Hamenopi

I was talking to a friend this morning and he explained how he's taking things one day at a time. Those words inspired this post.  I realized those were the exact words I was looking for. It fit right into a hole in my thought process. Let me break it down. In the beginning, trying to lose weight, I was so concerned with the number I was trying to reach. 100 pound goal is intimidating! It feels like an impossible task. I told myself I will never get there!      Of course as long as I had that mindset, I was right. I was looking at the peak of a mountain from the base.  Of course the task was impossible!  There was a stinking mountain in front of me! I would get so frustrated staring at the mountain because the peak was so far away. I was so busy staring at the peak, I didn't bother moving toward it.        Aim without action leads to frustration. After many times growing frustrated and quitting, I knew something was broken. There's plenty of

KJV John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Many people have heard this verse. Maybe you're one. I always took it as the greatest way to love another is to die for them. While that sounds noble. I think there's more we can pull from it. Let's break it down. Breaking It Down To lay down one's life. What does that mean? My first inclination is to die, but when we die, do we lay down? No. More like we drop as in drop dead. Maybe this verse is not talking about death at all. When I lay down one of my children, I do it gently. gracefully... I try at least. Don't get me wrong, there's times I want to lay them out but the verse doesn't command us to lay out our friends. That's not in this verse. I mean, It'd be easier sometimes. But then again, since when did God prefer the east way? Things Laid Down? One thing which can be laid is a path. There's no greater love than to pave on

You may know, I recently purchased Elements from GMB . Actually, let me back up a little... Back Story For a year I followed GMB consuming their free content (exercises, podcasts). During that, I was also following the Stronglifts 5x5 routine at the gym. It's a good routine but it wasn't for me. I never was an exercise type of person and my form, or lack of form showed it. I was lucky I didn't get hurt. After struggling, I turned back to GMB and reevaluated their beginner program, Elements. Their free content is great. They give $75 worth of information for free each month. But purchasing a program, that was scary. What it the expense wasn't worth it? What if it didn't work for me? After a bit of self motivation, I finally bit the bullet and purchased Elements. Elements There is a cascading waterfall of information in it, a ton more than what I prepared for. It overwhelmed me with the treasure of knowledge they provided. So much I had to do week 1 twice!

Recently I was nominated as the member of the month. They asked me to create a write up for them. This is it. About Me 2015 was a powerful year for me. It was a year I realized I needed to stop doing what I was doing. I was watching TV, playing video games till 1-2 in the morning. I wasn't showing up for my family or work mentally, I was depressed. To combat depression, I turned to food. Guess what, pretty quickly I became depressed and obese. Mid 2015, I discovered I was over 300 pounds. My clothes didn't fit. I had no energy. I struggled showing love to who mattered most because I couldn't find love for myself. I didn't know what to do but I knew what I was doing wasn't working. But I didn't have the time... Or did I? Desperate to find time to fix my life, I recorded what I was doing for a week. I was completely inefficient with the time I had. What's more, I spent half the time scrolling Facebook and Instagram drooling at the latest cake recipes o

Today I found one my family unfriended me on Facebook. I don't know why. I had a mix of emotion for a minute, wondering whatever I did could provoke such an action. I guess it shows what you do isn't for everybody. Sometimes yet, it isn't for those you'd think would support you the most. But it doesn't mean there's no value to what you do. It doesn't mean your art, whatever it may be has no value. You have gifts to offer the world. Your need to share your art. Don't allow surprise rejections to stop you. They just aren't a part your audience. Not yet. Speaking of, if anything I've said has made an impression on you, let me know. Send me a message. I'd love to follow up with you and maybe even help you reach your next step.

I recently had a conversation with a friend where I shared my story and offered advice. I wanted share my part to you. I hope you get something from it. I made some radical changes over the past few years. My best answer is to get use to failing forward cause that's the only real way it works. With smoking, weight loss, fitness, my spirituality... I had to stop waiting for the perfect plan to pass. It won't land in your lap. If you wait, you'll start getting real good at waiting. In the beginning, it was an ugly, sloppy, poor excuse of doggy paddling against a rip current. Sometimes it still does. But guess what. Eventually I found forward momentum in all things. You can too. Smoking With smoking, I couldn't find a way to quit, but I found a transition from cigarettes to a vape pen. But it wasn't immediate. You got to understand, using the vape pen every other nic fit is progress. You can make it your goal and work on it until it's a habit. Once there, y

*Note: this is not a political endorsement, it's a controversial topic turned analogy. Ever notice the things we'd never say to others, we tell ourselves all the time? It needs to stop and now. We need to enforce an immediate ban on all inner critics! But how do we stop it? Do we build a 10 ft wall topped with razor wire all along the parameter, refusing to allow anything in? I say that answer is not good enough! The thoughts will just come back like boomerangs, with friends, and ladders, ... or tunnels. There is only so much wall you can build. If you ever watched World War Z, You know what I mean. What's more. Locked down, impenetrable walls also keep out the good. When struggling with hordes of enemies, last thing you need is a ban on positive reinforcement. Option 2 So what? Do you drop all ideas of walls and have an open border? Do you allow thought in and out with freedom? That's one good way to secure a flow of positive mental reinforcements. Or is i

This was first pitrched to me as a replacement to popcorn. It is not in a traditional sense but if you're looking for a healthier mindless snacking option. This may fit your bill. I frequently find large containers of organic coconut flakes on cleareance at my local Krogers. They are about $2 USD for 1 lb. Click the image (or here) for the video version of the ingredients. Roasted Coconut Flake Trail Mix Prep: 1 min Cook: 3 min Ingrediants 1 Cup Coconut Flakes 1/4 Tsp Cloves (or Allspice) 1/4 Tsp Salt 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg 1 Tsp Cinnamon 1 Tsp Oil Directions Preheat Oven to 350 F Mix all ingredients into a bag and shake until Coconut Flakes are coated Bake 3 Minutes

I wanted to share with you a simple, healthy recipe I made a few days ago. Click the image (or here) for the video version of the ingredients. Roasted Red Potatoes, plain and simple... And Delicious. Prep: 5 min Cook: 10 min Servings: 8 Ingrediants 3 lbs Red Potatoes 1/4 Cup Oil 1 Tsp pepper 1 Tsp salt Directions Preheat Oven to 450 F Cut Potatoes into 1/8ths Toss and Mix Potatoes with Oil, Pepper, and Salt Layer on Baking Sheet Bake 30 Minutes, Stirring Once Halfway

Last week my family went of a Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Freedom. It was an awesome experience. That ship has a great staff, professional and personal. It was everything one could hope for and more. It was a wonderful experience. I'll talk more of that later. What I do want to talk about I didn't anticipate on this trip. It wasn't from the ship nor from our excursion, the good hope estate. It was between the two. En route to our destination, we traveled past a run down part of Falmouth. Now from the ship, we could see some slums and decayed, even destroyed buildings. The route out bus took didn't travel close to them. Instead, it went through another, less run down part of town. Even Still, my heart grieved. What's more, my photos don't paint the story my eyes encountered neither. On our route, we passed shanties consisting of tarp and aluminum. There were also lines of shacks made from plywood and bamboo. It brought into focus how fortunate