niecyrenee

I'm gonna have to do my official weigh in on July 9th because we are going on vacation next week :whoo:so I won't have a scale to jump on. I would say I'll weigh in on Friday of this week but I don't think I'll be at my goal. Hopefully when I do weigh in, I will be below my goal to justify weighing in late. :biggrin1: Seems like we are chugging along well. :clap2: Keep up the good work ladies!!!

July 4th Challenge Week 5 Name............Starting.......Current.....Goal... .To Go Amy.................267..........264........250. .. ........14 Denise............. 298.............285........281........4 Karey...............182.............182........165 ........17 Tann............... 236.............228........219.......9 Turner.............389..............340.........329 .....11

Congratulations!! You are doing fantastic! I am so happy for you!

Tann--You look fantastic!! I am so happy for you!

July 4th Challenge Week 4 Name............Starting.......Current.....Goal... .To Go Amy.................267..........264........250. .. ........14 Denise............. 298.............289........281........8 Karey...............182.............182........165 ........17 Tann............... 236.............231........219.......12 Turner.............389..............340.........329 .....11

Turner--I have had that happen but never had it stay in the way that long. I am fortunate enough to be able to get things to come back up. It takes a little time but not more than an hour. Have you tried burping and the such to get it back up. If that doesn't work, I have heard people say to try a warm liquid as it helps loosen you up. Other than that, I am at a loss. I sure hope it gets better quickly.

Here's my update. Only 1 lb. this last week. I started m/e today so hopefully that small loss will not be the case next week. :biggrin1: July 4th Challenge Week 3 Name............Starting.......Current.....Goal... .To Go Amy.................267..........264........250. .. ........14 Denise............. 298.............291........281.......10 Karey...............182.............182........165 ........17 Tann............... 236.............231........219.......12 Turner.............389..............345.........32 9 .....16

:amen: Very nicely put. Thank you!

I beg your pardon. I was the one who quoted that scripture and I was NOT misquoting scripture! Maybe you need to read a little closer before you start making assumptions. I was trying to point out that you shouldn't CONDEMN people for believing differently then you; that you should love them and present the basis for your beliefs to them in the hopes of changing their mind. I do not agree with abortion but I also don't agree with going around and trying to bully people into believing like I do. If I can't present my argument in a loving, respectful way, then I have NO business in trying. Oh and by the way, I was not referring to you when I made that statement so don't accuse me (the person who referred to not judging people) of judging you.

Thank you! :biggrin1: I have really worked hard at this and am very pleased with my progress thus far. In no time at all you will be banded and rocking away! How exciting!!

You know Laurend, I am baffled by this as well. I have had some family members die horrible deaths and I can't imagine wishing that on anyone. When I was getting my final paperwork completed before surgery, I had to sign a paper with instructions for my family if something was to go wrong. I put my wishes on paper as well as instructing my family that if there is no way I would want to exist (you can't call it living) on life support. Let me die in peace. While my mother struggled with it, she respects my decision and agreed to not stand in dh's way. Dh and I are in total agreement on it. We both feel it is better to let them go then to remain here with no quality of life and often times in severe pain. That is purely selfish.

You are very welcome! I just can't imagine treating someone differently then how I expect to be treated. It's preposterous!

I know I shouldn't but that tickled me and I can't resist.....

I wanted to pop in and say a quick good morning! It sounds like everyone is doing good. Karey, going on vacation and only gaining 2 lbs. isn't bad. On vacation you are to enjoy yourself but now that you are back home, you can buckle down and concentrate on it. This week has been good. I haven't had any weightloss since the first of the week but it will start up again. A few days without a change isn't bad. I am throwing back and forth the idea of starting m/e on Monday. I haven't fully decided yet but I am leaning towards it. I don't really mind m/e; sometimes it gets difficult but overall it's not bad. I just hate coming off m/e. No matter what I eat, I alway put on a pound....or a few. That's always a let down but since it's just a couple and I've had a 5 or more pound loss, I guess it's not too bad.

You ask why you should be polite and respectful about it because NO ONE will ever listen to you if you bash them continually for their beliefs. People don't take too kindly to that. When you spend your time condemning people for what they believe without listening to why they believe the way they do and kindly point out why you disagree; you are closing those lines of communication and you will never reach them. NEVER! Why is that so hard to understand? You have talked about your desire to uphold the sanctity of human life but then how do you treat that human life, you "strongly and vociferously condemn that person". How would you respond if someone treated you the same way? Think about that. I have made no bones about saying I am pro-life. I feel very strongly about that and would love to change people's opinions who feel differently but I will never do that if I approach them with hostility. I mean, you have got to be kidding me if you think you can change people's opinions with your approach! While I feel that life begins at conception and that it is not our place to stop it, I am intelligent enough to understand that a lot of people view things differently than me. There are several things that I feel are wrong (immoral) that others don't but I would never treat them so horrible that they would shut me out. I don't have to agree with their choices or even pretend that it is acceptable but I feel that you should do it in a loving way. What kind of ministry would Christ of had if he would have approached things with hatred? NONE! I don't know you so I don't know the things you struggle with but I do know that we all have them. None of us are perfect. Let's say you struggle with adultery and while someone is trying to change your opinions to show you why it is wrong, they use hostility. Would you even give them the time of day? I strongly doubt it! The same applies here. All I am suggesting is that you step back and examine your approach here and ask yourself if you are really doing any good for the unborn lives? By totally turning people off with your attitude, you will not change their opinions and therefore will not do anything for the pro-life movement. Isn't your ultimate goal to change people's opinions and stop abortion? Then take the necessary steps to do that and stop condemning people.

Very well stated. How can we demand that someone change their views simply because we feel it is right? We can't. If, during a normal discussion on the subject I present information that makes them reexamine their beliefs and they choose to change their opinion, great. If not, I have to respect their decision. It's as simple as that. Demanding that someone do something never sets well, presenting facts and discussing things does.

How cool is that?!? I used to be embarrassed of my name when I was a child. To me it was an odd name because there were never any other Denise's in school. Now, I have grown to like my name and am happy that there aren't several others around. It makes me feel unique.

Thank you Laurend. I try to go into the R&R section with an open mind because I know that others view things differently then I do but that doesn't give me the right to treat them like an uneducated fool. IMO, it's a no win situation when you try to force your views on someone else. We can discuss things as rational adults and point out why we feel as we do but we don't have to resort to fighting or sulking because someone else chooses to feel differently. That is one reason why I have respect for you and several others on here because you state your views and even if someone doesn't agree with you, you take it in stride and move on. You don't try to force them to believe like you do. We were all given free will but how quickly we tend to forget that when someone doesn't agree with us. I wish that some here would step back and look at the message they are sending. I have to admit that I am often embarrassed because Christians preach love and then demonstrate the opposite. No wonder Christians have lost the respect of many. It continues to baffle me how some people can think that this is an easy decision for all women who choose to abort. How could it be easy? A lot of these women have gotten themselves into a position where they are ashamed of themselves and yet they know that whatever choice they make, they will make someone upset with them and will face further scrutiny. You are so correct, we don't live their lives. We can never truly understand what someone else goes through. My heart goes out to them. I know that lapband and abortion are two totally different things and normally wouldn't be lumped together but sometimes I feel bandsters have a small insight into what they must be thinking about their situation. What I mean by that is, when a women finds herself in a "crisis" pregnancy, she is often looked down upon because she allowed herself to get into that position. Then when she does make her decision, she is condemned for not choosing what someone else would (rather that be to abort or not). That same goes for people who choose to have wls. We are often ridiculed because we allowed ourselves to become overweight but when we make a decision to do something about it, we are condemned.

Again, big differences. As much as you don't like it, abortion is NOT illegal therefore there is no cause for punishment. Murder and rape are and we do prosecute those who have broken the law. I am the chairman of the board of our local crisis pregnancy center and I encounter many women who have found themselves pregnant and considering abortion. How helpful would the pregnancy center be if we went around condemning these women who in a lot of cases, have been turned out by their family and friends? Our mission is to help these women. We educate them on what abortion is because the majority of them, don't know what it really entails and the risks involved for them. If they still choose to have an abortion, we don't turn our backs on them. While we don't encourage anyone to have an abortion, we love them and stay by them during the often times, difficult occurrences after the abortion. That is if they allow us to help them. Many have felt the repercussions of other pro lifers who have condemned them for their decision and don't want to be around any. Most women who come into our center choose to continue with their pregnancy and have usually decided before the baby is born whether or not they will keep the baby or give it up for adoption. If they choose to give the child up for adoption, we assist them in the process. We work with an adoption agency to place the child with a loving family. If they decide that they want to keep the child, we educate them on how to be a parent. I live in a town with two large universities and therefore we see a lot of pregnant college students who don't have a clue on how to be a parent. Along with educating them, we help them with basic needs such as a place to live, food, clothing, diapers, etc. It's not easy to tell someone just have the baby and life will be perfect when you see firsthand the turmoil that these women are going through. I have yet to meet someone who was contemplating abortion that didn't have great struggles in reaching a decision. While I am pro life, I don't feel that gives me a right to condemn someone because they have decided was is best for their life. I am called to educate them and support them whatever their decision may be. That doesn't mean that I don't try to change their opinion. :heh: I just don't go about it harshly and treat them like an idiot because they choose to view things differently than me.

Well said Mark!

To be very honest with you, I had to give this a lot of thought before I responded. I would hope that I would be able to view the child as a part of me and a blessing despite the horrible act that brought he/she to me. I feel that I am fairly credible to speak on this subject because I was raped but because I didn't get pregnant, I really don't know how I would view it and I won't sit here and tell someone else how they should feel. Nothing irritates me more than someone who has never been in my situtation telling me how I should feel and so I won't do that to them. I know that my opinion is not popular but it is how I feel. I think that I and several others here will have to agree to disagree on this fact because we all have different views as to when life starts. It has been debated several times and you will not change my views, nor I yours. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions whether they are the same as mine or not. I believe that life begins at conception.

There is a HUGE difference between belittling someone and disagreeing with them. I would caution you to remember that the Bible says to love the sinner, hate the sin. Your response is the very reason that Christians are viewed as intolerant hypocrites. I am a Christian but I don't think I could call myself a Christian if I didn't practice was Christ preached which is love. Murder, rape and theft as you talked about are all things that I don't agree with, they are wrong and also illegal. People who commit these crimes should be held responsible for their actions. I choose to be pro life however, abortion is not illegal. Even though I don't agree with having an abortion, it is not my place to condemn someone if they choose to have one; I am called to love them. It may seem odd to you that someone who is a pro life Christian could feel this way but I challenge you to examine Matthew 7:1-5 closely before you go around condemning others. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)

Just for the record....I voted pro life and no, I didn't misunderstand the poll. I knew exactly what I was voting for when I did it. I am pro life and I don't apoligize for that. I often hear people say if you were raped you would feel differently. Well, I was raped as a teenager by my mom's ex-husband and I still choose to be pro life. I had a lot of time to think about this after it happened while I waited to know whether I was pregnant or not and I never wavered on my opinion. If I was pregnant, I would not abort. I often read the debates in R&R but choose to not post because I know that my opinion is vastly different from several others and I don't wish to debate it. I don't push my beliefs on anyone and I expect the same in return. Although I don't always agree, I do respect other people's opinions. I am a big enough person to know that other people feel just as strongly about their beliefs as I do about mine and I will not belittle them because of it.

Turner--You are most certainly in my prayers.:welldoneclap: I am very sorry to hear that your mom is sick; that is never easy. Please keep us updated. I know how difficult it is when a loved one is in the hospital but try to take care of yourself as well. It is so easy to get yourself down when caring for a loved one. We are here for you!:hug:

Good morning troops!! :yo: Hope all had a productive weekend. Because of the massive amounts of rain :rain:we have been getting, I didn't get near what I needed to accomplished. If it doesn't dry up a little soon, the weeds will officially take over my garden. They are pretty close as it is. Karey--For some reason, my work computer will not show some pictures that people post on here (probably settings that I don't know how to change:noidea:...any suggestions anyone?) so last night I remembered to get on here and see your pics. You are doing great girl!!! Avilla--:wave:Hello!!! It's good to hear from you. I don't know how you keep up with anything working two jobs. :fear: We're here cheering :cheer2:for you even if you aren't able to log on. Keep us posted though! Tann--I hope by now the induc flu has moved on. :sick Induc flu is awful! TOM has left and so did the stall. Thank goodness! This weekend was a good one. Got a fill on Friday and everything has been going good. I am hoping my good weightloss continues. Turner--I am glad to hear you are feeling better. I am so afraid of getting the flu. I know it has to be horrible with the band. My heart goes out to ya! :love: 3 lbs. is fantastic by the way!!! Way to go!! :girl_hug: Ok, here's my updated numbers: WOOHOO!!! :myscared: Name............Starting.......Current.....Goal... .To Go Amy............................................... ..............17 Denise............. 298.............292........281.......11 Karey............................................. ............... Tann............... 236.............236........219.......17 Turner.............389..............343.........329 .....14