A piece of my story...

I LOVE my jobs- each and every one of them. My job as a wife and mom fills my heart daily and my family never fail to teach me more about who I was created to be. I love my job as a personal trainer and feel challenged daily to stretch myself further to better train my clients. Last but certainly not least I love my job as a Shaklee distributor; a job which encompasses the two aforementioned jobs and wraps them into one. I get to not only help my family live healthier, more balanced lives, but I get to encourage my clients to approach health from the inside out.

It's not very often that someone truly LOVES their job, let alone all three of them! But I do, I am so blessed to have a passion for health and fitness and to be given the platform in which I can love others to wellness. My hope is to help shift the focus from external approval to inward acceptance and total wellness. 

I have been recently asked "why Shaklee?" and "why network marketing... especially for YOU!?" Well, honestly it's simple.. it comes down to quality and efficacy. I have been in the fitness industry long enough (over 17 years!) to know that products and product lines will come and go; they will fade out just as quickly as they blasted on the scene. I have specifically chosen to stay out of network marketing (until now) because I never considered myself "a saleswoman" or "good at selling something." Ya' know what? I still don't and I am still not! :) With Shaklee, the products truly will sell themselves, instead I just get to build solid relationships with people who are interested in improving their health and bodies from the inside out and the products do the work.

This company is centered around science and so highly values their purity that it does over 100,000 quality control tests on its products. It is constantly checking to make sure that what is on the label are the ONLY things that are in the products. As a girl who has several auto-immune diseases, I value their commitment to purity. Another things that comes with purity is potency, because the ingredients of their products (from cleaning to skin care to vitamins, to protein powders) are so pure, they are also incredibly effective. Dramatic health changes can happen incredibly fast because the ingredients are of such high quality.

I am so thankful to have found a company that values health and stresses change from the inside out. If you are interested in improving your own health and well being please contact me! I would love to share with you the products that can dramatically improve your health from the inside out!

Workout Challenge

It's not a secret that I like to push myself physically, emotionally and spiritually (example- 2 marathons in 6 days :). I find that's when I discover how far I can be stretched and where my rope ends and God's starts. Sure it's uncomfortable at times, sure it hurts, but it's been my experience that this is how life is too.

So when I go through a tough week of training and workouts I just file it away. When life gets tough, I can think back to that tough week and know that if I can make it through THAT, then I can make it through my present situation with God's sovereign help.

So I challenge you this week... push yourself to get comfortable in the uncomfortable and try this workout...

IT MATTERS

For the last two weeks, I have had the two words "it matters" running through my head at all times of the day and night. WHAT MATTERS!? I kept asking myself as I wrestled with this idea. What is IT? And WHY does it matter? Why do the little things matter... such as the extra sets at the gym, whether or not I make the best food choices, whether or not I pray when I feel like complaining, why does IT MATTER!?

1 Peter 4:11 says: "Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the STRENGTH and ENERGY that God supplies. Then EVERYTHING YOU DO will bring GLORY to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! AMEN."

This is why it matters!! This is why all of the little choices we make throughout the day matter- to bring glory to the One who made us!!! If nothing else, my hope and desire for my life is to honor the One who gives me my very breath moment after moment and has set me free. He has redeemed this life and made all things new and so with great conviction, I have realized that IT MATTERS. Everything I do matters because it all provides an opportunity to bring Him the glory and point others to Him. Yes, indeed, IT ALL MATTERS.

In this next week, I challenge you to look at the big moments and the little moments and remind yourself that IT MATTERS! Check how you respond to that rude driver, how you respond to the 1,043 questions your kids ask you throughout the day, how you talk to yourself, how you treat your spouse... because they are ALL opportunities to bring glory to God. IT ALL MATTERS.

Real food

Since September of last year, I have followed a paleo diet pretty exclusively (minus a month or two). I initially started a Paleo challenge as a way to rid my body of processed sugars and increase my protein intake, but it has evolved into a lifestyle which is clean, healthy, and nutrient dense. I have so enjoyed the freedoms this lifestyle has provided for me- freedom from guilt after eating sugar-heavy foods, freedom from blood sugar spikes, freedom from the scale, and most importantly for me, freedom from the power struggle food had over me at times.

I was driving down the highway some months back and saw the picture of guardrails on either side of the road, no big deal, guardrails are everywhere. However, I started to consider their purpose and realized that they are placed there for the driver's safety and for the safety of others.

I translated this into my own life and realized that guardrails in my life of health and fitness not only provide safe boundaries for me but more importantly they allow me freedom inside. See, when you travel down the highway, you have two, sometimes three lanes that you can move in and out of as you choose. If you get too close to the guardrails the rumble strips let you know and you navigate your car back onto the highway. Nutrition is no different. If I place the guardrails of paleo (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, and sugar free) on either side of my 'eating highway' then I have freedom to move in between the lanes and eat nutritious food as my body desires and craves. It no longer becomes about the number of calories or the percentages of fats, carbs, and protein, but instead it becomes about choosing the most nutrient dense foods for my body that will fuel and heal it appropriately.

See, for me eating a Paleo lifestyle isn't restrictive, instead it is freedom. I get to explore new recipes, (find more recipes by following me on pinterest) new foods, and eat when my body is hungry. It's how we were designed- to live in freedom in all areas of life. Cheers!

My new favorite recipe for 'nut milk'

Cashew Milk

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 3-4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
• pinch celtic sea salt

Instructions

1. Discard soaking water and rinse cashews thoroughly until water runs clear
2. Place cashews, (3-4 cups fresh) water, agave and salt in a vitamix
3. Process on high speed 20-30 seconds
4. Store in glass mason jar in refrigerator