December already?

I've been going full speed ahead all day today and have now decided that sitting down feels REALLY great.  My posts have become less and less frequent.  As I sit here and enjoy the relief it gives the rest of my body, I will fill you in on the last little bit. 

The Christmas decorations are up (minus the tree.... which I then realized is pretty much the ONLY Christmas decoration that I have!!  haha... we are working on that) and I am starting to bake already.  I truly do enjoy baking.  I have some crafting I hope to get to today as well in preparation for an ornament swap later this month.  I am very excited to see what others have thought of! I was cleaning my house and baking to the sound of Christmas music.... it's wonderful when I feel that I can break out the music and start feeling the warm fuzzies of the season. 

This Thanksgiving we decided to spend it with friends.  Unfortunately, we were unable to get out to see my parents this year (we alternate holiday's each year).  We hope to see them sometime after school gets out so that we can have a little more time to enjoy them.  I was looking forward to having a great time with friends, and overall.... that is what happened.  Unfortunately, I came away from the event feeling a little lonely.

Since that day, things have been trying.  I decided a little over a month ago that I was going to cancel my gym membership.  I made a plan to attend the gym on base (literally 2-3 minutes drive) in the morning before my hubby has to be at work.  That entails me getting up at 4:45am and to be home about 6:30 am everyday.  The early mornings have required me to get to bed early in the evenings and have taken away some of the "me" time I used to have after the kids are in bed.  I have found that it is perfect for me though.  I wake up, throw my clothes on, head to the gym, enjoy a great workout, and then come home to stretch and prepare for my day.  I am already losing weight!  The best part is, I don't have to pay any money to lose this weight!  Before I was going to the gym on a pretty regular basis (when I could) and could not lose a pound.  Now, everything has turned around!  I am not sure how long this will work, but for now it is great.  I find that I have less of an appetite when I go to the gym right after waking up.  I also feel a lot better after my workouts than I was at the Y.   I will always love the Y and the atmosphere that it upholds, I am just grateful that I listened to the spirit and decided to cancel my membership for now.  It truly is what was best for me.

Things with my calling at church have been trying for some time now.  There have been frustrations and misunderstandings.  Through all of this I have tried to understand each side of things.  I believe that is what Jesus Christ would do in this situation.  I try to be optimistic and to bring peace to the calling and the people it influences.  Unfortunately, I am exposed to a lot of criticism which makes this an especially difficult trial.  I have been wanting to get away from criticism and negativity for a long time now and have been looking for people with the same goals to surround me.  I have been praying about it and asking for guidance.  I feel that the Lord is helping me to do what is right and what is pleasing to Him.  These past few days I have found myself amidst all the mess and am enjoying life a lot more.  Much more than I have for a long time. 

I apologize for all of this being so cryptic, this is my blog for me to be able to look back at as a form of journal.  I hope to be able to gain inspiration and strength by seeing what lay in these posts.  I guess this post is more for me to document my feelings and hardships and to remind me that I know I will get past them and how I already have gotten past some. 

I would like to share a small part of my testimony with you.  Jesus Christ lives, He was resurrected and did indeed atone for our sins.  He loves us and wishes for us to be with Him again someday.  If there is ever anything you need help with or strength to get done, He will be there for you.  Amidst the world filled with flawed people, He is the perfect friend.   I love Him dearly and hope to one day hear Him say, "Well done".  In the mean time, I know I have a LOT of work to do!  I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.