How I Got Lost.

I remember way back when I was sitting in my room with some paper and a pen.
Words flowed like water and I couldn't stop them...
They were my only escape.
Escape the world, escape my life, escape my loneliest of times.

Music was another world.
Words to a melody and I was in love.
Things just made sense between music and my paper and pen.
Until one day I put them down
Dreams don't happen as easily as you can dream them

And where have I gone?
Silly me, I forgot the lyrics to my own song.
I forgot the steps to my own beat
I lost the very part of me.
Soul.
Heart and soul is who we all are.

We were made to be something so much more than who we are
So why can't we see
Why can't we believe that dreams are real
And so is He.

Grace is more than just a light in the dark
It's the beating of a heart.
The warmth of a mother's hand
The smile of a Father's face
The safety of an embrace

...

Yes, words...
Words are my saving grace.
Bring me back to my paper and pen
I want to inspire the world to dream again...






*Pic credit to True Stories, Honest Lies

Day... Oops!

Yeah, it's been an intermission of sorts..

We are human, we screw up. We drop the ball, we just plain...fail.

As hard as that is to admit, life happens.

And you can't teach something without first learning it yourself. Well, I thought I had learned grace. (Ha...God probably laughed hard at that thought.)

I embarked on The Maker's Diet wanting to heal some things, like the ache in my knees and yes, lose some weight. But I ended up focusing too much on what I couldn't have and not letting myself enjoy what I could have. (and among other life events that popped up...)

I am definitely the type of personality that is "ALL OR NOTHING" And I now I realize...that is NOT grace.



Grace says you can do it, you will do it but when you do blow it I will be here to help you pick up the pieces and we will move on together.

Grace says you blew it but I love you anyway.

Grace says that’s not acceptable but I’ll be there when you are ready to move on.

Grace says no, it’s not ok but in Christ we are.

Grace says you are a meat head but then so am I.

Grace never says it’s ok to act, do or say whatever, however or in what ever you choose. 


However in the end we need always remember that the tremendous gift God has given us means that…..
Grace does a body good!

When served straight up and not through a straw siphoning or covering up poor performance, attitude or thinking...I am learning this very fact. Grace is needed to be whole. Period.


I am off to continue to keep getting schooled on grace! ...which will be a forever lesson in progress...




In Grace.
Erica

Day 18- Walking Through The Dark Valley's

Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.-- Psalm 23:4

I hope you'll forgive me. It's been awhile. But here I'm back... Day 18.

It's been an interesting journey so far, needless to say. As I sat here trying to come up with something to write that would make sense to you (since nothing in my mind makes sense to me right now...) the one thing, the only thing, I can truly say is...God is so mysterious.

And I love and hate that. That is the truth.

See, the past 18 days have been nothing short of revitalizing yet exhausting at the same time. Oxymoron at it's best. I've come to realize that even if I am not doing these 40 days perfectly, I am doing the foundational aspects with all the grace He gives me. And for some reason, it's left me so vulnerable and well, lonely.

But I guess when you set out to do things not of this world...you kind of get left behind.

After Phase 1 of The Maker's Diet was completed the weekend after Easter, I honestly was a bit disappointed that the changes I was seeing...wasn't what I wanted to see or feel. I got frustrated with myself and tried to wrack my brain to reason what was going on.

No going back now right? So, I continued to press on....

Then He moved. He moved in my life in a subtle yet powerful way...like He always does.

Since mid January, I had started treatment with a Wellness Chiropractor for several issues. I initially went in to just see what was up with the increasing numbness in my left leg. After X-Rays, it was revealed to me that it was more than just numbness that was going wrong. The arc in my neck (which is referred to as the Arc of Life in the Chiro World) was in fact GONE. Not only gone, but I had a -5 degree in my neck. Now, I won't steer too off topic but certainly will blog on this another day, but in plain english...that's bad news! 

Losing the arc in your neck results in a host of crazyness that can start to happen in your body like headaches, hormone imbalances, in-ability to absorb nutrients properly...the list goes on and on. Basically, you need that arc in your neck! Plain and simple.

So, fast forward, I get re- X-rayed this week to see where I am at so far and BAM! My neck is now a humble 10 degrees! A whole 15 degrees shift in the right direction since January. Pretty freakin' cool, if you ask me. 

Well, that had me thinking....

Sometimes we tend to look at our lives and see nothing happening. All the while, God is slowly changing us from the inside, whatever that may mean. I always have to remind myself...God is never early nor late. His timing is j u s t right.

I am still healing. Probably more on the inside than out...for now. Do I have goals? Yes. But now I gotta learn to let go and LET God. Because I am weak, and He is strong. This body belongs to him, and I choose to honor Him with it no matter what, however long it takes, and no matter what the world thinks...

I will keep walking through these dark valley's....knowing there is light at the end waiting for me.

Day 11- Purpose & Prayer

So, here I am. Winding down at the end of my partial fast day and I got to say...God is good.

Sometimes we build things up in our minds that seem a far too great an obstacle to run. I mean come on, who wants to not eat all day?!

I love food, how about you? But when it comes to a 40 Day journey such as The Maker's Diet... it's not just about the food. You just don't count calories. In fact, calories aren't even a factor in this diet. (Shocking, I know...) The purpose of this diet is to let your body heal, restore and get back to the way God intended.

Today's fast was a lot more bare-able when I kept that purpose in the forefront of my mind. See, for me, my whole life before was centered around diets just to lose weight because I was putting pressure on me to fit in or whatever. You know how the story goes...

It's only Day 11 of this 40 Day journey and I am in awe of the One who made me. I really am...

My sister gave me this scripture that I read every time I had those hunger pangs today, and boy, did He deliver His promise...

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love and for the miracles he does for people. He satisfies the thirsty, and fills up the hungry." ~Psalm 107:8-9

It's not about a number on a scale, the way the clothes fit (although, its a bonus) counting calories or restrictive eating... it's about taking care of the most precious thing God's given us... Our bodies.

We only get one.




*Picture credit goes to Tryst

Day 8

 Happy After Easter!

Is this what you look like today? It's what I FEEL like! And I didn't even have any candy :( Blasphemy!! (just kidding...)


Just a quick update here for Day 8. This will be the last week of Phase One. (Hallelujah!) Can't lie...it's been tough. Been experiencing a lot of fatigue lately. I've been trying to diagnose myself and I just have concluded it to two things:

1) My body misses hummus.
2) I need a vacation.

Yes, two things no human should go without but alas, the journey presses on!

So how did I survive Easter on The Maker's Diet? Piece of cake! (Okay, well minus the cake...)

Picture this: Salmon (My fav!), A fabulous Zucchini Skillet, Yellow Squash & Snow Peas sauteed together, Steamed Asparagus and for dessert.... A Pumpkin & Goat's Milk yogurt parfait topped with almonds! (Yeah, I made it up, really I did!...)

Wish I was cool enough to remember to take pictures of the food (especially dessert...) like all those cool bloggers out there do so you can drool with me but ....still working on the cool factor. Ah, well.

Well, the fatigue is coming back for it's finale for the night SO...until fingers hit the keys again....

Love and be good to each other! Adios....

P.S I love Zumba! :) That is all.









*Picture credit goes to Goode-The Blog

Day 3

As promised... I wanted to bring you along on my 40 Day journey on The Maker's Diet! So, here is the deal...

Feeling great so far physically. I guess I kinda cheated in that I was already a pretty healthy eater before so not eating processed bread & sugar was no biggie for me. But Phase 1 of The Maker's Diet did have me cutting out beans...which meant no hummus... ((Insert dramatic gasp here)) Yeah, little addicted. But that's another blog topic for another day....

Sad, I know. But...I must press on!

This week has been interesting starting this journey on Monday. I've been hit with some crazy bouts with anxiousness and I have no clue why! Lately, I've really been examining my life and realize that I fail at keeping my life full of abundant and meaningful joy. For example...

I grew up dancing and loved it. It's definitely apart of me...BUT... over the last few years, I've seriously neglected that part of me and traded it in for the 40 hour work week to just simply...pay the bills. I know we all struggle with this, right? We are too tired at the end of the day from the monotonous work we do 8 hours (and sometimes more...) that at the end of the day...we are spent! Nothing left but to go home, cook dinner, and prepare for the next day! Then the weekend comes...its errand and cleaning day, and come Sunday...get ready to do the week all over again. THE ....SAME...WAY.

I am burnt out. What about you??

So, this is one HUGE reason why I wanted to do The Maker's Diet. Because it literally has you schedule in a "fun" day...no work, nothing but enjoying life as it is meant to be!.... But not an easy task! Especially for type A personalities such as myself who wants to get stuff done! (argh...) Focus, focus....

But alas, this weekend will be my attempt at doing so. Good thing it's the Easter weekend, and I am forced to get out of the house and spend time celebrating with some family.

And God is so cool, I tell ya... A good friend of mine texted me the other day and asked if I wanted to start Zumba classes this Saturday....BINGO! Right on time :) I am thrilled to do something new AND it's dance! Rock on! I am so ready!

Well, tomorrow is my "partial fast" day. Which means no breakfast, no lunch. Prayers please! haha...No really. PRAY! Good thing is that I can juice veggies and drink that all day until I get home for dinner. (Hello, Perfect Food Berry! Makes my life easier to juice at work, powder form, what's up!) I am excited about it though. Fasting gives your body a chance to repair and heal. And I am ALL for that.

Till the next update...

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  --Philippians 3:14

40 Days Of The Maker's Way

  

Photo Courtesy of http://www.makers-diet.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ever since I got this book in the mail only a few weeks ago, I haven't been able to put it down! I had been familiar with Jordan Rubin before when I tried to read his book that was written after The Maker's Diet and that is called The Great Physician's Rx for Health & Wellness.



Tried being the key word.

I obviously wasn't in the right frame of mind. I got a few pages in and felt that it wasn't for me. As I continued on in life trying to "diet" by the worlds standards, I continued to fail and yo-yo diet, losing and gaining weight, never staying consistent and worst of all, hurting myself in the process.

Fast forward over a year later and since then gone through school for Nutrition & Wellness and been exposed to whole new world of REAL food & exercise...my mentality is right where it needs to be. And I am ready!

So, as I embark on these 40 Days...starting tomorrow, I want to take you along for the ride. I'll be documenting my experiences right here.

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What is The Maker's Diet?

"Diet" being a loose term here, these 40 days do not just focus on the simple desire to lose weight for physical appearance, rather it's a lifestyle regimen designed to improve overall health and healing and to return to the foods that our bodies were designed to run best on. Along with incorporating real food, The Maker's Diet encourages real exercise, prayer, and seeking joy to start living a fuller, healthier life.

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So if you wonder, "Hey, can I do this?" Stick around and I'll be giving you play by plays, so to speak, as I do my usual "9-5" job, plus incorporating a huge aspect for me into these 40 Day's and that's....

JOY.

See, I've come to realize that I can eat all the right foods, do all the right exercise and take all the right vitamins and supplements but as it says in Proverbs 17:22... "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." 

This is my challenge. To find my joy in life again and keep it apart of my life as much as taking care of this body for optimum health. Also, I am believing for my knees to get stronger and heal within these 40 Days. I've had trouble with them the past couple years and actually...that is what has kept me from one of my joys, and that is dancing!

All the more reason to get healthy and get on God's plan...

I hope you will join me as I journey through this... and if you please, keep me in your prayers as I commit these next 40 Days to the Lord!

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength..."