• Coffee Dates,  Faith,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee || Vol. 3

    October 19, 2016

    If we were having coffee I’d ask you what your favorite kind is. I love trying new kinds – brands and flavors and would love to know what your favorite kind lately is.

    If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that there has been a massive heat wave in NJ this week and I am seriously loving it. My husband and I just came back from a hike and it was blissful – the warm air with the pretty colors of the leaves made my heart so happy.

    If we were having coffee, at this point I’d feel comfortable enough to let you in on a few deeper issues going on in my heart lately. Like I shared in my last post, God has shown up big time for me this month and I haven’t felt this free in, I don’t think ever. I am forever grateful to how God has answered my prayer and freed me from my anxiety. I would ask if you have ever struggled with anxiety and how you dealt with it.

    If we were having coffee, I’d share that I’ve actually been sticking to my goals this month and tell you that I don’t think I’ve ever done that before, embarrassing I know. But this month has been equally challenging as it’s been good and I can’t wait to recap my goals come November. Also can’t believe that it’s almost November.

    I’m linking up for the third month in a row with Amber @ Mr. Thomas and Me and I’m so excited. I never stick to anything but the genuineness and welcoming heart of Amber has me coming back every month. Hi new friend!

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  • Life

    Our God is a God who HEALS: my story about dealing with health anxiety

    October 17, 2016

    Just wanted to swing by and share just how good God is. I can’t help but write when God shows up in my life in a big way – and that’s exactly what He did today.

    So I’ve shared a little bit about how I’ve been struggling with anxiety for quite a while now. A lot of this has had to do with my health. It all started out about two years ago when my body just started doing some funny things that it never had before. I had a dry cough that never seemed to go away and an ache in my left side after sleeping on it all night. I’ve never had issues like these before this so it really freaked me out and made me think there was something seriously wrong with me (read: cancer).

    Cancer has been my biggest fear for the past two years. It’s pretty bizarre too because I don’t know anyone close to me who had cancer nor do any of my family members have it. The fear kind of came out of left field but it was a very real fear of mine. It came and went but when it would really flare up I would have some serious anxiety attacks.

    Although I was pretty scared I still never really went to the doctor too much because I reasoned with myself saying that it was all in my head and that I don’t have anything to be afraid of (although I still never stopped being afraid). This caused me to be stuck in this place where I was terrified but had no way to move past the fear either because I wasn’t seeking truth from a doctor.

    I did go to a lung doctor at one point and got a CT done of my chest but the doctor said I was okay. This oddly didn’t help my fears much at all because I still had the cough but there wasn’t an explanation – and I really just believed that I had cancer sometimes so it was almost as if I wasn’t going to believe that that wasn’t true.

    I eventually figured out that when I get anxious that’s when the cough happens so I have since stopped being worried about it because it’s obvious to me where it’s coming from now and I don’t have to be worried it’s something serious.

    Fast forward about a year and you’ll be right around the time when I got married (about 5 months ago). I started having more minor health issues, like UTI’s, colds and indigestion. Meanwhile I still had that darn aching feeling in my side. When things like that flare up together it’s a sure thing that my anxiety will flare up with it. I went to the doctor, got each issue taken care of on their own but still didn’t seem to have any relief from the anxiety this time. I knew deep down that I wasn’t trusting that God was good and I didn’t think He cared if I got cancer to be honest. I’m not sure where I got this idea but I didn’t know how to shake it.

    Now jump to about a month ago when I seriously got tired of having health anxiety. I mean it had been over two years at this point and it got to be exhausting. I decided I needed to do whatever it took to get this gone, whether that be going to the doctor, or even a counselor if need be. I just wanted to feel normal again.

    I went to the regular doctor for a “yearly checkup” because I knew if the tests came back normal I would at least be able to tell myself that when I was feeling anxious. Even though at this point I really didn’t feel like the aching feeling was really serious I knew I had to bring it into the light and tell my doctor about it so I could finally have peace about it. So that’s what I did and it was SCARY. The doctor sent me for an ultrasound, which did not help with my anxiety AT ALL. It made it so much worse because it told me I had a reason to worry. I didn’t trust that God wanted me healed but I knew that He was the only one who could heal so I cried out to him multiple times a day and read about 60+ psalms over the few days I had to wait for the results.

    Today was the day that I found out that the ultrasound was CLEAR. I finally have nothing to worry about. It helped me confirm that certain foods just bother my stomach and I need to work on not eating so much of them. But most importantly of all it showed me that my God is a God that heals and a God that CARES. I can’t even begin to tell you how overwhelmed I was when I head that I do not have to worry about it anymore.

    And that is how God has healed me of my health anxiety. It was so difficult at times but God always carried me through it. I am so so thankful that there is nothing seriously wrong with me and I finally believe that God really does want GOOD things for me.

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  • Life

    September Goals Recap + October Goals

    October 8, 2016

    I know it’s late but being a little late is better than never right? So let’s see how I did for my September goals.
    1. No credit cards. I didn’t do this perfectly but it was way way better than I normally do. The only thing we used credit cards for last month was vacation and doctors bills so I’m counting that as a win.
    2. I want to stick to my budget this month. I’m gonna have to say no to this one. While we did stick to it 90% of the time I always lose track at the end of the month. I decided for October that I was going to give it a month of very lose budgeting because I get a little too stressed out trying to plan every dollar out. Come November I may go back to more closely budgeting where our money is going.
    3. Spend as much time outside in the sun while it is still warm. Yes. Tommy actually did his very first surfing lesson this month and which was awesome (pictured below). We also went hiking one day with my brother and his girlfriend so that was really nice.
    4. Spend more time with God reading His word. Sadly I don’t think I can check this one off. I don’t have much time in the morning to get ready because I usually get to work by 7 so that doesn’t leave me much time to read my bible before then, which is my favorite time to do it and by the time I get home for some reason I think that since I didn’t read when I wanted to I just won’t do it that day. I need to get better at disciple for this one. I also have found that when I keep track each day if I did or didn’t read that helps too.
    5. Less Netflix, more Reading. Didn’t read quite as much as I wanted to but definitely read more this month than the past ones so I’m counting this as a win also.

    tommy-surfing

    No terrible but definitely could have done better. Now onto my October goals!

    1. Read God’s word every day this month.
    2. Workout 2-3 times a week.
    3. Read more!!
    4. Cook more nutritious meals.
    5. Be more social.
    6. Clean out our closet.
    7. Redo the gallery wall.
    8. Make a fall wreath.
    9. Go apple picking.

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  • Faith

    4 Tips for Overcoming Anxiety

    September 26, 2016

    Can I let you guys in on a little secret? I’ve mentioned it here a few times in passing but never really am too open with it. I struggle with anxiety. There I said it. I struggle with it a lot sometimes. Ever since getting married my anxiety has gotten a lot worse and I’m not really sure why. I think a lot has to do with me not being in control and that just downright scares me. The past few days though have been rough. Sometimes I literally feel like I’m lost at sea. Sounds like a funny analogy but for those of you who also struggle with anxiety maybe can relate. The thing that confuses me the most is that I feel like God has been insanely good to me in this season and this seems to be the hardest season yet. I just listened to an old sermon from my church on anxiety and it seems to have helped a little bit. I wrote a list of things that I am going to do when anxiety strikes to help and hopefully these might be able to help some of you as well.

    Tips for Overcoming Anxiety:

    1. Pray. Come before God and share your heart with Him. Tell Him your fears and just pour out everything on your mind. Sometimes this alone will help ease some anxiety. “Cast your cares on Him because He cares for you.” Also lay down your control as best you can. Recognize that God is a good father and you can trust Him. He’s brought you this far and will not leave you now.
    2. Memorize His Promises. This was sometimes I picked up from the sermon I just listened too. If you have time, I would suggest also listening to it too. The link is here, it helped me to remember the greatest thing we can do to battle anxiety is to fight back by memorizing God’s promises to us and also by transforming our minds by reading God’s word.
    3. Eat Healthy. For me this is going to mean to participate in the Whole 30 Challenge. But for you that might just mean eating more fruits and veggies. Do something to make yourself feel good. Eating good food always helps me feel more healthy and can in turn help with anxiety.
    4. Exercise or get active. Again this may mean something very different for each person. For one it might mean going on walks every night after dinner to clear your head. For others it might mean hitting the gym three times a week or going for a hike. Whatever it means to be a little more active for you – just do it. Don’t buy the lie that you’re too busy to be just a little more active. It is so important when it comes to mental health. I’m committed to going for runs or at least walks every day just to try to get outside my thoughts. So far it seems to be helping.

    These are just a few ideas that might help with anxiety. If you struggle with anxiety too – what are some things that help you? I could use all the help I can get over here.

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  • Life

    No Condemnation Here

    September 17, 2016

    Welp guys apparently there is just no hope for me to blog every day lol. I did try though! Maybe next year! I just wanted to stop in today and share a little bit about what God is teaching me in this season of my life. I may even just turn it into a little series because there is honestly so much to talk about.

    Today I want to share with you what God really opened my eyes to last week at church. And just to be fair this isn’t anything new and if you’re a Christian you have definitely heard it before – many times at that – but still I really just want to explain it in a way that hopefully will help you guys really take it in too, that is if it’s something you struggle with as well.

    What I’m talking about is condemnation. I am my own worst critic and always fail to give myself grace when I do anything wrong, even when it’s something small. And I’m not saying that we all should just not care about when we do things that we know are wrong but there’s something to say about how we treat ourselves and others when things don’t go the way that they should or the way that God would want.

    Something in my head finally clicked last week at church when my pastor was talking about how our main mission as Christians should be to share the love of God with others. And not just in our actions but with our words. We need to be going out and TELLING others just how great our God is. And to be open and honest here this is something I struggle with in real life. I love writing about it here where nobody really knows who I am but when it comes to the real people in my life I sometimes get ashamed or afraid of what they will think of me.

    But also, more than that we need other Christians to help us share this message. It is not an easy task by any means and we needs others to stand along side us and just be there or just be praying for us. This is God’s work and we need to be pleading with Him to help. And this has been the hardest thing for me. I’ve been afraid to get to know new Christians because I’ve been afraid of what they will think of me. I know my own heart and how messy it is and I don’t want to let others know it too.

    But God has really been opening my eyes to show me that no matter how messy we feel, He doesn’t condemn us. And if He doesn’t condemn us then why should we be afraid of other people? God doesn’t care about what these people think of us and neither should we. Let’s try to remember in those times how Jesus died for this sin so no matter how long we struggle with it God still never holds it against us. Let’s get back up, continue striving and praying to overcome it, but not let ourselves to allow it to stop us from doing the amazing work that He has already planned for us to do. He loves us and He loves everyone around us and He needs us to go out and be His ambassadors.

    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. – John 3:17

    If you’re interested in listening to the sermon that helped me through this, the link is here. Our pastor really goes into so much more detail about how we need to be heavenly minded too. He really opened my eyes in a lot of ways. Let me know what you think if you do listen!

     

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  • Coffee Dates,  Faith,  Marriage

    Let’s Have Coffee || Vol. 2

    September 12, 2016

    If we were having coffee I would tell you that I can’t get enough of it lately. I wish I could drink it all day long. I’ve even bought decaf coffee to switch over to when I’ve had too much caffeine. I’d also ask how many cups you normally drink a day because I’m still deciding what’s okay for me to drink.

    If we were having coffee I’d tell you all about how I felt like God was being so silent in my life but then unleashed so many blessings in about a weeks time. I’ve been struggling with my relationship with Him since getting married but finally have felt the fuel to the fire being relit and it makes me so so happy. How do you get out of those types of seasons?

    If we were having coffee I’d tell you that for the first time ever I’m actually a little bit excited for summer to be over. I realized this year that fall is always a time of passion for me. I think it’s just the cooler air in the mornings and evenings but it makes me so excited for the start of a new season and being able to re-start all the things I’ve failed in the previous season – like eating health and working out.

    If we were having coffee I’d ask you how you stick to your workout schedule. I need all the tips because it seems no matter how hard I try I just cannot stick to a consistent schedule and I’m tired of making excuses and saying I’ll start really being serious about it later. I feel like it will never happen if I don’t start now. So please tell me all the tips. I need them.

    If we were having coffee I’d tell you that I still am trying to find the time for all of the things that I like to do since being married. I am starting little by little to find the right times to do things like blogging. How was the transition period for you if you’re married?

    Linking up with Amber @ Mr Thomas and Me.

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