Weight-Loss Wednesday... OK, ahem... Saturday

After seeing this post, I decided to research this T-Tapp thing I'd been hearing about.

After reading all that I could get my hands on with regards to T-Tapp, I decided it was time to try it. The success stories were plentiful... many coming from ladies who had multiple births and wanted to get into shape again, not merely for looking good, but simply to feel good and treat the body as the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19) that it truly is.

All I wanted was a program that wouldn't make me buy prepackaged, processed foods, nor claim that I could look like a supermodel after having four children and only being five feet four inches tall with a shorter torso. I wanted a boost in my energy, clarity of mind, and to fight off the dark cloud of possible inherited heart disease, high blood pressure, etc., and the Reflux and IBS I deal with daily.

I wanted to be here to enjoy helping my children train up their children in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord" and watch them pass their faith in Christ on to their children and their children's children.

So... I ordered it. Happy Mother's Day to me!!

I just finished my "boot camp" as T-Tapp calls it. This is where you determine how many sizes you want to lose and work out so many consecutive days before you switch to an every other day cycle.

The results of my ten day bootcamp? I'm losing inches of fat all over and getting more energized everyday. I am very surprised (pleasantly) at the results of my first ten days. My stomach has flattened out so much that I am about to drop a clothing size already.

I was so skeptical that it could work that the day before I started working out, I bought a pair of size 10 jeans that were a bit snug, but I hoped that within a month of doing T-Tapp, I could fit into them more comfortably. Well, I've surpassed that and am about to retire these jeans and move down a size.

And these results are typical with the T-Tapp work out.

I know, it sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

The way it works is the interesting part. She uses "leverage isometrics" and working many muscles at once to get more done at one time. It's the multi-tasking work out... right up this homeschooling mom's alley! I can't remember the last time that I didn't have to multi-task to get everything done.

What Teresa Tapp has done is she has figured out how to make the body work smarter, not harder and get better results for it. She uses your own body as the machine for strengthening excercises, so you don't need weights, machines, or much space at all. I do this in the mirror of my bathroom, people! Four to five square feet of space and less than an hour each morning initially, then only fifteen to thirty minutes a day after that is all you need.

She also tells you not to weigh in the first few weeks because you are building muscle and losing fat. Since muscle is heavier than fat, it will show on the scale. Instead, She tells you to do an initial measurement on yourself before you start the program. Every week I will measure myself and report my total inch loss to you so you can see how I'm doing. If any of you are also doing T-Tapp, please comment and let me know how you are doing. We can keep each other encouraged along the way!

What has made T-Tapp different for me is the fact that Teresa Tapp cares about making sure that each person who does her workouts realizes her own maximum potential, not the potential of a sixteen-year-old runway model who has never had stretch marks or loose skin in her life.

My total inch loss for week one:

drum roll please......

6.75 inches!!!! That's fat burned off my body. Gone gone gone!!!!

No wonder my jeans don't fit any more ;)

Now this is all of my measurements added together after only one week of T-Tapping (and no, there is no Tap-dancing involved ;)!!

I can tell you this: I feel great! And I'm content with getting to my personal best and loving the body the Lord gave me... "for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

My body is the Lord's creation and I want to treat it as such.
Keep checking back in to see how I'm doing. Maybe you will find inspiration to feel your best so you can give your best back to the One who gave all for us.

His grace and love from my heart and home to you!

Learning About Forgiveness From My Preschooler

"Mommy, Sissy took my baby doll and won't give it back!"

"Did you ask her sweetly to give it back to you?"

"Yes, but she won't do it."

"Alright, go tell Sissy to come talk with Mommy."

In comes my three, almost four-year old.

"Did you take Sissy's doll?"

"Yes."

"Did you ask her for it?"

"No"

"Well, honey, if you didn't ask, that's called stealing. Does Jesus want us to steal?"

Bursting into tears, "No!"

"That's right, sweetie, the Bible says: 'Thou shalt not steal', doesn't it?"

"Yes!" she says, crying harder.

"Honey, are you sorry for stealing from your sister?"

"Yes!"

"Well, you need to go tell Sissy you are sorry and ask for her forgiveness, don't you?"

"Yes, I will Mommy. I'm toe torry for doing dat! I'm toe torry for disobeying you! I'm toe torry for disobeying Jesus!"

"Well, I forgive you, and I know Jesus does, too, sweetie. Now go and tell Sissy."

A few moments pass and she comes back to tell me that she talked with Sissy. I asked her if Sissy forgave her and she said "yes," but she is still crying hysterically.

"Honey, you have been forgiven! I am glad you have such a repentant heart over your sin, but do you understand that Jesus, Mommy, and Sissy have all forgiven you totally and completely? It is over and your sin has been cast far, far away from you. Jesus doesn't even remember your sin any more! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yes, Mommy, but I'm toe, toe torry!"

"I know you are, dear, but you need to forgive yourself now. Jesus doesn't want you to hold onto that guilt... Instead, He wants you to rejoice! He wants you to praise Him and be joyful! When He died on the cross for your sins, He did it for all of your sins! You can be happy now!"

Do you ever do this? I know I do.

Berating ourselves for sin that has already been forgiven is so easy to do. Letting the enemy hang that sin over our heads and remind us of it constantly—succumbing to the guilt—is not an acceptance of forgiveness. It is, rather, a hanging onto the very thing Christ died to eliminate: our debt.

Part of the Christian life is coming to grips with the freedom we have been given in Christ. It is done. He said, "It is finished!" He meant it. When we accept that gift freely, we need to live it freely as well.

Let go of the guilt! Rejoice! Your Saviour has paid it all! Live in the fullness of His joy! It is His gift to you forever, if you are His! And to be His, all you can do is believe that He finished it for you, rest in it, and cease striving to earn it by constantly trying to add to His free gift through wallowing in grief. Godly grief over sin lasts for a little bit, but it does not hang on to us for sin has lost its death-grip on us when Christ uttered the words, "IT IS FINISHED!"

REJOICE in this gift you have been given! Rather than wallow around in grief, turn your mourning into dancing, praise, and adoration of the One Who has done it all. All for you.

"Honey, let's turn on some praise music, get the hymnals, pick a song, and thank Jesus together for dying on the cross for our sins. What song do you want to sing with me to bless Jesus?" This I said while holding her close to my heart.

Your Saviour does the same for you...

Extravagant love. Extravagant grace. It is yours. Revel in it!