Climax? Maybe -- Hope not!

This week and weekend since my last blog post has been pretty uneventful but busy. It has really put Thrive to the test. I told myself that I would give this product a week and it's been a little over a week so I feel that I can fully review the system. I still am still in love with it as I was the first few days.

My only complaint is that it's hard for me to make the shakes so I have used a whooping 2 from my 16 instead of 4 that I'm supposed to have used by now?! I just have so much to do in the mornings that I really have to make myself get all my smoothie ingredients together and make it happen. I have found some great recipes for shakes and smoothies on Pinterest that I am anxious to try.

The one thing that I have noticed is it almost seems like I've hit a plateau now that my body is used to the product. I still have all the amazing energy that I had day one but it's like I'm a bit more sleepy then I have been. I'm not complaining though. It has helped my mood and everyday life greatly. I will continue to use the product and I highly endorse it. If you want to learn more: Check here!

I write tonight because Facebook brought my memories up and I feel it hit right at the right time. I needed a reminder of this today and everyday. See below:

On Fire Today..

June 20, 2013 at 4:06pm

My heart is on fire for God today, not that it isn’t everyday but I feel it today. I’ve been helping my boyfriend, Jason deal with some issues and God has given me the knowledge and the strength to talk to Jason. Usually, I would coddle and support but not have the fire to encourage and talk about God with him. I’m not scholar of the word. I have never read the Bible from cover to cover but I do know that God gave me the knowledge to share with Jason and convict me to share with everyone else.

We run through our daily lives like Lemmings. We stay in our daily routine and don’t care to waiver out of the familiar that we call our everyday lives. Even on Sundays, we go to church, sing, shake hands, sit through the sermon, talk to people we know, then go out to eat. We don’t like to stray from the normal and when something challenges us to stray, most of us shut down in fear. Fear of the unknown and it takes away our confidence, maybe just a shred for some but it can completely incapacitate others. I, fortunately am not one of those people. A few of survive in change, we find our confidence in being challenged with something new and I am writing to help you accept the unfamiliar and the unknown. To help you understand that confidence is all you need to handle any great change that God will see fit to challenge you with.

A girl friend of mine asked me the other day, how do I hold the confidence that I do when I walk into a room. Ya know, I didn’t have an answer for her because I wasn’t listening to God at that time. I tried to explain to her that I walked in and knew who I was and what I was doing there. Well I’m wrong on some levels there. I walk into a room and KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I am WORTHY. I am worthy to be in that room, I am worthy of the life that God has given to me, and I am worthy to be loved by Him if not anyone else. Luckily, I am loved by my family and friends. I don’t always feel worthy. In fact, most days I downright fail at trusting God and feeling his love for me.

These days, the devil has a hold. A strong hold on my mind and health. I can’t see past my own problems to help find a solution and when someone tries to help. I ignore. We are beat down by our earthly lives to not feel worthy or wanted. If we don’t see ourselves as pretty in society’s mind then the devil grabs a hold of that insecurity and sinks his claws in. If we don’t see ourselves as rich in societies mind, then we deem ourselves as a failure to our family. If we don’t see ourselves having the 2.5 children, white picket fence, and a loving wife/husband in societies mind, then we have failed as a person. Do you know that society is the one that has failed? It fails God each and every day.

Today I challenge you to stop letting the devil hold you in the place you are in life. Stop letting him rule you with fear. This philosophy is going to seem elementary. It’s going to seem downright childish but all it takes is a change in your daily life and your mindset. Sounds simple right? Not for some! My philosophy to take charge of your life is to simply look fear in the eyes and tell it “Not Today! I choose to live my life without you today!” Hold your head up and speak it out loud. Shout it, if you have to. “Today, I’m going to live for God and for my life that God has provided for me!” Feel these words in your heart and your soul. Tell the Devil to F-Off and get out of YOUR life! Then start living.

You need to confront your past. Your past is your past. You can’t live for today if you’re living in the past. There is nothing you can change about your past, you need to accept it as God HAS and move on. Ask for forgiveness from God and let it go. Write it down on a piece of paper, pray for God to help you move on, feel the love God has for you in your heart, and BURN that piece of paper. Let it GO!

Take out the things in your life that you are feeling convicted of. Porn, Sex before Marriage, Swearing, Adultery, or whatever sins you may feel guilty over. These are the things that make it easy for the devil to crawl back into your life and take control again. I struggle on a daily basis to let go of things that I know aren’t what God wants for me. If I let them all go, I’d be Amish. No, not really but I’d be close. Find a church that has an understanding of what you’re going through. Not a church that wants to change you but a church that wants to EMBRACE you and help handle what life throws your way. Get involved! Stop finding excuses in your daily routine and become a role model in a child’s life. Sing your praise to strangers. Help find money for missions to help those that need to be reached by God’s people.

I found a church that accepts me as a divorced mom. I’m not looked at as a leper or cast away from the children afraid that I’ll rub off on them. This helps me have the confidence that I do today to know that I am WORTHY of God’s undying love. As are all of you! Again, I challenge you to flip the devil the bird, take control of your life, and live it the way God intended!

Ephesians 1:14 tells us that God gave us worth when he purchased us to be His own people.

I suffered for years with depression and I feel like veil has been lifted from my eyes and helped me see life for the first time in a long time. Now to start prioritizing and making some greater changes.

Updates: Weight: No change as I'm not sticking to my diet :(    Attitude: a far change for the better!

Change Must Happen

On Mother's Day 2017, my husband and my daughter took me to the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, NC. It is one my all time favorite places in the area. I've been wishing and asking if we could go see their Rose Garden for a few years now.

I loved every minute that we were there and I got to reminisce about my very first trip there. Which was my Mother's Day in 2009, when my beautiful daughter was born. It was my first trip with a newborn and my first stay on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate. I was truly enjoying myself until I saw the photos that were taken mimicking the first trip. 

Seeing this photo it makes me happy and sad at the same time. I love spending the time with my daughter. She is my inspiration to be a better person and mother. I am disgusted at myself and how much weight I show in the bottom photo. I weigh an unhealthy 225 lbs in the photo and have never weighed this heavy in my life. I have a lot of life experiences that have caused undue stress and oh am I a stress eater. So I made a promise to myself that I was going to change that and I didn't know where to begin. 

I knew that I didn't have the motivation or discipline to go work out or even walk around the neighborhood. I don't have the motivation most days to go out in the yard and tend the garden or take care of the rabbits. I just kind of ride my husbands coat tails and do enough to say I did something. Sad, huh? 

So after my 33rd birthday this year, I have started small steps -- bought a Fitbit Charge 2. It challenges me daily to walk and get up from my desk and move. I have signed up for the app, My Fitness Pal which helps me log calories and watch what I eat. Apparently, the calorie count is the goal to hit and THEN not go over. My app told me that I needed to eat more calories here lately. The biggest and best thing that I have started has been this product called THRIVE. 

I'm not a promotor of the product so this is not a paid advertisement for the brand but I must say this product is SO life changing. After I posted my experience about my Biltmore trip, a friend from high school reached out to me and started to introduce me to the product. I am a very skeptical person when it comes to products like this. A monthly service that you sign up for not knowing if i

t's going to work for you or if you'll even stick with it.

So I made up my mind after seeing her energy with chasing 3 kids daily. I wanted a change and I got it! I bought all 3 stages of their 8 week lifestyle plan and gave it a few days. My body seemed to know that it was craving these minerals and vitamins that the program gives you. I have NEVER felt so alive and content in my life. 

Depression....GONE! Weight Loss.....5 lbs down in a week! General Discomfort......NO longer there! This is all just after a week. I can't wait to see what 8 weeks or even a year brings me!!