Saturday Sabbath

Get Fit Friday - 100 Day Challenge - Week 1

The hardest thing about the challenge....
Time. Control. Planning.

When planning this thing, I did not take other people into account. I did not consider my family's natural routine, nor did I anticipate situations that are somewhat out of my control.

Okay to be fair, nothing is REALLY ever completely out of my control, BUT there are situations and events where I don't make the rules. haha

In planning out my challenges, I looked at my life as though I am alone in a bubble, with no influence from others. This is, of course, not the case. As much as I like to think that I am a "loner," the fact of the matter is, my life is very much interwoven with the lives of others. Lots of others.

I didn't really realize how many people are in my life until recently...."recently" being defined as "this morning when I started really thinking about all the things that influenced my choices last week."

The hardest things are:
no eating out
gym everyday
burpees (what sadist dreamed up those things anyway?)
Drinking nothing but water (For everyone's safety I have resigned to drinking a cup of coffee each morning)
keeping up with the schedule to get my Bible read in 100 days (that's a lot of scripture each day)

Honestly, It's all hard. I am realizing how unrealistic my "standard" is. This is actually good... I think.  Perry told me from the beginning of our counseling time that I have unrealistic expectations of myself. I suppose this challenge is a glaring neon sign attesting to that. 100 pushups? 10 minute plank? Going to the gym EVERY day? Cooking Dinner EVERY night? NO processed foods? Seriously? What was I thinking???

My "all or nothing" personality is back and in full force right now. I am struggling to enjoy the process of the challenge. I tell myself every day "perfection is not the goal. you are doing fine," and most days I am... but in the middle  of all this I am fighting a bout of depression that is really...tough. It's part of who I am and I realize that.  It is doubly hard to proceed with the challenge when what I really want to do is go home and wrap myself up in a blanket and just stay there for a few days.

This will pass and I will be fine. That's just the way my depression works. One day I will wake up, or be sitting at work, or doing laundry and suddenly the depressive fog will lift and i will be just fine for a while.

I'm not giving up....just realizing that I was unrealistic in my expectations and this is much harder than I anticipated.



93 days to go!

Thursday Thoughts on... People without a filter

The other morning I caught a snippit of something on TV. A woman said, "Well, that's just how I am. I'm going to say what I think. I don't have a filter. They should know that." The person she was speaking to said something like "Well, maybe you could consider the other person's feelings and not be so harsh," to which the first woman replied, "I just tell it like it is. If they can't take it, that's their problem."

I know people like this. I would guess that you probably do too. I know people like this who profess to be Christians, who say that they love and follow Jesus. I've bounced this around in my head for days. There is something about the whole "tell it like it is" mentality that simply doesn't settle well with me.

When we become Christians, we are given the Fruit of the Spirit.
Agree?
Good.
No?
Okay, well check out Galatians 5 and we can discuss.


Assuming we are on the same page with the whole Fruit of the Spirit gift, I want to pose a question...

If the Fruit is GIVEN to us when we accept Christ, what would cause us to not have a character and personality that would be described by said fruit?

This is how a Christian's character is described....

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self Control

So...

Being born again in Christ gives us the ability to think, behave, and speak differently... unless we choose not to.

All that being said, I can only think of 2 reasons why a person professing to be a Christian would embrace and even take pride in "telling it like it is" or having "no filter" or justifying hurting others by "just saying what I think" rather than taking time to exhibit the self control needed to stop and consider another's point of view, circumstances, and feelings:

One would be that said Christian is quenching the Holy Spirit in his/her life.

The other would be that said Christian is not actually a Christian at all and is unable to behave/speak/act in a Christ-like manner because Christ is not in him/her.

I try to see things from all sides. Of course that isn't always possible. I fail often.  I thank God for insight and discernment. It reminds me to show grace, to be kind, and to practice self-control in dealing with others. Hopefully, in doing so, I continually look a little more like Jesus and a little less like "the world."


Just my thoughts
K

Wednesday's Weekly Recipe - Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Oh my goodness! I cannot WAIT to try this!!!!! Of course, part of my 100 day challenge is no bread or processed foods... so I will have to add this to my list of things I want to eat starting in December!




Ingredients
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
3 cups grated sweet potatoes
1 small jalapeno chile, chopped
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
4 8-inch flour tortillas



Preparation
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt, if desired. Cook, covered, 
8 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, jalapeño, cumin, and oregano; cover, and cook 
10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in corn, and cook 1 minute, or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

2. Spread 1/2 cup filling on one-half of each tortilla, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Fold tortillas to enclose filling. (If a tortilla’s edges don’t stick together, brush some oil along bottom inside edge.)

3. Coat large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Cook quesadillas in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, turning once.

Nutrition Information
Calories: 355Carbohydrate Content: 57 gFat Content: 12 gFiber Content: 6 gProtein Content: 8 gSaturated Fat Content: 2 gSodium Content: 503 mgSugar Content: 9 g


MAY 10, 2017DAIRY-FREE ENTREESMEXICAN ENTREESVEGAN ENTREESMEXICANENTREES
BY VEGETARIAN TIMES EDITORS

Tuesday Tips and Tricks - Drink more water

I am doing my best to drink more and more water. I know that it is beneficial... I FEEL so much better, my skin looks better, and I'm not as apt to snack when I drink more water. Even without drinking sodas, tea, and coffee, I find myself not drinking enough water. Sooooooo...

Here are some tips I use to make sure that I get enough water during the day.

(I have a 20 oz bottle that I refill.)

1. Drink a bottle in the car to work.
2. Drink a bottle before lunch.
3. Drink a bottle after lunch.
4. Drink a bottle on the way home from work.
5. Drink a bottle before dinner.
6. Drink a bottle after dinner

That gives me 120oz.

I also get water through water rich foods. (fruits and veggies)

I do get tired of plain water. AND I often need a kick of caffeine. Rather than drink a soda or sweet tea or creamer laden coffee, I have started adding flavor to my water. Some has caffeine and those seem to have more of a kick than my usual coffee.

Hugs!
K

Monday Motivation

Sunday Scripture - Romans 8:37-39

This was part of my Scripture during my quiet time last week and was a wonderful reassurance to me. Sure, I wish life could be a bit easier at times, but when I stop and consider things from an eternal perspective, it's all good. I belong to Christ and nothing can change that.

Dear Reader,
It is my prayer that you will find comfort and peace in the promises found in God's Word.

Much love and big hugs!
K