Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Have you ever been to the point of exhaustion? Or maybe to the point of burnout? Have you ever wondered what more could you do to get things completed faster? Or maybe you have thought about just quitting, afterall, it seems easier doesn't it?

These are the questions that have been running through my mind the last couple months. I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that there is a TON on my plate. If there was a literal plate, mine would be overflowing with all kinds of things -- all of them good, but at the same time, there's just sooooo much! Is there anything I can do to minimize this? Not really. So, it's one of those times where you just have to roll up your sleeves and take the nitty with the gritty (or however that goes). :)

Today's good news is brought to you by Liberty University. Okay, well the good news was actually given to me, but I want to share it with you.

I called Liberty to change my degree program to a BS in Early Childhood Education Interdisciplinary. My degree plan was set at a BS in Psychology Christian Counseling. While I still feel that I can do this sort of "job", my heart is in a family child care/development setting. Originally my degree completion would end in March 2015, attending at the current pace I have been attending (summer breaks, two classes in the fall, four in the spring). However, after the academic adviser informed me of how I can accelerate a lot quicker, I seriously felt like I had just heard THE BEST NEWS EVER (besides knowing that Jesus died on the Cross for me and wants to have a personal relationship with me).

It is most certain, or at least it feels that way, that the reason why this feels like THE BEST NEWS EVER is because I am absolutely burnout on attending college. For once I want to have my mind blank (umm, I'm a female and there's just no possible way this could happen, huh?) and not worry about college classes, reading tons of material, answering questions and quizzes, and taking tests. I want to have the freedom to come and go as I please with our children and do things as a family, to take many more date nights with my husband without school getting in the way.

At the same time, I know once I earn this degree it will be one of the most rewarding things I have accomplished. It will have been earned with rapid heartbeats to meet deadlines, procrastination, thorough examination of material given, and lots and LOTS of tears. It will be so worth it! It WILL BE rewarding!

Picture by ME.

So, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I will now graduate around 15 August 2014. Yes, on this accelerated path I will have to overlap sub-terms. This fall I will overlap so much that at one point I will be in FOUR CLASSES (someone help me now, please!) for four short (not so much) weeks! Several times I will be in three classes at a time for two to three weeks at time. BUT ... it will all be worth it when I can finally say that I have graduated with a Bachelor degree, one that will be so rewarding to put to use -- not just financially, but in that "warm fuzzy" heart kind of way!

THERE IS A LIGHT at the end of the tunnel that is growing increasingly brighter!! THANK YOU, LORD for answering this prayer about what I should do concerning school! His provision NEVER FAILS!

Small Goals Equal Bigger Goals

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One of my own self change goals for this year is to get into the best shape that I have been in for the past 10+ years. Every time I have been successful at losing weight and getting healthy, this success has been achieved by setting small goals.

In the fall of 2011 to the early spring of 2012 I had lost 35 pounds. Granted, a lot of my focus was on kids, healthy eating, and staying busy while my husband was away. And then the same 'ole happened -- I gained all the weight back within 6 months after he returned home.

I am flat out tired of that crummy cycle!!

So I'm making changes ...

Two of the "BIG TO ME" changes I have made is eating breakfast and getting in between 1200-1500 calories. In 2.5 weeks I have lost 5 pounds. Those 5 pounds have been lost by simply making these two changes. Next week I will add short timed HIIT exercises. HIIT stands for high intensity interval training. In two weeks I will add an exciting treadmill workout that I have been wanting to try. No. I am not a runner. But, I wouldn't mind becoming a runner, again, because all these 5k charity runs sound like so much fun!

Image obtained from here

What I have not done is set those small goals. I came across this chart while "surfing" Pinterest and it got me thinking about goals.

Lose 5 pounds. Check.
Next step: Lose 10 pounds. That's just 5 more pounds than before. Then, before I know it I will be on my way to losing pound 15, then 20, then 35, then 50, possibly 60 pounds! I understand that weight is a number and that not every person should be the same weight. And I also understand that muscle weighs more than fat, which is so bizarre given the mass size of fat compared to muscle. However, I am only 5'1.5" tall and know the health issues that run in my family. If losing weight and becoming more fit and active helps deter me from having some of those health issues, well then I am going to do it.

My other goal is to become healthy in food choices not only for myself, but for my kiddos and my husband. I want us to eat better, not have "bubbly" tummys (if you know what I mean), and be overall more healthy ... as a family. Weight-loss for one individual is better achieved when the whole family is in on it -- wouldn't you agree?