To Be Known By Love

After our church service this past Sunday I have had a lot weighing on my heart that I just feel I need to say. We are going through a series called "Brave" and it's just as you'd expect; how to be brave. What being brave looks like and how we can achieve that. 

Last Sunday we talked about journeying towards gratitude which in turn leads to holiness which than leads to generosity. I think that being thankful for the love God has for me and making feel whole and turning that love into generosity towards others is my weakness. I am very harsh towards people and if you mess up and hurt me or any one that I care about it's hard for me to love you again and show you generosity. 

"photo courtesy of simplyablogoflife.com"

Once you step back and think about everything that people have done that God has forgiven them for than why can't you forgive the person that hurt you? Forgiving someone doesn't give them permission to hurt you again or even saying you have forgotten what they've done. Forgiving someone, loving them, and showing generosity towards them is done because you know God's love. He loves you and has forgiven you for all your sins and you are now whole again and can continue on to bless others.

Grace compels generosity.

1 John 4:7-8 says "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes form God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

John 15:12-13 says "This is my commandment: love each other the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friend."

The past couple months I've had a really hard time with forgiving people and showing them grace. No one is perfect but if I know God's love then I can show others that love as well. 

xoxo

-k

P.S. If you would like to watch any of the recorded services from the Brave series you can click the link below. I have also included links to watch some past series as well if you'd be interested in that.

"Brave" series

"Double" series

"Hope" series

"Preseason" series

"Crazy Busy" series

"Drive-Thru Jesus" series

Random Life Happenings

Happy Friday Guys & Gals! 

This post is going to be random and thrown all over the place. There really isn't much point to it except to catch all of you up on what I've been up to over the past couple weeks or so. Now, I'm sure some of you won't find this interesting and couldn't care less as to what I'm doing in my life. However; this blog is not just for you guys to read, it's for me to have a place to write my thoughts, ideas, vents, experiences, etc. and someday be able to go back to and see what things were like or maybe someday show my children.

First off most of you know I'm in Nursing School. Well the term I'm in now is the first term of the actual program. I'm actually doing quite well in most of my classes except one, Anatomy Lab. I don't know what it is about the class but I can never seem to do very good on the muscles or tissue part of the class. I'm really better on my comprehensive exam this next week to bump my grade. I really will be studying hard this weekend so don't expect to see me around social media too much. Today was also my last day of clinicals for the CNA class. I really enjoyed going to those because I got to know many of the residents by name and learned more about them as I was there more often. I heard some amazing stories from some of the people there. <3

As I'm sure you all know, Valentines Day is tomorrow. Everyone of you is probably going to dinner, a movie, ice skating, staying in and renting a movie, etc. Well not Ross & I. Oh no no no..not that cliche old boring stuff. We're going to a gun & knife show! Yay - how exciting!! (Hint the sarcasm.) I'm sure that I will have a good time because I like going to those things and it really isn't about what you do on Valentines Day, it's about who you spend that time with. It just sucks seeing everyone's posts on Facebook about the flowers, stuffed animals, or chocolates they got. Oh well, there's always next year right ;) If any of you live near here feel free to show up so I'm not the only girl that spend her Valentines Day at a gun show!!

The last random thing I want to share with you guys isn't really about anything specific happening in my life, just a quote I found that I fell in love with. It has so much truth to it and if you really read it and put it into effect in your own lives I'm sure you will start to find some peace with anyone that has ever walked out of your life.

Isn't that amazing? I know how hard it can be for someone you truly care about and love to just not be there anymore. It's heart breaking. But knowing that there is a reason that they are no longer there and knowing that you are going on to bigger and better things is so comforting to me. The same is true for them when they walked out of your life. You were no longer part of their journey we call life. You served your purpose, whether you know it or not, and it was time for you both to move on. Don't hate people because they left, don't be bitter towards them, or even angry with yourself because you thought there was something you could have done to make them stay. Just forgive them for the hurt and move on to bigger and better things <3

xoxo

-k

Healthy Living Update!

So I thought I'd let you all in on what's been going on with my healthy lifestyle changes lately. First off, I haven't been working out nearly enough or as much as I want to be. I've realized that I lack more motivation than previously thought :/

I have been drinking more water though which is definitely a good thing. Not as much as I need to be drinking but better than I use to be. I'll drink at least 2 glasses of water a day compared to drinking none before. I usually squeeze some fresh lemon in it to help taste better because I hate the taste of tap water. I know I need to step up my game and drink more but I feel like you have to start somewhere.

As for eating healthy I've been really trying to. Not drinking as many smoothies as I thought I would be but I believe that's due to my laziness of not wanting to spend the extra time making one. I still feel like I snack way too much even though my snacking recently has been some light yogurt, applesauce, or cottage cheese. It's so hard for me to say no to things and resist the urge to keep eating clean. Especially when no one else in my house is trying to eat healthy or work out. I've been trying to get Ross to do some things with me but he says he'd rather get a gym membership and just workout on the treadmill or something. When we do decide to get memberships I think it'll be a lot better because as of right now I can only do body weight exercises because we don't have any equipment. I would much rather run/walk on the treadmill, use the elliptical, or use the weight machines. They help me mix things up instead of just doing the same old things like sit ups, push ups, planks, squats, etc. I know those things can really help but I need variety!! 

I hope that I can find some kind of motivation soon to get up and start making the change that I've wanted to make for awhile! I know my life will be so much better! I'll have more energy, I'll be able to actually wake up in the morning without feeling like crap, and I'll just have more confidence in myself overall.

xoxo

-k

Kale Chips

I've seen from a couple friends on Facebook that they make kale chips but I was always leary about making them. I didn't think they would taste very good and was worried I'd just waste the bag. When I went shopping the other day I purchased a bag so I could throw some pieces into my smoothies. Since I have extra I decided to make some chips tonight. Let me tell you right now these were AMAZING!!! I can't believe I hadn't tried these sooner!!

I just used a handful or two of rinsed kale, I added a couple drizzles of olive oil, and since we don't have our spices at our new apartment yet I just had to use some kosher salt. When we get our spices here I'll be using some garlic powder/salt, some pepper, and maybe some onion powder. You bake these at 350F for 5-10 minutes. I baked mine for 6 minutes and the tips/ends of the chips are crispy and the rest is still kind of soft but I really enjoy it. They are such an amazing healthy yet salty treat! 

xoxo

-k

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle

If you read my previous blog post you know that a healthy lifestyle is on my new years goals list. I not only want to be physically healthier but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthier as well. This post will focus mainly on the physical part of my journey. I will be posting some before pictures because I feel it will help me stay motivated. I don't think I am fat by any means but I do think there are areas of my body that need a lot of work to get rid of any excess that may be there.

I hope when I post these that all of you reading this will be respectful of these pictures because it has taken a lot for me to be able to post these. 

So there they are, my before body. The past couple days I haven't been doing a whole lot. Just some stretching, short Zumba videos I can play on Youtube an watch them on the tv, and some basic exercises like jumping jacks, planks, sit-ups, etc. Eventually I'd like to get a gym membership when we have the extra money and go there every night. Even if it's just for 30 minutes at least I'll stay motivated and won't just sit on the couch all night long.

xoxo

-k