Hopeful Fitness

How it started 👉🏼 How it’s going...

When I think about qualities I want to have as a mother, so many of them are embodied in this woman right here. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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My mama is the most patient, kind, and loving person I have ever known. You know that bible verse about being slow to anger? That is her. The times she raised her voice at us were so rare, I can hardly remember any. She is beautiful, humble, and all I could ever ask for in a mother. I am blessed to call her mine. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I have a long way to go, but I hope one day my children look back and think the same of me.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ~ Proverbs 31:30⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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“𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬; 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” ~ 𝟏 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝟓:𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟖⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I used to think this verse sounded impossible. How can you pray all the time? I mean really. That's a little ridiculous, isn't it? Who has time to pray more than like five minutes before you fall asleep? ⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I didn't get it. Like at all. Until I finally hit rock bottom, and started over from the ground up, through reading the bible and having a real relationship with God. ⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Prayer is so much more flexible than I grew up thinking. It can be so many things. Sometimes it's one word. A whisper even. Sometimes it's crying. Sometimes it's singing. Sometimes it's repeating a bible verse over and over all day, like a mantra. ⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When you understand the nature of God, and the goodness of God, it's so much easier to be in communication with him all day long in some way. I know you know how to worry all day. You can go to work, spend all day behind a computer, pick up dinner, drop your kids places, and be worried the 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄. Am I right? ⁣⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Prayer is the same thing. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴.⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Be honest. Are you overflowing or drowning right now??⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I have been both. Sometimes I am both in one day, lol. But it usually comes in seasons, and the longer I follow Jesus closely, the easier it is to stop the drowning before it takes over.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When I started coaching back in 2014, I was definitely drowning. My husband and I were both going through health struggles, my son was 5 years old and I had a 7 month old baby. If you've ever been through a health struggle, especially one that lasts months or years, you know how quickly that can take you down mentally. Our physical and mental health are so interrelated, which is a whole other topic for another day (isolation problems, anyone??)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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One thing I was supposed to be doing as a coach was daily personal development. I read that as "self help", which of course, I did not need. 🙄😆 Thankfully, I am a rule follower, so I started reading the books that were suggested, and it led me to start searching for a way out of my hole. Once I got to the end of myself, I realized I had left God pretty much out of the equation. I had stopped praying because I was numb and it wasn't "working" the way I thought it should. We weren't really going to church much, and if we did, it was mostly out of guilt and obligation. My relationship with God was basically dead.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The help I really needed most came from one book, and one source. When I dove into the bible for the first REAL time in my life, with expectation, intention, and commitment, the change was immediate and remarkable. A revelation, you might say. And now, rather than coaching other women just to get my mind off of my problems, I can coach them from an overflow of love, grace, and healing that has been freely extended to me. And that makes all the difference. ❤️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When I first started my coaching business, I had a 4-year-old and 7-month-old at home with me. I had quit my career as a pension actuary to stay home with them. I worked as a coach early in the morning, and late at night when they were asleep. I had a lot of success, but I also put my marriage on the back burner by accident. When you love your work, it can be easy to do. ⁣
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Once I realized what was happening, I had a choice to make. I had built this business from the ground and it was like another baby to me. If you've ever started your own business, you know what I mean. It's a different kind of grind than anything else I've ever experienced, and I was proud of what I had created. ⁣
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But my priorities had gotten out of whack. My husband was asking for more time with me, and I knew that my marriage was my priority over my job, so I had to let go of my grip. This was before our big spiritual transformation that I often talk about, so it was truly a hard thing for me at the time. Sometimes our grip on the things of this world can be very tight. My pride was fighting me.⁣
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But now, I see SO clearly how I want my priorities to be. God is first, always. If my relationship with God isn't right, then nothing else goes right. Ever. Second is my marriage. Always. I believe my first calling is to be a wife, before it is to be a mom or a coach. Next is my children. And then my business. I am thankful to have a job where I can keep those things in order. I don't always do it perfectly, but I adjust as I go. And the beauty of it is that God honors that. My business didn't crumble when I stopped working at night. My team didn't fall apart when I changed my hours. I let go of my grip and chose “we” over “me,” and it’s my greatest joy to teach my team to do the same. ❤️
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Why am I still doing this? It’s a fair question. There have been times that I actually really wanted to ditch social media entirely. It’s not always easy to put my life out on here. I did not set out in life to become an online health and fitness coach. And there are days that I just want to hide - my life is far from perfect. But I have found that isolating does not help. You can’t really hide from life.

What I have felt God calling me to do over the years is actually to share more. Not airing out all of my issues, but sharing what it is that is keeping me going. And that is my faith. This may not seem at all related to health and fitness, but it definitely is. Most women who are struggling with their weight are also struggling spiritually in some way. I want to reach out to YOU.

In the past, I lived in fear of a lot of things, and had a very superficial relationship with God. It was not a fun way to live. The media and our culture today just feed into this, and if you are not careful, fear can infiltrate your mind and ultimately paralyze you in your life.

Fast forward to now…yes, I have had a physical transformation. I workout 5-6 days a week, and can lift heavy weights, do real push-ups, and have a strong core - and that is empowering! But that did not happen until I conquered FEAR, and had a real anchor in my life.

So why am I still coaching right now? I want to see women empowered with tools - both natural and spiritual - to not just survive this life, but to really live it. I want to tell you that YOU…yes YOU…can do this. You can change. You can find time. You can learn to do simple meal prep. You can start with short workouts and modify. You will get stronger. You will see a difference. And I will be alongside you!

If you have thought about making a change, but just aren’t sure you can do it - message me! I will be real with you. There may be steps you have to take to get ready. You might need to work on your mindset. It may be slightly painful, but we all choose our hard. Living with a body that you hate is hard. Being constantly tired is hard. Having clothes that don’t fit anymore is hard.

I want to help you tak

Another week of virtual learning. Another week of LIFE. Things haven't suddenly gotten easier, but I am stronger this week. My faith has been stirred up. My anthem of choice this week has been Rattle! by Elevation Worship. If you have never read the verses it is based on, you need to. You might feel like a bag of dry bones right now, but that's not where God wants you to stay. He calls you to live again. ❤️⁣
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The Old Testament is sometimes viewed as boring, but I LOVE IT. And it still speaks to us today.⁣
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Ezekiel 37:1-7⁣
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“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”⁣
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I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”⁣
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Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”⁣
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So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.”⁣
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“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
~James 1:17
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@ Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

I was 19 years old when Matt and I started dating. 𝘈 𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘕𝘈𝘎𝘌𝘙. I am now 39, and our lives look completely different. ⁣
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When you have been with someone for over half of your life, some things are going to change. It was easy to fall in love the first time, when we didn't have jobs, a mortgage, 3 kids, chronic illness, bills, a master bathroom with one sink (never again).....the list could go on and on.

We got married in college, and had none of those things. I wasn't mature enough then to really know what I was getting into, but I did know that having a solid foundation was really important. And we had that. Marriage is an entity that was established and designed by God. If He is your true north, a healthy marriage will flow from there. ⁣
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Have we had our fair share of challenges? Uh, yep. BUT...we always know where to look for help. It doesn't mean we execute that perfectly - some of our issues have taken us years to realize we couldn't fix on our own. But once we got to the end of that rope, we both had the humility and desire to do things God's way. When we surrendered to that, it made things so very clear. The world will tell you you've just fallen out of love, and to move on to find the next "right one". God will tell you that you can fall in love again with the same person. 💕⁣
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“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”⁣
~ Mark 10:6-9
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I listened to our most recent sermon from church on my way home from taking my sister to the airport last weekend. I like driving alone because I can listen to things like that. And I don't get to drive much these days, especially alone, so it was quite the treat. But I digress...⁣⁣⁣
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We have been doing a series on the fruits of the spirit - one of my favorite topics! I made my kids memorize them a while back, and not a day goes by that we don't get to work on using them. Especially patience right now. 😳 But gentleness. Gentleness is one we don't talk about quite as often, but it's so important. ⁣⁣
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Gentleness is not weakness. It's not being a pushover, or just constantly turning the other cheek. Gentleness is deciding to purposely slow down, filter yourself, and react with control in any given situation. You might feel justified to yell or escalate in some instances. You might actually BE justified in that reaction. But you don't have to choose it. You can decide to put your ego in check, find some perspective, and purposely react in a calm way. ⁣⁣⁣
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I will be the first to say this is not easy. But it is powerful. What is a situation you can choose to practice gentleness in this week? 👇🏼⁣⁣
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“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” ~Proverbs 16:24