Tag: Faith

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Food & Nutrition

5 Nutrient Based Eating Recipes I’m Going Nuts On!

Mmmmm…..

 

 

You might think that because I am a certified nutritionist and creator of a nutrition program, called Nutrient Based Eating, that I must love cooking and recipe development. 

Well, my dear, you would be WRONG. ? 

I have so much respect for the food bloggers out there!  Truly, BLESS YOU!  I have created some recipe books and ideas before and I find the whole process (on that level) to be exhausting!  

So EATING….YES.  

RECIPES….not so much.  

But, I think this works out quite well as a nutrition coach because my clients now know that I am all about simple, delicious food that is NOT overly cumbersome to create.  Every once in awhile a detailed recipe is awesome, but unless it can last me for more than one meal, I usually will defer to the easier meal ideas.  

I like SIMPLE and QUICK meals that are BALANCED, HEALTHY, AND TASTY.  So that’s what I’m going go give you today with my….

TOP 5 (CURRENT) FAVORITE NBE RECIPES!

But first, a little 101 on the Nutrient Based Eating program so you understand the necessary components to make a meal truly #NBEapproved!

  1. Nutrient Based Eating is a LIFESTYLE-based approach to eating that takes you through the individual habit-formation steps toward holistic and balanced meals.   Meaning, these meals are ones that your family can eat too (or at least a modified version of it, with serving sizes varying).  
  2.  NBE has 5 Phases, the first of which, Phase 0, guides you through building up the “NBE Plate.”  These plates/recipes I will be showing you today are all under the “Phase 1” context, meaning that the habits are all already assumed.  If you were just starting out, this is not where I would start you, but eating this way would be where you would wind up after 1-6 habits are formed to automation. ??
  3. NBE components are as follows:  Water + Green Vegetable + Colored Vegetable (or low sugar fruit) + Starchy Carb (or high sugar fruit/sweets) + Protein + Fat.  You will (eventually) eat your meals about every 3-5 hours (once you get to that habit).  The serving sizes or portions of each food group are adjusted according to a plate graphic and hand measuring tools.    

 

SO, if this is enough information to at least allow you to understand the general framework, let’s get to the food shall we?


NBE Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients:

1 Whole Egg (Fat), 1/2 Cup Liquid Egg Whites (Protein), Kale or Spinach (Green Vegetable), Zucchini (Green Vegetable),  Red Pepper and Red Onion (Colored Vegetable), 1 Blue Corn Soft Taco Shell (Starchy Carb).  Served with fresh berries (colored veg/low sugar fruit).  

Directions: 

  1. Saute the kale, spinach, zucchini, sliced red pepper and onion on a hot skillet with light olive or avocado oil for 1-2 mins on medium heat. 
  2. Add in 1 whole egg and the liquid egg whites.  Cover with a lid to cook it “frittata” style.  You can also simply scramble them lightly.
  3. Heat up the corn tortilla in the microwave for 20 seconds.
  4. Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, put half of it in your corn tortilla shell and the other half on the plate to eat alone.  Add some fresh salsa (with no sugar added) if you like a little spice.
  5. I also enjoyed some fresh berries after for a fulfilling breakfast. 🙂

NBE Power Smoothie

Ingredients:

Handful of Spinach or Power Greens, Frozen (Green Vegetable)
1 Zucchini (Green Vegetable)
Frozen Berries (Colored Veg/Low Sugar Fruit)
1 Carrot (Colored Veg)
1/2 Frozen Banana (Starchy Carb/High Sugar Fruit)
Unsweetened Almond Milk (some fat)
Avocado (or coconut) (Fat)
Plant-Based Protein (or pasteurized egg whites) (Protein)
(Optional– chia seeds (fat), hemp seeds (protein), flax seeds (fat), cinnamon (n/a))

Directions:

Place all items in your blender and blend away!! You can add more or less liquid based on how thick you enjoy your smoothie. I own a blender for protein shakes so it can cope with lots of frozen fruits and tough foods however if your blender is a little more delicate, leave the fruit to defrost. Some blenders are fragile! Sometimes the frozen items can get stuck in your blender, to which I use the Vitamix wand to break it up.  You may need a wooden spoon or spatula.  



Taboule Turkey Salad

Ingredients:

Finely Chopped Parsley, flat leaf or curled (Green Vegetable/Herb)
Diced Cucumber (Cucumber)
Diced Tomatoes (Colored Vegetable)
Bulgar Wheat, or Quinoa if GF (Starchy Carb)
Lemon Olive Oil Dressing (Fat)
Smoked Turkey (Protein)

Directions:

  1.  Buy as much pre-made for you!  Lol.  I bought an organic sliced turkey breast instead of cooking my own.  I also bought a fast-cooking bulgur wheat (or quinoa) that I made a large batch of.  This entire salad keeps really well, so make it large and eat it throughout the week!
  2. Bulgur Wheat is made much like rice or quinoa. 1 Cup Bulguar to 2 Cups water.  Bring to a boil on stove top. Then reduce the heat and allow to simmer on low for ~15 mins until you can fluff with your fork. 
  3. Finely chop the parsley or use a food processor for even greater ease (minus the clean up!)
  4. Chop the tomatoes and cucumbers. 
  5. Mix 1/4 cup olive oil with fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt.  
  6. Toss all ingredients together and top with some sliced turkey.  

Lettuce Wrap or Regular Tacos

Ingredients:

Butter Lettuce or Romaine Lettuce Hearts (Green Vegetables) for taco shells
Ground Turkey or Grass-fed Beef (Protein)
Red Bell Peppers & Onions (Colored Vegetable)
Portobello Mushrooms (Green/White Vegetable)
Refried Black Beans (Starchy Carb)
Sliced Avocado (Fat)

Directions:

  1. Cook the ground meat of choice all the way through stovetop on medium-high heat. 
  2. Saute lightly in olive oil the peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
  3. Cook the refried black beans (from a carton or can) in a saucepan or even the microwave!
  4. Slather the lettuce wrap with beans first, add on the meat and the veggies.  Top with the sliced avocado and even some salsa! 
  5. Enjoy!


Zoodle Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:

Butter Lettuce Cups or Romaine Lettuce Cups (Green Vegetable)
Sliced Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Portobello Mushrooms (Green/White Vegetables)
Red Peppers, Fresh Red Salsa (Colored Vegetables)
No Sugar Added Marinara (from a jar for me, but you can make homemade with crushed tomatoes) (Colored Vegetables)
Sliced or Ground Protein of Choice (Chicken, Turkey, Lean Grass-fed Beef, Grass-fed Bison) (Protein)
Olive Oil (fat)

Directions:

  1.  Cook the meat stovetop all the way through.
  2. Saute in olive oil the vegetables until the onion is translucent on medium heat.   (You can blend these or finely chop them if you live with family members who are more vegetable opposed).  
  3. Add the vegetables and marinara together in a saucepan on medium heat.  
  4. Spiralize or thinly slice 4-6 zucchinis for the “zoodles.”  For best results I microwave these on high for 2-3 mins to keep some “crispness” to the zucchini.  I find that boiled them leads to water retention and mushy noodles. 
  5. If anyone in your family is zucchini opposed, they can have regular noodles while you have zucchini (or another option which is spaghetti squash).  
     

 

Nutrient Based Eating eBook & eCourse for Sale!

If you are interested in learning more about the Nutrient Based Eating program that has led women to thriving lean bodies just one habit at a time, then this is YOUR week!  For a very limited time, I will be opening up this program for purchase outside of my normal coaching program!  

Cart OPEN on Wednesday, March 1 only until Friday, March 3!  But an early purchase opportunity (and discount) will be offered to my email subscribers on Tuesday, February 28!  To get on that early bird list, subscribe HERE.  

Categories
Food & Nutrition Spiritual Health

So I’ve Been Hearing Brene Brown’s Voice in My Sleep…

So, I’ve Been Hearing Brene Brown In My Sleep…

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Well, I should say,  I've been falling asleep to my Audible app playing in my headphones as I sleep (is that dangerous?) and her book, "Men, Women and Worthiness” has been speaking to me as I drift off.  She’s an incredible author who has researched the areas of shame, vulnerability, empathy, and love for the last 15 years.

This book, and so many of the other's she's authored, triggered a memory I had that still is with me today.  It’s a story of my shame and overeating issues. 

I was in college, my Junior year maybe, and my girlfriends and I were all up at my friends' parents' beach house in Newport Beach, CA.  

Now, I don’t know what college was like for you, but college for me was a time that, in retrospect, I believe was my most insecure. I suffered from the “trifecta” of not feeling “good enough.”

Spiritually I felt a bit like a heathen and a harlot attending a private Christian school after having sown some wild oats in my high school days. 

Mentally, I felt largely inadequate as I struggled to achieve mostly B’s and some C’s in my Biochemistry major, while everyone else, who studied less than me, scored higher than me.

Then, physically, I believed I struggled the most.  I was a Colorado girl, tall, athletic, and curvy who was surrounded by a lot of SoCal girls who were beautiful, petite and small-framed.   

Naturally, due to my body insecurities during this time of my life, I was a workout queen. Sometimes taking 3 classes in a row at the local 24 Hour Fitness and training for some half and (almost) full marathons, a task that I now know does NOT fit my body type.  

My copious exercise routines, combined with the massive amount of stress of school, made me hungry like a Mrs. Pac-Man going rogue, especially on sweets. 

As we walked into the house in Newport Beach, we learned that my friend's mom had just had a birthday and there was some leftover cake…gooey, chocolatey, overly-indulgent, cake.  

Game over. 

All of us gathered around with our forks and dug in. (What’s a little sick is that I can still vividly picture this cake in my mind, a good 11 years later.) 

Naturally, with something so decadent, most of the girls stopped at a few bites. 

And I tried.  

But every time I sat down, all I could taste was chocolate and all I could think was, “Don't eat the cake, don't eat the cake..." Meanwhile all my feet and fork seemed to hear was, “Cake…cake... cake" and before I knew it, I would be up having a few more bites. Then a few more after that.

Then I heard it... 

My friend, in a failed attempt at whispering, said, "God, when is she going to stop eating that cake?"

Que the spiral of shame. 

I pretended like I didn't hear it and just sat down.  But, I was devastated.

I wonder, do you have any memory like this? 

Where someone mentioned something about your eating or your weight and it just triggered deep shame in your eating?   Maybe it was a family member? Maybe it happened in school?  Something that made you want to starve yourself and hide?

Or maybe a memory of someone making fun of your athletic ability and it forever changed your relationship with exercise? 

My guess is I bet you do. So many of us do.  

But, I bring a message of hope, because with the help of some experts like Brene Brown, and certainly with the help of the Good Lord, we can learn shame resilience and navigate out of the snare that shame can be to our mindset and emotions. 

So, how do you know if you're in shame versus guilt, humiliation, or even simple embarrassment? 

Well, Brene Brown says it all comes down to our self talk. What is that inner voice telling us when these circumstances arise?

Let's take my example to walk through it.  

If my friend’s remark had triggered some thoughts like, "Oh my goodness, she's right. I'm totally out of control right now." Or something about the behavior, then this would be considered GUILT.   

Guilt is always about, “I did something bad,” whereas shame is about “I am a bad person.” 

Brene points out that guilt, while it's not an inherently positive thing to feel all the time, is capable of helping you correct bad behavior.  

You essentially have to feel guilt and remorse if you’re ever going to change.   But the key difference is you focus on the behavior you're doing, not who you are as a person. 

Or, if on the night of my cake incident, if it has caused a self dialogue of, "I can't believe my friend just said that about me in front of all our friends! How rude is that?!" This would be a response of HUMILIATION.

It's once again focused on the behavior of the other person or the event that offended you.   

Lastly, EMBARRASSMENT could have been triggered as well had I thought something like, “Ha!  She totally got me.  I am totally going to town on this cake huh?”  It’s a more laughable, relatable feeling.  Like, “I know I’m not alone in this issue,” kind of response. 

So as you read my story out right, you might know yourself well enough to know you would likely respond in one of the other, slightly healthier ways.  And that’s the thing we all need to recognize and empathize in others, once shame is triggered, there’s no use telling someone how they *should* feel or respond, you need to move toward helping them (or ourselves) deal with the torturous shame and condemnation.  

For me, I vividly remember feeling like my friends had “found me out.” That all my dirty little secrets of being an out-of-control eater were not only out in the open, but were being judged by my closest friends at the time.   

I reiterated my self talk of always “being the fat friend,” and never being “strong enough” to control my eating.   

So, where does this lead us?  Why would I share with you a story from over 11 years ago?  Does it help anything for today?  

And my answer is YES, ABSOLUTELY.  

Because, what our past experiences help us understand is where the devil thought he had us.  You see, Satan uses shame as one of his greatest tools to get us to turn a hide from God.  

In the Garden of Eden, after Eve gave Adam the apple, what did Adam and Eve do?  

They hid.  

When Adam responded to God’s call, and said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked.  And I hid.”  (Genesis 3:10)

They were ashamed of their nakedness, and they hid.  

Sin is what first brought shame into our lives.   It has kept us bound by sin ever since. 

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Shame in our mindset serves as a stronghold.  We are not thinking clearly of what the devil is trying to do to us, we are totally consumed by the muck of our thoughts and emotions.

But, in hindsight, if we are brave and willing to address these memories, we recognize this an evil tactic and can start re-telling our mind the TRUTH of our memory. 

I had to repeat this scenario in my head and with great empathy, replay a healthier reaction based in the TRUTH of who I really am in Christ, not who the critic in my head is telling me to be. 

So, I can look back at that 21-year old self and say with certainty, “You were not fat. You were not an out of control, crazy eater.  You had a bad night and went a little too far on that cake. But it didn’t make you a unworthy, unlovable person.”   

I can in some ways offer forgiveness to myself and let myself off the hook.

I start telling myself that the choices I make DO NOT define WHO I AM.  

Only God can do that and God tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 

So, sometime soon, I think it would be really helpful for you to start thinking back on some old haunting memories and correct those thoughts that you were fooled into thinking before.  Maybe journal them and pray over them. Ask God to help you seek the truth.

When you break these strongholds with the truth of who you are in Christ, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  And when we are free, we'll be free indeed.

So, I'd love to hear from you on this one.  Sharing these vulnerable stories are always a bit tough....can you relate at all?  

Ready to up your nutrition & spiritual discipline in the New Year?

Join the A. Wright Fit Daniel Challenge, a 6-week Nutrition & Discipline course and Bible study that starts on January 9!  

This course is a small-group format of like-minded women who are ready for FOOD FREEDOM in 2017!

As a group, we will be challenging ourselves to a 7 to 21-day Daniel Fast for the first 3-weeks of the course and then transitioning into the Nutrient Based Eating program, the signature nutrition program of Certified Nutrition coach, Amanda Wright! 

Every week, we will also be meeting online for a small-group Bible study all on Spiritual Discipline!  We will dive into the Biblical principles of becoming more disciplined in the areas of:  prayer, time management, health and exercise, organization, finances, and our emotions!   This group will be on Zoom every week and you will be given a daily Bible study format to follow!  

If you are interested in learning more or purchasing the program, you can visit this link HERE. If you have any questions, feel free to reach Amanda directly at amanda@amandawrightfit.com.  

Categories
Fitness & Training

Pain on Purpose | A Way to Test Your “All”

Pain on Purpose | A Way To Test Your "All"

“Sometimes you don’t know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.”

I remember posting these words on my Facebook page after another one of my many break-ups. I don’t remember which one exactly,  as I had a long history of dating some terrrrrible guys.  Not that it was always them, but us together, for sure.

Part of the consequences of believing the lie that my body and beauty were responsible for determining my self-worth and the subsequent feeling like I was never thin/fit/strong/beautiful enough to actually grow any self-worth, came with a side effect of choosing the wrong dudes to date.

So naturally, one of the best wake-up calls God had for me was any time I got my heart busted by some guy I was depending on to fulfill my value.   Eventually, I learned the lesson that no man can fulfill the God sized whole in your heart—only God can do that.

SO, I digress in this story only to say that I found out how strong I was emotionally, really, one heart-break at a time.  It was painful but I don’t regret any part of it.  It’s how I learned to be resilient.

You might feel the same way about your tragedies and heartbreaks in life.  The things we often think will break us wind up building us into who we are today.  

But this quote above popped into my head the other day when I was reading, for probably the thousandth time in my life, THE MOST IMPORTANT VERSE IN ALL OF THE BIBLE.  
 
Jesus said,  

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  Luke 10:27 (c/r Deuteronomy 6:5)

The hardest part of this passage is not the word LOVE.  We all looooove love, don’t we? 

The hard part is the word ALL.  

And the part of the command that says “ALL YOUR STRENGTH” is especially tricky because the only way to get to know your “all”

is to TEST IT.

One of the COOLEST things I get to do for a living is to help women find how STRONG she is physically and watch how it transforms her internally.   

Not only does it help build her body, but it builds her confidence, her self-efficacy, and yes, if you take this scripture above to heart, even her love for God

But the part that is TRICKY as a health coach and trainer is convincing my clients to do a self-test to find her MAXIMUM STRENGTH.  

There is a name for finding ALL your physical strength through weight training and it’s called your 1 REP MAX TEST.    

For my clients in my (*brand new*) STRONG’her Fitness & Mobility plan, I actually have her do just a 10 REP MAX test (which I’m going to give you below if you want to try it out too) so she knows how much weight she should be using for the various goals of the program.  But even this one has been a hard sell.  

It’s really important:  knowing how STRONG SHE IS helps her reach her goals.  

That MAX TEST number is actually VITAL information to be able guide her in how much weight she should be lifting during the progressive “Periodized” training.

For example, for Period 1 of my STRONG’her  Program the goal is to grow “Muscular Endurance” which is a fancy, fitness word for the ability to complete many repetitions (i.e. 15-20) at a moderate weight for the purpose of building up greater endurance and stamina.   

For this goal, I  recommend that she use a weight that is roughly about 65% of her 1 Rep Max.  

Therefore, knowing what her MAX is allows an accurate weight use for those workouts and she doesn’t go too light (which is unproductive) or too heavy (which is unsafe).  

Muscle building has a different goal;  strength building has a different goal;  power has yet another goal.   My programming takes each client through all these types of trainings to achieve the optimal body health while avoiding overtraining, boredom, and plateaus!  <—Avoiding this stuff is really important to help you stick with your health goals, right?!

So, it’s something I give to all my clients to go and perform as a SELF-TEST.  

But naturally, not many of my clients really want to do it (and of course, I don’t make it mandatory).  

Willfully putting herself in that rather painful experience of MAXING out her muscles, to what’s literally called muscle “FAILURE," is a hard sell as a trainer.  

It got me thinking that this must be why God has to get our attention through the shocking events in life.    If He relied on us being willing to get max tested in our emotions, our relationships and our faith, we would never do it.  

We as humans avoid pain.  Period.  

It’s why I ended-up dating so many guys that were not right for me…I was avoiding the pain of feeling lonely.  

It’s why we can hold on to grudges and resentment… we avoid the pain required for true forgiveness.  

Your health might be less than stellar right now simply because you’re avoiding the pain that comes with cleaning up your eating and exercising.  

But avoiding pain is one of the worst things you can do for yourself if you actually want to achieve your PURPOSE in life and achieve your dreams.  

“You don’t know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.”  

Your ability to tolerate PAIN is directly proportional to knowing how STRONG you really are.  

Knowing how STRONG YOU ARE is vitally important to being able to LOVE GOD with "ALL YOUR STRENGTH."  

Being able to LOVE God with ALL THAT YOU ARE is the #1 way to find purpose, fulfillment and achievement in this life.

It comes at a cost and will require some pain in life.  But that pain will teach you true resiliency and true Love.  

So, with that in mind I decided I wanted to share this 10 REP MAX protocol with you today too because I believe that if you practice being willing to endure some pain PHYSICALLY, it can translate to what you can also handle INTERNALLY. 

Because I know that when you have to courage to stop avoiding pain and actually TEST YOUR STRENGTH, you are gifted with the ability to actually USE IT.

So check it out below and send me an email back of what you thought of the experience. Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?  

With Love and Light, 

Mandi

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Categories
Goal Development Health Coaching Spiritual Health

Hello from the other side…

Hello From The Other Side...

What do we do on the other side of big, monsterous events in our lives?  Events of our highest highs and our lowest lows? Those times where we FINALLY achieve a hard earned goal, or those times where we are shocked with circumstances unforeseen, like we all were with last week's national tragedies. 

Hello from the other side....this is where I am.  

I shared last week that I passed my CSCS test, but I didn't share that the week I took it had some terrible circumstances that were actually far more important to me than my test. 

I'm talking about crazy things happening-- like the news of a murder suicide occurring next door the the home we own in San Diego (and are renting out) and other frustrating events like relationship flare ups and disagreements.  Unsure if a resolution was in site.   

Have you ever noticed how the closer you are to a great achievement, the more "life" (a.k.a the devil) seems to try to get in your way and test you?  

Somehow I made up my mind I was going to ignore the temptation to allow the devil use it as an excuse to delay plan of taking the test and more importantly, delay my purpose.  

I buckled down and wholly and completely depended on God to help me study and focus.  It was touch and go there for several days.  But He showed me time and time again that He was with me, even having more than one friend reach out to say I was on their mind, not knowing at all I was struggling.  

By His grace I took that test, I passed that test, and the rest of my life gracefully sorted itself out.  He does amazing things when we trust that He will and allow Him to take control.  This is the art of SURREND’her.  

Whew, crossed that bridge!  

EXCEPT, then there was last week.  We all saw the unspeakable tragedy unfolding….yet again.  It rocks us every time.    We cry out to God, we shake our heads in disbelief and shed some tears for those we know were taken too soon. We are angry and we seek justice. 

And now as a nation, we have found ourselves, once again, on the other side of tragedy.   

 

So, hello, from the other side... again.  

Whether you achieved a high of goal achievement or a lows of tragedy, you come out on the other side emotionally exhausted and... changed.    

If you have been here before, you might recognize the feelings of confusion in your soul.  For me, I feel like EVERYTHING in my life has shifted as I have crossed a great bridge.  And YET, in so many ways, NOTHING has changed either.    

I am caught wondering what you may be wondering, “Well, what do I do now?"  I'm tempted to just go back to how I operated before it all...

But, this week, I came across a scripture I’ve seen before, but it had new meaning to me.  I think it can help you too, if you allow it.   

 

Isaiah 40:31
 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

 

LET’S LOOK AT 3 THINGS THE VERSE TELLS US THAT WILL HELP YOU TO  FROM THE OTHER SIDE: 

  1.  IT TELLS US SPECIFIC ACTION TO TAKE: 

Does this confuse you?  Yes, I called this passage an ACTION PLAN and yet, this verse very clearly uses one word that I don’t think any human being likes to hear:  “WAIT."

But it doesn’t stop there….  it says “Wait on the LORD” which is not inaction, but just the opposite.

Another term you could insert into this context is to SEEK the Lord.   Or perhaps another tough word, OBEY.  

So, this is NOT time you just spend twiddling your thumbs or waiting on the door to ring and it be the hand delivered news of what you are supposed to do.

No, this is time you spend in His word and in prayer so you have Guidance and *clarity* beyond what your emotions want you to do.

2.  IT TELLS US WHY GOD WANTS US TO WAIT ON HIM:

The purpose of us seeking God and waiting on His guidance is not because God wants to drive us crazy and is playing some kind of game with us.  
 
It’s because He sees how emotionally exhausted we are from whatever we just endured.   He is preparing us to win THE WAR and what you’ve just endured was but one battle.  
 
It's also a test to see if we really TRUST Him.  We’ve all seen that hasty moves that are made under distressed and emotionally exhausted mindsets rarely bring wise decisions.   

To our human mind, we think this emotion is supposed to fuel us into action.  And in some ways, it is true--emotion is our human fuel.  

But emotion that goes untested by God’s Word might make us more of the problem than the solution.  

Thinking that our depth of emotion somehow makes us able to play the role of God is not only foolish but idolatrous.  This is the trouble we are seeing in the world after the tragedy last week.  People are taking justice into their own hands—essentially trying to play god.  It will never end well.  

  1. THIS VERSE TELLS US THE OUTCOME OF THIS ACTION PLAN: 

When we seek God and delay action until His way is apparent, it not only relieves us from the burden of trying to fix it all ourselves, but it also provides us the sustenance  to ENJOY LIFE through it all too.   

"Mount up on wings like eagles” sounds like a life of delight to me.  A way to soar above the fray and rise above your circumstances.  

There are more goals to be won.  There are more battles the devil is going to wage in our mind and circumstance. 

I’m going to tell you something you may not want to hear, but it’s also the truth.  

This may take a while.  Your purpose; our nations peace; the process of mourning....all of it.  

But when we wait on God and seek Him diligently everyday, "we shall run and not grow weary, we shall walk and not faint.”   We must keep going.  

And the most beautiful part of what God does for us when we seek Him are His gifts of peace and joy and hope and love THROUGH the journey, not just when it’s over and fixed.  He gives us these gifts daily, no matter our circumstances.  

We all want these every day.  But are you seeking God to receive them, or are you seeking others, your government or even yourself to achieve them?  

Are you waiting on the Lord?  Or is the Lord waiting on you?

 

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Categories
Fit Faith Friday Uncategorized

{#FitFaithFriday} My Interview with Courtney Samuel!

My Interview with Courtney Samuel

Meet Courtney!

I've known Courtney for a while now as he and his wife (and my best friend) Jennifer Samuel (already featured for #FitFaithFriday week #1) are the main reasons why I became a trainer and so passionate about fitness, specifically what weight training can do for a person mind, body and spirit!  

So, it was an absolute pleasure to sit with my "big brother" and chat more about how his Faith impacts his personal fitness, his business, and every aspect of his life!  

I love Courtney because he is a big (like, seriously STRONG!) guy with such a humble and soft heart for God and for his family.  He wears tattoos, listens to rap music, is into cars, but puts his Faith and Family FIRST in life.  He's a perfect representation of what a REAL RELATIONSHIP with God can look like!  It's authentic, real, and from the HEART which is what God looks at most!  

We can all learn more from Mr. Samuel in how to aim true and be bold in your Faith!    

Check out our live interview from his gym, Bodies by Perseverance below!

Court 2

I LOVE this opportunity to ask these questions of women who are all going through various experiences of Fitness and Faith and learning how God uses each of us in some unique ways but it all serves mightily in expanding His Kingdom. Cassia is certainly a bright bright light, and I'm so inspired by her! I know you will be too!

 

Don't have time to watch the full interview?   Here are some highlights of what Courtney had to say...

When asked, "How does your faith impact your fitness, and your fitness impact your faith?"

Courtney said, "So faith and fitness intertwine with life and everything that you do. So a big thing I believe in is being humble on top of the hill and grateful when you’re at the bottom. Basically, when your in a valley, that’s when you have to rely on your faith and when you’re reading scripture every day and that’s when you’re saying, “God, I know you’re going to pull me through this.” But at the same time when you’re at the top of that hill, that’s when you have to be humble and say,  “Thank you, Lord, for bringing me this victory.” Because life goes up and down. It’s day in and day out.

A big saying we said this year was “Compound Consistency.” This means being consistent day by day by day and building upon that. Fitness and Faith. Daily Bible study. Daily eating habits. Daily exercise habits. And then when you compound all of that it just becomes life."

 

When asked, "You have tattoos, play rap music, but also have scriptures on the walls of your gym.  How does this juxtaposition represent your true Faith?" 

Courtney said, "It is. So when I grew up my parents were hardcore Southern Baptist. You know, it was church three to four hours every Sunday, which was cool, that was their thing. But as I developed my own personal relationship with God (which I tell everybody, “It’s about your personal relationship with God.”) I find myself being more spiritual versus more religious. My spiritual relationship with God, to me, is my personal relationship with God. What I do externally, how I carry myself, it’s kinda like how people judged Jesus, in an essence.

You can’t judge a book by its cover. I have tattoos.  I play rap music. I’m not ashamed of that, but in my heart I know who my God is and if anybody asks me, I will tell you who my God is and my faith. You know, the things that you do, just like society, you have to take with a grain of salt. I listen to rap music. I don’t let it influence me. Honestly, I don’t even listen to the lyrics, I just like the beat and it gets me motivated. So that’s kind of how I live my life. I do like tattoos, but they’re an expression of me. They’re an expression of my faith.  My tattoos are a story; kind of like a chapter opening and closing, and that’s just who I am. Bottom line: when we all die we’re going to be in spirit form anyway, so our bodies won’t be here.

When asked, "How would you advise someone that is just getting back into shape or struggling with the process of health to fall in LOVE with taking care of their health better?" 

Courtney said, "Number one: it’s a process. It takes time and anything worth having takes time, but what I try to convey to my clients or to anyone, is that it’s an investment. It’s an investment in your body and you have to be able to take care of yourself and feel good about yourself before you can take care of anyone else. No matter how much money you may have or position of power you may be in, if you don’t have your health you have nothing. So that’s what I try to convey: invest in yourself, invest in your health and then use it as a challenge.

I don’t think we challenge ourselves enough. I think everybody’s just caught in the rat race and just doing enough to get by. Why not challenge yourself and try something new. Get yourself to the best, optimal "you," you can be. It doesn’t have to be a professional body builder, but it can be the “best Mandi,” the “best Courtney.” See how your car runs—take care of that Ferrari!

Coming Soon!

 The DIY Guide to

Nutrient Based Eating for Fat Loss! 

In just a few short weeks, you can get your very own guide to WHAT the Nutrient Based Diet is, HOW you can start including this lifestyle approach to eating, HOW you can shop and prep the food no matter what your schedule, AND the 4 Simple Steps that you can adjust to it to make sure it BOOSTS your Metabolism and allows you to see FAT LOSS!  

I have for over 2 years including this system into my own life as well as through my personalized coaching and membership site to the her Health Lounge, but I am now making this Nutrition component available for you to guide yourself!   

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Categories
Fit Faith Friday Fitness & Training

{FitFaithFriday} Meet fitGevity Creator and Travel Specialist, Kate Higgins!

My Interview with Kate Higgins:

I met the beautiful Kate Higgins through a business coaching program called the Best of You.  Kate and I have been virtual friends for a while and then got to meeting in person last September at our annual retreat!  She is wonderful, graceful, and really easy to get along with!    She was kind enough to interview me for her first ever #TravelTuesday interview series (!) she does on her site (since I am an active traveler) and I was so happy to interview her for this #FitFaithFriday feature too!  

She was a little nervous about our Fit & Faithful space here because she said, "Well, I am pretty private about my Faith and don't talk about it much.  I probably couldn't quote you any scriptures or anything." 

I assured her that this is NOT the forum in which we judge each other based on "rule following" principles of religion, right?!!  I aspire to do just as God did for David, "People look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  (1 Samuel 16:7)

I am overjoyed when I have friends who are willing to share anything about their Faith and their own Spiritual journey because we are all a work in progress and it makes God so happy when we offer up any amount of Faith that we have!  Whatever we give, He will make it grow (it IS the Law of the Harvest, afterall!).  

So it's my honor to present Kate's thoughtful answers to the questions below!  

Me: Tell us a little bit about what you do--when you started and why you started:

Kate: I am a fitness blogger, and I specialize in staying fit and healthy while traveling. My blog, fitGevity, started out as a resource to support my line of resistance bands I created in 2014. Since then it has evolved into personal blog dedicated mostly to my travels and how I maintain a healthy lifestyle while traveling
 
I made this shift with fitGevity for a number of reasons. First, how much fun is it to constantly be writing about resistance bands?? The answer - not too much! Second, a 20 pound weight gain while traveling around Thailand for four months made me realize that traveling and staying healthy isn’t the easiest thing to do. I wanted to share my experiences, mistakes, and solutions with other travelers with the hopes that they will be able to avoid a substantial weight gain like mine. Lastly, after driving for Uber for a few months, and talking with literally a few hundred people who constantly travel, I began to notice that staying healthy on the road is hard for everyone! From there I decided that my mission is to help as many travelers as possible via coaching to stay fit and healthy while traveling.
 
Kate Higgins
 

Me: How does your Faith impact your Fitness and your Fitness impact your Faith?

Kate: For me, my faith is pretty personal. I find that I don’t often share my feelings or beliefs with others. So my health and fitness are intertwined with my faith. I’m always grateful for my ability to move, exercise, treat my body well, and help others through my blog. I also feel like being able to help others with their health and fitness is a great way to give back! 
 
 
 
 

Me:  What is the #1 struggle that you see women facing today and how do you think Faith and/or Fitness can help them? 

 
Kate: One main struggle I see with women today is losing their individual identities to their families. As women we are often times the caretakers of our families. In the end we give up our own desires, wants, likes, etc, for the good of the family. This level of sacrifice comes from a good place in our hearts, but in the long run can make us lose track of who we really are.
 
I think staying true to our beliefs as well as making time for our health helps to keep us mindful of who we really are. Faith and fitness give us time that’s just ours. If we feel good physically, mentally, and emotionally then we are going to thrive as individuals, be more likely to stand up for what is most important to us, and will be less likely to lose our identities.
 

 uber shoot Kat Higgins
 

Me: What is the greatest lesson you have learned recently that is tied to your Fitness or your Faith?

 
Kate: The biggest lesson I have learned recently is that the truth will set you free. Holding onto anything can become toxic after a while. Lying, keeping secrets, and making up excuses is exhausting! It gives us anxiety, makes us dread seeing certain people, and the longer we hold onto it the more likely that the secret will come out at the wrong place and time.
 
While getting something off your chest might be tough, it’s incredibly worthwhile in the long run. You will feel as if a weight has lifted, stress has been reduced, and mental space has been freed up. This can lead to a healthier lifestyle, decreased levels of anxiety and stress, weight loss, a higher level of happiness, and more productivity.  
 

ME: What dreams do you have for the future? 

Kate: I have some big dreams for this year and the future! My goal is to continue to grow my blog. It may not sound like much, but by the end of the year if I have helped even 10 travelers stay healthy while on the road I will have accomplished my mission for the year).
As time goes on I want to continue growing my brand and to reach more people. I’m not exactly sure how I will accomplish this just yet - which programs I will design, inspiration I’ll gain along the way - but I trust that as long as I put forth 100% effort that I will be guided down the right path.
Kate Higgins 2
 
 

ME: Do you have anything coming up that we can participate in? 

Kate: Yes! I have a free four day travel fitness coaching course coming out by the end of next week! I’m extremely excited about this program and have put lots of blood, sweat, and tears...well, you get the picture...into it. This program is a webinar style training delivered over four days, and covers everything from packing tips to exercise and nutrition. I’d love for anyone who travels frequently or is planning to go on a vacation in the near future to try it out! 🙂
 
 
 
You can find Kate and her Travel Tips on any of her social media pages here: 
Website: http://www.fitgevitysolutions.com

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fitgevity

instagram: http://www.instagram.com/fitgevity

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fitgevity

 
 
Categories
Fitness & Training Spiritual Health

Why Two People Who Do The Exact Same Thing Will Experience Wildly Different Results…

Using the Laws of the Harvest In a Real Life Example!

 
A lot of people have asked me if I am against people doing bikini competitions since I have told so many stories about the negative consequences of having done mine.  And I wholeheartedly tell them, “Absolutely not!”   I am in fact prepping a client for a bikini competition as we speak!  She’s about 10 weeks away!
 
But also, the reason I would never dare to tell someone not to go after such a lofty goal is that there are a lot of really great things that can come out of pushing ourselves far out of our comfort zones.  There is SO MUCH that I learned about my CHARACTER in that process of taking things “too far” for MY body that I have ZERO regrets about.
 
There are some people that actually THRIVE and really LOVE the competition world and can maintain a high character approach toward doing such activity.
 
One such example is one of my best friends and prayer partner, Jennifer.  She was one who trained me and dozens of other women for these competitions with her husband.  Jennifer did a couple different competitions herself over the years and told me she was was able to actually use them to grow closer to God!
 
Anything and everything we do can be an act of worship.  So especially those really challenging goals we push for, we can definitely lean more on Him and we will be better for it!  While Jennifer will tell you she won’t do another one (they are huge sacrifices, especially if you have young kids, like she does), her experience was markedly different than mine.
 

 So why is that in life?

 
How is it that two women, both with hearts for God, can engage in the SAME endeavor, “planting our seeds” into the same routines,  desiring the same outcomes,  but experiencing radically different “HARVESTS” as a result?
 
 
This is often where we get hung up as we decide to try to do those things that we see our friends do, especially after we see their success.
 
The key to understanding the differences in these “harvests” and rewards is to realize that there are THREE vital parts to the Law of the Harvest, not just the two.
 
There’s the obvious SEED (our thoughts, our words and our actions)
Then there’s the obvious HARVEST (the results, our success, and our character blessing,too).
 
The THIRD aspect to this equation is the real difference maker.
 

It's the SOIL.

 
The SOIL is the *KEY* component into whether the seeds sprouts a REWARDING harvest or whether the the seeds withers, dies and gets ‘choked' by the weeds of life.
 
Take a look at the powerful words of Jesus’ Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13 which I like in The Message translation.
 

"A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it  fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.” (Matthew 13:3-8)

 
It’s obvious that this Farmer had worked hard to scatter his seeds.  And it wasn’t the SEEDS fault that it failed because each seed was made with equal potential for greatness and success!  The same goes for you and me.  We are all created in equal love and ability for our own blessings and destiny.
 
The key difference as to whether the seed found success or not was the nutritious depth of environment that it was planted.
 
In other words if you don’t plant your SEEDS (i.e. your thoughts, words and actions) into an environment that doesn't have depth and nutrition, then the shallow soil will not produce the fruitful harvest you desire.
 
That’s exactly what went wrong with my experience in the bikini competition.
 
As I learned, more retrospectively, that the real reason WHY I decided to do the bikini competition was in order to “look the part” of someone I thought I was supposed to be.  
 
The real reason WHY  I chased having a “perfect body” was because I thought that was the answer to my body images issues and ultimately would give me self-love and happiness.   
 

My “WHY" was my soil.  Your WHY is your soil too.  

 
 If it’s a shallow, self-serving, or an overall unhealthy reason WHY you are really doing what you are doing then it will NOT produce the rich harvest of blessings that you want it to because God wants SO MUCH MORE for you life. 
 
{And by “really” doing, I mean, the real, deep reason why you are doing what you are doing.  Not the reason you tell others or even convince yourself you are doing something.  It might even be subconscious for a while, but eventually God will allow it to come to light.  Your WHY matters most. } 
 
"Planting on the PATHWWAY ": 
Sometimes we make half-hearted choices in our health, the most shallow of all. We know these well.  We commit to a “diet” that we’re never really going to follow.  We sign up for a “program” that we don’t even open.  We get that gym membership but never show up to use it.  We don’t ever really COMMIT and therefore our WHY is extra shallow.   These are equivalent to the “path” where the birds came and eat those seeds.  Nothing will come from these efforts.
 
"Planting On Shallow Soil":
Sometimes we get excited and so we make hasty, quick decisions and see some quick results….but inevitably those seeds sprout quickly and die just as quickly.
 
We do that 3-day cleanse, but then we go right back to eating how we used to.  We take drops or diet pills that decrease our appetite to lose weight quickly.  We do an extreme workout regime for a month or two, preparing for a “special occasion.”  But those extreme tactics cannot be sustained and are equivalent to the soil in the gravel.  The faster it comes off, the faster it will come right back on.
 
"Planting Among the Weeds"
Then, there are times we we *think* we are planting our “seeds” in rich and deep soil of good intentions.   This was me in my big endeavor in my bikini competition and DOZENS of other life experiences I’ve had.
 
We make the commitment alright, but soon realize that WEEDS sprout up all around us.
 
I love what Jesus tells us about the soil with the weeds (from The Message translation again which is extra powerful).
 

 “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.”  (Matthew 13:22 MSG)

 
For anyone that has planted a garden, you know that you don’t need to GROW WEEDS.  Weeds just sprout up.  The same thing happens in our head as we plant our seeds the the soil of opportunity.
 

Weeds are lies we start to believe about ourselves.  

 
Weeds are the distractions of self-doubt, selfishness or even conflict.  Weeds are the result of SIN and our human nature and the devil getting in the way of our destiny.
 
These weeds strangle our good intentions of the Spirit and distorts them, ruining the harvest.
 

"For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17

 

BUT, GOD.

 
It would seem to be a lost cause that we would ever be able to truly reap a rich harvest we desire out of life, doesn’t it?  
 
Indeed, I think a lot of people lose hope here.  Thinking, “What’s the point? I’m always going to self-sabotage and will never escape my habits of worry."
 
It is a huge challenge in our lives and I am not trying to play this down at all.
 
BUT, Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life."  (John 14:6) 
 
But I believe that it is MORE THAN possible to plant your seeds of your health and your life in the deep, rich soil that is Jesus and you will WIN the harvest of your destiny.
 
When you align your WHY with God’s WHY for your life, and not the life of those you see around you, you will find that there are far fewer weeds that will get in your way and choke your destiny away from you.  
 

"Planting on the Good Soil":

When your health becomes less about YOU and more about what you can do to better serve God’s kingdom, the richness of your soil will be incredible.  It will sprout harvests for generations and generations.  

 
Listen to what Jesus went on to say about planting seeds on “Good Earth,"
 

 “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.” (Matthew 13:23 MSG)

 
The "NEWS" is that Jesus has already done all of the hard work for you when He died on the cross.
 
The "NEWS" is that you don’t actually have to strive for and earn the things you think you do, God has worked it all out for you.
 
The "NEWS" is that He has come through with his weed whacker and has prepared some fertile ground for JUST YOU to plant.   You just need to have COURAGE, FAITH and TRUST that God will always do what He says He will do.
 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

 
There are over 7,000 promises in the Bible like this that you can ROOT yourself and your health in.   When you focus on Him and focus on His TRUTH the weeds of your doubt and the lies in your head simply cannot survive.
 

Get deep.  Look for your real WHY and you will win.  You will win!

"Harvesting My Health" Free Download!

If you are interested in learning more about how to Harvest Your Health in 2016, then I'd love to welcome you to my email list!  I'll be giving away the BEST content to my inner tribe!     In fact, I have a FREE 7-Day devotional series I wrote for you on "Harvesting My Health" through the 7-Laws of the Harvest!  I think you'll really like it!

Just click the button below to grab your free copy and I'll look forward to connecting with you soon!

FREE 7-Day Devotional

Categories
Spiritual Health

Harvesting More Energy In Your Life!

Using the Laws of the Harvest In a Real Life Example!

I've been doing a lot of research lately about how we get exactly what we really WANT and what we really NEED out of life, especially as it relates to our desires for our health.   My journey led me to the universal law, as designed by God, of the "Law of the Harvest" (a.k.a "you reap what you sow"principle in life).  

Understanding this rudimentary Law in life has completely changed my approach to getting what I want in life as well as my expectation of what that process will look like.  Understanding THIS helps us to understand GOD and the UNIVERSE.  When we understand Him (slightly better), we better understand ourselves, since we are made in His image.  When we understand ourselves, we are empowered to make better choices which ultimately lead us to getting what it is we say we want! 

 As some of you may have received some of my recent emails on this or the blog post introduction and hopefully grabbed your copy of the free 7-Day Devotional called “Harvesting My Health,” there are several “Laws of the Harvest” that we must consider to actually use this God-given law for our excellence.  
 
As it happens, this week that I started this conversation with you all, it  happened to be the exact week that Rick Warren did a series called “Daring to Plant In Faith” on his podcast I listen to called, Daily Hope.  Is this JUST a coincidence?!  I think not!  #Godwink
 
But, as it goes, the great Pastor Rick took my well researched 7 Laws of the Harvest from my devotional and put his own “Rick Warren" spin and expanded them to 11-Laws of the Harvest!  You can listen to Part 1 of this podcast HERE or you can listen to the original entire sermon from Saddleback Church HERE.  The man is just a genius teacher!
 
So, to help you understand these Laws in your real life health efforts, I wanted to give you an example of how you might think through the these laws. 
 
 

Rick Warren’s 11 Laws of the Harvest for Real Life Goals

Law #1:  Everything starts as a SEED.  

Your BODY itself is a SEED that will need to be planted in order to get more energy. 
Your THOUGHTS about desiring more energy are also SEEDS that need to get planted in order to provide the actions necessary.  
 

Law #2:  Nothing Happens Until the Seed Is Planted

You can’t just complain about not having low energy.  You can’t just “wish” for more ENERGY.  You can’t even just PRAY for more energy.  You have to PLANT THE SEEDS (i.e. show some action) to get more energy.  
 
You must also realize that if you DON’T DO ANYTHING to plant more energy, by DEFAULT you ARE actually planting seeds of DECREASED energy.  So the lesson is to do at least something.
 

Law #3:  When I Have a Need, I Plant a Seed

Because I NEED (i.e. desire) more energy, I need to plant the seeds that will get me MORE energy— things like work outs, proper rest, and nutritious food. 
 
It will also have to AVOID planting those seeds that will get me those things that COUNTERACT my efforts for more energy—sitting too much, not getting to sleep at a reasonable hour, over-caffeinating myself, eating junk food, eating too much food, eating too little of food, etc.  If you feel low energy, start paying attention to what choices you have made that day that’s bringing your energy down.  Putting 2:2 together is a big step!
 

Law #4:  Whatever I Plant Is What I Will Reap:

I have to plant those things that actually produce MORE ENERGY to attain more energy.  I can’t plant WORRY and expect to get MORE ENERGY.  I can’t plant BUSYNESS and expect MORE ENERGY.  
 
You might have to try some things out and monitor how it’s going.  It might take a trial and error, but the power here is in the INTENTION of it.  Try just one thing intentionally and see if it works!  Monitor, adjust and keep going.  
 

Law #5: I am not the Only Sower

I realize that I am living in some of the harvests that I did not plant.  I might have entered into a world of chaos that affects my ENERGY.   I might have “inherited” a tendency to worry and overanalyze, which drains my energy.  
 
But I have the POWER to stop any inheritance that I do not want to pass along to others.  I can’t control the past, or what other people do around me,  but I can choose to create brand new legacy and example of energy management.  
 

Law #6:  I Always Reap In a Different Season Than I Sow

These results will take time, there is always a delay.  I cannot expect instant energy from just one day of planting.  You always feel LESS energy during the workout but you get a nice big boost after!  Cutting back on sugar at first makes you feel low energy, but ultimately you'll have a much better energy balance than before!
 
You have to build up consistent effort to figure out what works and what doesn’t work.   After some time, then I will reap the harvest of high energy that I desire. 
 

Law #7:  I Must Be Patient and Not Give Up

Because of the delay that we often see in our efforts, many people become impatient and give up.  But not you!  You realize that every great thing in life results from an uphill battle and you can be ready and willing to push through those times.  You may have to lose some energy to gain some energy, and that’s a sacrifice that will be worth it if you don’t give up! 
 

Law #8:  I Will Always Reap More Than I Sow

This is the Law of Multiplication.  I will get MORE out of what I put in.  So if I want just small efforts for my healthy energy, I will get more energy than I invest.  If I need to see bigger shifts in my energy, I need to invest more in the planting!  
 
In the same way, there are small energy zappers that I could be doing that drain much more energy than I thought they would.  Having my phone on in my bed?  Hanging out with those friends who just pour out their troubles onto me?  Repeating those worries in my mind without praying or giving them to God?  All of these little things will reap and steal more energy than I think. 
 

Law #9:  I Can Always Increase My Harvest By Planting More Seeds

This is the 'Law of Proportion.’  All I have to do is start with some small acts in an effort to get more energy.  If I find that they are working, I can just push those acts more and more and get more out of them!   But there is no pressure to start BIG.  I can always add more!

  

Law #10:  The More Seed I Plant, The More God Will Give Me

God is looking for GIVERS to bless.  Those people that are the most ACTIVE for the GOOD of others are blessed with LOTS OF ENERGY.    God will bless me for those Good efforts by giving me more and more responsibility and need for energy.  The more Ido for the world around me, the more energy God will give me to be able to do it all.  
 
 

Law #11:  I Plant by Faith, NOT By Feelings:

I will never ever FEEL like doing those things that will give me more energy.  Many times I will have to plant when I don’t FEEL LIKE IT, but I’ll do it anyway because I know that’s the only way I get what I want out of life.   
 
Planting by Faith means that I do things for the deeper reason WHY.  When I cling to that reason and don’t detour on whims of emotion, I’ll get far more out of your goals and build my character too.  It will pay off HUGE dividends when I sacrifice my immediate gratification for my greater investment down the road.  
  
Reap What You Sow
 
In short, we have to realize that the things that really matter in life, and having ENERGY is something that really does matter, even though it’s something that God wants for us to have, WE are responsible in just how much we invest and therefore harvest.  
 
God doesn’t operate as just a “vending machine” where we think we just “put in” our part and “God’s part” automatically spits out what we want.  A vending machine God does not build our heart or our character.  
 
Our heart and our character are the “treasures” that we take with us to heaven.  So it only makes sense that God will ALLOW US to “store up” those real treasures in heaven while we are also getting more out of the life that we are living NOW.  What a gift that is!  (Matthew 6:20)
 
It is an honor to get to work for the things we really want out of life.  It is a privilege and it makes our reward that much more rewarding!
 
So, here’s to planting more energy for you TODAY! 

"Harvesting My Health" Free Download!

If you are interested in learning more about how to Harvest Your Health in 2016, then I'd love to welcome you to my email list!  I'll be giving away the BEST content to my inner tribe!     In fact, I have a FREE 7-Day devotional series I wrote for you on "Harvesting My Health" through the 7-Laws of the Harvest!  I think you'll really like it!

Just click the button below to grab your free copy and I'll look forward to connecting with you soon!

FREE 7-Day Devotional

Categories
Spiritual Health Uncategorized

New Series: Harvesting Our Health in 2016

Harvesting Our Health in 2016

Confession time.   I have NO green thumb.  I thought it was green for a while there, but apparently I was seeing things.  
Yes, I thought I had seens some shades of sage or even a nice evergreen color on my thumb when I planted some nice boxes of fresh herbs for all the cooking I was going to do...  
...and when I bought REAL house plants, instead of the fake ones, when I thought it wouldn't be that hard to water them.  
 
...and when I bought even those EASY succulents in that planter for my office, because who can mess up a plant you don't have to water all that often?
 
I can.  That's who.  
 
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
 
I guess I didn't really account for the fact that we travel for over 100 nights per year (although in my defense, I wasn't prepared for that).  Or just for the fact that I OFTEN forget to do MANY THINGS that are right in front of my face!
 
How many times I thought, "Oh I should water that plant!" But then thought, "Meh, I don't feel like it right now, I'll remember to later." Only, never to remember, obvi.
 
Those poor, pretty plants are all dead now NOT because of something horrible I did to them. 
I didn't water them with cyanide.  I didn't cut holes into their stems, cutting off their water system.  I didn't shut them out of the sunlight.  
 
No.
 
They're all dead because I never committed to doing the things I needed to do in order to keep them alive.    
It was my INACTIVITY, not my ACTIVITY that was their demise.  It wasn't the plant's fault, I just didn't take responsibility.  
 
Those living plants were in SURVIVAL MODE and I didn't give to them the nutrition and the care they needed to move into THRIVAL MODE and eventually, their resilience gave way and I was left with FAILURE.  
 

THIS ^^^^^ IS THE LAW OF THE HARVEST. 

 
Now, before I move forward with this principle, let's make sure we CLEAR UP what this law IS and what this law IS NOT.
 
WHAT IT IS:

In short, this is the "you reap what you sow" principle in life. 

 
However, there appears to be some common confusion and mixing of this principle with OTHER modern principles and beliefs.  For example:
 
  • The Law of the Harvest is NOT the same as Karma.  It doesn't simply mean the "what goes around comes back around" belief as taught in Hinduism and Buddhism (although, technically, these religions believe that a PAST LIFE actions determine the fate of our PRESENT LIFE).  
 
  • The Law of the Harvest is also NOT the same as "Newton's 3rd Law of Energy" either, which states that "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
 
Again, these principles are SIMILAR, and I'm not saying that they don't necessarily exist (although I don't believe in the "past life" principles of Buddhism and Hinduism), I'm stating the obvious fact that MANY PEOPLE commonly confuse words like "Karma" with this Biblical principle and Law of the Harvest.
 
The Law of the Harvest is much, much better than Karma and the laws of physics because we're talking about GOD here.  
 
We are getting into the abundant, supernatural, all powerful kind of laws that reflect God's goodness and God' love for us.  
 
Of course, in real life, this law that was designed to be a GIFT quickly become our demise because the other side of the coin is the REALITY that we do a lot of things that result in far greater negative consequences than we signed up for.  
 
Many tend to BLAME God in these times where we are suffering the consequences not of our own actions, but of the actions of others who came before us.   So what God has created for our BLESSING feels like a PUNISHMENT because the fall of Man has broken this system. 
 

Here's What I See....

So, SO  many of us are in "Survival Mode" in our health and in our life.  And, like my poor plants, we are not giving ourselves a chance to grow from SURVIVING to THRIVING.   We are barely hangin on.  
But God did NOT create us to merely survive in life.  Or to settle of mediocrity.
 
Oh no.
 
He created us to THRIVE in life.  He created us for a "Promised Land" type of lifestyle and health.
 
And I know so many of us have full INTENTION of one day "Thriving" in our health, but just haven't committed to doing the things we need to do in order to allow for that transition to take place.
 

And here's the kicker, I think it's simply because we don't fully UNDERSTAND and APPLY the Law(s) of the Harvest, so we DO A LOT OF THINGS in a way that won't allow us to graduate from surviving to thriving.

 We go half-hearted in our health effort and we reap half-hearted results.
 
Much like when I didn't water my plants, we will stop and think, "Oh I should go work out," but instead of just going, we think, "Meh, I don't really feel like it right now, I'll do it later."  And of course, later never comes...
 
Or with our eating, we think, "Oh I'm full and I really don't need this dessert," but then we eat it anyway because, well, it's there and we think, "what just one dessert?"  But it usually doesn't stop at one dessert just one day, does it.
 
So, when we put in small efforts and get small results, we think the SYSTEM and blame our "slow metabolism.
 
...Or our CIRCUMSTANCES prevented it, blaming our "lack of time."
 
...Or even our GUILT gets in our way, thinking of our failures and not wanting to set ourselves up for defeat, yet again.
 
This is painful, hard stuff.
 

But, there IS HOPE. 

By learning the 7 Laws of the Harvest you will apply HOW you can plant seeds in FAITH that will make ALL the difference in your:
 
CHOICES
ACTIONS
VISION
EXPECTATIONS
RESILIENCY
PREPARATION
& CORE VALUES
 
Remember, THRIVING in our Health is SO WORTH IT.
 
  • Surviving Health = where you feel like you are punishing yourself when you eat vegetables or exercise.
  • Thriving Health = when you feel SO GOOD when you eat nutritiously and move often that choosing NOT to become not an option.
 
  • Surviving Health = every time you pass by the mirror, you experience that tinge of dismay. The results aren't coming fast enough or aren't going in the direction you want at all!
  • Thriving Health = when you forget to look in the mirror because you are off doing the things God created you to do.  And even when you do look in the mirror, you see with new eyes of love and compassion.  You see yourself the way God sees you.

 

  • Surviving Health = when you buy and rely on overly expensive programs, shakes, or meal plans to follow because you don't trust yourself to make decisions on your own.
  • Thriving Health = when you trust yourself and know your body.  You feed it when it's hungry and stop when it's full.  You know when to PUSH and when to REST.  You enjoy food but aren't constrained by it.
 

SO, this is "Big Girl" stuff for 2016.  Part of the #SURRENDher16 initiative!  This is digging deep and as my mentor Jill Coleman would say, "leveling up" in our life and in our health.

 
Stop SETTLING for a life that is barely SURVIVING.  It's time to THRIVE.
 

So, we are going to GROW SOME GREEN THUMBS and get to plowing!

 
And, don't worry, if you're like me and are NOT GREAT at planting, not to worry, the key to your success is not in YOUR ABILITY, but in God's ability THROUGH YOU.  All you have to do is commit and SHOW UP.
 
#PLANTINGINFAITH is a game-changer mindset for our health!
 
The 7-Laws of the Harvest will allow us to life our BEST LIFE.  And because we've already learned the imperative facts that:
 
1. it take 21-days to form a MEMORY in our brain & 
2.  63-days to form a HABIT.
 
We are not going to just slide right by some of these lessons.  We are going to dig deep and make sure we understand, learn and apply them to their fullest potential in our life!
 
See you free gift below to help you start this journey!   Here's to Happy Harvesting!
 

Join the Harvesting Series!

If you are interested in learning more about how to Harvest Your Health in 2016, then I'd love to welcome you to my email list!  I'll be giving away the BEST content to my inner tribe!     In fact, I have a FREE 7-Day devotional series I wrote for you on "Harvesting My Health" through the 7-Laws of the Harvest!  I think you'll really like it!

Just click the button below to grab your free copy and I'll look forward to connecting with you soon!

FREE 7-Day Devotional

Categories
Food & Nutrition Spiritual Health

Transform Your Nutrition In 2016 Without Making A Single Change

Transform Your Nutrition in 2016

Without Making A Single Change…

This week in the TRANFORMher Health 2016 training, I am tackling the #1 most requested topic when I polled dozens of women on what they would like to learn in order to TRANSFORMher Health in 2016.  Over 98% of the women I polled wanted to learn this topic:  “How to Be Your Own Nutritionist in 2016.” It’s quite clear, that for most of us, our nutrition is our #1 struggle and point of confusion for most of us!
SO I’m thrilled to have some answers and I really am giving you MY BEST STUFF in this training!   I’m thrilled that I have years of experience with the good, the bad and the ugly nutrition habits from my own personal arsenal as well as dozens and dozens of clients!  This is really going to be a great training with a lot of step-by-step guidance that I know works!  (Again, it’s not too late to grab your spot for this training.  The times available are Tuesday evening at 5pm PST or Wednesday midday at 10am PST)
But, even as excited as I am about the potential ANSWERS and CHANGES I have to offer so many of you for your nutritional health in 2016, I KNOW that these changes are NOT going to be the END ALL BE ALL for your eating struggles.  

Why?  Because FOOD IS NOT JUST ABOUT FOOD.   We know this. 

Food is a reward.  Food is a coping mechanism.  Food is a culture.  Food is a celebration.  Food is a tradition.  Food is a temptation.  And quite obviously, we can’t just “quit” Food.
But I come with good news! 
Just I introduced in my blog a couple weeks back when I was speaking about the subject of TRANSFORMATION, this subject of food can be something that we can be TRANSFORMED in our eating without making a SINGLE CHANGE to our eating habits.  
How is that possible, you might think?
Well, if you remember, transformation happens when we “renew our minds” and we align our thoughts with the TRUTH of the Spirit of God within us. (Romans 12:2)

I explained in that blog that I knew I had truly TRANSFORMED my BODY’s HEALTH when I stepped up to the same old mirror, with the same old body, and I looked at those same old flaws, steady at that same old weight that I could not seem to lose to same old extra pounds, but I all of a sudden SAW MY BODY WITH NEW EYES.  

  
THAT is how God transforms us from the inside out.   He renews our MINDS and transforms our EYES to see in the Light of His Truth.  His Truth is the only truth that “sets us free.”  (John 8:32)

What society accepts as “true” will never set us free because it changes all the time.  

For example, what was “true” for our eating practices just a decade ago has all be proven false now.  This why our eating has been so frustrating to us– because the trends are always changing and our bodies are always changing!   
The BEST thing that can ever happen to your eating is to be met with the same old food, at the same old restaurants, with the same old family gatherings, and the same old traditions and yet see the food you choose with NEW EYES. 
To no longer be shackled to the food as though it is this thing that “you deserve” or this thing that “stresses you out” or this thing that will “make you feel better.”   
No, you will see it as JUST FOOD.  And you will eat it and you will enjoy it but you will no longer be a slave to it and will no longer worship it because you worship GOD and God fills up your WHOLE heart.  

For this very reason, I did NOT start the TRANSFORMher Health 2016 series with this topic on Nutrition, even though I knew that’s what the women who signed up really wanted to learn the most.  

I HAD to start with strengthening our SPIRITUAL health first and then tackle our MINDSET of health second ALL so then we could actually implement some potential changes with our eating and our exercising!

Real change can ONLY happen from the inside-out.  
The “Big Picture” of Health looks like this:

KNOW—————>  BE ———————> DO

Until you KNOW who you are created by, you cannot BE who you were created to BE and DO the things you were created to DO.    

This stands for your health and ANY change or improvement you want to make in 2016. 

It has to flow in this order otherwise it won’t stick for long term success and it won’t make you feel “fulfilled.”  
So, I invite you to this training where I will teach you how to monitor your EATING and make simple Nutrition adjustments that will TRANSFORM your True Health in 2016!  You will get a lot of great information and potential small changes you can make!  You’ll even get this awesome Nutrient-Based step-by-step infographic that will guide you all year long!
But know this to be true:   Your #1 way to truly TRANSFORM your health and your eating in 2016 is to know your CREATOR and put God at the center of your life and the center of your eating.  He will give you NEW EYES to see food in new ways and His truth will truly set you free in your eating! 

 So my question to you is, if you could see your food with NEW EYES in the NEW YEAR, how would you want to see your food?  Comment Below!  I’d love to hear what you have to say!