A Sea Of Red

Thanks everyone, lost 10 lbs in a week and I have a consultation at Crosswhite tomorrow. Feel good about doing this. Working with a Dr. and dietician will make this a safe journey as well.

I will be praying for you Yacht. Ben and staff are fantastic and will definitely help you with this.

Thanks for the prayers everyone!

Had my first workout at Crosswhite last night and it was tough but good!

So far, since we found that I've needed to do this on December 19th, I've lost 20 lbs! God is doing such big things in our life right now!

That is awesome! Once you set your mind to it you can achieve some amazing results. Discipline is the key. And that is much easier to maintain when you have your eye on a specific prize. And what a prize you have in mind!

Just started my annual 24-day Challenge with the New Year and have dropped nearly five pounds in 2017. I love having goals otherwise I slide off the track lickety-split.

So I started on Dec 19th and as of today I've lost 30.2 lbs.

Thank you all for your prayers. Here's what I posted on Facebook.

Friends, as of this morning, I've lost 30.2 lbs since December 19th! While I still have a long way to go to hit the number we're looking for, this has been such a blessed journey and I look forward to walking it each and every day.

Romans 8:25 ~ "But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (ESV)

We live in a culture of "I want this now" and I know that I've fallen into the trap of wanting quick answers to problems that take time to solve.

God is teaching me patience right now. Patience on this journey for my health. Patience while we move along in the process to bring our little guy home. Patience in everything.

I know many of you are entering this new year with a new focus. Perhaps this new year has reignited a former passion that has dwelled in your heart.

Understand that you can't do it alone. You'll need community and fellowship. With that will come encouragement, praise, and prayer throughout all the ups and downs of that journey.

More than anything though, is you need to let God be part of your journey. What better friend to walk through every up and down with you than Jesus. I can tell you that any results I've gotten are by the grace of God and the only boast I have is that Jesus sacrificed Himself on a cross for me, so that I would recognize my sin and pursue a relationship with Him. That relationship is the foundation of everything good in life. God is working miracles in my life and He is the sole reason we can call each day a blessed day.

I still have around 60 lbs to lose before I hit the immediate goal. I know that this process slows down the further you move along, but God is building a patient heart and a fire to remain steadfast with what he's called our family to do.

If God is calling you to do something, don't expect your desired results tomorrow. In fact, your desired results may not be God's desired results. Have an attitude of patience and understand that if each day, you live life according to His will, you'll have achieved something greater than you or I could have imagined.

#Hisgoals

#runningforadoption

#thankyoujesus

#patience

Wow, 30 lbs. in less than a month is impressive! Good work.

Thanks! It's definitely been a lot of hard work!

That's a fantastic start! Have the whole family be part of your process and it will be easier to stay on track.

Hey everyone,

I thought I would give an update. I am now at nearly -50 lbs since December 19th and moving along in the process.

On April 29th, our family will be hosting a Fundraising Event at the Timberlake United Methodist Church (Thanks alabama24 for putting us in contact with them)!

We are still working out the time and exact details but we will be hosting a raffle and silent auction. If anyone in the Lynchburg area has any connections with a business that would be willing to donate something toward the raffle or silent auction that would be amazing!

I can provide you a copy of the letter we've been giving local businesses upon request. We have been able to get a few cool things already!

We've been blogging this journey as well and you can read our latest post here.

https://onemoreoneal.wordpress.com/2017 ... ll-actors/

Thanks,

Scott

Glad to help! I have it on my calendar, but make sure to get in contact with me when you have more details.

Need an emcee for the proceedings YR? I have some experience in that area

alabama24 wrote:Glad to help! I have it on my calendar, but make sure to get in contact with me when you have more details.

I'll definitely let you know once I have more details!

BJWilliams wrote:Need an emcee for the proceedings YR? I have some experience in that area

Thanks BJ! I'll probably be handling that myself and sharing our story with folks as well.

Okay everyone!

Below is the event we created on Facebook for our Adoption fundraiser! Please share with anyone who you think might want to come! We're heading down the home stretch of this journey and are about to apply for immigration! So exciting! Let me know if you'd like to buy tickets!

What: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ADOPTION! – O’Neal Family Adoption Fundraising Dessert and Auction
When: APRIL 29th 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Cost: $5.00 for individuals, $10.00 for families
Where: Timberlake United Methodist Church @ 21649 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502
Additional Details: Help us reach our goals and bring the newest member of our family home! We will have several items available for silent auction and raffle. So far we have vacation stays, a dehydrator, several gift baskets full of wonderful items, tickets to sporting events and more! Come dressed as your favorite film character, actor, prop, or yourself! We promise a fun night you won’t easily forget! Unless you fall off a yacht and end up hanging out with Kurt Russell for a few weeks.
Contact Information:
Renee O’Neal – (209) 256-5877 – reneeoneal@me.com
Scott O’Neal – (209) 304-9800 – scottoneal@me.com

So we have an update!

First, we have approval on our immigration paperwork! Exciting! Just waiting for it to arrive in the mail!

Second, as of Friday, April 28th, my BMI is below 40!

All the working out at Crosswhite Fitness and eating well has paid off and I've lost almost 90 lbs!

Finally, we had our event this weekend and it went really well. We had a good turnout and raised $2700!

We still have about $13,000 left to raise and we're having a yard sale the weekend of graduation. Hoping to "Make Yard Sales Great Again."

Please continue to keep us in your prayers and keep our little guy in China in your prayers!

Awesome news! Just curious what your thoughts were when you first heard about the physical requirements for adoptive parents and how you feel about it now?

flamehunter wrote:Awesome news! Just curious what your thoughts were when you first heard about the physical requirements for adoptive parents and how you feel about it now?

That's a great question. When I share the story a lot of people say, "I wonder why that is" or "That's strange."

I don't think it's been strange to me because your weight is a big part of your health and they want to ensure that the parent will be around for their child.

That being said, is BMI the best measurement? Maybe not. There are so many measurements of bone density, muscle mass, and body fat % that BMI doesn't always tell the whole story but I understand.

In the end, we were worried that this part of the process would slow us down but it didn't. I thought my medical stuff would be the last things we send off and it wasn't. I sent off my medical paperwork on Friday and then today we received our immigration stuff. So in the end, it didn't have any impact on the timing of our adoption, strangely enough.

I am thankful that God has pulled us through this. It's a perfect example of how an obstacle can be turned into a blessing. I'm going to keep going as long as I can!

Yacht Rock wrote: I am thankful that God has pulled us through this. It's a perfect example of how an obstacle can be turned into a blessing. I'm going to keep going as long as I can!

This is kind of what I was thinking. Can't tell you how many times I've experienced this and when the whole ordeal is over you see the Lord working in ways you never would have dreamed of. Thanks for being quite transparent. It is an encouragement to me and I'm sure others as well.

I thought I would give everyone an update. We just returned from three weeks in China with the newest member of our family, who is a US citizen as of today!

Thank you for all of your prayers!

Congrats YR! An answer to many prayers.

That’s great. Cause it would have been really awkward if you’d left them behind

Purple Haize wrote:That’s great. Cause it would have been really awkward if you’d left them behind

I know you’re joking but we actually got asked that a lot (if we’d get to bring him home this trip) as there are other international adoption programs where you travel to the country, meet your child, then come back to the US without them and have to go back later to bring them home. I can’t imagine how hard that would be.

Congrats! May God continue to bless your growing family,

I enjoyed your pics of the trip on social. Congratulations especially considering how hard we all know that you worked to make it happen!

Congrats and God bless