her Savior, then I have done my job as her mother. There is NO greater thing I can do for her.
My prayer for Sydney is that she will have a child-like faith in God that will deepen throughout her life. May she always know how much God loves her through the ups and downs of life, and may He always be Still My God to her!
Tonight as Sydney and I were riding in the car listening to Avalon, I had the radio cranked up LOUD. I was singing my heart out as my daughter was clapping, singing, and head banging in the back seat (she likes to do that!). Each time a song would end, Sydney would say, "More, more!" and I would tell her that another song was about to begin. She and I were having such a great time singing and worshiping together!
On Avalon's new Greatest Hits CD, there is one new release called Still My God. When I heard this song, the lyrics spoke VOLUMES to my heart. Here is what the song said:
Up and down
Like the tide is moving in and out
We're in motion
And the ocean pulls us under
And even there You're found
You never change
So I will say
If I'm standing on the mountain
Or drowning in the sea
If I am filled with hope or crying out for mercy
If I'm singing hallelujah
Or scared to make a sound
When I am learning how to walk or when I'm falling down
I'm saying
You are still my God
Jesus, you are still my God
In a world
Where so much seems uncertain
You remain both for the strong and broken
No matter where we are
You are never far
And nothing changes who You are
You were
You are
You will be forever
As I heard this song and began to sing along in praise to God, I looked in the back seat, and Sydney was doing the same. She was clapping and singing louder than I was!! It was such a precious and heart-felt moment for me. To share my love for God with my child who means the world to me, to show her God's love as she grows into the person He desires her to be, is the MOST IMPORTANT thing I can do as her mother. I am by noooo means a perfect mom, and I get a lot of things wrong. BUT if I can demonstrate my love for God to my daughter, and if she can grow to love Him as her Savior, then I have done my job as her mother. There is NO greater thing I can do for her.
My prayer for Sydney is that she will have a child-like faith in God that will deepen throughout her life. May she always know how much God loves her through the ups and downs of life, and may He always be Still My God to her!
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