I am such a delinquent

Hi. My name is Lisa and I am a delinquent blogger.

In my defense, here's an overview of the past few weeks:

• Snow. Snow again. More snow.
• Illness wreaking havoc on loved ones. OK, so maybe I just had a husband and two boys with fever and aches and bronchitis, but it still threw off my groove.
• Spring Sing practice. Go Yea Rah Regina HEY!
  
• Lost birth certificates. Legally changing names on birth certificates when ordering duplicates. True story: For sixteen years now, Emily's birth certificate has claimed that she is Emily Barley instead of Emily Burley. We're finally getting that fixed so she can no longer claim that she was adopted or is the child of the mail man.
• Teaching a new class full of students from China.

Who ever said life is boring? In four brief statements, I included weather trauma, illness, dancing, accusations of adultery, and international relations.

But here's an update on my work in Marianne Williamson's A Course in Weight Loss. First of all, it's wonderful. The concepts remind me of Paul's encouragements to renew our minds and live as the new man not as the old man. I like philosophies but find that in some areas of my life, I need much more of a how-to. This book is providing the how-to.

The first chapter deals with the negative emotions that are often the reason we overeaters reach for food. In time, they become buried under our weight. The primary activity of the first chapter is to spend time writing about those negative emotions and turning them over to God in order to allow him to deal with him, rather than keeping them to yourself. Since I raised with a strong Southern belief in not airing dirty laundry in public, I tend to keep such negative thoughts to myself so I'll not be sharing that list here. Instead, listen to Williamson's own words about the process:



Mostly, I want you to know that this is one of the few books I've read in my life that strikes me as true. I read a lot. I read fiction, I read non-fiction, and I read self-help. I read new books, I read old books, I read ideas I agree with and ideas that challenge me. Few books -- outside of the Bible -- have struck me so thoroughly as true. Maybe because this has been my lifelong struggle, but I have hope that if I make it through this book and continue to live out the principles, I won't have to spent my whole life fighting this battle. Being aware? Yes. Fighting? No.

Renewed hope is a wonderful thing. If nothing else, Williamson has renewed my hope in a part of my life where I had lost it.