My life has become so routine. I get up at the same time each day. I have the same work schedule. I eat the same breakfast. I am around most of the same people on a daily basis. The older I get, the more I find myself falling into this repetitive schedule without even thinking about it. Some days I feel discouraged and think, how could God ever use me with this ordinary (almost boring) life I lead? How can God work in the routine, the mundane, and the ordinary? Do you ever feel like your life has to be something extravagant for God to be at work?
When I was in college, I had the opportunity to go on many mission trips. It was one of my favorite things to do because I knew I was going to get a front row seat watching God work and move. I knew I was going to see Him throughout the trip and I was always excited to experience Him through new people and places. I traveled to South Korea for a mission trip after I graduated college and I remember being taken aback by all the beautiful people I had the opportunity to meet and the breathtaking views I was able to see. In those moments, God was so obvious to me. He was there and He was working. I could just feel it and see it each day. I felt important because I was confident that God was using me to positively affect the lives of others.
Unfortunately, my life isn't a constant mission trip. I do not have the opportunity to so obviously see God working on a day-to-day basis, but that doesn't mean that He still isn't working through my everyday circumstances. Why is it that as Christians, we feel like we have to be doing something extravagant like a mission trip to experience God or be to used by Him? I refuse to believe the lie that Satan tells us that we can't be used by God in our everyday lives, that we can't affect the lives of those around us unless we are doing something for Christ in an exaggerated way, that He can't work through the small, unnoticed gestures. We get to thinking why would He be interested in a full-time desk job worker like me? Or a stay-at-home mom? Or a someone who is retired? Or a student just trying to graduate? Because He isn't looking for people who are equipped or qualified. He is looking for people who are willing and available. God will provide the knowledge and ability, if we will just provide ourselves.
You don't have to be doing a ministry-oriented activity to see God and to be used by Him. Your life (every aspect of it) is a ministry in itself and a way for God to work through you and touch the lives of others. God will open up doors and create opportunities where there seem to be none. He has the power to turn your ordinary day-to-day circumstances into something extraordinary. It may not look like a foreign mission trip or a pastor preaching from the pulpit, but that doesn't mean He can't transform the routine into something amazing for His glory. God has the power to work beyond our circumstances. So yes, I do feel like my life is a little mundane sometimes, but I have to keep reminding myself that God is still at work in my life. He will always use me as long as I am willing to be used in any (unconventional) way, shape, or form.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
"I Need To Be Skinnier"
I haven't written too much about health on this blog, but being healthy and in shape is a big part of my life. I've had my ups and downs with weight over the years. I've gone through very healthy and somewhat unhealthy phases. If you are a woman reading this, then I feel like you will be able to relate on some level. Women constantly worry about weight and appearance. The older we get, the worse this obsession becomes. I see so many women going to extremes to achieve their goal weight or a certain look. It makes me sick to watch. I'm here to share my personal health journey and hope that it will inspire some of you to see that leading a healthy life doesn't have to be all about counting calories and spending countless hours in the gym. It takes some self-love and dedication to not becoming skinny, but becoming healthy (physically AND mentally).
From the time I was young, I have always worried about weight. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at age 11 and was considered overweight for my age at that point. Before my diagnosis, I just thought I was rapidly gaining weight and can remember being conscious of what I put into my body at an early age. In the 3rd grade, I started drinking water instead of juice. I tried to eat more fruits and vegetables and to cut out sweets. I was already trying to "diet" because I didn't like how I looked. After I got on the right medication, the pounds began to shed and I got back to my natural weight.
I was on the track and cross county teams in middle and high school, so I was constantly running. That definitely helped me stay in shape in my teens, but I still stayed close to the scale to constantly check my weight. I have always eaten fairly healthy and had a love for healthy foods. I also have a love for sweets. So when I got to college, I was amazed by the plethora of food I saw everywhere. I had a 24/7 access pass to the dining hall and went out to eat Waffle House in the middle of the night regularly with friends. The pounds started coming back on. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was my heaviest in college. I would work out regularly, but I would also binge eat and go to bed extremely full on a regular basis. I overate and believed I needed way too many calories to keep my body going. I was truly uneducated about what being healthy really meant.
My senior year of college after Christmas break, I decided I needed to go on a "diet". My weight was at an all-time high and I wanted to get down to what I had been in high school. I started eating healthy and working out, but I was a bit obsessive about it. I went to the gym 5-6 days a week in college and felt like something was off if I wasn't there. I thought I needed to be there in order to not gain weight. While this isn't a crazy extreme, my mindset was unhealthy. A few weeks before graduation, I reached my goal weight. But looking back, I didn't do it in the healthiest way. I wasn't consuming enough calories and was pushing myself to the limit. I believed that if I just ate less, then I wouldn't have to work out as much and I could still be "skinny". While that was true, it was difficult to maintain. I gained some of the weight back after graduation and it was hard to step on that scale.
When I got engaged, I started losing weight again, not on purpose this time but because of stress and busyness. I began eating slightly less calories but also letting myself indulge. I didn't feel like I was depriving myself anymore. I was working out, but only 3 days a week, nothing extreme. It was through that method and putting less focus on weight than I ever had, that I got to my skinniest and healthiest state. Pretty ironic, huh?
I'm not saying this method works for everyone, but I can say that I have been able to maintain a weight I am very happy with while still being healthy for almost a year and a half. I work out, but I don't live at the gym. I eat healthy, but I also eat unhealthy sometimes. I am not constantly counting calories. Everything in moderation is my new personal slogan. I have seen a change in my body and my mind by putting less emphasis on the scale and more on being a happier person all around. I am happier, healthier, and skinnier when I take the pressure off of myself and decrease my intensity with trying to be thin. I changed my focus and it worked.
I was inspired to write this particular blog after constantly seeing women who hate on themselves and who put every ounce of their being into reaching their goal weight. Even if you look on Pinterest, there are a million recipes on how to make things differently to cut calories. I think healthy choices are very important, but eating a little less of something with a higher calorie content and feeling satisfied instead of deprived is okay too. Don't get caught up in everything "diet" and "skinny". Eat a piece of cake, just don't eat 5. Depriving yourself is NOT the solution to a healthy life, but loving yourself is. Everywhere we look; there is pressure to be smaller, to push ourselves, our bodies, and our minds to the extreme. Moderation is key. Lifestyle changes are more effective than diets. Eat in moderation, workout in moderation, and dedicate your time and energy to being thinner in moderation. The scale may not look different, but that doesn't mean that you aren't getting results. Throw the scale out if you have to in order to focus on being healthy (physically and mentally) not skinny. You will be a much healthier and happier person in the long run.
From the time I was young, I have always worried about weight. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at age 11 and was considered overweight for my age at that point. Before my diagnosis, I just thought I was rapidly gaining weight and can remember being conscious of what I put into my body at an early age. In the 3rd grade, I started drinking water instead of juice. I tried to eat more fruits and vegetables and to cut out sweets. I was already trying to "diet" because I didn't like how I looked. After I got on the right medication, the pounds began to shed and I got back to my natural weight.
I was on the track and cross county teams in middle and high school, so I was constantly running. That definitely helped me stay in shape in my teens, but I still stayed close to the scale to constantly check my weight. I have always eaten fairly healthy and had a love for healthy foods. I also have a love for sweets. So when I got to college, I was amazed by the plethora of food I saw everywhere. I had a 24/7 access pass to the dining hall and went out to eat Waffle House in the middle of the night regularly with friends. The pounds started coming back on. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was my heaviest in college. I would work out regularly, but I would also binge eat and go to bed extremely full on a regular basis. I overate and believed I needed way too many calories to keep my body going. I was truly uneducated about what being healthy really meant.
My senior year of college after Christmas break, I decided I needed to go on a "diet". My weight was at an all-time high and I wanted to get down to what I had been in high school. I started eating healthy and working out, but I was a bit obsessive about it. I went to the gym 5-6 days a week in college and felt like something was off if I wasn't there. I thought I needed to be there in order to not gain weight. While this isn't a crazy extreme, my mindset was unhealthy. A few weeks before graduation, I reached my goal weight. But looking back, I didn't do it in the healthiest way. I wasn't consuming enough calories and was pushing myself to the limit. I believed that if I just ate less, then I wouldn't have to work out as much and I could still be "skinny". While that was true, it was difficult to maintain. I gained some of the weight back after graduation and it was hard to step on that scale.
When I got engaged, I started losing weight again, not on purpose this time but because of stress and busyness. I began eating slightly less calories but also letting myself indulge. I didn't feel like I was depriving myself anymore. I was working out, but only 3 days a week, nothing extreme. It was through that method and putting less focus on weight than I ever had, that I got to my skinniest and healthiest state. Pretty ironic, huh?
I'm not saying this method works for everyone, but I can say that I have been able to maintain a weight I am very happy with while still being healthy for almost a year and a half. I work out, but I don't live at the gym. I eat healthy, but I also eat unhealthy sometimes. I am not constantly counting calories. Everything in moderation is my new personal slogan. I have seen a change in my body and my mind by putting less emphasis on the scale and more on being a happier person all around. I am happier, healthier, and skinnier when I take the pressure off of myself and decrease my intensity with trying to be thin. I changed my focus and it worked.
I was inspired to write this particular blog after constantly seeing women who hate on themselves and who put every ounce of their being into reaching their goal weight. Even if you look on Pinterest, there are a million recipes on how to make things differently to cut calories. I think healthy choices are very important, but eating a little less of something with a higher calorie content and feeling satisfied instead of deprived is okay too. Don't get caught up in everything "diet" and "skinny". Eat a piece of cake, just don't eat 5. Depriving yourself is NOT the solution to a healthy life, but loving yourself is. Everywhere we look; there is pressure to be smaller, to push ourselves, our bodies, and our minds to the extreme. Moderation is key. Lifestyle changes are more effective than diets. Eat in moderation, workout in moderation, and dedicate your time and energy to being thinner in moderation. The scale may not look different, but that doesn't mean that you aren't getting results. Throw the scale out if you have to in order to focus on being healthy (physically and mentally) not skinny. You will be a much healthier and happier person in the long run.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Best Valentine's Day Ever
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Hope you all have a beautiful day filled with all types of love. I've actually never been very big on Valentine's Day. I like to do something special, but never over the top. I would rather give and receive love on random days of the year rather than on a day where people feel pressured to show love to one another. Over the years, Valentine's Day has altered its meaning to me. It has morphed from one thing to the next based on where I was in life. I can say that my view of the holiday this year has topped any typical "flowers, candy, and perfect dinner date" day I may have thought of in the past.
As a child, I loved celebrating Valentine's Day at school with my friends by exchanging cute paper Valentine's cards and receiving a little gift from my parents each year. But let's be honest, it was all about the CANDY as a child. In middle school and high school, it was all about showing off what your significant other got for you. Students would walk around the halls with flowers, massive teddy bears, candy and anything to show that they were taken and "loved". It was a great day for those who had someone and a dreaded day by those who didn't. When I was in college, a group of us "single" girls would get dressed up and go to dinner and a movie to celebrate Valentine's Day together. We felt united by doing this and not so alone. I really enjoyed those girl's nights on the day where it would be easy to feel excluded. When my husband and I were dating, it was a day filled with some pressure. It felt like we "needed" to do something special and over the top. It felt like there had to be a gift involved to make the day meaningful. And if you didn't get those things, there was a sense of disappointment.
I have had some good and some bad Valentine's Days over the years, but one thing is for certain, this year is by far the best. I finally see that there is no pressure involved. No need to prove anything. And there never was, I just always felt like I needed to. Valentine's Day is the day of "love" and the meaning of today is just that. I now get excited about Valentine's Day, not especially because of my relationship, but because it is an opportunity for me to show love to everyone in my life. It's not about the flowers, candy, over the top gifts, or relationship status...it's about love. I hope that you take the time to show love to the people in your life on a daily basis, but instead of feeling pressured or sad about today, use it as a day to show love to others. It's a day to be thankful for everyone in your life that you have to love and for those that love you. It makes me sad when girls get down on themselves for not having a "Valentine". Who cares? You have so many people in your life who love you and who you get to love. And that love alone is enough to make this a happy, joyful day.
Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends. Don't forget, YOU ARE LOVED. Now go return that love to the world.
As a child, I loved celebrating Valentine's Day at school with my friends by exchanging cute paper Valentine's cards and receiving a little gift from my parents each year. But let's be honest, it was all about the CANDY as a child. In middle school and high school, it was all about showing off what your significant other got for you. Students would walk around the halls with flowers, massive teddy bears, candy and anything to show that they were taken and "loved". It was a great day for those who had someone and a dreaded day by those who didn't. When I was in college, a group of us "single" girls would get dressed up and go to dinner and a movie to celebrate Valentine's Day together. We felt united by doing this and not so alone. I really enjoyed those girl's nights on the day where it would be easy to feel excluded. When my husband and I were dating, it was a day filled with some pressure. It felt like we "needed" to do something special and over the top. It felt like there had to be a gift involved to make the day meaningful. And if you didn't get those things, there was a sense of disappointment.
I have had some good and some bad Valentine's Days over the years, but one thing is for certain, this year is by far the best. I finally see that there is no pressure involved. No need to prove anything. And there never was, I just always felt like I needed to. Valentine's Day is the day of "love" and the meaning of today is just that. I now get excited about Valentine's Day, not especially because of my relationship, but because it is an opportunity for me to show love to everyone in my life. It's not about the flowers, candy, over the top gifts, or relationship status...it's about love. I hope that you take the time to show love to the people in your life on a daily basis, but instead of feeling pressured or sad about today, use it as a day to show love to others. It's a day to be thankful for everyone in your life that you have to love and for those that love you. It makes me sad when girls get down on themselves for not having a "Valentine". Who cares? You have so many people in your life who love you and who you get to love. And that love alone is enough to make this a happy, joyful day.
Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends. Don't forget, YOU ARE LOVED. Now go return that love to the world.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
TECHNOLOGY
Our world has become ever dependent on the technology around us. Only a few years ago, we had to find a payphone to stop at for an urgent call and now it seems like a travesty when our cell phones, our life lines, die. We depend on technology for almost everything. We are so spoiled by it that it seems nearly impossible to function without it. Our dependence on our phones, computers, iPod, iPad, navigation systems, social media, etc. is at an all-time high. But what happens when technology fails us or doesn't live up to our expectation of perfection? What if that thing that we put all of our time, energy and reliance into doesn't always come through for us?
This morning, I realized how much trust I really do put into technology and how it can sometimes fail me. Like most of you, I haven't used a real alarm clock in years. I just set an alarm on my phone and without fail (most of the time), it wakes me up at the appropriate time. Being a child of the 21st century, using a traditional alarm clock seems "old school" or even out-of-date to me. Well somehow during the night, my phone must have turned itself off and instead of my alarm going off at 5:40am like always, it was silent. I slept in and had no idea what was going on until I woke up to the sun rising. My first thought was, I never get up when it's light out! It's always dark outside and early. Once I saw the light outside, I knew I had overslept. I dashed out the door like a madwomen and it took the majority of the ride for me to calm down. I felt silly for relying on my cell phone to get me up and to work on time. Technology had in fact failed me.
I have grown up during the age where technology is constantly growing and changing at a rapid rate. I have already seen so much progress in my lifetime and it's easy to get sucked in to the hype. Between my husband and I, I would say that we own the majority of the devices out there and I would consider both of us quite tech savvy. We know how to work them and we depend on them in our everyday lives. We like how easy and quick they make everyday activities. Technology has made us impatient and lazy, always wanting to look for the short cut. It has taken away our ability to appreciate the simple things in life. And I must say that my incident this morning has made me long a little more for a life filled with less complicated technology and more beautiful simplicity.
Our society tells us that we need the newest thing to enrich our lives. These machines won't ever let us down, but will open us up to a whole new world. Well I would argue that the most enjoyable times in my life are when I leave my phone at home and soak up the people and places around me. There is more to this life than relying on computers to run it for you or to provide you with mindless entertainment. We put so much of ourselves into little pieces of plastic that can easily fail us instead of investing in the people around us. We miss the things going on in our lives because we are not present. We are constantly distracted. There is so much beauty and fulfillment in the simplicity of flipping the pages of a good book (instead of a Kindle), spending time in nature (instead of on the computer), writing a letter (instead of email), misreading a map and taking an adventure (instead of a GPS), having to sound words out and look them up (instead of spell check), and being completely present for moments with your family and friends (instead of constantly distracted).
I challenge you (and myself) to stray away from technology for a while. Don't rely on it and don't let it suck you in. There are so many amazing things happening right in front of your face that you are missing because you are so tuned in to your technology. Take the hard way sometimes instead of the cheap short cuts that technology provides us. I assure it will enrich your lives more than technology ever could.
This morning, I realized how much trust I really do put into technology and how it can sometimes fail me. Like most of you, I haven't used a real alarm clock in years. I just set an alarm on my phone and without fail (most of the time), it wakes me up at the appropriate time. Being a child of the 21st century, using a traditional alarm clock seems "old school" or even out-of-date to me. Well somehow during the night, my phone must have turned itself off and instead of my alarm going off at 5:40am like always, it was silent. I slept in and had no idea what was going on until I woke up to the sun rising. My first thought was, I never get up when it's light out! It's always dark outside and early. Once I saw the light outside, I knew I had overslept. I dashed out the door like a madwomen and it took the majority of the ride for me to calm down. I felt silly for relying on my cell phone to get me up and to work on time. Technology had in fact failed me.
I have grown up during the age where technology is constantly growing and changing at a rapid rate. I have already seen so much progress in my lifetime and it's easy to get sucked in to the hype. Between my husband and I, I would say that we own the majority of the devices out there and I would consider both of us quite tech savvy. We know how to work them and we depend on them in our everyday lives. We like how easy and quick they make everyday activities. Technology has made us impatient and lazy, always wanting to look for the short cut. It has taken away our ability to appreciate the simple things in life. And I must say that my incident this morning has made me long a little more for a life filled with less complicated technology and more beautiful simplicity.
Our society tells us that we need the newest thing to enrich our lives. These machines won't ever let us down, but will open us up to a whole new world. Well I would argue that the most enjoyable times in my life are when I leave my phone at home and soak up the people and places around me. There is more to this life than relying on computers to run it for you or to provide you with mindless entertainment. We put so much of ourselves into little pieces of plastic that can easily fail us instead of investing in the people around us. We miss the things going on in our lives because we are not present. We are constantly distracted. There is so much beauty and fulfillment in the simplicity of flipping the pages of a good book (instead of a Kindle), spending time in nature (instead of on the computer), writing a letter (instead of email), misreading a map and taking an adventure (instead of a GPS), having to sound words out and look them up (instead of spell check), and being completely present for moments with your family and friends (instead of constantly distracted).
I challenge you (and myself) to stray away from technology for a while. Don't rely on it and don't let it suck you in. There are so many amazing things happening right in front of your face that you are missing because you are so tuned in to your technology. Take the hard way sometimes instead of the cheap short cuts that technology provides us. I assure it will enrich your lives more than technology ever could.
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