Words

Words are one of the most powerful forces in the world-they can lift you up and push you towards the path that God has for you, or they can destroy you. If you have never been affected by words then consider yourself blessed. I had a conversation a few weeks ago and after the conversation I felt completely destroyed. I felt hurt and worthless and since then I have reflected, I did not want the hurt to define me. The pain was something i needed to face and then to heal from. 

Healing is an important part of growing. Facing what has caused you pain and choosing to move beyond the pain is what makes you strong. Choosing to surrender your pain to the one who knows the ultimate suffering is saying, "I will follow you in all things Lord" 

When you refuse to forgive those around you for pain that they have caused, you harden your heart towards God. When you refuse to suppress your pride and avoid apologizing when you have caused someone pain, you harden your heart towards God.

I encourage you to search your heart for unhealed hurts, to be strong enough to say, "Lord take this and help me move passed this." I encourage you to search your heart for words you may have said that have wounded those around you and to counteract pride, and search out forgiveness. 

Take the next step in pursuing a healthy attitude, a healthy heart, and agree to move on.

Positive Relationships are KEY

Today I read an article that stated that more that 75% of women act weird around food. The article was promoting being what they called a "Happy Eater" and I was confronted with the likelihood that I was one such case. I have come so far since my struggle with an eating disorder that I felt I could dismiss the article completely. However, as I thought about it I realized that I mostly have a good relationship with food;  but, there is still apart of me that falls into new traps. I no longer view food as a source of comfort, I no longer mindlessly eat. But I do feel guilty sometimes when I eat dessert and missing a workout can really ruin my day. I do not fear food anymore but I do fear loosing control. I fear that one day I will wake up and I will be right where I started, unhealthy, overweight, and miserable. I allow what I eat to alter how I view myself. 

I see now what  journey God has before me-to learn to accept myself for the way that I am. To have my goal be something that is attainable and long lasting-good health. I don't want my goal to be weight loss instead my goal is going to be long lasting overall, good health.

Living without but with all that matters

Travis and I truly believe that when we have a family we want me to be able to stay home with the kids. In today's economy this can seem almost impossible because of the high cost of living. When we got married we both wanted to do our best to see this goal through, so we have committed to living off of Travis's salary alone. We depend on his salary to provide all of our needs and you know what-we are comfortable! The most valuable lesson that we have learned is to simply redefine what needs and wants are and to live according to those standards.

Our Needs:

Charitable Givings

Savings

Rent and Utilities

Bills

Gas to get to work

Groceries

Every item on this list is provided by Travis's salary. This has taught us an incredible lesson on learning to define and live within our means. True we are not able to go on a ton of vacations or buy all the clothes we want; but, we are HAPPY and CONTENT with our lifestyle. We enjoy all that we have and don't desire what others have. This practice alone has made our relationship better because we both understand what truly matters in this life.  Its about who you walk through life with and not what you walk through life with. Being content with our lifestyle for sure contributes to our health we stress less and have less to worry about because we have truly chosen the simple life.

Understanding that relationships are the most important thing in life and living like you believe it is easier said than done. God calls us to put our relationships above all earthly things. I encourage you to evaluate your lifestyle. Determine where your priorities are and if your life reflects them. Determine what controls your decisions-who is your God? 

Take the next step and choose a simpler life and see how much better you feel :)

Don't go to Corner Bakery hungry....

I know...I know...why else would you go to Corner Bakery if you weren't hungry but really don't go there hungry. 

Some of you may be aware of my sweet tooth (thanks Dad) and anything chocolate really makes me happy. BUT over the last year or so I have tried to learn to control my sweet tooth. At first I decided that I wouldn't eat sweets. LOL What a joke that was, I think I lasted like 10minutes before I had a bite of chocolate cake. Obviously that did not work so I decided that I would eat low fat desserts. This to some extent worked but I admit I would eat three 100calorie ice cream bars because they just didn't satisfy my sweet tooth. 

Eventually I eased my way into a balance that I still use. When I want something sweet I have a bite or two immediately and I don't beat my self up for it. I simply enjoy it and move on with my day. Learning that I was able to have sweets almost every day and still loose weight was such a great lesson for me. Portions are my enemy not food itself. With this I have been able to enjoy most anything I want. The great thing for me personally is that after a year I no longer crave sweets as often-but I still do crave them :)

I worked a very long day yesterday and neither Travis or I wanted to cook. Plus it was so hot-who wants to turn on the stove at all. We decided to go out to dinner. Travis (for once) could care less where we went so I had to choose. First we drove to Chillies, but the wait was to long so we went to Chipotle but that wait was long too. We decided to go to The Corner Bakery which was right across the path from Chipotle. By the time we walked through the doors we were both really hungry. 

Do you know what they line the path to the cashier with??? BREAD!!!!!!! And the first thing you see when you get to the cashier.....DESSERT!!!!!!!!!! I thought how am I suppose to combat this. So we order our meals and Travis and I order a Pumpkin Gingerbread Baby Bunt Cake. It was fabulous. Should I have ordered it and taken a bite before my dinner...probably not....but it was so good!

This got me thinking about sweets in general. Is it necessarily bad to eat dessert? Does it mean that I have fallen off track and that I cannot be healthy? My answer: Absolutely not! What I eat is a very large part of my health, but it is not all there is to my overall health. Physical activity is also a huge factor and what I do with my time also impacts my health.

What I have committed to doing this past week is going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time. This week I have noticed a huge difference in my overall energy and attitude. I used to take a nap in the middle of the day because I just was not getting enough sleep. This past week I have been planning out when I will go to bed and preparing to do so. For a while I was suffering with insomnia-which was not fun. There is nothing more frustrating then being tired and not being able to sleep. By focusing on more than what I eat and how I exercise I have been able to feel better during the day and make better use of my time :)

Lesson learned- don't feel guilty about eating dessert and go to sleep at the same time every night.