Life is a Journey!

40 Days! It is amazing what you can learn in 40 days! I began a journey of extremely clean eating, (non processed, gluten, dairy, sugar, junk free). Do I feel restricted?  NOT AT ALL!! How do I feel? Absolutely amazing.  I wish I had, had the sense or where with all to do this when I was 20 instead of now and honestly I may have never have needed weight loss surgery or have developed diabetes, high blood pressure, RA, Fibromyalgia or any of these other lovely things that I did but that has not been the case. That was not my story, this is and I thank God for it because it could have been so much worse.  God opened an wonderful door for me and in doing so has allowed me to gain control of these diseased through research.  Food is so healing, I believe that with everything in me, it can ether be your biggest enemy you it can be your eh… medication for lack of better terms.  I know that at the point I was at in my life I never could have achieved this without my ...

Month 7 I’ve decided for now that this maybe the best place for my monthly updates. Honestly, these are mostly for me and for me to be able to look back in anyway. I think this month has been the most significant for me yet in so many ways. With everything going on in the crazy world I worked from home for 8 weeks which is a VERY long time. My fibromyalgia pain kick into full gear and meds are just not an option for me. The side effects are not worth it. I sat down on a Thursday or Friday night and began digging for something/ anything that could help. I came across a video blog that spoke about fibro pain being linked to gluten, dairy, soy, sugar and artificial sweeteners. Lightbulb 💡💡 moment! For the past 6 months we have been throwing around the thought that I could be gluten and dairy intolerant because of all the stomach issues. Honestly I’ve thought this for years just not enough to do anything about it. I watched all of her videos and proceeded to buy and read 2 books tha...

"Beauty from Ashes" (no pun intended) March 2017 Little did I realize it but 2017 was "the" year for me I was in the best physical shape of my life and probably the healthiest I had ever been.  I worked hard and we were playing even harder.  I was getting up ever morning an at the ummm, well it was a parking lot, but anyway I was working out with a great group of ladies and an amazing instructor 4 days a week by 5 am.  It was hard but I loved it.  Donnie and I and even sometimes the kids were hiking in the evening and especially on the weekends.  We did a big camping trip that Summer with the boys in places we had never been and hiked our way across Oklahoma, kinda.  It was amazing! 40th Birthday in September 2017   That following winter I began to have some weird aches and pains but pushed through.  I had began to gain weight despite everything I had been doing.  This was hard. Which made moving hard and eventuall...

Body, Mind & Spirit 2013 As 2012 came to a close and 2013 approached I felt a tugging that I should set some God-center goals for my life for this upcoming year. Then I was reminded of Proverbs 29:18~Where there is no vision, the people will perish and I knew that there was no way I was going into this year without a God given plan. So after some nudging from God and much prayer God has laid out some wonderful stuff for me this year. This doesn't include goals for my family or my marriage as I believe that those should be done with my family and my husband. My Body! I will lose 50 pounds over the next 12 months. (I am down 18.2 as of today but they don't count, that was 2012!) I will participate in some sort of exercise at least 4 days per week. (My body and my mind need this) I will continue to eat healthy and drink enough water on a daily basis. My Mind! I will read a good solid book at least once per month.  I will blog/journal often and ope...

Happy New Year! I just wanted to take a few minutes to wish everyone a very blessed New Year! I can't believe it has been 6 months since I have put anything on here, wow.  Well it is a New Year and can we say it is time for some changes.  I am working on something pretty big to put on here but for now I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year.  Love Ya!!

Peculiar  1 Peter 2:9-But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: God has really been dealing with me about this scripture lately and I must admit up until the last few days I have really struggled with this. I mean seriously who wants to be different?  Last night my husband & I were talking and I looked at him and said we are what they consider radical & peculiar aren't we.  He lovingly looked at me & said yes dear but it could really be much worse.  I then told him that I was okay with that because at least I know that I know that I will be making heaven my home.  He said well some one's outlook has gotten better.  I then told him that Monday morning when I went into the store to get a Coke that and elderly man literally poked fun at me to his buddies about me always having a skirt on....

The Heart! A few weeks back a very good friend(whom also has a blog) & I decided that we would start writing on our blogs together.  She did, I couldn't find I thought to share. Well I had thoughts but decided that they were probably way to intimate, to close to my heart to share with the world.  I have now decided that God has called us to share those things with the world.  We are to do all that we can to compell the world to want what he has to offer, right?  Today I really just want to share my what is on my heart.  First of all if you know me or have followed me for any length of time you know that I have walked though some dark places the last few years.  I walked in places that I was sure I would never be able to return from.  I want the world to know that I am back.  For a long time I was very timid, almost broken.  I am not broken, God did not call me to be broken nor timid he gave me the authority ov...

Facebook! Great resource for keeping up with family and friends from all over yet so time consuming. I have been feeling God leading me to take a Facebook break or timeout but today he clearly spoke to me that it was time.  It's time for me to concentrate on him and not what all my friend may or may not be doing.  I will probably begin posting here more frequently not as a way of staying in the know but a way of journaling.  I love to journal and now that life seems to falling back in his plan I feel that I can.

Unconditional Love! I know it has been a very long time since I put anything on here but I was tired of how depressing it was and just began journaling instead and then I didn't want to put anything on here that I couldn't live up to. You know the whole try and fall on your face thing is easier to take if no one knows! Since I last posted I completely turned into someone that no one knew, not even myself.  I have never been in such a scary place in my life.  I turned my back on God and for a season I really became very lost and never thought I would find myself(I never did).  By July last year my marriage was all but over. It was as dead as I felt.  I no longer felt lovable and had completely shut everyone out of my life including my husband, parents, sister and my kids. As mentioned in my previous post I had been trying all kinds of different medications to help me cope but I honestly think sometimes they only made things worse. Enough of the bad! In August Donn...

I don't write this for pity or anything of that nature. I just want to share how amazing God is, although I've struggled that is one thing I've never forgotten! As many of you know I've struggled and at times I've just fallen apart. Today I want to share part of my story. First and foremost God is amazing, he has never failed me and I know he never will. As I have struggled through the last 1 1/2 of my life I have finally realized that I don't have to. If only I'd have learned this sooner. I have struggled with depression on and off for most of my adult life. I've been on medication, off medication, been thru various therapies and councilor's you name it I think I've probably done it. Fifteen months ago my life literally began to unravel and I didn't know how to handle it. At first I cried out to God, then I tried to fix it and then it just seemed impossible. I fell into the deepest pit of depression I have ever been in and I certainly didn...

So far to go but hey you gotta start somewhere right! 20 pounds down and I am wearing a smaller pair of pant today!

Boy do they get the best of us. Today has been an absolute horrible day. There were some events a couple of years ago that I really thought I'd dealt with that apparently I'd just buried and today that grave so to speak was opened. I really should have known to expect such as when you really commit yourself to God you tend to face this stuff. It's so hard and has left me heartbroken. I know it's not to big for God but it feels like a huge mountain to me. Please be in prayer with me that God would just say the word and let it be gone but nonetheless his will not mine. I honestly don't know that I am strong enough for this but I've been taught that I can do all things through him who gives me strength!

Three and a half years ago I was the happiest I had ever been with my physical image. I had never been so small in my entire life and as with so many things in my life I became one of those that said I will never be that works as hard as I did to get the weight off to just put it back on. All I can say is never say never! I guess a person never knows what they will do until that road is in front of them. In the last few years I have been through a lot. A lot emotionally, physically, medically and mentally. My life has completely changed, nothing is as it was. I hate change, I do not cope with it well at all. I haven't shared this because honestly I feel so ashamed. I had an appointment with a specialist two weeks ago to see if he could give some insight as to why I had such a sudden weight change and what if anything I could do to fix it. Boy was that a wake up call but it was a wake up call I needed! He first told me that the hysterectomy I had 3 1/2 years ago put my body on...

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted anything on here in sooo loooong! So much has happened and so much has changed. I have this huge post written just can't decide if I'm ready to share it. Beings I'm actually setting at work right now I don't have time to go into much but I'm going to try and make time for that this afternoon!

Silly Sisters!  Momma letting her horns out!  Beautiful! This is my mom and 2 of her sisters, Naomi and Mary.  Aunt Mary has been battling cancer for the past several years and this recent round of chemo caused her hair to start falling out so she decided to go ahead and shave it off rather than have bald spots.  These are a few of the wigs that she has acquired from friends and family.  I guess no matter what age you are when you get together with your sisters it's all fun and games (at least it was Saturday anyway).

It doesn't get better than this! I want to introduce everyone to our grandson, Noah Avery Hammond! All I can say is wow!  He is the most amazing creature.  He was born this morning, September 18, 2010 at 1:16 A.M.  He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.  I must say to me he looks way smaller than this.  Bethany did an absolutely amazing job and I am so proud of her.  He came into the world letting us know he was really not happy with the whole being born situation. But then he thought he'd have a look around. Then he found her, awe yes that's my mommy and this is where he was when I found my way home a bit ago except they where all snoozing.  More to share later after some much needed rest.  It has been a very long day!

Healing Did you know that healing is very painful? I always knew that physical healing was painful, yes it always hurts for a while before a wound heals.  What I never knew it was that spiritual and emotional healing is also very painful.  I have come to find that this is very painful in so many ways.  I have learned that severing relationships that hinder my life is painful but necessary.  I have learned that God is still there when I try but still end up landing on my face.  I have learned that God uses his people in ways that even blow my mind.  I mean there are people that I don't see on a daily basis and have no idea what's going on him my life who all of a sudden know the exact words that need to be spoken at the right time. Did you know that Satan is watching you? He does, he sits and watches our lives and then BOOM just like that he sees a vulnerable spot and he jumps on it. Sometimes we don't even realized that this has happened.  I sp...

I found something I didn't know I had lost! (Warning, very long post) I sit here with tears flowing as I share with you my heart.  Honestly I don't know where to begin or that I'm even comfortable with this.  So I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and have decided to be open about some things with all of you.  You are my friends and have never showed me anything but love so I really think by the end of this post you will rejoice with me. You see over the last 9 months or so life has been anything but stable.  I lost myself somewhere along the way.  Sometimes life throws changes at you that your just not prepared for and you must decide how to cope with them.  I retreated somewhere deep inside of myself, um not a good place to be.  I became very depressed and then life threw more at me. I became very anxious and then life threw even more at me and somewhere along the way I became someone I didn't know.  I was lost and I honestly never realized...

Our Little Girl! Our daughter Bethany thought she needed to go and grow up and grow up she has.  It's so hard to believe that this little girl that I fell in love with over 15 years ago(she was 5 when her daddy and I married) is now becoming a mommy. She will be blessing us with our first grandson in 4 weeks or so.  Her shower for Noah was this weekend.  My cousin Shelby came in and did belly pictures for her and I just had to share these.  Noah Avery Hammond!!!! The proud Mommy and Daddy to be..... Our Little Girl! (She is absolutely glowing) Noah we cannot wait to meet you and we already love you!

A RAY OF SUNSHINE! Have you ever been in a place in you life where something tells you that you have messed things up so horribly bad that not even God cares to fix it?  That my dear friends is where my life has been lately.  But I do want to say that God is so faithful and full of grace.  Satan is a liar, he is the one that put those feeling there.  I life has been on a slippary slope lately and try as I might I couldn't save it but I came heart to heart with the one who could last night.  I so don't understand us humans.  Why do we try to fix things that we know are bigger than we are?  Human nature I guess.  I want to thank all my prayer warrior friends out there, I appreciate your prayers more than you will ever know.  Please continue to be in prayer for us as we are now on an uphill climb but this road is a very bumpy one.  I leave you with this, hold on to Jesus because in this life he is all that we have.  Love to you all, ...