Blogs, Faith, and Diets oh my!
Here’s a few random things that I have thought through today:
First: I have added a couple new blogs to the blogroll: Four Girls and One God, and to be a better me. Four Girls is a blog by Emily Cassetty who I knew from my old church in Bowling Green. Emily and her husband Matt have an amazing story of life and love and faith in God. They have 4 daughters, one of whom is in Heaven with our Father. Emily has amazing insight and a special gift for blogging. Follow her blog to be uplifted, to laugh, and to cry.
My dearest friend Sarah has her first blog Teapots and Cakestands about marriage, baking, and life and just started a second one “to be a better me” to really track her new year’s goals of becoming more healthy and revitalizing her walk with Christ. I feel motivated every time I read this blog to become a better me myself! Check out the rest of the blogs on the blogroll and find a new favorite to follow!
Second: I have just been reminded of the sovereignty of our God. Our financial lives have been a little crazy lately (heck, even the personal lives!) since Jeff is working full time freelance and my child care babies have all left in the past 2 months. (If you are confused and need to catch up, read this.) We are doing Financial Peace University so we have gotten very tight with our budgeting and pursuit of becoming debt free. It is perfect timing in so many ways because our personal financial situation is no where near predictable. Jeff’s freelance jobs can range from 500 – 5,000 dollars each project, and these projects can build up and he can have a couple in a month, or they can become silent. These silent times are the ones that I tend to worry because we don’t know when or where or for how much our next paycheck is coming.
Today for instance, we have been waiting for a check to come in the mail from a project Jeff recently finished. This check is our lifeline for this month. The check was not in the mail. I’m freaking out, wanting Jeff to contact the client and figure out what the hold up is, and wondering what are we going to do for all those bills that have come due. 30 minutes later what happens? Something even better than that check appearing (though if that happens soon I wouldn’t complain!) Jeff told me that this client has ordered another project for March 5th! After this check that is due in the mail to take care of February, we didn’t know what we were going to do for March. How can we not say that God is providing for us each step of the way??
Since November, we have been living month by month and are being provided for each step of the way. We are trying to be faithful in what He is giving us. Since we have been used to living in abundance this past year, behaviors need to change – this is where FPU comes in. We are being given exactly what we need and anything above this is going to kill off debt so that we can better ourselves and the future for our family. This is hard stuff. Hardest thing I have had to do in years. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and share with us any advice or encouragement!
Third: Fat Tuesday! For Jeff and I Fat Tuesday is the day we start to shed the fat instead of piling more on with Mardi Gras goodness. The past few months, really the past 6 months minus a few weeks here and there, has been off diet. I have struggled really with getting motivated to get back on the diet since Christmas even though Jeff has really wanted to and we have seen ourselves gain weight :( See all my ups and downs here.
Well, this past week I have found that I can’t fit in the jeans that I was so proud to get into after shedding 70 pounds this past August. And we just can’t have that. So, back on the diet wagon we go! We are doing a protein shake for breakfast and dinner, eating a high protein/low carb lunch and 1-2 snacks during the breakfast and afternoon hours. We will be striving to get to our goal weights and be much healthier by the time Jeff hits the big 30 in September. (silver lining of the protein shakes – it’s only about 50 cents a meal so it will help our budget wonderfully!) So again, help encourage us to stay on the right track until we are happy and healthy!
Those were the three things that I have really had on my mind today. Thanks for listening :)
We are Jeff, Jordan and Charlotte Lyons!
Jeff and Jordan have been married since August of 2005 and live in Spring Hill, TN. Jeff works at home as a producer and video editor for his company Light and Story. Jordan stays at home with Charlotte and babysits some of Charlotte's friends! Charlotte was born January 23, 2009. She is the light of our lives, as you can probably tell since most of the posts are about her! Keep coming back to visit us here at House of Lyons!
wow–big stuff! you are definitely in my prayers through all this tough stuff–I love you dearly!