Which Church should you visit on Easter?

Have you been bombarded by Easter invitations everywhere? Believe it or not, so have I. I'm here to help you make a decision on which Church you should visit on Easter.

Here's the reality: not everyone will go to the same place. The issue sometimes is finding the right place for you. Here are my suggestions:

1. Do your homework and go to the church's website. Chances are, you will find a video or podcast of their previous services. I'm all for you knowing what you're getting yourself into before you get there. Trust me, I do this all the time and I highly encourage my friends to do the same.

2. If you have no idea of where to go, join a friend who is going. Here's the thing about your friends: they wouldn't take you to a bad place. Going with a friend also guarantees that you will not be alone. Arriving with a friend guarantees that you will know where to go and how to navigate the place.

3. Go with your family. I bet your family will be overjoyed that you joined them for Easter. If you want to score high points with your folks, take them out to lunch afterwards. I'm serious.

4. Accept an invitation from a friend who's been inviting you for a while. They'll be happy to see you there and remember reason number 2: you'll have an immediate church GPS.

5. Go to a Bible believing church you've been casually following on social media. You  see their sermon highlight or music posts. You think, "this sounds good" but leave it at that. Well, Easter is a good time to see the entire thing in person.

If you are still having a hard time deciding where to go, be encouraged. God wants to see you in His house more than anyone else. Remember you have Christian friends who can help you as well.

If you are a local friend, come to my church! If you've seen my social media posts, you know we have a great time and I'd love to see you there. 

Vigilantes do Peso

Voltei pros Vigilantes gente! Eu entrei na primeira vez em 2010. Tive que sair porque não estava mais dando pra pagar pela mensalidade. Tive minha filha mais nova em 2012 e perdi peso sozinha. Com a vida, estresse, etc, ganhei bastante peso de volta. Resolvi voltar em 2017. Pela segunda vez, tive que sair pra poder poupar um pouco de grana. Eu comecei a usar uma App gratis, mas não consegui perder peso como antigamente. Fiquei muito feliz por não ter ganhado tudo de volta. 

Dia 4 eu recomecei minha jornada com o VP. Estou usando a App, e estou gostando muito. Infelizmente, eu não estou com tempo de ir as reuniões. Até agora, o meu plano está funcionando. 

Aqui estão os números:

Início: 79.37 kgs

Objetivo: 54 kgs

Peso da semana: 72.5 kgs

Meus objetivos dessa semana são:

• anotar tudo o que como na app

• guardar alguns pontos pra me divertir com a família no final-de-semana

• continuar fazendo exercícios de 4-5 dias por semana

• descansar bem

• beber bastante água todo dia 

Obrigada por me acompanhar nessa jornada amigos e amigas!

My Weight Loss in 60 seconds: first week of WW

The past week I followed WW's freestyle plan and I lost 1 pound! It feels good to be back on track. I used a free app for 6 months. I wasn't able to stay on track consistently although I'm happy to say that I never gave up on my ultimate goal.

Food 
I was surprised of how much "fun" I had with food. Freestyle gives you freedom to eat well and still achieve your goals. I stayed within my points. We went out to eat one night and I was able to find foods that fit my plan. I ordered grilled salmon and really enjoyed being with my family. Right before signing up to WW, I got pretty desperate. I cooked a bunch of cabbage for soup and I was on the "smoothie in the morning" plan. This past week I actually ate what I wanted to eat. I enjoyed good, tasty food and I lost weight. I love snacking. I had snacks and I lost weight. All of this, because I decided to track.

Tracking
Before coming back to WW, I decided to stop self-sabotaging my efforts. My mindset, more than an app, is really what helped me finish strong. I want to finish what I started. I know that if I want to lose weight, I need to track. So tracking I did. I learned a while ago that planning will help me succeed. I prepared my food on Friday, which made the weekend and the following week much easier. I am tracking as well as staying aware of my feelings of fullness and hunger.

Exercise 
I'm also tracking my exercise. I went back to the gym this week, so I am adding everything I am doing. I've never took advantage of my exercise points but this time around, I will.

Support
I've been flying solo when it comes to WW and it looks like I will be doing that again. I do post on Connect (a type of social media inside of the app). I told myself that if I wasn't making progress, I'd make the effort to join a WW studio (formerly weight watchers meeting). I love the instruction, interaction and accountability you get in the group. I hope to continue to succeed. I find inspiration in a few podcasts and I even found a few people on YouTube worth listening to every now and then. I don't want to be over dependent on people to make this happen. Still, support is great and welcome.

So here I am, already working on the results I will get next week. I am committed and energized. I will reach my goal!

Stats:
Beginning: 161 lbs
Current: 160 lbs
First Goal: 150 lbs

Praying during Lent

Easter Sunday, a few moons ago.

We’ve been part of our church for a little over a year now. We are learning that each denomination observes Easter season differently. Our church is currently going through 40 days of prayer. We are not only speaking about prayer but also praying in small groups. I secretly hope the excitement outlasts the end of the 40-day deadline.

I’ve been convicted about praying more (as far as quality over quantity). I even mentioned something here on the blog a while ago. I decided not to wait, just pray. I also decided to enlist the company of my family, who are always eager to pray together.

I still think that Lent is super long. Breaking the season down in small chunks is something that helps me a lot. Last year, I developed the habit of changing my prayer focus every 10 days. The kids had a lent calendar, which I did not manage to print this year. They are following our church’s 40 days of prayer plan with us. I didn’t “dumbify’ the plan for them. We read the same scriptures together and think about what God is saying as a family.

The kids’ questions have been fascinating. I hope we can continue to seek God as a family. The way I learned about Jesus was by closely observing adults who lived their faith out loud around me. Prayer meeting was one of those times - I’ll write about that another time.

We have always enjoyed Palm Sunday because the kids put on a play. We keep it simple and we use what we have at home. The Listenbee Palm Sunday Play is something they look forward to every year.

We read the passages that precede the resurrection of Jesus during Lent. By the time Easter rolls around, the scriptures are fresh in our memory and the joy of the Lord is strengthening our hearts.

My husband has worked in church before we got married so Easter is always a big day. We rejoice in worshipping Jesus every Sunday but Easter is especially joyful. It is the foundation of our faith and we celebrate with all our hearts.

I plan on preparing our Easter dinner ahead of time as I’ve done before. We eat together and we have a special desert. Last year, we had carrot cake and I asked the baker to write “Jesus is alive.” Every reminder of this reality is sweet.

I don’t know how you celebrate Lent or if you care to remember it. I do hope you remember Jesus. I hope you remember how much He cares about you. He thinks about you more than you care to count. He loves you and I hope you know it.

Previously in this series:
• Lent: I will remember Jesus
• Lent: the first 10 days
• Lent: my goals for Lent
• Lent: nothing I expected
• Lent: lessons learned
• Lent with Kids

My weight loss in 60 seconds: marathon season prep

Every mile counts!

Marathon training starts in 12 weeks. I was blessed to have a strong season in 2018-2019 which was my come back from my “sabbatical.” My sabbatical consisted in my year off racing long distance. I ran a 10K and trained in my neighborhood. I got my mental game strong and I lost weight. Coming back to distance running was sweet. Of course the sport is always waiting for you with open arms. The distance I chose was the half marathon. I had never ran the Aramco half in Houston. It was a great experience, you can read all about it here.

I enjoy counting down, so, 12 weeks. My plan is to do the following:

• Maintain my running base
• Get stronger (back to lifting weights)
• Cross train like a champ (back to swimming)
• Pay close attention to my nutrition (get leaner)

Another thing I’ll do is to start working on my mental game earlier. I often work on being positive during my long runs. I believe I can start earlier. I also want to encourage other runners out there. I believe that although running is an individual sport, we experience it as a group. I want to encourage others to persist and reach their goals.

I don’t know that your goal for the year is. What I do know is that you have a lot of potential. What will you accomplish in 12 weeks?