How I Got Here.

Jesus. Sleep. Eat. Train. Teach. Repeat.

These are my priorities... pretty much in that order.  

              The past 15 weeks I have been on the journey of a lifetime - transforming my mind and body - challenging myself in ways I would have never thought possible.

Backstory: After leading Young Life in Central VA for 6 years, teaching high school Spanish for 2 years and becoming increasingly involved in the fitness realm, I felt a change stirring in my soul.  I knew my time as a Young Life leader was coming to an end and after winning a boot camp challenge at my gym, I was looking for a more challenging physical goal as well.  I decided to spend my summer in Lynchburg, away from the partying beach life of Wilmington, so I could focus on what God was doing in my soul.  

I spent every morning in the Word, fasted once a week and spent many friday evenings at worship services seeking after God's presence and surrendering this next part of my life to him. 

You cannot expect to hear from God if you do not spend time with Him. He does not want to keep His presence and His plans a secret from you, but YOU have to choose to make time to be with your Creator and the Lover of your soul. 

I had been praying about moving out of Lynchburg after this year, either to Nashville or Philly with my best girlfriends from Wilmington. I had told God after college that I would not stay in the burg after three years unless He brought a man into my life to keep me here... 

Ha.

It became increasingly clear that Lynchburg was where God wants me to stay, and even though I was man-less, I still felt completely at peace with this decision.

The thing is... when you are walking in the life Christ has mapped out for you, there is no greater peace found in the world... even if it was not what you had originally planned, it is most often way better :-) 

So why all the working out and eating healthy already!?!

I decided I have always wanted to do a figure competition and chase my "dream body" goals, so why not now? I prayed if it was something God wanted me to be involved in he would provide the means and open the doors... and boy has He! This is not a cheap hobby, but never once have I wondered if I would have enough money to buy healthy foods, pay my bills, pay my coach etc.  So my physical goals were set, but spiritually I still needed to be involved somewhere.  

I decided to start serving in the Welcome Center at my church, which has been great, but my true ministry is with the Zumba class that God just handed over to me.  I was looking for part time work and one of the instructors at my gym was moving and asked if I wanted to take over her class in Rustburg.  It works out perfectly and is a great source of extra money.  These women who come to class have really become my focus and who I want to build relationships and show Christ's love to.  <3 

Now that we are up-to-date: This blog is going to be for me to survive the next 17 days till my first figure competition.  I will journal the good, the bad and the ugly? No, none of that.  

Here are my before pictures from July....

Here are my current: excuse my face - it was 5:45 this a.m. 

Here we goooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!