Be In Love With Your Life

Yesterday when we were out on our walk I had my daughter take a few photographs of me from behind because that is the one view that I don't really get to see during my weight-loss transformation. I usually don't that big of a difference when I look at myself in the mirror and can only REALLY see a difference when I put up a before and after photo of myself … when I saw this picture it really took my breath away! I can see a huge difference! I know I'm not there yet and have a ways to go but just seeing this really boosted my motivation and made me so happy because NOW I can see a difference! 

Happy Mommy Day!

Yes, I now eat completely healthy :) But my amazing church (James River Church) honored all of us mom's by surprising us with a sweet gift of truffles so I just had to indulge a little!  This is one of the many reasons I love my church so much, they really take the time to show how much they love and appreciate everyone by doing things like this :)  All of the volunteers who came together to make each individual gift (and there were THOUSANDS of these as we are a BIG church!)  I feel so blessed to have such an amazing church home!  Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there, I hope your day is amazing!

Holy Guacamole!

(image courtesy of http://nourish-and-flourish.net/)

I am in LOVE with Chipotles and am REALLY in love with their guacamole!  So I'm sure you can imagine that when I found the recipe for it on their website my mind was blown!!  Because you NEVER can have enough guacamole, it's such a great source of healthy fat.  Want the amazing recipe?  Here you go:

THIS IS ALL YOU’LL NEED:

• 2 ripe Hass avocados (In the restaurant, we use 48 per batch, multiple times per day)
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
• 1/4 cup red onion (finely chopped)
• 1/2 jalapeño, including seeds (finely chopped)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

HOW TO DO IT:

1. Choose the right avocado. It should feel squishy yet firm (like the palm of your hand), and be a 
nice dark green color on the inside.
2. Cut the avocado in half and the remove the pit (carefully!)
3. Scoop the avocados and place in a medium bowl.
4. Toss and coat with lime juice.
5. Add the salt and using a fork or potato masher, mash until a smooth consistency is achieved.
6. Fold in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
7. Taste the guacamole (over and over) and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Chance vs. Change

Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change! If you're not living a healthy lifestyle (spending time in prayer, eating healthy, getting plenty of exercise, also getting plenty of rest, being as stress free as possible) then make some changes to LOVE and HONOR yourself!! Take time out for yourself, treat yourself to some quiet time alone in a room curled up with a good book or out for the day with good friends enjoying a nice healthy lunch or a long walk.  Your body, heart and mind will thank you!!

(By the way, my third 5K is in the books and this one was a virtual Run for God which means I was able to choose my own course and do it at the time of day I wanted to so I chose to do it outside in the drizzle!)

Color Run 2015

My oldest daughter and I did our first Color Run this year and it was amazing!  We had so much fun AND got some great exercise in the process!  This was my second 5K of the year but my first color run so it held every but as much excitement as my first 5K in March!  I can't wait for the next one :)

Women's Rally / Moriah Peters

Our amazing church in Ozark holds numerous women's rallies throughout the year with the big 3 day conference held each October.  This was one of the smaller rallies (they hold 3-4 of these throughout the year) and as always we had an amazing time with God and with our sisters in Christ!  It's such a blessing to be able to gather with thousands of women and hear some of the best speakers and performers out there and this was definitely amazing, we got to see Moriah Peters!  Her new album "Brave" is incredible, particularly "To Leave It All Behind".  Get this album, you won't regret it!

Everlasting Love

Wow, today's devotional really hit close to home for me! Almost daily I worry about whether I am doing all I can be doing as a Christian. I want to live my life as closely to what God wants me to but know that I fall short so many times. Am I living as a good example? Am I sharing His word and love as often as I can? Am I praying enough and reading my Bible enough? Am I doing everything I can to be worthy of His love?

"I love you with an everlasting love that flows out from eternity without limits or conditions. I have clothed you in My robe of Righteousness and this is an eternal transaction! Nothing and no one can reverse it, therefore your accomplishment as a Christian has no bearing on My love for you!"

Isn' that amazing and so comforting? No matter how much I doubt myself and struggle with whether I am being the best servant I can it's okay because His love is WITHOUT conditions! His love is unfailing!