Lately....

...I am digging Johnny Cash's music (in fact, listening right now to my Johnny Cash Pandora station!) after hearing a biography on him on a Mars Hill sermon in Philippians about temptation (listen to it at 55:53 'til the end to hear Cash's story) and how he eventually overcame his temptations of pills, alcohol, and other drugs. His power to overcome came through returning to his Savior and putting focus in Christ. I love his hymns he re-wrote or penned himself. Knowing his story is all the more powerful. I am curious to read his autobiography Cash at some point. Also, I really enjoy the movie Walk the Line with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, though am now disappointed to find that it left out so much of his faith that brought him back to Christ and away from drug and alcohol addiction in such a distinct way. [Side note is that the stories about hymn writers at the end of the Philippians sermons were incredibly moving for me to more intimately understand why songs were written. This one on death rocked my spirit, brought me to tears in my car as I drove, and connected me with It is Well in a way I have never come close to feeling. I will never sing that song again without understanding the weight of which it was written, the ache, and the sorrow that went into the words of this hymn. Listen to the sermon at 1:00:35 to hear the moving story. And other side note is that I think June Carter Cash is the cutest!]

...I am reading The Song of the Lark on my Kindle by Willa Cather who I adored in high school. It is really long (Amazon.com says it's only 308 pages and it feels more like 900+, no joke) and I am still working to get hooked, which I am bummed about. I was so much more easily captivated by L.M. Montgomery's works over the last few months and might go back to her or try something different.


...blogs I continue to peek at and find fun ideas and inspiration (who needs Pinterest?;) on are bleubirdvintage, bridgetbeth, and thepioneerwoman. Plus it's fun to see what my sister comes up with for her latest outfit combination, accessorizing, or decorating details for the home on her blog.

...you'll finding me sweating two days a week at the Les Mills Body Pump class at my local 24 Hour Fitness. People, my muscles actually have tone! Shocking. My weights are slowly increased over the course of several week spans. Like, I'm lifting more and more. I sweat. A lot. Like, elbow sweat action. Drippy elbow sweat that tickles when it runs down your arms. Ha. I feel really good. I feel strong. I feel stronger. I sometimes lift more weight than the guy next to me. That's right. More than a male. I am proud of my hard work. But I might someday drop my weights on my feet, on the person behind me, fart really loud during ab work outs, or fall backwards when doing a squat sequence because my legs totally give out and the weights on my back are heavy enough to make me tipsy when I am not exhausted at the end of a set. Shoot down pride, come on.

...completely motivated and excited about the sermon on the collision of the Western/modern family and the Biblical family and leaving a legacy that my precious mentor emailed to me and I shared with Bible study this week. it's incredible. i think that our word is going to be something like generous or provision based on a multitude of passions and calls on our lives God has blessed us with. We'll see how He takes off with us and what we decide to do to make it all happen and put it into action!

...God is completely encouraging me to invest more quality and quantity time with Him journaling, reading the Word, researching, and studying. I am in Acts currently and He is fueling my fire with exciting stories of truth of the early church and how fearless they were!

...tired of my hair, but not wanting to whack it off by any means. maybe I need to straighten it a bit more or get out of the lazy groove and try some totally different hair styles. can't wait to see what my hair cutter lady (hair stylist sounds a bit uppity for me, but use it if you want and I won't judge!) comes up with for ideas for me when I say 'Help!!!'

...God reminds over and over again that He has me in this place in life right now for a reason. Completely for a reason. Some of the reason is clear and sometimes I am a little fuzzy. Probably why He keeps telling me to listen up and learn some more of His teachings in the Bible!

...my favorite way to get together with friends and family is to meet up and take a walk or run or bike ride or something active. I want to encourage those around me to be more active and enjoy it while catching up, chatting, praying, being accountable, and sharing life and laughs and hardships and challenges. Who says all time spent has to be over food? Although, I do love to eat...

...I cannot get enough of different combinations of salad creations. Feed me veggies, yum, yum! This is brought on by increased motivation to look decent when we go to a Disney water park in Florida and I would like to grab a new cute bikini as my others are worn out after having them for 2-4 years each. Flatten tummy, or else! I'll try to put a picture of my lunch today here which is what we ate last night for dinner. I was full for the night after a small bowl of brown rice and milk and cinnamon and sugar warmed for dessert/carbs, but Alejandro was hungry and wanting a good steak or something to suppress his hunger. Anyways, I made a spinach, pear, feta, red onion, carmelized walnut, celery delight inspired by our heap of pears from Costco and our ever-growing love for feta and my current obsession with salads. Oh, it was so yummy! I also made a salad with chicken on top and lots of veggies on Sunday and turned my tofu sandwich on Monday into a tofu salad with lots of lettuce and spinach rather than sourdough bread. Tell ya what, I was still utterly satisfied and savored those scrumptious tastes and flavors! I love salads with something sweet on top like raisins or dried cranberries or carmelized nuts, some feta, and very little to no dressing so I can enjoy the other flavors. Yesss for vegetables and less fatty sauces! I cannot wait to eat lunch...better go get my work out in stat!