Friday Favorites: Tidbits

One of my favorite things to do is write down quotes or tidbits that I find inspirational.  I have them in several journals with the purpose of using them to inspire some one I am talking with.  I picture myself pulling out the these lines during a message I might be giving.  A lot of times however I just have them written down and keep them stored away.

The last couple of weeks I began to collect some new ones so rather then storing them away I want to share them on this chilly wonderful Friday.

One small crack does not mean that you are broken, it means that you were put to the test and you didn't fall apart.

Linda Poindexter

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.

Phyllis Diller

God does not expect us to come in perfection. He wants us just the way we are.

Wendy Treat  (#shoeswisely)

Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't I give myself reasons why I CAN.

Safest place to be is in the middle of God's will.

Audrey Hancock

Sometimes we can find inspiration in our twitter feed. Here is one from twitter that is my motto for the next few days:

Strive for progress, not perfection.  @women_fit 

 

Enjoy this Friday knowing that there is inspiration all around us.  God's love is bigger then anything we might be facing, He surrounds us with no escape!

Happy Friday

Throw Back Thursday

I have avoided doing Throw Back Thursday even though I enjoy seeing everyone else's.  There is something vulnerable about TBT, I feel, to post pictures of those years that I was trying to figure out a  brush and how to look decent.  So instead of showing the dog days of my teen years I will start with a favorite one of me when I was like 7.

I can see my daughter in this picture.

Normal, trying to be a healthy foodie.

So often as I sit at my dinner table with the family I wonder about all the 'healthy lifestyle' choices that are at our finger tips.  As a parent my heart's desire is to make the best choices possible for the growing wiggly bodies in front of me.  As a wife I want to ensure that I am nurturing my husband as we look to keeping our bodies strong.  For myself I am trying to attain a healthy lean strong body before I turn 40...which is several years away *cough*

I love reading, watching and/or talking about being healthy.  But I do find myself wondering how I am going to do this.  Our eating habits have evolved so much in the past three years and I am proud of it.  It all started with seeing and understanding what processed foods really are. From there we began to understand eating more plant based.  Now we are adding in clean eating and staying away from white flour and sugar.  You know you have read and heard the words 'poison, poison, your eating poison'.  

It is hard, huh?  What is true? What is poison?  What about macronutrients? Or  eating alkaline foods? You believe in something and you can easily  find support research online.  Every side is right.  How to decipher? I am just a normal person who enjoys food and knows that we need to fuel our bodies to survive.  That is why I have pushed through and tried to make all this normal.  As we have taken baby steps towards healthy living I can actually see that we are becoming those strange people.

My husband is at the verge of resembling a vegetarian! Who would have thought?! Not me, never.  What have we done to ourselves that we rarely eat at a chain restaurant?  All I know is that we strive to find balance in all the informatuon that is thrown at us. We cannot be extreme for reasons as money or I do not know how to cook raw.  But more importantly because we are normal and want these lifestyles to be normal in our life. How do you build a house? Brick by brick. 

So if you are out there trying to make sense of all the foodie hype let me encourage you that you can find your way. It is not about elimanting everything but adding.  If you eat two cookies a day just add an apple as well. Then one day the apple will take the place of two cookies and you will see yourself healthier. No pressure, do what is best for your family.  God is our creator and through prayer you can grow in your eating habits.  Let the Holy Spirit direct you in which 'diet' to start with. I have taken bits from plant-based diet, bits from gluten-free diet, bits from clean eating and bits from enjoying a good burger from time to time. I am not there yet but I am not where I started. So with God's help let's relax as we become normal health junkies!

What do you say?

You say....God says....

I saw this floating around social media and thought it was great!  I have a sheet with tons of confessions  but this is pocket size.  It kinda narrows down to comments we make through out conversations.

Feel encouraged that God responds to the things we say. He is with us, side by side telling us we can do it!!

Fashion Plates

Saturday morning my daughter and I stayed home while the boys went to Lowe's for a project.  As we sat at the table eating our breakfast we watched Project Runway.  This was the first time she saw it and I pointed out how they sketch out a dress.  We grabbed some paper and tried to 'create a design'.  I am no where near being able to draw but some how my daughter was able to vision the shirt and added flowers or sparkles to make it her own.  This moment reminded me of how much I enjoyed playing with Fashion Plates, an 80's toy.  

My daughter calls herself an artist so I thought I need to get this for her.  Do they even sell them? I am sure Amazon would have them, right? I started to get a bit nostalgic with my own childhood.  This would entertain me but I do not remember thinking "I want to design clothes".  My sisters and I enjoy clothes and try to be fashionable.  We have gone through several styles and attempts with fail...and success I think.  

All this rambling is stemming from the thought, did my sisters ever play with this toy? I do not know.  So my homework for today is to send out question through our group text to find out!

Happy Tuesday

We just had a smooth morning of getting ready and out the door.  I am sitting here with time to spare it feels like.  I think that it is not time but my mood is easy going.  I did not have to get onto kids by repeating myself over and over....and over.

Get dressed, brush your teeth, stop playing, get dressed, leave your brother alone, brush your teeth, get dressed, breakfast is at the table, let the dog out, get dressed, tie your shoes, ask Dad to comb your hair, leave the toys alone, get dressed, please eat, no you can do that, get dressed......whew just typing this out is exhausting!

How do we do this Monday-Friday? More importantly, I am asking myself how do I do this in a peaceful manner?

1. Layout clothes the night before.
2. Remind kids that in the morning we have to get ready. (they may forget in their sleep)
3. Wake up with enough time to not be so groggy ...there will be a day that kids will wake up before me and get ready.  Right?!
4. Plan out lunch boxes the night before.
5. Pray, pray,pray

The thing though is that at night I just want them to go to bed so when the house is finally settled I do not want to prep.....ugh the cycle!

But you know what? I love my life....I love these kids and I will continue to find ways to show them love even through repetitious mornings.

Hope your enjoying some quiet time as your reading this.

Happy Tuesday

Friendship is powerful

But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

Luke 5:19

I love how the stories in Bible can still come to life despite hearing them for so many years.  I have heard this story many times but I grasped in my heart the importance of friendship.  I love how we do not compartmentalize our friendships based on church, family and/or work.  But despite all being busy and all over the place we strive to live life together.

I really could say much more to this but right now I am simply thankful for the image of friendship in this story.  As a friend I cannot wait to have the opportunity to knock down some tiles and help my friends get in front of Jesus for their miracle! I cannot wait to say, "I know that Jesus has the answer for you and we will not give up!" Many times we search for friendship to hang out or talk with but friendship is so much more.

I cannot take lightly the difference my friendship can make.  I cannot take lightly the friendships around me as they can make a diference in my life!  This is what life is about. I am thankful for my friends and the meaning they bring to my life.  Like I stated I am thankful that despite the business we have found friends that include us.  Friends that we include into our lives.

Friendship is powerful...it is God given!

Adults at the family table

I am sitting at my parents table enjoying adult conversation.  My sisters and I are grown and my parents almost empty nesters.  Growing up, Saturday mornings were big breakfast and cleaning the house.  Pancakes and omelets were the speciality my parents made.

Now as grandparents we are still enjoying pancakes and omelets.  Here we are discussing hot topics while kids are oblivious....how many hot topics did my parents have that I never understood?  Either way this is a family tradition that I strive to have with our kids.

I strongly believe that families that eat at the dinner table together stay together.

What family Saturday morning tradition do you have?

Friday Favorites: Workout

I have been so motivated to workout.  It is like a high and I am not wanting to come down from it.  January is the month to set goals and keep them....until we get distracted.  So far I have found a rhythm to keep up with working out an hour and half Tuesday - Saturday.   I see that I am progressing, that I am making this a part of my life.

This is not the first time in my life that working out was a part of it.  The difference that I am making though is the motivation behind it.  I have gone through eating disorders and the effects that it had in my life. Honestly that it still tries to have. It can creep up now that I am bringing focus to a better healthier body. 

But my heart is motivated to care for my body so that my family will have the example.  To care for my body because it is a temple for the Holy Spirit.  To care for it because there is so much before my husband and I to make a difference in our community.  Why not stand strong?

Here are some of my favorite workout activities:

1.  Full-Body Intermediate Workout | Perfect Form With Ashley Borden

     I do this workout twice a week after an interval walk or 2 mile run

2. Pilates Bootcamp for Livestrong | With Cassey Ho

    I do three of these to create a full hour workout.

3. Insanity 

    I do this twice a week for a good cardio workout.

4. Interval walking around my neighborhood

    5 days a week

Magical Words

Such a simple thought but so true...they are magical.  In the fall my husband and I attended a marriage conference at church.  In the time we spent we learned a lot however the one piece advice that stood out was using courtesy with each other.

When you get comfortable with someone there is a tendency to not say please and thank you. Since then I have been more conscience about saying them to Bobby, even in texting.  I have seen a difference in how I ask and how he receives what I am asking.  Remember when you were dating and everything was being well mannered. Remember how polite we were?

Why should that be only for dating or coworkers? Right it is for today.....lets bring some magic in our day to day with these simple powerful words.

BOOK THOUGHTS

One day I would like to present a book I wrote.  I do not in anyway consider myself a writer or have a story that is rolling around in my head.  It is a thought I have had now for many years.  It is a thought that I entertain a few days through out the year. Well I ever write this book? I do not know.

Something about not dismissing this idea completely from life is that every time I entertain it, a little bit of hope rises up. Maybe it is not just a thought but a dream from deep down inside.  You know that area that you wish quietly and almost secretly?  Dreams tucked in our heart that we keep sacred because it actually shows something personal about us.

Why do we shy away from showing our selves to people? Many reasons but  for today I am sharing that I want to write a book one day.

What do you have rolling around in your heart?

DESIGN IN CONSTRUCTION

In the next days, weeks I will be fidgeting with the design and look of the image of my blog.  I know what I want just not sure how to get there.  So warning that it will look weird some days but hopefully the final result with be a clean look that is enjoyable to read.

Great news though!  In God we are in construction, however He already has a perfect design set for us. We do not have to live life in a fidgety mode but confident that in Him we are perfect.  The design for our life, our hearts is in the Bible and through the leading of the Holy Spirit we can be who we are designed to be. Thank goodness for grace in the process!

Any suggestions, tips or advice is very much welcomed....

HUSBAND AT HOME

I enjoy when my husband works from home.  I enjoy being around him. We have a couple of hours in the morning just us before my youngest returns from pre-school. It is great to have time to us where we talk, laugh, fold laundry together, have breakfast or just sit next to each other on the couch working silently. 

I am thankful for this time we have because when we are empty nesters I believe we will know each other despite raising kids. I am thankful for this time because it strengthens our marriage, our friendship.  I love this time because I appreciate it as I know we are fortunate to have it. I love this time because simply said I love him. 

As we look into this new year with hopes of resolution and commitment I also look at my year with gratitude to have my husband work from home twice a week.  

*sigh* 

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

We have been on vacation since December 19th so today was, for me, back to work.  Waking up early was not difficult this morning however now I am a bit sluggish.  I wake up every morning with a desire to be better today then yesterday.  To not loose my cool, to not overreact, to not be lazy and so on and so forth.  

Maybe instead I should build on the good thing I did yesterday and already start my day in the hole from yesterday.  I hear all the time about being positive and living positive.  I know it is proven that confession is key.  

So today I am putting that to use, saying

  I am going to have a good day!

Journaling

We enjoyed a great break this year for the holidays.  Many posts have been started in my mind and I am ready to put them out in writing.  I started blogging because I wanted to encourage and have a place to speak from my heart what I was learning in God.  From there I just naturally started to write about my family and simple moments in my life that actually were lessons I was walking out.

Now I think that I am in a journaling phase, which is probably the real start to wanting to blog.  I use to journal when I was a teen and right to getting married.  I have no real reason to why or what but like I say I think in some way I can bring encouragement to someone out there.  So here is the next phase in my blog, probably the next phase in my heart that I am willing to share.....