Who Knew?

That I would love PiYo so much that I would go out and get certified to teach Live classes! I certainly never expected this when I set out help my husband take back his health. I never dreamed of it when I ordered the workout series. 

Yet, 4 months later, here I am. :D A certified PiYo Live instructor! I am working on learning the routine so I can teach my first class and it is terrifying and exciting all at the same time. It is crazy how much there is to figure out, to get sorted, to plan and prep! The next step is getting my CPR cert out of the way and then I'll be on to my Primary certs. Woohoo!  

In case you can't tell, I'm really pumped about this. ;) Right now I help people take back their health and discover a love for fitness all from the comfort of their own home. It is one of the most rewarding experiences to see the confidence and joy build in the lives of others as they see their hard work pay off! :D Pretty soon, I'll get to engage with people who share a passion for taking care of their bodies, people who enjoy doing something each day for their own health. The dynamic is going to be incredible! 

What I really can't wait for is to have a place to teach where my online clients can come and meet up and all workout together! There is something really encouraging about having others on your journey with you, and being able to share in each others successes and battles makes the work seem lighter. :)

If you are ever in the area, or are interested in taking a PiYo Live class, contact me, I would love to have you there! :D

It All Began...

As a mother there are few things that bless your heart more than hearing that your kids behaved well while in the company of others. Really, it makes you feel like your hard work is paying some good dividends. ;) Am I right?! These "dividends" are particularly important when the context is something dearly important to you.

Our kids have been raised at our church. Literally, we have been there since our oldest was 6 months old and he is almost 12 now! *Warning: Emotional Mommy Moment (I cannot believe it has been that long, it just doesn't even seem possible that my first baby is that grown!)* Okay back to what I was saying...

I don't know about y'all, but as a believer, there is nothing, regarding my children, of greater importance to me than their precious souls and more specifically how they are being nurtured. I will be completely honest with you, I want nothing more than for my children to be with our Father for eternity. Unfortunately for me, that is ultimately between them and God, I cannot make that decision for them. What I can do is sow into their lives and nurture the seeds until they reap the harvest.

Does that make sense or do I sound completely insane? hahaha Okay, so what I'm trying to say is that I have the opportunity, as their mum, to share my love of Jesus with them. I get to share the word of God (The Bible) with them; to teach them right from wrong; to pray for them in their own walk. As a parent we do our best to lay a strong foundation that will help them stand strong and make good, healthy, choices for the rest of their lives. Typically we won't be around to see how it all plays out, but our trust and indeed our hope is in the Lord. Sometimes, however, we get the amazing blessing of being able to see those "seeds" bear fruit!

Worship. It is really one of my favorite parts of my faith. I love pouring my heart and soul out to God in love! (Now if only I didn't sound like a dying seagull whilst doing it, I would beg to be on the worship team, but that is another story... I digress.) Worship is raw. It is deeply personal and for me, more often than not, it is emotional. I have always tried to share my love of worship with my kids.

So, it would come as no surprise then, how deeply touched and richly blessed my heart has been over the last couple weeks as many different people have approached Steve and I to share how they were touched and blessed to see how passionately our children worship the Lord!

This is by no means a bragging moment or right. This is an expression of profound gratitude to the Lord, that I have been able to see this fruit in my children and know that it has touched/blessed others.

See, even in the little things, God knows our hearts. He knows exactly what will bring us joy and what will bless our souls. "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 He is good, my friends. All the time.

Bless and be blessed, y'all!

In the Lord...

My joy is overflowing!

Seriously, I know I said this in my last post, but I am going to say it again! There is no way that I can possibly share all that the Lord has done for us in the past couple weeks in one blog post. This past few weeks have been...

Amazing.

Life Changing.

Beautiful.

Filled with Surprises.

Blessed Beyond Measure.

Inspiring.

Encouraging.

Healing.

In a word... Profound.

God has blessed us in the natural and in the spiritual. What does that even mean, you ask. It means He has given us practical, physical blessings. Things that are tangible. He has given us blessings that confirm what has been stirring in our souls. He has healed old wounds. He has given us new directions. He has blessed this mother's heart so deeply and richly through my babies.

It is funny how much love our Father will pour out on us at one time! In day to day terms it is like a shower. You are surrounded by love and it isn't just one good gift that you are given, it is many great gifts! Sometimes the quantity is what leaves you taken aback and filled with gratitude, others it is the quality that so deeply touches your heart.

This last couple weeks the Lord has chosen to give us both and abundantly! I cannot wait to share all of it with you but I don't want to short change the value of any of it, so I will be sharing each blessing as it's own post. I really feel that each one deserves full attention and my deepest appreciation.
I am so excited to share with you the amazing heart of our Father! This is gonna be so much fun! ^_^

Bless and be blessed, y'all!

So Much Has Happened...

Since last we talked... or, I suppose, since last I talked. ;) 

It's funny how life gets going and seems to just pick up speed. So much has happened. So much has changed. It is funny how you start out your journey with one expectation or another, with a particular goal, with a narrow, singular focus and suddenly there comes a shift...

It can be subtle and slow, working it's way in quietly, as winter giving way to spring. It can be sudden as an earthquake shattering our plans only to make way for something beautiful to be built in their place. 

For me these changes came quickly and as quite the unexpected twist. When I began this journey I never expected this to become my career let alone my passion! I started out just trying to salvage my husband's health and feel better myself. Little did I know that as others joined us on our journey I would fall completely in love with helping them reach their goals! 

I have always loved to help others, acts of service is my "love language", but I never thought about helping people get healthy. Why not?! Our health is one of the most important factors in how live our lives and let's be honest, most of us could use a little help. Right? ;) 

Leading challenge groups has been such an unimaginable blessing for me! Yes, I am helping other people lose weight, build strength and make healthier food choices... but it is so much MORE than that! When I get to see the confidence building in them, the joy on their faces when they shatter plateaus and overcome obstacles, hear about the accomplishment they feel when they see their hard work and sacrifice paying off, it inspires me! Seeing that spark of life in them is one of the most beautiful experiences! 

These amazing people that I get the privilege of working with and for give me the encouragement to push myself to do better, to try harder, to keep going. Their stories touch my heart and each person leaves their mark in my life. I am more excited to see their results than I am to see my own! I can't wait for their weekly updates, to hear how they are doing, to learn about their successes and what challenge they want to tackle next! 

I am so richly blessed by these people who invite me into their lives and humbly share some of the most raw, courageous, and sometimes painful parts of their story. To see how they enjoy building each other up instead of tearing each other down, it is so beautiful. 

I am deeply thankful for each one of them! ^_^

And On This Day....

This day that He has made... I will rejoice and be glad in it!

I got this fantastic little patio set. It's nothing special to look at, just a small little table and two chairs. They aren't the big, fluffy, oversize chairs, instead they are simple, metal, folding chairs. They probably look meager and unassuming to most people, but to me they represent so much more.

When I look at my little set, joy floods my heart. It has been something we have wanted for so long... To simply be able to sit outside and just enjoy the beautiful view from our front walk. What I see is their cheery turquoise color, their cut out detail, the curve of the bars and it is like a ray of sunlight. They brighten up my porch and that brightens up my day. ^_^ These three small pieces of outdoor furniture offer the promise of many memories to be made. Many conversations to be had, many dreams to be discussed, time spent refreshing our souls and simple moments spent just quietly sitting in the company of my husband... my best friend.

Life is full of little joys found in the simplest of things. Things that can be overlooked and easily missed. Things that may seem trivial to others but are blessings meant for us. God gives us little bits of joy everyday, the question is are we too busy wallowing in the mire of life to notice them, or do we stop and take them in with thankfulness in our hearts?

I have found such abundant blessings living out in the country. It's the little things. The way the sunlight filters through the trees, the cool air as you get closer to the river, the welcoming smell of fires in wood stoves on a cool crisp night, the sky brilliantly decorated with so many stars. I could go on and on. We are surrounded by so many beautiful experiences, they are all around us. Will we look up from the mundane long enough to enjoy what is right before us or will we let it pass us by?

I plan to look up as often as I can and in those things that seem so small and trivial, I will rejoice!

Bless and be blessed, friends.

2015...

Twenty Fifteen... This year has been unbelievably amazing!

It started off as such a heavy mixture of disappointment, financial setback, uncertainty and hope.

Yes, amidst everything that was happening, everything the enemy was doing to try and destroy us, there was beautiful, simple, HOPE.

From that hope has flowed such amazing blessings! Many of which have come packaged in surprise.

Not the obnoxious, nerve grating, anxiety inducing surprise that builds up as you slowly turn the handle of the small, tin jack in the box, dreading the moment when that hateful little clown will burst forth, completely disregarding the fact that you had been anticipating that very moment, and startle you.

No, they came dressed in beauty and splendor. In attire so stunning you could almost imagine it being a scene from a film.. The peasant girl arrives at a glorious masquerade ball, in some breathtaking castle. Amidst the excitement and wonder she meets her "Prince". She does not yet know who he is, but in the moment just before they remove their masks, in that span of a heart beat with time enough for just a single breath, where her life and her heart are bursting with hope and the joy of her expectation being nearly realized... That feeling is the packaging in which these blessings arrived.

I know it may sound odd but that is the only way I can describe it. Now, the big, grand reveal that removes the separation between the girl and the love of her life, the beauty and joy of that moment is reserved solely for the day that sin no longer separated me from our Heavenly Father. When the sin that was as a wall between my heart and relationship with my Father, so much like the mask that separated the girl from her Prince, was removed from my life through the grace of God, in that moment, in His loving embrace, there is no experience on earth that could compare!

That is not to say life will be without joy and surprise, no not hardly. What it contains now are these sweet moments that mirror the ONE. Moments that are bursting with joy and fulfillment all of their own, and yet still embody some measure of that feeling. They are a reflection of the grandness of that defining moment. They are reminders of the greatness of His love and the beauty of His plan.

This year has been so full of such gifts that I cannot write about them all in this one post. There are a few that touched my heart so deeply that I do want to share them with you and I will spend the next couple weeks doing my best to put them into words.

In the meantime, I pray that your hearts and lives will blessed, that your joy will overflow and that God's love will surround you and yours!

Bless and Be Blessed, y'all! <3