Sunday Message Notes!

~ THRIVING IN THE PROCESS ~

We are all in process.

Christ gives me the strength to thrive no matter what season of the process I am in.

* Build the wall in front of your own house.
* Do what's in front of you, and do it well!
* You want to do what you want to do, but you need to do what the Lord wants you to do!
* You are called to do your assignment. (Be faithful and obedient).
* Don't let ambition drive you. Do your assignment.

If your assignment is delivering pizzas, then do it & do it really well! Start building the wall in front of you first!
God is extremely good at getting you where He wants to get you, when He wants to get you there, and how He wants to get you there.
Embrace where the Lord is putting you in the process.
Don't rush the process. The process prepares you for what God has planned for you. It helps you receive and sustain what He has planned for you.
We want to skip, rush, and get frustrated with the process, but we can't embrace it if we don't do our assignment. If you rush the process, it doesn't go well.
The process will allow us to grow where our internal world is always bigger than our external world.
If we rush the process we will not be able to carry what God has for us.
God's process isn't linear. It doesn't go from A-Z. It's more like, from A to G to B to K and back to B!!! Don't justify skipping steps to rush the process. If you find yourself wanting to rush the process, it's a trust issue.
Trust God!
It's God's grace that allows us to be in the process!
We are not as far along as we think we are!
God is not passionate about your comfort, He is passionate about your growth!
Growing is being STRETCHED!
He isn't requiring full maturity or perfection, just growth! God shows you then He grows you!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

For the past 2 years I have had pain in my wrist, hands, fingers, and sometimes leading into my forearm. It has progressively gotten worse overtime and especially increased since I started doing pullups, chinups, and upping my sets of exercises. I never knew what it was, I would just complain to my boyfriend all the time of my hands hurting EVERY DAY! I researched arthritis, thinking it was premature. I talked to a very intelligent personal trainer at my gym and he suggested that it could possibly be carpal tunnel. I researched it last night and every single symptom I have. I guess you can get it at any age. I am a server and started in September. I carry a lot of heavy stuff that normally the girls have the guys do. I carry crates filled with glass mugs, fill ice with huge buckets, carry tons of dishes (more than I probably should at a time) and for awhile I wasn't thinking and favoring my wrists. I am not a lazy person, I am a hard worker so I never thought about the damages it could do to my body. On top of all this, lifting weights on a daily basis and doing a lot of push/pull exercises.

Now that I know I have what I hope is in the early stages of carpal tunnel I am getting wrist splints today and also starting these exercises to prevent further damage and hopefully strengthen. I am also going to pray for healing.

I wrote this blog to inform others who may not have know, like me, and hopefully to get more helpful insight from others who may know about it a little more. I am typing this on my phone and my wrists and right arm are tingling and numb right now. I better stop! But if you are religious, please pray for me! If you know more, please inform me!
I want to be a fitness model and I don't and won't let this stop me if it doesn't have to!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Here is a lengthy yet reasonable sized list of necessary things I need to practice everyday in my life to reach my goals. If you don't constantly remind yourself of what's important, then it might possibly go unnoticed and be forgotten.

I will continuously PRACTICE...

* Being accountable
* Time management
* Creating goals
* Reviewing goals
* Accomplishing goals
* Rewarding myself
* Pushing myself
* Self affirmations
* Self education
* Self control
* Being consistent
* Overcoming temptations
* Staying motivated
* Prepping meals
* Eating regularly
* Portion control
* Drinking water
* Taking vitamins
* Intense training
* Daily cardio
* Daily stretching
* Teaching others

All of these practices will help me become extraordinary so that my dream becomes my reality! One of my favorite quotes ever, by Ashley Horner, my favorite fitness idol ever... This quote inspires and reminds me to never give up on these daily practices and to do whatever it takes to succeed!

"When you want something so bad you think about it every second of the day... You dream about it at night, you research; study & you mold your entire life around it. You feel like you were meant to do be or become this one person to accomplish this one goal & no matter the sacrafice or the risk and no matter how many times you get turned away, you smile b/c you know... soon you will live in that dream." -Ashley Horner :)

Note To Self.

This post was inspired by thoughts that came to my mind during my workout last night. Lately, I have been working a lot, but I haven't been going to the gym consistently, eating 100% clean, and doing all of the things I should be doing to reach my goals. During my superset rests, I took some notes and eventually came to this conclusion.

Sometimes setbacks happen... That doesn't mean you have to give up on your dreams, give into temptation, or get down on yourself. Instead, just make it a reason to push through and work even harder than before to get a few steps further than where you were before! If that means obsessing over everything it takes to get you there, then DO IT! Whatever works, whatever it takes! Just get it done! You only live once, let there be no room for regrets! If it means setting new goals, praying for your strength and success, re-evaluating your current priorities, then take immediate action an DO IT! Every living thing has a purpose. I am living! I want to be more alive than ever! I want to have a huge purpose! I know I was destined to do great things with my growing passion for God, love, health, and fitness! So I need to do them sooner rather than later! I need to be mentally strong and trust myself and God! I need to be smart with my decisions and serious about my goals. I need to be FEARLESS! Most of all, I need to believe in myself. And... I DO believe in myself! So watch out, here I come!!!

Best Breakfast Ever!

Banana Coconut Protein French Toast

Ingredients:
* 6 slices ezekial sprouted bread
* 1/2 medium banana (sliced)
* sugar free syrup
* earth balance spread (optional)
* 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
* 1 cup egg beaters or egg whites
* 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein
* 1 tsp cinnamon

Utensils:
* blender
* pancake griddle/pan
* liquid measuring cup
* measuring spoons
* spatula/turner
* container (to pour mixture into)

Directions:
1. Preheat griddle/pan to med-hi temp.
2. Blend together egg beaters, low fat cottage cheese, vanilla whey protein powder, cinnamon.
3. Pour into bowl/blate/container.
4. Add coconut oil to griddle/pan. Once melted, saturate bread slices in egg mixture. Place onto oiled griddle/pan for about 4-5 minutes each side (or until golden-brown).
5. Top with earth balance (optional) but definitely not necessary, banana slices, sugar free syrup.
6. Enjoy the best breakfast ever!

Insanity Fit Test!

Just finished the insanity fit test my sister let me borrow! (1st time) My cheeks were red as a cherry, my face was dripping sweat, and my heart rate was through the roof by the end of the test! Very intense cardio workout if you give it your all! My legs were still super sore from my workout the other night but I got through it! My results are in!

1) switch jacks=110
2) power jacks=39
3) power knees=74
4) power jumps=20
5) globe jumps=6
6) suicide jumps=14
7) pushup jacks=18
8) low plank oblique=62

I noticed that the girl in the video didn't really do some of the motions all the way through and I was very careful about my form (especially with the jumps) I think it's extremely important to avoid injury. It definitely reminded me that I need to kick up my cardio! All I ever do is lift weights and yes I super and triple set with plyo moves like these but not enough! I think I am going to do crossfit style record-time plyo moves like insanity more within my weighted workouts to up my fat burning! They are definitely more fun than running on a treadmill or doing the same continuous motion on an elliptical!

Love To Grow!

Over the past year I have done a lot of growing in many aspects of my life. I have grown mentally, physically, and spiritually. I have had many different feelings along the journey of my growth with each and every different situation that has helped me grow. With everything I have been through this past year and my entire life that has led to my growth, I can't say that I would change a thing. Even with the moments I dreaded at the time they occured. If it wasn't for those moments, growth wouldn't be possible!
So, I just have a few thoughts here on "growth" that came into my mind when hearing and thinking about that word...
Growth is a learning experience. The more you grow the more you learn. The more you learn the more you grow. It is attained through struggles, triumphs, lessons, happiness, pain, success, failure, dedication, and determination. It provides mental clarity, confidence, strength, endurance, faith, hope, and wisdom.
A huge part of my growth came after building a stronger relationship with God!
We are all growing each day at different rates through different experiences. What are you doing personally to advance your growth? Are you starting a new hobby, reading more, volunteering, setting and achieving goals, educating yourself, or just coping with life as it comes? Have you experienced a major or valuable growth? If so, what brought it about?

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" ~Matthew 19:26

Krystal's CrockPot Recipe!

I got a CrockPot for Christmas and I finally decided to make a dinner with it. I have never used one before so I think that’s why it took me so long to finally use it! I am so glad that I did and now I can’t wait to make more recipes in it! Everything is so easy once you have the ingredients prepped. You can go about your day doing all of your important activities while it cooks for you! I had the time to prepare about 50 protein pancakes and take care of other things while it was cooking! It was an awesome feeling! Just knowing that I can go get a workout in or focus on my goals while my weekly meal is cooking is so exciting to me! It is such a time saver! I am sure many of you already know this but it is a new feeling to me so I just had to share it with you all! Anyway, my CrockPot came with a book full of recipes but I knew they weren’t healthy girl approved! I looked through them just to get ideas for liquid-dry measurement increments. I decided to be creative and think of a recipe all on my own, and boy was I glad I did! I can’t get enough of this recipe! It was so good that I wanted to eat the entire pot of it! I hope you will try it and love it as much as I did!

Krystal’s CrockPot Recipe

Ingredients:

* 3-4 thawed chicken breasts (cut into 1in cubes)

* 3 cans low sodium chicken broth

* 3 small yams (peeled, med-sliced)

* 3 stalks celery (med-sliced)

* 2 carrots (peeled, med-sliced)

* 1 yellow onion (med-diced)

* 1 cup frozen bell pepper trio (thawed)

* 1 cup dry basmati rice medley (cooked) *Trader Joes*

* 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil or earth balance buttery spread

* 1 tbs: garlic powder, dried parsley, dried oregano.

* 1 tsp: real salt, fresh ground pepper, onion powder

Utensils:

* 1 (4 quart+) CrockPot

* 1 large sharp cutting knife

* 1 large plastic cutting board

* 1 large sauce pan with lid

* 1 wooded stirring spoon

* 1 can opener

* 1 vegetable peeler

Directions:

1. Plug in CrockPot, turn onto hi setting, add 2 cans of low sodium chicken broth, and cover with lid.

2.  Peel yams and carrots then cut up and add to CrockPot. Cut remaining vegetables, add to CrockPot.

3. Add in herbs and spices. Stir well, cover with lid.

4. Rinse chicken breasts, cut off excess fat, cut into 1in cubes. Place on top of vegetables in CrockPot.

5. Cover CrockPot and set a timer for 4 hours. Change temperature from hi to low in the last 30 minutes.

6. In the last 30 minutes, begin cooking rice in saucepan. Add 1 can of low sodium chicken broth, 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil or buttery spread, freshly ground sea salt/black pepper. Bring to a boil for a couple minutes. Reduce heat to med-low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes with lid on, stirring occasionally.

7. Once timer goes off, add the rice to the CrockPot and stir it all together. Set Crockpot to warm or off once it is ready to serve. Enjoy! (Let it cool a little before storing in the fridge/freezer).

Healthy Girl Pie!

This pie is high in protein, extremely low in sugars, and very tasty! It's especially perfect on these warmer summer days approaching! It is very simple to make! The prep time is no more than 10 minutes and refrigerator time is approximately 3-4 hours depending on the coldness of your refrigerator. It is a perfect party recipe or dessert for yourself after a hard week of dieting and gym time! No matter what the occasion, I am sure you will be more than satisfied with it! Be sure not to wear a white shirt while making it, jello dye may splatter if you are not careful!

Healthy Girl Pie

 Ingredients:
* 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
* 1 small container light cream cheese
* 1 container fat free cool whip (thawed)
* 1- 3oz pkg sugar freee strawberry jello
* 2/3 cup boiling water
* 1 premade graham cracker pie crust
* 1/2-1 cup fresh fruit (I chose strawberries & bananas)

Utensils:
* 1 large mixing bowl
* 1 large mixing spoon/spatula
* 1 small blender or handheld blender
* 1 liquid measuring cup

Directions:
1. Blend cottage cheese and cream cheese together. Place in mixing bowl.
2. Boil 2/3 cup water in microwave, add jello mix and combine well. Carefully add to mixing bowl. 
3. Fold in thawed fat free cool whip.
4. Pour finished mixture into a pre-made graham cracker pie crust.
5. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours! ( Save the plastic piece to cover the pie before refrigerating).
6. Enjoy! *top with banana/strawberry slices just before eating*

Healthy Girl Lemonade!

Healthy Girl Lemonade



*32oz. purified water

* 1 juiced lemon

* 4-7 scoops stevia (or 2-3 packets)