Placing the Importance on Christian Values vs. Worldly Values

Do you ever feel conflicted with what your heart is telling you compared to what society is screaming at you? Maybe you feel conflicted about going back to school or maybe you're unsure what you should study? Or maybe it's more personal...maybe it's about if you should get married or if you should have kids? How many kids you should have? Should you get a "real" job outside the home? Or is it okay to stay home?

There are so many questions that we are flooded with on a daily basis. Should we? Shouldn't we? And most of the time we decide what we should do...based on what others tell us to, what society thinks we should be doing, or we look to see what others are doing and feel we should be doing the same.

Trusting God With Your Finances

To be completely transparent, this is a very hard thing for me to admit. I know I am not alone, but it's not something I am proud of.

You know the feeling when you can believe in someone, but still not fully trust them? Trust them to deliver what you need or what you want? Trust them to do what they say they will? Or maybe...it's that you don't trust that they always have your best interests at heart?

Well... this is actually how I feel about God at times. And believe me, it pains me to say that...but it's the truth.

And every time these feelings begin to creep in, God sends me a sign. A sign to prove to me how completely incorrect I am. He takes the time to prove His love time and time again.

Difference Between Happiness and Joy

I used to think there was something wrong with me. I used to think I was just too badly broken...from past experiences or situations or maybe with my personality.

I couldn't understand why I would rarely feel happiness or be happy. I've come across many "happy" people and it just seemed that happiness had become of them.

But little did I know...that these people weren't happy...they were always full of joy. People who were genuinely joyful. That's why everything they seemed to touch, would grow and bloom...rather than wilt away and die. A contagious smile or feeling that you could catch from just being around them.

Why Does Our Society Strive To Avoid Offending Anyone?

Ever wonder why we are so quick to avoid offending anyone... But turn our own back on the Creator of this Universe?

Before building my relationship with God, I used to tiptoe around my and belief in Him. Fearing or being too worried that I could or would lose friends or people in my life. Their perception of me was much more important to me and the last thing I wanted to be seen was an outcast.

I put people before God and when I did that, my life was even more full of confusion, mess, and constant chaos. In a way...I lost all sense of who I was and what God's purpose was for me.

How Can I Have A Closer Relationship With God?

Ever feel like no matter what you do...it just never seems good enough?

Or maybe you feel like instead of moving closer to your idea of perfection...you find yourself moving farther and farther away from it?

I used to feel exactly like this and some days I still struggle with it. I am far from perfect...but now (more often than not) I am ok with it!

And to finally accept that was incredibly hard! Especially since I have been a perfectionist all my life...and still consider myself one. 

When you stop viewing your relationship with God merely as rules you have to follow or laws you must obey...that's when the magic happens.

What Is Shakeology?

Ever dislike the person you see in the mirror so much...that you do anything...just to try to avoid looking in them?

I have and it's definitely not the way I envisioned living my life. Waking up every day wishing, hoping, and dreaming to no longer feel unhappy and unmotivated. Feeling so disappointed in how much I had "let myself go."

You can't really tell, but I was absolutely miserable in the picture on the left. I was so depressed with how much progress I had "undone" since starting my journey in 2011 and how I had "let life get in the way." I wasn't working out every day or drinking Shakeology every day and just felt completely defeated.

What Do You Pray For?

If you and I were chatting over coffee, and I asked you if you would rather have peace or risk...what would you say? How about if I asked you if you would rather have comfort or courage? Makes you think at first. It's definitely not an easy decision...at least it never was for me.

Most of my life I have grown up in this confined little bubble, a bubble that I like to call my comfort zone. I'm a person who does not like change and I never have seen myself as a risk taker. Taking risks and stepping out of my comfort zone has always terrified me. The NOT knowing is what held me back 99% of the time. I'm super OCD when it comes to planning, scheduling, and "perfecting" everything. Instead of figuring out or asking for help on how to overcome change or things that made me feel uneasy...