Real Relationships

Real Relationships

I LOVE the women in my life!! God has so richly blessed me with friends and family across this country.  I am so thankful for technology and that they are just a text/call or FaceTime away.  

God has given us women the desire for relationships. We NEED girlfriends.  We need relationship.  We need coffee/tea dates; exercise buddies; shoulders to cry on; prayer partners; recipe exchangers; mentors; ears to listen and counselors. 

We must to be purposeful about our friendships.  The enemy likes to detour us with busyness. He knows that iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) so he will do what he can to keep us from spending time with our girls.  

Don't let busyness be an excuse. Plan a 30 minute coffee date, a 15 minute phone conversation or a 1 hour dinner with a friend this weekend. I've found that if you put a time frame on it, it is doable and not so much pressure. 

Someone needs you this week. Make that phone call! 

Real Green

Transforming My Temple

Week 1

One down, three to go. It wasn't so bad after all. 

My body is loving all of the clean foods. I sure can tell a difference. Here's one example: after eating 90% clean all week I decided to allow myself a cheat meal today. Let's just say that it was confirmation (for the hundredth time) that my body thrives when fed whole clean foods! I ate fries and about 4 bites of turkey, Texas-style BBQ. I truly cannot believe how it's made me feel. 

I got 4 cardio workouts in (working my way back up. This back pain has taken a toll on me). God allowed me a medical massage this week that did my back wonders!! I was actually able to run on Saturday with virtual no pain!! Praise The Lord!!! 

I'm planning to begin blending (green smoothies) on a regular basis again this week and stripping my diet to be more whole-food, plant-based focused for this week. I'm going to do two green smoothies and one meal per day with raw snacks if needed. Can't wait for the health benefits this will lend. 

It was a great week with The Lord too!! I love how He loves us! I'm thankful that He always teaching me. 

Thanks for reading and I will try to post mid-week with smoothie recipes. 

Transforming My Temple

Well, since the theme of this blog is about being real, I will be real with my current health and 'fit-less' lifestyle. 

"I really don't pay too much attention to what the scale says", I tell myself. Well of course I don't when I'm on top of my game. But as soon as that number creeps higher and higher, I get obsessed with it. Only this time, I have let it get out of control and haven't done a thing about it, until NOW!!!

I am embarking on a 30 day transformation- transforming my temple!! This, of course, will be a lifetime lifestyle change but I need this 30 day commitment to prove to myself that I can stick with it. 

My daily tasks:

1) transforming my mind- Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1, 2 NIV)

This step is first for a reason. Without this part, all else falls by the wayside. 

Actions I will take:

- feed my mind/soul by 'eating' God's Word (Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:4 NIV)) by reading it, studying and memorizing it; more focused, set apart prayer time; and times of prayer and fasting. 

2) transforming my body- Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 NIV)

My temple is His! He bought me with His shed blood! This body is a gift from Him! Every breath I take is a gift from Him! Just as I would treasure a gift from a loved one, how much more should I treasure this gift from The One who truly loves me! 

Actions I will take: 

- clean eating

- cardio, strength training and stretching (yoga) weekly

This transformation will take what I like to call Dee's Ds: decision, determination, discipline, dedication, diligence, dependence and devotion (I'll go into more detail on these in a future post). Most importantly, it will take daily seeking The Lord for help. He will be my strength (I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV). 

Stayed tuned for updates. 

P.S. prayer and encouragement greatly appreciated! 

Real Time

My main love language is quality time.  Therefore, this may speak louder to me than to others.

I am also a tech gadget geek.  I had one of the first Palm Pilots when they came out; I loved my walky-talky Nextel; AND THEN...the Blackberry and texting.  I really arrived when I upgraded to the iPhone, though it took about two weeks to fall in love with it. 

BUT, even though I'm a textaholic, there's still nothing that feeds my soul like good old-fashioned sitting and talking face-to-face with my family or a girlfriend.  And it saddens me when I see (or am experiencing) people together but not together. 

I now work in an OB/GYN office where I get to witness many happy couples awaiting ultrasounds and check-ups.  I often, sadly, witness each of them with their phones to their faces and not even conversing.  But my heart was so happy this past week when it seemed like many couples were sharing stories with each other and enjoying the time they had.

It's so important for us to make the most of every moment we are given! And take advantage of the gift of time! 

Let's live in "real time"!!

Introduction

Hey there!  It's Dee.  Welcome to my blog.  In this blog my topics will be about being REAL: the REAL Dee, REAL food/nutrition, REAL spiritual growth, REAL exercise, REAL issues we face, etc.  Let's just be REAL with each other!!!

I've gotten a little side-tracked since moving from my beloved Colorado to Michigan in 2012 and from MI to Texas in 2013.  Needless to say I've been a bit busy and stressed.  SO... join me in my journey back to health both physically and spiritually!!! 

I recently went back to work full-time so I'm praying the schedule will help me to get back on track.  I have Beachbody's Insanity and Shakeology coming in the mail any day now.  As soon as it gets here, that will be my workout regimen for the next 60 days.  I will post my journey here!  EEKS!  Come along with me, join me or just cheer me on!!

Praying God uses this blog to bless yours and my socks off!!!

Stay tuned!

p.s.  I am BY FAR a professional.  These are just my opinions.  Though health and fitness are my passion, most of my comments will be research I've done and experienced myself, nothing I've been trained in.   This is just how I choose to do it!!  There's no "magic pill", "get fit quick" or "secret" to weight loss.  It's clean, REAL food and exercise.