Tag: God

The Discipline of Shame Resiliency and Other Emotions

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date December 16, 2016

Last week I shared with you openly about some shame memories I had been experiencing after listening a great audio book by Brene Brown called, “Men, Women and Worthiness.”

So many of you responded back to me that you have experienced similar stories of feeling ashamed too, whether from being caught binge eating yourself, or shamed for your athleticism (or lack thereof), or shamed for your body. We all know it doesn’t take much to feel shame in our world.

All it takes is the devil twisting the words of someone close to you to make you start telling yourself, “I’m not good enough” or “I’m bad.” It’s never about feeling guilty for bad behavior, it’s about feeling inadequate as a person.

But, as I shared in my reflection, these stories of our past and odd memories that pop-up I believe are gifts from God.They serve as teachers to help us rewire the TRUTH of who we are through Christ.

Brene Brown calls this “shame resiliency,” it’s all about rising above the shame-based thoughts. She points out that resilience is the only win here, because there is no such thing as shame resistance. Our human, sinful nature and others impacting us will always keep feelings of shame knocking on our door.

But practicing resilience, through the power of vulnerability and being willing to open up these stories to God and others who can help, will make us stronger and wiser for it. Avoidance simply keeps us spinning.

So, naturally, I can’t just leave my story there. I can’t just say, “Well, I learned my lesson that one time and that was that! Problem solved.”

If only it were that easy. No, we have to find a way to continue to practice shame resiliency, which is really all about practicing emotional discipline.

I hadn’t thought about our emotions as something we need to actually discipline in our lives until I started creating the 6-week Bible Study on Spiritual Discipline that begins January 9 (there’s still room to join, if you’re interested, click here).

Becoming shame resilient is actually a discipline that you need to practice in order to be emotionally mature and stable.

Emotional stability is so incredibly important to your purpose and call from God. If you fall prey to the whims of your fleeting feelings, you will be prey to the distractions that keep us from your destiny.

So, I wanted to open up the discussion of what it means to be emotionally disciplined and 3 things you will need to ask yourself regularly to start putting this discipline into practice.

First, being disciplined in your feelings is not being a disciplinarian it’s about being discerning.

It’s not about invoking your inner critic to “stop feeling so much” in an effort to make you more stoic, logical, or controlling.

Nothing could be further from what God desires for you. The very fruits of the Spirit are ripe with emotion! You can’t experience the fullness of your Spiritual self without emotion.

Now, I understand why we do this. We think we can force a feeling, but we can’t.

And when we realize we can’t force a feeling we think our only other choice is to “shut down” or “numb” our feelings with things like food, alcohol, drugs, or the thrills of chasing things like “success” or devious behaviors.

All of this is self-protection from that monster in our mind.

Rather, being emotionally disciplined is all about your discernment.

It’s not about trying to change or judge your feelings but simply recognizing your feelings and discerning if they are based in truth or in fear.

You need to ask yourself 4 basic questions with the help of the Holy Spirit:

Q1: WHAT AM I FEELING RIGHT NOW?

We all need validation, even self-validation, and identifying the exact feeling helps pinpoint that. (Note: tired and hungry are NOT emotions, contrary to what every man thinks, so expand on that with feelings like: embarrassed, humiliated, scared, angry, bitter, resentful, jealous, anxious, feeling inadequate, etc.)

Q2. WHAT EXACTLY AM I THINKING RIGHT NOW?

Our own thoughts create our feelings, not other people or circumstances. So get quiet, breathe deep, and write down the actual thoughts racing through your mind.

Q3. ARE THESE THOUGHTS TRUE?

You will need to use the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit within you to test your thoughts against the Truth of who God is. Your feelings are always valid, but the thoughts you are believing could very well be lies. Test your feelings and thoughts against who you are in Christ and see if this doesn’t offer greater peace.

Q4. WHAT IS MY PRAYER?

If you have time to worry about something, you have time to pray about something. Maybe someone did really hurt you and you are struggling with that. Well, here is your chance to surrender it to God and let Him handle changing them, because frankly, you can't even if you tried. Pray through it and you will receive the power and peace that only God can grant you.

Now, this is where the discipline comes in— willing to actually DO THIS stuff.

You know what they say about change right? You won’t change any behavior about yourself until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.

In other words, there is going to have to be a “come to Jesus” moment when you realize your feelings aren’t your ALLY but are much closer to your ENEMY.

More often than not, if we are experiencing painful relationship patterns, painful work patterns, or painful health patterns, our emotions are a significant reason for our pain. Our emotions sabotage us.

Identifying your feelings as the culprit is incredibly hard because we often confuse our feelings with our identify. In fact, you can get so used to your shame that it feels like it’s a part of who you are.

I’ve heard countless people tell me, “It’s just the way I’m wired,” when in fact what they are suffering from is often in direct violation of Who God is and the image from which we came.

So, here is where some study, accountability, and a safe place to seek some relief and resiliency might be exactly what you need in 2017.

Like I said, we are doing a 6-week Nutrition course that corresponds with this 6-week Bible Study on Discipline.

Buuuuuut, if you’re not interested in the nutrition course (The Daniel Challenge) but ARE interested in doing the Women’s Bible study on Discipline, that’s now an option as well!

It will be a weekly small group meeting on Zoom where we will be watching some Pastoral videos and then having a group discussion. Then I will also be giving you a daily devotional and Bible study to do on your own. The discipline topics we will be tackling are:

Prayer and Reading the Bible
Emotional Discipline
Health
Time Management
Organization
Finances and Money

The Daniel Challenge and Nutrition Course is $97 (which includes the Bible study for free) and then Discipline Bible Study & Course by itself will be $30, just to cover the cost of the materials purchased and workbooks you’ll receive. You can buy the Bible Study by itself here.

I hope this insight helps you think through what emotions you need to discern into discipline this year. I'd love you to comment and tell me the #1 emotion you think tortures you the most! Ready, Go!

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.

Tags brene brown, christ, discerning, discipline, emotions, feelings, God, Jesus, resiliency, shame, shame resiliency, truth

Spiritual Health

Living Principles of the Spiritually Strong

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date September 8, 2016

3 Principles of the Spiritually Strong

Would you classify yourself as a woman that is deeply principled?

A principle is defined as, “A fundamental truth that serves as the foundation for a system or belief.”

To me, rooting yourself to fundamental truths offers you the the greatest ability to live a disciplined and self-controlled life.

I believe being highly principled is not just about what you WILL do, but more importantly, about what you’re UNWILLING to do.

When I am living by my deeper principles, I am not controlled by the whims of my emotions. I am controlled by my deeper desire to do what is RIGHT. It’s the Spiritual connection to my actions and how I am to live Spiritually strong.

In my health coaching practice, all of what I offer you and teach you comes from some basic Spiritual principles. These have evolved as I have grown in both faith and intellect regarding our health. They are vital to every fiber of my programs.

Everything that you see in the her Health Lounge program all aligns with these 3 principles of True Health.

I believe when you understand these principles and entrust them to your Spiritual practice, they will transform your health and give you the STRONGEST Spirit you will ever see.

It will also give you a chance to see if these principles align with yours so you can determine if the h2L is the right program for you!

The Principle of Identity:

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you may have seen me use this sequence of growth we see in our lives.

KNOW —> BE —> DO

Your identity is the “BE” of this sequence— it is your BE-ing. Everything that that you think everything that you speak and everything that you do comes from this conscious and subconscious identity.

Too often, I find that women identify themselves more from their WEAKNESSES than their power. We as humans very easily only focus on our flaws, don’t we? We limit our actions to what we *think* we are capable of doing through these perceived limitations.

BUT, GOD...

Our weaknesses do not limit God at all. So it’s not in what YOU KNOW but rather WHO YOU KNOW.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to HIM who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worth in us.” (NKJV)

Knowing God makes your weakness rather irrelevant. Know how much He loves you and accepts you just as you are give you a brand new identity and brand new power to SAY THINGS and DO THINGS beyond what you feel capable.

Knowing God means that you know the POWER that is at work within. You CAN do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens you. (Phi 4:13). This is the true confidence that will transform your life and help you look BEYOND your “health goals” to a higher calling.

The Principle of Vision:

In the her Health Lounge we will spend the first couple of weeks together practicing what I call “Visualizing her.” It is IMPERATIVE that you can clearly envision what you want to accomplish through the practice of taking care of your health. This is what will help you make a PLAN. Plans are powerful!

However, I see women all over the world misunderstanding this concept of “visualizing her” success and it has them spinning wheels in endless cycles of exhaustion.

The key of this principle of VISION is two fold--

Are you VISUALIZING YOURSELF? Or do you envision yourself living or being like someone else that you idolize? Let’s be honest ladies, it is really easy to compare ourselves to what we see others doing. This is not what God has designed you for. You need to be able to VISUALIZE her— meaning this woman that God has created YOU to be. With your body frame, your personality, your desires, your dreams, your experiences, your strengths and your weaknesses.

What are you going to DO WITH IT once you have your fit and healthy body? Too often women fall short with this vision. They focus on the end result as if getting to that “weight loss” or “size 6” is the destination. No, your health is the ROAD to the destination.

God is interested in your MISSION and your PURPOSE. You need to get clear on what you are going to DO once you get more energy from eating healthy; once you have a leaner frame and stronger muscles; once you have a pep in your step that comes from self-care and love.

What is the PURPOSE that your healthier body will enable you to DO BETTER? This is a God given calling on your life. You must be ready and willing for the MISSION of your life, which is not all about you or your vanity.

God is not interested in giving you anything if your character is not ready to sustain it. So you can bet that you won’t see changes AROUND you before you see them WITHIN you.

The Principle of FOCUS & REPLACEMENT:

You will see this a lot of my coaching on health habit formation and ritualization practices to allow you to ENJOY THE PROCESS of health.

You cannot focus on what you DO NOT WANT TO DO in your health, you must focus on what you DO WANT out of life.

What you think about GROWS, literally.

Neurosciences now prove that when we think a thought over and over again, it actually grows a physical entity in the form of neurons in our brain.

It takes 21 days of neuron growth to form a true MEMORY. It takes 63 days to then have the memory form a HABIT of something you do without having to think about it too much.

Not only do you need to focus on new behaviors, but you also need to focus on God.

There is a spiritual term used for God which is to “MAGNIFY Him.” When you dwell on all that GOD IS and all the God can do, your problems and your faults and flaws naturally dissipate and become irrelevant. What you think about GROWS!

This is why spending time daily with God and surrounding yourself with women who also encourage your spiritual growth is one of the BEST ways that you will stay focused on your journey!

It’s not going to be easy. Growth never is. Part of your journey is likely pulling out a lot of lies that serve as the weeds surrounding and choking the dreams of you health.

But, in this program and through my coaching, I can assure you that these steps we take toward building UP your Spiritual muscles will give you LIVE beyond what you “could ask or imagine.”

To get more information on the her Health Lounge program, please click HERE to take a look at the sales video and the page of details provided. The program starts on Monday, September 12!

This week, you can also a Discovery Call with me HERE!

Tags Coaching, Ephesians 3:20, God, Health, her health lounge, identity, Jesus, Philippians 4:13, Spirit, vision, Women

Fitness & Training

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

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date August 19, 2016

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

Tags 10 Rep Max, Faith, fitfaith, Fitness, God, max testing, muscle, Muscular Endurance, Periodization, strength, training

Fit Faith Friday Fitness & Training

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

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date January 29, 2016

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.

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.

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.

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

Tags Faith, Fit, fitGevity, Friday, God, Love, travel, travel tuesday, Women

Fitness & Training Spiritual Health

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

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date January 28, 2016

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!

Tags Bikini Competition, body, Body Building, body image, competition, Faith, Fitness, friend, God, Harvest, Jesus, Love, reap, reward, seeds, soil, success, Women

Spiritual Health

Harvesting More Energy In Your Life!

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date January 22, 2016

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.

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.

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!

Tags energy, Faith, Fit, God, Harvest, Health, Love, Pastor, plant, reap, rick warren, sow, teaching, Women

Spiritual Health Uncategorized

New Series: Harvesting Our Health in 2016

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date January 14, 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!

Tags Faith, God, growth, Harvest, Health, Jesus, planting, reap, sow, Spirit

Uncategorized

You Say This Is What You Want, But…

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date January 7, 2016

I just completed my Vision board for 2016. I have done them every year since 2013 and absolutely believe in the value that having a visual representation of the “God-sized” and specific dreams for your life and what it can do to your subconscious psyche.

You can check out my “business” vision board here….

(there are a lot of words in my “vision”…because I’m a “words” kind of girl!).

But you know what I see when I look at this board with my big bold and audacious dreams?

Sacrifice.

That’s right, when I look at this board, I see that for every big, bold, audacious dream I want to achieve in this year, which include dreams for my business, dreams for my health, dreams for my income and my servant heart, I am ONLY going to find success in these dreams by making the right CHOICES that will allow these to be fulfilled.

Contrary to what you might think that dreams are, and especially what a lot of people think GOD DOES FOR YOUR LIFE, is that it’s not about “wishing” for things to be better. God is not a genie where you rub his lamp and he appears to just grant you all the things you want and the “good feelings” you desire.

No. God is after your HEART and He is after your SPIRIT and He deserves it wholeheartedly. God wants you to be with Him forever in Heaven which REQUIRES that you make some sacrifices in your life here on earth. Love is a sacrifice.

You see for every list of things that I desire to achieve this year and in my lifetime, is an equally long (if not longer) list of things that I WON’T do.

So today, I am challenging myself and I am challenging you to get real with what it is you say you want out of life so you can discern not only those things that you WANT out of this year, but also those things that you will have to be willing to SACRIFICE. Consider it some “Unapologetically SURREND’hered” tough love that we all need in the New Year….

You say you want to be healthy…..

…..but are you willing to commit to some health changes, for say… ever? I know you might be thinking that you are totally sacrificing when you go on those 21, 30, or even 90-day cleanses and willpower challenges, but those are NOT actually sacrifices that will serve your health in the long run, nor are they what God requires of you.

Paul writes,

“..give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and HOLY sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Romans 12:1 NLT)

I didn’t notice him saying, “Give your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice for 30 days….” did you? So why would we think that our health is something we go “on” and “off” of too? We are not called to “diet” we are called to achieve HEALTH.

A much greater sacrifice, and the type of sacrifice that will get you what you want—TRUE HEALTH— is to make a lifestyle change with one bold step at a time, what I call in my new program, the her Health Lounge, the “Next Best Step Action Plan.”

The discipline required to go at the slow, steady pace of real fat loss is a sacrifice for our “immediate gratification” flesh.

The self-control required to monitor your impulse eating and assess your actual hunger means that you will sacrifice your cravings and emotional eating habits.

The patience and self-love it takes to actually give yourself some REST instead of just pushing HARDER and HARDER at the gym or by over-dieting is a sacrifice to our guilt-driven, overly worrisome, fleshy tendencies.

If you say that you want TRUE Health—LASTING health– then you will have to sacrifice your TIME, ENERGY, RESOURCES and MINDSET to figuring out and dealing with the LIES that you are believing right now that are preventing you from the TRUTH. The truth of how God sees you and what God desires for your health and for your life.

If you are unwilling to sacrifice and invest in those practices that help you get deeply rooted in WHY you deserve to be healthy and HOW you are going to do that in a way that serves you SPIRITUALLY as much as it serves you PHYSICALLY, then you are not yet ready to actually attain or maintain TRUE HEALTH.

You will not find True Health unless you are willing to go DEEP enough to uncover it. This is a sacrifice of our ego.

You say you want to be happy….

…but are you willing to sacrifice doing those things and exposing yourself to those environments that do not serve your joy? You will only find true joy when you immerse yourself in joyful and love-giving environments on a regular basis.

Are you willing to sacrifice all the time you spend following people on Facebook and social media that gossip, slander, complain and criticize? Are you willing to sacrifice the secret love you have of watching reality TV shows and “keeping up with” all those celebrities that will either make you envy them and their perceived looks or “success,” or make you feel superior and prideful because you love to hate them?

Are you willing to sacrifice watching the news or the political pundits that just over-analyze and tell you why the world is “going to hell in a hand-basket?”

Maybe the world isn’t the “Promised Land” that God designed it to be, but you are not contributing to that dream and promise of God by watching these obsessive shows who’s only platform is to just CRITICIZE everyone.

Are you willing to GO FIRST?

You say you want to be happy, but are you willing to take a stand and GO FIRST in showcasing the ways of true joy? Are you willing to tell people that it’s because of God’s love and the sacrifice of Jesus that you are even capable of feeling the fruits of the spirit like Love, Joy and Peace?

Are you willing to sacrifice your reputation and the fear of “what other people think about you” by being authentic, honest and forthright? To “be the change you wish to see in the world” first, without waiting for another courageous person to do it and you follow?

You say you want God’s blessing….

…but are you living a life that shows that you really BELIEVE in Him? It’s not enough to just have a head knowledge that God exists, but you must have a HEART knowledge that is only showcased in how you live your life.

As Rick Warren states, “Believing there is a God and believing that Jesus died on the cross is not enough to get into heaven. Because the devil believes in God, and the devil believes in Jesus, but it doesn’t mean that the devil is going to be in heaven.”

Did you catch that?!

He referenced, James 2:19 “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!”

The word “believe” is actually translated as “pisteuo” in Greek. It means to “trust in, to cling to, to rely on, to adhere to and to commit to.”

Are you willing to do ALL OF THOSE things for God?

(For more on this, listen to Rick Warren’s great Daily Hope podcast HERE.)

Let me be clear, all this is not to say that you “earn” God’s blessing, as we know that we can never EARN God’s love. It is freely given. Your HEART must come to the understanding of the GOSPEL which can be boiled down to one simple phrase, “His grace is sufficient for me…” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

But, this is about how you having daring Faith that will move God to not only bless you more richly here on earth, but the ultimate and true gift of rich and wonderful blessings in Eternity.

Are you willing to sacrifice and SURREND’her ALL of your life to Him, even those things you do in secret?

Are you willing to give Him reign over your life and take up your cross DAILY (not just on Sundays), sacrificing the desires of your flesh?

Are you willing to die to yourself and your innate and selfish ways for the greater good and to be of service to others?

Are you willing to endure through some uncomfortable times and do the things you fear the most because you know that this is God’s dream for your life?

Are you willing to sacrifice your time to connect with Him daily and to study His word so you can have a deeper, more meaningful relationship?

Are you willing to give up the “RULE-FOLLOWING” of religion that makes you think you can just follow a “checklist” to Heaven in exchange for a real, authentic, and a completely unique relationship with God?

You say you want love…..

….but are you willing to sacrifice for it?

If you want to truly LOVE your life, then you must sacrifice for it.

Love is not just following “good emotions.” Real love is a SACRIFICE.

Mother’s who love their child sacrifice their sleep, their time, and their needs for their children. Husbands who love their wives sacrifice their fidelity, their selfish, lustful desires and are called to work, provide and submit to her. Wives who love their husbands sacrifice their nagging desires, their controlling tendencies and are called to provide, respect and submit to their husband. These are all a sacrifice to our innate, selfish tendencies.

And God, who so richly loves YOU, sacrificed “His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). <——— THAT is real sacrifice. Do you BELIEVE THAT?

So when you dream up these God sized dreams for your life and you have high hopes of accomplishing everything you can in 2016 and beyond, remember that it is LOVE that moves mountains and ultimately LOVE is a sacrifice.

Having said all that….

I invite you on this CHALLENGE with me in radically shifting your health to be able to achieve the things you say you want from your HEALTH and your LIFE and join me in the “her Health Lounge” coaching program. I am only offering this program 2 x per year, so if you don’t snag the chance NOW, you won’t have another opportunity until SEPTEMBER.

It is a 6-month journey, delivered in an online portal, that will require a sacrifice and investment of your time and your resources, but you will be blessed with a rich harvest of rewards for your body, mindset and spirit.

Your LIFE, not just your HEALTH will be transformed by this journey when you commit to it wholeheartedly!

her Health Lounge starts on Monday January 11 and goes through July 9. All 26-weeks are mapped out for you on the Sales Page.

But, if you enroll with me NOW through January 7 (at Midnight), you will get 3 MEGA BONUSES, that include:

Access the the Lounge for a FULL YEAR instead of just 6 months.
“her Worthy Time” spiral planner and daily devotional along with a video training on the best Time Management Practices for balance and productivity.
“Nutrient Based Food Prep for busy lives” printable guide and video training.

ALL FOR FREE!

Until Midnight Tonight!

Also, if you desire to have a more hands on, 1:1 coaching experience, I am offering only 10 spots in my Platinum Membership that comes with weekly phone calls and custom nutrition and exercise plans. You can set up a FREE consultation call with me by reserving a spot with me HERE and we can discover if we’re a “right fit” for each other!

Join Today!

http://herhealthlounge.awrightfit.com/

Tags Bible, faith and fitness, Faithful, Fit, God, Health, her health lounge, holy, hope, Jesus, journey, life, Love, meaning, membership, sacrifice, Trust, woman, Women

Food & Nutrition Spiritual Health

Transform Your Nutrition In 2016 Without Making A Single Change

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date December 14, 2015

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!

Tags coping, Eating, Faith, fit and faithful, Food, God, Health, infographic, nutrition, nutritionist, reward, teaching, transformation, webinar, Wellness, Women

Goal Development Health Coaching Uncategorized

What a Difference A Year Makes

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date October 14, 2015
2 Comments on What a Difference A Year Makes

It's been an incredible year! I have taken over 47 flights. I have traveled to 9 countries and over 15 cities, domestically. I became wife. I became a *bonus*mom (of a toddler!). We moved to a new city and learned the art of making new friends. I started a new kind of company and stepped into a calling. I spoke openly about my Faith and became a writer. I overcame some significant strongholds and for the first time felt the presence of God, tangibly. I also was privileged to coach over 23 women personally, which means I fostered 23 intimate relationships with women in over 11 different cities nation-wide. Every single day, I focused myself on how I could grow and teach others the ways of living STRONG'her and WISE'her by SURREND'hering more and more to God.

I of course don't say this to boast or even martyr myself in the least bit. It was just a big year! While it was incredibly busy and frankly a whirlwind of a life change, I have come away with possibly the greatest year EVER! Through the willingness to embrace all this change has come an abundance of lessons and the cultivation of characteristics and virtues that I didn't even realize were possible. I screwed up a lot. I had panic attacks and full on melt downs on the regular. But, I leaned in and withstood the storms and experience sheer joy time and time again. I learned to #FailForward, #FailFast, #FailFaithfully. I heard of this great idea of keeping a journal of all of the lessons you learn in life (as you inevitably screw up) so you actually remember what you learn and don't have to relearn it the hard way again. While I didn't start this particular lesson journal in October of last year, but I did acquire quite a few lessons nevertheless!

There are over 7,000 promises that God gives us in the Bible. When you find one that resonates with your current need, circle it and pray on that every day. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13
Sometimes you just have to shut up and pray.
There is a huge difference between a promise and a VOW.
It's ok to say "no" to something "good" so you can say "yes" to something "great."
When you say you're sorry, you can't add a "but" to the end of it, otherwise it doesn't count.
Talking openly about your Faith is extremely hard and even more humbling when you realize how small your Faith really is.
Nagging people to change never actually works. They might appease you for a second just to get you to pipe down, but it doesn't work in the long run.
Setting boundaries in how you let others treat you is a way of showing them love. You are offering them a chance to see the Truth of who you are so speak with gentleness and stand firm in your truth.
The opposite of love isn't hate, the opposite of love is fear. When you worry, you cannot love. When you are loving, you cannot worry. "Perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:8).
Asking someone "Why?" is not nearly as inviting as asking someone to "Tell me more about that?" You get much less of a defensive response.
Sometimes you think you are allergic to foods when really you are allergic to STRESS.
You can get so much more done when you make a list of the top priorities of your day and just do those things.
There is a perfect rhythm of working HARD for 90-mins and then taking a short break to do something Physical or Spiritual. This rhythm makes you far more balanced and efficient, helping you get so much more done WELL.
You can be content in all circumstances by seeing with grateful eyes.
You must not neglect your gift. You must grow it, cultivate it and give it away.
So what, you're weird. Radically accept that. "Those the mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."-Dr. Seuss
There is true bliss that comes from giving into your "Happy Weight."
"Live not by works, but by Faith." Busyness does not get you any points with God.
You can actually rewire your brain by visualizing your "future self" and SURREND'hering to her as you make decisions.
God's capacity to give far exceeds our capacity to receive.
There is a distinct difference between "No" and "Not Yet" with God. Patience is everything.
Comparison is the thief of joy. We should join in the praise when we see God's blessings on others lives.
Take your environment seriously and it will radically shift your life. From the people you put yourself around, to the things you watch and read, and the spaces you design for your own work and creativity.
God designed us for Prosperity. Not understanding the proper value of your TIME will consistently hinder that.
To change any bad habit, including the habit of fear, you must always REPLACE the habit and focus your intention on what you DO want to become. I suggest love.
Neuroscience now proves a MEMORY is formed after 21-days of intentional thought and dwelling. A HABIT is formed after 3 cycles of that for a total of 63 DAYS. For. one. habit. Focus only on the 'Big Rocks' that matter and will have a bigger impact on your life.
Those whom are hardest to love are always those that need the most love. Their insecurity makes them difficult, demanding and distant. Your love and respect can cure them of all that.
You learn your true identity and Greater Purpose from others, not by yourself. God designed us for community.
"Joy doesn't come from what you have, joy comes from what you know can't be taken from you." Rick Warren
Your soul is where your body meets your power source.
It's just like God to take our sinful, selfish acts and decide to bless us anyway. "God works for the Good of those who love Him." (Romans 8:38)
"Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy and creativity." -Brene Brown
You are so very WORTHY of it all. Spiritual magic happens when we seek to see ourselves and others the way God see us. Our worth to Him is endless.

Tags birthday, body, brene brown, dr. seuss, Exercise, Faith, Fit, Fitness, gentleness, God, god's promises, Health, kindness, lessons, Love, Mind, patience, prosperity, rick warren, Soul, travel, wishes, year