Listening

Well, I weighed in this morning... I lost another 5 lbs of fat, and gained some water, so my total loss for the week was 1.4 which brings the total to an even 54 pounds.  I've been a little frustrated lately because it's been creeping off a lot slower than I was used to when I first started, but I know it was because I wasn't on top of things... Seeing that 5 lb fat loss this week was really encouraging that my body's ability to lose rapidly has not plateaued... I had come to a mental plateau!  Now that I am back on top of it, I am confident that the weight will continue to melt off... Especially since I am staying committed to exercise... I have a routine of going to the gym Tues-Sat, with Sun and Mon being my off days, but still doing something active those days... even when I don't want to.  Tuesday I didn't quite follow-through... but that will not happen again!  Also... I am newly committed to taking the stairs instead of the elevators... working in the hospital, that provides A WHOLE LOT of opportunity to take the stairs... and I am proud to report... that today I only took the elevator once, and that was because I was going to a crisis call and I wasn't sure where the stairs were to get from where I was to where I needed to be in a short amount of time!
I am also using my balance ball and kettle ball at home while I watch TV in the evenings... I'm staying focused!
As I have been focused and committed and working hard, what has really really been on my heart this week is a new awareness of the influence that I have on those around me... not only as I have blogged about certain things, and found that has created a space for people to open up to me and share with me some of their battles and struggles.... but now as the weight continues to come off and people can visibly see a drastic change in me... in my body and in my presence... people not only compliment me and encourage me, but more and more people are looking to me for direction... sharing their weight battles and the emotional struggles that are connected to it... some even asking for advice about how to eat and about working out... which for me is so bizarre!
I know that it's something I have become passionate about, but I still don't feel like someone who is knowledgeable about such things... I still have so far to go!  What I am realizing though, is that people aren't asking me for my knowledge based expertise, they are connecting with my experience and seeking my experiential expertise... As I have shared with several different women about our own individual experiences of what got us to that unhealthy place, what keeps us stuck and how I get myself unstuck (because it isn't a one-time deal... it's like being in the Fire Swamp where you never know when you'll be swallowed into a pit of quick-sand, a spontaneous ball of fire or be attacked by those hideous R.O.U.S (that's a "rodent of unusual size" for those of you who are not fans of the classic "The Princess Bride")... I have started to wonder what it would look like to get us all in the same room... I wonder if we could all be vulnerable with one another in a group setting the way we are one-on-one... I wonder if these women who have trusted me, could also trust one another... I believe there may be some potential for us to minister to one another... and I'm not sure, but I think that God may be using me as the one to bring us together... 
I am praying about it and leaving the door open to see what may come of that, but the thought is sort of exciting right now....
Hope you all have a great weekend... Cedric and I have a date tonight... we are going to the Mavs game!  I am pretty excited... need to figure out what I'm going to wear!