Last week I wrote: “sometimes I just wish God would write in the dirt for what I am supposed to do.”

Recently I’ve been facing some frustrating, tough, white-knuckled life decisions. The kind that makes you want to run for the hills and forget about reality for just a little while. But since that is not an option, I do know what is: continuing to seek God’s plan for my life. But what does that mean? It’s not like it is written in the dirt or the sky for EXACTLY what I am supposed to do. Or is it?

More than anything, I long and desire to do what God wants me to do. And I think that is the first step for walking in God’s plan for your life. If you are seeking His will for what you do, how you live and what choices you make, you are acknowledging that you need His help. You can’t seek if you don’t desire to seek.

How do you know if you should have (more) kids? Who to marry? That house to buy? What race to run? What job not to take? Where to live? And the host of other life decisions that bombard us day in and day out. What food to avoid? It is easy to not care what God wants for your life and just live by the world’s standards. But since that is not an option for me, how do I learn to seek God every.single.moment? Here are my “top three” to seeking God’s will and plan for my life.

Read. The. Bible. One of my goals for 2012 is to read the entire Bible (thank you YouVersion for the app and plan!) And just not cramming it in during last month of the year, but each and every day. As of this writing, it is day 114! By reading God’s word and trying to live by His principles, I’m  learning how to make godly choices vs. self-satisfying choices. Do things always make sense? No, of course not. Do some things make total sense? Absolutely. That is called growth. I have also included other daily devotionals that are helping me to see things from a different perspective. Each and every day before I jump out of bed I start my day with God. If I’m going to figure out his plan for my life I had better seek him first before anything else. Here are my “top three” to seeking God’s will and plan for my life.

Pray. All. The. Time. This is something I’ve been doing for a while. I pray while cycling, while I run, while I cook, while I work. And specifically. I tell Him what is going on. What I am feeling. The choices I have to make. Everything. I pour my heart out to God. He already knows what I’m going through and what I will go through, but by stopping to acknowledge that I need him, it symbols a dependence on Him, not on my strength alone.

Seek. Godly. Wisdom.  I am grateful to have great, godly friends. Last week I was so overwhelmed with the things that were hitting me faster than I could count to 7, I talked to a good friend. Who shared this with me. Make choices that are

1) Spiritual

2) Emotional

3) Financial

This was SO powerful to me. So often I make choices that either emotional or financial first, not second or third. This totally changed my thinking around and made a few decisions easier to make. Once we start to change our thinking to this pattern, big and small decisions become (somewhat) easier to make. I’m not saying it is easy to make, but when the choice is based first by God’s plan vs. ours, life goes so much smoother. It’s when we react with emotion or based on financial reasons alone that things start to go haywire. Godly wisdom and perspective is great. If you don’t have godly friends, I pray that you will find some.

I don’t have all the answers. In fact I have very few. But I know this much in trying to live, breathe and move by God’s plan for my life that when I seek His plan for my life, He will guide me. Will I get it right each and every time? Nope. I am human. I have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes. But in those mistakes, God can still bring blessing and understanding and growth.

Are you trying to figure out what you are supposed to do with your life? Are you frustrated because you aren’t seeing God’s writing in the dirt? I urge you to start seeking Him by the top three: daily reading the Bible, daily prayer and having godly friends. Truly desire to seek His plan for your life.

God’s writing is in the dirt, we just have to work diligently to find it.

Jesus, may we each long to live by your plan for our lives. May we not grow weary in seeking you. Your plan is the best plan. Help us to seek you in all we do, live and say. Amen.

photo by: [Bellie]

It is no secret I am on the road a lot. But how does one eat while being a road warrior? Here are some tips that have been tried and tested by yours truly.

#1) Careful planning! I count how many meals I will be away for and either make a mental note or write it down in my trust iPhone. I always carry nut bars, jerky and pumpkin seeds with me. Planning ahead prevents you a lot of stress while on the road.

#2) Containers, containers, containers! I can’t stress this one enough. Small containers can make or break you while traveling. I pack Brewer’s Yeast (great source of protein), Ground Flax Seed, Hemp Hearts, and Chia Seeds. These are my staples on and off the road. And by packing these with me, my health travels with me. There is no excuse not to eat for health while on the road!

#3) Farmer’s Market’s, Co-op’s, natural health food stores. Make Yelp or Google search or your Twitter/FB feed your go-to resource for these hidden gems. I love to explore when I am traveling so I usually wander right into a Farmer’s Market or co-op as I am running. Or I research the town or city ahead of time and find out what day and time a Farmer’s Market will be open. I like to support small, family businesses so co-op’s, private, natural food stores and Farmer’s Market’s are my go-to place to shop for food. Chain national natural food stores are my second option. You can usually get a great, healthy meal at Whole Foods Food Bar if you stick to the salad area.

#4) Be flexible! You can plan all you want, but sometimes life just happens and you don’t have any control over it. Be calm and get back on track as soon as you can. Also, if you keep food with you, you won’t be caught off guard as easily. Carry Tanka Bars, KIND Snacks, Lara Bars, or Bearded Brothers. Don’t go hungry while traveling or yo

#5) Be wise! If you are eating out with business folks, be wise. Be smart. Don’t let them guilt trip you into eating crap. Don’t let their poor habits dictate how you eat. Set the positive, healthy example. You’ll be credible and secretly admired. Stick to your guns!

Those are a few of my travel-tried-and-true secrets. You can eat for health while on the road!

Mondays are typically a day that people dread. How many people do you know that say “Happy Monday!” (well, besides me)? Very few! Well, we want to help you have a positive day, week, month, year, life … So every Monday we have a series called ME: Motivation Encouragement. This is one way we can help you start your Monday off on the right foot!

I saw this quote from quotediary.me and thought it would be fitting for today’s article.

“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged people who kept on working!”

And I would add “those who never gave up“. Feeling tired (yes, I know it is Monday), discouraged, weary? Don’t give up. Keep the faith even when it seems impossible. You never know what great thing(s) are in store for you! God will give you the strength to get through each minute, hour, day, month, year.

Be strong and of great courage!

If you are more haunted by the past then being excited for NOW, you are living in fear. Heal & live in freedom!

photo credit: Victoria Peckham

Run more. Sit less. Live always. Hate never.

photo credit: El Frito

Don’t let people guilt you into eating because “you earned it.” We don’t earn food by exercising, we earn our life by excerising.

photo credit: Dendroica

Feeling like all hope is gone? Never, never let go of hope. It can move mountains. Survive valleys. Swim rivers. Trek deserts.

Photo credit: Ana_Cotta

Ate poorly recently? Detox your body this week by eating green, leafy greens, drink water & SWEAT!

Hungry? Eat peace. Thirsty? Drink kindness. Craving sweets? Eat humility. And always sprinkle with compassion.

Mondays are typically a day that people dread. How many people do you know that say “Happy Monday!” (well, besides me)? Very few! Well, we want to help you have a positive day, week, month, year, life … So every Monday we have a series called ME: Motivation Encouragement. This is one way we can help you start your Monday off on the right foot!

The other week, as I was traveling, I spotted an old VW Bug. Now I have a ‘thing’ for vintage bugs. Don’t know why, but I like them. Same with old VW Vans. So each time I spy one, I like to take a photo. I was walking down the street and there it was. An old, beat up bug. Flat tire, paint worn off, some parts sandblasted and in general rough shape by appearance . I immediately thought “a work in progress” and of course a life application started forming in my head .

I don’t know about you, but I’m a work in progress. In fact, just a few days ago, it was like I got soccer-punched. I wasn’t expecting to have life turned upside. AGAIN. But it did. And I was reminded that, like the vintage bug, I too am a work-in-progress. I think admitting that you are, is the first step in growing. If you don’t acknowledge there is a problem, change will never happen. Being a work in progress is sometimes painful, sometimes scary and sometimes hopeful. I don’t know the old bug owners, but I bet they are hopeful they can get the bug back to good as new. I also bet that putting time, money and physical hard work into fixing it up is painful and uncertain. But if they don’t try, they will never know what the car might have been. 

And so that’s motivation and encouragement for you and me to do what might seem scary, painful and fearful. It might take time. It might be daunting. But being a work in progress is much better than sitting on the sidelines wondering what you could’ve been. The more you learn, the more you grow. And the more you grow the more you can help others. So it all comes back around. A work in progress is a never ending task, but that is the nature of being vintage. You either get better with time, or you get worse. 

Food for thought: are you committed to being a work in progress?