Good evening bloggy friends!

I just realized that I posted several days ago that I’m usually a morning blogger with an occasional evening post or two. Well!!!!! I guess I just proved that’s NOT the case this week. I’d love to get back into my morning blog routine, but I can’t seem to get there right now. Spending lots of time with Jesus these days! So…bear with me!

I was so excited to get a sweet email from a friend of mine in Africa a couple of days ago – Pastor David – the dad of the one and only Baby Grace. THE baby that has been the center of many of my blog posts since June. They’re back in Liberia after having spent several months here in the states with their miracle baby. I’m not going to repeat that whole story here, but if you’re new to my blog…go back and read some of the prior posts about this adventure! It’ll knock your socks off to see how amazing God truly has been throughout this journey!

Anyway…I just had to tell you THE MOST COOLEST (I know…I know…that’s not grammatically correct) thing he shared with me in the email. He said that his family and other African friends of theirs are praying for me! This was not just a blanket “we’re praying for you” statement. They are praying over a VERY SPECIFIC thing I shared with them while they were visiting with me in my home in NC. Friends, I was brought to tears when I read that. I shared a prayer request very near and dear to my heart while they were here in November. So near and dear that I’m not really ready to share it on my blog – maybe sometime later this year. Anyway, they were ecstatic that they could do this for me. They agreed to pray then, and they’ve not forgotten. They told me they have nothing else to offer, but they CAN and WILL pray! They live in a poverty-stricken nation. They’ve seen depravity at it’s worst. But, they know the same miracle-working God I know, and they know that prayer works! They’ve been continually praying over this request, and they are just as committed to praying for it as they were for the healing for their daughter. And…I witnessed first-hand what those prayers led to. I’m ecstatic! Knowing that my Christian brothers and sisters in Africa are praying for me blesses me more than you can imagine!

I really did. I really tried not to write this post. Every single year…I talk about this, write about this, agonize over this. I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid talking about it again at the beginning of this year. I feel like if I mention it – it sounds sort of resolution-like (and…I’m not a fan of those things). But, I’ve been praying for God to lead to me to those posts that I’m supposed to write during this 40 day blog writing journey, and 6 days into this, I realized I can’t escape it any longer. The writing is on the wall. So, here we go…

I’m working on weight loss…STILL!

Ugh! Why do I constantly have to work on this? Why can’t I just be done with it and be at my goal weight? Why do I have to start out each New Year exasperated over the fact that I’m still within 10-15 pounds of where I was last year. And, for me, 10-15 pounds is a drop in the bucket for what I want to lose.

Blog friends…I’m not writing to say that I’ll achieve my goal weight in 2011. I’m not even writing to say I’m going to increase my level of exercise or run a 5K or drink 64 ounces of water a day. I’m certainly not writing to say this is my New Year’s resolution. So, what am I writing to say?

I am more confident than I’ve ever been in my life that success at defeating this GIANT in my life will happen in 2011!

There, I said it. It’s not that I’ve got some grandiose Biggest Loser style plan to drop the pounds and get fit. So, what’s the difference? I honestly feel that I’m so committed to following after Jesus with all my heart, that I know it will please Him for me to succeed at this. But, He’ll get all the glory, because I can do none of it without Him. I’m choosing to put Him first…to let Him lead…to seek His face…to be obedient with His help. I’ll maybe share more about this – maybe towards the end of the month. But, for now, this is where I’m at, and I CRAVE your prayers more than I crave food! That is truth sweet friends!

I tried not write this post, because I didn’t want to feel accountable to something in which I felt I had no control over the outcome. And…putting something in writing on the world wide web for who knows how many people to read…well, that’s just a bit daunting. But, you know what? That’s not evidence of my faith. My faith knows differently, believes differently, and therefore had to respond differently.