Ok boys and girls, as promised, my mug has shown up in a Diet to Go article at http://diettogo.com/article/see-how-kim-lost-41-lbs-so-far. John has done an excellent job at rewriting the information that I sent. It's hard to believe that I have come this far on the plan. I still have a long ways to go but I have come so far.

Well, I'm getting ready to go home from work.  Tonight I get to sing with the guys.  This turns out to be the highlight of the week and an escape from the stress that I feel.  I guess that I am a little too down in the dumps because of the change in my circumstances.  I preach that the Lord overcomes but yet I still fuss and fret when things change.  Maybe I am fearful of what the future will hold.  I don't know why, the Lord has always looked after me.  I seem to be stepping out in faith on this one.  Maybe I will need that in the months to come, I don't know at this point.  But maybe I am just rattling on about things.  I know that the Word of God says to cast your cares upon him (Ps 34:4 | 1 Pet 5:7) but I still have anxiety about what is around the bend.  Perhaps I have not learned quite the lessons that I need at this point, and that is what is frightening to me.  I am looking for final instruction from the Lord this time around (Ps 25:12 | Prov 10:24 | 2 Cor 7:5 | 1 John 4:18).

Coming onto work this morning I did a lot of praying about my work situation. I am of the opinion that I want to take on the job that the Lord wants me to take on. That means that I will be willing to take on any challenge or job that the Lord wants me to get into. That also means that if the Lord wants me to leave the company that I have worked at for 15 years, then so be it.  If He wants me to go into full time ministry then that is okay as well.  I know this is kind of weird from the viewpoint of "boy I have to have something now." However, I know the Lord, and He has a plan for me that I don't even know about now. I just want to do what He wants me to do. Somehow, we have in our minds that we can simply tell the Lord what He should let us do, but in this case, I wish to make sure that I am in his path for me. As I was coming to work, I was listening on the radio to Alastair Beck and the subject was prayer. This just let me pray even more for my situation with my job. I know that the Lord has a job out there and I should not give up hope until I find it.  "Pray without ceasing" - 1 Thess 5:17 - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

You've probably heard it before, take in less calories than you expend and you will loose weight.  We can use our knowledge of how many calories that it takes to maintain our current weight without gaining or loosing to make something of this statement.  By simply taking in less calories than that maintenance value in a day we will be able to loose weight.  Right about now you are probably thinking, "but I don't know how many calories that I need to do that."  Fortunately, there is some simple math that can be used to figure out the calorie count and to figure out based on calorie deficit, how much can be lost.  I like to call that Diet Math.  The idea is based upon the use of BMR calculations with Harris Benedict Equation multipliers.  The BMR is the Basal Metabolic Rate and represents the number of calories that are required to maintain your current weight.  The calculation is related to your weight, your height, and your age.  The original study for this metabolic calculation was titled, "A BIOMETRIC STUDY OF HUMAN BASAL METABOLISM"

Well its the beginning of the new year and time to step back and take a look at myself and where I might be headed. I started a new diet and have met with some very good successes over the past couple of months. This after discovering that I had reached an all time high for my weight back in August 2008. I have a goal this year to make at least 75% of the way towards my goal of 215 pounds by the end of the year. You notice that I did not say to make the entire goal, that's about 70 pounds and a lot can happen between now and then. It's also a time to look back to my relationship with the Lord. In that, I am sad to say, I have failed miserably. I find myself talking less and less to Him. I am sure that I have grieved Him in the process. That was not my intent but without constant prayer (1 Tim 2:8) and working out your salvation (Phil 2:12), you tend to fall away. I think for this next year I need to focus on being contious of sin in my life. I know that it is there, I have just been ignoring it and that separates me from fellowship with my Lord (1 John 1:3-7). Time to act is now and I think that I will start with some quiet time on a regular basis. When I was having a quiet time on a regular basis I was filled with an overwhelming sense that the Lord was caring for me.

The book of Luke contains the story of Jesus being presented in the temple at Jerusalem. These verses are in Luke 2:22-38. According to most commentators this would have occurred about 40 days after the circumcision event found in Luke 2:21 (the 40 day purification rite is recorded in Ex 31:2; Ex 22:29; and Lev 13:12-15). But after the redemption sacrifice had been given (Lev 12:6-8) and Jesus had been presented to the Lord (Ex 13:2), two unknowns appear on the scene. The first one was Simeon who had been waiting for the Lord to show him the Messiah before he passed away. It says in the book of Luke that he had been brought to the temple "in the Spirit", that is, the Holy Spirit was guiding him to be there. Simeon mentions both Gentile and Jew being blessed and gives a prophetic utterance to Mary about the sorrows that she would have to endure. Simeon directs his attention to Mary only, probably because Joseph would not be on the scene when the events of the crucifixion would be endured. Mary and Joseph were both amazed at his pronunciations probably because they did not expect that someone else would know who Jesus actually was. Next up was Anna who gave thanks to God for Jesus and continued to speak of Him to everyone that were waiting for the Messiah. The key thing here? Simeon and Anna are witnesses! See Deut 19:15 and Matt 18:16 which says that "...

It turns out that my health has been less than I would like over the past several years.  There are several causes for concern:

• I am at least 60 # overweight and I take Blood Pressure Medicine.
• My BMI is over 35 and I have a greater than 40 inch waistline [both very big on the health concern list] 
  
• I would like to get off of the Blood Pressure Medicine as soon as I can because of some of its side effects.  Mostly the ones dealing with sleep and libido. 
  
• I exercise all the time, sometimes going into the gym (Gold's Gym) between 5 and 10 times per week.  But still I keep the same weight mostly because the more I exercise the more I eat.  I need portion control to start loosing weight.
  
• I have noticed that my weight is creeping up on me. 
  
• I have been wanting to get off of meat to cleanse my system from some of the toxins that I hear about.
• I need to get down to a good weight before I retire in the next 10 years or so.
• I think that I am verging on a pre-diabetic stage if not at it right now.