He was waiting

Just recently I heard a song that hinted at the idea that Jesus stopped at the well to wait for the adulterous woman to come along. I was a little skeptical, so I grabbed my Bible and checked, what I found made me think.

The Bible does not specifically state that Jesus was waiting for the woman to come by the well. However, keep in mind the fact that Jesus knows each and every one of us inside and out, then look at the Scriptures.

¹ Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John ² (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), ³ He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. ⁴ But He needed to go through Samaria.
⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

Is it beyond the realm of possibility to say that He was waiting for her. Women of the time did not wait till noon to draw water. It was simply too hot for that kind of work at that time of the day. But due to the fact that she was a shunned woman, she went when the rest of the women would have already finished with their water drawing. They didn’t want to associate with her, so it was uncomfortable to work at the well when they were there.

The Bible depicts Jesus as being weary and tired. He stayed at the well as the disciples went into the town to get supplies. But why would He stay at the well during a time of day when the women would not be able to draw water for him. The wells were not equipped with buckets to draw water with, so Jesus was thirsty sitting at a well with no means of drawing water.

Is it too far fetched to believe that the Creator of mankind knew that she would come to the well at that time of day, and not only waited for her to come, but sent His disciples on ahead so that He would be able to talk to her without their prejudices? I don’t think so. Because I serve a God who knows my schedule, loves me, and will wait to intercept me at times when He needs to show me my need for His blessings. When I stop the craziness of my day to  seek Him and spend time in His peaceful presence, He is there waiting with open arms to receive me and give me my portion of living water that is so necessary. A God who is so willing to spend time with me is surely a God who was willing to stop along a dusty road waiting for a woman that society shunned and was an enemy of His people. Even she was shocked that anyone would talk to her let alone someone that was a racial rival.

I at times have a crazy schedule and when I have friends who know my schedule and remember when I am available it amazes me (I don’t always remember:-). But to know that I have a God who not only is aware that I exists, but would take time to know my schedule and sends blessings just when I need them throughout the day, now that is truly amazing. May we never lose sight of the God, who purposely waits for us to come to His well. May we also seek the living water from the source that never runs dry.

God's view

One thing that people have said to me is that they want to know my secret... How did you do it... Some time in the near and distant future I might have time to blog about that(lol). But I thought about the real secret to my success.

My secret is this awhile ago I asked God to show me, the real "me." The "me" that He sees, knows and loves. Let me back up and say that if you really don't know me well, you don't realize that I can have some major self confidence issues. The more I prayed to see myself as God saw me the more I realized that I was capable of so much more than I realized. I started to realize that while I had been doubting my abilities... I didn't even bother to try. And by try, I mean really put effort into it... So I started to push myself. I got involved in a competition, because I realized that I could use my competitive streak that is a mile wide, to my advantage. I started to jog, slowly at first then more and more. I started to count calories and didn't think I could live on so few. But I did it. The more I accomplished the more confidence I had. Confidence not just in the very visible results, but confidence in the accomplishments that I was making. I still remember the day that I ran my first round of 2.5 miles in a half hour. I was so excited. Not only was I a former chubby chick, but I was a former asthma kid. I barely completed the president's test every year in school because I took so long to do a mile. And now I was jogging 2.5 in 30 minutes.

I still am working on some of my self confidence issues. But I now see a young lady with a load of determination, a young lady that looks up more when she walks, a young lady with some talent that God can use for His glory. While I can fit into sizes that I didn't think I would ever see again, and the number on the scale isn't as scary, the most important thing is to really see myself as God sees me. Once some of that excess baggage is out of the way, He is able to do so much more for me than I ever dreamed possible.

I did it!

Ok so I'm so lame at blogging but I wanted to let those of you who do check my blog that I finally made it to my goal!!! I lost 50 pounds officially!!!

It's not the greatest picture but the most recent :-)

Just a tip…

First I want to say thank you to all of those who have been so encouraging during my life changing process. Some of you have asked what my secret is to weight loss. First, it is more than just weight loss. It is living a healthier lifestyle. So I thought I would blog some tips from time to time. (My disclaimer is that while these things have worked for me they might not work for you. That is one thing that I have learned is that I have to do what works for me and not everything that the fitness gurus suggest will work, so pick and choose carefully. If after a week or more it doesn’t work then try something else.)

So here is my first tip: Portion control

Whether you are calorie counting (my personal favorite, which I will discuss in a later blog entry), POINTS counting, or just watching the food go into your mouth, watching your portions is a smart healthy choice that may help your weight loss and overall health.

Did you realize that when you grab that can of pop, bag of chips or tub of ice cream that is not a “serving?”

This was one thing that was one thing that was hard to wrap my mind around. Most liquids (pop, water, milk, juice, etc.) are given as a 8 ounce serving. As a chocolate milk-aholic this was devastating especially since tall glasses that I like to drink out of were no where near 8 measly ounces. I actually found some glasses at MARC’S that were 8 ounces when clear full. These are my morning milk glasses.

 

 

Without using portion sized containers or my food scale I would eat the whole tub of ice cream without realizing exactly how much I had really eaten. There is nothing wrong with being slightly obsessive about your eating habits. If you aren’t obsessive for yourself, no one else will be obsessive for you. (And if some one started being obsessive for you, you would probably resent it…) Making sure that you are eating only 1 ounce of chips instead of the whole bag, 1/2 cup of ice cream instead of the whole tub, or 8 ounces of chocolate milk instead of the whole carton is a huge first step for most people to take. Getting a food scale also is a big help for knowing exact amounts.

Taking small steps at a time is one of the keys to success. You can’t expect to drop 100 pounds in a week by this method, but it is one eye opening step in the process of dropping that 100 pounds in the next year or two.

Happy New Year

Wow! 2010 is here and so many opportunities for the new year! Looking back at the last year some interesting things have happened, and with a new year spread out in front of us there is so much room for new interesting things to happen. So what are we going to do about it? Well, I looked back at the post I did for the last New Year... and I made some crazy and fun resolutions. But some of my goals were small monthly ones that would help lead to a healthier, skinnier me... Well it did help some...

I'm happy to say that I have lost twenty plus pounds since this picture was taken... And feel pretty good. I know it sounds like I'm bragging but it has taken a lot of hard work... Somedays it doesn't feel like I've lost any weight and somedays it feels like I am skinny. LOL Going home to family that hasn't seen me in months showed me that all the hard work was worth it... I must say that the compliments were very encouraging. I already have another goal in mind for a year from when that picture was taken (my birthday). And I'll be sure to post when the time comes

:-)

I wish you all the most blessed New Year!!

Psalm 100

In thinking of the holiday season that is already upon us (where does time go??). Our pastor gave us a Thanksgiving message based on Psalm 100. While he was preaching and I was taking notes I kept thinking back to verse 5.



"The Lord is good..."



Sometimes that is all you know... That's all I know right now. The Lord is good no matter what I am going through, no matter what people say, no matter what is going on in the world. He is good whether I am happy or sad, whether is raining or the sun is shining. Whether I acknowledge Him or ignore Him; He is good. Because I have decided to not only acknowledge Him but accept Him as Savior, He is very good. This doesn't mean that my life will go smoothly. But God is still good.

Recently, life hasn't been the bed of roses that we all dream that it will be, but I am choosing to focus on the fact that God is good.

Happy Anniversary

Just wanted to wish my Mom and Dad a Happy Anniversary!!!

God has blessed me with wonderful, loving and supportive parents!

I love you both!