Sunshine Blogger Award Nomination + Q&A

Wow!  I see why it is called the Sunshine Blogger Award.  It gave me warm fuzzies, without the sunburn.  I was nominated by Dawn Ivey.  Thank you and I really, sincerely appreciate your thoughtfulness!

I have been following Dawn’s blog, Drawing Closer to Christ, and I really enjoy her articles.  I love her heart for our Savior! Check out her blog here!

Before I get to the Q&A, here are the rules regarding the Sunshine Blogger Award nomination process:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer 11 questions the blogger asked you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write then 11 new questions.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award in your post/or on your blog.

Q&A:

1. What is the weirdest thing you have eaten or, should I say, attempted to eat?  Have y’all seen my green drink post? 
2. What is the hardest thing you have overcome? An eating disorder, though I struggle with wanting to eat everything now so I can’t really say I have overcome it. BUT, I’m working on my temple!  Join me on my blog to journey with me! I’ll also add I have overcome the fear of small to smedium (yes, smedium) size spiders.  I can squash those without suiting up and shaking now.  The medium to big ones…just no.
3. What is the one thing you have to have everyday? Obviously, Jesus.  The other thing would be coffee.   As the song goes, “I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more”…for some coffee! Black, nothing added. All day. 
4. Why do you think it is so hard for most men to share their true feelings with the ones they love? I think showing your feelings often mean mushy-ness and guys don’t want to be viewed as mushy.  It’s not masculine, to some. Maybe they also grew up in a home where there wasn’t a male role model or that role model wasn’t in favor of male emotion-showing.
5. If you are married, what do you treasure most about your spouse? So many things.  I value his heart for God.  I value he is okay with showing emotion. I value that he isn’t materialistic. I value that he makes his family a priority.  He is my best friend!
6. Where did the term, without using Google or any other search engine, ‘by the skin of my teeth’ come from? It probably came from some little second graders who barely passed. Just sayin’. (I’m a teacher)
7. What are you passionate about and why? Just like my friend Dawn, I am passionate about encouraging others and leading them towards Jesus in all circumstances that we encounter.  I am also passionate about praying.  I have a short devotional coming out about prayer soon! 
8. What topics, if any, have you wanted to write about but haven’t because your feel your ‘fan base’ would not approve?  Many.  One being my health journey–everyone has one so who is interested in mine; people who feel entitled; evil; germs; closet/house decluttering; healthy recipes; organization; why do I love yard work…Basically, I am eclectic in my thought processes and will my fan-base understand this or expect me to stick to one area of interest.   I try to tie it ALL together by writing my thoughts into devotionals.  Jesus is the glue that sticks it all together and makes it work.  I reference Him continuously.  What I’m saying is, I’m probably going to write about everything anyway!  I love my fans and feel confident my writings will reach exactly who they are meant to reach. People will like me…or not.  I will keep writing.
9. Someone who has hurt you deeply in the past reaches out to you.  They have done so to make amends because the Lord told them to. Do you forgive or do you tell them to bug off?  Who am I to not forgive?  I forgive them.  Afterall, Jesus forgives me. 2 Corinthians 13:11 “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”
10. Now, let’s flip the question a little. The Lord tells you to reach out to someone you hurt in the past.  Do you do so or do you ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit out of fear?  I’m most likely going to do it.  When something is nagging at me I have to deal with it or else my shoulders get heavier and heavier with each passing day.  I may not address the person face-to-face.  I kinda see a letter going in the mail here.  
11. Oh gosh, you are running late for work, grab a quick cup of coffee, get dressed quickly, slip on a pair of shoes and jet. When you arrive at work people snicker when you walk in because you slipped on two different pairs of shoes.  What do you do?  Y’all didn’t get the memo about crazy shoe day to raise awareness for yardsticks across America?  They have 3 feet but can’t walk.  

I am nominating the following for this award:

StormieSteele

https://stormiesteele.com/2019/05/16/omnipresent/

Eileen Guyadeen

https://quietmomentswithgodblog.wordpress.com/

Trophy of Grace

https://nikhop320.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/just-as-i-was-with-moses-so-i-will-be-with-you/

Kathi Pelton

https://oceansinthedesert.com/2019/05/15/are-you-needing-wisdom/

LouSams

https://southernsoulsimplestrongandsweet.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/casting-call/

Encouraging-Grace

https://hisencouraginggrace.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/aligning-my-wishes-with-gods-will/

It’s A Miracle

https://itsamiracle.blog/2019/05/15/dont-give-up-push-through/

Jordan Lee Dooley

https://jordanleedooley.com/overcoming-insecurities/

For All the King’s Daughters

https://forallthekingsdaughters.com/

Real Christian Women

https://realchristianwomen.blog/2019/05/15/daily-scripture-5-15-19/

An Apple of Gold

https://anappleofgold.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/grace-giver/

Here are my questions to these awesome bloggers:

1. What inspired you to begin blogging?
2. What can you NOT live without each day?
3. What are your hobbies?
4. Do you enjoy yard work (had to ask)?
5. What is your favorite scripture (I know, who has just one!)?
6. What is the hardest thing you have had to overcome?
7. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
8. The Bible tells us we will have jobs in Heaven.  Not knowing exactly what those will be, what do you wish your job to be?
9. What is the last random act of kindness you received?
10. What is the last random act of kindness you preformed?
11. Getting inspiration from my #11, what do you do if you see someone with toilet paper stuck to their shoe?  (Tell them, step on it when they aren’t looking so they never know,  pretend to talk on your cell phone and look away…)

Participation is optional.  Whether you do or don’t, thank you for you blog!  You have all brought me joy!♥

JP/Grace and Pink

I’ve done a decent amount of research on food.  I’ve done this voluntarily and mandatorily (another new word…I often make these).  In my distant path, I was hospitalized with an eating disorder and went thru many, many lectures, therapy sessions, and doctor visits about nutrition (which has nothing to do with the core of an eating disorder).  In my more recent past, I have intentionally researched food, focusing more on the ingredients.  I’m NOT a yoga-going, green juice drinking, vegan, keto, macro-nutrient, sweatband wearing health nut…although my gym offers yoga that I have attended and my recipe today IS a green juice, but I promise I am just your average woman trying to avoid the peanut butter cups and second helping of carbs.  I’m even overweight at this point in my life.  I have fibromyalgia.  I’ve done the yoga classes at my gym because my Dr. told me the best way to manage fibro pain is to keep moving (the pill they prescribed had awful side effects), and the yoga literally just feels so good with the stretching and muscle usage involved. The exercise helps me feel mentally better, as well (of course!).

So here I am working on my temple.  We are instructed to do so.  I am in need of repair! My weight loss goal is 50 pounds.  (No worries, that puts me just 10 pounds under the infamous life insurance chart maximum for my age and height, 10 pounds less than my heaviest in high school and I’m still the same height…possibly shorter.)  Like a building needs constant maintenance and repair, so do we.  I thought I would bring you along as I undergo construction with hopes to inspire, encourage, and support someone else.  After all, those are the goals of my blog…with Jesus in the mix!

What have I done so far to begin my journey?

• Renewed my gym membership.  It comes with those free yoga classes I mentioned that I intend to start again once school lets out for summer. (9 days with kids + 3 inservice days…y’all know I’m counting down.)
• Installed Lifesum on my phone.  This is an app that I am LOVING!  I speak from experience when I say, from my heart, it is about the CALORIES.  Calories in and calories out.  I love how Lifesum helped me determine how many calories I need a day to lose weight and then helps me keep track of them. It is a seriously easy app to use.
• Told you!  To put out there what you are doing is a motivating tool.  I totally invite you to comment about how you are workin’ on your temple and do this with me!

 

I am not joining any “program”, not drinking shakes, not taking pills.  I am counting calories and working out.  I am having 1250-1400 calories a day.  I’m drinking water.  I’m using will-power, and I’m praying for help with temptations.

About the green drink?  I have a hard time with vegetables.  They just don’t want to get on the fork sometimes. I know I need them.  I also know Daniel was like (paraphrasing) “Hey, give me and my men nothing but vegetables and water for ten days and then compare us to your men who ate the royal food”, and after ten days he and his men looked healthier and more nourished than those who ate the royal food.  Daniel 1:11-16  So I thought I would try a green drink primarily because I thought it would be a fast way to get them down.  To my surprise, it wasn’t bad at all!  The secret is to put fruit in in.  In my opinion, you don’t taste the green stuff and what you do taste is really just bland. Adding the fruit makes your drink sweet!  I will add my recipe and photos below, but first I want to reiterate how much I hope being open on this journey helps someone else.  I would love to hear from you!  Your feedback and involvement will totally be appreciated!♥

Spinach and Apple Juice

*I do not have “professional lighting” or camera…just keeping it real!

You will need:

• Spinach Leaves- a handful
• 1/2 an apple- a sweet variety (I used an Ambrosia Gold)
• about 3/4 c water
• blender (I’m using my Hamilton Beach mini blender.  It does the trick!)

Dice up half of the apple and put in blender.  Be sure to take that little white sticker off the apple.  It doesn’t taste good.  Add a handful of spinach.  Fill the blender container with about 3/4 cup of water (more or less–depends on how thick or thin you want your drink).

Blend.  Because I completely filled up my mini blender, I stopped and stirred to make sure everything got completely blended.

   

I held my nose for the first gulp.  I thought if I just hold my nose and take big gulps it will be gone in no time.  After the first gulp I realized it tasted like apples.  I got a little leafy consistency but not a spinach taste…and spinach is a vegetable I like to eat but not drink…but I didn’t get that I was drinking spinach.  It definitely has texture to it but it just was not bad at all.  I plan to try it with pineapple next! I’m adding this to my tool belt for workin’ on the temple.  Stay tuned!

JP/Grace and Pink