Trusting God's Timing

Happy Monday everyone! Due to yet another "winter" storm, I'm home from work all in the name of a snow day!  I enjoy these extended weekends and having the opportunity to just lounge around the house and relax. Ok, I know some of you had to go to work today so I won't continue to rub that in. :-)

One of the things I chose to do today was to clean out my e-mail inbox. When I was on my internet fast a few weeks ago, my inbox had racked up in unread e-mails and I wanted to just go through them all to be sure I hadn't missed anything of importance. To my surprise, I stumbled across an e-mail from my friend Timere.  The subject of the e-mail was "FAITH". I opened the e-mail and the body read "this is the awesome sermon I caught last night".  I clicked on the link and it was a Joel Osteen sermon called "Activate Faith, Not Fear".  I watched the sermon and it was truly a blessing! You can check it out here.  After watching that sermon, I noticed another sermon on the right hand side of the screen called "Trusting God's Timing".  I decided to click on it and see what it was all about.

This was no surprise that this sermon was all that I needed and more!!! I have struggled with being patient while waiting for things to come to pass my entire life (hence the name my friends used to call me Anxious Annie)! As I've grown older and more mature especially in my walk with God, my patience has increased and I am much better than I was. However, I can't truly say that my desire to have instant gratification doesn't kick in from time to time.

Joel says in the sermon:

"In life we're always waiting for something. When it's not happening as fast as we would like, it's easy to get frustrated. The moment you prayed, God has established a set time for it to come to pass. When you understand the time has already been set, it takes the pressure off. You can relax and enjoy your life knowing that the promise has already been scheduled by the creator of the universe."

Of course no one likes to wait (well at least I don't know anyone who does), but this sermon confirms that when we trust God's timing, everything we've ever waited for will be awesome and amazing once it comes to pass!

One of my favorite verses regarding timing is from Habakkuk 2:3 and it says: "...The vision is for an appointed time, it may seem slow in coming, but wait patiently for it is surly coming".  I have made vision boards for the past two years and each year, I put this scripture on my board! The great thing about this scripture is that it says "wait patiently for it is SURLY to come".  That's a promise!! Whatever you're waiting on, it's coming eventually! 

Two things that I've wanted for as long as I could remember are: having a fit body and being in a loving, healthy relationship. I remember when I was in 6th grade, I declared that I wanted this banging amazing body! As for the relationship, I have always loved love for as long as I can remember so that's been a constant desire of my heart as well. Each of these things are slightly different when it comes to when it could come to pass for me.

Getting my body into shape is something that is solely dependent on my efforts and my doing. Finding the right person for me, is not so much an independent event. But I have noticed that both of these things fall align with perfect timing.

Like I've said in a previous post, I have never been a stranger to working out. I played a few active sports in middle and high school and I did some recreational working out all throughout my 20s, but why has my body never seen the results I'm seeing now? I'll tell you why! Because getting fit is not just about working out! I've said it time and time again! It's a "trifecta" (as one of my Instagram followers calls it) which includes: quality nutrition, cardio, and resistance training. All three of those things put together is what's yielding me these results. This also takes a disciplined mind! Getting is shape and eating right really is a lot more mental than people give it credit for.  There are so many things that motivate me to keep going in this journey.  Caring about my health and not taking it for granted, understanding how important nutrition is if I want to see results,  mentally pushing myself through a challenging workout (overcoming laziness), and lastly being motivated to encourage others through my journey! Inspiring others has been a huge push with keeping me going in all of this. Sometimes I want to give up, but I think about how many people are inspired by me and I keep going.  Another thing is the timing of seeing the results! It's easy to get discouraged when you want to see a six pack 3 days after you start working out and eating right. Sometimes you  may even want to give up because you think it's not working for you.  In due time, with consistency it will happen!! The date is already set so just throw the scale out the window and keep doing what you're doing! The date was also set for me to get my mind right and understand all that it entails for me to do this! The date was already set for me to care about wanting to inspire others when years ago, this would have been all about me and only me!

As for finding love, I can't believe I'm saying this, but within the past couple of months, this has been the first time EVER that I wasn't pressed about when it was going to happen. I mean I'm the lover of the group!! Anyone who knows me knows I'm the one with the hearts in my eyes, bursting into song and dance "TO BE LOVED, TO BE LOVED.....AHHHH WHAT A FEELING"..Prince Akheem from Coming to America style, type of chick! And this sermon was so on point for confirming that my feelings of ease in this area of my life is exactly how God wants me to feel! No need to be anxious or worried when it's going to happen.  No need to panic that I live in the boondocks so how and where will I meet this man!? No need to panic that I'm almost 30 and still waiting. No need to consult the biological clock and go into panic mode. It is still a desire of my heart, but I truly trust God that the moment is already set and with that said, I might as well enjoy the life I have now until that appointed date and time arrives.

"...it's through faith and patience that we inherit the promises". Hebrews 6:12

You can check out this sermon here!

*Be blessed*

Surviving the road trip!

This weekend I went on my first "road trip" since starting this eat clean lifestyle.  I must admit I was really nervous about going out of town because I wasn't sure how it was going to go with me trying to stick to eating clean and not being in the comfort of my own kitchen or being easily accessible to a refrigerator or microwave, etc. I traveled to Washington, DC for my sorority's Centennial Founder's Day (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Innnnncorprorated) celebration! OOO-OOP my sweet sweet sorors!!! I will have another post for the phenomenal time I had this weekend and how I am so proud to be a member of this illustrious organization!!!!

Ok back on track, so I traveled to DC and I knew there were going to be three things that could pose a problem while I was there. 1.) I would be traveling almost 6 hours in my car total (going and coming) 2.) on Saturday, I knew I was going to be out and about all day long 3.) since I was staying with a friend, I couldn't guarantee she would have food that I would want to eat AND I don't like to go to someone's house and just eat up all their food (other than my sister and brother-in-law's house lol).  With me trying to eat at least 6 small meals/day, I knew that would be highly inconsiderate to expect a friend to feed me like that.  I am also on a very strict budget since this year I'm really trying to stay on track with not overspending. This easily eliminates me eating out for every meal while I'm away from home.

So I knew I was going to have to strategically plan what I was going to eat in order to survive this weekend. I did a little research and found a few helpful websites that suggested certain foods that travel well.  With that being said, I got to work on figuring out what I was going to take with me.  I knew I was going to be having brunch with my sorors on Saturday afternoon so that was one meal that was already accounted for. I also looked at the menu online before going to be sure I could choose a healthy meal once I arrived. The rest of the day and Sunday was the mystery.

The proposed itinerary for the weekend went like so: Saturday: drive to DC (2.5 hours), brunch with the sorors at noon, day party with the sorors from 3-until whenever, not sure what was happening in between, then going out to the campus of Howard University at 10:30pm to prepare to ring in Founder's Day at midnight with thousands of other members of the sorority, church on Sunday in Alexandria, VA, drive back home (2.5 hours)!

I decided on these items: medium sized navel orange (pre-peeled and put in a ziplock bag to be able to easily snack on it), 2 bananas, a canister that held about 3 palm fulls of almonds, one apple, a ziplock bag of Pirate's Booty cheese puffs (yes, I know these aren't "clean", but I was just trying to get rid of the rest of them that were in my pantry), 2 of my homemade protein bars (really one for me and one for my friends to taste in case they were interested), pre-packaged unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup of quick oats with cinnamon (for breakfast on Sunday), and one all natural granola bar.

My sorors made fun of me saying my purse was stocked with snacks. One asked me "do you have kids are something?? Why do you have all that in your purse?" Disclaimer: the apple, applesauce, and quick oats were kept in a lunch box...I did not have those things in my purse.  Everything else was loaded into a very large purse my sister got me for Christmas (perfect timing)!!!

This worked out perfectly!! On the ride down, I was getting a little hungry so I ate one of the bananas.  For brunch, I had an egg white omelet with lots of veggies, chicken, and turkey sausage for a little extra protein, a side of fruit, and some home fries which I shared with some of my sorors (yes, not clean, I know).  At the day party, I was starting to get a little hungry so I ate my orange, a handful of almonds, and the Pirate's Booty cheese puffs.  I also nibbled on my protein bar since it got crumbled while in my purse.  After the day party, we had some time to spare so we went to another restaurant with some of our older chapter sorors. I was not planning to eat while there, but I was a little hungry so I got a half order of baked chicken wings.  By morning, I had the quick oats and cut up the apple for breakfast.  After I got out of church, I ate the last banana, the granola bar, and two handfuls of almonds (I was now on the verge of starving).  This was unfortunately not enough to satisfy my growing hunger and I was getting sleepy so after about a hour and a half after eating that, I stopped off at a Starbucks (had a gift card) and got a skinny vanilla latte and a piece of banana nut bread (not clean, I know..cheat day)! This sustained me the rest of the way home!

I'm sure as I continue to have to travel while adapting this lifestyle, I will find other foods that travel well.  I say that overall, I think I did pretty good during this road trip and came as prepared as possible!

I'll be traveling again soon for the whole weekend instead of one day.  I'll be sure to let you guys know how that goes!

And I'm back!

I'm finally back from Christmas vacation and it feels good to be home! I really hate staying away from my house for a long period of time.  It's like I go through house withdrawls....weird.  Either way, my time spent with my sister and brother-in-law was a wonderful time, but I'm really glad to be home! 

Now that I'm back, I'm super excited about getting started on this eating clean diet and back to regular exercise.  While I was in Memphis, I did exercise regularly, but I haven't been to my gym since before Christmas.  It's been two weeks and I'm ready to get back in there and get ripped!!! 

Another thing I did while I was in Memphis was watch a video called Food, Inc. which basically talks about what is really going on with our foods in this country.  It was a truly eye opening experience to watch.  I couldn't believe some of the stuff I was seeing!! It's a shame that these things are allowed in our country to be put out as food.  I also read a book called The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno which changed my prospective on a lot of things too.  Reno was once overweight and after her divorce, she decided it was time to make some changes! She began working out and eating better.  Her book series are really easy reads and I enjoyed learning about how to eat clean.  

Last night I drove back home after my flight landed in Richmond around midnight.  I was going to stay in Richmond and just drive home in the morning, but I was really ready to get back home and more importantly get a jump start on this new lifestyle change.  I stopped by the store in the wee hours of the morning to pick up a few things and will be going back to the grocery store today to get more stuff.  I'm also hitting up a killer workout to top it all off.  

Breakfast today consisted of sauteed spinach, mushrooms, 2 egg whites, 1 egg with yolk, a sprinkle of feta cheese. Dried oats, maple syrup, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.  I washed it all down with a mug of green tea (no sugar or sweetners).  I made the oatmeal with water instead of milk and I must say without my regular 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, it was a different taste.  I'm sure it's something I can eventually grow to like.  It wasn't 100% horrible though.  I'm sure I can perfect it with some other ingredients as I continue with this change.  

So here I go....I'll keep you all posted on how well it's going for me!! 

Dinner on a budget!

As I mentioned in my first post, I will be sharing foods that I cook and love to eat! Tonight's post is called dinner on a budget, because well...I'm on a BUDGET!! Every penny counts and every dollar has a name in this household! Now don't get it wrong, I am blessed and God definitely supplies all of my needs. Now my wants on the other hand....yeah, you get it.  But as long as my needs are supplied, I'm all good! Thank you, Lord! :)

Either way, yesterday I went by Trader Joe's (which by the way is a health haven for those on a budget) and I picked up a few things.  One of those things included some ground turkey.  I had it sitting in my refrigerator and knew I either needed to cook it or freeze it very soon.  So I decided today to cook it.  I do cook meals for one (that would be moi), so sometimes I have to get really creative so that I don't waste food as it is kind of hard to make portions small enough for just one person. With the ground turkey, I made two meals! Yes, two different meals and both were very cost efficient!  One meal I will have tonight for dinner, and those left overs will probably be lunch or dinner tomorrow.  The other meal will be eaten some time in the next few days.  

Meal number one: turkey burgers! And they are good!! So I took half the package of ground turkey to make two turkey burger patties.  I mixed an egg, sweet onions, green peppers, Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning, and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce together to make the patties.  I then cooked them in a frying pan over medium heat until they were completely cooked.  Putting the onion and green peppers in with the ground turkey makes it sometimes hard to keep the patties together while cooking, thus I added the egg. When I got finished cooking those, I set them aside because I was working on meal number two.  In the mean time, I cut up a little red onion (I love onions!!) and placed those on top of the patties and sprinkled a little bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top (not too much, just a little).  To go along with my burgers, I baked some french fries.  Not the most healthiest side dish, but sometimes I have cheat days! And besides, I baked them so not too too bad.  

Meal number two: whole wheat penne pasta with marinara sauce, ground turkey, and a few pieces of turkey pepperoni.  I cut up a few more green peppers and onion and sauteed those before putting the ground turkey in to brown and cook thoroughly.  I combined the cooked penne pasta, marinara sauce, ground turkey, and pepperoni together to make a quick and easy pasta dish! I seasoned the ground turkey with Italian seasoning, basil, and oregano.  

I now have two meals using some of the same ingredients without wasting anything! 

By the way, in case you haven't noticed the trend or was wondering why...I don't eat red meat or pork so this is why I'm using the ground turkey and turkey pepperoni.  I gave up all meat instead of fish for Lent this past Lenten season and after it was over, I only incorporated chicken and turkey back into my diet.  I left the red meat and pork alone.  It hasn't been too bad either! I have really enjoyed using turkey and chicken products for that added protein.  I also use a lot of herbs and spices to season my food instead of salt.  Mrs. Dash's line of seasonings is amazing and gives food a real boost of robust flavor!! Some of my favorite from the line is lemon pepper, garlic and herb, original seasoning, and onion and herb! 

meal #1

I didn't have any bread, so I basically adorned my turkey burger with all the fixings without a bun.  I added fresh spinach, red onion, organic ketchup, and spicy brown mustard.  I am also working on taking at least 20 minutes to eat my food instead of scarfing it all down in record time.  What I found to be helpful was to write this blog while I ate.  And sure enough, it's been about 20 minutes! I washed dinner down with a tall glass of water!! I may have a piece of fruit for dessert.  

Do you like turkey burgers? If you make yours from scratch, what do you like to season yours with?