Day 1 of 7 Day Juice Fast
Day 1:
If you are not participating in any kind of beginning of the year fast, I highly encourage you to do so. Our church, Keypoint Church, always does a fast the first week of the year. As difficult as this fast can be to my flesh, it is equally, if not more, inspiring to my Spirit! As crazy as it may sound I look forward to fasting (any faster understands this) because I love the anticipation building within me to see and hear what the Lord will do and say. He, like always, proves faithful! It’s important not to view fasting as just a time of denying yourself- it is so much more than that! It’s to carve out more time with the Lord, focus on Him and hear what He has to say.
Fasting is also beneficial to your health. This is the first year I will be doing a juice fast for 7 days. If you are interested you will need a juicer and lots of fruits and veggies. I don’t have an expensive juicer. Mine is from juiceman.com and I’ve been pleased with it. This morning was the kick off! I’m 2 hrs. into my fast and so far its going well! 
I’ll let you know more tomorrow. Here’s what I juiced this morning:
4 oranges (peeled but left the white pith-the skin close to the orange)
3 apples (green)
6-7 strawberries
2 organic carrots
2 handfuls of cranberries
1 sweet potato
1 kiwi
This made enough juice for Casey and me with some left over that I’m about to drink up. It was honestly really good! The sweet potato and carrots are for added vitamins but also make the juice even sweeter. As the day goes on I plan to juice more veggies with just a little fruit. Here’s a list of what I have:
Kale
Cucumbers
Lettuce
Cabbage
Broccoli (I’ll let you know how it tastes!)
Parsnips
Zucchini
Radish
Really, you can juice nearly any veggie and fruit, but don’t waste your time or money on blueberries, bananas and other fruits that won’t yield a lot of juice (just eat those when the fast is over).
Tip: If you don’t drink all your juice right away you can either:
-immediately freeze it and as soon as it thaws immediately drink
-store in frig in container with lid
-store in mason jars filled all the way to top with lid (this is what I do)
The key is to keep air out so juice won’t oxidize.
If you are fasting I’d love to hear what you do, and if you choose to juice fast, let me know about it.
XO
Read MoreMoms With Hope
A few months ago I received a call inviting me to speak to a group of mothers who had all lost children. I accepted the invitation feeling that I could glean from my personal experience to lend some words of encouragement. The day arrived this past Sunday. I walked into an old historic tearoom and saw women of various ages sitting around elegant tables talking in hushed voices. A sobering feeling hit me. I knew I wouldn’t be delivering just any ordinary message because this wasn’t an ordinary crowd. This crowd had collectively experienced so much pain that I felt extremely inadequate so I quietly prayed God would give me the words He wanted them to hear. Looking around at their faces, I noticed some were somber, others smiling. I asked a few to tell me their stories. This might have been a mistake, I’m not sure, because the grave reality of the women in that room weighed heavy on my heart, each mom was one child less. Some told their stories with a smile, reflecting on their deceased child and speaking of the love of Christ. For others, tears immediately spilled forth. I was reminded that I have never been alone in my journey, each one hurt as much as I did. Sometimes that’s hard to believe. What amazed me most were the women whose children have been gone for over 30 years. With watery eyes they still spoke about their loss like it happened yesterday. Why did I think they wouldn’t? Does time make your children less valuable? After talking with the moms I began to see more and more the powerful, devoted and vigilant heart God strategically places inside a mother. It’s a miracle really. Her children are forever sacred to her heart, whether on Earth or waiting in Heaven.
It was my time to speak. I felt very unworthy to be standing in front such a valiant group of women, yet I knew God had placed me there so I encouraged them on things such as trusting God, keeping an eternal perspective and remembering we have hope. I witnessed the wiping of tears, bitter faces that looked away when I looked into their eyes (they’re still working on understanding it all… that’s okay, God isn’t threatened), and smiles of hope. I offered my best and sat down feeling satisfied that maybe, just maybe someone was encouraged, and my story slapped the devil around a bit. I believe it did. Later the sweet lady serving my tea whispered to me that ironically she, too, had lost a child. She didn’t seem upset. I offered to pray for her anyway. Then the tears came. She quickly erased them as if they never existed, but God and I knew they did. It reminded me all the more that you never know what someone is carrying in his or her heart. I was glad I took the moment to reach out to her. Before I left mother after mother approached me. They told more of their story, I prayed and hugged each one.
Last Sunday was a day I will never forget. I will carry a piece of those precious, warrior ladies in my heart. It was one of those cherished times when God tangibly revealed to me once again how He is taking what the enemy meant for my destruction and is using it for my good. I was able to offer hope. And I am confident many took it.
Whatever you have walked through, place it in the hands of your Heavenly Father. He will turn it around. It can benefit your life and others in ways you never imagined!
2 Peter 3:8 “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
I will see you soon, H!
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Invest in You
I am a big believer in investing in others. What you pour into another’s life is the one commodity that will be yours for eternity. But here is the flip side: Is it okay to invest in yourself too?
This year all three of my kids went off to school. For the first two months I didn’t know what to do with myself. My routine was off, and I felt like I was having a readjustment phase. There were all sorts of things I could do. I could go into the office more, clean my house more, meet with ladies more. The real question was what did I want to do? Of course that question went hand in hand with what God wanted me to do. As I prayed, thought and tried different things, I finally came to the conclusion that this was my season to invest a little into myself. This was my time to do some personal enrichment while still enriching others. So, I started going to the gym, started taking classes at a local art center and spending more time at home reading and studying. I won’t lie, I had to fight guilt. Doing something for yourself feels so—wrong. So, I fought back. I decided to keep doing those things anyway. Not long after, I realized how much I had been stealing the joy right out of my life by not taking the necessary time I needed for myself. I rarely gave myself large enough opportunity for the things I enjoyed doing. Truly, I didn’t see the value in it. I see the value now. Taking time for me—refreshes me. A refreshed me is better than a burned out me. I want you to see the value too. Take time to enjoy yourself. Make time for it. I think the lives of other people around you will benefit because you decided to enjoy yours.
Read MoreI Love the Sand
This scripture is one of my FAVES! I hope it speaks to you in a similar way it spoke to me!! Let me tell you why: One night when our sweet daughter, Haven, was nearing the end of her life here on Earth, our pastor from Baton Rouge, Larry Stockstill, called our home. I happened to answer and he asked how she was doing. Truth was, not very good at all, we were in an all out battle for her life. I had every right to say, “She’s doing terrible! I’m coming undone! When, when, when is God going to come through and heal her like He promised?!?” I could have said that, and oh, sometimes to myself and to my husband I did! Not wrong at all to do, by the way. It’s called honesty and being real, God loves those kinds of things. Anyway, back to Pastor Larry’s conversation with me, I took a pause and said, “You know, we are still believing Haven is healed.” He understood. Another pause. Then he shared a scripture with me that has become very dear. Jeremiah 5:22: (read this one, mark it all over your home and stand on it when times get tough).
“I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.”
Today, what situation is roaring and rolling that seemingly may get the best of you? Usually, it’s loud, big and scary. There’s good news: NO situation can ever cross the boundary of blood from our Lord Jesus that has been set before it. Nothing. The Lord has ordered a stopping place!! Hand clap for Jesus! It may look like it will consume you, but rest assured, just like the waves, it will fizzle at the shore of His blood!!
I would love to hear from you. You can comment above. Hope you have a fantastic day!!
XO
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Forget It!
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what it ahead.” Philippians 3:13
What is it that you need to forget? Is it a past sin, hurt, or a smothering bondage? What is the very thing that makes your heart race or condemnation fall on your like an itchy blanket when you think of it? Chances are it’s the very thing God is asking you to forget. Once you’ve repented or dealt with it, then it’s time to move on. I realize it’s humanly impossible to just choose to forget things, and I believe God is very aware of that. Yet, He wants us to live life without these issue ruling us.
Forget it.
Move beyond it.
Let it go.
Do away with it.
Change your way of thinking.
Quit rehashing it.
Don’t let it be your god.
Don’t let it define you.
God showed me this scripture one day: Job 11:16 “You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.” Sounds like an old Lifetime movie, Waters Gone By, but God used it to speak a word to me that I desperately needed of Him. He was saying to me, “What you see now seems very real and powerful to you, but I promise you, if you stick with me, I will help you overcome. What seems so big will only be a memory you will have to recall because it went on by.”
Ask God to give you the ability to see yourself new, the way He sees you. As the victor, the champion, the daughter, the adored who can do all things through Him!
Forget about it, and strain toward the most incredible things He has for you ahead!
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