Thursday, June 15, 2017

Day 5

Yesterday was a hard day. I got a message from my big sister that our dog Butters passed away. I adopted Butters about 9 years ago from a family who couldn't have him due to allergies. I wanted an Australian Shepard at the time, but God had other plans. Butters was my first dog and there were days he drove me absolutely crazy. He was so hyper and playful, but also so loving and sweet. He made everyone smile, everyone loved him and he loved me. I went through some really hard times and he was with me through it all. There were days I would come home crying and tears running down my face and Butters would jump up on the couch and like my face until I was laughing. Everyone who has animals bonds with them in a way no one can understand. Butters was always so forgiving and so loving toward me. Unfortunately, through working full time and going to college full time, it wasn't fair leaving him alone all day, so thankfully my big sister and brother in law took him in and cared for him.  He was the first dog I had and the first animal I've ever loved and lost. I'll forever remember him and cherish him. I'm thankful the lord brought him in my life.



Today I read The Parable of the Great Banquet found in Luke 14:15-24. Here Jesus tells a story of a man who invited people to feast at a banquet. I'm assuming these would be his close friends. Each of them created excuses and chose not to come. The man then ordered strangers, poor, needy and anyone else to come and feast. What I learned from this is that God invites us to feast with him. He invites us in, but sometimes in our selfishness, we create excuses for not participating with him. I know I am truly guilty of that these days especially. Having a relationship with God is a choice and one we need to make. We need to be mindful of the importance of coming and meeting him every day understanding that other things are the things that can wait. I pray that I would be less like those friends and more like the poor and needy- craving a feast with God.


Monday, June 12, 2017

Day 3

This morning I made it to Crossfit at 6am. The workout consisted of: 100 push ups, 75 kettle bell swings, 50 sit ups and 25 pull ups. I found myself in need of going back to the basics with working out. Spin has been great, and I love it, but doing the basic movements again are critical. I was actually surprised at how difficult it was, but all and all it was a great workout.

Tonight I was reading the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. This is a short parable and one that Jesus uses to try to help others understand what the kingdom of God is like. I remember a close friend of mine gave me a necklace that had a mustard seed in it and it referenced having faith like a mustard seed. A mustard seed is the smallest seed in the world and it produces the largest garden plant. I pray that I would have faith like that of a mustard seed. Learning to trust God with the small things especially and have faith to know he will make something great out of it.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Day 2

Word of the Day:

The next parable in Luke was chapter 10 verses 25-37: The Parable of the Good Samaritan. This is one of the most well known and referenced parables in my mind. I still remember watching this parable in cartoon form at church. In it's all simplicity, it is still convicting. The bible tells us that "an expert in the law" questioned Jesus to see how he believes one will have eternal life after death. Jesus replied with a parable of a man who was robbed and beaten and passed by a priest and a Levite. However, a Samaritan showed him mercy and took care of him at all cost to himself. He just chose to have compassion on a stranger that day. I don't remember the exact backgrounds of each of these men and the man who was robbed. From what I understand it had to do with cultures not interacting with others or some sort of manner where the priest and Levite had specific cultural reasons not to help him. But the Samaritan disregarded those cultural influences and did it anyway because he knew in his heart it was what God was calling him to do.

I guess this verse can hit home in a few ways. One being that the Samaritan must have been in tune with God that day to feel the spirit telling him to help this man and it was what God wanted him to do. Or that this man didn't live by the world's standards and lived by God's standards which is what we are called to do. I have found that working with poverty has hardened me over the years and frustrated me in many ways that I have lost that level of compassion for people. It's a wake up call that I need to filter my mind through the word of God and live by the spirit and not of the world.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Day 1

Word of the Day: 

I decided to go through a parable a day in the book of Luke. Today it's The Parable of the Sower. Luke chapter 8 verses 1-15. Here Jesus references Isaiah 6:9: "..though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand." I've heard this parable many times before. Today God showed me that I needed to reflect and see which seed I am right now in this time of my life. Not what I was years ago, because things have changed. 

First seed: Those that hear, but the devil takes away the truth from their heart and thus there is disbelief.

Second seed: Those scattered on the rock who hear the word, experience joy, but have no root. Thus it's just moments of joy and their spirit is weak. 

Third seed: Those who fell among the thorns are consumed with the worries riches and pleasures of life. There is no spiritual growth. 

Fourth seed: Those who are scattered upon the good soil. The ones with good hearts, they hear the word of God, receive it, retain it and produce a crop. They allow the word of God to continuously change them and work in them. 

The seed I want to be is the fourth seed. I've been there before, but I fear that through the past few years, I've moved. I now find myself somewhere in between the fourth seed and the third seed. I guess this is a big wake up call to me. I've known my spiritual life is lacking and I've made excuses after excuses as stated in my initial post yesterday. I want to be the fourth seed again. My prayers are that through blogging, I find accountability with myself, and I develop a more spiritual strength so that I can confidently say that I feel in my heart I am the seed that fell on good soil. 

Friday, June 9, 2017

50 days!

I came across my old blog page from 2013 and started reading through all of my old posts that I made. It was interesting to see how different life was back then. I lived and breathed for 3 things: Fitness, Food, and my Faith.

It's been 4 years, and I feel as if these 3 areas of my life are in a slump and I probably make excuses for each area. Excuses can be made for everything and anything, but in the end nothing changes, improvement doesn't happen and the only thing felt is disappointment.

I decided to start blogging again in hopes that it would keep me more focused in these 3 areas again. I want to start picking scripture each day and reflecting and blogging on that verse(s), blog about my eating habits for the day, blog about my workouts, and what great things happened in the day.

So starting with today:

I woke up and went to TREE UMPH with some friends from work, my boyfriend and my roommate. I went once before about a year ago and it was a blast. It's always enjoyable doing different activities outdoors that are challenge, fun and safe.


Afterwards we went to Cheescake factory and enjoyed some much needed lunch! I'm excited to start blogging again and trying to focus on improving myself in all areas.

My goal is to develop healthy and smart habits again over the summer. Both for the mind, body and soul. For food this week, we have decided to create healthy paleo dinners and focus on portion control. My goal is to workout everyday and push myself a bit further than I typically do.

Food:
Sunday: Spagetti Squash and Chicken Breasts
Monday: Pork Chops and Steamed Veggies
Tuesday: Paleo Taco Bowl (Ground chicken, Quinoa Rice, Veggies)
Wednesday: Stuffed Peppers
Thursday: Cheat Day: Slice of Pizza and Salad
Friday: Steak and Green Beans

Workout:
Saturday: SPIN @ 9am
Sunday: SPIN @ Home 1 hour with Glute Workout
Monday: Crossfit 6am
Tuesday: Crossfit 6am / SPIN 5:30pm
Wednesday: Crossfit 6am
Thursday: Crossfit 6am / TEACH SPIN 5:30pm
Friday: Crossfit 6am or SPIN 9am
Saturdya: SPIN @ 9am