Progress

...Not perfection right??? I've been slower on my "plan to eat better and be healthier" than I was planning but I am making progress so I'm proud of myself. I do tend to be a discouraged perfectionist sometimes and when I can't do it perfectly I get overwhelmed and give up altogether. If you don't believe me look at my laundry room which I have given up on at the moment.

I haven't stuck with my fast perfectly. I blame my husband who said he is NOT going completely without meat this year. So for the first few days I was eating good during the day but when he'd get home I'd eat a big dinner. I also wasn't completely staying away from sugar and I was considering french fries "veggies". I know they are but deep fried veggies aren't on the plan;)

But for the last few days I've been being good and sticking with my fast. Remember no meat, no sugar, no hydrogenated oils....well instead of telling you what I can't eat again I'll tell you what my typical day looks like. I wish I could post pictures because all these fruits and veggies is making very pretty meals.

Breakfast ~ oatmeal with some blueberries and honey or cheerios with rice milk.

Lunch ~ a sandwich with hummus, cucumber slices and red pepper slices on Ezekiel bread or a spinach salad with cranberries, cucumbers and walnuts with low fat raspberry dressing.

Dinner ~ Brown rice, beans with homemade salsa basically every night.

I considered coffee "fruit of the earth" and am continuing to drink it although I cut back to a cup a day and drink it black. I've been drinking green tea instead of my afternoon cup.

As for my working out I've been going to zumba 2x a week and getting my cardio in. I've also been doing "core training" (put in quotes because I don't know if I'm using that term correctly). Basically I'm using my early 90's abs and buns videos....gotta love the spandex though. ~Did you know kids are wearing those again???~

My stomach muscles separated after having each one of my kids, but after having Ruby they never had a chance to go back together. Since my stomach is basically doing nothing to help carry my weight all that pressure has been on my back. This explains so much since my back has literally gone out several times since Brayden was born. I'll be bending over to pick something up and wont be able to stand up. It's bad.

So, this whole thing is long overdo.

And now I'm going to go clean my laundry room...:)

Some Good Reads!

After Christmas I got sick with something that kept feeling like it was going to turn into a sinus infection and/or pneumonia so I (learning from my mistake a few months ago) decided to stay in bed and rest while covered in Vick's vapor rub:) This gave me some time to catch up on reading and I discovered some good books that had been laying around my house for quite a while now.

1. Fight Like a Girl by Lisa Bevere
I hadn't read it before because I kind of assumed it was another Joyce Meyerish "I am a christian victorious woman, hear me roar..." Not that I have anything against Joyce Meyer. She's an excellent bible teacher, but I could not get through the confident woman. Her tone was too defensive.

That's not what I wanted to talk about though. Lisa Bevere is one of my favorite authors/speakers. I find her so inspiring and what she says is biblically true but also fresh and lively. In Fight Like a Girl she talks about the power of our femininity and how we were created as an answer to a problem (Adam was alone and needed a companion) and how when Eve ate the apple she used her influence and became more of a problem than an answer. She talked about how we are made to feel like problems and so so related to this. This goes along with what John Eldridge wrote in Captivating about women feeling like they are "too much" or "not enough". We are too emotional, too manipulative, too angry, etc. Or we are not good enough. Feeling like problems we behave like problems. This message really spoke to me in how to talk to my girls. When I talk to them am I speaking to them as if they are a problem or an answer? It's really interesting when I think about that and think about how to approach them differently.

2. Under Cover by John Bevere
John Bevere is a better known author and speaker than his wife Lisa, but I'd never read any of his books. I was intrigued though because of what she's said about him and their marriage in her own books. What she said about him reminded me of my own husband so I actually got a couple of his books for Bill to read, but they ended up on my side of the bed. Under Cover was a pretty easy read about being under authority and how God places those people in authority for his purpose. It was interesting relating to the church, the government and even the family.

3. Driven by Eternity by John Bevere
I have seriously never read so many non-fiction books in so short of time, but these were really good reads and each one seemed to play on the things I learned in the last so I just kept going.

Driven by Eternity really shook me up. It's about heaven and hell and basically he's just bringing scriptures together which talk about the two with an allegory thrown in which I think I'll share with my kids. I have to say that I don't think about hell too often and I honestly have gotten caught up in thinking what many churches preach today (or at least preach by lack of sermon coverage). That is I know I wouldn't want to go there because I love God and want to be in heaven with him, but it probably wont really be THAT bad for the people who do end up there...no fun for sure, but all that stuff about lakes of fire and brimstone and worms that never die is just for effect...right?... So needless to say this book shook me up! I have to say it also upset my theology quite a bit and I think that's a good thing:) Driven by Eternity is a must read for every Christian and every person. It renewed in me a passion to see people come to Jesus which kind of led me to my next book...

4. No Compromise, The Keith Green Story by Melody Green
My parents were hippies who because Christians in the late 70's so I know Keith Green quite well. I grew up listening to him, Terry Talbot and the 2nd Chapter of Acts. Not only did we listen to their tapes, but we sang their songs when friends came over to visit. (Can you picture it???)My mom and dad named my sister Bethany, after Keith and Melody's 2 year old daughter who died in the plane crash with Keith, her 3 year old brother, the pilot and a family of 8.

But I never knew most of what was in his story No Compromise. The way he came to the Lord was inspiring to someone who's been a Christian all her life. He was totally zealous for God and not ashamed of it! They got people saved, offended people, shook people in their complacency and offered room to anyone who needed a place to stay. They started something called Last Days Ministries where people could come and live while they got their lives on track. They distributed thousands of newsletters, gave away copies of his album for free at his concerts, and did so much more.

5. Seven Habits for Highly Effective Families. I'm reading this right now and it might take me longer than all of the others. I'll have to write more about it later. What I've read so far is really good though and I think will really help me with some of things I've wanted to implement in our home, but have not really known how.

Back on the Blog

I've been so sporadic over the last couple of months that I don't blame you if you just roll your eyes and shake your head at the thought of me and anything I would have to say. I don't blame ya!

I needed a break....from everything! Of course, that's impossible...I'm a mom. I get a break when I have laundry so backed up I have to make a trip with a car load of clothes to the laundry mat, and isn't that nice?!? Well at certain times it's nice and other times you'd think you stepped into an episode of Blind Date. Yeah, Friday nights I stay away:(

I'll tell you later why I had to stay away for so long. I'll also go into more details about what's going on now. For now you some small tidbits of what I've been up to...

A kitchen remodel. I can't stop smiling when I go in there and look. This has been long coming and really long coming since we have had all the materials sitting in our garage blocking my way to our meat freezer! It's going to be beautiful. New cabinets, new flooring, a new more open floor plan. A big new refer and beautiful granite counter tops. We are going somewhat economical on this whole deal so my new kitchen might not look like every one's dream, but I can't wait.

I'm once again on a "Daniel fast". I did it last year for the first three weeks in January and although my life didn't automatically get rained on by God's blessings...or has it and I've been unaware??? but it was one of those things where you just know you are being obedient and that's a blessing in itself. I WILL post more about this over the next few days, especially because of what I've been learning about food. A daniel fast is basically like eating in the Garden of Eden. I'm sure I'll be able to post this years positive results soon, but last year I remember having so much extra energy and feeling so good. My husband remembers me chasing him around the house looking for loves! Seriously, it's amazing what some extra energy can do for a girl! Right now I'm feeling my body detoxify itself and it's not exactly fun! Well either I'm detoxing or discovering that beans are not really my friend...

I've had a lot of heaviness on my heart too. My Christmas was not so much fun and the couple weeks after and before weren't that great either. I mean, we had a lovely Christmas and I was really happy with our kids and all, but I just had something else going on. I'll probably share a little more about that.

So aren't you glad I came back with nothing but teasers?!?

My new years resolutions are this...1. eat better, 2. love better and 3. write!

Happy New Year!