HAPPY BIRTHDAY

APRIL 30, 2009


Today is a filled with mixed emotions. Today, my father would have turned 71 years old. Its hard to believe a year has passed come May 5, 2009 that he went to be with the Lord. That too, has been a struggle with me. My father wasn't showing much of a life lived for Christ when he passed away, and I struggled spiritually with the question of "was he truly saved?" I read and studied much scripture and still no peace came. I prayed and asked others to pray with me. I could not come to complete peace and it kept me broken on the inside for many months after his death. One night, Jimmy and I sat and talked for the longest time and Jimmy placed a lot of clarity in the situation when he looked at me and asked, "are you living your life without sin?" "Does sin make you unsaved?" He said, "Angie, we all sin but it does not make us unsaved. If we have asked Christ to come into our heart, and asked forgiveness of our sins and have faith that he has truly saved us, then we are saved, never to be plucked from his hand. John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. He then told me that he truly believed my father was saved and knew the Lord as his personal savior. He had asked my dad many times and you could not shake his faith.

My pastor confirmed this also and said even the week before my dad had passed away, T.W. Bailey had visited with him in the hospital and asked him about his salvation. My dad even then, confirmed his salvation with T.W. Pastor then said something that profoundly has stuck with me. He said he believed my father knew the Lord because in the time that he had known my dad, he did not know of a person that suffered more problems than my dad and that God's word clearly tells us that he will chasten his children. This was so true. My father was constantly struggling with either his health, car wrecks, trouble with family, trouble with friends, and even trouble with the law. God did give me complete peace over the months following my dad's death and I tell people now that I believe the Lord decided that my dad would better serve the Kingdom if he just came home. God freed him from struggling with his flesh any longer.

Hebrews Chapter 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Today is also my nephews birthday. My brother's oldest son, Luke, turns 13 today and shares this day with my dad. We called him this morning and wished him a very Happy Birthday. He told us that he had received a surfboard for his birthday. What better place to surf than Florida. They live very close to lots of waves at West Palm Beach so I am sure he will get much enjoyment from his board.

Yesterday was my brother's birthday and he turned 45. We wished him a Happy Birthday as well and he said his day had been very eventful. Apparently the administration of the school where he works sent out a bunch of emails and text so that the christian school which has an enrollment of close to 1000 students would know it was his birthday. He said that his day was filled with many interruptions and fun! His only regret was that he did not get much work done. (you have to know my brother, he definitely borders being a workaholic)

And also on the 20th of this month was my brother's middle son, Isaac's birthday. He turned 11 and we spoke with him this morning. I try and make one call and wish all birthdays for the month of April in the one phone call. Poor little Caleb, the youngest son of my brother is the August birthday but that can be a blessing as well. He stands out alone in his birthday month with his family!

Memories:

fishing trip to Florida (look at how young our Rachael is)

back row: left to right. Paul, Dad, Jimmy

front row: Caleb, Rachael, Luke and Isaac

HOWARD TERRY SELLERS

04/30/1938 to 05/05/2008

I did not make my 55 lb goal this week. I maintained and that's okay. I actually lost .2 lbs but I don't consider that a loss. I am struggling with some health issues and have been unable to exercise so pray for me and hopefully I will meet my goal next week. I refuse to give up. I will post a recipe later in the week.

Weight Loss Update

April 22, 2009

My Weight Watchers meeting was great this morning and a real encouragement. I lost 4.2 lbs for a total of 54.0 lbs. I am back on track and pray for strength to have another good week. If I lose a pound this week, I will celebrate 55 lbs next Wednesday. This is a celebration to encourage me to stay faithful this week.

I watched the Biggest Loser last night and was sad to see Kristin go. She is a remarkable individual and has encouraged me a great deal in my journey. She appeared on this show being the largest woman ever to weigh in and has lost an incredible 130 lbs. I am "cheering her on" to be the one who has lost the most weight at the finale.


Recipe for this week is simple and does not require a lot of time.

Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 cup fat free Italian dressing

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 c part skim mozzarella cheese

Wash chicken breast and lay flat in crock pot. Add salt & pepper. Add fat free Italian dressing.

Cook on low in crock pot for 6 hours.

Remove chicken from crock pot and lay in 9 x 13 pan sprayed lightly with Pam. Add cheese on top of chicken breast and place in oven on low Broil. Broil 2 minutes until you see cheese melt on chicken. Serves 4. WW Points = 6

(This is a quick meal for evenings on the go that can be prepared while you are at work)

I serve mine with a large salad and small baked potato.

For dessert this week I want to keep things simple again and recommend making a fat free chocolate pudding with some sugar free cool whip on top.

I've also had some people ask me if I had any nutritional information on the new flat bread that Subway serves. This information is now available on line at http://www.subway.com/ and is not as bad as thought. The flat bread itself contains 240 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber which calculates to 5 WW Points. So you could still have a turkey, ham, or roast beef flat bread for under 8 points. It would not be the best choice every time in comparison to the 9 grain wheat bread or honey oat but still a treat on occasions. I had a steak flat bread this past Friday with the Monterrey jack cheese and all the vegetables for 10 points. It was very filling and I had the points left in my day to treat myself to it.

Quick note: Our girls softball team at Union Grove Christian School is having a remarkable season this year and I encourage you to come out and watch them play. They won last night at Sheets 10-0 and are undefeated for the year. They have 3 more games to go before play offs. Lets pray that go to State and Win It All this Year!! Next game is Monday, April 27th at home.

ALL THE NEWS AND MORE...

April 17, 2009

I wanted to give some updates especially to those who continue to encourage me in my journey of weight loss. You will never know how much it means to me to have friends who are praying for me and Jimmy and encouraging us in our journey to better health. It's a constant battle and submission is a daily prayer in our lives.

Both of us had a couple of bad weeks. We didn't go completely off the wagon but just did not stay consistent in our eating habits and exercise. I got lazy and took a break from the every day walking and indulged in a few good meals. I gained 2.6 lbs over the 2 week break. Because it was Easter and I was on vacation from work, I only weighed in once at my weight watchers meeting over the 2 week period.

Jimmy and I ate at a place downtown called Xia's and it was very good. We actually went back a 2nd time and enjoyed another good meal with my stepson and his girlfriend. Xia's is close in comparison with PF Changs but PF Changs will remain my favorite.

Now, we are back to the walking, back to planning meals, and eating better. I couldn't resist the urge to step on the scales at home this morning and see what type of progress I was making. I definitely wanted to get rid of the 2.6 lbs I gained over the 2 weeks but also continue my journey of weight loss. My scales showed that I have lost 3.8 lbs which is great. I will not weigh again until weigh in on Wednesday at Weight Watchers. Hopefully, I will have some positive news to share on my weight loss.

Jimmy is doing much better too and was walking this morning on the treadmill when I awakened. I have been pestering him to go shopping. (something that is very hard to get my husband to do) He is in need of clothes that actually fit him. He continues to walk around holding his pants up and it is driving me crazy. Someone please tell him to go buy some clothes that fit him! He did purchase him a new pair of tennis shoes, now if I can get him to buy some pants that fit.

Our last couple of weeks have been busy. We have shared some good times with friends, celebrated the Death, Burial and Resurrection of a Risen Savior, and made some exciting plans for vacation this year.

We are headed to DISNEY! We are so excited. I made the final reservations this past week and we are going for 7 nights and 8 days. Disney is running such great specials that Jimmy and I decided that our vacation budget would be better spent at Disney than anywhere else. Just a sample of what we received and the cost:

• 7 nights, 8 days (Sat.-Sat.) at a Resort on Disney
• 6 days of tickets for all the Disney theme parks.
• Free lunch, snack, and sit down dinner for each of us for 7 days.
• Celebrating my birthday which gives us "extra perks" along with the package (front of the lines for rides, birthday surprises throughout the week, and more)
• extra hours in the theme parks because we are staying on the resort.
• Total cost for a family of 3= $1370.96

You must book your vacation by June 21, 2009 to receive this deal and the stays are valid from August 16 through October 03, 2009. We are going in September and yes, Rachael will miss some school, but its DISNEY and MICKEY!!! Rachael is already counting the days, but I have cautioned her not to hurry her summer away. There are other things on the agenda for this summer and she was offered a babysitting job that will help her save some money for camp this year.

I also had the opportunity to share my testimony to the 7, 8, and 9th grade girls at Union Grove Christian School this past week. The Lord had been preparing my heart for this for months and I had even requested the church to pray for me after we returned from the Ladies Conference in Gatlinburg. Through God's word and prayer, I felt the nudging of the Lord to share my story and use my testimony to reach others that may be struggling with difficulties in their own lives and to show them that your childhood does not have to dictate the person you become in your adulthood and that God does have the answer and will never leave you! I will be sharing my testimony in other places as well as the Lord leads. I am praying about where the Lord will lead me next and I know that he already has the answer and will reveal it in his time.

I'm getting ready to finish up a short week at work and preparing myself for a busy weekend. I am painting in my dining room and trying to get some decorating done so I can conquer another room in the house. Pray for me to have patience.

Here is a recipe for this week. Sorry I missed last week. I'll try and do better. This one is out of the Biggest Loser Cookbook and I calculated the WW points as well.

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN STIR-FRY

• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pound trimmed boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
• 1 cup 1/2" wide strips onion (about 1" long)
• 1 cup 1/2" wide strips green bell pepper (about 1" long)
• 2 tablespoons freshly minced garlic
• 1/4 cup bottled sweet and sour stir-fry sauce (La Choy)

In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the chicken and toss until the chicken pieces are thoroughly coated.

Place a large nonstick skillet or nonstick wok over high heat. When hot, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil, onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic softens and the vegetables are crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or the garlic may burn. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

Return the pan to high heat and add another teaspoon sesame oil and half the chicken in a single layer. Cook until the pieces are lightly browned on the bottom. Flip the pieces and continue cooking until cooked chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the cooked chicken to the bowl of mixed vegetables. Return the pan to high heat, add the remaining oil, and cook the remaining chicken.

Return the vegetables and chicken to the pan to reheat if necessary. Transfer to a medium serving bowl, add the sauce, and mix until well combined. Divide the stir-fry among 4 serving bowls.

***Make sure you add the sauce after the chicken is removed from pan. If you add sauce to the hot pan with chicken, the sauce will cook and stick to bottom of pan and you won't get to enjoy any sauce****

Per serving: 223 calories, 27 g protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat (less than 1 saturated), 66 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 283 mg sodium. WW points per serving = 5 points.

Serve with a multi grain or brown rice and maybe applesauce. Here's a delicious dessert.

Peanut Butter-Fudge Sundae

• 2 teaspoons chocolate syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons reduced-fat peanut butter (I use JIF)
• 1/2 cup fat-free churned chocolate cookies and cream ice cream (I use Breyers) fat-free chocolate or vanilla will work too)
• 1 tablespoon fat-free aerosol whipped topping (in a can)

In a small bowl, stir together the syrup and peanut butter until well combined. Spoon the ice cream into a small dessert bowl. Drizzle the peanut butter mixture over the ice cream, top with the whipped topping, and serve. Makes 1 serving.

Per serving: 195 calories, 5 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat (less than 1 g saturated) trace cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 143 mg sodium. WW points = 3 points.

FAITH IN ACTION!

APRIL 13, 2009

Our church has been disciplining in a Faith In Action Campaign that the Lord layed upon the heart of our Pastor. We were given a devotional book and were asked to do family devotions from this book and pray about what the Lord would have us do above and beyond our regular tithes and offerings. Our church is growing and we are seeking Gods guidance in paying off the current loans on property purchased for a new sanctuary. Once the land is paid for, we could proceed in building our new church. How exciting would this be for God to move us in this direction sooner than any of us could imagine?

We, as a family have tried very hard to stay faithful in these devotions. Honestly, there have been a couple of days where all of us have not been together so we would do them individually and then talk about them as a family. The memory verse for week one was I Thess. 5:17 , Pray without Ceasing. The theme for the first week was, What God Will Do If We Pray.
Prayer is the most important thing in a Christian's walk with God. God cannot give us the desires of our hearts, if we do not Pray. I will admit, I have not always been faithful in my prayer time and this devotional is encouraging me in my prayer time with God. I have set aside time each day just to pray and give my request to God. It is also important for us to Pray together as a family. Our Pastor, staff, and church desires our prayers. Lets not forget to pray!

• Confession of our sins. (We cannot obtain the power to pray when we have unconfessed sin in our life)
• Strength in our walk with God. Ask for strength to resist the devil and the temptations he can place before us. James 4:7
• Thank God for all his gifts. We should thank him for every provision he has given to us and for abundantly blessing us beyond our needs.
• Ask him for our daily needs. We must make our request known to God.
• Pray for our church and the Faith in Action Capital Fund Program.
• Ask the Lord to give you the power to pray and to do his work.
• Ask the Lord to give your church and our leaders the power to pray and to do God's work.
• Ask the Lord for the power to make the commitment to work. (I believe this is where the Lord will reveal to each of us the financial commitment he seeks from us for the Faith in Action Gift.)
• Bring all our fears to the Lord and ask him to remove any doubts or fears we may have so that he may work in our lives through prayer.

The memory verse for our second week of devotions was Proverbs 3: 5-6. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. The theme for the 2nd week is What God Will Do If We Believe.

We must trust God with everything and believe that when we trust, he will direct our lives according to his will. We must give it all to him and trust him. (This is the hardest thing in my Christian life to do.) Do I really give it all to God and do I completely trust him to work in my life? I like to control things and situations so the Lord is constantly working with me on this one. Submission is a huge word and carries a tremendous amount of meaning in a Christian's life. We don't always want to give God everything and trust that he will do what is best for us. This is why we must pray for his strength and guidance. We must trust God with everything and believe that God will do GREAT THINGS for our church.

Our family is growing together as we do these devotions and I encourage each of you to take part in the Faith in Action Program. I believe the Lord has great things ahead for our church but we must pray for him to reveal these to us.

WEEKLY UPDATE AND RECIPES

APRIL 2, 2009

It's hard to believe we are in the month of April already. It will be a busy month with weekends filled with events. We have the Annual Union Grove Walk-A-Thon coming up as well as a camping trip, ladies breakfast, walk for Salem Pregnancy Center and a few other family things. I'm glad to be busy but need to get some things done around the house.

Our family along with the Heges and Worleys are sponsoring the YAAC for Sunday night teens and it will be at the Tullock home. (Pray for us that we supply enough food and every thing stays in one piece.) Just kidding. Our teens have been in our home many times and are always respectful and very well behaved. I love our teens and enjoying working in the teen department.

I read on Tiffany's blog where she reached her lifetime membership by obtaining her goal weight and I am so excited for her. It inspires me to continue my journey, knowing one day I will be able to post the wonderful celebration of meeting my goal weight.

Weigh in was great with another 2.2 lbs lost for a total of 52.4 lbs down. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by but I will tell you the benefits of this weight loss.

1. I am feeling much better and have a greater amount of energy. Sometimes I am walking along and just have a desire to skip or jump. I know it sounds funny, but its true.
2. MY HEALTH: My blood pressure is 127/80 much better than the previous number of 139/92.
3. My total cholesterol is 149. (Must be under 200)
4. My blood sugar is 104 (normal is under 120)
5. CLOTHES: Last but not least, I am wearing clothes that I could never think of wearing before. I am down from a size 18 to a size 12. I don't shop in the women's section any longer, I shop in the misses and it truly has been a blessing.

I am not saying that everyone has to lose weight. This has to be a personal decision. If you are truly happy with who you are, then don't worry about what anyone else thinks. I was not happy inside or out. I fought emotions, scars from my past, and situations in my present that kept me overeating to compensate for it all. Along this journey, I've had to battle and overcome those feelings with God's help. I've had to give it all to him and allow him to take control and to grant me the power to change. I'll be sharing some more of these things in a later post that God has been laying upon my heart to use to reach others that may be hurting and feel there is no hope.

Let me stop here and lovingly remind anyone that desires to stop any addiction: You must submit yourself to GOD first. Nothing will work without submitting to him. He has to be in total control of your life and you have to be willing to submit! He loves you and wants what is best for you. If we could only "grasp" how much he loves us. I think about this often now, how much he loves me. Yes, he sent his son, Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for us but do we truly understand the dept of his love to us! I cry every time I think about him on that cross not because of his pain (and he did suffer) but because while hanging there on the cross, he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He still loved us so much that in his terrible, horrific pain, he was more concerned for the souls of mankind.

I want to be honest because I want people to see and hear the sincerity of change that can occur with prayer, hard work, and submission to GOD. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. I am not preaching to anyone just giving the hard truth. I needed to submit in order to do this. The devil used the biggest temptation in my life to keep me in a pit and that was food. But GOD is bigger than any temptation that the devil brings before me. James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone. It certainly is not my intent. I use this blog to share my personal thoughts so that one day, Rachael can understand the personal struggles, journeys, and memories that we've shared as a family. I pray that she sees Christ through her dad and I and know that we are not perfect BUT saved by God's amazing GRACE! That she too, can weather any storm but dance in its rain with God. She can fall, but be picked up by a heavenly father who loves her. I remind her often of the message I heard on WBFJ when the man called in and said I don't measure my failures by how many times I fall; I measure them by how many times I don't get back up!

Getting to the weekly recipes. Some folks may think that pasta is a no-no while losing weight (my husband thought we could not eat pasta), but here is a spaghetti recipe that is delicious and low in points.

SPAGHETTI WITH TOMATO-MEAT SAUCE

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup of fresh chopped mushrooms
• 1 large green bell pepper chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 3 medium garlic cloves minced
• 1 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7 % fat)
• 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 3 cups cooked whole-wheat spaghetti

Place ground beef is skillet sprayed with small amount of cooking spray over medium high heat. Cook until brown stirring frequently. Remove from heat, drain meat and rinse with water. Set aside.

In same skillet, add 2 tsp of the olive oil and add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.

Add ground beef to skillet. Stir in tomatoes and tomato puree, salt, red pepper flakes, basil, mushrooms, green peppers, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes for mushrooms and green peppers to cook and flavors to blend.

Serve with cooked whole-wheat spaghetti noodles. Yields 1/2 cup of spaghetti and 2/3 cup of sauce per serving. Makes 6 servings. WW Points is 5 per serving.

I serve mine with 2 pieces of the White Wheat bread with some Parkay spray butter on it and toasted in the oven. WW points is 1 per 2 slices of bread. I also fix a large house salad and sometimes throw in some corn for a full Sunday meal.

Another suggestion: You can make this baked spaghetti by taking the noodles and placing them in a 9 x 13 pan and adding sauce on top. You then add reduced fat or part skim mozzarella cheese and bake in oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. This adds another WW point of 1 for a total of 6 points per serving.

Dessert Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs

• 12 medium strawberries, hulled
• 1/2 tbsp of splenda
• 2 oz shortcakes, quartered (use two 3-inch shortcake dessert cups)
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp reduced-calorie margarine (I use country crock)

Mix strawberries and splenda. Let sit for approx. 10 minutes to allow splenda to saturate strawberries. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Alternately, thread 3 strawberries and 2 shortcake quarters onto each of 4 wood or metal skewers.

Combine chocolate chips and margarine together in a small saucepan; melt over low heat, stirring until smooth and well blended. Drizzle chocolate mixture over kabobs. Refrigerate until set, about 4 minutes. Yields 1 kabob per serving. WW Points is 3