A Knit in Time

k2tog

2009-07-22T10:17:00.003-04:00

I just found this great store online. I want one of these! This is an awesome company.

Some of the coolest parts of the company and the website...

The section dedicated to online shout outs of your spouse
The description of their company and marriage
And the tips about marriage that are sprinkled in throughout, like this one:

CAUTION: If, in the middle of relishing a warm fuzzy moment while wearing your UNION28 Tee, your happy state is interrupted by a cold prickly from your spouse, don’t despair! Practice giving life! Forgive quickly, love unconditionally, and communicate lovingly. By your actions and reactions you can reaffirm to your spouse that he/she is loved…despite the occasional cold prickly. I don’t profess “my husband rocks” because he’s perfect. I profess “my husband rocks” because he is a blessing from God to me and I choose to love him for who he is and who God is making him to be. What a privilege! What an honor! What a man!

I love this company! Go take a look around and show them some love. Let's keep this one in business by giving them our business.

Do You Have A Dream?

2009-07-14T14:51:00.002-04:00

Are you looking for confirmation of your dreams? Do you want to know if what you imagine for yourself is what your supposed to do? Do you need help figuring out how to accomplish the steps needed to attain your dream? Then you need this book. John Maxwell hits another one out of the park with this new book. In the introduction, John helps the reader to get on the right track by describing the different types of dreams and how we can distinguish which is ours. He also gives a set of questions labeled as the Dream Test to help the reader evaluate their dream. The following chapters are ten questions that will guide you in the process of realizing and fulfilling your dream. At the end of each chapter is a set of questions that will target specific aspects of your dream.

This book is a step-by-step guide to having or becoming what you have always dreamed about. After reading John Maxwell’s dream book, you will be able to follow his guidance into realizing your dreams come true.

K2tog

2009-07-11T17:25:00.003-04:00

We were going through the book study, Power Prayers for Your Mighty Man, but I realized as I was going through it that it lends itself more to a personal study than to a marriage study - like get yourself in order so your prayer can be blessed and answered. So for now, I am going to encourage you to continue through it on your own, and we are going to go on to other things in this series.

I would like to address something that happened in the media recently that was very sad for me.

First let me say, I am no expert, I know there are 2 sides to the story, and we obviously only saw a very small amount of their lives. I understand that. But I still think there are things that we can all learn from this.

1. Be careful of how you talk to and react with your spouse in front of other people. People will see, judge, form opinions, and treat your spouse accordingly.
** We all saw the shows where Kate was less than cordial to Jon. We also saw Jon's reactions - the faces he made and the way he rolled his eyes. I think that these are very common things for some of us in every day life. Life gets stressful. We react. Sometimes we over-react. And we know that our spouse knows it's all ok and we forgive each other and go on. The difference for them... they couldn't get past it the way that the rest of us can. Every person who saw those interactions formed an opinion. To some, Kate became an overbearing wife. To some, Jon became an immature husband. And people said as much... in the news, on forums, in blogs, through twitter... **

2. This kind of goes along with number 1 - don't buy into your own press.
** I'm sure that Jon and Kate saw the reports and read the stories and opinions. And I don't know if they did or not, but I know that it would be really easy for me to start believing what I was reading. Don't pour out your issues and gab about your spouse to others indiscriminately. It will be very easy for them to tell you things like, "you don't deserve...", "you don't have to take that...", "he should be...". And each time they say those things it will get easier for you to believe them and buy in to them too. Choose one spiritually sound accountability partner (of the same gender), someone who loves you and your husband, who values marriage, and who will speak the truth to you. This is the only person you want to share concerns with - not to tear down your spouse, but to help you make sense of things and repair them.**

3. Protect your spouse and your family with everything that you have.
** I know that this was not as easy for Jon and Kate because there were all kinds of legal issues and contractual things and all that stuff, but there has to be a point where, when things start getting bad, you do what you can to retreat and heal. When your marriage starts to go under attack, take a lesson from the settlers and circle the wagons. Pull your family in and protect them. Make a safe place for them and work to heal - cut back on work, get counseling, turn to marriage supporting friends...**

Is it too late for Jon and Kate? No. God can heal that marriage. Would it take a lot of work? You bet. I wish them the best.

Nature Valley = Yum!

2009-06-25T23:23:00.007-04:00

Have I ever shared with you the great review company that I do blog reviews for? They are the ones that made it possible for me to do a few giveaways here. Like this one and this one. If you have a blog and are interested in doing some reviews and giveaways, you need to sign up with this company.

The newest product that they sent me is a great one. It is from our friends at Nature Valley.

These are basically nuts in the center of a granola ball - and they are good! They are an excellent snack that filled me up. (And if you are counting Weight Watcher points, they are only 3 points per serving.) They are very low in saturated fat, have no trans fat, and provide 4 to 5 grams of protein for each serving, making them a healthy snack alternative.

I have tried all four kinds and they are all great. The Roasted Almond was the least "nutty" tasting. It was actually a bit difficult to tell that I was eating anything more than a regular granola bar. Honey Roasted Peanut was the sweetest tasting and was my favorite until I tried the Roasted Cashew. It was hard for me to not eat the whole bag in one sitting! :)

I did a little search and found a great coupon - the perfect excuse to try some for yourself.

Calling All Knitters

2009-06-18T11:15:00.004-04:00

Darcy at Darcy's Knotty Knitter is hosting a KaraStix Giveaway.

Karastix offers the best notions for knitters. They are beautifully handmade and earth-friendly. Check her out.

And if you decide to enter Darcy's Giveaway, don't forget to tell her that Mindy sent you!

A Question for All You Skinnies

2009-06-16T23:33:00.000-04:00

I was up the other half of that pound from last week, but I'm not too terribly upset because I was on vacation last week. A half pound isn't bad for vacation.

So here's my question...

I've been watching people order in restaraunts and how they eat a lot lately. I have noticed a couple of heavier people eating. They are obviously eating things that are really bad for them, and the choices that they have made are quite unhealthy.

But more than that, I've noticed a lot of skinny people ordering and eating. They eat stuff that is so bad for them. They eat stuff that, if I look at the wrong way, goes right to my hips.

So what gives? How do they do it?

K2tog

2009-06-15T22:28:00.004-04:00

God is on His throne in Heaven. From Scripture, we get a picture of what this looks like.

"At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with Someone sitting on it. And the One who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal."

- Revelation 4:2-6

The Bible has a lot more to say about the throne of God.
- Isaiah tells how he sees the train of God's robe filling the temple.
- Daniel explains how God's clothing was as white as snow and His hair was white like wool.
- Micaiah tells how he could see the host of heaven standing around the throne.

...And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Being a Christ-follower allows us a certain privilege. Let's look.

"For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help us in our time of need."

- Hebrews 4:15-16

We can approach God's throne - the one that is described above - with confidence. We don't have to be sheepish or apologetic (unless we are confessing our sins of course). We can boldly stand before the throne of God.

And lest you think that we are bothering God by bringing our requests to Him, check this out:

"... the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.... Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.

He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints,

went up before God from the angel's hand."

- Revelation 5:8, Revelation 8:3-4

Our prayers rise in front of God as a sweet incense, and He is wanting to give us good gifts.

"... how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"

- Matthew 7:11

You, as your husband's wife, have a unique opportunity. You know your husband more intimately than anyone else on the planet. You know his fears, his struggles, and his needs. You can bring your husband before the very throne of God - the Creator of the Universe, the Lover of your soul, the Savior of the world - with your prayers. You can lift him up in prayers that will be as a sweet incense to God.

You can approach the throne confidently. Remember, God loves your husband more than you ever could (as hard as that may be to imagine), and He wants what is best for your hubby.

Pray for your husband. It is the best thing that you can do for him.

Today is...

2009-06-13T00:33:00.005-04:00

You can find out more about this fun day here.

Today is actually just the start of it. WWKiP is held today, tomorrow, next Saturday (the 20th), and next Sunday (the 21st).

There is a special sale going on at Anneke's Needleworks to celebrate. If you've never been in this store. You must go. They have an amazing selection of yarn. Three rooms full!

There are a couple of groups meeting to knit in public in South Florida - one at a Starbucks and one at the library.

If you go to the WWKiP website, you may find a list of public knitting spots in your area too. And yes, they really are all over the world. :)

Will you be joining in?

Week 4

2009-06-09T09:10:00.001-04:00

Well, I have figured out something about my eating right challenge. When life gets jammed with stuff, I tend not to care what I eat. During the last couple of days of school, I ate terribly. I didn't eat a ton, I just didn't make healthy choices. And the scale showed it. I gained about 1/2 a pound this week. I know that's not terrible, but I don't even want to think about the scale going back up at all.

I've got to get back on track. I found out that there is a very good chance that I will be going back to St. Augustine next year. This time I need to get to the top of that lighthouse ~ without feeling like I am going to die.

On the plus side, or the less plus side, I was actually able to buy a comfortable pair of pants without the "W" listed after the size. :)

K2tog

2009-06-08T08:28:00.001-04:00

This week we will start reviewing Lylah Ledner's book Power Prayers for Your Mighty Man. First let me say that we will not be going through every sentence in the book, just reviewing the gist of it, but I don't want you to miss any of the goodness of it. Lylah has very graciously offered her book to my blog readers for free so if you have not emailed her yet, please do so. You can email her by clicking on this link.

Let's start here:

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."
- Proverbs 14:1

We are here to build up our homes ~ to be wise women.

Before we start, we must check ourselves. In the book there are a series of questions for your consideration. Read through the "Challenges for the Heart" questions on pages 9 and 10.

Prayerfully read through the verses and honestly answer the questions. Ask God to prepare your heart to build your home.

I also encourage you to go ahead and work through chapter 1. We will review it together next Monday.

Lessons From This School Year

2009-06-04T11:50:00.002-04:00

Today is the last day of school. Yea! I was very fortunate to be able to have my own class to teach this year. It reminded me of a few things and taught me some new.

To the Students:
* Always do your best. Don't worry about the letter grade. Just make a commitment to do the best that you can do.
* Be proud of your work. Put time and effort into it. It reflects a lot about you.
* Take time to be creative. When you are given a "fun" assignment, don't just think of it as something else to get through. Enjoy it.
* Know that your teacher loves and cares about you. You can talk to her (or him). She wants what is best for you.

To the Parents:
* Please know that the teacher loves your child. She cares about them and wants to take care of them.
* She wants your child to do their best. She wants them to be successful.
* While you may not always get the exact thing you want from her, please remember that she is doing her best. In many instances she has 25 or more children to care for and sometimes her own as well.
* She's not trying to be mean or hard to get along with. She is trying to instill values of respect, responsibility, and other things into your child so that they will have a successful school career.

To the Teachers:
* Love what you do or find something new. These kids deserve the best.

Another Reason To Knit...

2009-06-03T06:57:00.004-04:00

Do you struggle with stress, anxiety, depression?...

Read this article.

"A Novel Prescription for Knitted Brows"

I Got It!

2009-06-02T06:20:00.003-04:00

I did pick up my Personal Trainer last week, although not exactly on Tuesday because the store didn't have it yet. As much as I've used it, I really like it.

It comes with a little pedometer that you wear throughout your day. You can set your target steps to whatever you would like them to be by syncing the pedometer to your Nintendo DS. There is no visible counter on the pedometer, only a small light that blinks with every step. If you have not reached your target steps it will blink red, and when you reach your goal it blinks green. At then end of the day, you sync it with your DS and get an analysis of your walking for the day. You will see when you walked, how many steps at a time, what your most active times of day were, etc.

It is definitely a great tool. It helps me because, when I wear it, I feel challenged to walk more so I can reach my goal. I like that it doesn't have a read out on it, because then I don't walk sparingly when I realize I only have a few steps more to get to the goal. The only problem is I lost the pedometer. :( Luckily, it comes with 2. I don't know what could have happened to it. It grips pretty tightly to whatever it is clipped on, and I know when I had it last, I just can't find it. I feel like I must have taken it out of my pocket at some point and set it somewhere. I just can't remember actually doing that.

As for the weight loss, I'm down another 1.2 pounds for a total of 11.6. I'm very happy with that, but feel like I'm losing my momentum. I've got to figure out how to eat smaller point items during the day so I don't get to dinner with only a few left and feel deprived.

I am finally starting to figure out some food triggers. Like, when I get frustrated with people or things around me I immediately start thinking about something that I could eat to "treat" myself. I guess, that's the real part of the battle. If I solve the why I eat issues, I shouldn't have this weight problem in the future. Right?

K2tog

2009-06-01T07:09:00.006-04:00

Last week, I mentioned that we would go through the Power Prayers book together, and we will - starting next week. I came across something in my quiet time that I thought was too good not to share with you.

I found it in the Women's Devotional Bible, but it is a quote from Ruth Bell (before she was Graham).

If I marry: He must be so tall that when he is on his knees,as one said, he reaches all the way to heaven. His shoulders must be broad enough to bear the burden of a family. His lips must be strong enough to smile, firm enough to say no, and tender enough to kiss. Love must be so deep that it takes its stand in Christ and so wide that it takes the whole lost world in. He must be active enough to save souls. He must be big enough to be gentle and great enough to be thoughtful. His arms must be strong enough to carry a little child.

"Ruth eventually found a man who fit her qualifications; she married evangelist Billy Graham. Ruth and Billy Graham realize that their marriage has endured the test of time not because they are perfect people, but because God is at the center of their relationship."

The Sweater

2009-05-29T07:02:00.002-04:00

Well, I mentioned last week that I was working on my first sweater. And I was really excited about it. But then I started the lace part on the bottom. Ugh. My counts were off and I have had to add stitches everywhere. Even when I think that I finally got it right, I still find where I have to add stitches to make the counts right. So now, my lace is all out of whack and it doesn't really make the pattern that it is supposed to. What to do, what to do? Right now, I am frustrated enough to frog it and go to something else, but I think that I will just put it aside and come back to it later.

I also started a new blanket for Bri. It's a weekend, at home, type of project because it's too bulky to carry around. It shouldn't take long to finish, and she is excited to get it. With the yarn pattern it is a bit hard to see any definition, but you get the idea.

Now, it's time to find something else for me to start working on...

Let's Talk About Jesus

2009-05-28T14:14:00.002-04:00

I'm back in small group this week!

See you tonight?

7:00 PM EST - right here.

One Thing My Blog Re-Design Taught Me

2009-05-27T07:14:00.005-04:00

It's not knitting!

I have been dealing with some pretty bad carpal tunnel issues in the past months. Often times, I get woken up in the middle of the night because my hands have fallen asleep and they hurt very badly. I have even been able to feel the pull on my ring fingers from the center of my wrists. It's very uncomfortable. I have a few different braces that I wear on my hands when it gets really bad.

I had assumed that it would just have to be something that I dealt with if I really wanted to knit, but then I noticed something. My wrists haven't been hurting that bad lately and I have been doing a lot of knitting.

But then...

I spent the better part of Sunday (2 weeks ago) re-designing my blog. Like hours. Sunday night... oooh boy. My wrists hurt so bad. They fell asleep and woke me up again. I was miserable.

So, the moral of this story... knitting = good, computing= bad.

PS My walking trainer didn't come in yesterday. :( They said it would be here today. :) I hope they were right. I'm excited to use it.

I Get My Mom's Day Present Today!

2009-05-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

I got this cool new exercise tool for Mother's Day. Actually, I had it paid for on Mother's Day, but it releases today. I am so excited to go pick it up after school!

It acts as a pedometer and then, when you sync it with the Nintendo DS, it shows you the statistics of your walking. I'll let you know how it is, once I get a chance to put it through its paces.

As for Weight Watchers, after my second week on, I am down another 1.6 pounds for a total of 10.4 so far. Its a great start. I can see my ankle bones again and don't have to worry about my wedding ring cutting off my circulation any more. It's the little victories that will keep me going.

My next couple of goals are to be able to fit my engagement ring back on and be able to comfortably slide the blood pressure cuff up my arm without having to wiggle it into place. It's embarrassing to have to admit those things, but they are true. Sadly.

How are you doing health-wise?

K2tog

2009-05-25T09:29:00.005-04:00

I thought it was time to bring back the marriage series. And just like the blog, it needed a little change. Now it is called K2tog which, in knitting terms, means Knit 2 together. When you K2tog, you take 2 stitches and knit them into one. Mark 10:7-9 says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." God knits man and wife together.

You can grab this button for your blog or facebook page here:

I recently came across a great new booklet thanks to Mel's World.

This wonderful book centers around praying for your husband, and I thought it would be great if we could read it together. The author, Lylah Ledner, has very graciously offered it to you for free. Just send her an email and she will send you a copy.

Next Monday we will review the first chapter, so email Lylah for your copy today.

PS If you tried to send her an email and it didn't work - I fixed the link. :)

On My Needles

2009-05-22T10:05:00.009-04:00

One of my current knitting projects is my very first sweater. I feel a little selfish because I am actually making it for myself. I think it is the first piece that I will have that I have done just for me. I love making things for others and I have a long list of stuff to get to, but I wanted one for me too. Is that so bad? :) Ugh, the guilt monster.
Anyway...
I am making a very popular pattern called the February Lady Sweater. Hopefully, I will not mess it up and it will be done in a couple of weeks.

I also picked up a new knitting book. I want to try socks next. They just scare me a little. On a side note, while I was knitting book shopping, I met a very nice gentleman sock knitter. Yes, men... knitting is not just for the ladies. It's like wearing pink. Are you man enough to try it? ;) I'm just kidding.

I Miss You

2009-05-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

To my dear Small Group friends,

I miss you... I really do. It seems like forever since I have been in small group.

I have been spending the last few weeks being Mom and Teacher and it has filled up my schedule with school events. Just one more week, and I will be back.

Enjoy your time together tonight, have a good week, and I will see you next Thursday.

Twitter Killed the Blog Star

2009-05-20T08:29:00.001-04:00

OK, well maybe not a blog star, but at least a more consistent blogger.

I used to think in blog posts. I know it's kind of weird, but I'm sure that I'm not the only blogger like that. When I would see something funny, or interesting, or whatever, I would compose the blog post in my head. Then, when I got home, to the computer I would go and out would come a blog post.

Now, when I see something that is potentially blog worthy, it usually gets twittered. That means that blog posts take longer to get written. But I'm going to try to be more consistent.

Maybe twitter should go. What do you think? Do you twitter?

My Wake Up Call

2009-05-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's not a secret that I used to be a Weight Watchers member. I was even pretty successful at it. And then I fell off the band wagon. Not only did I gain back all that I lost, 14 of its closest friends came to join me too. Major disappointment.

I've been frustrated and upset about it, but didn't look at it clearly until last week. When I tried to go to the top of this...

There are 8 flights of steep stairs (about 20 steps each flight). I pushed and pushed. I made it up 6 flights. I thought that I was going to die. Literally. My heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. My legs were burning. I thought that I was going to throw up. I couldn't catch my breath. On the way down, my knee gave out. It was bad. And then, for the next 3 days I had trouble walking. I could barely move my legs or sit down and my ankles swelled up.

Talk about a major wake up call. I can't be this way. So, I'm back on the bandwagon. The Saturday after I came back from St. Augustine was my first week back on Weight Watchers.

I've had my first week weigh in and I was down 8.8 pounds. I know most of that was water weight, but I'll take it.

Next year, if I go back to St. Augustine, I plan on going all the way to the top... without all the problems.

So tell me, are you ready to take control of your health with me? What is your health goal?

Why the Name Change?

2009-05-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

I really thought that it was time for a change in my blog name. A few months ago I even twittered for suggestions. I wanted something that was a little more anonymous and a little less egotistical. I also wanted a name that would kind of let people know what type of blog they were about to read.

A Knit in Time came as a play off of "a stitch in time," which I'm sure that most of us have heard. Of course, I had to change stitch to knit. After all, it is one of my new favorite things to do. :)

And here is where I get all philisophical...

Time ~ You see, I am an eternal being (we all are) and one day time won't matter anymore. I'll be sitting at the feet of my Savior and walking the streets of gold for all of eternity.

But for now, for this moment in time, this is me. This is my life.

And... I'm Back!

2009-05-17T09:07:00.000-04:00

I needed something new - something different. I hope you like it. :)

If you were a blog subscriber before, you may need to re-subscribe because this is a completely different address.

Thank you for sticking with me through the past few blog-neglected months. Summer is coming. Look for more regular updates coming soon.