After almost two weeks of staying up late and sleeping in, it’s time for me to get back into work mode. Teachers start back Friday and kids join us on Monday.

This break was just what I needed. No schedule. No drama. No stress.

Lots of resting, writing, and hanging out with my sweetie in the garage. Ahhh…bliss!

Oh, and lots of helping Charlie, the bearded dragon, get situated. When I picked the little critter up at the pet store for Jake’s Christmas, I never dreamed how much work and expense it would be getting his little habitat set up. Special lights, a spot for basking, a spot for hiding, a spot for humidity. And then we had to buy a cricket keeper and special cricket food and calcium dust to sprinkle on the crickets. And guess what? He won’t eat the crickets. Soon they’ll be too big for him to eat and we’ll have to get new ones. Geez. I think we would have it easier getting a pet rhinoceros!

To be honest, the little fella is pretty cute, and he loves to be handled. I think he’ll be a fun addition to our household if he survives the first month.

The newest member of our family, Charlie. Look at his little feet.

Anyway, back to getting back into work mode. My first four days of focusing on fitness were pretty good.

Each Wednesday, I’ll be posting an honest update so my bloggy pals can cheer me on (or chew me out) as needed.

Physical fitness

I walked two miles tonight, and I started keeping track of my eating and exercise on the #loseit app for Android. It’s a little easier to navigate than My Fitness Pal.

I’ve been doing some reading about eating plans trying to find a plan that will work for me. Here’s what I’ve come up with.

A high fiber breakfast and one high fiber snack early in the day to keep my innards behaving.

The rest of the day’s food will be proteins, veggies, fruit, and a small amount of nuts. While I’m not completely eliminating any food item from my life, I tend to do better with weight loss when I lay off the starchy stuff like potatoes, pastas, and breads, so I’m going to try to keep those to a minimum.

My goal is to cut down on convenience foods like Lean Pockets and frozen dinners. I’ll still have them when I’m in a pinch, but I’m going to try to eat more fresh things.

Lots of water and calorie-free drinks. Major cut-back on the beer.

Supplements will be a prenatal vitamin (I’m prone to anemia), calcium chews, and fish oil capsules.

In addition to my 2-3 mile walks, 4-5 days a week, I’m going to use the weight machine 4-5 days a week working on major muscle groups. On rainy days, I’ll either ride Garrett’s stationary bike or exercise to a dvd.

Now that I have a plan, it’s time to start executing it! I hope to have a promising update for you next week!

Life fitness

I am so happy to say that my house is picked up and in order! The boys still have work to do in their rooms, but the rest of the house looks great! I’ve been trying to keep it picked up, and so far so good! Now if I can get all my fellas to do the same, we’ll be set.

My plan is one load of laundry per day and one weekly cleaning task per day. Cliff and I will take turns cooking dinner, and the boys will be in charge of keeping their rooms and their bathroom clean as well as picking up after themselves around the house.

Finance-wise, I set up a filing system for the bills and created a budgeting account on mint.com. The boys will get spending money on Thursday nights IF they’ve been responsible around the house and at school.

Spiritual fitness

This is the biggie, so I saved it for last. My prayer for myself is to fall madly in love with God. I love Him, but I want my heart to race when I think of Him.

I want to shed tears over what breaks His heart. I want to be so focused on Him that the world can’t distract me. I want to see people through His eyes and love people with His love. I want to crave time with Him and wake up with Him on my mind. I want to dream about Him when I sleep and sing to Him when I wake. I want to be so obsessed with Him that I have no room for even one idol. Not human approval. Not food. Not worldly success. Nothing but Him.

I plan to fill lots of journals this year. Pouring over His Word and letting it pour into me. Spilling out my secrets and sitting still long enough for Him to spill out His heart.

I’m about 40% done with a Bible reading plan I started back in June.

Intercessory prayer will occur throughout my day using an amazing free app called Prayer Popper. It allows me to enter prayer requests in and indicate if I want them to pop up daily, weekly, or monthly. If it’s weekly, I can pick the day of the week I want it to pop up. I have mine set to pop up four times a day.

I’ll continue using my social media time for prayer as well. I find great satisfaction in shooting off little prayers to Twitter and Facebook friends when I see a need.

So…that’s where I am this week. How’s your 2012 going so far?

Lord, thank you for new beginnings. Thank you for inspired hearts and motivated minds. Thank you for the strength you provide so we can live well for your glory. Thank you for the rumblings of rapture in my heart as my adoration of you grows. Lord, thank you.

Love, LeeBird

Pastor Gary was feeling a little sappy this morning. Could be because his youngest daughter gave him a shiny new grandson on Friday. Baby Landon was born a month early, but he’s doing fine. Praise God!

Baby Landon and his very proud Pops

He took us to the book of Philippians where his heart for his church, The Heart of Mesa, is perfectly presented on the page by the Apostle Paul.

God’s Word is never outdated. It’s right on time every time.

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does! (Philippians 1:3-8 MSG)

Next month, Pastor Gary will celebrate his 10th anniversary as pastor of the Heart of Mesa.

Boy, has it been an exciting decade!

I think about my own family. Ten years ago, our boys were two, five and seven. Now, our oldest is a senior in high school and is busy filling out his college financial aid paperwork.

A lot has happened in 10 years.

When the Lord gave Pastor Gary his focal passage for this week, Gary was floored by how much Paul’s words echoed his own heart. The church in Philippi was much like the Heart of Mesa…a mixed bag of people enamored with Jesus.

The first three members of that church were a wealthy business woman, a jailor, and a slave girl who was once demon-possessed. (See Acts 16)

Sounds a lot like the Heart of Mesa. We take all kinds! We have stay-at-home moms and ex-cons. We have sweet little old ladies and tattooed and pierced veterans. We have regular Joe’s and been-there-done-that Bob’s.

No matter your color or your culture, you’ll find love at the Heart of Mesa. We love because He first loved us! We love with His love.

We’re a crazy quilt of misfits all stitched together by God to make something beautiful, warm, and inviting.

Every morning, Pastor Gary walks his bumbling dogs and prays for his family, the Heart of Mesa.

Together, Gary and the Lord work through challenges and dream up ways to dispel the darkness in Mesa, Arizona and beyond.

Joy fills Gary’s soul as he reflects on all God has done and all God is doing at our little church on Stapley Drive.

We handed out sack lunches to day laborers, and now we have a full-time Spanish pastor. God did that!

We opened our arms to people with hurts, habits, and hang-ups, and now we have a Celebrate Recovery ministry that has 75-100 attendees every Friday night. God did that!

We brought light to the darkness of the local Indian community, and now we have the opportunity to partner with the Baptist Indian Fellowship. God did that!

In 2011, 45 people gave their hearts to Christ and were baptized at the Heart of Mesa. God did that!

God planted the First Southern Baptist Church of Mesa 61 years ago. Through the decades, this church has had moments of victory and seasons of intense trial, but, just as He promised, God is completing the good work he started way back then.

He is using our little fellowship of believers to change lives. What a privilege to be part of the Body of Christ!

What a privilege to be part of the Heart of Mesa.

Pastor Gary needed to spill out his gratitude, lest he burst.

Ten years ago, the Knighton family came to us broken and wounded.

Now, they are whole and flourishing.

We’ve watched Gary and Edithe’s two daughters grow up, graduate high school, get married, and have children. Yes, a lot has happened in ten years.

Gary Knighton loves his church family, and we surely do love him back!

At the end of the post, click on the link to enjoy the little slide show of random photos from the last several years at the Heart of Mesa, and if you’re ever in town, come on by to see us. We’ll give you some Heart of Mesa love.

Lord,

Thank you for bringing Pastor Gary to us so we could love on Him, and he could love on us. Thank you for the beautiful work You are doing in our midst. We are humbled by the way You use us to share Your message and Your love. We are thrilled to serve You together. Despite our quirks and our stumbles, we have a heart for You, a heart for Your people, and a heart for those who need to know You. We are your servants, and we’re ready for a tremendous 2012! In the faithful name of Jesus I pray, AMEN

Heart of Mesa