The "BIG" Picture!

I really hate taking PICTURES! Especially when they look like this one does. This picture was taken at the "Bowden" family reunion last year. The Bowden's are Kirby's mother's family. Someone took this picture and gave it to Kirby's mother, who thought that it was a very good picture of me and Kirby together(since I usually try to stay out of family pictures) and gave it to me. I took one look at it and started to file it in my "pictures that no one should ever see" file. But then I decided to post it on this website for the whole world to SEE!

Ha! Ha! I know, I know! That makes NO sense!

But, I want you to see the progress that Kirby and I are making as we lose the pounds. AND TAKE A LOOK AT MY HAIR! FLAT!! Well, that hair style has got to go too!
Sometimes we need to take the time to step back and take a good close look at ourselves. I guess that is why I don't care to take pictures of myself! I hate to face the fact that I have let myself go over the last ten years! I hate to face the fact that I have not crucified my flesh and have NOT disciplined myself even after years of yo-yo dieting and diet failures.

Kirby says that I am too hard on myself, but I look at my health and what I have done to my body over the years and I have to ask the Lord to forgive me for not taking care of His temple - this body that He gave to me. I have not been a good steward of this body and that is why it has suffered as much as it has. But that is all beginning to change, because I am placeing even my diet and my eating habits in God's hands. I am also asking YOU GUYS to keep Pastor Kirby and me in your daily prayers too!

Email me at Colene1205@yahoo.com and tell me and Pastor Kirby about your dieting experiences or drop us a few lines of encouragement and advice. Let us know if you have any special prayer requests. We would love to pray for you and we will email you right back! Let's support one another with the love of Jesus Christ, and I know that we can make improvements to our lives on our Journey to the Land of Health and Wellness!

Love You Guys!
Your Sis-In-Christ,
Colene Whitehead

3D Your WHOLE Life!

I AM BACK! The flu is finally gone out of our household! Kirby and I are healthier and more determined than EVER to lose the weight and improve our LIFE! And just because I have been feeling under the weather (and I am really tired of rain guys!) I have not been just lying around...oh but NO. I have finished my exam in ministry and passed with flying colors....YEA-A-A-A!!! I will soon be receiving my diploma! Praise the Lord! No one at church knows it yet, in fact no one in my family knows it. So, you guys are hearing it first.

I have been concentrating on improving my whole life. And THAT subject is what this blog is about! About two months ago, after a Sunday night service at New Light Harvest Chapel, one of our youth came up to me and took me by the hands. Danielle is a precious ten year old who seems to be very mature for her age and she is a computer whiz! (NOT a nerd, Danielle!:) She is a beautiful child of God! Danielle looked so serious as she told me that she was struggling with her weight and she was so concerned about it that she was hoping that she could get me to pray for Jesus to intercede for her so that her petitions would be answered. "I don't want to be overweight, Sister Colene. Will you pray that I will be able to lose weight?" I LOVE THAT CHILD! Here Danielle was asking me to pray for her weight loss and that is one area of my own life that I have not even thought of turning over to the Lord! It was a request that pierced me to the heart and put ME under conviction. I prayed with her but the request kept nagging at me for days!

Then, one day later that same week, Kirby wanted to stop by a local Christian bookstore and as we waked into the store the first thing that caught me eye was a book with the title, YOUR WHOLE LIFE: The 3D Plan for Eating Right, Living Well and Loving God! What could that possibly mean? Since it was a cloudy day and my arthritis had my knees aching; I decided to grab that book, find a nearby couch so that I could give it a closer inspection and let me tell you, I liked what I saw! I bought the book! In fact, I bought two and another book that goes along with it, Journal Your Whole Life, also!

Let me tell you about this awesome book! It is not just a book but a LIFE -style to actually improve your life with Health and WHOLENESS! Wholeness being the key word here. The 3D Plan is inspired by the words of Jesus, “Your faith has made you whole.” (Mark 5:34) Co-authored by Carol Showalter and Maggie Davis, is the essential book that provides 12 weeks of nutritional goals, tips for living well, and daily devotional readings. You don’t “go on a diet” in the 3D Plan. Instead, you are guided in making gradual changes in your life that are positive, practical, and proven to become permanent. The 3D Plan considers the whole person – physical, emotional, and spiritual – and not just the body. This is a REAL program for LIFE - your whole life!

Not only was it a book with a journal that details a great weight loss program, but 3D has a FREE website where a dieter can log on and join thousands of other women in their weight loss journey and gain guidance and support. You’re not on this journey alone! Women everywhere are starting 3D groups, and enjoying deep and lasting friendships. Carol Showalter and Maggie Davis ask that you consider starting your own group and making the journey to wholeness together.

So that is just what I did! I took my book in hand and got on the phone with other ladies in our congregation and asked them their opinion of having a weight loss group meeting each week on Wednesday night for prayer and weigh-in. The vote was unanimous - YES!

We decided on the start date, time, and of course we would meet each Wednesday night at New Light Harvest Chapel for an informational meeting about 3D. I found on the 3D website copies of an insert that you can print to place in your church bulletin to announce the meeting. So, I printed them up and placed them in the very next week's bulletin.

At the first week's meeting we had seven attendee's. We chose our leader, Diane Holmes. I believe that Diane was the perfect choice for the job! She really jumped right in and took the position on with a vengence. She explains what 3D is about, and makes sure each new person that joins our group has all the information and 3D materials. Diane even encouraged us all by donating 5 books to the group so that the first five members could receive a FREE BOOK! Each group member only needs to commit to coming together once per week, for 12 weeks.
3D Group Members:
~ Meet for one hour, once per week, for twelve weeks
~ Keep a daily food journal
~ Memorize a verse of Scripture each week
~ Read the devotionals and the Scriptures each day
~ Weigh in weekly
~ Pray for each member of your group every day
~ Share the ups and downs of your weekly journey

So far, I have lost nine pounds. Kirby has lost 15 pounds. Please consider joining us on this journey! Go to the 3D website at: http://www.3dyourwholelife.com

I also want to encourage you to visit and join a website group that I am using to help plan and chart my nutrition and record my weight loss. I AM A "SPARKPEOPLE" PERSON! This website was suggested to me by a 3D member and so far I have really enjoyed the dieting and motivational helps I have found on that site. Here is the SparkPeople website: http://www.sparkpeople.com

Taking care of your temple does not have to be a chore! Make your life an adventure!
Add demention to your life! Oh by the way...the three D's are Diet, Discipline, and Discipleship.
This is why it has become known as Eating Well, Living Well, and Loving God!

You have probably taken the time to find this website and read this article because you wanted this information - you want to lose weight! And the word that usually draws the most attention is the word diet. But the word diet does not actually mean losing weight. Diet means eating habits - - what you eat. What do you eat every day? What is your diet? For this reason the first of the 3D's has always referred to eating and changing our habits of eating. I promise you that if you faithfully incorporate these principles found in this book and on the website into your life for the next 12 weeks, you will lose weight. But not only lose weight, but also you will come to understand your life in a WHOLE new way. You don't go on a diet in the 3D plan. Instead, you work with God to bring your life under His will and guidance. This does not mean that God wants you to be skinny; and it doesn't mean that if you were more godly you would be skinny. God wants YOU to be whole.

Your new diet will be about developing eating habits that will help you lose weight. Expect to lose weight. It will happen. But don't forget the important issue of finding your true self and knowing more about the love of God no matter what you weigh. That issue has to be settled in your life! GOD LOVES YOU!

Hellooo! I am back!

I am over the flu now...finally! Kirby is well also and back to work. He is busy as a bee! You can't keep a good man down! That's for sure!

We are back with a vengence!

One night after our Sunday night service, one of our youth, Danielle, came up to me and took me by the hands, looked me seriously in the eyes and said, "Sister Colene, please pray for me so that I can lose weight!" It cut me to the heart! Here I am struggling with the same problem! And not only myself but a couple of the other ladies in our church had made the same remark to me about their desire to lose weight also. I gave Danielle a big hug and prayed with her before she left for home with her mother. I could not help but remember how I had felt about my own weight at her age. I would look at the other girls with "normal" twelve year old bodies who were all so thin! Then I would look at me...and think "Where did I come from?" I didn't see anything in the mirror that looked like your typical twelve year old white female. Why did I look so different? My body had already begun to mature and fill out much faster than my friends. I was also taller than the other girls and most of the boys in my class! Plus I was of American Indian heritage which gave me a "different" look than most of the fair haired, fair complexioned, blue eyed girls that I was in school with. I wondered if Danielle had some of these same feelings that I had at that age.

The next day Kirby and I stopped by The Lambs Well, a Christian supply & book store in Warner Robins, GA, to check out some of the gospel CDs and as I entered the store a book caught my eye - 3D Your Whole Life! I was drawn to it! After I inspected the book I realized this was the answer to Danielle's prayer! So I purchased the book and took it straight to church that weekend and showed it to some of the ladies in our Angel WINGS (Women In God's Service) group and asked them what they thought of starting a 3D chapter in our church for those of us who had always struggled with our weight.
They were just as excited as I was so we jumped right in and started meeting on Wednesday nights at 7 pm. One of the ladies donated the money to purchase five books for the first five people who would join in with us on this weight loss and life improvement 12 week course.

I am so excited about the program! I will be keeping you up to the results of our weekly weigh - ins and how much Kirby and I are losing along with what life improvements we have made during the next 12 weeks.

Please keep us in your prayers as we try to improve our life and our health!
God Bless!