1. Have some tea.
2. When finished, squeeze the remainder of water from the tea bag into the cup (and enjoy that last bit of refreshment!).
3. Dab tea bag on your skin.
4. Everywhere.
5. Enjoy the soft and revitalising effect the green tea has on your skin!
Time to break the silence.
Almost a week has gone by, and giving up the things I chose to for Lent is going quite well. At times, it’s been hard to only drink water. I don’t think I realized how often I had been drinking sweet tea at dinner. Something that has surprised me (well, I had hoped that this would happen and even expected it) is that I love doing crunches now. (But remember this?) I think what has actually surprised me is how quickly I have come to enjoy them. Last Thursday evening, I said to a friend, “I love doing crunches!” in an effort to make myself hear me saying that out loud in order to change my way of thinking. It works. Think on a thing long enough, and I believe it becomes reality. Don’t misunderstand – action is clearly needed as well, but I think the thought should come first. Maintaining an idea, a thought, at the forefront of your mind…powerful.
Since this is turning out to be a stream-of-concious type post, this….
…is what I found on my desk this morning. A lovely lady at work gave it to me. I love the fact that because we are such an electronic generation, this little (almost) novelty brings such a sense of nostalgia. It will be perfect sitting on my desk.
Last week, I also came across Sarah Jane where you can find sweet little things like this…
…the front of a card. So many other lovely things, too.
Out for now. 2 minutes left of library internet time!
Today’s Ash Wednesday, and many are starting their 40 days of giving up something. I finally chose what I’m giving up:
1. Sugar (that is, the extra amount in many drinks. I am only going to be drinking water, milk, and XS.)
2. Negative Words (meaning I’m giving up the tendency to “curse” people while I’m driving, i.e. calling them idiots, as well as any other negative word that I might want to say out loud. I have realized saying words out loud is actually really powerful.)
3. My disdain for crunches (I’ll be doing crunches everyday for the next 40, and the plan is that that will create a habit for everyday after that!)
Actually that’s the plan on all of these – to create a positive habit. I read recently that habits become lifestyles which becomes your character which becomes your destiny. That’s powerful.
So, what are you giving up?
These are things I will bring into fruition through out 2010. I am more excited about this year than I have been about any year of my adult life. This is the year of dreams coming true. I have spent the last several years dreaming. This year I will reap a harvest.
From Habakkuk Chapter 2:
2 Then the LORD answered me and said:
“ Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
What follows is me writing the vision (verse 2a) clear enough for me and anyone else who will join me to whole-heartedly run with it (verse 2b):
First, a note on the idea of running with me: Women are primarily relational. I truly desire, and, in fact, need to be surrounded by people who share a similar goal or the same goal as mine. I have always longed for a team of strong women to join alongside me in ministry and personal growth. This stems out of a desire to share my life with others, to develop into a leader by digging in deep with the ones who want to and never looking back.
Now on the the things that will come into being this year:
Take Me Away This is the teenage girls ministry that I have dreamed of for several years. It’s time to start offering myself and my ideas to the middle and high school girls of Brevard. We will see insecure girls turn into brilliant warrior chicks ready to battle the demons of poor self-images, sexual promiscuity, and the destructive disease of gossip.
Creative Worship It’s time to bring together a group of worshippers so desiring of a place and time to pour out their creative spirits for praise and worship via music and the Arts. It’s time to build a collective group of people who will usher God’s spirit into the setting of a church meeting like no other.
The Definition of Beauty This is a working title for my book, which God gave me the clarification of last October. 2010 will see the completion of my thoughts on the subject that I’ve realized my whole life has been leading up to.
EatWell.SleepWell.RunWell This is my year-long campaign by which I will rejuvenate and redefine my body. My choices of food and my bedtime are what will determine my physical health this year, and how well I will be able to train for 5 and 10k races.
Transition Trade The entrepreneurial machine that will enable me to lose my full-time day job to the freedom of planning, writing, and living out everything mentioned above with the resources – the time and money – to do it not just well but abundantly.
*Take note of the umbrella organizations for some of the above: Even Though Student Ministries for Take Me Away and A New Thing for Creative Worship, both of which can be found detailed in my husband’s visionary document for 2010 here.
How will these things come into being?
DAILY DISCIPLINE.
First, by prayer – asking God to bless what I have laid before Him, giving thanks for who He is and how He has provided. Then by reciting this every morning: “I have been brought into this world for bigger things than I can even imagine. I walk with a purpose that I am so passionate about that I will not allow my temptation for apathy or laziness to takeover. I am blessed and highly favored in all my goings and comings, and I am anointed to achieve success in Take Me Away, Creative Worship, The Definition of Beauty, EatWell.SleepWell.RunWell, and Transition Trade at a level that the world has never seen. I am a Warrior Princess, being the child of the King and shall not be defeated!”
Do you want to run with me? If any of these Visions resonate with you, connect with me. I need supporters, fellow laborers for the cause. Comment here, or on facebook, or twitter.
It’s go time, baby!
In October, my friend Shannon and I decided we wanted to run a 5K. Neither of us had ever done one, but both of us had been running at our seperate gyms and enjoying it. I had gotten up to 2 miles at a time, so I figured adding another 1.2 miles wouldn’t hurt. I started looking online and found a local one that would be held December 5th called the Reindeer Run. By November, Shannon and I were registered.
We both planned out our own training schedule for during the week, but the 2 Sundays before the race, we ran together the exact route of the actual race. Well, almost exactly. During the actual race, we had one more road that we didn’t know about. The remarkable thing about that was both of us finished in lower times than we had ever before even though we a little bit longer to go! Shannon finished in 32 minutes, and I finished in 34. Shannon’s next goal is to run it in 24 minutes. I haven’t defined my next goal, but we’re already planning our next run…I think we’re going to get addicted.
Shannon and I just before the race
Who’d have thought I’d become a runner?
I had a great work out tonight. Got a ton of cardio in and learned some new ab workouts and variations on crunches. I HATE WORKING OUT MY ABS. But it’s my trouble spot and my “goal spot.” I met this girl last week who works out at THE RUSH as well, and we had an amazing chat tonight about health, exercise, men, beauty, goals – and reaching them – and I could feel the excitement and passion for becoming and staying healthy rise to a new level. It’s about choosing every day what you are going to do to take yourself further along on your road of progress.
I’m really amped tonight. I’m going to bed after this, though, so I can get up in the morning and do the “gym thang” before work. It’s going to be awesome.
I freakin’ love life.
Not just purified, but is it microstructured as well? If you don’t know, that means not H2O but H206 – six times as much oxygen as normal water. That means 1 bottle of Perfect Water is the equivalent to 6 bottles of Aquafina, Desani, etc. Basically, it’s every water drinker’s dream. It’s like Hydration Therapy in a bottle.
I’ve been drinking Perfect Water for a few days now, and at first, I wasn’t sure water could be improved upon. But believe me, it can. Because my body is getting more oxygen, my mind feels clearer and more alert. I’ve tried it with work outs, too, and even though exercise makes you feel more energized on its own, I feel my work out is enhanced because of this simple product.
I mean, c’mon, it’s water! And with the mess of all the nutritional products out there on the market, I feel good about putting this into my body. It’s the highest quality product I’ve seen in a while. Even the plastic the bottle is made out of doesn’t include the plasticides that most bottled waters do (which end up leaking into the water, hence an expiration date).
If you want to find out more on Perfect Water, click the link provided above. It’s only available for purchase online, so if you would like to buy some, let me know.
