Absolute.

Many of you know I celebrated my birthday two weeks ago, but those who know me really well know I celebrate my birthday pretty much all month.   It started when I was young; my parents were divorced, so it took a while to make it around to mom, dad, both sets of grandparents, step-family, etc.   Old habits die hard.   During this time of celebration, I always take inventory of my life over the last year (goals, hopes, accomplishments, etc.).   Normal people do this on New Year’s, but my annual calendar has always revolved around my birthday and Christmas (Thanks Mom!).   I have written a few blog posts about the outward transformation that has taken place in my life over the last twelve months, but this Transformation Tuesday blog post is about the inward transformations that God has worked in my heart over the last year.   There are no incredible ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures that illustrate the change.   Only my closest circle of friends an...

You may have guessed from the title- It has been 11 months since I started my first round of Whole30 and during these months I have lost a total of 61 pounds!   With every pound I learn more and more about my relationship with food.   I’ve been blown away as my body has begun to crave new things.   Spaghetti squash and cauliflower rice have taught me how much texture contributes to my eating experience.   I’ve been disappointed by foods that used to have SO much appeal to me.   But battling for pound number 60 brought the most shocking realization of them all: Food is My Drug.   I don’t know how I missed it for so long.   Even with recognizing all of the emotions that center around my diet.   Even with overcoming a serious caffeine addiction.   And watching my friend publicly share about her ongoing battle with a sugar addiction.   So many signs, but I missed them all.   It took me weeks to lose that likely over-valued pound to t...

This is only my fourth blog post and it has taken me a while to settle on a topic.   One of the desired themes for this blog is conviction.  The good kind of conviction that pushes myself and others to strive for better- better people, better relationships with God, better community members, better.   This kind of conviction is encouragement’s no-nonsense older brother, but at its core is still encouragement!   This post is about how God is convicting me in recent months and encouraging you to give God the opportunity to work in your heart.   I have been reading Undaunted by Christine Caine.   I usually do not get excited about “women’s books” and was only fulfilling an obligation the first time I picked it up.   But WOW, this book was so perfect for the season of life I am in.   God used this book to speak truth into my life, reinforce convictions, and encourage me to take the next steps in the things He is calling me to.   In th...

I am starting my second official round of Whole30 tomorrow and I am super excited about it!   I have had a few people asking questions lately and trying to figure out whether or not they should commit to trying Whole30.   This post is an effort to help you better understand Whole30 and hopefully convince you to join me on my round 2!   Why did I decide to try Whole30? ·        I had tried working out.   Consistently pushing my body past its limits.   I did get stronger.   I did see improvements in my cardio.   I did not see anything change on the scale or in the mirror. ·        I was already suspecting some trends in my body’s response to breads.   Whole30 gave me a system to verify whether this was actually happening or was it just a series of coincidences resulting from other circumstances. ·        I was desperate.   I knew I was unhealth...

This Sunday my pastor, John Velsor, of North Star Community Church preached a sermon on prayer and fasting.   Specifically, he talked about persisting in prayer and fasting even in the face of opposition, hopelessness, and despair.   The sermon was great, you can check it out here ( “Deep Change” ).   Pastor John also made a quick reference to the story of The Wall of Jericho.   I heard this story countless times as a child and know it well.   But lately every time I hear about it from the pulpit, I gain a whole new perspective.   Quick recap of the story (skip to the next paragraph if you know it): Jericho was a large and very powerful city surrounded by a wall that was an engineering marvel.   God commanded for Joshua to lead his army to march all of the way around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day.   After completing the seventh lap they were to blow the horns and shout a loud shout. The messenger from t...

This week I had the privilege of going to the movies to watch “Hidden Figures,” the true story of the contributions three African-American women ( Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson) made to the NASA program in primarily the 1960s.   I LOVED this movie, and would highly recommend seeing it.   It had everything you look for in a “good” movie- excellent cast, compelling story line, one-liners, drama, and situational humor, but it also had SO much more than that.   What made this movie truly exceptional to me?   This movie had a purpose, a cause, a message.   It is a message that our nation could greatly benefit from- a message of unity.   Everything about this movie pointed to the fact that all of the characters, black, white, foreign, young and old, where unified and motivated by a common goal.   That is inspiring! The movie did an excellent job of recognizing and honoring the contributions each of the three women made to each...