Every Body Matters…

Can I just say that I love the smell of new books?  Just put your sniffer right up to it and give the pages a good ruffle. Isn’t that delightful? Ok,  that didn’t sound nearly as weird in my head, but clearly it is.

I started reading a book called “Every Body Matters” by Gary Thomas. The concept is…”strengthening your body to strengthen your soul”. I thought as I read through it, I would post about some “Aha” moments from each chapter. I would love to know your thoughts…maybe pick up a copy of the book and we can discuss it here!

The first chapter is all about having a “Soul of Silver”. Having a soul that’s been refined through difficult circumstances. They happen to all of us, the question is how are we going to respond in them.

Here are some key moments in chapter 1:

Much of the chapter is centered around 2 Timothy 2:20-21:

“In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.  If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”

When I read that verse, I’m reminded by the writer that we should be motivated to be as pure as we can be in this fallen world. Um…Easier said than done, right?

• We are instruments for a special purpose
• We are in the process of being made holy
• We are to be useful to the Master
• We are to be prepared to do any good work

Does your body hinder you from being any of the above? I know mine does!

What do you think about this quote from the book? “We have a total misunderstanding of grace if we think grace makes us less serious about holiness”. YIKES! I read that about 5 times. The “grace card” is something that most of have used at one time or another. When I read that statement, I’m reminded that grace is not our wipe of the brow “whew” moment but that  it’s something that should cause a deep sense of gratitude and point us to a life that desires to pursue holiness.

If the first few chapters are any indicators, this book is jammed full of valuable insight that we can take or leave. But I’m praying that as I read, take notes, and “aha” the Creator who keeps the Universe spinning perfectly will reach in and tenderize the heart of this imperfect woman. A woman who is like so many others…tired of feeling defeated!

Freedom is just around the corner…I can feel it!

So…who’s with me?

                          fivegoodthings

1. Getting a good old fashioned kick in the pants
2. My fantastic Erin Condren planner
3. Connecting the dots of life
4. Barbie  Christmas ornaments
5. Being at home. It’s just good.

fivegoodthings.

                       

I thought I would start with simple.

I heard someone say that a lack of contentment is linked to a lack of gratitude so I decided a few years ago to write down five good things (as daily as possible) in my life. Or just five good things in general. I don’t know about you, but I need those reminders of what is good because there is so much junk clouding the skies around me.

Here are my five good things for today. What are your? I would love to know!

fivegoodthings 

1. Really generous health insurance
2. Headphones are considered “work attire” at my job.
3. Pinterest. Have you heard of it??? OMGRAPES!! Sign up now!
4. Calculators. I’m no mathlete
5. The Bauer fam in its entirety. They love me better than I deserve.

                                                                                              

If I were…

So, I’m a little late on this post but the weekend just got away from me. In honor of the Royal Wedding, you’re getting my first posting that will be mostly written by YOU! I want to know what you think…it can be serious, or funny it doesn’t matter to me! Just leave a comment and join in the fun! I can’t wait to hear from you all!

I do want to do my fivegoodthings before I unveil the big question!

fivegoodthings

1.  walking through the tough stuff of life with people
2.  free shipping
3.  good change in the office
4.  Colgate toothpaste
5.  living room laughs

Here’s the big question…

If I were British I would….

Here are a few things I would say

1. Wear a hat the size of London

2. Get braces

3. Name my future daughter Georgie

You get the picture…

ready….

set…

GO!

Zumba!

Last night my roomie Gina and I went to a TWO HOUR Zumba Party.  We must have been crazy! When I signed us up, I asked if there was going to be a medic on hand and she just laughed…I was like… “no seriously, is there going to be a medic on hand???” She said very cheerfully… “um…no…but there will be snacks and water!” Ok, I can handle that.

We survived the 2 hours and if I’m keepin’ it real…I’m really sore today but I MUST go back! It’s so much fun. I do have to admit that I’m pretty sure my hips have never moved like that before and it didn’t really matter if I looked silly doing it because everybody in the gym looked silly. I sent Mandisa an after photo of us Zumba-ing with a note on Twitter and she totally wrote back! AHH! Ok, breathe…. Actually, that’s what I was saying to myself during Zumba too.

After we peeled ourselves off the floor we did what any supportive room-mate would do…we went to Chick-Fil-A to visit our other roomie Jess who is smack dab in the middle of Grand Opening for the new CFA in St. Peters! Talk about CRAZYtown! That place has been packed, non-stop! I’m pretty sure she’s put in 40 hours just since Thursday. We figured…we just burned 1,000 calories (another bonus to Zumba) so we had a smidge of the yummiest chicken on the planet.

There we ran into a former coworker and friend Susan. It was so fun to see her. Her 4 year old daughter kept us entertained and we had some great laughs catching up! I <3 her!

A little something you may not know about me…I’m obsessed with BBC/Materpiece Theater movies and shows…dating around the time of the early 1900′s and before. I’ve found a show on Nextflix that I’m in love with. It’s called Downton Abbey so when I got home last night..around 10:30…naturally I had to watch another episode. If you’re interested in watching it I need to let you know that there is one episode so far that had a scene that didn’t need to be there. Everything else other than that has been ok. I’m just a few episodes into it.

It was a busy evening and totally fun! Turned my alarm off and slept until I woke up…at 11!!!! It was like being in college again…but now I feel like I’ve “wasted my entire day”…words of a parent…recognize those??

Tonight I’m going to have Sushi with Gina and a new coworker Johnathon and his wife Natalie before the Mercy Me concert…can’t wait!  Have a great day…it’s time for..

fivegoodthings 

1.Zumba

 

2. Chick-Fil-A

 

3. Sleeping in like a teenager

 

4. Music that stirs my heart

 

5. Washing machine to wash my smelly Zumba clothes.

Inspiration

I need some! It’s been a very long time since I’ve been on here and I’m starting to get concerned that my creative juices have evaporated in the dry, eternal winter also known as St. Louis.

I’ve been scouring one of my favorite websites www.pinterest.com and found some lovely photos to spark some creativity…I hope. Thanks to all of those who kept asking me when I was going to post again…you’re part of the inspiration! Enjoy.

I have not forsaken my favorite part….

fivegoodthings

1.www.pinterest.com
2.lime green and grey
3.last day of radio contest…(dj perspective)
4.cheese ball
5.canon rebel

Catch-Up

95.

Since we’ve last chatted, I’ve been to Hawaii and back! To be honest, all of this cold weather is making me wish that I could be there right now! I love the snow, but not the cold. But…you can’t really have one without the other.

Here are some photos that I took while on the trip…I hope you enjoy!

A favorite. He ran all 26.2 miles with this flag strapped to his back. HERO!

Another amazing sunset!

Underneath this "collected" Kim, there was tremendous fear!

Snorkeling!

I think this says it all!

Banana boat

Part of a full rainbow that we saw

So precious!

Harvey by the sea

Beach at our condo

After the Maui 5K!

Gina and her dad after the Maui Marathon- he's a FINISHER!!!

We BARELY beat this little guy. Barely.

Beautiful!

fivegoodthings
1. gloves
2. belonging
3. diet pepsi
4. getting ample sleep
5. unconditional love

11!

94.

Today I’m celebrating the number 11! I don’t think I’ve done that since watching Sesame Streat…remember that??? 1,2,3,4,5…678, 9, 10, 11,12…doo, doodoo, doo, dooooo..ok you get the picture…maybe?

Why? Well, I’m glad you asked! I’m down 11 lbs, in 2 weeks. I’ve been doing a low carb diet and I’m actually seeing success for the first time…ever! I’m so encouraged by this, and I’m excited to keep on keepin’ on!

Have I mentioned that I’m going to Hawaii? I leave Wednesday and I will be posting pictures a long the way. I’m so excited! I’ve traveled a lot doing missions but to go on a vacation??? I’m going with Gina and Jess (some of my roomies). Gina’s dad runs marathons all over the place and this year he chose Maui. The 3 us of are going to walk/jog the Maui 5K which is Saturday the day before the marathon. I’m so excited!

This will be a bitter-sweet trip for me. This is that “dream trip” that my mom and I always wanted to do together, so I’ll be thinking of her while I’m on the beach, both of our favorite places to be.

That’s all folks! Hmm…that reminds me of Porky Pig, which reminds me that I can eat pork rinds…0 carbs. It’s all about what I CAN eat.

P.S.  I’m writing in green because I think that green is a hopeful color.

fivegoodthings

1. 11 lbs off of my body!
2. Deviled eggs…they have a little bacon and some cheese, yum!
3. Completely leaving work at work and going on vacation
4. Great friends to cry/laugh with (in that order)
5. Inside jokes

hi.

93. I think it’s been that many days since I’ve blogged. Ok, maybe not but it feels like it!

So, a lot has happened since I’ve last checked in. The station that I work for is now on a new signal, we’re broadcasting on 100,000 wts of power reaching a potential listening audience of 2.7 million people. It’s been a crazy and amazing few months!

I’d really like to try to re-enter the blogging world. I’ve found it to be so beneficial with clearing the brain…not too clear, just enough.

Last night I was going to see Haley D. play volleyball. She’s a freshie at Greenville College and was playing a St. Louis school.  I was SO excited to see her play! I got to the STL school and realized that the game was actually IN Greenville! Bummmmmer! One of my roomies that went with me is a Greenville Alum so she went with me! We got back on the road and took off to see Haley…hoping to see the game! Well…we didn’t get to see the game, but we did get to see Haley and spend some time in her room. It was pretty sweet! As I got our of my car I saw her come barrelling  out the dorm door eager for a hug. If that didn’t make my day, I don’t know what would have. Love that girl…and she might actually be sorry that she’s going to college so close to me.

This week has been…a beginning of transformation for me. Last week I went to the doctor for a normal check up and she thought it would be a good idea for me to begin a low carb way of eating for a while. She told met hat I would hate her for a while but then I wouldn’t anymore. She’s right. I did. Now I don’t. Wow, this is HARD! I spent the first 3 days thinking I was going to die without a carb and ready to punch someone if they crossed me…not typical by the way. Then…day 4. That was a glorious day. The fight was gone and I wasn’t hungry every 5 seconds. It’s amazing how I actually feel my hunger now that I’m not putting all of these quick and easy “snacks” in my body. I can really feel the difference in my energy! I feel a bit sluggish in the afternoon but I think that’s because I’m working 9 hour days now, you just tend to hit a wall after a while.

Speaking of longer days…my workday has changed. I’m now on the air from 9-noon and 3-6 as well as taking care of the social media…Facebook, Twitter, iPhone app…all that good stuff. I love it! It’s a great fit for me, but I’m definitely tired at the end of the day!

Ok, back to the carb business….so after 4 days, I’ve lost 5 lbs. Most of this week is water loss but I’m grateful for the loss. I’m looking forward to see what next week looks like! I’ll keep you posted!

How about 5 good things? I haven’t done any in a while.

fivegoodthings

1. new shampoo
2. a haircut
3. Audrey Assad’s music
4. surviving the carb detox
5. the lazy river at AquaPort

Back to the new normal

92. I’m pretty sure that’s how hot it was today.

So…I’m back from the JOY FM mission trip to Washington Park in East St. Louis. It was an awesome time and I real privilege to serve the people of that community.

Since I got back on Saturday it’s been a bit hectic. On Sunday the 4th we had about 40 people at our house. If that wasn’t enough…we also found a 5 1/2 ft. snake-skin outside in the back yard.Talk about horrifying! Gina decided to name him Renfro…he seems less scary that way and more like a cartoon snake.
On Wednesday JOY FM switched over to a 100,000wt signal..as strong as you can get and you can hear it 100 miles in every direction of STL. We got a call from Springfield, IL and they were picking it up strong! it’s been many years in the making and God gave it to us right on time…as usual.:)
I’m house/dog sitting until the 20th, so I feel like I’ve been living out of a suitcase for the past month or so…maybe it’s because I have been. It makes me appreciate being at home and grateful that I have a job that I don’t have to travel a lot. That would get old for me…quick.

Well, I’m gonna let the pups out before bed…Roxie and Teke. Roxie’s already peed on the floor once. She gets excited.

fivegoodthings

1. 100,000 watts of power
2. Rachel Evans
3. sleeping during a storm
4. butter yellow and brown together
5. unexpected gifts

Good Ol’ Mamye

91

So, today was the first day of the JOY FM Mission trip. We’ve been to many places around the world, Mexico, Trinidad, Jamaica, Guatemala and this year East St. Louis!

We had the privilege of going to the church of a dear friend Pastor Robert Freeman. You might remember him from Pastoring a church in Rantoul. We spent the morning at Trinity United Methodist in East St. Louis, IL. The service was great and it was wonderful to see Pastor and his wife again. One part of the day that we didn’t expect was a funeral service for “Aunt” Mamye Sykes! She was a few weeks away from 95 and a very well-loved, spirited woman of God!

Her service was to begin at noon but the church service got over about 11:15 so…Mamye’s serivce began early. There was one problem with that…one BIG problem.  Mayme wasn’t THERE!!!!  So…during the service the pastor kept asking people to share their stories and then thanking everyone for their patience. He mentioned a few times that we were, “waiting on a few things”….but those few things were the flowers and Miss Mayme’s URN! She eventually showed up to her funeral and I found it quite hilarious.

From there we had a wonderful lunch with the people of Trinity then over to the work site to get set up for the week. Tonight we had dinner at Blueberry Hill on the Loop and then came back to the hotel. Gina and I had a great swim in the pool and met a really interesting guy in the pool.  He and his wife are here for CBA. It’s the big conference for Christian retailers. They came from Canada to sell a book that his wife wrote on postpartum depression. He and his wife have an amazing story as told in her book Letters Of Hope.

Well that’s day one…I’m off to bed!

fivegoodthings

1. staying in a hotel
2. The Wedding Singer
3. night-time swims
4. inside jokes
5. missions trips with Gina