Dirt Don't Hurt

I remember growing up if food fell on the floor, someone would say 'God made dirt, dirt don't hurt, put it in your mouth and make it work' lol!  My mom used to say 'a little dirt won't hurt you'!  She was so right!

Dirt (aka soil) is necessary for growth.  Just as plants cannot grow without dirt, we can't grow neither.  The dirt I'm referring to for us is disguised as hardships, trials, difficulties and all of those uncomfortable elements we would rather not experience!  I mean, who wants to get dirty?!  Ugh lol!

These days we don't want to experience any pain or suffer at all.  We are quick to run to the doctor to get antibiotics at the first sign of a cold.  A lot of us are like that with life in general.  At the first sign of trouble we look for some type of relief.  We look for shortcuts which prevents us from growing.  Let's not run to get 'pain medicine' to relieve the pain or get the 'bandaid' to try to cover the scar!  Let's give ourselves the chance to grow, to build our muscles, and to get stronger!

"You wonder why God, Who is goodness itself, allows us to suffer.  But what would you think of a doctor who lost his patient because he was afraid to give him the necessary but unpleasant treatment?" 

- St. John Vianney

'You'll thank me later' is something my mom used to say to me and I find myself saying to this to my sons!  There are some lessons that we have to teach our children that doesn't feel good to us but we know it is very necessary.  We discipline our kids because we love them.  We set boundaries for our kids because we love them.  We don't give our kids everything they want because we love them!  If we do this for our kids we should expect this and more from God.  The love He has for us is incomparable to any type of love we have ever given or receive from others.  Everything we go through is for our good.  Everything we go through is to make us whole and to complete us.  It is not to tear us down, it is to build us up.  Trust God and just grow through.

How do you respond to difficulties, challenges, trials?  How do you respond when things don't go as planned or don't go your way?  How do you respond when you fall or make a mistake?  Your response defines you!  If you give up, you'll be a quitter.  You don't want to be defined as a quitter!  Don't give up when you face challenges.  It is the challenges that help us grow!  Are you going to bloom or wither?  I know you're going to bloom!!

The next time you say to yourself or think to yourself, 'why am I going through this' remember 'this' is helping you to grow.  You need that dirt.  You need that dark place.  You need that difficulty.  You needed that defeat.  All of that is helping you to grow so count it all joy!  Grow in grace!

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia

Beautifully Broken

Let's look at the definition of break:

break

brāk/

verb

past participle: broken

1. 1.

   separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain.

   • make or become inoperative.

     "the machine has broken, and they can't fix it until next week"

     synonyms:

     stop working, break down,give out, go wrong,malfunction, crash; More

   2. interrupt (a continuity, sequence, or course).

   synonyms:

   interrupt, disturb, interfere with

Our natural response to something that breaks is normally anger or maybe sadness but our ways are not God's ways & our thoughts are not His thoughts! When we're broken it's a beautiful thing! When God interrupts our lives with fire we can have confidence that we're going to come out as pure gold.

I want to encourage anyone who might feel broken to not resist this season. Don't wonder why you might be experiencing a tough time in your marriage, career, finances, or any area of your life. Don't worry how things are going to work out or if things will workout. Don't wimp out & quit or turn back to your old ways of thinking or doing things. Your only response should be to worship. Thank your all powerful, almighty & loving God for shaping you & molding you into a vessel He can use for His glory. 

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. - Psalm 51:17

Be encouraged by the above scripture! You're in the best season of your life & God is right there making it all work together for your good. Don't let your problems consume you but instead be consumed by THEE PROBLEM SOLVER. 

Maybe you're not in a broken season but we encounter broken people everyday! Usually it is masked by characteristics we don't like for example, the rude lady, the church member who is inconsistent coming to church, the nagging wife, the distant husband, or the friend who rarely calls you to chat... Sometimes the person is good at masking their brokenness with a smile or being an overachiever! Either way, when you come in contact with one of these masks or anyone remember to show grace & love no matter what. You might be the hope that person needs.

Be encouraged & be beautifully broken. 💔❤️

Seasoned With Grace,

QueenZadia

Transformation Challenge Results

My results are innnnn! Ok they've been in almost a week now but I want to share them at this moment since I'm truly satisfied & happy with my results. Drumroll please....  In four weeks I lost 6lbs (which is a lot for me) & some inches.. Not sure how many inches because I didn't measure myself but I've included before and after pictures below so that you can see for yourself! Some of you might have to stare at the pics a while before you see the difference (like a few people in my family) lol but all that matters is I see & feel the difference!! 

I had the pink dress pictured below in my closet since my birthday (back in July) hung up pretty because I could not fit it!  That dress became my goal dress for the end of the challenge!  Every Saturday I would try it on to see if it fit appropriately enough for me to wear to church lol!  I didn't think I was going to achieve the goal because it was sill really fitted the Saturday before the end of the challenge!  I was so happy that I was able to wear it to church the Sunday after the challenge ended!!  It was still a little tight but I just rocked it with a blazer:)!

My goal dress!

So let me give you a background on this transformation challenge.  This was a four week challenge with my gym, Trinity Fitness where we strictly ate whole foods (lean meat, veggies, fruit, nuts & seeds; no sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, or alcohol).  It was similar to the whole30 challenge however we had a little grace for a slip-up(s)s where we only lost a point(s) for the day.  We were put on teams of four (go #WhollyChics:) and given a trainer to help us with this challenge.

At the beginning of the challenge we journaled our 'why', the reason we decided to participate in the challenge.  I've shared with you all my challenge with consistently eating healthy.  So that was my main why!  I needed a push because my fitness journey had been going in the opposite direction of my vision!  The scale was showing more pounds and my clothes (specifically my blazers and long sleeve shirts) were getting tight.  I knew this 'bulking' up was due to my inconsistent eating and because I wasn't running as often as I used to run.  During the challenge we received extra points for extra workouts so I used that as motivation to start running again!

First day of the challenge Oct 4th!

We started and ended the challenge with the above baseline test.  The first day I completed the psycho battle in 24mins (full disclosure: I started off doing the regular workout instead of the psycho plan but when I finished I was told to do the psyco:)!  For the retest I completed the psycho battle in 19 minutes & 11 seconds (my goal was 20 minutes)!  So I shaved 5 minutes off of my baseline test time!  I also lost 6lbs which is a lot for me!!

Of all of my results, I am the most happiest with my stomach and my arms!!  My arms were getting so big that i could not fit most of my blazers.  My arms have been the butt of many of my sons jokes as well!!  Thankfully they are slimming down along with my belly!!  I now have renewed hope and confidence that I can achieve a flat belly lol!!  Eating healthy has a huge impact on that which is why I'm continuing to eat whole foods most of the time.

My arms are leaner now:)

The challenge ended but my commitment to this has not!  It was indeed a transformation challenge because it has transformed my thoughts about food!  I thought I was doing pretty well before this challenge but I have learned so much more.  It's funny that I was really upset about not having my oatmeal (something I used to eat almost every morning) & now I don't even crave it!  I thought I would 'have to have it' by the end of the challenge but I don't!  There is so much we can live without if we just give it a try.  Our bodies need the right fuel and that's the fuel that God created, not this man made processed crap we're addicted to.

You want to be healthy?  Well you have to live healthy & that includes eating healthy.  You can DO it!  #letsgetit

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia

For the LOVE of BURPEES

How many of you love Burpees??! Please note that my hand did not go up for that question!  You might be wondering why I called this blogpost 'for the love of burps' since I don't love them...  It's because I don't necessarily love doing them but I love the burn burpees give!  I'd describe my relationship with burpees as a love-hate relationship! I love how winded I get and how my heart rate goes up after just a few reps but these are the same reason I hate them!! You can guarantee to get a huge burn from doing this move.  I burned 111 calories in less than 15 minutes when I completed the burpees at the park in the video below!!  So why not love them?

We can thank Royal H. Burpee for coming up with this full body exercise that we look forward to completing every chance we get!  According to Huffington Post this exercise was created for a fitness test and is not intended to be done more than four times!!  Try telling your trainer that:)

Basic Burpee:

Source for Picture

For some strange reason I prefer burpees when it's combined with another move.  It's something about doing the regular burpee back to back that drains me not only physically but also mentally!  In the video below I included my favorite exercises to combine with a burpee.  They include: Ball Slam Burpee, Long Jump Burpee, Jump Lunge Burpee, a 'Cool' Burpee (don't the name of it but I saw @twobadbodies do it on instagram), Box Jump Burpee, Obligue Burpee, Pullup Burpee & Weighted Burpee!  My favorite is the burpee pull-up which is crazy because when I first saw this on the board at my gym I was thinking that is just cruel to combine those two moves lol!!

Watch the video and try some of these out.  In fact, go ahead and make it (or some of them) a circuit workout!

Where are my #burpeeLOVINGbuddies?!  Share this with your burpee loving friends:)  It is #WorkoutWednesday and this is the best exercise!  It is also NOvember which means NO Procrastination (go ahead and do some now), NO Complaining (when you do them, do them with a smile:), NO Doubting (yes YOU can do these), NO Excuses (you have time and you just need to start where you are and do what you can) and NO Limits (push yourself, challenge yourself) so #letsgetit!

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia

NOvember

I just cannot believe we are already in November!!  (SN: My baby turns 13 this month :D) This is the month of GREATfulness: great thanks, great food, great family fun so let's make this month GREAT by just saying no!

What do you need to say no to? What are some habits you have that is preventing you from being your best self? Is it procrastination, complaining, doubting, making excuses and/or putting limits on yourself? All of these characteristics can block our blessings! Let's say NO to these things so that we can finish 2014 strong!

No Procrastination

I believe I've shared with y'all before that one of the last prayers my mom prayed over me was about procrastinating!! Seriously. It was so easy for me to say 'I'll do it later' as if I have all the time in the world!! This bad habit has hindered so much but I'm thankful to say that her prayer is working! EVERY TIME, I think to myself I'll do it later I feel a nudge in my spirit that says no do it now. 

What are you putting off? The time is n:ow, not later. Do those hard things, do those scary things, do those necessary things n:ow. It becomes easier (or maybe you're just getting better) the more you do things instead of putting them off. Say NO to procrastination.

No Complaining

We can be anything we want to be in the world but the one thing we should never be is ungrateful! Complaining leads to ungratefulness. Have you ever been around a person who complained ALL of the time? It's the worst isn't it?! At some point you tune them out or better yet avoid them. I pray you're not that person! Start making it a habit of counting your blessings & stop counting your issues or what you don't have. When you look at all you have to be grateful for you won't have time to complain. This is Thanksgiving month so give thanks not complaints. This month let your spouse, kids, family, or friends know how grateful you are for them instead of fussing or complaining all of the time.

No Doubting

"Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." I pray against the spirit of doubt and fear right now. I'm so sick and tired of experiencing doubt in my life and if you're battling with it I'm sure you're sick and tired of it too! God said in His word:   For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7 GNB). So let's trust God and act on the spirit He put in us. He also said GREATer is He that is in us than he (doubt, fear, insecurity) that is in the world. Do you believe? Do you have faith? Well let's act on that this month and ensure our actions match what we say we believe! Continue putting forth effort towards your goals & your dreams.

No Excuses

"Excuses are useless, results are priceless." You're either doing it or you're not... There is no such thing as trying! Stop with the 'I was going to' or 'I tried but' or any of those half hearted useless excuses! Yes it's hard, yes your past is horrible, yes you've failed before, yes no one is supporting you, yes you don't have all the resources but guess what??!! Our God is greater than all of that! I'm not saying don't acknowledge those issues. I'm saying don't let those issues keep you stagnant! No mater how bad it is it's just an excuse to not move forward. 

You said you want to lose weight- just do it.  You want to be an entrepreneur- just be it. You want to write a book- just write it. You want to be a better person- just be it. You might be asking 'how do I just do/be it'?! Stop making excuses and start taking action right where you are!

No Limits

You can probably remember the limits that were put on you from childhood! 'Don't do that, you might hurt yourself' or something like that!  I have to catch myself all the time because I do it often with my sons (& yes even my grown son). Limiting ourselves is an ingrained habit that we need to work on breaking every single day!! Each goal we achieve should be a signal to raise the bar not to sit back & relax. What is your biggest dream? Go make it bigger! We can do so much more than our imagination. Let's start pushing those limits. Think of something that seems impossible for you to work on this month.

Let's make NOvember g~r~e~a~t by using that powerful word no, starting n:ow! Say it with me 'Yes I Can'! 

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia