Friday, March 26, 2010

celebrating.

like i said, i am celebrating my grocery shopping experience! :] i'm so pleased and happy to have groceries again (finally). tonight, after babysitting, shane and i went to kroger to do some only-people-in-the-store-shopping, which was completely productive and i left with a LOT of healthy choices. ooh, how it feels so good. i forgot what it was like to have full, healthy, filling cupboards.

gosh - i sound like a mom, who has no life. nope - just 20 year-old me. :] so here's the list of the wonderful goods (at least the best of the best): eggs, milk, bread, yogurt, salad, green pepper, cucumber, pears, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, lunch meat, cheese, sour cream, kettle chips & dip, rice chips, organic fruit sticks, protein bars, rice cakes, pancake mix (a must for my roommates and myself), juices, and much more. it was a very successful, happy night. haha, i'm a freak.

in other news - here's some randomness for you: two thoughts/ponders in the last 24 hours that i thought i would share. #1 - reading in deuteronomy last night and there's a passage about tithing, the first direct how-to tithe directions that i've read this year. here's the thing - it's all about eating your tithes in God's presences. i know these are food sacrifices, but even if you brought animals for sacrifice, you were supposed to sell them to get money to buy food to eat in the temple. i mean - i get muffins each sunday when i'm home, but maybe i should be getting 10% of what i make in muffins to really be tithing. what are your thoughts on this? i'm just throwing this out there, i know it can't be right. #2 - sitting on the toilet this morning, i realized how cool God is. i know - great place to think. but seriously - i was taking a little poo and thinking about how cool it is that our bodies are made in such a way that we need food to sustain life. not only that, but God has designed us for our bodies to just function, no questions asked, no thought given. i know i'm 20 years old and this is an easy concept for everyone. i'm not just discovering this, but i just like to think about the simply, crazy complex things God has done that we have taken for granted. here's what i'm saying - just next time you go number two, think to yourself, 'didn't my body just do that all by itself? naturally?' God is working in EVERY moment. sorry to bring in such an offensive one for my example. i just love Him.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

down hill?

although i started to work out & lift again this week after spring break, i feel like i'm headed downhill. i can't seem to stay motivated on the eating front: i let myself get some desserts here and there, and seemingly everywhere. now, i know that eating desserts is not bad for me, but i need to get more strict. i need to re-motivate myself. back to page one.

i'm not going to make the weigh-in, although i am completely happy with my results. i'm still going to wait to reveal all of that until march 31. that's the day. i hope you're anticipating it, because i truly am: 6 days until it's here. whoops, now 5 - just turned midnight.

i'm also out of healthy groceries, since i've been putting off grocery shopping until april. i think i'm going to head out this weekend so i can keep myself sane. no milk, no yogurt, no vegetables, no fruits, hardly any bread, no eggs. oh man, i'm making myself crazy. having no healthy replacement snacks makes resisting temptation that much harder. i need to restock.

the Bible reading is still going most excellent - i'm in deuteronomy right now and i love reading the promises that God has made to/for us: His faithfulness, His protection, His provision. He is good! Amen?

lifting has been really good lately - i feel my muscles again. they definitely liked the break and got too much of it so that now they forget how to lift without soreness. feels good to get back into the gym and really push myself in that aspect. i need to probably spend more time out running, but tennis, class, and work has got me pretty well busy and stressed lately.

i guess that's all for tonight. i'll probably go grocery shopping this weekend and then need to celebrate (aka a blog post) and then soon enough you'll hear the real benefits and results of this 3 month test i took. can i just say it? i'm proud of myself. i'm proud of the lifestyle change i've made, the commitment and progress i've done. it's cool. and i'm happy. i'm proud. that's all.

Monday, March 15, 2010

the breakdown of the past 2 weeks and next 2 weeks.

two weeks later. i know, i know - i'm guilty. and sorry. and to make it worse - it hasn't been a good/productive past two weeks either.

bible reading is still going amazingly. i'm just finishing up numbers in the next few days and in the 80's of psalms. i am truly loving the reading as well. (minus the repetitive sacrifice descriptions.) this week (maybe today) i'm going to start reading "come thirsty" with is my march book for my one-christian-book-per-month-goal. i'm excited to open that up and find a deeper thirst for God.

eating habits last week were bad. i was fine with the portions and everything - but sweets were on overload. i didn't even stop myself. when i saw something delicious - i ate it. good thing is - only gained a pound, so i know where to start again. i'm not losing it completely. this week is extremely busy for traveling and activities, so i'm not sure how well i will do with dieting or exercising. plus i'm fighting a cold, which today feels better, so i'm trying to wait until that one leaves before i go out running again.

speaking of running though - i did run outside twice last week, which i haven't done since february almost. i love it. i miss it. i'm looking forward to building my mileage back up again. please keep me accountable on this, especially as i am completely isolated and independent this summer at home.

my goal for the next few weeks (my weigh-in deadline for 140 pounds is in 16 days!!!) is to limit carbs to what i need only for practice and matches/working out. no sweets starting TODAY (that'll be interesting to see). and really push myself to workout, especially this week that i'm all over the place and away from a gym. i'm not going to reveal my weight today because i'm so close to my weigh-in day, but keep encouraging me for this last stretch to 140.

thanks so much for reading and leaving encouragement/comments. just to let you know - i have fallen in love with my lifestyle these last 3 months, so i'm not going to be done in the slightest at the end of march. therefore, i'll still keep blogging into my continuation, as long as you all still read. :] let me know if my posting is not desired.

and last of all, and best of all: last friday, my handsome, incredible, perfect boyfriend asked me to marry him - so i'm ENGAGED to be married to shane patrick allen. and i'm as happy as i can be. so excited. so anxious. and incredibly blessed. :]

Monday, March 1, 2010

welcome back world.

february.

february was fast, freeing, and full. i never had one dull moment, not even a second to relax. it was full of deadlines, appointments, and commitments. this kept my fast from being all that it could have been, but it's the history now. i fully appreciate the time i set aside last month to simply BE with God. i loved sacrificing for His glory. He deserves everything and nothing should stop me from being committed with word and deed (time) -- including facebook or even food.

i didn't journal a ton during the month, so i don't have too much to share. here's what i do have though:
day1: chapel was good, and i was ready to hear God. (side note: sacrificing for God's sake allows you to be more open and ready for what He has in store or is saying. it was a blessing this past month.) Tim Delina talked about having an open mouth for the glory of God. our body is a vessel for the ministry of spreading the Gospel, so every time we choose to close our mouths or hold back what God is saying through us, we are diminishing His purpose and plan. our mouths were created for two things: His PRAISE and spreading the Gospel. i want to do both... continuously.
he also spoke about doing things that need God to show up for, calling on a miracle. when we live with this kind of faith - we are truly 100% trusting in God to come through, to be our support. the book i read last month (crazy love) also spoke on this need for living dangerously for God's glory. i like it. i want it. i think it goes along with my verse for the year - being recklessly in love with God enough that it doesn't make sense to the people around me nor will the world understand. (the LUKE passage)
(side note: my book for this month was called 'Fasting' by Jentezen Franklin. it was really inspiring and challenging as i started and finished my first fast. i definitely recommend it.)
day2: i found myself frustrated with the new fast, where i wasn't doing facebook, tv, extra stuff - yet still my God-time was when i hit my bed for the night. it was something i struggled with the whole month, but God is still using those moments to speak to me. He's so cool.
day3: chapel, again - GOOD. from the lion, witch, and the wardrobe: Aslan is not safe, but He is GOOD. God is good. He's NOT safe. and that's okay with me. i love thinking about God's risky business and how He's bringing me into it.
day7: church at CBC (back home), Brent Wood spoke about dealing with disappointments. although at that moment, and even now i'm not dealing with hard disappointment - i have in the past, i will in the future, and sometimes life even now - as little as things are - get me down. the aspect i loved from this message was: making God's glory more important that my own personal desires. John 11.24 in the death of Lazarus, Jesus said that God will get glory from even this. he will be honored and glorified when i am more worried about that rather than being gratified.
day10: chapel again - not so crazy about it. but this one line stuck with me: people are not persuaded to the Gospel, they are attracted to it. what am i doing to attract people to the Gospel? when we live as the world does, or just a "little cleaner" - are they seeing the difference, are they seeing the impact of Christ?
day11: i made a conscious effort to be a patient and joyful person for the next week. i had/have been struggling with happiness... which is weird, i know. i don't smile. i don't laugh. i sit, and sulk, and dread. but i KNOW God's peace and i KNOW the joy He has given. i am ready to be on fire spiritually and emotionally to be a light, a joyful light to those around. this is still a struggle, but i like it. i like to challenge God has given to me to work to see His good in my bad.
day15: God loves us not because we are good, but in order to make us good. i like this too. :]
day18: submission. asking for God's guidance in something He might have in store. i'm not ready to talk about this yet on here, but just be praying for me as i'm pursuing what God has in store.
day22: chapel again. "Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11.1. & our problem with submission: we want Him to be our Savior, but we're uncomfortable with Him being our LORD.
day22 (again): Psalm 63.1,5 "my soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You...You satisfy me more than the richest feast."

it was... good. amazing. thank You God for february. and meeting me there.

in other news? workouts are continued. i took a dieting break last week, which might have been bad. but i'm back on track now. i weigh 144 and have only 4 more pounds to make my end of march mark. i'm excited. my diet (starting today) is back to its strictness. also - i'm going to try to not eat after 8pm from here on out because it's healthy to have a 12-hour fast every night. my goal is no eating from 8pm until 8am. my body can burn that much more during those hours.

it's now that i really wish i would have taken pre-2010 workout pictures. it would be that much more inspiring to me. i mean - swimsuit season is coming up and that's one reason for me to get fit, and i love the way i look and feel - so there's two reasons. but seeing the difference between 2 months ago and now - i can only imagine how much more motivational it would be.

i'm happy. i love 2010. i love the changes and molding that has been taking place. i love growing deeper with my relationship with God. i love being healthy with my body (eating and working out). i love the blessings that i have experienced in the last 2 months. God is good.