Paleo Living

For the past two years, I've been a CrossFitter. I love the exercise and since becoming a CrossFit follower, I have actually started to enjoy working out. It's just something about that feeling of really pushing yourself and seeing the hard work pay off. Most CrossFitters follow the Paleo diet.  It's such a simple diet:  protein, veggies, nuts, seeds, and oils, some fruit and no sugar. I think that's it? I'm probably missing something, but that's the gist. 

Anyway, when I first moved to Knoxville, I was able to follow the diet for about 2 weeks and then I caved. Seriously, I felt better in those two weeks than I can ever remember feeling. Given that...I want to start eating that healthy again, which is why I'm sharing with you. The more people I share with the more accountable I am.

Also, it's 60 degrees in Knoxville today. I can definitely say I've caught a bad case of Spring Fever. I've never once had the desire to grow anything, until today. Thus, I've been outside planting a balcony vegetable garden! I have prayed over the kale and broccoli seeds on my balcony because I'm pretty sure they are going to need it if I am the mother of them (:

Enjoy your day, dear friends!

Love - from God's Perspective

This is going to be short and sweet because I'm about to head out for a public health presentation. 


I've still been reading Crazy Love, which is so awesome.  In the last chapter I read (5, I think?), Chan discusses love from God's perspective.  Now we all know 1 Corinthians 13...it's recited at every wedding I go to, in tons of movies, in church, etc. We hear it everywhere. Personally, after hearing it so often, I have falsely been led to believe that I have a full understanding of what that verse means. Come to find out, I do not. 

As followers of Christ, we are sent to this Earth to love. That is the greatest commandment and the meat of the gospels.  Well, what does it mean to love? 

Paul writes this definition:

"Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Chan then details an exercise he did, where instead of reading this with the word love, he substitutes in his own name. So here is mine:

"Tracy is patient. Tracy is kind. Tracy does not envy, Tracy does not boast, Tracy is not proud. Tracy does not dishonor others, Tracy is not self-seeking, Tracy is not easily angered, Tracy keeps no record of wrongs. Tracy does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Tracy always protects, Tracy always trusts, Tracy always hopes, Tracy always perseveres."

Can I say this is true about myself? As followers of Christ, who are sent to Earth solely to love and make disciples, shouldn't this be the defining characteristics of our being? I can't even say this is who I am with my closest family and friends, much less with strangers. Definitely gave me something to think about this week, for sure.

Emjoy (:

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Love

I've heard amazing things about this book. I've seen amazing transformations spurred by this book. And I can honestly say that I am feeling God's crazy, crazy, crazy love for us as I read this book.

It's remarkable. I'm taking a break from Love Does because I recently joined a small group that wanted to read this. Unfortunately, grad school doesn't allow for multiple book readings at one time :D

I found my copy of Crazy Love at a yard sale back home. I really had heard amazing things about it, so I decided it was worth the 50 cents that it was selling for.  As I read it, I understand why this book was on that 50 cent table.  Francis Chan challenges the American church and he challenges the way Christians currently think. I am not the perfect Christian by any, any means. I'm actually far from it. Reading parts of Chan's brutal honesty does make me feel uncomfortable at times. Unfortunately. Nonetheless, it makes me step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to live a life that God intends for His followers. Thus, I am more than thankful I picked up this great find on that hot summer day. 

One of the truths God has chosen to reveal to me through this book is this:  When we find joy in God and the Kingdom, we start to want to live our lives for Him. It's no longer an inconvenience in our lives, but an actual desire.  I love that. In my short 24 years here, I have desired many things. Many worldly things. Since stumbling upon this revelation, I have seen my worldly desires shift to Godly desires. And now I just want that for everyone in my life and for every stranger I haven't met. This brings greater joy than any worldly desire ever could.

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

Matthew 13:44

I have many, many, many thoughts on this book. I've read four chapters, but want to go back and reread/soak in Chan's truths. Hopefully, I will be sharing more thoughts from this in the near future. 

Happy Saturday (:

God's Strength

"But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's strength may rest on me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Tonight, I am going to take a real literal interpretation of this verse. I'm currently at a conference in Birmingham, Alabama, and I truly feel like I have done nothing but eat ALL. DAY. LONG. I am so full and disgusted right now about the amount of food I ate.  Anyway, all day I thought about going to the hotel gym, and not until 11 p.m. did I finally get my butt in gear to get there. But, hey, at least I did it.  On my way out, I was thinking about how strenuous the workout was and how I've always had to work really hard to even be in decent shape. I am not in great shape right now, by any means.

Weight has been a constant struggle throughout my life. Seriously since I was little. I've always been active, but I've also always had that "pudge." I cannot say I've ever truly been satisfied with my fitness level. In the last couple of years, I've worked out hard. CrossFit hard.  I've definitely seen tremendous progress. Nonetheless, in my fitness endeavors, Ive always relied on my own physical and emotional strength to get me through workouts or eating plans.  Never have I relied on God's strength. After all, Christ says He is made perfect in our weaknesses. This has to mean our physical weakness, too? 

Tonight, I realized that we give all our other problems to God, so why don't I give this one to Him? Why don't I rely on His strength in my weakness? God puts problems or obstacles in our lives, so we will call on Him:

"If life were stable, I'd never need God's help. Since it's not, I reach out for Him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I don't have control because it makes me run to Him."

-Francis Chan, Crazy Love

My second argument is that everything we do in this life is supposed to be for the glory of God. 

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31

I work out daily, but I can't say it's for the glory of God. Shouldn't I start making Him the reason for these workouts? Shouldn't I be putting His strength at the forefront instead of my own?

I know it sounds like I'm just trying to convince myself that I need to go to the gym more regularly, but I'm not. I'm trying to include God in every aspect of my life. I love God. I love working out. This life is meant to be lived FOR HIM. Why should working out not be included in that? My last argument is based off this:

"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."

1 Corinthians 6:19

Thus, our bodies need to be taken care of, preserved, and kept healthy for the Creator. Don't we owe that to Him?

Just food for thought. Good night (:

Blown Away.

"For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."

Ephesians 1:15-23

I know it's long, but these verses just blow me away. Seriously, what Paul is writing is incredible. I have been trying to work my way through Ephesians for about a week now, and I'm just finishing the first 23 verses of the book. I have to stop each night after a couple of verses because I am so overwhelmed for the love God has and the way Paul explains it. 

This passage just resonated so deeply with me this morning because I have recently been struggling with Christian friendships. I have friends in my life that love God the way I love God. However, recently, they have seen sins in my life, but instead of encouraging me to God's love, they have cut me down and made me feel unworthy of that love. That's why I am clinging to what Paul writes here. When he sees the faith others have and their love for God, he praises God for that. He gives the glory to God and thanks Him for their faith. He then asks God to bless them with wisdom, revelation, the ability to know Him better, an enlightened heart, the knowledge of the riches of the inheritance they have waiting, and the power that He uses for them. This is the exemplary of a Christian friendship. No, I do not always pray for my friends the same way Paul does here. I don't always correctly approach my friends about God's love and their actions either. But this is the way it should be. We should encourage each other, love each other, let each other know that we are thanking God for each other and their faith. We shouldn't be degrading our friends and telling them that we are praying for change because their life is completely off track. 

Secondly, the words Paul writes about God are amazing. That's the God we worship? The one that uses the same power for us that He used to raise Christ from the dead? How could someone not feel overwhelmed by the love God has for us after reading that one sentence? I'm not sure exactly how to expand on this, other than to say wow. God's love is amazing and when I read this it stirs a feeling deep within my soul. God's love will never be understated.

I know I'm probably missing a lot of points from this passage, but these are the main ones I took this morning. There may be more to come as I continue to reflect (:

Happy Friday!

All You Need is Love

Happy Valentine's Day!! Today was my day to pick the Bible verse for Claire and I to learn. I have referenced this verse a couple of times before in my blog, have underlined it in my Bible, have claimed it as one of my favorite in the entire Bible; yet I have not committed it to memory.  Here it is guys.

Scripture 2

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Even as I type this verse, it blows me away. Wow! Happy Valentine's Day, all. Don't forget the greatest love of all.

AccountabiliBuddies

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another."

Back in July 2010, I wrote about the Hebrews 10:24 people in my life. However, my best friend is the epitome of Hebrews 10:24. How lucky I am to have had this beacon of God's love in my life for the past 8 years. God's love should be basked in and shared among those you love, and thankfully, I have experienced this with the best of the best.

For the past couple of years, I have tried to sacrifice something of myself for Lent, ranging from make-up to chocolate.  With the realization over the last couple of days that Ash Wednesday was quickly approaching, I had no idea what my sacrifice would be this season. However, it was placed on my heart yesterday to memorize Scripture.  I think every child of God should be equipped with His Word to ward off the enemy, but I never commit the time to actually do it. So in true Hebrews 10:24 fashion, I recruited my best friend to join me on this adventure.  We are both at a critical time in our individual spiritual journeys, where we have experienced immense growth and love for the Creator. I'm so excited to share the next couple of weeks with her! 

Scripture 1

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His commandments have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.

Psalm 111:10