Summer of 7 - Media

Week one of my Summer of 7 involves how I spend time on all media sources.  My biggest struggle is my phone.  I am always checking it for Facebook messages, texts, missed calls and Word with Friends notifications.  My challenge for this week is to minimize my online time to a total of 2 hours.  Also, my phone is to be on the charger or in my car at all times (Forgive me if I don't get back to you quickly!) and I have 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night to check "fun" stuff on the phone.  I turned off all notifications with the exception of text, so I will only respond to those.

Yesterday was Day one and it went pretty well.  I got a lot of work done and get to spend some fun times with my kids. :)  I truly hope this is something I can make a part of my daily routine!

You Say It's Your Birthday....

It's my birthday, too, YAY! :)

The start of a new year, brings reflection and resolution.  Kind of like my own personal New Years Day.  You?  As I embark on my last year in my thirties, I feel that God wants me to focus on two areas in particular: getting organized and helping the poor and disadvantaged.

You may be thinking, "why in the WORLD would God care if your junk drawer is organized?!?!?" Because that lack of organization in my junk drawer (and in essence, my life) keeps me from being a good steward of my time.  I waste so much time searching for things that I KNOW should be in or around my junk drawer: papers, pens, notes, checks, etc. It causes me to be stressed, run late and generally be grouchy.  Brian Tracy, in his book, Eat That Frog, says that "every minute spent in planning saves as many as ten minutes in execution.  It takes about 10-12 minutes for you to plan out your day, but this small investment will save you up to two hours (100-120 minutes) in wasted time and diffused effort throughout the day."  TWO HOURS!  Just by planning and organizing that I can add to my day.  We just got a pool and I would LOVE an extra two hours next to the pool each day.  But, wait, I could use those two extra hours to help the poor.....

I've read another life changing book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and I've realized how much time I have spent focusing on "me" and "my" and not looking past my front door.  I've become a comfortable Christian, asking God to continue to bless me more than I should be blessed, when there are entire nations that could survive on what I throw away each year!  I have told myself for the last 10 years that my mission field is at home.  I need to serve these people right here in my house to help them to be the best Christians that they can be.  But what if I took my mission field out with me to a new mission field?  What if I really helped them to grow in God by taking the focus off of themselves and serving others as God commanded us to do?  Would my daughter care more about people than things?  Would my ADD son turn his full attention to something besides video games?  Would my compassionate boy use his extra-sensitivity to the good?  Would my teenager see that his life really does have meaning?

These are my plans and focus for year 39. I will be following along with the Summer of Seven and focusing on one area of sacrifice per week.  I'm still formulating my plan of weekly fasting, but I know I will grow through it.

End the Trend

As I walked through the grocery store today, I got incredibly frustrated.  Aside from the packaged sugar and garbage that is screaming from the shelves to be bought, there were the morbidly obese customers riding on carts that make beeping noises when they back up.  When did this become our country?  When did we settle into obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, etc. and accept it as normal?  Why are we buying into this?  When did sickness become common and the fit and healthy the minority?

When I unpacked my goodies I found that I, too, had succumbed to the pressure.  Amongst my stash of vegetables, fruit and coconut milk, I had added some cookies and rice krispie treats.  Why?  Because I have been conditioned to believe that my kids need want sugar after their lunches.  I am perpetuating the cycle of obesity and poor nutrition.  Sure it's fine if they have a treat from time to time, but why has it become daily? 

As a Beachbody Coach, it is my job to help End the Trend of Obesity and I believe in that.  It is my PASSION.  I need to fix my own home as well.  I feel like I do well with my own diet, but I let my kids eat "kid food" because it is just easier.  So this is me putting it out there.  I am committed to helping my kids learn solid lessons about nutrition and eat a diet that allows them to grow to be strong and healthy.  Are you with me?

PS:  If you would like help getting a handle on your own health and fitness, please contact me.  I would love to help!

Labor Day and the Sabbath

Drew: "Mom, is Labor Day the Sabbath?"

Me: "Uh, did you say Sabbath or Saturday?"

Drew: "Sabbath.  When is the Sabbath?"

::::Insert brief discussion about Jewish historical Sabbath and our Christian Sabbath here::::

Drew: "I think Labor Day will be my Sabbath from video games." 

Long pause

Drew: "I can still watch TV, though, right?"

Have a very happy Labor Day!

Hip Update

Monday I saw the Orthopedic Surgeon in Columbus who will be performing my hip surgery.  I can't believe I typed those lines.  At the age of 38, I never thought I would be preparing for hip surgery!  That's something you do when you are 70+!  Anyway, the second MRI showed that I do have a tear in my labrum.  To repair it requires an arthroscopic hip surgery and no local surgeons do that procedure.  In fact, my husband told me this morning that I am the only person he knows who has had an arthroscopic hip repair.

So, right now we are waiting on the insurance to approve my surgery.  If/when they do, we will schedule it.  My planning, OCD brain wants it to be Sept 20, because that day works really well in my schedule, but I know it's not up to me. (Jeremiah 29:11) The recovery time is 3-6 weeks on crutches and it will be 6 months until I am back to my ol' happy-go-lucky self. 

I saw my chiropractor today and he thinks he can help me to recover quicker and eventually get me back to running.  I am hoping and praying for that!  I have so missed my early morning summer runs and 5K season. :(

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!  I will continue to update as things progress.

5 Day Shakeology Challenge

I am running a 5 day Shakeology challenge. You have heard me rave about Shakeology, now is your chance to try it for 5 days to see what it can do for you!

What you need to do:

Sign up as a customer on my Beachbody site:http://beachbodycoach.com/​BeccaCoach

Let me know what flavor of Shakeology you would like: Greenberry, Chocolate or a mixture of both. I need to know this by August 10th so I can get them to you in time to start.

Send a check or paypal to me for $25. That covers your Shakeology for the challenge. Or you can order a larger bag at  http://myshakeology.com/Be​ccaCoach

Commit to drinking Shakeology once a day for 5 days.

Commit to at least 30 minutes of exercise every day for 5 days.

Submit a complete food journal to me every evening during the challenge. If you bite it, you write it!



I will send you a healthy dose of motivation every morning. I can also give you a meal plan to follow, if you are interested. I will review your food journal and offer suggestions as needed. When you feel like you don't want to do it anymore, I'll be there to remind you why you are doing this in the first place. ;) There will be a raffle type drawing of everyone who completes the challenge. The prize will be determined later! The more people who sign up, the more prizes there will be!

Please feel free to message or email me with any questions!

August 3 in 30 Goals

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am struggling to find balance.  I feel like my days keep getting away from me and my to-do list is never done. I have decided to join the 3 in 30 group to get myself refocused for August.  Even though I am not a practicing RN anymore, my brain still thinks like one.  Therefore, I have to have measurable goals that I can see whether or not I achieved them.  So here are my three for August:

1.  Complete the last of my homework for Beth Moore's Believing God study.  Our group actually watched the last video on Tuesday and I still have a week's worth of homework to do.  I'm thinking I can get it done in a month. ;)

2.  Do the 31 Days to Clean Challenges.  It just so happens that August has 31 days and I can complete all of the challenges in that time frame.

3.  Have my 8 year old help me prepare 2 meals a week.  My guy, Jay, thinks he wants to be a chef (among other things like an author, a scientist, an artist...it's good to be 8 and have your whole life in front of you).  I could use the help in the kitchen and it would teach him some very important life skills, like how to hold a knife.

Please feel free to share with me how you achieve your personal goals.  I would love to know!