Beginning the Journey

2011 has been a very interesting journey for me on both a personal and professional level. The theme of this year has definately been the word "transition". Beyond the new job & new church, the biggest transition was the decline of my health. I have had issues with asthma and pneumonia for the past four years but nothing would prepare me for June 2011. The truth is that over the last four years I have fallen into the pattern that many of us fall into, making choices to overload my life with work, school, internships, church & family activities - I made no time for my own health. Eating healthy, getting enough sleep, exercising, & drinking water were in no way a part of my regular routine. These four elements are critical to being healthly physically, emotionally, & spiritually. Coming back from a wonderful trip to my husband's home town in Massachusetts this summer we both had a cold. Of course given the overall status of my health this cold quickly developed into pneumonia but unlike past times it kept getting worse & worse. Long story short I ended up having a fungus in my lungs and was on bed rest for 10 weeks. This led to me being layed off from my job and being filled with shame, confusion, pain, and despair. Not to mention the weekly doctors appointments which included trips to the scale that slapped me in the face with the reality of just how out of control my weight issue had become. I found comfort in my relationship with an ever loving God and hope that somehow even in the midst of one of the most dire health situations I ever had He did in fact  have "“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).

My blog will be centering on my journey to getting healthy physcially, emotionally, & spiritually. This journey began for me in June of 2011 and has caused me to come face to face with my own weaknesses, my own insecurities, and my own demons. I have had a problem with food for as long as I can remember. I have used food for comfort, stress relief, and even as a companion at times. I plan to be completely open about my fears, failures, and triumphs as I embark on learning for the first time in my life how to maintain a truely healthly lifestyle. This is a conversation that other Christ followers often over look. I have been following Christ for 10 years and have never allowed Him into this area of my life. My theme for 2012 is "Naked in the Potter's Hand". I will no longer hold this or any other area of my life from my Lord. Naked means many things including: uncovered, stripped away, or bare. I no longer want anything to get in the way of God's plan for my life. I see God as a Master Potter molding me into the final product he desires (Isaiah 64:8). I realize now that my journey to getting healthy doesn't just deal with my food choices, but it also encompasses how I spend my time, encorporating excercise, getting passionate about water, and protecting my sleep.

I'd love for you to take this journey with me. I plan to blog weekly and will be including things I am learning, recipes, tips from others, scriptures, and anything else that help me along the way. If you are also battling with some of these same issues I want you to know that you are not alone. This is a battle that many of us face and most of all God loves you and has a plan for you as well. I'd love to support you and correspond with you as you too allow the Lord into this area of your life.