PinkHairedGirl.net

It is D-Day here at pinkhairedgirl.net.

Disappointment Day.

I am disappointed that I was correct about my weight gain over Christmas. I am disappointed that I didn’t meet the goal I had made for myself by January 5. I am disappointed that I let myself cheat to the point of practically giving up. I am disappointed that my pants are tighter today than they were 2 weeks ago. I am disappointed that I have backslid to my Week #10 weight. I am disappointed that I have lost a lot of my motivation. I am disappointed that I lost a month’s worth of hard work in a few moments of weakness. I am disappointed that I have to even write this post today.

But mostly…

I am disappointed that I am letting this gain bother me so much and allowing it to steal the victories I have had. Because I am still almost 17 pounds less than I was 3 months ago. And I’ve worked out more time in the last 3 months than I have in 24 years. My energy is like nothing it has ever been. Those are victories.

So… the scale can just shut up today.

Here’s my week’s numbers…

TODAY
*Weight(lbs): 209.3
*Pounds Lost: +2.8

LAST WEIGH-IN
*Weight(lbs): 206.5
*Pounds Lost: 1.6

TOTAL LOST TO DATE
(since Sept. 29, 2008)
*Pounds Lost: 16.6

I won Jenni Clayville’s 3,000 commenter contest… oh and the 2,000… weird huh? Here’s how it all unfolded.

My response…

Happy New Year, LifeGroupers…

Something came up this evening that will unfortunately prevent me from being able to facilitate LifeGroup Online tonight. Without thinking, I left my Macbook Pro at work… so I have no camera! But to not make your visit here a complete waste - I do want to give you the opportunity to post your prayer needs and discuss with one another the following little lesson (using the comment section).

I will be posting and discussing as well using my trusty old PC at home so “stay in” with me and give this a shot tonight. My hope is that this will provoke some thought and help steer the direction of LifeGroup Online in this new year.

We will be back on for reals LIVE next week — Wednesday, January 7 at 8:30pm (CST).

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AND FEEL FREE TO CHAT IN THE BOX PROVIDED

Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. “Consider your ways!” He declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them. (Haggai 1:5)

Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God. Answer one or answer all. I’d love to see your hearts. If you’d be more comfortable… feel free to email me instead at crystal.renaud [at] gmail.com.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

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As always… if you haven’t — add this to your blogs & sidebars to promote the heck out of this online community.

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I do what is called a New Year’s Theme. It is similar to a resolution — but with a twist. They started out as something some girlfriends and I did 4 years ago (this year will be the 5th time). We decided to stop making resolutions, but instead, themes for the year. A theme for God to teach us through instead of a resolution.

My theme for 2008 was “Better Days.” 2006 and 2007 threw at me some of the hardest events of my life. Brandon dying. Friends moving. My church’s leadership train-wreck. My mentor walking out of my life. Watching what I knew as normal completely crumble before my eyes. Better Days was all about the hope and trust that God was still on the throne and Better Days were ahead. Which they were. Thankfully.

My theme for 2009 is “Just Keep Swimming.” While 2008 was a much better year in comparison to the past… my attitude continues to fail me just about every day. “Just Keep Swimming” comes from the movie Finding Nemo, but if you think about it — it is such a great theme for living life. In the context of the story, Dori is trying to cheer Marlin up when he feels hopeless and is ready to just give up. Too often, I find myself with that same hopeless and bitter attitude when life throws me for a loop… even in the most trivial of situations.

Dori goes on to ask Marlin, “when life gets you down, do you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming…”

While I can’t control my circumstances — I can control my reactions to them. I can control how well I guard my heart. And I can either sink and play the victim … or take a tip from Dori and just keep swimming and have victory. There’s more to come about all this — but this post will suffice for today.

First of all — thank you for reading my blog. With each number on the stat counter — I am humbled that anyone comes here. I know that each number represents a life and each time you visit here — you are taking time out of your lives to do so. I truly hope it is and will continue to be worth your time. I am thankful for you and the community that continues to develop here.

I want to share with you briefly, a year in a review — the happenings in my life over the last 12 months. Most of which, I am sure you have already read about. Cause lets face it — I post about everything!

January 2008. . . I began sponsoring a second child from Compassion International (compassion.com). Her name is Mediatrix (Med-e-ah-tricks) Nabwire, is 8 years old and from Uganda, Africa. I also began leading a group at my church for women with sexual addiction. I was blessed to walk with women through recovery. Truly humbling.

March 2008. . . I got kidney stones!!! I had never in my life experienced that kind of pain. But I survived. The real bummer was that I got the stones the night before I was to leave for my 2nd mission trip to South Africa. Needless to say, my trip was postponed.

Editor’s Note: It was requested that I also mention that in March of 2008 I also had an unfortunate accident involving my vomiting in front of my boss… his boss… and his boss’ boss. Granted, it happened in the moment my kidney stones hit and for some reason I can’t seem to live it down.

June 2008. . . I had a baby. No, not really. I did however, buy a Betta Fish for my desk at work. His name is Sashimi, which ironically is a form of sushi. Kinda mean, huh?

August 2008. . . I got another tattoo! Hebrew for “faithful” on my left wrist. The decision to get “faithful” comes from a longtime struggle I’ve had with God and His call for me to remain faithful to Him despite life’s circumstances. This tattoo sits as a reminder of my call to be faithful to Him — and of His faithfulness to be all I’ll ever need. I also spent about 18 hours a day watching Olympics coverage. Michael Phelps is crazy!

September 2008. . . I was down but not out! Thankfully there was another trip to South Africa planned in the same year and I was able to use the support I had raised previously to go. It was an incredible experience and an absolute honor to get to back to this amazing country. We taught HIV/AIDS prevention and abstinence in a rural school, worked a couple soup kitchens, put on a soccer clinic, built a school and shared the love of Christ with the poor and diseased. On September 29, I started Weight Watchers in an effort to change my life! To date, I’ve lost 19.4 pounds!

October 2008. . . I attended Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA. It was by far the most powerful conference I have ever experienced. From day one of the conference, God was determined to grab my attention and correct some areas in my heart that I had let grow hard and bitter. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend.

November 2008. . . I turned 24 years old and became officially old. :)

December 2008. . . I have formed an online life group/bible study. It takes place on here Wednesdays at 8:30pm (CST). I am really excited about the relationships that will be cultivated as a result! Said goodbye to my pink hair. And I also had more babies… two parakeets named Mac and Twitter.

It’s been an eventful and crazy year. A lot of crazy happened. A lot of heartbreak happened. A lot of good happened too though.

What was your most memorable moments of 2008?