Inspiration

If you want to get inspired by faith to make changes in your life, in either a physical sense or in any area of your life I would highly recommend this book to you!

From the moment I heard about this book I couldn't wait to read it and it did NOT disappoint! Each chapter inspires you and is set up so perfectly with bible verses, main points, and even a yummy recipe at the end of the chapter. It was exactly what I had hoped for when I bought it and even much more. If you want to be healthier and haven't been able to stick with it I would definitely recommend this book to you. But as I said before it is inspiring for ALL areas of your life.
It took concepts and scripture that I know and love and brought them up in ways that made sense to me. It  brought up a lot of the ideas I had known all along but hadn't put to use in the obvious ways I should in my life. I hope it can inspire you wherever you are in your journey!

Contentment

A devout life does bring wealth, but it's the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough.
1 Timothy 6:6-8
I have blogged about being thankful before and I think it is SOO important to take time to see all that we have been given and give thanks for it. It helps us to stop those unwanted thoughts of jealousy and greed. We all have those thoughts of wanting something our neighbor has,wishing we were skinnier, made more money, the list could go on and on. But if we learn to stop ourselves when we have these thoughts and focus on what we do have we gain a peace that is worth more than any of those things we thought we wanted could ever give us.
I could take a post about contenment so many directions but in this post I wanted to specifically share how I have also found contentment useful in getting my body in much healthier shape. You see, I used to eat whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it and when I tried to exercise some control here and there I would let my mind dwell on how good that food would have been and tell myself I was missing out.
I realized that I was letting food control me. So instead I have taught myself to be content with enough. And why shouldn't I be! I have learned to stop eating when I feel like I have had enough and am content, instead of when I am full. And it has been wonderful. I have realized that I am not missing out on anything and I feel a thousand times better now that I have control over food in my life. I have made the decision that it will not control me and don't have to worry because I know that I want to be healthy and everyday the decisions I make lead me down that path.
Being content in all areas of my life is such a blessing. I am content because I know that God has a plan and will always provide ENOUGH for me.

Lately...

Life has been a little crazy the last month and we have been more than a little busy. Things should start slowing down after this week and I will get back to blogging. But for now, here are some things that have been happening in our life!
1. 1st and most importantly: Max defended his Thesis and PASSED!!! This is huge people. We are more than excited and can't wait for the new opportunities that will come from him having a Masters degree. Needless to say I couldn't be more proud of my hubby.
2. Since Valentines Day I have been helping out at my Mom's daycare off and on while one of her workers is on maternity leave. This will be my last week. This both helps my baby fever and makes it worse all at the same time. :) It has definitely been fun though!
3. Our business continues to be busy and we are thankful.
4. We started a new daily devotional together (a gift from my awesome best friend Layne) and we love it. It is called The One Year Daily Love Language Devotional. An awesome way to connect with your spouse and God. Check it out!
 
6. I went to a babyshower for my future nephew (on the Masters side). And I got to feel him kicking away. It was awesome and I can't wait to meet him in person next month and become an Aunt for the first time!

Well, that is a quick update on our life at the moment. Stay tuned for more soon!

IceStorm

Thunder, rain, and sleet in February make a big mess. But it sure is pretty...

My Intentions

After hearing some of your thoughts on my last blog post I wanted to make it clear that my wish in posting my thoughts was that others would be motivated to help out in any way that they could for whoever their hearts led them to help.
If I seemed frustrated or disheartened it was only to the fact that there are so many people here and across the globe that need love and help and I wish there were more people willing to step up to the plate and take action.
It could be helping out in small ways or big ways. By donating your time, money, or skills to help out someone or a cause that needs you. I am inspired daily by hearing of others doing what they can to help out others who need love and care. I started this blog as a way to keep our friends & family informed on what was going on in our lives. And I hope that in that process this blog lifts you up when you read it. I hope that depending on the post, it will inspire you or just bring a smile to your face.

Help Ourselves??

I am honestly confused and just plain baffled by the whole concept of "helping oursleves first". The fact that it is even a conversation honestly just makes no sense to me. We are all human, living on this Earth and everyone of us deserves to be loved and taken care of just as much as anyone else. I would hope that if you have a heart to help and serve others that it would NOT matter where those "others" were from or called home.
Lately I have seen more and more people who are upset by the thought of Americans helping anyone other than Americans. To be completely honest, this seems extremely selfish and leads me to believe that the person feels that Americans are more important than someone from another part of the world. I don't get why it matters? If someone in your neighborhood needs help I would hope you would be there for them in there time of need. And if someone across the world needs your help I would hope that you would be there for them as well.
I understand that we can't all afford to help everyone. We need to find things that matter to us, things that God has put on our hearts and help where we can. Whether that need is near or far away shouldn't matter. We are all human and deserve to know love and that there are others out there willing to lend a hand to us.
I am so thankful for all of the people who are willing to give their time, money, or talents to help others. Whether they are helping fellow Americans or someone continents away. It is my hope that we can be a country known for being there for those here at home who need us and those who live far away as well!

A New Year

Happy New Year!!
I am always excited to start a new year in January. It is a chance to look back on the blessings you have recieved in the last year and all the awesome memories you have made. It also gives us a chance to think about things we hope to accomplish in the next year or directions we would like our lives to take.
In 2011 we hope to think more of others and less of ourselves. Whether it is smaller things on a daily basis or really doing something big to help someone out we want to be there for others. Basically we hope to be more like Jesus by letting him live through us in a real way.
We also want to focus on being a healthier couple. Life is just better the healthier you are and we have been making healthier choices in eating and working out. It may not always be easy but it is definiltey worth it and we definitely feel happier when we are healthier.
Finally we want to continue to get rid of all of our debt. What an amazing feeling it will be to be debt free someday! And along with that goal comes the goal of saving up for IVF and/or adoption.
We hope that you all have much success with your goals this upcoming year. And we hope your year is full of many happy memories, laughter, and chances to grow closer to God!!