Ok, so technically this should be a Weigh In Wednesday post, but we'll just call it Weigh In Thursday just because. 

So, last week at counseling, the marriage expert guy suggested that I find a class to join at the Y. He said that it would be good for me to connect with other people and get exercise at the same time. I was sharing this with Trainer Guy and he told me that he knew of the perfect class. He got all pumped up about me joining and practically forced me to the information desk to sign up for it. I was kind of excited (excited = scared out of my mind) too.... until I found out the only class they were doing is at 5:30 AM. That's right- pre sunrise. There is 2 things I do pre sunrise- sleep and snooze my alarm. 

I've had almost a week to let the idea of #1) doing a class with other people and a trainer and #2) in the middle of the night marinate in my mind. Of course, if you know me, you know that turned into images of me hyperventilating and being carried off on a stretcher out of the wellness center because I couldn't hack the workout. All the while a monster like trainer yelling at me with people all around on treadmills laughing at pointing at me for months to come because I'm "that girl". I went to bed early so I could be rested for the early morning. I woke almost an hour before my alarm went off and hardly slept for the next hour. I was ready to leave by 4:50 am. I knew that if I got there early, I'd be the wierdo standing around waiting for my impending doom, but I went anyways. 

I got to the Y and found that the trainer was waiting and there were already a few people from the class there ready to get started. She weighed me (that makes 3 people on earth that know my weight), took my measurements (Eek! I was chanting to myself... She's not judging me! She's not judging me! over and over again in my head). She actually turned out to be totally opposite of what all that over thinking had made her out to be. She hooked me up with a partner, and handed us our workout sheets. I looked over it and realized 90% of it I could live through. 

My next thought was... ok, fat girl, get moving! (Is that politically correct to say about myself? I'm not sure!) And I did it. Not all of it. There are things I can't do yet (my goal is to be able to at the end of this class) and things I had to modify because of my back. But I left feeling proud of myself. I would have liked to work a little faster, but working with a partner made it slower. The awesome trainer girl let me keep my workout card from the class and also gave me an additional cardio workout to do on off the days. Can I actually say I enjoyed it? Yes, I think I can. :-)  And the best news- there was no hyperventilation, nobody pointing and laughing, and no moster like trainers biting my head off. 

So, what's the lesson in this? #1- have a little more faith in myself, and #2- have a little more faith in others. Today's workout may not go as planned because I'm super sore, but that's all good right? 

I wanted to share the workouts with you in case you wanted to use them too! Right now I'm working out 5 times a week, and I may throw in an extra workout that's just swimming. That will give me an opportunity to give my back a bit of a rest and still burn mega calories. 

Oh man, it's on! I left the Y yesterday morning feeling encouraged that there are finally a team of people behind me that can help me make this happen. I know that it's on me to get it done, but I'm thankful for the support! If you use one of these workouts, let me know! We can compare battle stories! Have a great Thursday! 

I'm still here. I haven't gone anywhere. 

I'm taking a bit of a mini break from blogging. It's not that I don't have anything to write about or anything to share, it's just all so super personal right now. God doing great things in my life and in the life of my family. It's kind of hard to explain, but I feel like I'm a butterfly getting ready to bust out of this confining cocoon I've been in. I know that maybe that's a little corny, but I know that I'm right on the edge of something. 

Right now though, it's the uncomfortableness of being the immature caterpillar trapped in a tight cocoon. God is growing me, creating me into something new. 

Stay tuned. I'm excited to share it with you. :-) 

It's the week!!! It's the week!!! My folks will be here tomorrow and I'm beyond excited! It's been 4 months since I've seen them! I know for a lot of people, that's pretty normal, but not for this girl! And my little girls are pretty excited about seeing Mema and Pepa too! 

I planned this weeks menu at the same time as I did last week, and I made a quick trip to the store on Saturday to pick up what we would need to get a through the week. I planned through Thursday because Friday is pay day and I will probably go grocery shopping then. So, here it is...

Monday- Grilled Cheese. Because this is how I roll the night before company comes. Easy, little mess, and everyone is happy.

Tuesday- Ranch Pork. This is one of the most delicious easiest recipes I fix. You can use pork chops. I use think cut chops. Then you add 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, half a packet of dry ranch mix, and pork in the crock pot. Cook until the pork is tender. I serve with mashed potatoes. Yum! 

Wednesday- Grilled Chicken Kabobs. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice this week so why not bust out the grill? Love grilled chicken and veggies! 

Thursday- Parmesan Garlic Chicken. I made this last week for dinner for friends and they said it was excellent. Last week I dipped the chicken in butter as a small tweak to the original recipe. I will not be doing that this week. It made the parm and italian seasons gooey and not crispy like it is supposed to be. 

Well, there ya have it. Pretty simple this week! 

Ok, so the verse of the week is a selfish one for me. It's again, a reminder for me that what I'm doing isn't about me or anyone else, it's about God. 

Colossians 3:23- Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.


Happy Monday!  

Bonus Post! 

 Last week I was meeting with the trainer guy at the Y for my bi weekly wellness appointment. After a little bit of conversation, he said, "Please don't be upset with me for saying this, but you make a lot of excuses." I thought back over the 15 mins of conversation we'd just had and I realized the few topics we'd talked about (not all of them health/fitness related) were things that I want to do but didn't/haven't/won't for whatever reasons. Reasons = excuses. (P.S. I was not offended at all. Infact, my reaction was exactly opposite. I reacted out of fear, but we'll get to that in a min. Props to him for being willing to put that out there!)

Are excuses ever legit? I'm not sure. I think that some of my reasons were valid. BUT. It did help me realize that I excuse my way out of a lot of things- most things- if they seem remotely threatening to my emotional/physical/mental stability. Stability being comfort. 

As I've had some time to think about all of this and even pinpoint areas in my life where I can say I truely have missed out, I've come to another realization- I live in fear. Lots of fear. I mean, there are general fears- things happening to my kids, someone in my family dying, things like that. But then there are real deep personal fears:

If I fail will people still love me?  If I don't do it, people won't have a reason to not love me.
What if someone makes fun of me? Don't do it so no one can make fun of me. 
What if I try and run that 5k and can't finish or don't finish in the allowed time?  Don't do it so no one sees me as a failure.
What will people think if I don't measure up? They'll think so much less of me. Don't do things I'll fail at so they can't think less of me.  (This was my reaction to trainer guys observation. . He blew my cover and called my bluff. He obviously thinks I'm a failure.)
If I opened that business I always wanted to open and it fails, will the rest of my life be ruined? Well, it costs too much money to do it anyways. It's a silly dream anyway. 
I don't know how to do that, so I just can't right? 
What If I'm not a good parent and my kids choose the wrong path in life?  
Well, I'll never do it as good as such and such, so I'm just not going to try.
 
You get the point. 

Have you noticed that I HATE the idea of failure, so I avoid things that I could fail at? Which is pretty sad, because I've limited myself so much in life. How much has God called me to do and given me the opportunity to do and I excused myself out of doing it because I was afraid of failing. How much more fulfilling and joy filled could my life be if I stepped out on faith and just tried it. 

The truth is that this is a deep rooted pattern in my life. I don't know that this is something that I'm going to be able to bust out of tomorrow and never deal with again. But, I've been so much more aware of it the last few days. And the funny part is that since I had that conversation on Tuesday, God has placed small reminders in my path that through Him, all things are possible. There are a lot of these things that I would love to do that probably would fail if I did them. On my own. Or without God's direction. 

So, it's my 30th year of life. Well, almost. I'll be 30 later in the year and sometimes I feel like such a child. It's true that you learn something new every day. In my case it just happens to be about myself. It's draining. It's exciting. It's discouraging. But, it's promising. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone and the new is here. 

I know that I will not and can not be totally new until that day that I see Jesus face to face. But I am thankful that he's making me a better person, even if it's slower than what I want it to be! 

My theme verses for this year are Ephesians 3:20-21-

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Heading into this year, I knew that God was going to do amazing things. And he has. He's been faithful to Aaron and I on our road towards healing our marriage. He's been faithful in redeeming my life when I had turned from him. He's been faithful to provide for our family. I can't believe it's already April, it's gone by so quickly, and it has seemed like one blessing after another for us. 

But...

I've struggled. As I've shared before, Aaron and I decided to step back from ministry when we knew healing our marriage needed to be our top priority. Stepping back and gaining some perspective has been so good for us. But hard. Right now we're praying that we'd be aware of God's leading in our lives. God has placed a calling on our life, of that we're sure. But right now everything just feels like different puzzle pieces that aren't fitting together to create a bigger picture. 

There is a song that has really been speaking to my heart recently. It's called Pieces and it's by Meredith Andrews. The chorus rings true and it's been an encouraging reminder that I'm not in control and it's not my job to make everything work.

"...Give Him your wounds, your bruised and broken pieces,
All your questions, all your secrets
You don't have to hide who you are.
You belong to someone greater
Than all your past mistakes and failures.
Rest in who He is-
He knows how to make your pieces fit..."

I've decided that right now, instead of seeking answers from God, I need to seek God and the answers will come. And in truth, this in between place is a little exciting. I know that right now everything seems a little scattered and we can't see how things are coming together, but how great it will be when we see God putting random pieces together to create something beautiful with our lives and our ministry! 

Is there something in your life right now that feels like a random puzzle piece? Maybe everything does. Nothing seems to be coming together. Rest in who God is and the promises he's made to you. In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises to give us hope and a future, and to prosper us. It's a rather well known verse, but a lot of people don't read verse 12 and 13-

 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Let's stop seeking answers and seek to have God's heart instead. I know I get caught up in "God, show me this" or "show me that" instead of asking to show me who he is. The more we become like God, and what he wants becomes what we want, I think we'll start seeing the pieces come together. Our eyes will start to see what God sees and we'll see a beautiful puzzle laid out in front of us. May not though. But, if our hearts are seeking God instead of answers, we will find him and we'll be ok with that, because He's enough. 

Have a great Thursday! 

What a great Easter we had! I feel like this year, more than any other, the truth behind the Easter season was revealed in my heart. I'm so thankful for things that I see God doing in my life and the lives of those around me. He sure is good! 

This week's verse of the week I chose because it's been my prayer over the last few months- that God would continue his work in me. That I could mature spiritually and become a new creation. Much less of me and more of him. Plus, it's Spring cleaning week in my house, and to be honest, I'm going to need this bible verse as a reminder to keep going as I'm sitting knee deep in piles of "organization". 

James 1:4-Let perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

I know a lot of people are heading back to work and school this week after spring break, so keep this verse in mind as you head back to the grind! 

The first week of April. WHAT?! Where has the time gone! It's FINALLY starting to look like Spring here in Indiana. My girls spent most of the weekend outside playing while hubs and I did a little bit of yard work. I'm the type of person that has a hard time waiting until May to plant flowers! Anyways, this week's menu is pretty simple...

Monday- Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken. This sounds really good. I'm going to be making it next week when my parents are here, but because I've never fixed it, I figured I'd do a test run of it tonight and see how good it is. 

Tuesday- Chili Cheese Dogs. We don't have this often in our house, but this is one of Aaron's favorites. Plus, it's pretty easy! 

Wednesday- Pancakes. Pancakes always get gobbled up in our house! 

Thursday- Cowboy Meatloaf. My take on Shepherds Pie. When I get some time this week, I'll add it into my menu page. 

Friday- Chicken Nuggets. This is a Chick fil A copycat recipe. It's my go to for chicken nuggets. It's relatively easy and my kids (and husband) love them!

Saturday- Biscuit Pizza. These got bumped from our menu last week, and if we don't have them at least once a week, my kids start asking for them at every meal. I figured on Saturday we'll fix them and watch a movie for family night. 

Sunday- Green Beans, Sausage, and Potatoes- Another one of Aaron's favorites, plus, it's easy and it's a crock pot meal! I enjoy doing this one on Sunday because it cooks while we're at church and it's ready to go as soon as we walk in the door! 

Next week my folks will be here and I'm so excited! They left for Florida the 2nd week of December. I'm glad the weather is finally turning so they don't have to suffer too much! I don't want to wish time away, but I hope this week goes quickly because I'm so excited to see them! 

I hope everyone has a great Monday! 

God gave me a blessing this morning. He woke me up a whole 2 hours before I was supposed to be awake. I've been able to shower and rest in silence. I woke up thinking about what that Easter morning may have been like. The weight of mourning hanging heavy over the women heading to the tomb. But man, God changes things... 

I was reading the Resurrection story this morning in Mark 24. It's nothing new for me. Every verse was familiar. Every detail. But something jumped off the page at me and I wanted to share it with you. Because, in truth, it's the point of Easter. It's the point of Jesus death on the cross, it's the point of the resurrection. The morning that Jesus rose from the dead, some women were going to clean and anoint his body in the tomb. When they got there, an angel was waiting for them. This is what he asked them...

Mark 24:5b- Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

If there is something I can tell you from my own life, it's that I constantly run after things that are dead. Are they physically dead, no, not necessarily, but when it relates to giving me hope and a future, they are absolutely dead. I think I mentioned on Friday in my post, apart from God we have nothing. Yeah, you could have the nicest house on the block, the best cars, a great family, and an awesome job, but the truth is, none of those BRING life. They can absolutely enhance your life, but they don't give you life. Only God can do that. 

Man, my heart for you guys today is that you could have life. I wish you could feel my heart reaching through this computer screen giving you a big hug and trying to communicate this. My heart actually aches with it. Stop looking for life in things that are dead. You will run, you will chase, you will come up empty in the end. There is only one that offers real, true life- and that is Jesus. 


It's pretty easy actually. There are no magic words. There's no bug scavenger hunt. God is waiting for you. He has been waiting for you your whole life. If you want that real true life, all you have to do is ask for it. God won't fail you. 

If that's something you want today, you can pray this prayer or just talk to God yourself. Ask him for that life, tell him what you want. He's faithful!


Dear God, I don't want to live in death any more. I don't want to chase things that bring me nothing. I want real life. I want Jesus living in me and with me. Thank You for loving me enough to give your life on the cross, and thank you for being powerful enough to defeat sin and death and come alive again. Please forgive me for chasing everything but you. Amen. 


Jesus is alive friend. He's alive, He's real, and He's waiting for you. Take the gift of life He's offering you today. 

Happy Easter! 

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a Saturday blog post. Plus, I feel like all the sudden the Lord has given me words, they are tumbling out, and if I don't put them down now, I might just miss them so I'm going to get straight to the point. 

I've been thinking a lot about what that Saturday after Jesus death might have been like for the disciples and the followers that loved him. They were really thinkin' they got the short end of the stick.

 Man, we committed our lives to this man, followed him around, left our jobs and our families, we've been made to look like fools... all for what? Death. Nothingness. 


Little did they know exactly what was happening that day when they were in deep sorrow, mourning the loss of a man they loved, and questioning their very lives. If you're familiar with the Easter story, you know that after taking our sins upon himself, Jesus is laid in the grave. There is much debate about exactly where Jesus goes during this time, whether he goes to hell or to heaven. But, the truth is, it doesn't matter. The fact is that on that day when those disciples felt so lost and probably betrayed by Jesus, what they didn't know is that he was doing a great work. He was preparing a way for them. He was getting ready to come alive again. 

How often are we like the disciples? Something terrible has happened in our life and we feel lost and betrayed by God. We think... if He really loved me then he would have (fill in the blank).... This is so unfair. I committed myself to him and he's left me.... or just a plain and simple God's not there. 

What we might not realize, friend, is that when it seems silent and cold, and we're left in confusion and grief and we hear nothing from God, he's working things out for us. He's making a way for us. Hold fast to the Truth that Jesus spoke " I will never leave you or forsake you". Even when He's silent. Even when he seems absent. Even when you're mourning, or frustrated, or feeling betrayed or left behind. He is there. Just be patient. God is preparing to do something great in your life! In the Church we have a phrase we use often, especially around Easter, but it speaks to holding fast during trials...

It's Friday, but Sunday's coming! 

This basically means, hold on! Just wait! It seems that there is no hope and death has won. But that's not true! A miracle is about to happen! Hold tight, friend. Just wait! God has not left you. Just wait and see what He's about to do in your life! 

If there was ever a day that I would hope and pray that I could express the love God has for you, today would be the day. But, the truth is I can't. I can't even begin to understand how much God loves me or you. Our minds physically can't figure it out or understand it. It's beyond our physical limitations. But, I can share with you what I do know...

God loves you more. As much as you love your husband, your kids, your parents, your family, your friends- God loves you more. Infinitely more.

God never wants to be apart from you. Not ever. But, the truth is that our sin creates a lonely hopeless distance between God and us. 

God thinks you're worth it. So worth it in fact, that he decided that he was willing to give up his son so that he wouldn't ever have to be apart from you. If you are ever tempted to feel that you're not good enough because someone does it better, or someone looks better, or someone (fill in the blank) better- remember this- God let his son die a horrible death because you're worth that much to him. 

Apart from God, we have nothing.  Things are going along great. Or, things could be terrible.  But I want you to know more than anything that on this day 2000 years ago, an innocent man WILLINGLY allowed himself to be nailed to a cross so that he could take on the punishment of all that sin that separates us from God. He chose to die FOR YOU. Because he loves you, he never wants to be apart from you, and you're so worth it. Please Please Please don't take that for granted. Please don't walk away from Him. 

The great news is that after dying for your sins that day, he was put in a tomb and it was as if all hope was lost. But 3 days later, in all his power and might, he rose. He came alive again so that he could live in us. He wants you to accept that love, and that worth, and His presence in your life. There  is hope! He is hope!! 

If you want that love and hope and His presence in your life, pray this prayer below. You are worth dying for. Don't waste your life chasing things that will never bring you exactly what you need. 

God, I realize that apart from you I have nothing but pain and punishment. Thank you for sending your son to die on the cross and take on that punishment for me. I don't want to be separated from you any longer. Please come into my life and give me your love and peace. Amen. 

If you just prayed that prayer send me a message, talk to a family member or friend that is a Christian, find a pastor, something. Tell somebody! Because this is a big day! Yes, it's a day that we remember the death of Jesus, but it will be a day that we celebrate your new life in God! 

Jesus, Thank you for dying for me those 2000 years ago. Thank you for taking on all the guilt and shame of my sin. Thank you for going before me and making a way for my life. Thank you for loving me. Amen. 

Just a simple question for you today....

How do you take care of yourself without catering to yourself or becoming self focused? 


I would love to hear your input! Just leave a comment below. Thanks!