A God of Hope

It's one of those verses you hear thrown around pretty often.

Most of the time, I have heard this verse used as a way for someone to offer hope to a person who is experiencing a hard time.  I've even heard it used as an argument for how the hard time you're going through couldn't possibly have come from God. I mean, He says he has plans not to harm you, right?


It's actually interesting hearing this verse in the context of the rest of the story. To summarize, this is a time of disobedience in God's people and he is telling them, through one of the prophets, that they are about to be deported and taken from the country he had given them. Doesn't sound too promising, right? But he lets them know that after 70 years of exile, he will bring them back. He assures them of this by telling them the verse above. "I know the plans I have for you."


I think it's ok to have hope for things to turn positive, but sometimes we can get a bit caught by false reassurances and find ourselves struggling when we're going through those times of life that feel like never ending trials. When you feel like you just stood up from the last wave, only to be knocked down again. Then you think, "God, I thought your plan is to make me prosper. What gives?" and you search for anything that might offer you hope for an end to the struggle.


It can be hard to trust God's plan when it seems like the hard times just won't quit. It can be easy to wonder and maybe even question God in those times. We want to believe that this verse is telling us there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel, but what happens if that light still hasn't shown?


God doesn't promise us that we will see happy times ahead in this life. He doesn't promise that the struggle you're going through will even come to an end while on earth. We seem to want our lives to be all flowers and sunshine, and when it's not, we feel like God's not being "fair" or "good" to us.


I want to challenge you not to let these verses lead you to questioning God's goodness if things aren't going the way you think they should.


Instead, I want you to see 3 very important things I believe God wants us to have: patience, trust, and hope.


- Patience in God's plan and knowing that his timing is not always in line with our timing.

- Trust that God's plan is better than our own. He created every detail of our lives and knows what is the absolute best for us. We only have to follow him and let him show us the way.

- Hope that even if we are not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, if we are living in Him we know that we will have the ultimate prize of Heaven after this life is over.


God doesn't want us to be so attached to our time on earth that we forget the beauty that is in our future. If you are going through a time of struggle (and we all have, or will at some point), keep reminding yourself that what he has in store for us for eternity will be perfect.

I'm Just Not A Runner!

I've been doing a lot of reading and studying on how our thoughts can effect our overall lives.  I want to share a short takeaway I had from the book The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst.  I recently finished the book and have been looking back through some of the notes I took while reading it so I can remember some of the "highlights."

One of the things she talked about was the idea of having a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset.  Basically, a fixed mindset is one that decides you are the way you are.  No action that you take can change the outcome because you have certain skills and abilities that cannot change.  A growth mindset says you can positively change by working to improve.  This mindset focuses on using your circumstances and efforts to always be moving forward.  Even your "setbacks" and struggles can help you move forward by helping you learn and grow.  You are not stuck unless you choose to be stuck.

The fixed mindset is a dangerous one to hold onto.

This mindset can, and most likely will, hold you back from making progress in certain areas.  For example, I used to have a fixed mindset when it came to my fitness level.  I believed that I had certain abilities that would never improve, no matter how much work I put into it.

"I'm just not a runner."  "I don't have the endurance."  "My legs can't jump that high."

These are all things I have said out loud and used to say continuously in my mind.  As soon as I made that decision that I didn't have the endurance to run a mile, I never had the drive inside of me to push myself to that mile.  As a result, I would end up needing to walk for part of it every time I tried running a mile.  My inner dialogue was telling me I couldn't make it, so I would just give up and not make it.

Just a few years ago, I decided to challenge that mindset and see what I could actually accomplish.  It all started because I got married to a man that hiked mountains as a hobby.  I never in my wildest dreams would have seen myself someday hiking up actual mountains.  I mean, I'm a Nebraska girl!  Not exactly mountain territory.  I quickly realized that if I wanted to spend much time with him during the summer, I had to go hiking.

I spent an entire summer making it a short distance up the mountain, then spending hours waiting, sitting off to the side of the trail reading a book while he finished the hike up and back to me (or hiking back to the car alone).  While I absolutely love reading a good book on the side of a peaceful mountain, I decided I really wanted to see if I could make it.  I decided that if I worked hard, maybe I could actually improve enough to summit a mountain.  And guess what… I was right!  Once I decided that I could have that potential somewhere in me, I started pushing myself harder and by the next summer I was able to make it!  (Soon after this, I decided I wanted to "be a runner", so I spent an entire summer going for a run first thing in the morning.  The first day I ran an entire mile without stopping to walk was pretty amazing.  Then came the point where I could run 3 miles without stopping to walk!)

This change in my mindset has led to many different challenges I've given myself: run 3 miles, finish a workout program, do 10 pushups on my toes.  I hear some people talking about how they'd like to get back to the shape they were in during high school.  I say, no thanks!  There's no way I could've run 3 miles in high school!  I'm pretty happy with the new me that just keeps working to improve.

So, if you were to take one thing with you from this lesson, what would it be?

Your mind is a powerful thing!  Use it to better yourself, not limit yourself.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is definitely my go-to dinner when I'm out of ideas.  It also works great for when company is coming over and you don't want to spend all day preparing dinner! Eat it as is for a soup or with some tortilla chips as more of a dip.  Either way, it's yummy every time!

What you need:
1 chicken breast
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cans of tomatoes 
2 cans of beans (tonight I used black beans and kidney beans)
1 can of corn
add a bit of cooked rice 
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt. 

What to do:
Throw all ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred the chicken after it's cooked and enjoy! 

* Note: I tend to make mine as more of a dip for tortilla chips. If you want yours more in the "soup" category, just add a couple cups of water in the beginning.

Trusting God

  I just finished reading through the story of Gideon in the Bible, and what a powerful story it is!

  Gideon is a regular man, clearly lacking in some self-confidence, when God comes to him to lead the Israelites out of the hands of the Midianites.  He says to God, "But Lord, how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."  Gideon then goes on to ask for multiple signs that it is really God speaking to him and that he is really supposed to do this.  God goes along with this and finally convinces Gideon to go.  Then as he is preparing his army, God has him send men home until he is left with only 300 to fight!  But Gideon has faith that he will be protected and that God is going to fight for him, and he ends up being victorious.

  Do you ever have doubts that you are strong enough to get through the tough situation you're in?  Do you lack confidence to stand firm in what you know is right?  I have good news!

God's strength is made known in our weakness.

  Let your confidence be in His strength, not in your own.  Trust that He has a plan for your life and that He loves and cares for you, whatever situation you may be going through.  Find your confidence in the fact that God's plan for your life is good.  He only needs you to follow Him.

And if you haven't already, read Judges 6 & 7 and see how Gideon was able to put his trust fully in God.

Banana Pancakes

I just tried a new recipe I saw online to make tonight as breakfast for dinner. If you've never tried these, you should! I was nervous about the consistency of them, but they really turned out like pancakes! I was impressed! Super easy, healthy, and my husband said, "You're never making regular pancakes again" because these were so good. I'd say it was a win! :)    

*** If you're following the 21 Day Fix eating plan, these pancakes (not including the optional toppings) would use 1 YELLOW, 1 RED, and 1 PURPLE container for the whole recipe.

 What you need:

1 banana

2 eggs

1/3 cup oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

What to do:
   - Mash ripe banana well.
   - Whisk in eggs.
   - Stir in other ingredients thoroughly.
**I used instant oats and blended them in my food processor until they were almost a powder.
   - Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto frying pan or griddle.

    - Cook about 1 minute on each side.
   
***optional toppings: fresh fruit, drizzle a bit of syrup, peanut butter with bit of honey

Mixed Veggies & Rice

This recipe is about the quickest, easiest meal I know how to make.  It's a nice light lunch option, but quite filling.  I usually use whatever veggies I happen to have in the freezer, and I tend to make this meal when I have some leftover rice from previous dinners.  If I have any leftover cooked meats, I sometimes add those, too.

What you need:
  Frozen Mixed Vegetables
  Rice
  Your choice of meat
  Creole Seasoning
  Salt
  Pepper

What to do:
  ~ Make rice according to directions on package.

~ Put all the vegetables in a skillet or small saucepan with about 1 tablespoon of water.  Cook till veggies are soft.

  ~ Add your choice of meat (I've used chicken, beef, sausage, or ham).

  ~ Season with Creole, salt, pepper to taste.

Piyo Update

Hey everyone!  I just wanted to give a quick update on how Piyo is going.  I started the program about 2 1/2 weeks ago with my husband.  We've been getting up every morning before he leaves for work and doing our workout for the day.  I LOVE starting the day with a good workout (even though some mornings I don't feel like I have the strength to actually finish it!).  It gives me energy to get the day going, helps me start right away thinking about how to stay on track for the day, and is giving my husband and I a little extra time together before he leaves for the day. 

So, I don't want to post any pictures just yet, but I did take a before picture when we first started, and I'm pretty excited about what my progress and after pictures will show.  I can already tell in just a couple weeks that there is more definition in my arms (which has always been a struggle for me), my legs are a bit smaller, and I'm feeling stronger!  I really struggled with all the tricep pushups Chalene has you do in the Piyo videos (she must LOVE tricep pushups! haha), but I'm finally getting to a point where I can finish the whole set of pushups with her and I don't feel like collapsing on the floor!  Yay!

I'm planning on taking some progress pictures at about 30 days, so we'll see how much of a difference actually shows up there.  But until then, I'll just celebrate all the non-scale victories that are coming up!