Blessings

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home,
It's not our home

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

~Laura Story

These past few weeks have become ever increasingly stressful as we approach transition at work and uncertainty of the future. I am leaning on God and trusting his guidance and wisdom in my decision-making processes. I trust that He will provide for my every need, but I would be lying if I said it has been easy and doubt-free. I heard this song this morning on the radio and it really spoke to me. It reminds me that God never promised that everything would be easy in our lives. It also reminds me of this passage from Isaiah

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. ~Isaiah 43:2

 The passage doesn't say IF you go through deep waters, but WHEN. God tells us that our lives will not always be easy and that we will face difficulties and hard decisions. There is also a promise in that statement: I WILL BE WITH YOU! That gives me peace about all that is going on in my life right now. I am thankful for the trials because they help me to grow into a stronger woman, who is more and more trusting of her God.

The Road Not Taken

 The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I came across this poem this morning and although I've heard and read it hundreds of times, it hit me more this morning. I realize that it is ever increasingly applying to my life.  Daniel and I are moving into a new month after having one of the best months in our business to date. We are so excited for the growth not only in our business, but in ourselves over the past couple of months. Its always been a struggle for us to come to terms with friends and family who are not supportive of, or do not understand our venture, but we will keep pressing on because we have a vision of what our future will be...and its not the road most traveled. 

I have been working on having high expectations for people, our business, and our life in general. There has been a lot of extra stress with work situations this past couple of months, and change is coming. I have been working on preparing myself for the changes ahead and keeping my attitude and expectations in check. I will leave you with a quote that really speaks to me every time I start to get worried.

In every adversity there lies a seed of equal or greater benefit for those who have a positive mental attitude.

Attitude is Everything

Its been a while, almost a month since my last update. I apologize for neglecting to keep those who read this informed of our lives. Not a whole lot has changed in the month of March that bode an entire blog to get you "up to speed." We decided to stop doing P90X for now. I guess we weren't ready for the commitment that came along with working out 6 days a week for an hour.

In other news, we found out more details concerning the job restructure and honestly, we still dont know much of anything. We are all in a state of waiting to see what will take place over the next couple of weeks, and months. My first instinct was to worry, but I was quickly reminded that God is in control and what good will worrying do for me? I have had to make a conscience decision to control my attitude this month. With all the uncertainty at work, it is really easy to fall into a negative frame of mind and get sucked into feeling sad and sorry for myself. I refuse to do that.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by friends who always have a positive mental attitude about life and circumstances. Its really hard to throw pity parties when they are around. I really appreciate that. It has also been important for me to keep reading and listening to mentors in my life who remind me that attitude is everything (great book by that title)! Here are a few quotes that have really spoken to me this month and have encouraged me to control my thoughts and speak life into people and circumstances.

“We choose what attitudes we have right now. And it's a continuing choice.”

- John Maxwell

“Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.”

- John Maxwell

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts.  It's what you do with what you have left.  ~Hubert Humphrey

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.  

~Author Unknown

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.  

~Mary Engelbreit

There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.  

~William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.  ~William James

      

Try, Try Again

I am learning a lesson about myself...I like to put things off and make excuses when it comes to exercise. Last week wasn't so good for Daniel and I when it came to doing our P90X workouts and eating well. We reverted back to our lazy selves. We started again last night and I decided just to start over with day one, since I honestly hadn't even completed a full week yet. We did Legs, Back, and Abs last night. I was pretty excited that I could complete the whole workout because I can't do a pull-up to save my life. The great thing is, I can use the stretchy bands to do my pull-ups. I did 8 sets of 20 reps with the bands and I felt like I could still do more. I will have to increase the weight of the bands on the next workout.

It's nice to being doing this workout routine with Daniel because it gives me encouragement and it makes it more fun to get to spend some quality time with him as well. Even though we both took a week off of the workouts, we both have gotten compliments on how we look like we are losing weight (me), and gaining muscle (Daniel). It gives you such a great feeling when those kind of comments come out of the blue. So we press on, to win the prize. Please keep encouraging me to overcome my lazy nature and achieve this goal.

I'm back at it again

Well I stated last week that Daniel and I were starting P90X and I had completed day one...well the very next day I came down with the Flu, plus a sinus infection so I couldn't continue the program for a whole week. Daniel continued on by himself while I mostly watched him exercise and slipped in and out of conscientiousness on the couch. By this past Sunday I was feeling much better so I started over with day one on the 13th. I completed day two last night and it was actually more fun than day one. The first two days of the week are the only days that Daniel and I are on different routines. We are doing different tracks...he is doing the original track and I'm doing the lean track. I can already see the changes beginning in him only after a week. I can see changes in myself as well, but I think a lot of it comes from being sick for a week. One thing I have noticed is that I haven't been hungry for a while. I don't know if its a left over symptom of the flu, but I have not really wanted to eat this week. I have lost 3 pounds this past week but I think that has a lot to do with it. I'm at work right now forcing myself to eat a protein bar for breakfast. It tastes pretty good, I just don't want to put food in my mouth.

This has begun to start a problem that I know will just intensify if I continue to work out daily. Hopefully I will snap out of it soon. All I really want today is an iced chai latte, but according to Daniel, that's not on my diet. The diet is probably the reason I don't feel like eating. It's only been a week and I am so sick of eating meat for almost every meal. I like being a carnivore, but I miss carbs. Valentine's day was especially hard because everywhere I looked there were people bringing in cupcakes, and cookies, and chocolates. I told Daniel last night that the only thing I really wanted for V-day was cheesecake. LOL. I hope the sweets cravings will subside soon. Tonight I start night 3 which is arms, back and abs. Wish me luck!!

The first steps on our 90 day journey

Its a new year, but some old habits are hard to break. Daniel and I realized lately how unhealthy we were becoming and how out of shape we really are. We have been in denial a little bit too, but the scale doesn't lie. We decided to start working out and getting serious about our health. We haven't been feeling good about ourselves which reflects in almost everything we do. We knew it would take a lot of commitment and strength to get back into a healthy lifestyle. We decided to do P90X, and extreme 90-day workout that some friends were telling us about. I want to start by saying that I am NOT, let me repeat, NOT marketing the Beachbody line. I know a lot of friends that are reps for this company, but Daniel and I have our own business and we are marketing Nutrilite products. We started P90X last night and along with the daily workouts, there is a diet that we are doing also. I thought that I could use this platform to help keep me accountable.

Last night was day one of the journey. It proved to me just how out of shape I really am. I was able to do about half of the DVD and there were a couple of workouts that I knew I couldn't do because I just didn't have the strength. We finished our first workout and had our Nutrilite Quick recovery protein shakes. It wasn't even 15 minutes after the end of the workout when I started feeling my muscles tighten up and start getting sore. I ended up laying down on the couch and resting for a little bit while Daniel took a quick shower. I felt pretty bad last night afterwards and was pretty out of it. My muscles were very fatigued and I couldn't keep my balance very well.

I ended up not sleeping very well because my mind was racing for what seemed like the majority of the night. I woke up this morning with a major headache and what felt like medicine head...but I hadn't taken any medicine. I took a really hot shower and couldn't get my body temperature to go down for a quite a while. I still don't feel great as I sit here and type this at work. I still feel pretty out of it. I think I may be dehydrated so I'm trying to drink a lot of water today. I have to work late tonight, but then I will be going home to do day 2. I will keep you updated on my progress.

A "Baking in my Pajamas" kind of day

This past weekend we went to Hazel Green, AL for the day to visit with Daniel's grandparents. We had not had a chance to go visit in quite a few months and they wanted to see us, and to give us our Christmas gifts. We took both the dogs with us because we were only going to stay for the day. The Lovell's have a huge yard that we thought the puppies would enjoy. It was pretty cold down there so we made the dogs wear their winter coats, which are stinkin cute as can be. Cooper had a blast running around the yard exploring. He ran around non-stop for about 30 minutes chasing birds, squirrels, and whatever leaves were blowing. He went all the way around the property and found the man-made pond. Luckily Daniel and I were standing right there with him because he decided to jump in the freezing cold pond with his coat on!! It was so scary and Daniel was quick to run over and grab him out. Once we made sure he was ok, we both burst out laughing. How often does your 10 pound doxie decide to do a polar plunge when its barely 40 degrees outside? We made sure to get him nice and warm and cuddled him for a while. He was traumatized.

The weekend with the grandparents and Aunt Becky was very nice despite that drama. We received some really nice gifts. Two of the gifts were cooking gizmos "As seen on TV", and I LOVE them! I love anything that goes into the kitchen, especially if it helps me make cooking easier. The first one was the Pasta Boat. Its a bowl that you can cook your pasta in the microwave. I love pasta so I was excited about this one. We tried it out last night when I made a homemade lasagna. It worked great and made my life a little easier....which is always nice.

The second one was the Perfect Brownie Pan. This is the one that allows you to make 18 perfectly square brownies simply and have a convenient way to display them. I tried this one out on Sunday night when I made a new recipe...Sour Cream Apple Crisp bars. They were very yummy!! And the pan worked just like it said it would. I was pleased.

Overall, it was a very successful baking & cooking weekend. Sunday night we started preparing for the snow that was to come in overnight. Daniel and I decided we were in the mood for soup, so we made a big pot of homemade veggie soup. It may be the best veggie soup I have ever had!! It was very simple too.

Monday we woke up to about 3 inches of snow on the ground with more coming down. I didnt go to work because we couldnt get out of our neighborhood. It was very fun to see how Cooper and Sophie responded to the snow. Cooper loved it. He is so adventurous! Sophie didnt really like it because she doesnt like her feet to get wet or cold. She eventually went out and played in it when she saw the other dogs having fun.

The snow allowed me to have one more cooking adventure...one I havent had since childhood. I made Snow Cream! Daniel had never experienced snow cream and I was so happy to be able to share it with him. We made two big batches and we froze most of it so we can enjoy it for a long time. Daniel also went out and made a snow man. He was so happy :).

Overall, this weekend has been a great one. The simple things in life that we so often overlook...cooking, adventure, family, and fun. I cant wait to experience it even more in the year to come.