Merry Christmas!

Hello! Happy Wednesday! I pray you have had a wonderful week and you are looking forward to Christmas on Friday. I also hope you are looking forward to 2016 and all that it may bring! I have been organizing my thoughts the past couple of days and wanted to share some gifts with you! The gift of being whole and well for the upcoming year!

The first gift focuses on your holy SPF. Remember Scripture, Prayer and Fasting, along with Worship are ways we can draw close to the Lord and more sensitive to the leading of His Spirit in our lives. I'm going to sit down and really read the life of David. Continuing in the Shepherdess Rise Up series will certainly keep us in the Lord's Word. Although, posting may be reduced to three times per week rather than five days. The reading plan is always dependent on the leading of the Holy Spirit. Also, prayer. Praying for God's will in our lives is the best gift we can give to ourselves, our loved ones and of 

course to God. He wants us to be in His presence. He desires we seek His will! If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest you watch the War Room! Oh my goodness, it is SO good, and right inline with the study (although I know we haven't quite made it there yet). Seriously, if you watch it you will come away truly inspired to begin praying. It is so simple to make a space for your prayer time, yet so powerful! Fasting is another component. This is so personal. For me, it will be social media. Which is part of why I'm posting this today. My social media interactions will be limited, but I will respond to messages and so forth. Remember to pray for God's leading on fasting.

I have realized if we keep ourselves in Scripture, spend time in Prayer and fast whatever it is God puts on our hearts, we rest more in Him. Stress is no longer a factor, because we know and trust we are right where God needs us to be. This frees us from judgments, opinions and attitudes of the world, and empowers us to live as God needs us to. I am also praying for everyone I interact with. If you have a prayer request, please feel free to send them to me. I am taking prayer very seriously in this next season.

Sleep is the next gift. Of course I cannot give you sleep, but I can remind you to take it seriously. Next to a holy SPF, this is probably the most important. Enough sleep sets the tone for your entire day. Whether you will have energy, or cravings, or stamina to get everything in. It affects so much of our lives, it is worth prioritizing at the very top of the list. There are so many ways to make sure you get a good night's rest. Praying before hand seems to help me. Deep breathing, instrumental music, stretching before hand, asking the Lord to clear the mind, all help.

The next big one is nutrition. I have gone back through the dinner ideas for the challenge we recently completed and compiled a list. If you click on the nutrition gift package, you can download the PDF of the

file for yourself. These meals are all Whole30 if that is something you might be doing at the beginning of the year. If not, feel free to make various substitutions with your favorite meats and such, without the worry of whether it is compliant or not. I have been using turkey pepperoni, ham, turkey bacon and various other meats post Whole30, and not worrying about the sugars, dextrose and other items. It is a lot less restrictive, but I know it is a lot better than if I were to just go back to eating what I used to. So feel free to jazz up and modify as you like, and take the stress out of meal planning.

The next gift is a workout plan suggestion. It is broken down into fourteen weeks, because that is how many weeks we have until spring break, and it is a goal to work towards. However, spring break is not what I'm working FOR. Like with eating healthy and ensuring I am putting good food into my body to be a

good steward of that which God has provided me, exercise allows me to take even better care of my body. This is WHY I am concerned with what I eat and making sure I move my body. I want to be a good steward of ALL THE BLESSINGS God has given me. The first four weeks will focus on lifting weights, the next four weeks will be more weights and a cardio day, and the last six weeks will be alternating weeks of weights and cardio with weights only. Every week has at least two rest days, both on Wednesday and Sunday.

These two days are quite intentional. Wednesday is usually an opportunity to attend a midweek service or Bible study. It is a good time to stretch and reflect. It is a good time for spiritual rejuvenation if the week has already been wearing on you. Plus, it is good for the body to rest and recover when building.

​The final gift is a reminder on supplements. With winter officially here, Vitamin D3 is very important, especially if you do not live where the sun is shining this time of year. A good probiotic, enzymes, B12 and fish oil are others that are on my list of supplements to take. Digestive health is important for absorbing all the nutrients from our whole foods, and reducing or eliminating disease causing inflammation. Get good ones if you choose to do so.

I hope these gifts come in handy in some way! But the final gift I would like to give you is ENCOURAGEMENT. For me, it is one thing to have all the tools needed to live a healthy life. It is quite another to have the courage to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to live it out. It can be hard! It can be easy to give up! But it is so much better if you have someone come along side you and encourage you along the way. Yes, the Holy Spirit is a Comforter and all our strength should come from the Lord. But sometimes God also needs us to be there for one another to encourage and lift one another up. If this is you, please let me know. I am happy to be there for you! Or keep you in prayer. Or check in on you every now and then. This one little act can sometimes be all the difference in the world in helping us get to where we want to be! Have a Merry Christmas, and here is to a wonderful New Year!