Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Transform ...


Two years ago I sat behind this blog and chose just one word to follow for the New Year. No crazy resolution list, just one word. Two years ago that word was Positive and you can see that post here. I'd like to think my thinking has changed quite a bit since then in the positivity department. Last year I was trudging through a miserable first trimester with this doll. So there was no word. Or maybe the word was survival and I just didn't post about it. And if it was survival, well I think I did a pretty darn good job following that one because I made it through last year!


This year my word is transform

As I look at my life right now, I feel like I am looking at a pivotal point. A point where I can either choose to go one way, or choose to go another. One path I am looking at looks dark, lonely, confusing and sad. And the other looks more difficult to tackle, looks like there is much more work to do on my end, looks like a lot of changing. And it looks bright and it looks promising. 

I don't want to live a life of mediocracy. I want to be transformed into something amazing, something only God can do. My heart, my character, my voice, my thoughts, my servanthood, my actions, my diet, my parenting, my family relationships, my expectations, my body, my marriage, my words, my schedule, my home, my finances, my friendships - all of it, every single bit of it. It all needs to be transformed. If you are thinking that all of that sounds like so much more to do than just one word, well you are probably right. But here's the thing. This transformation, this grand transformation, can come from Him. I want to be transformed in Him, through Him, by Him.

I am choosing the bright path, the promising path. I am choosing to change. I am choosing to believe Him for what is best for me. I am choosing to lessen my expectations of those around me who disappoint me day in and day out and rest in Him. I am choosing to lean on Him and not desserts and Dr. Phil. I am choosing to start my day in His Word and in prayer. I am choosing to take a long look at my marriage and to make it better than it has ever been. I am choosing to tackle this parenting thing from a new angle and give it my all to have that infamous "Michelle Duggar voice". I am choosing to stop caring what others around me think and to give God the control over my family. I am choosing to let my friends know just how much they really mean to me. I am choosing to take better care of my body. I am choosing to change. I am choosing to be transformed

Social media and life in general can be so deceiving. Don't ya think? Most people who look into my life see nothing but rainbows and I guess that is why I try to be so real on here. I have actually had someone ask me before if the Hubs and I have ever fought before? Really. I'm not kidding. And I think I laughed at her. And it's not because we have knock down drag outs every day, but it is because nothing in life is perfect. Not a family, not a marriage, not friendships, not diets. Nothing. When looking into someone else's life, you don't always see the imperfect stuff. So let me share a little bit of my imperfect-ness. It's in my heart. My heart has been so hard lately. And in the past few months a lot in my life has come to surface. I am starting to recognize areas of my life that for so long I chose to sweep under the rug. I've been carrying a lot of hurt, a lot of feeling less than, a lot of burdens. I am seeing things from my childhood and from my marriage that I wish would have been different, things that I wish I would've stood up for a long time ago. And through this, God is jumping up and down screaming, "Over here! I'm over here! Come to Me for the healing you need! Come to Me and I will transform you into what I created you to be!" I hear His voice so sweetly and clearly and I am ready. I am ready to hang up the hurt, to hang up the feeling less than, to hang up the burdens. 

I am ready to be transformed.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

My First Update ...

Nineteen days.
 
That's how long it has been since I posted about and began a new lifestyle. If you haven't read that post yet, you should - it'll give you a little insight to this one.
 
So here is what has happened so far.
 
First, let me pat myself on the back by saying I have only missed one morning in having my Glowing Green Smoothies. Having this for breakfast has become such a habit and I actually crave this drink. Crazy, I know! At first the texture was a little hard for me to deal with, but I have learned the perfect amount of blending and the texture has vastly improved since my first go at it.
 
As I mentioned in my previous post, I am obtaining my info from The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder. I was only half way thru when I began this journey and have since made more changes than just my breakfast. Some of the most important points I took from the first half of her book were:
 
Drink a small glass of hot water and the juice from 1/2 of a lemon. This will jumpstart your digstion for the day. And the lemon is amazing for your liver.
 
Always eat fruit on an empty stomach. Never after meals. This causes bloating.
 
Eat something raw and green before each meal. My favorites and easiest to get to are green bell peppers and cucumbers. This coats your digestive tract in fiber which will allow your meal to digest much more quickly.
 
Always eat the heaviest meal of the day at dinner.
 
Now. Does this mean I have done all of this? Everyday? Well, heck no. I started off doing great, following each one without fail for about the first week. I could tell such a difference in the way I felt after each meal and not nearly exhausted as days before. But life is life and I totally slacked off. I did keep up my Glowing Green Smoothie, lemon juice every morning and eating fruit on an empty stomach. The last two just sort went out the window ...
 
In the last week or so I have got into the second part of her book. I have been appalled at the statistics and facts about animal protein, dairy and peanuts. Yes, peanuts. Since learning the newest information, I have dramatically cut out the intake of these things for myself and the family. We have switched to almond milk, almond butter and are having many more veggies at dinner (sometimes replacing meat, but not every night).
 
I believe my biggest hurdle has been re-teaching my kiddies healthy habits. Junk and processed foods are EVERYWHERE WE GO! From their grandparent's house to church to Great Clips. I have struggled with 'Well, it's just one ...' about one million times. Just one sucker at Great Clips, just one M&M for Kruzer going potty, just one bag of chips from the kids' church groups, just one cupcake at a birthday party. All of these just ones in one day! That's where I struggle. Junk is constantly given to my children, sometimes by me and sometimes by others. I have yet to find the happy medium ... 
 
If you are wondering about my physical changes, I have lost a total of nine pounds as off last Thursday. The first time I weighed myself was only five days after I started and I was down five pounds. I weighed myself one week later, which was the following Thursday, and I had lost an additional four pounds. I can tell the biggest difference in my lower stomach and thighs. I plan to weigh again tomorrow.
 
I started back today with eating a raw, green something before each meal and am saving my heaviest meal for dinner tonight. I am most looking forward to the changes in my skin, hair and nails, which the author says will come after a few weeks of detoxing your body.
 
I'll keep you posted. Till then -
 

...

Sunday, January 6, 2013

My Thoughts on a New Year ...

I am such a blog creeper. And even though I probably already know what events have happened with my pals and who's kid is sicker than the other ... I still love to read their blogs. For a lot of people, their blog is where they open up and let it all hang out. I love to read about the other abnormal and dysfunctional Mommas who need coffee in order to function for the day. ((Sigh)) I am reassured that I am not the only one. To me, a good blog is like a juicy diary. The writer just leaves it out for the world to read instead of hiding it under their pillow.

 During my blog creeping I was catching up with this lady Nicole. I was catching up on all the Pope madness and read one of her posts titled - A Word. After I read it and the ones from the New Years before I asked myself what my word would be for this year. What one word would I proclaim in 2013?

Welcoming 2013. Yes, we let our kiddos hang out until midnight.

With a New Year in tow, I like many others start to think about change. I have never been the one to keep resolutions. Or even make them for that matter. I guess I always think to myself why say I will never drink another Coke when I know the first time I go eat Japanese I am going to order that dark brown, carbonated goodness. Or getting off these last few Kohen pounds. My life is not suddenly going to get any less busy in 2013 and therefore, no gym memberships or Zumba classes will be in my near future. So I choose not to make actual resolutions for making a sudden change in my crazy life is makeup for failure. 

But one word to try and live by more? I can do that ;) 

Positive. 

That's my word. 

I often find myself with a negative attitude, I think I've rubbed off on my husband too. Or heck, maybe he's to blame. Maybe he's the Negative Nancy to rub off on me. Either way, I want to be a positive light in my children's lives, to my parents and brother. To my friends. Being positive brings so much more into a life. It brings encouragement. It brings faith. It brings love. It brings better health. 


I am often down about my body and how I SWEAR Kohen made my hips 10 inches wider! But you know what? I have this amazing, healthy baby boy who brings me all kinds of smiles and joy. What's a pants size up compared to that?

Positive. 


I will love my body that has birthed FOUR glorious boys and try to eat healthier this year. I am planning to maintain a healthier eating regimen and really, really enjoy that one Coke every now and then. 

Positive. 

This year I want to fall more and more in love with that hottie husband of mine. I know, I know - you always read that on cards and a husband's birthday Facebook post - "I fall in love with you more everyday...". But do I really? Do I even take the time to?
This year I want to kiss him more. And hug him more. And thank him more. And talk to him more. And laugh with him more. Our life is so crazy hectic that some days we will get all the way to bed and I will think, 'Geez, did I even hug him today?'. Bad, I know. But I am certain I am not the only one. 


We will celebrate 10 years of marriage this year and I still want the yearning of learning more about him. I want more date nights with him. I want to hear him more - his thoughts, worries and what he looks forward to in life. I want to actually fall in love with him more and more everyday. 

Positive. 

Another note on love? I want to be on a whole new love level with my Savior. I want to feel his presence more in my life. I want to seek him more. And not only that, I want to be more like Him. Nothing in this world is a more positive way of starting your day than starting it with Him. I plan to read His Word through and through this year. Something I have started twice and never finished. I am looking forward to learning more that I can tuck away in my heart and more that I can share with the world. I believe there is no better way to be a light in your children's lives than letting His light shine in you. 




Positive. 

So there. That's my word for 2013. And there's my juicy diary entrance I just left out for you to read ...

 P.S. Happy New Year to you and yours :)