City Church

Almost 1 year ago today, Cody and I finally found a church that we loved..The City Church. We went to quite a few different churches, trying to figure out which one we liked best and thanks to a good friend, we were introduced to City Church last November. We absolutely love this church. We usually go on Saturday nights (never thought that would be me) so we can just totally relax on Sundays. There were many reasons why we chose this church. We knew people that came, it was a good environment and didn't seem over the top, but the main reason was Pastor Judah. He is an AMAZING speaker. We love just about every message he has and always leave with a good feeling, but this weekend's message was just out of this world. I left feeling as if God was talking to me and instead of leaving and thinking about myself and all my stressors, I left feeling like I wanted to help others and how blessed I was.

There are so many things that go on in life and it is easy to forget just how good you have it. I feel so blessed for the life God has given me and this weekend I feel like I was grounded again. Too often I focus on things that don't truly matter and I get caught up in myself as we all do. Pastor Judah brought it home by saying that Jesus is the point of life and without him, we wouldn't be here. It is important to focus on this and be in aw of God. I know that God has been speaking to me and I just haven't really been listening. I am choosing to listen to God and it really does make everything better. Yes, I still have my stressors but knowing that God is behind me and I have his strength when I am weak makes me feel good.


The reason I wrote about this isn't because I am trying to preach..no, that is not it at all. I am not super religious but I am a christian and I have felt alone before and prayer worked for me. I wrote this because I want people who have been feeling lost and/or alone to know that all you have to do is pray. You don't have to go to church, you don't have to go do x number of good deeds, you just need to sit and pray and listen to God. Even if you don't know how to pray, it is easy, just talk to him like you would any other person. So, I encourage everyone out there to say a prayer for yourself for whatever situation you are in and just listen. You might not get the answers overnight but prayer really does work.

30 day Paleo Challenge

One of the MANY things I love about fall is that it seems like a fresh start. No, I no longer get to go on summer vacation but in a way, I still feel like when fall comes around, it is a time to regroup and refresh. Cody and I had a very busy and fun summer and September flew by with a Seahawks game, fashion show, Husky game, my fundraiser (which I got 5th out of the girls), and numerous other activities. With October coming up, I began thinking about goals and where I have been and where I want to go. Along with this, I realized that I have sort of stalled in my progress to become more fit. I have had a few to many cocktails and cheat nights over the last few months so I decided that October would be my month of eating clean. By eating clean, I mean following the Paleo Diet.
Now, this diet I have sort of been following already for the past year or so. It is definitely more of a lifestyle choice for me because I like eating this way but I definitely haven't been hardcore. I would try and stick to this during the week and being mindful of what I am eating on the weekends. With stalled progress and the holidays just around the corner, I figured I should try and challenge myself to eating strict paleo for 30 days. This means no grains, dairy, sugar, alcohol (this one will probably be the toughest with football season), and basically processed foods. The one thing I will have that is dairy is whey protein after a workout.

So, I have been going at it from September 26th so I am on day 11 and I have to say, I can't believe I have made it this far without a cheat. We even had family in town and I passed on the wine, cocktails, bread, all of it. I actually feel pretty good right now and learned that if it is good coffee, it is good black with just some cinnamon. The first few days were easy because I was motivated and the next few days were tough with having family in town and lots of chances to just eat crap. Now, it seems easy and I don't even think twice about eating something processed. I feel like my performance is improving in the gym, I am sleeping better, and I have a lot of energy during the day. I am not sure how much weight I can actually lose, but that isn't really my goal. I just want to lose fat so if I can notice a difference in the way my clothes fit then I will be happy. I also have to say that I feel like I am noticing a little more muscle in my stomach than before which is good.

So, almost halfway done with my challenge and I feel pretty good about it.

I encourage everyone to pick 1 area in their life that they can improve on, set a goal, and complete it. It can be anything from eating right to organizing your closets!