wonderful-wednesday

last wednesday was wonderful.

it started out in the morning with my daily weigh-in. I had been hovering around -48 pounds for weeks. some days it was -48.5, others it was -49, but never-50. but on wednesday morning, I saw that number on the scale that I had been looking for for weeks: -50lbs! nothing could wreck this day after seeing that.

my wonderful wednesday continued when I got to work. I have been out of an office for almost 4 months (more on this later). there was a lot of remodeling going on, and I was displaced. I had heard that I might be landing soon. I heard that a specific office was picked out for me, but it was occupied by another worker- they still needed to move out. for days I peeked into the window and saw that nothing had moved, but on Wednesday, I looked in the door and saw that the office was empty! it was mine to claim- a blank canvas to fill- I was elated.

my wonderful wednesday continued when I went to a big meeting with our family ministry team. we did one of those SWOT analysis talks where we went through each ministry and discussed the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. I felt a little nervous about what people might say were the weaknesses of my ministry. When it was my ministry's turn to be discussed, my boss asked, "what are the strengths of the middle school ministry?" and my peers said the kindest, most gracious and most encouraging statements about me and the middle school ministry. I have often wondered how they saw the work that I do, and hearing their kind words encouraged the socks off of me.

after that meeting I drove to another meeting and on the way, I called my wife and told her the wonderful-wednesday that I was having. she was very excited for me as well.

when I got home, I walked up the stairs of my condo and saw a big CONGRATULATIONS banner hung on the stairs. I unlocked the door and walked in, but didn't see or hear Deanna or Jane. I did see more banners as well as lots of colorful balloons. just then, Deanna and Jane jumped out from behind the couch and yelled, "SURPRISE!!!"
"what is all of this for?" I asked.
"we just wanted to celebrate with you your great day." they said.
jane handed me a wrapped present- it was a drawing of our family that she made and had framed- for my new office.
after that, we all went out to dinner and had chocolate fondue for dessert!

what a wonderful-wednesday-
and what a wonderful-wife and daughter.
I've got no complaints- only thanks-

life is good.
God is good.
God is love.
-rev-rob

a brand new me-

a few months ago I started counting calories, and I have now lost 35 pounds! that's kind of cool!

its fun to have my clothes fit loosly on me and to get good news from the scale in the morning.

I miss a lot of the junk that I used to eat- especially starbucks and mcdonald's- but I'm really grateful for skinny cow ice cream and KFC grilled chicken!

I've got some weight-loss resolutions- or things I've seen other people do when they've dropped weight that I don't want to do:

• I'm not going to judge what people eat or how they look. you won't catch me saying "are you areally going to eat that?" I can't stand that.
• I'm not going to start flirting. I've seen a bunch of guys lose weight and think that every lady out there is after them. its sad and it does a ton of damage to people.
• I'm not going to give people unsloicited advice on how to be healthy, how to eat right or what they should or shouldn't be eating. ugh. 

so many of my friends have inspired me with their own healthy choices- my friends chris, adrian, niki, marc and my wife deanna. thanks for modeling for me how to make good choices and how to get results. I'm hoping to drop a few more and to keep it off for a long time just like all of you have done.

-rob

update on your pal, rob; july 2011

its so cliche- but "wow! its been so long sonce I've written on my blog!" I've been getting some kind comments on some of my "lectio divina" wrirtings, and I need to get some of those on here again soon.

a couple of big things have come up since I last posted:

:: I went and saw my favorite band U2 in oakland with my friend mark! we had an amazing spot on the floor in front of the stage. the band had these bridges that floated over the audience, and at one point bono, the band's lead singer was right over my head, within reach!



:: my daughter has become quite the ballerina:





:: and quite the illustrator!



:: and she went to her first ever VBS at church. she loved it- and I loved seeing her get excited to go to church.



:: at work, we just finished up our first camp of the summer- the next one is in 2 weeks.

:: and for the first time in 15 years of working for churches, I don't have an office! I moved out of my old one, and my new set up won't have offices! when its completed it will be a starbucks-stye youth facility where you can work wherever you want, but no one owns anything. sounds crazy, but it will be amazing. until then, I'm fully mobile.



:: I started counting calories about 7 weeks ago, and so far I have dropped 27 pounds! I'm so excited about this- none of my pants fit anymore and my belt is on the tightest loop. I'm really hoping that this is more than just a fad for me and more of a whole new lifestyle.

:: probably the biggest thing I'm excited about is that July 1 marked the 10 year anniversary of our move to San Jose. I love this city. July 9 was my first day of work and will mark the 10 year anniversary of my work with middle schoolers at the church. this is a milestone that I have been looking forward to for a long, long time!

there is so much in my life that I am grateful for right now.
God is love.
-rev-rob