Over the weekend Josh and I attended the memorial service of a young man whose parents greatly helped shape our first years of marriage. There aren't words that can express my sadness and heartbreak for this family. Life doesn't make sense sometimes. I am so thankful for the hope the bible offers when it says one day grief will be completely eliminated. No more death, sin, disease, or pain. All of our suffering will no longer be present. If you have not acknowledged your need for a savior, repented, and placed your hope and trust in Jesus, then your grief will just be beginning after you die. You will either pay for your sins or Christ will. If you have never come before the Lord who created the heavens and the earth and begged forgiveness today would be a great day to put your trust and hope in the one who takes away sin. Below I listed several bible verses on grief and prayers to pray for those who are grieving. I hope that these encourage you and offer … [Read more...]
Asian Chicken Salad
This Asian Chicken Salad is my mom's recipe and was one of my favorites growing up. I haven't had it is years and with the temperatures in Arizona heating up it was a great choice for dinner this week. You can make this up ahead and it keeps great in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be sure to check out my mom's other recipes on Deliciously Inspired. Her blog has many great recipes and ideas to inspire you to create yumminess in your kitchen. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Salad Ingredients 1 can Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles4 cups Romaine Lettuce, chopped1 cup Purple Cabbage, chopped2 cups Cooked Chicken, chopped1 cup Carrot, shredded2 Celery Stalks, sliced thinly¼ cup Sliced Green Onions1 Tbsp Sesame seed Ginger Dressing Ingredients 1/3 cup Canola Oil, Avocado Oil, or Olive Oil¼ cup White Wine Vinegar1 Tablespoon Sugar½ teaspoon Salt½ teaspoon Pepper2 teaspoons Soy sauce or Tamari Sauce½ teaspoon Ginger, ground Directions Place lettuce, … [Read more...]
Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Moms
While I was nursing my third baby I started reading a blog series by Tim Challies called Christian Men and their Godly Moms. I would be so excited when he posted in this series and would sit in my baby's room feeding and rocking him while I would read. Sometimes I would sob while reading about these amazing mother's and how devoted they were to the Lord. I am so thankful for Tim taking the time to research and share about these women. His blog posts were instrumental in encouraging me to continue reading the bible myself as well as to my 4 and 2 year old at the time. I am happy to say that our family devotions have continued over the years and while they aren't perfect they have been fruitful. I recently discovered that this blog series was expanded upon and turned into a book, Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Moms, and I just finished reading it. It was so good and I highly recommend it to any mother regardless of how old her children are. I still sobbed at certain portions … [Read more...]
May 2019 Fitness/Wellness Update
I wasn't sure if I was going to take pictures this month but I am so glad I did. If you are new here I have been sharing these updates in order to motivate myself to eat better and exercise more consistently in 2019. In case you missed the other posts in this series here are February, March, and April. Eating I am no longer intermittent fasting. I tried it and realized it wasn't going to work for me long term. More on this below. I tracked my macros diligently over the last several weeks but have since backed off. Weekly I pretty much eat the same foods and have a good idea what and how much I should be consuming daily. I am not opposed to tracking macros but don't see the need to do it all the time. I also don't want my kids to see my on my phone constantly taking pictures of food while I scan barcodes. Workouts Josh and I started a 12 week weight lifting program this month. So far I like it. I am lifting 3 days week and doing short HIIT workouts on the in … [Read more...]
Broken Tracks
In the bedroom broken train tracks scatter the floor. My two year olds are happily playing with the remaining intact tracts that lead onto the well worn carpet. I sit down on the floor with them in the mess they have created. My mind starts to contemplate how I can arrange the tracks to enhance their play. A bridge here, a tunnel there, yes that will be perfect. They will love it. Except they don't. "No mama, no fix it". The little voice continues on. Lamenting as I try to explain that what I am doing is going to be better. So much better. It is as if each track I lay brings an extra agony of grief to his little heart. Slowly the track starts to come together amongst the whining and grumbling. It is one of my better designs. Slowly the grumbling begins to fade and a smile starts to form on their little faces. They see the broken tracks come together to form something new, something better. They start working alongside me. Their excitement now evident as they can see … [Read more...]
10-20-30 Ladder Workout
This is a quick 10 minute cardio workout. When I taught group fitness classes I would use this ascending ladder format often. It goes by fairly fast with the moderately challenging pace. There are 5 exercises total. Each round is a specific work to rest ratio. Perform each round back to back with no additional rest time added for a 10 minute workout. Round 1 starts with 10 seconds of jump squats followed by 10 seconds of rest. Immediately after start 10 seconds of plank jacks. Continue on until you finish the skaters. After the 10 second rest start performing 20 seconds of jump squats followed by 20 seconds of rest. The entire workout will be done in 10 minutes. If you teach group fitness these short segments are great to add into your class. You could also use this as a finisher. Before my first baby was born I was teaching up to 20 group fitness classes a week. That makes me tired now just typing that. In case you are looking for more group fitness class ideas be … [Read more...]
