Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Hey ALL!!!

So sorry I haven't been posting much at all! Last week was a crazy week with 3 tests and 3 papers and right after that it was hitting the beach with my best friends! It was such a good time! Hanging out on the beach and if it was too cold, we were creating memories in the beach house!

There is a lot to say because sooo much has happened!!
We have recently purchased the Breville juicer and now I'm happily juicing away. Not going to lie, I miss the smoothies. Some of theses juices are rough but I have found some that are delicious! So I think I will be just mixing both! maybe a smoothie in the morning and juices for dinner or vice versa!

Now I'm hanging out with the parents for a little bit before I need to head back tot he college town and start on homework for some of my classes... I'm on spring break and doing homework... what fun right?

I hope everyone is doing well!

"For my victory comes from Him"
               -Audrey

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Happy Leap Day!

Happy February 29 y'all!

We will have to wait 4 more years until this day to come again, I hope you made the best of it!

I had the biggest urge to watch the movie Leap Year today because of the day haha! If you haven't see it, its kind of a quirky movie about a girl proposing to her boyfriend in Ireland on a leap year. Tradition says that only on this day can a woman ask a man to marry her and that they will have good luck! Its cute and just because of the day, I wanted to watch it ALL day!

Again, I must sadly say I cannot right long, this biology paper is taking longer than expected. Maybe its the fact that I just don't want to write it.. YUCKY!

I may be out for a few days, I will be going home to see the family and from there we are having a mini road trip to Dallas for a beautiful occasion, one of my nieces is being christened.
What an special thing to see a little girl only 4 months old become a beautiful little angel of Christ.
I cannot wait to go, because this moment just makes me smile! Another child of God growing up learning how wonderful He is!

"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me and my heart leaps with joy. I burst out in songs of Thanksgiving." Psalm 28:7
Today was such a beautiful day! I had our door open to the balcony so my roommate, my dog, and I could enjoy the nice weather outside and some fresh air. We left it open until the sun came down, and we could see the sunset. I was so BEAUTIFUL today, all the oranges and pinks in the sky was absolutely break taking! I just could help but feel so blessed for this day. For everyday. For life itself. We are so blessed in so many ways and it is all because of Him. How can I not put my trust in Him when he lets me wake up each morning to experience a sunrise and a sunset. How can I not be so thrilled to experience life?! Tomorrow night go outside and just watch the sun set, it is so incredibly peaceful and everything prepares for the night.

I encourage all of y'all to read psalms, I think it is so beautiful and is filled with so many strong scriptures.

"For my victory comes from Him"
              -Audrey

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Terrific Tuesday!

HI!!

I hope everyone had a TERRIFIC Tuesday!

Today was very unfortunate with the fact that it was National PANCAKE DAY and there were FREE pancakes at IHOP today! WHAT??!! My roommate texted me this morning asking if we could have dinner there tonight and I had to sadly say no. I think just missing out on free food is a sin itself (ha-ha).
Smoothies have been rocking it! Who knew that putting vegetables in with fruit would taste pretty good?! Although, the colors don't look too appealing ha-ha!

Can't write for too long, I have a long 8 page scientific paper calling my name along with mounds and mounds of studying for next week. How wonderful are my teachers that they decide the week before spring break to pile on all tests and papers! My agenda for this coming week is 3 tests and 3 papers..how wonderful right?? And I MUST get most of it done this week since one of my nieces will be christened this coming weekend! I'm SOOO excited to be going up there, but I know seeing family = NO studying! 

My little exciting news for this week is that after having my advising appointment with my college advisor, I only have 15 hours left of college!! WOO HOO!! 
The Lord has been so wonderful in blessing me with the ability to go to college and earn an education, and I am happy to see in a short 15 hours I WILL be DONE!! What a wonderful day it has been with just that good news!

I hope all of you see the blessings in each day! I mean just waking up in the morning is a blessing in itself!

As of right now, I HAVE to get typing away on my paper. Hope you all have a fantastic night. 
Sleep with the angels.

"For my victory comes from Him"
              -Audrey

Monday, February 27, 2012

Psalm 33:20

Hello All!

Hope everyone had wonderful weekends! Mine was uneventful due to the fact that I was studying my life away for some of my classes. WOO what fun!

I have come to the conclusion that due to the health concerns that my dad brought up, (I mentioned it in my second post) that during the week I am drinking strictly smoothies. Yet, during the weekend, I will be drinking smoothies for breakfast and lunch but for dinner I will be actually having a meal. I will not be over doing the meal like going out for a cheeseburger but eating just as healthy as my smoothies, with a protein such as fish and side of veggies or whole grain pasta.

I just want to say, I appreciate all the encouragement that my friends and family have been giving me. I don't know what I would do with it! I am so truly blessed to be surrounded with such good people.

"We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield" Psalm 33:20
This verse is so beautiful, the Lord our God is our help and our shield from ungodly things. He helps us throughout the day and through our toughest times. I hope that with the school shooting in Ohio today, that all the families put and did put their hope in the Lord. I hope that the family who lost their son turns to Him for comfort in this time of need, and that the families with their kids recovering also put their hope in our Lord. That event was very unfortunate and I just hope that now, family and friends can all come together. I pray that they all find forgiveness in what happened today and that with their hope in the Lord comes a promise for a better and brighter tomorrow. May the boy who passed on rest in peace with Christ and the 4 others who are recovering regain their full strength.
I can never understand why things happen the way they do, like this shooting, the one at columbine, or the one at Virginia Tech. All I know is that everything happens for a reason, people are brought into our life and also taken out of our life, all for the perfect plan that He has for us. Somehow, all we can hope for is that with his help we can take each challenge and overcome it. He will never put a mountain in front of you that you can't climb.

Another challenge I have for you-instead of when your caught starting at something give them a little smile instead of turning away awkwardly. We all know how that works, you always feel bad for getting caught staring so you quickly look away just as they catch you looking (haha). Yet, you never know, that one smile that you gave them can help them in some way or another. Maybe that is just what they needed to brighten their day after a tough one. Maybe that is what all it took for this student to not bring that gun to school todday. Maybe having one person just be his friend could have prevented it. We will never fully understand why, but maybe you can make a difference in someone else's day just by a simple smile.

Remember, always tell your loved ones what they mean to you.

"For my victory comes from Him"
                -Audrey


Friday, February 24, 2012

Fruit-alicious Friday!

Hi Friends!

My next day is on its way! Todays best drink of the day is lunch! Well mainly because I haven't had dinner yet-haha!

This pretty colored smoothie is filled with some strawberries, half a peach, some blueberries, and raspberries. YUMMY!
Again, today has been tough just because ALL I want is a pizza, especially when I get an email from the university saying there is free pizza at the women's basketball game. How can someone pass up FREE food? It's tough in a college town when fast food is the motto. You name it, we have that it here.

Pretty uneventful day, been at home cleaning and studying. But it has been wonderful since I don't have as many temptations around me. I just have my fruits, vegetables, and the blender. We have all become best friends very quickly.

So I subscribe to kloves encouraging word for the day and I always say that the scripture for the day pertains to that day. Today's verse is, "Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you." Psalms 25:5
I absolutely adore this verse! It is perfect for they day and for everyday of this fasting feast!

But it doesn't JUST pertain to this, it pertains to all day EVERY DAY!
We should be trying to learn more about Christ and what it means to be a Christian so we can lead by example for others. Christ is the only one who has saved you and will save you  from anything. Shouldn't we be grateful for everything He has done for us? I know I am, I have a wonderful family and friends that He has put in my life for a specific reason. Its a beautiful thing when you look at someone and are able to see Christ in them.

My challenge to all of you, is try to read your Bible more. Before going to bed, instead of falling asleep to the TV try reading a little bit. I challenge you to learn more about Christ and help others see Him too. I am not saying you have to go out and preach it to people in a public place. But just by buying a club sandwich from HEB and taking it to that regular homeless person you see on the road can show Christ to others.

As for me tonight, I'm off to a date night with my beau! The Vow seems like a good movie to watch!
Hope you all have wonderful nights!

"For my victory comes from Him"
               -Audrey

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Day 1 Begins

Hello to all!

Temptation: a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.

This defines today, having the smell of chick-fi-la coming from the girl sitting next to me in class eating that juicy chicken sandwich and sinful waffle fries. Today was the first full day of fasting with a twist and it went pretty well. I have had the urge to eat something, not because I am hungry but because now that I have chosen not to eat, I want to eat everything is sight! Now for dinner as I write this, I am sipping on a smoothie that contains some strawberries, a banana, half and apple, some spinach, and carrots. Sounds interesting doesn't it? But it truly isn't bad at all, all I really taste is the sweetness from the fruits.



Unfortunately, my roommate and I cooking some chicken for our other roommate and the aroma from this chicken makes me want to just indulge in some food! Temptation is everywhere, at school, when I'm driving, and even at home. But Jesus had temptation those 40 days and nights from the Devil. He turned down the taunting of turning the rocks into bread and having water. So why can I not turn down some chick-fi-la or marinated chicken from the oven? I CAN and I WILL! If Jesus had the will so can I. I won't lie, it is tough but for Him, my parents, and for myself I will be strong.

I called my parents earlier today to see how they are doing in this fasting and I am happy to say that they are handling it pretty well. Probably better than I am (haha), since I just want some Whataburger and fries!
My mom had work at 5:00 in the morning and she made her a smoothie this morning for breakfast and for lunch. She was telling me that when she woke up this morning she wasn't even really hungry like normal and for lunch she had her smoothie and was feeling pretty full! GO MOM!
When I talked to my dad he said the same thing, that this fasting wasn't too bad and neither were the smoothies! GO DAD!

He did raise some concerns though about some health issues. We are not trying to lose weight but doing this for Christ, but it is only natural when you start this juice and smoothie diet you will lose some weight. Since we don't need to lose any weight, what will we do if we start to lose too much weight and it starts to show? Well my answer was to start putting kelp into the drinks, but also to drink the smoothies and juice for breakfast and lunch and then for dinner we will have some sort of protein with vegetables. This unfortunately is not what we want to resort to but for now we will continue to drink juice and smoothies!

So temptation today this is what I say to you, "He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken" Psalm 62:2
Todays God Wink: This BEAUTIFUL weather! The sun is shining and I woke up today!

"For my victory comes from Him"
                Audrey

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ash Wednesday!

Hello to all bloggers!

I'm starting this blog to document my quest of 40 days of complete fasting with a twist!
With start of Ash Wednesday today comes the start of lent and the sacrifice of something you love to do. Which in my case is EATING! I started contemplating yesterday of what to give up for lent, candy? soda? junk food? desserts? But I've done it all, so what can I can do that would be a huge sacrifice that I haven't done before? And then it hit me, what if I just drank nutrient filled juices and smoothies.

I had just finished watching the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" (Shout out to Joe Cross) about a couple of weeks ago and it was a revelation! Joe Cross juiced his foods for 60 days which he would only buy vegetables and fruits and put them into a juicer machine and create nutrient filled drinks. This overall is very beneficial to your body since you are supplying what the body wants instead of what it craves.

After a couple minutes of contemplating I was sold to my own idea, only drink juices that I make from a juicer and smoothies. I quickly called the parents and told them about my quest and it wasn't long before they decided to join the party! The whole family is now for 40 days not eating any food but will drink man made juices and smoothies!

Why you ask? Why take away the one thing (besides water) we need to survive?
My answer to you is, why not? Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights without any food or water. So why couldn't I do the same. Of course it is not to the degree of what he endured but it is still something worth sacrificing.

Do we not strive to be like Him everyday? Being more compassionate, forgiving, and accepting towards others? So why not try to do what He did for us. I feel with this lenten season I will be drawn closer to him with this temporary sacrifice and will find the need and want to turn to Him for strength when I am faced with temptations everyday. Being in college and on a college campus throughout the day will be the ultimate temptation, especially when Starbucks, Chick-fi-la, Panda Express, and Pizza Hut are right on campus carrying the aromas of delicious fast food. I will need to find the strength and my victory in Him with reading the Bible daily and finding scriptures that show me how he sacrificed for me. How could I not find strength and courage knowing that He sacrificed His own life so that I could have life. And how He went through excruciating pain all so that I could have a chance. Knowing this, my little 40 days of fasting with a twist seems like a little ant compared to the entire universe!

So this lenten season I will be blogging everyday about the temptations I face (and my parents) along with little "God winks"(phrase used by my fabulous roommate!) that come across through the day, and how I am made stronger through Him. I will be supplying my body not with what it wants but what my heart needs, Jesus.

"I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him."-Psalms 39:7 This is verse is my motto for this 40 day fasting with a twist. My VICTORY will come from Him this lenten season!




"For my victory comes from Him"
                -Audrey