Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm so glad you're here today and hope that you'll consider linking up with me for this post some Thursday. I host it every week, and it's become one of my favorite parts of my quiet time in the mornings. I've been keeping a gratitude journal again since the week after Thanksgiving of 2023, thanks to my Pastor for challenging us in this. The practice of daily gratitude is life changing! When you look for the good, there is so much to be found; it changes your mood and your perspective; and the more you do this, the easier it becomes. You should give it a try! 

This week I am thankful for...

• a date night with my favorite guy and a trip to Sam's afterward
• the fact that he wants for me to do things with him all the time
• the fact that my eye felt better when I woke up on Monday and has been fine ever since
• being able (with God's help) to stick to healthy eating since Sunday and being down two pounds
• encouragement from you, my blog friends
• the fact that God gives me words and prayers to encourage others (I'm thinking work, but on my blog as well)
• being caught up on laundry
• my very best friend! She calls to check on me, and I call to check on her. I love that we can talk to each other about the things we talk to Jesus about. I literally tell her everything. EVERYTHING.
• the fact that almost two years to the day later, my husband has been able to lose so much weight all on his own. He went from about 266 pounds to around 190. He wants to continue to lose a bit more, and then he wants to tone and work out some, but isn't that amazing?! I'm so proud of him

What I mean by that is that he did this by changing his diet and counting every single calorie he eats. The reason I even mention this is because yesterday he was able to walk into the surgeon's office and tell him that he did the work, now it was time for the surgeon to perform the surgery that he needs. If this sounds strange to be thankful for this, know that I am because his hernias were causing him pain; once he started losing weight, some of the pain went away, but it was still a nuisance. In order for a hernia repair to work, you need to be under a certain BMI, and you need to maintain that unless you want it to come back. He definitely does not want that, so we've made some lifestyle changes over the last two years. Though I haven't been near as diligent as him, I've also lost about 30 pounds in year's time without trying too hard; as you've heard me talking about this week, about ten of those have crept back on, so I am being diligent again and I will keep losing weight. I don't want to go back to the weight or size that I was, and I'm trying to get it under control now before it becomes too difficult again.

In case you're like me and love a great visual, here you go.

These pictures were taken almost two years to the day apart. One was from Christmas of 2021, and the other was Christmas of 2023. He's gone from a size 2X shirt to a size XL or L. (He doesn't like tight fitting things.) His pants size dropped from a size 40 (that fit very snug) down to a 32 that is becoming very baggy in his bum. Since he started to look so different, I suggested that he let his hair grow longer, so he's done that for me, as well as grow a mustache. He's working on a beard now! I thought he was handsome then, and I still think that today (I get all heart eyes when I see him in his motorcycle chaps). Size has never mattered to me! He's also added a tattoo to the one he got in 2020, and he's started riding a Harley Davidson. 🤣 I love to encourage him in his hobbies! I hear of so many men going through a midlife crisis, and I want to join him in his as he goes through that someday. I know crazy things happen for a lot of guys at that time, and I know that being supportive and joining him is something he appreciates. 

But seriously, I am so proud of him and that the Lord has helped him to succeed in this. I had to let you know and see how vast the difference has been! He's inspired all of us to eat differently. So that's it for today! What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

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