Tamara, Author at The Workout Mama

Suja Three Day Fresh Start from Costco Review

January 21, 2020 by Tamara Leave a Comment

On one of my many recent trips to Costco I came across the Suja Three Day Fresh Start box and was intrigued. It was on sale for $15 and I decided to give it a try. I also got a box for Josh.

The box comes with 9 cold press juices and a meal plan. The meal plan features a plant based recipe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The recipes included overnight oats, crunchy veggie bowl, and roasted veggies and lentils.

Everything is laid out easily for you to follow. And there is even a grocery shopping list include.

What I Loved

You can’t beat the cost of this boxed set. While you still have to buy your food and prep your meals, $15 for the juices and all the information included is a great price.

Three days is also a very doable length of time. I think if you are newer to plant based eating or wanting to clean up your diet this would be a great way to start. Josh and I are wanting to try to add a few meals each week that are plant based and this gave us some ideas for dinners.

I have done juice cleanses in the past and I honestly don’t think I could do one currently during this season in my life. I appreciate that there are products for people who are looking to make incremental changes when it comes to their eating and love that Costco is selling this!

What I Disliked

The drinks caused both myself and Josh to have horrible stomach cramps. Mine hit at night and his was in the morning. I am fairly certain it was directly related to the juices because since finishing this a week ago I haven’t had any issues. My stomach was rock hard from all the cramping and at one point I was curled up on the floor in our bedroom because it hurt so bad.

I have had Suja juices before and never had this problem, but these drinks were all new to me flavors so maybe that is why? I honestly have no idea. Maybe the high amount of fiber in my diet also had something to do with it.

Regardless, I was not a fan of all the stomach issues I had and if this had been more than three days I would have had to stop before it was over.

Would I Recommend This Product

✰✰✰

Out of 5 stars, I give the Suja Three Day Fresh Start a 3 star review. I love the price point and the idea of this, but it killed my insides. For someone who is looking to jumpstart their nutrition, or add in more plant based eating to their diet, this could be a good option. But because of the experience Josh and I had I am leery of this combination of juices. If you have tried this please let me know if it hurt your stomach too. I am curious to see if anyone else has experienced these symptoms.

Filed Under: Nutrition, Products Tagged With: Cold Pressed Juice, Costco, suja

What I Learned From Reading The Bible (2019)

December 30, 2019 by Tamara 1 Comment

This year marks my fourth consecutive year reading through the Bible. I picked ESV Story of Redemption Bible which uses a daily reading plan to read through the entire Bible in 365 days.

If you have never read the Bible in its entirety before I highly recommend purchasing this version. It has a reading plan in the back (which is what I used) and it is full of easy to understand commentary. I am going to be using this Bible again in 2020 but following a different plan.

My first time reading the bible I started with Matthew and read to Revelation and then read Genesis through Malachi. I have also used The Bible Project Reading Plan and Reading God’s Story: A Daily Chronological Bible

Here is a quick review of what I have learned from reading the Bible in 2019!

What I Learned From Reading the Bible

I had great plans to type this post up over the year as I learned things but that didn’t happen, there is always next year :). With that being said, what is below is truly what stayed me over the course of the year.

Genesis

Earlier this year I did an in depth study on the first few chapters of Genesis and really enjoyed it. The major takeaway I have from that study was learning that Moses wrote Genesis for the Israelites as a history lesson. He was showing the Israelites where they had come from as they were moving out of Egypt and towards the promised land.

Moses didn’t write that God created the sun and moon, he implied it, but didn’t use that verbiage. The study I did suggested that this was intentional because he was trying to create a new mindset for his people.

They had been living in Egyptian culture for a long time. They were susceptibly to view the “sun” and “moon” as Egyptian gods vs. viewing the two great lights (Genesis 1:14-19) as God’s creation. Idolatry was a huge problem for the Egyptian culture and God was calling his people out of Egypt and away from this thinking.

I had always read that passage of scripture to say God created the sun and moon, and even though it implied that wasn’t written. This was a good lesson and reminder for me to slow down and really read the text. I can get into a bad habit of mindlessly reading my Bible. This year I tried to make more of an effort to focus more and be more intentionally when I am reading. That didn’t always happen but I am trying ;).

The Good Samaritan

Along this same thought pattern of reading and understanding scripture in the context it was written and the audience it was for I really appreciated my pastor preaching on the Good Samaritan (Luke 11:25-37) this year. Again, this is a super familiar passage of scripture and story that most people have heard even if they don’t attend church. I have always tried to put myself into parables like this one and assumed I was the good samaritan in the story. My pastor offered a new to me perspective on the church being the inn and Jesus being the good samaritan. That is never how I read this before but his explanation made total sense. Jesus said he was going to come back and reward the man for all his help on caring for the injured man. You can listen to the entire sermon HERE if you are interested.

I learned this year that reading scripture never gets easier. In fact I think it gets harder. Especially when the Holy Spirit keeps convicting me and showing my areas in my life that need him. And yet I will continue to read my bible because I know it is for my good and His glory. Even when it is hard.

2020 Reading Plan

In a few days I will be starting my new Bible reading plan, Read the Bible with TGC in 2020. I will be reading the Bible following Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s plan. This takes you through the entire Bible in a year (including the New Testament and Psalms twice). If you visit the link you can find all the information you need if you would like to do this plan also.

Filed Under: Faith

Questions To Ask Before Becoming Foster Parents

September 20, 2019 by Tamara Leave a Comment

This month is one year mark of when we adopted our son! It has seriously flown by and Josh remarked the other day that it feels like he has always been with us and part of our family.

I have only positive things to say about our foster care and adoption experience. We attended several amazing classes before we even found our agency and that really prepared us and answered a ton of our questions.

I highly recommend Arizona 1.27 if you are local. Arizona 1.27 is a non-profit that partners with local churches to recruit and care for the members of their congregation engaged in the ministry of foster care and adoption. Childcare was provided for our kiddos and we were able to go and learn more about the process and ask questions. I would also recommend the book Orphan Justice even if you aren’t considering fostering or adopting. It really challenged my thinking and started to break down some of the presuppositions I had about the foster care system and those who are part of it.

If you are thinking about becoming foster parents this post contains a few questions that will be helpful to ask yourself (and also spouse if you are married).

Do you have a supportive community of people around you?

I have to give a shout out to our family, friends, small group, church, my women bible study, preschool mama’s, and Josh’s co-workers on the fire department. They helped us survive last year. I am not exaggerating when I say that. We had people rooting for us and cheering us on. Make sure you have people like this around you. They may not understand what you are going through but a kind smile, supportive word, or friendly hug means the world to foster parents.

Are you prepared to have a new routine?

Whatever you day currently looks like be prepared for a new normal. The child that is placed with you is going to come with their own hurts and trauma. Therapies, doctors appointments, numerous agencies in and out of your home, and all this on top of whatever else you need to manage during the day.

Will you be able to come alongside a hurting family and work towards the goal of reunification?

Opening your home to a child in need of temporary care will give the parents the time and tools they need to help their family reunify. Reunification is the goal of foster care and you as a foster parent will play a large role in reaching this goal. Obviously if there are signs of abuse or neglect reunification may not be an option which leads to the next question…

Are you able and willing to adopt?

When we got our first placement and had our intake meeting with the DCS Investigator handling the case, we were asked if we were able to adopt. I am not sure if this is the case for every placement but be prepared to know ahead of time what your answer would be to that question. There is no right or wrong answer.

How will fostering and possibly adopting impact your biological children?

Our kids were ages 5, 3, and 1 when we started fostering. As we were getting licensed we talked to them about the baby who would come into our house and how we would be their family for as long as they needed until their own mommy or daddy could take care of them again. We also made sure to frequently explain to our kids that they we will always be with us.

Another factor to consider is birth order. If you have other children in your house are you going to take a placement older than your youngest biological child? For our family we knew that we would be sticking with the birth order of our kids, meaning that any child that was placed in our family would need to be younger than our youngest.

Have you counted the costs?

While there’s no financial cost to receive your foster family license, a considerable investment of time is required. The process usually takes about four to five months, and includes training, a home study by your agency, and a home inspection. This is just the beginning.

Fostering will cost you. You will be challenged emotionally and will quickly find yourself removed from the normalcy you had before. Be prepared to be uncomfortable. Your life will never be the same after doing this. Everything changes. Foster parenting is hard but worth the costs. Fostering allows a child to be in loving and caring home surrounded by people who will advocate for them. When we were taking our foster parenting classes it was stated that we should not be asking “can we afford to do this?”but “can we really afford not to do this?”. While saying yes to one child won’t fix or eliminate the need for services associated with foster care it will make a huge difference for that child.

Is your heart ready to offer radical hospitality?

Are ready to open up your home to a world that is hurting? I am not just talking about to a child. You will have countless people inside your home while you foster. Radical hospitality doesn’t just ask “do you want to be with us?” It says “how can we be with you?” You and your family have the opportunity to be a beacon of encouragement and grace to others. Radical hospitality uses the home we have as a tool that can further God’s kingdom. Radical hospitality welcomes those who look, think, believe, and act differently from us into our everyday lives. This helps others see what true Christian faith really looks like. The quote below sums up my reason perfectly for becoming a foster parent.

Check out these staggering statistics in Arizona…

Everyday in Arizona only 4 families become licensed to provide foster care yet 33+ kids (babies through teens) will come into foster care that same day.About 2700 children are currently eligible for adoption in Arizona.In the last year in Arizona only 23% of children were reunited with their families.If a girl ages out of the foster care systems she has a 2% chance of completing college and is 20% more likely to become pregnant before she is 21. This also means she is at a greater risk to become homeless, imprisoned, or a victim of sex trafficking.

There are so many ways to encourage and support foster kiddos! If foster parenting isn’t for you but you still want to help contact a local foster care and adoption agency to see if there are current needs they have. You could help organize a backpack drive for the upcoming school year, purchase Christmas gifts for a foster child, or sew a few blankets for kids who are just entering care. Many kids coming into care often come with very little so a stuffed animal or blanket for them to hold is a huge comfort for them. In Arizona you can also become a life coach to a teen who is about to age out of the foster care system.

If you have questions about foster care please feel free to send me an email or leave a comment below :).

Filed Under: Foster Care & Adoption