Just Jump

As I shared in this article God has really been speaking to me about allowing him into all areas of my life, including fitness.  I have been praying about the time of day to workout and recently God has been asking me to get up and do it at 5:30am.  Oh yes I argued but I obeyed and I have to say that God has been speaking so clearly to me in my early morning workouts and I am a happier mom and person throughout my days.

This morning as my alarm went off at 4:40am I told God all the reasons why today I just shouldn't get up and exercise, surely he would understand?  I didn't feel a peace about not getting up so I went anyway.  I went to crossfit and the moment I saw the WOD I wanted to back out of the room slowly...box jumps, my worst crossfit nightmare, were listed!  I can't tell you why but I have a fear of jumping up on that box.  So my coach stacked up some weights next to it and told me to jump it, which I did just fine.  Then he told me to jump by it....I was clearing it by several inches.  The entire time I was thinking in my head "what is wrong with you?  You know you can jump that high, just jump onto the box!" But as soon as went to do it I chickened out.  

As the workout was finishing up I looked down and realized I was wearing my new tank I had made that said "Power, Love, Self-Discipline". It was then God reminded me that he did not give me this spirit of fear but instead he gave me power.  I walked up to the box and shifted the position in which I was standing.  Instead of standing at the wide part I went to the narrow part.  It was the exact same height but for some reason when I could only see the narrow place ahead I jumped it just fine.  But when I went back to only seeing the wide part it really messed with my mind.  From simply shifting my perspective and position I was able to conquer my fear. 

As I was leaving God spoke very clearly to me "there are things in your life that you are overwhelmed with because you are trying to look at too much at one time. You have everything within you to do what I have called you to do but you won't jump.  Stop looking to the left and the right and just focus on the narrow path ahead. You can do this."  

I felt that was a word many people could use today.  You have what it takes, God has already planted the abilities within you to conquer what lies ahead...just take a leap of faith and jump!

Every step of obedience we take is followed by an opportunity for us to grow and hear the Lord. If I had not obeyed and gotten out of bed this morning I would not have had a revelation moment from God. Obey Him in the small things and He will entrust you with much!

Apple Cinnamon Paleo Muffins

Today's post is just for fun because I am not a food blogger but I do LOVE to experiment with recipes and make them healthy! Now that my girls are in school I am always trying to come up with creative breakfast ideas that they can eat quickly, enjoy and have some great nutritional value. I made these muffins yesterday and all 3 of my kids approve!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Almond Meal (I buy mine at nuts.com)
• 4 T Ground flaxseed (this adds fiber and omegas!)
• 1 Cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup Raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 T almond milk, coconut milk or water

Topping(optional)

• 2 T coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
• Line your muffin pan with liners OR coat with coconut oil
• Mix wet ingredients well.
• Slowly add in dry ingredients.
• Fill muffin pans 3/4 full each and bake for 20 minutes.
• Combine coconut oil and cinnamon and mix well(for the topping).
• Drizzle optional topping on the muffins immediately when removed from the oven.  

Even if you and your family don't eat Paleo these are a great muffin that taste amazing and have a lot of protein, healthy fats and fiber without a bunch of added sugar or flour.  Let me know how you like them!

My daughter, Olivia, enjoying one of the muffins on the way to school :)

P.S. In honor of Marriage Monday I want to let you know about an amazing series coming up called 31 Days to a Better Marriage that begins next week, October 1st.  You will hear from 30 different women and my topic will be "the top 4 needs of a man".  Be sure to follow along!

{Fit Friday} God's Fit Kids

Today's Fit Friday post comes to you from my wonderful daughters, Ellie(age 7) & Olivia(age 5).  At the beginning of the week I had recorded myself doing an oblique tabata because some of my friends had asked for some new core moves.  I figured instead of just telling them I would do it with them in the video.:) While my video was a hot mess, I'm thankful I did it because my girls saw it and asked "Mom, can WE make a video?!"  Of course I said yes so they got to work writing their workout, looking up a scripture to share, naming their class and picking out the perfect outfits.

I am SO proud of them and love giving them an outlet to live life outside of their shell at such an early age.  I shared the videos with friends on Facebook and many kids did the videos! You can see their first few videos here:
Gods Fit Kids (Video 1) from godsfitkids on GodTube.

Gods Fit Kids (Video 2) from godsfitkids on GodTube.

If you have kids be sure to subscribe to their GodTube Channel!

P.S. Here is the sweaty mess video I recorded that same day that inspired them to do their own.  They are WAY cuter than me!

What if I fail?

Failure...we all experience it and we all hate it.  Did you know polls have shown that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death?  The reason is simple, we get paralyzed by the fear of failure.

I have failed so many times in my life that if I wrote on every failure I have experienced I could have a blog post for the next year(and then some)!  The number one comment I hear from people when I encourage them to try something "outside of their shell" is "But what if I fail?".  

We have all felt the pain of failure.  In my past, if I tried something I just knew was going to be great and it totally bombed I made a vow to never try anything new again.  One area I was very successful in was not trying.  It was great for a while because I didn't experience any discomfort, embarrassment, nerves or people watching me as I tried.  But as time passed I began to notice that life was passing me by.  People all around me were getting promotions, making friends, growing in their relationship with the Lord, getting opportunities to go places and do amazing things.  I remember sharing with the Lord how I wanted those opportunities and His response was simple....then GO.  He reminded me of Moses and though he was nervous and felt completely incapable he WENT.  

Let's look fear in the face and see what is the worst possible outcome of trying something new and failing.  Here is what you will find:

1. Failure reveals your character.

As I began to try new things, though they were small things at first, I noticed how sour my attitude was when I failed.  The Lord used my failures to bring things to the surface that needed to be dealt with and refined. I would never trade all my failures for the kind of character that the Lord has developed in me from those failures.  I know this is not the news we want to hear right after we have failed(it's quite irritating, in fact) but it is so true.

Side note: be slow to "encourage" someone with this nugget or you might get sucker punched. :)  Often times God does His best work when we step back and let Him do His thing in other people's hearts and lives. 

2. Failure brings you back to the heart of God.

Have you ever noticed it's when "things" aren't lining up in our life that we really begin to pray and search God's word for answers?  I've found that I rarely get the answer I thought I was looking for but instead God shows me who I am in Him.  Until we find our identity in Him everything will appear to be a failure in our lives.

3. Failure makes you fly.

I remember when I was young I hated math.  I avoided it at all cost.  However, when I was in 8th grade I moved schools and the math classes there were even harder.  So hard that I was going to flunk if I didn't study.  So my genius older sister, Becky, began to tutor me everyday after school.  The result was that I got so good at math that when I went into high school I took many college courses and was able to clep out of math classes in college.  I even won medals at state on the Math team(yes I know, nerd alert)!  

The moral of the story?  God uses failures to help us dig deep and find something within us we didn't know existed.  If I had never failed at math I would have never discovered my untapped potential in that area.  God has done this with me in many areas of my life. :)

4. Failure is better than not trying.

At some point we have to decide that we would rather live life failing from time to time then to die with regrets of not trying those things God puts in front of us.  I have lived on both sides of the coin and I can promise you the pain of failure is dull in comparison to the pain of not trying!

Do you have an idea or a dream you want to pursue?  No matter how big or small that dream is God wants you to fly.  Just like a baby bird leaving the nest, you may fail first, but you will eventually fly.  

{Fit Friday} Freedom from Fear in Fitness

As I mentioned in this article, God has really been speaking to me about fitness. He has been asking me to allow Him into this area of my life more than I ever have before so He can bring freedom to me and many other women.

If you are anything like me when you think of the word "fitness" an image of a ripped bikini model comes to mind and I automatically dismiss myself from being fit.  With that mindset comes two extremes.  The first extreme is the myth that if we can't look like that bikini model, why even try to take care of ourselves?  With that comes laziness, poor hygiene, sickness and so much more. The other extreme "rises to the challenge" to look like the bikini model and says "I will do whatever it takes to look like that, even if it means sacrificing time, kids, health, money, etc".  The common factor in both extremes is that we are not honoring God with our bodies.

If you are like me you are also thinking "so is it wrong to aspire to have a ripped, lean body?"  When I asked God that question he gave me the illustration of a millionaire being interviewed on how he got wealthy.  If that millionaire takes all the credit for earning his wealth in his own power than he is blinded by pride. The same principle applies to our bodies. If we use God's principles to be healthy and look fit yet take the credit for it like we did it ourselves then we may be blinded by pride as well.

1 Corinithians 6:19-20 tell us "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

Romans 12:1 also says "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to 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."  

There is no arguing the fact that God desires for us to honor Him with our bodies, not ourselves. It sounds simple yet we make it so complex. So I began to ask God how to honor Him with my body and he brought me back to the verse in which this blog was founded upon, 2 Timothy 1:7.

"For God has not give you a spirit of fear or timidity, but power, love and a self discipline(or sound mind)." 
2 Timothy 1:7

According to this verse it is easy to determine if we are honoring ourselves or God with our bodies. Is there fear about the way we look present in our lives?  If so, we are more than likely seeking to honor ourselves and not God.  Is there timidity in moving forward in a healthy way of living by moving(exercise) or eating whole, healthy foods that bring life to our bodies?  God did not ever call us to live a life bound by fear or timidity.  God is calling me and I would like to ask all of you to join me.  He has birthed in my heart a challenge to allow His power, love and ability to have a sound mind into the area of fitness and wellness for me. Here is what that looks like:

Life Outside the Shell Wellness

 Here is the 3 parts of the wellness lifestyle:

1. POWER.
This element is the fitness component. When you think power in this area think of moving.  Step away from all the FAD workouts for a moment and ask God how he created YOU to move.  Do you enjoy running, walking, swimming, dancing, lifting weights, competing in races, rollerblading?  What is it that connects YOU to HIM?  Get moving not in your own power, but in the power He has put within you.  Pray before you exercise. Ask God to join you on your exercise.  If you can't find God in exercise than you may need to reevaluate if the activities you are participating in are from Him.

2. LOVE.
This is where we connect to God through reading His word and praying.  I don't care how many minutes you pray or how many chapters(or verses) you read.  Just connect to Him on some level.  This is an element of wellness that so many fitness professionals overlook and I am on a mission to bring it to life again.

3. SELF-DISCIPLINE(also translated SOUND MIND).
This involves us eating healthy, whole foods.  I am not interested in counting calories or weighing food here.  I want us to connect to the one who made us and ask Him what foods line up with our body.  Focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods. Pray before you meal plan and before you eat.  I believe the Lord is going to reveal lies we have believed in regards to food and our bodies.  Food is our friend and can be used to bring life into our bodies if we make wise food decisions.

Ask God if you have made an idol of food then allow him into that area of your life to bring freedom.

You can join the challenge on Facebook here and on Instagram by finding others doing the challenge with the hashtag #LOTSwellness.  You will see it as LOTS on Facebook as well and that stands for Life Outside the Shell :)

The Facebook group will not be a place to sell a product or service but instead will be used to post healthy recipes, fitness tips(and videos) and encouraging words from the Bible.  I hope you will join us!

The shocking results of my 24 hour iphone activity log!

One of my favorite things to do when I write is to be real.  I had a "step all over your toes" moment with God yesterday that I am so excited to share. Let me start by backing up to how it all got started.

Yesterday morning I was pouring out my heart to God.  Telling him all the reasons I didn't have enough time to do certain things in my life.  Some things I was sharing with him included "Lord, what was I thinking leading a family life group?  I don't have time for this!  God how will I ever find the time to teach these group fitness classes?  I just need to quit.  I can't juggle being a mom, business owner, church leader, blogger...oh that blog!  I haven't written in two weeks what was I thinking starting a blog?!  No one is reading it anyway, I should just quit."

You get the picture of my rant...God was so sweet to allow me to go through my dirty laundry with him before he began to gently speak to me.  After I was done and got quiet to listen to him, He began to show me some errors in my perspective.  He showed me that all the things I was saying I didn't have time for and that I just needed to quit doing were all the things HE called me to do.  I didn't once mention something crazy....like quit spending so much time on the computer or my phone. "Oh no God, please don't bring up the issue of my phone.  Anything but my phone!  I will fast, give up sugar, you name it...just not the phone!"  So, being the loving Father that He is, He asked me to keep a log for 24 hours of my iphone usage.

From 3pm on Monday to 3pm on Tuesday I kept a tally page for every time I got on my phone or was about to get on my phone.  I was shocked that within the first hour I had grabbed for my phone almost 10 times!!  My total number turned out to be 32 interactions my phone in 24 hours(and I was asleep and at work for part of that!)...WOW.  If you do the math and assume a minimum number of minutes on the phone each time was 2 minutes, I was on the phone texting, emailing, Facebooking, etc for over an hour in 24 hours.  That doesn't include other time I spent on the computer(I tracked that and it was a separate 1.5 hours on top of the other hour).

Truth be told, my numbers are a little lower than normal because every time I had to make a tally for grabbing my phone it made me stop and realize how ridiculous it was that I was on it again!

So why am I sharing this with you?  To challenge you to evaluate how you spend your time each day.  You may not be an iphone addict, like me, but maybe there is something that is eating away at your time everyday without you realizing it.

I love this quote because it gets to the heart of the matter on how we spend our time.  We spend it on things that really matter to us.  What matters to you?   I know I am very convicted to take a closer look at my life and the things I am spending my time on.  You can make more money but you can't make more time.  

Ask God to show you today any areas that are robbing your time.  I pray He gives you a fresh perspective on how HE wants you to spend your valuable time!

As for me, I will now be setting scheduled time to do computer work and leaving my phone in the other room as much as possible.  I am going to intentionally unplug so that I can focus on the things God has called me to.

{Marriage Monday} How the Influential Wife Defeats Goliath

In the first few years of marriage my husband and I really struggled with healthy communication.  I hated confrontation of any kind.  So much that one night when we were having a "discussion" around midnight(because that's the best time to discuss things) I actually kicked my husband in the shins in attempt to run away from a conversation. We can now laugh about that story and I have since learned how to communicate without kicking. :) From that experience, and many others, God has shed much light to me about our influence and role as a wife. 

Whether we realize it or not, God has given us a significant amount of influence on our husbands.  We get to choose, on a daily basis, if we will use that influence for God's glory or our own personal gain. 

Genesis 3:1 says “now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”

From the beginning of time satan has come to the woman and had her question if what God said to her husband was true.  In Genesis 2:16 God told Adam to not eat from that tree even before Eve was created.

When we walked down the aisle and were joined together as one with our husband God anointed us and gave us influence over our husbands that no one else on this earth possesses. We must guard that influence like a treasure.

The Bible is full of examples of how women influenced for good or for evil. Some examples include Michal(who saved David's life), Abigail(saved Nabal's life), Queen Esther, Jezebel, Lot's wife and Delilah with Samson.

The Lord has anointed us as the wife to be influential to our husband.  A good wife is portrayed as a blessing, but a bad wife influences her husband for evil.

AS A WIFE WE HAVE 2 MAIN PLACES OF INFLUENCE:

1. THE FIELDS(poopy diapers, laundry)

Take at  look at 1 Samuel 16:10-12. 

David was tending his sheep when he was anointed as king and prepared for the battle to come. If David had tried to skip this phase he would have missed the call on his life.  Our “fields” look like changing poopy diapers, doing dishes, folding laundry while our husbands fields may look like work and career. The fields are where we are humbled and prepared for what is to come. Our attitude in the fields will determine our outcome in the battle.  

The fields are our place of prayer.

2. THE BATTLE

As we go through these seasons we have in life it’s important for us to remember that we are one with our husband. We don’t have our individual battles, his being work and ours being the kids, we battle together. 

That is a fundamental truth that we must ask God to help us truly embrace or we will always be fighting against each other rather than with each other.  Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  We must decide to stop fighting each other and instead fight the enemy.  

Have you ever felt like situations are "taunting" you and your family?  We have Modern day Goliaths in our lives and marriage. Those “Goliaths” taunt us asking “where is your God now?” 

3 LESSONS FROM DAVIDS BATTLE:

1. DAVID WAS COURAGEOUS

         

Something powerful happens when the holy spirit arises in us just as it did with David and says “are you going to stand by and let him/this mock your God?  Get up and fight, the battle has already been won.”

2. DAVID WAS CONFIDENT

Because he remembered the fields he was able to pick up the stones with confidence. Knowing that he had already been equipped for this battle. He remembered the battles the Lord gave him in the fields. We can win the battles with the 9 foot Goliath the exact same way we win the battles that happen in the fields where no one is watching…on our knees in prayer and with the word of God.

3. DAVID DECLARED that this battle belonged to the Lord

Let God fight your battles and receive the glory.Recognize your marriage is a spiritual union between spiritual beings. If this is true and you give your marriage to the Lord then it’s already won. If it’s not spiritual than why involve God?

We win our battles against the Goliaths in our lives just as David did...by picking up a stone.  God will show us which stone we need to pick up...the word of God, prayer, honor, biblical submission, love. Every stone he will ask us to use will be in the Word of God. Run to the word and you will find a stone to defeat the Goliaths in your marriage and family!

What Goliaths are taunting you and your family today?  The battle belongs to the Lord, let him knock out those Goliaths with a stone!

An InLinkz Link-up