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.
Showing posts with label life's purpose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life's purpose. Show all posts
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Killer 30 minute cardio
So I have this friend; you know the kind of friend that make you do things you really don't want to do, but in the end you know it's the best thing for you. After an Olympic lifting WOD (workout of the day) and setting a new PR (personal record) in the split snatch, she says to me and another innocent bystander friend... "hey girls want to do a 30 minute cardio workout with me? It's a good cardio blast, c'mon it will be fun." (insert sly sarcastic smile here). So hesitantly we agreed, and do you know what? It was empowering, faith building and one of my favorite cardio workouts I have done in a long time even though it was TOUGH. I love my friend for so many reasons, but one of them being that she pushes me to be a better athlete and believes in my ability way more so than I do at times. Friends are such a blessing- especially fitness and faith centered friends!
So here's the workout... try it if you have a good base of cardio endurance and want a challenge! You can also scale it back to 15 minutes or minimize the number of reps in each round to fit you fitness level.
Every minute on the minute (EMOM):
10-12 calorie row
10-12 burpees
* pick a number than you can maintain throughout the entire workout. Also, If the row takes 40
seconds, rest for the remaining 20 seconds then start with burpees at the top of the next minute.
Continue until set time elapses.
So here's the workout... try it if you have a good base of cardio endurance and want a challenge! You can also scale it back to 15 minutes or minimize the number of reps in each round to fit you fitness level.
Every minute on the minute (EMOM):
10-12 calorie row
10-12 burpees
* pick a number than you can maintain throughout the entire workout. Also, If the row takes 40
seconds, rest for the remaining 20 seconds then start with burpees at the top of the next minute.
Continue until set time elapses.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Perfectly Imperfect
I have always looked forward to Mother's Day and Father's Day as we get to celebrate the people in our lives that are credited for bringing us into this world. That's no small task! And as I embrace this journey of motherhood I gain a greater appreciation for my own mom and dad. I have been blessed by great role models who have become my friends.
Now that I am a mom to three beautiful children (ages 2-8), I look forward to Mother's Day just a bit more knowing I will receive more snuggles, loves, and "you're the best mom." I treasure these moments and words and try to drink them in! SO I began my morning with a heart full of love and anticipation of a joy-filled day!
But as life would have it, my littlest little love bug had an 'accident' right before we left for church which left me cleaning up poop off of her and the bathroom floor. Delightful. Then after an awesome church service, we walked around for 20 minutes in the rain before settling on a place for lunch, only to find the slooooowwweeesstttt server known to man. Ordinarily it wouldn't have been a big deal, but my blood sugar was crashing and I was already HANGRY before we even walked into the restaurant. That poor server didn't know what was coming. Then, we had to wait fifteen minutes to even be greeted once we were seated to order water and coffee. Needless to say, an ordinary hour long lunch turned into a two and half hour escapade. But do you know what, with the help of my loving and good-natured husband, we turned an imperfect lunch into an enjoyable experience. I began to realize that it was just more time for us to spend as a family as we waited for our drinks, food, bill, etc. I asked specific questions to my kids about their goals and aspirations, what they learned in church that day and who they prayed for. It also gave my husband and I extra time to laugh about our imperfect lunch and for us to enjoy just being together.
When we got home, I told my husband what a perfect day it had been, because it was perfectly us- messy, late, long, slow, and full of joy. SO all in all it was a perfectly imperfect Mother's Day filled with lots of love, snuggles, and kisses. My cup runneth over!
Now that I am a mom to three beautiful children (ages 2-8), I look forward to Mother's Day just a bit more knowing I will receive more snuggles, loves, and "you're the best mom." I treasure these moments and words and try to drink them in! SO I began my morning with a heart full of love and anticipation of a joy-filled day!
But as life would have it, my littlest little love bug had an 'accident' right before we left for church which left me cleaning up poop off of her and the bathroom floor. Delightful. Then after an awesome church service, we walked around for 20 minutes in the rain before settling on a place for lunch, only to find the slooooowwweeesstttt server known to man. Ordinarily it wouldn't have been a big deal, but my blood sugar was crashing and I was already HANGRY before we even walked into the restaurant. That poor server didn't know what was coming. Then, we had to wait fifteen minutes to even be greeted once we were seated to order water and coffee. Needless to say, an ordinary hour long lunch turned into a two and half hour escapade. But do you know what, with the help of my loving and good-natured husband, we turned an imperfect lunch into an enjoyable experience. I began to realize that it was just more time for us to spend as a family as we waited for our drinks, food, bill, etc. I asked specific questions to my kids about their goals and aspirations, what they learned in church that day and who they prayed for. It also gave my husband and I extra time to laugh about our imperfect lunch and for us to enjoy just being together.
When we got home, I told my husband what a perfect day it had been, because it was perfectly us- messy, late, long, slow, and full of joy. SO all in all it was a perfectly imperfect Mother's Day filled with lots of love, snuggles, and kisses. My cup runneth over!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Here for a reason!
Have you ever had that experience where your stomach jumps inside of you and you know without a shadow of a doubt that THIS experience is what you were made for!? Oh it's just thrilling! I had that happen to me this morning as I was about to take the stage at church. The pastor of our women's ministry asked me to speak (WHAT AN HONOR!) last week (click link to hear audio) about faith, fitness and identity in Christ. It was an absolute joy to speak my heart and teach what the Lord had laid on my heart for months (and even years, really). But earlier this week, she asked me to come back and do a short demo for the women about how to include more movement and exercise into an already busy life.
It was the epitome of who I am and what I love- Jesus, fitness and family. I haven't felt that alive in a LONG time. I mean, I love my daily life and praise God for every breath that I take, however teaching women how to move with their kids and praise God in the meantime is what I am put on this earth for! Oh, what a joy!!
My two year old and I demonstrated squats, thrusters, planks and push-ups and talked about playing tag in an interval style to really get the heart rate going. I also talked about Tabata training which is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It provides a great 'bang for your buck' when it comes to exercise and can be done in 4 minute increments. So regardless of what your purpose is on earth (and we all have one!) go out and do it, there is no better feeling in the world! Blessings to you!
It was the epitome of who I am and what I love- Jesus, fitness and family. I haven't felt that alive in a LONG time. I mean, I love my daily life and praise God for every breath that I take, however teaching women how to move with their kids and praise God in the meantime is what I am put on this earth for! Oh, what a joy!!
My two year old and I demonstrated squats, thrusters, planks and push-ups and talked about playing tag in an interval style to really get the heart rate going. I also talked about Tabata training which is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It provides a great 'bang for your buck' when it comes to exercise and can be done in 4 minute increments. So regardless of what your purpose is on earth (and we all have one!) go out and do it, there is no better feeling in the world! Blessings to you!
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