Those that read my blog (hi dad!) probably know that I am always trying to learn and grow in SOME way. After spending a good bit of my early twenties sort of just going through the motions of life, the last 5 years I have felt an intense desire to grow- spiritually, emotionally, mentally- just, all the ways.
I'm not a cancer survivor, or someone who has overcome some huge thing- I'm just a regular girl... but I have had to overcome some things that were huge in MY life. Maybe others can relate.
Fear kept me trapped in a state of no growth for several years. But this isn't a blog post about my personal struggles.
This is only the backdrop as to why I am so passionate about the idea of overcoming. Because until we face the things in our own life that are holding us back, we can not really live life to the fullest.
Beginning August 1st I am starting a new challenge. Well, I've done it before back in 2015. But I desperately need to do it again. For those that don't know what the whole 30 challange is, it is basically a reset for your health. 30 days of detoxing by eating only real, unprocessed food.
When I completed this 30 day challenge in 2015, I had completely rid myself of sugar cravings, had boundless energy without coffee, was generally happy all the time, and my carpal tunnel/tendinitis pain was non existent.
More than that, I came to a realization of how much I relied on food to comfort me when I was down, participate in my celebration when I was happy, and amuse me when I found my self struck with boredom. Instead of going to God in prayer, I turned to chocolate. Instead of praising and thanking God for blessings, I told myself I deserved a donut.. you get my point.
**Now don't misunderstand me.. there is nothing wrong with enjoying our food. God gave us food to both nourish us and to enjoy. But.. for me, I saw ways I could rely more on God and get rid of addiction that wasn't healthy-physically or spiritually.**
But that leads me back to today. I am in that same boat again. I'm stuck in the rut of emotional eating and totally addicted to sugar. So I'm hoping I can have a similar experience this go around and get myself back on a healthy eating track. Because my body is a temple.. and I really believe God wants me to take care of it to the best of my ability.
So I'm taking this as another opportunity to grow. And I hope there are others who might want to grow with me... or at least, encourage me on this journey. I'll be trying to post weekly about my experience, the food I eat, and more importantly the things I learn about myself in the process.
I think writing in this way will help keep me accountable. And I will need it, because giving up sugar, grains, dairy and most of my normal caffeine intake is going to cause such a crash the first few days.. I don't know... maybe if nothing else, it will be entertaining.
Stay tuned in August for my challenge, and please.. pray for my sanity? 🤣
-Mel
Friday, July 27, 2018
Thursday, July 19, 2018
"Vacation Mom" Joy of Motherhood challenge update
Last holiday season I challenged myself to take back the Joy of motherhood. You can find the post here. I wanted to begin to enjoy my children more and stop letting the stress of the world empty my love tank. I wanted to be more intentional in my parenting.. yes, in the things I teach them, but more importantly for me, I needed to be intentional in the time I spend with them.
Well, here we are in July and I have been reminded of both my progress, and how far I still have to go.
For my son's birthday we spent the evening at the restaurant of his choosing, went school shoe shopping (which both kids always love), and hit up a frozen yogurt place for some dessert before heading home to bed.
It wasn't much. Not really. Just time spent together.
But it was what he said in that yogurt shop that caught my attention and even made me feel a little guilty.
"I love this day. It feels like we're on vacation again!"
You see, a couple weeks ago we spent a week on vacation, the first real break I'd had from work in a year. Vacation was a blast. It was busy, and we were exhausted when we came home, but the quality time we were able to spend together was so worth it.
So my 7 year old comparing an evening out together to that of a wild, fun vacation was both sweet, and sad.
You see, vacation mom doesn't mind spending money on icecream late in the evening. Vacation mom loves just sitting and watching her children play. Vacation mom will actually let the kids choose what fast food chain gets our money come lunch time. Vacation mom savors every moment and captures each special memory with her handy smart phone cam. She listens intently to the very long stories her kids tell. Vacation mom is a fun mom.
But alas, vacations don't last forever. And I turn back into busy, stressed out, tired mom pretty quickly. Most of the time, too busy for anything out of the norm or spontaneous.
When I started my motherhood journey I envisioned it looking very different than it actually is. I always thought I would be that cool mom that did lots of fun things with her kids constantly.
I guess I was young and naive and thought I'd always have boundless emounts of energy to pour into my kids.
But it takes real effort to be the fun mom.
And sometimes I still fail at it. Summer reading program at the library? Yeah, haven't done it this year. We typically don't even go to the park and we have one IN our neighborhood. This was definitely another wake up call for me.
Because the world needs more of vacation moms. It needs more of woman pouring love into their kids. We need more families that are intentional with time spent together. Children need more happy memories with their parents. They need more family projects, family crafts, family games, and well- just family.
This journey of finding joy in the every day is a lifelong process. Because it's all too easy to forget to enjoy our children.
His sweet statement was a great reminder that vacation mom should show up more often than just vacation. Maybe often enough that she could be renamed weekend mom. And then someday, maybe even just mom.
The kind of mom that relaxes and enjoys her children before they are out from under her roof.
#noregrets
Well, here we are in July and I have been reminded of both my progress, and how far I still have to go.
For my son's birthday we spent the evening at the restaurant of his choosing, went school shoe shopping (which both kids always love), and hit up a frozen yogurt place for some dessert before heading home to bed.
It wasn't much. Not really. Just time spent together.
But it was what he said in that yogurt shop that caught my attention and even made me feel a little guilty.
"I love this day. It feels like we're on vacation again!"
You see, a couple weeks ago we spent a week on vacation, the first real break I'd had from work in a year. Vacation was a blast. It was busy, and we were exhausted when we came home, but the quality time we were able to spend together was so worth it.
So my 7 year old comparing an evening out together to that of a wild, fun vacation was both sweet, and sad.
You see, vacation mom doesn't mind spending money on icecream late in the evening. Vacation mom loves just sitting and watching her children play. Vacation mom will actually let the kids choose what fast food chain gets our money come lunch time. Vacation mom savors every moment and captures each special memory with her handy smart phone cam. She listens intently to the very long stories her kids tell. Vacation mom is a fun mom.
But alas, vacations don't last forever. And I turn back into busy, stressed out, tired mom pretty quickly. Most of the time, too busy for anything out of the norm or spontaneous.
When I started my motherhood journey I envisioned it looking very different than it actually is. I always thought I would be that cool mom that did lots of fun things with her kids constantly.
I guess I was young and naive and thought I'd always have boundless emounts of energy to pour into my kids.
But it takes real effort to be the fun mom.
And sometimes I still fail at it. Summer reading program at the library? Yeah, haven't done it this year. We typically don't even go to the park and we have one IN our neighborhood. This was definitely another wake up call for me.
Because the world needs more of vacation moms. It needs more of woman pouring love into their kids. We need more families that are intentional with time spent together. Children need more happy memories with their parents. They need more family projects, family crafts, family games, and well- just family.
This journey of finding joy in the every day is a lifelong process. Because it's all too easy to forget to enjoy our children.
His sweet statement was a great reminder that vacation mom should show up more often than just vacation. Maybe often enough that she could be renamed weekend mom. And then someday, maybe even just mom.
The kind of mom that relaxes and enjoys her children before they are out from under her roof.
#noregrets
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Are we living it?
Christianity is more than a confession. It's more than filling a pew on Sundays. It's so much more than playing a part.
Why do some churches preach grace and love and peace but shy away from teaching obedience?
Why are there so many people that will claim christianity but live lives deprived of morals?
Maybe we forget that christianity is an active thing. It's not something we confess, it's a life we actually live. Or maybe we struggle with loving God the way we should.
I'm embarrassed to say that I was tempted to steal a few days back. Let me explain.
I was at Walmart with my kids, shopping after work for their birthday party. It was late into the evening so we went to the deli and grabbed a cup of popcorn chicken. You know, the kind that they fill in a cup and you pay for it at the end of your shopping experience.
We ate the chicken, shopped for everything and paid for our stuff. Once out to the car, we loaded up and I looked over at the basket.. and you guessed it, that empty cup was up in the front of the cart. We hadn't paid for it.
The car was already on. It was hot. My cold stuff was ruining in the summer heat. Kash was already belted in his seat. But Jaedyn looked at me and said, "awe man, now we have to go back in!"
Of course we had to go back in.... for a Christian that's a no-brainer, and I was proud of her for saying it. But... it cost 2 dollars total and there was a piece of me that wanted to just get in the car and leave. After all, many people steal from the deli in grocery stores. It was only a couple bucks.
With my daughter looking at me for approval, we went back inside and paid for the cup of chicken.
And I realized... Satan is very good at what he does. He created the perfect situation for me to be tempted to steal that little cup. The late evening, the tired mama, the hot sun...
Truly, I'm embarrassed that I was tempted to steal. But the point is... we have to be committed to more than just a claim of faith. We have to live it. Even when temptation comes. And sometimes that means doing the inconvenient. Or the unpopular.
It means committing to purity before marriage. It means working as to the Lord even when your boss is hard to work for.
It means putting others ahead of yourself. It means humbling yourself to admit when you are wrong.
It means committing to fixing a relationship that is broken because you know it effects your spiritual walk.
It means forgiving when it's really, really hard.
Bottom line, it means bending our will to His.
We can't be "Sunday Christians". That's not what God has called us to be.
Let's be committed to living the life He has called us to. Because that's how we shine His light. And maybe, just maybe, that's how others will see a difference in us and want to know more about Him.
Isn't that what it's all about?
"If you love me, keep my commandments."- John 14:15
Why do some churches preach grace and love and peace but shy away from teaching obedience?
Why are there so many people that will claim christianity but live lives deprived of morals?
Maybe we forget that christianity is an active thing. It's not something we confess, it's a life we actually live. Or maybe we struggle with loving God the way we should.
I'm embarrassed to say that I was tempted to steal a few days back. Let me explain.
I was at Walmart with my kids, shopping after work for their birthday party. It was late into the evening so we went to the deli and grabbed a cup of popcorn chicken. You know, the kind that they fill in a cup and you pay for it at the end of your shopping experience.
We ate the chicken, shopped for everything and paid for our stuff. Once out to the car, we loaded up and I looked over at the basket.. and you guessed it, that empty cup was up in the front of the cart. We hadn't paid for it.
The car was already on. It was hot. My cold stuff was ruining in the summer heat. Kash was already belted in his seat. But Jaedyn looked at me and said, "awe man, now we have to go back in!"
Of course we had to go back in.... for a Christian that's a no-brainer, and I was proud of her for saying it. But... it cost 2 dollars total and there was a piece of me that wanted to just get in the car and leave. After all, many people steal from the deli in grocery stores. It was only a couple bucks.
With my daughter looking at me for approval, we went back inside and paid for the cup of chicken.
And I realized... Satan is very good at what he does. He created the perfect situation for me to be tempted to steal that little cup. The late evening, the tired mama, the hot sun...
Truly, I'm embarrassed that I was tempted to steal. But the point is... we have to be committed to more than just a claim of faith. We have to live it. Even when temptation comes. And sometimes that means doing the inconvenient. Or the unpopular.
It means committing to purity before marriage. It means working as to the Lord even when your boss is hard to work for.
It means putting others ahead of yourself. It means humbling yourself to admit when you are wrong.
It means committing to fixing a relationship that is broken because you know it effects your spiritual walk.
It means forgiving when it's really, really hard.
Bottom line, it means bending our will to His.
We can't be "Sunday Christians". That's not what God has called us to be.
Let's be committed to living the life He has called us to. Because that's how we shine His light. And maybe, just maybe, that's how others will see a difference in us and want to know more about Him.
Isn't that what it's all about?
"If you love me, keep my commandments."- John 14:15
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