Trim Healthy Mama: Our Take

So, we aren't so happy with the Trim Healthy Mama plan. We definitely like some parts of it but other parts concern us. Not to mention that we haven't been happy with any recipe we have found while doing the program. I'll talk about our dislikes and concerns first, then I'll talk about what we did like. Before anyone asks, we did try this program (not strictly) for about a month.

Cons:
For those of you who may love the THM life, don't get too mad at me, there are many positives with the program and if it works for you and your family, that is wonderful and I am happy you have found a healthy plan for your family. I would actually encourage people trying the plan. Every family is different, every cook is different, every person's taste is different. We all need to find what works best for our families. 

Less than plan friendly foods
My first issue is that there are several foods that are not exactly plan friendly but are very healthy. I will say the plan isn't necessarily against these foods and they do stress eating these foods but only rarely. Most of them are off-plan if you are attempting to lose weight. Some of these foods include all fruit, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, and honey. 

I will repeat, these aren't exactly "off-plan" foods but they are encouraged to be eaten only in very moderate amounts. That I do agree with, at least the eating in moderation part. Moderation in all food types is a key to healthy living and something most of us have a very difficult time practicing. 

What I don't agree with is that these foods are looked at as almost bad guys. Some may say I have gotten the wrong impression but this is the feel I have gotten from this program. 

Most of the plan teaches a low glycemic index diet which I totally agree with and the foods that they put in this "less-than-friendly" category are on the higher end glycemic index foods and should be eaten in moderation but some of these foods are incredibly healthy alternatives to less healthy counterparts. For example, a sweet potato is much better for you than a russet potato, carrots are better than chips, and you can sweeten foods with carrots and onions rather than using sugar. 

Honey. They state in the book that "honey can make you very fat." I agree that eating too much sugar in any form can lead to gaining weight. However, most people don't eat tons and tons of honey. We use honey but we can keep a bottle of honey in our cabinet long enough for it to crystalize. We occasionally sweeten a cup of herbal or green tea with honey and we use it in cooking from time to time. There are many benefits to consuming honey and I believe that it is a much healthier alternative to sugar. Unless you are slathering your Chick-Fil-A or Babe's biscuit in honey, you are likely fine. And, lets be honest, if you are eating at Chick-Fil-A or Babe's, honey is probably the least of your concerns. ;)

While I agree you should be careful with them, I hesitate to criticize them as much as I feel this plan does. Again, this may just be a misunderstanding on my part but many of these foods are considered low glycemic index (GI) foods so I'm probably going to use them in cooking more than this plan prefers.

Sugar alternatives
Anyone who knows me, especially from my younger years, probably knows I had a probably unhealthy love of Sweet-'n'-Low. I've never been too afraid of sugar alternatives. I love to add generous helpings of Splenda when I'm making sweet tea. However, let's be honest, in the back of our mind have we not always had the inkling that sugar alternatives may possibly just be one of those "too good to be true" situations? 

As a kid and don't-care-about-"healthy" adult, I scoffed at people who were skeptical of sugar alternatives, or pretty much any "healthy alternatives." People who criticized margarine, products marketed as fat-free/low-fat, and processed/packaged foods, annoyed me slightly. I figured either they were overly cautious, just didn't like the taste, or were conspiracy hunters. However, I still managed to marry one of these people. Anthony immediately changed some of the ways I cooked. We cooked more at home with real foods, opted for the full fat rather than low-fat/fat free alternatives (real sour cream, real cream, higher fat milk, etc), used real sugar, and real butter. After about a year of this, my cholesterol dropped by about 20 points. I didn't lose any weight but I figured there had to be something to this.

One the THM plan, most sugar alternatives are highly discouraged but sugar is not on-plan at all. They do have a couple of sugar alternatives that are used and used in almost everything. They allow stevia and erythritol. I have used stevia before and found it tolerable in very small amounts. When we first started the plan, I got some Truvia. It's probably the most common and popular form of powder stevia on the market. We did not like it at all. So, we purchased the Sweet Blend and the Pure Stevia powder from THM. I will say, these are much better, and if you are looking for an alternative, I highly recommend their blends. 

Stevia is a sugar alternative that is natural. It comes from a herb that a lot of people have started including in their home gardens. I am not one of those that jumps on the band wagon of anything that someone says is "natural." Usually when someone is telling me "______ is good for you. It's natural." I usually reply with something like, "Poison ivy is natural too but you don't see me eating it." Yes, I know, I'm a little snarky sometimes. But, the point is, just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it is good for you. Due to the fact we live in a Genesis 3 world means we have to be careful of the "natural." 

Now, I'm not trying to denigrate stevia. However, I have done a little research looking into whether stevia is really a safe alternative to sugar. Here is what I have found:

Animal testing in the 1980's linked stevia with problems with fertility, reproductive growth, and genetic mutations. Stevia could only be sold as a dietary supplement due to the safety concerns. However, in 2008, Truvia and a few other manufacturers, using a highly purified extract of stevia called Rebaudioside A (aka Rebina or Rep A), petitioned the FDA to rate Rep A as "generally regarded as safe" (GRAS). The FDA accepted Rep A as GRAS but not whole leaf or crude stevia extracts. 

Here is what the FDA says about stevia:

"FDA has not permitted the use of whole-leaf Stevia or crude Stevia extracts because these substances have not been approved for use as a food additive. FDA does not consider their use in food to be GRAS in light of reports in the literature that raise concerns about the use of these substances. Among these concerns are control of blood sugar and effects on the reproductive, cardiovascular, and renal systems. Food additives and GRAS affirmation petition or pre-petition submissions for the use of such substances that FDA has received in the past have not contained the data and information necessary to establish the safe use of these substances as ingredients in food."

Even though the FDA approved Rep A as a GRAS ingredient, there are some people/organizations who are concerned at that the FDA did not require as strict of testing for Rep A as they usually do for other ingredients. 

To be honest, "generally regarded as safe" doesn't generate confidence in a substance. Even then, how do we know if a product is using Rep A and not the pure or crude extract? I just checked all my containers of Truvia, THM Sweet Blend, and THM Pure Stevia Extract. None of them said what form of stevia they used. 

I'm also not super trusting of the FDA considering some of the things they do pass but when even the FDA finds concern with a product, that makes me a bit more skeptical regarding that product.

Considering that we have issues with the three biological systems that the FDA were concerned as to the effects of stevia, I'm not super comfortable with continuing using stevia. 

I have read a few other testimonies from women who struggled with infertility while using stevia and then their problems resolved after they removed stevia from their diet. This is just anecdotal evidence but probably does suggest more testing being done regarding this product.

I'm not saying stevia isn't safe but I do think their may be some concerns worth considering. Personally, I'm no longer comfortable with it.

I know I need to break my addiction to adding sweeteners to my tea and coffee. Personally, I would rather have less of the real thing than all I want of the alternative.

The THM Food
So, we have tried several of the recipes and only had one that was good. Several we had to throw out because they were inedible. We bought the THM Baking Blend and made pancakes the other night. They were full of fiber so we weren't hungry after dinner but I must say, we were less than happy with the texture. We would never make them again. Hopefully, we can find something to do with the rest of this Baking Blend because it was quite expensive.

Expensive
That brings me to another point. This lifestyle is less than budget-friendly, if you ask me. Much of this food is essentially gluten free. Anyone who has had to go to a gluten-free diet knows buying flour alternatives is anything but cheap. 

Fat
I will talk more about fat in the Pros section but this is my concern regarding fat on this program.

This program has categorizes meals into "S," "E," and "FP." I explained these meals in my last post. The "S" meals have to include over 5g of fat which is not really the problem. However, most recipes I have found for "S" meals seem to be overly generous with fat. To the point that it would never be considered a healthy meal by any sane person. Delicious, possibly, healthy, not likely. This seemed to be a complaint by many people with the Adkins diet. People seem to get in the mind set that as long as a meal doesn't have carbs in it, you can throw caution into the wind. I don't think this is what the creators of THM intended but it does seem to be inevitable in plans like this.

This is probably more of a complaint with how humans react than with the plan itself.

Eating out or eating at a friend's house
Like many diets, eating out or eating the food someone else cooked, is almost impossible to stay on plan. 

Planning a menu
Anyone who has read this blog at all knows I have no qualms regarding planning our meal. I actually enjoy it. It has really been one of the most helpful and enjoyable habits I have adopted.

I have certain rules I stick to in making our menus (topic for another future post). However, with this plan, trying to make sure each meal type alternated was beyond difficult. Menu planning became less than enjoyable and if I don't enjoy it, I probably won't stick to it. Another major reason this plan will not work for our family.

Religious aspect
The sisters who created this plan are two Christian women. They love the Lord and love the Bible. I am thankful for that. However, I think they may have tended to over-spritualize their plan.

Don't get me wrong, there is a spiritual aspect to all parts of our lives and I believe it is important to recognize that. Our temptation and addictions to certain foods can be a form of idolatry and a parable to how we approach sin in our lives. 

However, these ladies implied that aspects of their diet plan came directly from the Bible. I believe they may be leaning a little too far into "twisting Scripture" to come up with some of their ideas. 

I did watch a video where they discussed their plan at a conference for women associated with The Hebraic Roots Network. I am not exactly familiar with this organization but I suspect they are a part of the Hebrew Roots Movement. This movement is a false teaching within Christianity. While I don't doubt their salvation, their passion, or their devotion to Christ and the Gospel, if they are involved in the HRM, it does reveal that their interpretation of Scripture is less than reliable.

While that may not exactly make much of a difference regarding the safety and healthiness of their plan, it is a con for me. Any plan, like this or Rick Warren's "The Daniel Plan," that tries to make the Bible or certain passages into a diet book concerns me. 

Pros:
There are many good points this plan makes and we have definitely used this program to add some healthy aspects to our own diet. As far as diet plans out there, THM is probably one of the better one's I have seen in a while.

Whole foods/Cleaner eating
There has been a movement in the nutritional world in the last few years to move to a cleaner diet, a diet of more whole foods. There isn't an exact definition of "whole foods" or "clean eating." What some people call "clean eating" others would not. However, the essential aim of these movements, is to get away from overly-processed foods and eat more foods as closely to what would be picked off the plant or taken from the animal as possible. 

One recent suggestion I have seen in this program and others is to consider "Is this something my great, great, grandmother would recognize as food?" This doesn't always work but it is something worth thinking about before purchasing a product. Would my great-grandmother recognize me making mashed potatoes from freeze-dried flakes or from a potato? 

Unfortunately, much of what she would call food these days isn't the same as when she was around. Wheat is completely different than it was a few decades ago, corn has changed as well, and the chicken we purchase in the grocery store is not even recognized as an animal by US law and referred to some people as "frankenchicken" due to the way this particular type of chicken was bred. 

Moving away from overly-processed foods is a undeniably more healthy step in the right direction. It is also something our family doctor was completely in agreement with. 

I do wish that organic, grass-fed, free-range food was more affordable. But, until then, we will just do our best.

Glycemic Index
I had heard of the Glycemic Index prior to this diet but I did learn more about it. It is definitely something Anthony and I must start paying more attention to due to diabetes being so prevalent in our families. 

Fat
All fats are not created equal. All saturated fats are not created equal. In the past, anything that had fat in it was bad, anything with saturated fat was down right evil. In recent years, more research has been done regarding fats and this myth has been exposed. There are some saturated fats that are actually healthy. More research is needed to fully understand fat but it goes to show that we don't always know everything. ;)

Conclusion:
While I don't think the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle is for us, we did learn some beneficial habits and would recommend it as a diet for people to try if they are trying to find a plan they like but it isn't for us. 

Also, this may be a result to trying this plan for a few weeks or not but as a side note, I had to have lab work for our annual insurance lab draw and my cholesterol is back up where it was when we first married. I'm not sure it can be blamed on this program but it did concern me a bit.

I will say that Anthony was quite the trooper during this time of new food trials. He was really positive about everything and willing to really try which is never easy for us foodies with all our very strong feelings regarding food's taste, food's texture, and how food is made. I have an amazing husband!

So, I am going to continue making menus and I'm going to incorporate more of the good habits but I'm not going to be stressed out over the correct combos. We are going to continue moving to a more whole food/cleaner diet and just opt for less of the real stuff rather than all we want of the manufactured. 

As Christopher Kimball said on a recent installment of America's Test Kitchen Radio podcast (episode 417):

"Please don't ask me about diet, health, and weight. Is it calorie intake, is it when one consumes those calories, is it the type of calories, or is it simply your metabolism? All of this leads to a very simple fact, when it comes to the human ecosystem, theories abound. So, until scientists sort all this out, follow this simple maxim: Eat early, eat natural, and enjoy your food."

June 2015...A Change of Plans

May was a really busy month for us. Anthony's youngest sister, Tanya, graduated from high school. We are so proud of her. She has come a long way both literally and figuratively. Just in the few years I have known her, I have seen her grow from a cute girl with a deep Ukrainian voice to a beautiful young lady who love the Lord deeply. Yet, she is still as silly as ever. Hehehe. :)

We have officially been an aunt & uncle for a year now. Elijah is one year old. Crazy. He had a great party with family and Kapp's Kitchen decorated sugar cookies for his party (unfortunately I forgot to take pics of them). Along with the other goodies, we were stuffed and all on sugar highs for days. :)

Anthony and I have taken on more and more in our church, The Church at Pecan Creek. Too much, actually, but there are some people taking over what we can't keep up with to keep us in a more technical role. Anthony is now essentially the IT guy for our new church. He is learning how to run the sound board; post-editing the sermons, music, and discipleship lessons; and uploading everything to the website and iTunes. Having said that, please check out The Church at Pecan Creek on iTunes. I'm in charge of lyrics and the projector. Making sure the lyrics are uploaded into my iPad correctly can take about two hours before going to the church but the projector only takes a couple of mins to set up at the church. So, I try to help the rest of the team but I really don't know what I'm doing right now, so I need to get in there and figure it out.

Brandie is on her way back to the US from Mongolia and I can't wait to see her. I have a newer friend who just had a baby the other day so I can't wait to introduce the two of them, I think they will get along just great. 


So, I have been making monthly menus for over a year now. We stuck to them fairly well, not great, but it helped guide me at the grocery store. I hope to return to it soon. But, for now, there is a change in the plans for food in our house.

Anthony and I are starting a new eating plan. This plan is called Trim Healthy Mama. It is a low glycemic index eating plan but also includes eating certain foods in separation from each other. They divide meals into three categories: "E" meals are for energizing, "S" meals are satiating or satisfying, and "FP" are fuel pull meals. E meals are lower in fat but allow for healthy carbs. S meals are higher in fat but very low in carbs. FP meals are low in both fats and carbs; they cause the body to pull from fat stores at a higher rate and burn fat more quickly than the other meals. It is a more whole foods type diet as well.

With this plan, you need to eat every three hours to keep your metabolism up. So you don't really get "hungry." There is no keeping up with a daily counting of calories or points or anything else. You do need to take a look at your meals occasionally to make sure you are eating the right type of meal. My nutritionist told me she is no fan of counting any nutrition. She said she prefers to help people just make wiser choices rather than beating yourself up for going over some number that that is very subjective.

This plan helps to break our addiction to sugar. In most developed countries but especially so with America, we eat WAY too much sugar. If we eat processed foods, low fat/calorie, or in restaurants, those foods are packed with extra sugar in order to make the food palatable. This plan allows for certain types of natural sugar alternatives including stevia and xylitol. This is certainly going to be a challenge for us. I'm personally not a big dessert eater but lots of foods I like including breads, pastas, potatoes, sauces, etc... all contain lots of sugar. I have heard from others on this plan that the first couple of weeks are really tough but afterwards it gets much better and you usually really regret it when you "cheat" because you feel awful.

Anthony & I both have family histories of diabetes so we need to be better about how we eat and at least get in the habit of eating low glycemic before we have to. We both need to lose weight so hopefully it will help with that as well. :)

So, for now, I have to plan all our meals so I will just be doing a week at a time for now. As for snacks, I'm going to post a list of snack options in our pantry so we know what we can grab when we just need a little something. One bread that is allowed is sour dough. So, I need to learn to make that as well. 

So, below is my menu for next week. If you want to look at it closer, the pic is linked to the pdf of the menu on my Google Drive.

May 2015

Easter Sunday

I'm more than a little late this month. :) Oh well.

April was a busy month for us.

Easter was very nice. Anthony was a little disappointed because he was unable to sing in the Easter choir at church due to a throat infection. He is much better now but it had the potential to turn serious at one point. 

It was both of our birthdays, so we celebrated pretty big this year. In honor of both our birthdays, Valentines Day, & our anniversary, we took a short trip to Disney World. We only stayed three days but we were more exhausted from those three days than we were when we went for eight. We tracked our steps while we were there as well and found out we were averaging between 12-14 miles per day. For someone who gets in probably less than two miles (maybe three if I go for a walk), that is quite a workout. 

Anthony trying Beijing Strawberries

Spring is when Epcot hosts it's Flower and Garden Festival. They have started adding food booths at this festival as well, now. So we got the best of both worlds this year: the beautiful flowers and the tasty food. :) The best thing we had, by far, were what they called Beijing Strawberries. Man, they were good! It was three gigantic strawberries on a skewer, encapsulated in a hardened sugar/syrup shell, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I didn't really think it sounded good but it was AMAZING! We sat down to eat it and we were getting several stares and a few people asked us where we got them. We should have gotten paid a commission fee for as many people as we sent to the booth. Ha!

It rained two of the three days we were there. Hard, torrential rains.

Waiting in the rain to ride Splash Mountain

But, it kept everything fairly cool, so we didn't complain. The first day we got to Florida, we check in at our hotel and then headed to the park. We had a fast pass to ride Splash Mountain. We were about to step into the next boat when they shut the ride down due to the storm passing over. Luckily, I had insisted on bringing our ponchos that day so we stayed much dryer than most of the rest of the people in line. We waited there for over an hour and then just decided to leave our ponchos on for the ride. Ha. 

We love Disney but we made some decisions on this trip:

1. We will only visit Disney every five years or so. That way there are a decent amount of changes between visits and we will really appreciate the trips more.
2. We will save up in order to pay extra to stay at Coronado Springs. Pop Century is fine, its a bed & that's really all you need. But, it is still pretty expensive and if you are going to stay on property and pay that much money, it feels like more of a vacation staying at a place where you will always get a seat on the bus and will never have to wait for a second bus to show up. Coronado Springs just has such fewer people at it. Granted, it is the only conference center at Disney World (that I know of) so you may want to make sure you go when there isn't a major conference going on because I'm sure it really gets crowded.
3. Unless we have grandparents or other help, we will never take children under eight. Our minds may actually change once we have kids but for now, they would have to be some very mature kids to convince me to take them. ;)

I may make a few posts about Disney, tips, and recommendations later but for now, here are a few more pics from our trip. Enjoy. :)

Leaving the Haunted Mansion 

Magic Kingdom's Wishes firework show

Outside Be Our Guest restaurant. You can see
Beast's castle in the upper left hand corner of the pic. 

Riding Expedition Everest

Anthony in front of Spaceship Earth. Goofy & Pluto topiaries gardening. 

These crazy ladies were driving around handing out maps & talking to people.

Anthony trying a cronut

Captain Hook

"Never smile at a crocodile..."

Macaron Guimauve a la Fraise
(Strawberry Marshmallow Macaron)

Frushi

Beijing Strawberries

Mater

Lightening McQueen

Sunset outside our hotel room.

Exhausted but happy to be back home.

Being inspired by all the flowers & gardens, I turned my awesome
Spaceship Earth mug into a succulent garden.

Slow Leak

A few weeks ago, I had printed off some recipes and had separated them into categories on the carpet in our living room. The next day, I picked them up and noticed they felt like they had been in a damp environment. Not wet, just kind of soft feeling. I felt the carpet where they had been sitting & it felt damp. I moved a book case and the carpet under it was soaked and mold had starting growing. I knew instantly we had a big problem. 

We called a plumber who had to cut into our wall to find the leak. He originally thought it was a leak in the slab which would have been very expensive to fix. Luckily, the leak was higher up and he was able to fix it. It was still pretty expensive but better than he originally thought. He said we had a fairly decent amount of water damage and suggested we call a water restoration company. Thankfully, God was protecting us once again and the man from the company told us "I am not in the business of robbing people. My fees start at $800 and you don't have $800 worth of damage here." He then instructed us how to clean up the mess ourselves.

We ended up having to purchase a new book shelf, patch the wall, and we will have to replace a section of the carpet pad and shampoo the carpet when we are done with everything. All in all, a little hole in a small pipe that has been slowly dripping for at least a year is going to end up costing us quite a bit of money and effort that we would have preferred spending in other ways.

That concept had me thinking today. Here we have a house, with lots of pipes, wires, wood, brick, concrete, etc and our whole life was turned upside down for a tiny little hole in one small pipe. This small, drip over the span of at least a year, ended up causing so much damage. 

I've been relistening to the Strange Fire Conference hosted by Grace Community Church in California in 2013. This conference addressed some of the false teachings that have slipped into the church, have been tolerated, accepted, and finally practiced by much of the church today. It had me thinking about how a small leak of bad theology has grown into a full movement and has infiltrated most of what claims to be "Christianity."

Galatians 5:9 says, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." A little false teaching can bring down an entire church and even a whole denomination and eventually taint the reputation of the universal church to where what most "Christians" claim to be the Gospel is actually no gospel at all. 

Justin Peters says that many false teachers today do teach quite a bit of truth, but there is just enough false teaching that it becomes deadly. He compares it to putting a tiny drop of strychnine in a glass of water. The contents of the glass may be 99% healthy, beneficial water but that tiny fraction of poison will kill whoever drinks from it. 

We must address false teachings when we hear them. Even if they don't seem like a big deal or like something most Christians would fall for. We cannot let even one small drip, one small grain of yeast to exist in the church. We must root it all out. 

The best way to do this is to not neglect daily reading the Word of God.

This was part of Jesus' prayer to the Father for all those whom would become Children of God:

"I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." (John 17:14-19)

This leak also got me to thinking of the Christian life. How much "damage" can a small leak of good theology, of Truth, do to the enemy, to the false religions of the world. The small, constant, dripping of one voice can begin to eat away at a big conglomeration. A small leak is typically silent and can go on unnoticed for a long time, it usually isn't noticed until substantial damage has taken place.

Yes, the loud voices, "the burst main lines," are needed in the church today. Those who make dramatic differences in the world today. Missionaries, preachers, debaters, authors, speakers, etc. But it is the sheep within the church, the ordinary man, the layman, the "silent slow leak" that really causes a whole change in trajectory of a group, church, city, state, country, world. 

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says we should "aspire to live quietly" in order that we will "walk properly before outsiders." Teaching a correct view of God and worldview leads to people being saved and equipping them to go out and do the same. A group of a thousand protesters usually does little than just upset those who are on the other side of whatever movement the protesters are upset about. I'm not saying their isn't a place for protesting but much more is done by the changing of the worldview of the masses. 

We must pray for our leaders, political and spiritual. We must pray for each other as well. Not merely prayers of addressing felt needs (health, family, finances, etc) but prayers for wisdom, discernment, to be protected from falling into sin, to remain faithful to God, and, above all else, to bring glory to God's name. 

If you need help knowing what and how to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, check out the openings and closings of the epistles. These are letters from the Apostles to the churches. They often open with how they thank God for them in certain ways and then close telling the church how they will pray for them in specific ways and then tell the church how they can pray for writers in specific ways.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." (Philippines 1:3-5)

"We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you," (Colossians 1:3)

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing." (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one...May the Lord direct your heads to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ." (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, 5)

"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

We must also pray for a real revival in the church, not a manufactured, emotional high type revive, but a true drawing close to God.

"We cannot organize revival, but we can set ourselves to catch the wind of heaven." ~ G Campbell Morgan

"We must set our hearts to treasure the God who describes Himself in Scripture, never again be satisfied with His absence. It is His name which is at stake. It is also our everlasting joy to have Him near." ~ John Snyder (Behold Your God, p. 263)

"Regardless of the spiritual and moral decline, it is never so dark that God, the Eternal Light, cannot expel the darkness." ~ John Snyder (Behold Your God, p. 262)

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:7-10)

April 2015

March wasn't super eventful. However, it was a month of personal realizations. Most of what went on in March is personal and not really something to put out for the world to read...and be bored with. It isn't anything serious or world rocking, just normal life things.

For example, both of our birthdays are in April, so like a lot of people, the last month of the year, you seem to reassess where you have been and where you are going. It seems that the whole world usually does this in December with January being the "month that I change my life." However, for me, that has always come in the March/April transition. It seems like most of my big life changes have occurred in March/early April. When I lost a lot of weight several years ago, I started in March/April; I quit my job and became a stay-at-home/work-at-home/small business owner in March last year; I got married in March. So, this year wasn't much different. It is just a look at where I am, where I want to be, where I'm afraid I may end up. It is turning my fears over to God and praying about what I need to do next. Most of that is just a very personal journey that my be very impactful for me but probably really boring to the world. ;)

The best thing about March was that Anthony and I celebrated our third anniversary. I cannot believe it has been three years. It feels like we just got married a few weeks ago but at the same time, I feel like we have always been together. We were told so many times before we got married that marriage is hard and especially the first few years, getting use to living with each other. I fully expected that to happen but it didn't. We have had a few bumps such as me being stressed about work and crying a lot and him having to comfort me; Anthony learning I get a little crazy from time to time, especially in the kitchen when I mess something up and him learning to calm me down; learning how to share a queen size bed. However, nothing really that I would call "hard." I've done hard things and the first three years of our marriage has not been one of them. In fact, I really can't think of anything I've done in my life that has been easier than marrying Anthony. We may have had a few struggles like having issues with getting pregnant, but it isn't as difficult when you are doing it with your best friend. Our burdens aren't as heavy when two people are carrying them together. 

Our marriage and relationship is a testimony to the work of God in our lives. I was thirty when I met Anthony, he was twenty-eight. We both thought God had forgotten about us. I had heard people say that God was preparing my future husband for me. So, I use to pray, "Lord, hurry up & finish fixing him so we can get on with this!" Little did I know that He was working on both of us. There are things that if I had met Anthony even three months earlier, I may not have been as interested in him. And, he tells me that if he had met me earlier, he was in no place emotionally to be starting a serious relationship. 

God is truly YHWH-Yireh, Jehovah-Jireh, "The LORD Will Provide." He does provide, and He does so in His own, perfect timing. I look back now on my life and wouldn't have changed a thing. We also know that if He ever sees fit to bless us with children, it will be in His perfect timing and in His perfect way. 

It is half-way through April now and it has been a busy month and it doesn't look like it is going to let up for a while, but I'll write about that more next month. ;) 

March 2015

Well, February wasn't that busy. The last weekend, I went to a conference with my friend Tara. It is called The Art of Homemaking and is presented by the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth. We had a great time. Next year, I hope to get a fairly decent size group to go. I have been to several very bad women's retreats, so I wanted to check this one out before inviting a bunch of people. I wouldn't say it was the best conference I've ever been to but it was the best women's conference I've ever been to. I dream of hosting a women's conference one of these days & I would do a lot of things differently but this one is still one I would highly recommend. Next year it will be in the fall, so we have to wait almost 18 months for the next one but it will be worth it. :)

On Valentine Day, Anthony got up early and made me breakfast in bed. It was so wonderful. Red roses, heart shaped biscuits, man, I am one blessed woman!

I said in my last two posts that I was going to talk about my goals for 2015. I am going to be really general because I have a very, very long list that speaks of the specifics of each goal so there is no need to address that here. So, here I go.

I have categorized all of my goals into nine main groups: spiritual, physical, mental/educational, entertainment, emotional, family, social, home, and work. Because I'm a little bit crazy when it comes to making lists and outlines and organizing (despite my home not exactly evidencing that), I have subcategories & subsubcategories. Hehe. So, I'll only share a few of them with you and tell you how I'm doing on them so far, being that we are almost 1/4 of the way into 2015. :)

I. Spiritual

     A. Prayer

          1. Prayer journal - I am no where near consistent in setting aside time to pray. However, when I write my prayers out, I can concentrate better. I have also seen how my prayers often start out me-centered but end more God-centered. My husband and my mother-in-law both got me journals for Christmas that I am using as my prayer journal.

          2. Read a prayer from Valley of Vision each night together before we go to bed - I was doing this for a little while and then I stopped. I need to get back into this again. 

     B. Bible reading

          1. BSF - I am almost through my first BSF session. I'm looking forward to studying Revelation. I have different thoughts on eschatology than I did even four years ago so I'll be interested in seeing how they deal with the different viewpoints and it will be good for me to read through Revelation slowly now that my presuppositions have altered somewhat.

          2. Daily Bible reading with Anthony - We have been doing this since we got married. We miss days/weeks every so often but it is a definitely a habit we want to always be a part of our marriage.

          3. Behold Your God study - I am almost finished going through this with my friends. Wow! What an amazing study! It will reprogram your mind to think of God differently, more Biblically. It is by far the best book study I have ever participated in.

          4. Keep a list of what God says about Himself - This was an idea I got from one of the pastors interviewed in the Behold Your God study. 

          5. After reading a passage, always ask, "What does this passage tell me about God?" - The Bible is not all about me, I need to remember that. Asking this question will help me to remember who the Bible really is about.

          6. Practice homiletics - No, I don't want to preach. However, I did take a one hour BSF seminar on homiletics and I can see how it really helps you in studying a passage. I haven't practiced this much but I really want to work on it this year. Plus, I one day want to write Bible studies for women and this will help me practice in doing that.

     C. Scripture memory - I've posted a verse to memorize by our door but I really don't see it that often so I think I'm going to put the same verse in our bathrooms as well so we see it more often. ;)

     D. Church

          1. Get involved - I have joined the audio visual team and Anthony is the hospitality person for our new church, The Church at Pecan Creek. What is great is that we can actually help each other out. Anthony is so gifted at understanding technology and has been helping me & the whole team get some things set up. The other night he was sick so I and another friend of ours took care of the hospitality stuff. I will say that this audio visual stuff is daunting but I'm learning a lot. We have the ability to control both the projector and the sound system from our iPads, allowing us to sit in the audience rather than in a sound booth. 

               a. Audio Visual team

               b. Hospitality

               c. Women's ministry - I want to get a women's ministry going eventually at our new church. We aren't quite there yet but I definitely want to be involved with it.

II. Physical

     A. Exercise

          1. Wii Fit - I got a Wii Fit for Christmas and I love it. I need to be more consistent about doing 20-30 mins every morning, which means I need to get up earlier (another goal further on).

          2. Work up to 10,000 steps a day - I got a pedometer that connects to the Wii Fit so I'm keeping track of this. I didn't realize how sedentary I really am. Very depressing. The other day I walked almost three miles and still didn't even get close to 10,000 steps. I never realized how much walking that actually means. :)

          3. Thirty min move after every meal - Last week I came up with the idea to try to take a 30 min exercise of some sort (gardening, walking, wii) after every meal. I haven't done this yet but I think it is doable and healthy.

     B. Food

          1. Monthly menues - I've been consistent with this for a year; I just want to keep doing so and hopefully be better at sticking to it this year. :)

          2. Try more healthy recipes - I've researched a few new recipes I want to try including cooking with spring rolls, quinoa, and cauliflower, all things I've never experimented or even tasted. 

          3. Keep a food journal - I'm a member of SparkPeople and keep up with my nutrition through their app. I just started back at this last week and I've been pretty good at keeping up with it, with a few meals missed.

          4. Water - I am an avid water drinker however, over the last couple of years, I've gotten into a bad habit of not drinking as much as I use to. I need to be better at getting my water in each day.

     C. Checkups - working on these

III. Mental/Educational

     A. Reading

          1. Read 10 books this year (not including the Bible) - I am currently reading two books. So, I'm already behind but as long as I'm consistently working toward this goal, I'm happy.

              a. Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt - I'm 65% (according to the Kindle app) of the way done with this and I can say it is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it to all women and all leaders (including the men) in a church to read this book.

              b. Everyone's A Theologian by RC Sproul - I'm only a couple of chapters in but this book is so great. It is an intro to systematic theology and is a book that every Christian should read.

               c. 

     B. Sewing - I haven't done these yet.

          1. Learn to make a skirt

          2. Learn to make PJ pants with pockets for Anthony

          3. Learn to make toys

          4. Learn to make window treatments (cornice, drapes)

IV. Entertainment

     A. TV time

          1. Limit TV time to two hours a day (except when sick and doing laundry) - We are actually pretty good at doing this right now. Many nights we don't even turn on the TV. The problem is that when we do, it is very difficult to turn it off.

     B. iPhone/iPad games 

          1. Delete the time wasting games - Done. I had some games on my iPad that I realized one day I was spending hours on and wasting much of my day. They are now gone. I feel so free now; I didn't realize what a slave I had become to them. I still have a couple of games that only take a min to make a move before waiting for the next person to move so those don't suck my time away. I also still have Sudoku but I usually only play that while watching TV.

V. Emotional

     A. Time management

          1. Get up by 6 am - I am so not good at this. I have got to get better at this. If this is the only thing I get in the habit of doing this year, I will cut it a good year. :)

          2. Create and stick to a daily schedule - I have done this several times but I finally think I have created one that works for me. I have been pretty consistent at sticking to it as well...at least most of it...still need to work on getting that exercise in as one of the first things in the morning...hence needing to get up at 6 am. 

          3. Prep dinner in the morning - When I don't do this, I can sometimes dread having to stop what I'm doing to spend the next two or more hours cooking & then cleaning up from cooking. When I get most of the prep work done in the morning, I know if I need anything in time to go to the store, I can know the meat is thawed/marinated, and I usually end up saving myself a lot of frustration and time. Another reason for needing to be out of bed by 6 am.

VI. Family

     A. Family archival - I'm still working on this. I was really consistent of doing this for a while but there was a few weeks that I couldn't and just never got back in the habit. I cleaned off my desk on Sunday so that I would have room to get back at this again.

VII. Social

     A. Game group - We want to create a gaming group that meets fairly consistently. Right now there are four of us but we would like to invite a few other people to join in with us. We are working on this one. :)

     B. Have people over at least once a month - We do this fairly often already but I want to start inviting people who we don't have over that often.

VIII. Home

     A. Major projects

          1. New garage door opener - done

          2. New roof & gutters - I need to call the insurance company to see if they can come take a look at the roof.

     B. Minor projects

          1. New tires - done

          2. Fix door panels - done

          3. Fix fence - not done yet...the weather & our busy weekends had been impeding this. 

IX. Work

     A. Kapp's Kitchen

          1. Make one batch of cookies a day - I'm not doing this consistently yet.

          2. Work the Denton County Community Market - We are trying to get our application in for this but we have a question that hasn't been answered yet, so we are kind of in limbo at this point.

     B. A Narrow-Minded Woman

          1. Research/write 1-2 hrs a day - I am not consistent in this, yet.

          2. Publicly publish the site - Not quite ready yet. I have all the pages up and ready but I want to get at least 10 articles written before I start posting.

          3. Post 2-3 articles a week

     C. COO of the Kapp Family

          1. Create a home management binder - I have created several printables and I am working on more. I have been enjoying a few of the ones I have created so far. One of these days I may put them online for purchase. 

          2. Organize & clean office - I cleaned part of my desk off on Sunday, does that count? ;) Granted, much of this is directly proportional to how far along in the family archiving I am. 

So that is part of what I'm working on this year. Ha. Like I said, I like making lists. It makes me feel calmer and less overwhelmed. Some of these are already complete, some are just habits I want to maintain, others may take many years or a lifetime to complete, and it is highly likely I'll add more to this list as the year goes along. There are a few other things that I didn't list either because they were a little more private or I just didn't want this list to get crazy. Ha. Fail there. ;)