Day 411, 10 Ways to Make Your Birthday a New Year’s Day

 

“Every year on your birthday, you get a chance to start new.”

 

“Every birthday is a gift.  Every day is a gift.”

 

 

 

my birthday today healing from my knee injury mind maps refreshing water people who have wished me a happy birthday a fantastic morning ritual Whatever You Ask mind map with Bible verses (vibrant joy, strength of mind, lasting eyesight, healthy body, healthy weight, wisdom, and abundance).

 

I intend to eat wholesome food this Halloween instead of candy.  I managed to forgo cake for my birthday.  However, I got some virtual cakes for my birthday.

 

	0-100	comments
mood:	85	feeling happiness and joy.
energy:	65	a bit slowed down from my knee injury, but it is healing fast.

	accomplishment	the reason it is important	next action(s)
1	I continued my Bible study.	Word of God	Continue.
2	I posted four blog entries so far this month: Day 404, How Does JV Life Tracker Amplify Your Dieting Success? 28 Ways. Day 402, 3 Days: How Can You Eat for Energy, Mood, and Weight Loss? Day 393, How Do You Make Your Diet Work: 7 Effective Tips for Success Day 392, Implementing Plans	Thought leadership	Continue.
3	I updated my Android Studio and started working on JV Life Tracker again.	Programming ability	Continue.
4	I played Jacque’s piano.	Musical ability	Consider getting an instrument of your own to replace the baby grand you left in Utah.
5	I cooked another filet mignon for my birthday, which my husband loved.	Cooking	Cook it occasionally.

 

 

Today, my knee healed miraculously.  Tomorrow, I will take a walk.  I have been reading A Celebration of Praise: Exciting Prospects for Extraordinary Praise by Dick Eastman.  He emphasizes praising God for his attributes and character, rather than just offering thanksgiving for what he has done.

 

My knee was too sore to allow pushing a transport chair into a restaurant.  Instead, to celebrate my birthday, I fixed filet mignon for two for my husband and myself.  It turned out great.

 

 

I feel a bit anxious tonight.  I think it is because I need to do some serious work to bring my JV Life Tracker app up-to-date.  There is a Google deadline coming up soon.  I need to load an updated version of the Gradle compiler on my computer.  I will soon be putting my programmer hat back on and not spending all of my time writing.

 

Tonight, however, I will do some writing.  It has been a fun birthday, getting messages and posts from many of my friends on Facebook.  Thank you if you are one that wished me a happy birthday.

 

 

 

My knee is doing quite well.  The Lord has blessed me and answered my prayers.  I walked for only 15 minutes.  However, I walked!  What a relief it is to have my ability to walk back!

 

I spent time today setting up a new chart for my intermittent fasting in Google Sheets.  I attached it to the Achieve 50 kg mind map, where my weight loss program is mind mapped.  I think if I will concentrate again on doing my daily 15-hour intermittent fasts, I can continue my weight loss progress.  Take a look at those two links for ideas you can use in your weight loss program.  Also, if you have any questions, include them in the comments section of my Joyful Vibrance blog.

 

I also updated Earnings Per Notch in Google Sheets which gives me three new points even though I had gained some weight back just previously.  A notch is .05 kg.

 

Yesterday, I bought and started a gem of a book called The Jesus Diet: How the Holy Spirit Coached Me to a 50-Pound Weight Loss.  Today, I finished it.  Like the author, Robin Merrill, I do not believe I can achieve effective weight loss without the help of God.  I can have every tool in the world available to me, but without a private onboard coach, it just does not work for me.  I have seriously wondered whether God wants me to lose more weight.  However, when people on Facebook reacted favorably to my profile photo at a lower weight, I realized a weight loss is something I truly want.  I believe the Lord would approve.

 

 

 

Now that my leg is much better, I am doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen.

 

 

I ran a report between September 22, 2019 and October 19, 2019.  I am reaching my nutritional goals.  I am within one calorie of being in budget on the average.  My sugars average less than 55 grams per day.   Fiber is more than 30 grams a day.  I got 100% of Targets.  I am eating less fat than planned, but I do not believe that seriously impacts my overall health.  Sodium is only slightly more than the target.  Potassium could be a bit higher, but it is okay.  All of my nutrient balances are in the good range.  I just need to keep on, and I will do very well.

 

 

Summary Report Part 2:

 

 

There are times each year that are like New Year’s Day.  One of those times is, of course, New Year’s Day itself.  Another time is a fresh beginning:  your birthday.  As I venture into my 59th year, what do I want for myself?  Let me see if I can think of some values and goals.

 

First, I want to focus on my new marriage.  I am just past my first anniversary, which was on August 15, 2019.  For years, I thought I would never marry my husband.  He drank wine, and I had been taught to abhor alcohol.  I did not think I could ever get along with it in a marriage.  However, learning more about Jesus Christ’s miracle, when he provided good wine for wedding guests, I thought differently about it.  Perhaps, I could provide wine also, with a cheerful temperament.  I also thought about Abigail who provided wine for David’s army.  Admittedly, there are still challenges involved, but my attitude about it is okay.  I have decided to love my husband whether he is drunk or sober, and our relationship has blossomed into something beautiful.

 

Second, my journey that started on Day One, September 5th, 2018 is continuing into its second year.  At first, I thought I could lose 15 pounds in 90 days or so.  Little did I know about the stressors I would shortly face.  Instead of losing, I gained quite a bit of weight.  However, at the start of 2019, we moved out of our retirement complex into a condo, and I got it together somewhat and started losing again, though ever so slowly.  I discovered that when I set Cronometer for losing one or even half a pound a week, I could not tolerate the degree of calorie restriction required.

 

So lately, I set Cronometer to “break-even”.  That still allows some weight loss.  I do not log my exercise because I am unsure just how it contributes to weight loss.  Complying with my calorie budget, even though the calorie allowance is higher, makes all the difference.  My advice is this, if you set a goal you cannot reach, try adjusting the goal to a goal you can reach.  This follows from the advice to set S.M.A.R.T goals, where the ‘A’ stands for attainable.

 

Third, not only has this journey’s goal been to lose 15 pounds, the goal has been to do it without sacrificing mood and energy.  That is where the challenge comes in.  When my calorie intake is too low for the day, it can trigger depression.  So I have to find the sweet spot, where I can lose weight without triggering depression.  I am still working on that, and I think I am close to getting a plan that works.  My Achieve 50 kg mind map describes what I am doing.  You are free to look it over to find any ideas you can copy for yourself.

 

Now that I have reached my 58th birthday, what else do I want?  Fourth, I want to continue my reading program.  I read once that Bill Gates read the World Book Encyclopedia when he was a youngster.  His love for reading continues, and he even publishes his reading lists.  I have read 22 books so far this year and have two going currently.  That is not including books I did not finish reading.  With the library being only half a mile away, right on the way to my chiropractic appointments, getting books is very convenient.  The Internet also provides reading opportunities at a low or reasonable cost.  Fortunately, I have time to read.  I am very grateful for that.

 

How many books would I like to read before my 59th birthday?  I am reading approximately two books a month currently.  That is a pretty good benchmark.  The challenge is to select books that are positively life-changing.  The Bible has 66 books.  One of my Christian friends reads the entire Bible every year, so he says he reads 66 books a year.  That’s even more than 24!  I read the Bible with him in just over a year and decided I would rather take two years next time.  However, at that rate, I never finished it again.  Right now, I am searching the Bible by topic.  Perhaps that works better for me right now than going through it sequentially.

 

Great books can give you access to the wisdom of others.  Check out this mind map, for the wisdom of the Bible about getting things we most desire, including vibrant joy, strength of mind, lasting eyesight, healthy body, healthy weight, wisdom, and abundance  First, we must ask for the things we desire, then we must believe we have already received them.  This week, I asked for healing in my knee, and it happened within two days.

 

 

Life is short.  I want to make each day count.  There are only 365 more days until my next birthday.  I would like to lose the rest of my 15 pounds and maintain it.  Maintaining a weight loss is in some ways more difficult than losing the weight in the first place.  I have 8.93 pounds to lose.  That is possible in a year.  However, I do not know what obstacles my life will have.  I pray my husband does not die this coming year.  That is a possibility.

 

Lord, bless my husband with a long life.  Let him live at least another year.  Amen.

 

 

 

MORNING Prayer

Dear Lord,   Thank you that I have celebrated another birthday.  Help me to live as long as it is possible to be happy.     My 58th birthday has been richly satisfying.  Great peace and love exist between me and my husband.  He said yesterday that we are extremely valuable to each other.  Lord, I thank you that we have been able to marry, after all these years.   Yesterday, I read a part of the Bible about wisdom in Proverbs 3 to my husband.  Later, my husband asked me to read more of the Bible to him.  I read 1 Corinthians 13 about love and Hebrews 11 about faith.  He said he liked it.   I rejoice that my husband is asking me to read the Bible to him.  I pray my readers will look at this mind map about asking in prayer and believing they have received.   Robin Merrill, in The Jesus Diet, said she asked the Lord for more faith and the Lord granted it.  Last night, I too asked for more faith.   Lord, my friend, Jacque, is 87 years of age.  She faithfully and fearlessly looks forward to the future.  She has been mentoring me in the Christian faith. Her personal example of faith gives me hope, not only in a transcendental future but for the rest of my life.  I am no longer plagued by attacks of suicide ideation.  I so much want to live.   That is important as I look forward to birthday after birthday, each year growing brighter and brighter in faith.  Jacque gave me the gift of a pale green wallet for my birthday, which has a compartment for my phone.  I told her about my quest for joy, and she thought to praise God more would help.   Lord, thank you for your compassionate kindness and your matchless power.  Thank you for your eternal nature.  You are always there for me.  You are holy.  I want to be more holy like you are.  Holy has the same roots as wholesome.     You are merciful and forgiving.  Thank you for never giving up on me.  Thank you for your desire to make me yours.  Your ownership of me gives me great security. Dick Eastman says that you take delight in having a relationship with your creations.  Take delight in me, and I will do the same in you.   Bless my readers with birthdays worth remembering.   Amen.

 

If you would like to join me on this journey from the beginning, please start with Day One.