We Left the World

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Updated: January 12, 2020

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Flash Back Friday calls for a post that was originally published June 2015!  Through our faith we have managed to find a steady foundation for our family to  stand. We have lost some friends, gained some and opened our eyes to a new life in Christ.  Together as a family we work steadfast to be a light for God in all we do. Although, we may fail we are no longer living in the world that we once were.

I have not always been a mother fueled by her faith. Not long ago, I was a mother trying to raise two little girls to be the best they could be in this lost world.  We were living in the world. We were believers but we didn’t have a relationship with God. We would say our goodnight prayers but that was about all I had taught my children about God.

As our family grew from just one little girl to two little girls and then three. A yearning of fullfillment plagued me. Living in the world was no longer satisfying. I needed more purpose, more substance, I needed God in my everyday life. My life changed from needing God in my life; to wanting God in my life. Once my mindset changed life how I knew it quickly transformed.

One day, I decided that praying for God to be apart of my families life wasn’t going to cut it. We needed fellowship, praise and education. I began searching for a church to attend. It didn’t take me long because God already had a home for me.

Guided by Him I went to church one Sunday which was different for me because I was raised to attend church on Saturday. Although, I was raised different everything felt so right.

During the last worship song the Holy Spirit took over. I was filled with overwhelming joy. Then, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me clearly “you are home”.  That was the beginning of my family leaving the world and beginning to serve Christ.

My daughter’s love our Church and participate and serve wherever they can. I too serve in the Children’s Ministry and attend small groups and Bible study. I have made fast friends and had some deep connection with some women. My husband is also more faithful and leads our family everyday in prayer before we go our separate ways.

It’s all so amazing what God has done in our lives. My husband once said, “we used to have a happy home but now our home is filled with pure joy.” The difference is uncanny and hard to describe unless you’ve experienced it. My marriage is stronger than ever and I now feel that I am living in purpose instead of day to day. This journey that my family is on through God’s grace is only getting started.

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above not on earthly things.”

How did you bring your family to Christ? Were you always a Christian family or did you make come from living in the world too?

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How my family went clean

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Updated: February 5, 2017

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clean-eat

It was like I was in a Movie….

The most amazing thing happened the other night at dinner my kids fought over the last brussel sprout did you read that correctly my kids fought over the last brussels sprout. Two years ago that would have never been the case. After a long road, my girls try new things every other week willingly. They look forward to baking new goodies to try and have mostly adopted a healthy lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong they’ll still welcome without hesitation a Happy Meal but from a recovering drive thru junkie family. Always driving around. Going places and never enjoying what was in front of them.

Got to make some changes….

About two and a half years ago I decided to try to change our processed food lifestyle into a “clean eats” lifestyle. I probably got it from a blog post or Social Media. At first, I tried to try it on my own, but then I was invited to a meeting. I was introduced to information about GMOs, wheat, corn and soy mayhem. I left the meeting wanting to feed my family better and putting my foot down. We didn’t go cold turkey, but there was a drastic change in our shopping and meals. I stopped using helper sides: mac and cheese, rice sides, pasta sides; Anything that came preseasoned; canned goods, baking mixes. All donated or thrown away. That left me with food that you had to prepare every meal from scratch.

Homemade meals every night without my “just add water” side was an overwhelming task. I tried a few different methods of meal prep too and then I found a system that works for me. The more I became fluent in processed free, clean eats that took less than 30 minutes it became easier.

cleaneats

Not keeping it 100%

Now I tell people we are about 85% clean that leaves 10% “real ingredient” processed and 5% junk. What I would define as real ingredient junk, are foods that are processed in a kitchen other than my own but has real ingredients. I buy pasta, rice, quinoa, oats, dried fruit, nuts, etc. I also buy chips, crackers and frozen pizza for my kids and husband. We’ve come a long way from our old diet and are still progressing forward.

The 5% junk those are McDonald’s Happy Meals, donuts from D&D ,birthday cake, icecream, and a Philly Pretzel is my middle diva’s weakness. We live by an 80/20 rule trying to honor our temple but living in grace. I know that eventually, we will be fully clean. My girls can’t even eat school lunch anymore because it makes their stomach hurt. Treats and desserts last longer in my house now too. When I do bake, I try to use natural sugar such as date paste and raw honey. I will also use pure cane sugar, but either way treats last longer.

So, as I watch them fight over a Brussels sprout (I’ll have to make more next time). I am so grateful that I learned how to honor my temple better and my family initially rebellious and unwilling came around and preferred a clean lifestyle too.

cleaneats

Four ways to get your family on board with a clean lifestyle
1. Pick 5 have them pick five processed foods they can’t live without (french fries and frozen pizza is ours) Although, once in a while I get away with homemade french fries.
2. Family favorites try to make family favorites healthy and from scratch. Your rendition probably tastes a lot better than Stouffers.
3.Meal Prep & Plan You don’t have to precook all your meals. I don’t! I make a list for the week compare it to our schedules. I like to preseason and label the meats and freeze. That way it’s defrosted, bake, grill, whatever and mostly prepped. Vegetables cleans and bag in advance. I don’t cut mine, but they are washed, dried and stored, or you can make everything in advance, freeze and have ready to thrown in the oven. Whatever is going to prevent you from stopping at the drive-thru on the way home or grabbing a precooked processed meal.
4.Slow down so you can speed up. Going cold turkey will cause your family to revolt and not adopt. Ease them into it and give them grace. They didn’t decide to change their lifestyle mama ( or daddy) did so they may be slow to adopt. They will fight you, stay strong and just try to make fresh alternatives. The younger they are, the easier it is, but eventually everyone will feel want to continue to feel better and hopefully they’ll be fighting over Brussels sprouts too.

Are you trying to eliminate processed food from your diet? Did you already? How?

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Controlling the Wave

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Updated: January 12, 2020

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Disclosure: I was given free product and small compensation in exchange for a blog review. Although, I have received free product that does not effect my opinion. If I hated it I would tell you. My Full Disclosure Policy

I am in love!  As you already know I am a big fan of functional exercise training. It just makes sense to me for people to build up their body for their future self.  Functional exercise training does just that it helps you function better.  I aspire to be a Senior Fitness Trainer and Instructor. I am studying for my Certification in Functional Training and plan on using it daily to train my Senior clients.

Usually, it requires stability as well, I have discovered a welcome addition to your training. I have never had to focus on my moves and was never more aware of my core.  What I also love is that I am working my abs without the crunches and all who know me know I don’t do crunches. Utilizing the Inertia in the Surge Dynamic Fluid Resistance  leaves you no choice but to use more muscles in simple movements than you would with your typical barbell or dumbbell.  Have you ever heard of Inertia training?

Fitness Geek Dreams

Inertia by definition means,” a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless an external force changes that state.”  I always think of it as a seesaw or in this case think of those little Batons with the glitter in them. As you tilt it one way, all of the water (and the glitter) goes to the same side as you lean. To keep the tube filled, you must balance it on both sides.

Now let’s use that concept; add a handle and throw in some standard functional exercise moves and you have what Hedstrom Fitness refers to as Dynamic Fluid Resistance.  The Surge is a fantastic full body tool to help you work out any area. The Surge is a new, innovative resistance tool to help take your regular workouts to another level.

Dynamic-Fluid Resistance

When I got the Surge the Fitness Geek in me came out because the science is fascinating when it comes to training with inertia resistance. It is a hollow cylinder with either two sets of handles one to place your hand either “hammer curl” style the vertical handles or simple horizontal handles so you can hold it with your palms facing down in the large Surge. There is also a more compact version that has only one set of handles. You fill the apparatus with water up to the designated weight class. I suggest when trying it got 5-10 lbs lighter than you are used to the beginning. As you move the Surge the water inside moves around make the motion no longer static but dynamic. This inertia resistances offers a different challenge to your joints and makes you activate your core to control the uncontrollable water. That is why I have to focus each move requires my full attention. It’s kind of like mom life right, everything is constantly changing, but when we focus and stay in control we can get things done.

 

The Surge is great to grow with your strength too. Filling the hollow cylinder with water; as your strength improves you can add more water to increase your resistance. Making the Surge very adaptable, portable and for every fitness level. I am sure you are familiar with other concepts of inertia resistance currently, things like “battle ropes,” chains, sandbags, and slosh pipes are devices used to cause inertia and a different kind of resistance other than your established barbell and dumbbell. Unlike, the Surge these forms of resistance don’t work with movement pattern the same and joint stress is higher.

5 Benefits to Training with Dynamic Fluid Resistance

  1. Fat Blaster. Dynamic Fluid resistance is a great option for people seeking to burn fat and boost metabolism efficiently because it is a full body exercise that improves strength and endurance.  A 30-minute session with your Surge will have you pouring sweat, increase heart rate and building muscle while blasting fat.
  2. Focus on movement patterns. Using Dynamic Fluid Resistance your focusing on the specific movement patterns rather than an emphasis on an individual muscle. The continuous flow of the water allows you to use several muscles at one time.
  3. Posture. We sit a lot as a society, sitting for hours a day cause muscle imbalances as well as posture issues.  Through strengthening weakened muscles, you can improve your posture and correct muscle imbalances.
  4. Core Stability. According to Hedstrom Fitness, “By enhancing the stability of the core and the specific joints required to stabilize a movement, more efficient movement can be produced at the joints needed to be mobile to execute a task as the agonist, antagonists, and stabilizer muscles function in a more organized and synergistic fashion.”  Huh?

 My building up your core muscles and other joints that help you move better through using the Surge you increase those muscle as well as others that help it better so that it can be more productive.  I hate doing traditional ab workouts which are why functional training appeals to me because I work those muscles at the same times as I am working others saving me from getting down on the mat and complaining with every squeeze.

  1. Muscle Definition. Everyone one loves the idea of looking more defined.  Dynamic Fluid Resistance is an excellent exercise modality to help you achieve the definition you are looking for but it is less stressful on your joints than traditional weight lifting exercises, and the Surge can be taken anywhere and conveniently used at home.
  2. Stability. I don’t think people realize how important it is to work on your stability.  Having stability keeps your face looking pretty and your body out of the cast.  As you, age a tumble from a misstep can easily be avoided if you continually work on your Stability endurance.  With the Surge, every workout includes flexibility, mobility, core stability, balance and strength training principles challenging your body in all areas and keeping it active, strong, healthy and energetic body.

Dynamic Workouts

I love my Surge and will be including it in my Figure Competition prep workouts. I would love to do all my training in the gym, but unfortunately, my mom life won’t allow that time to me.  I like being able to quickly pull out my Surge fill it to the resistance I need and get a Total Body Fat Burning workout in 30 minutes.  That is enhancing my stability, mobility, core and strength all in one session.

If you think you want to try to control the wave and add Dynamic Fluid Resistance to your workout  Surge/Kamagon products has a special discount for 25% – it is  www.HedstromFitness.com/sweatpink USE COUPON CODE SPHF25 and is valid from Friday, 1/20 until 2/28. It can be used by anyone in US / Canada.

Now is the time to grab yours in your favorite color and get your sweat on.  Surge has some great videos on their site to get you started and I have found a few moves that I have been doing at home.

Do you include stability training when you do your workouts?

 

 

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Gluten Free Chicken Parmesean

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Updated: January 30, 2017

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Gluten (2)

Gluten-Free made easy

When I first went gluten free I thought, “this is going to be a chore.” Things are not going to taste good and I am going to miss a lot of my favorite meals.  I proved myself so wrong over the last few months. Now, I didn’t go gluten free because that is the cool thing to do lately. I went gluten free because I honestly was tired of my stomach hating me after every meal.  I have a wheat allergy that I have known about since I was 16 but could have cared less. I like all things whole wheat and everything has it in it. It felt like a losing battle. The digestive pains, literal pains that I had including: bloating, lethargy, headaches,sinus issues, and post nasal drip one day just made me go to the doctor. Ruling out a few things like celiacs and adding a few things like lactose intolerant and after taking another allergy test. I was once again diagnosed with wheat allergy (I was hoping I would grow out of). My doctor said, “you can continue to complain about your stomach issues or you can stop eating the things that don’t agree with your digestive system. It’s up to you.” I hate it when people tell me what to do, especially when I want to do differently.

After Diagnosis

I went home and went shopping. Bought all kinds of gluten free nastiness, like seriously some of the things out there for gluten free I think is supply and demand. Because there is a demand they supply you with the tasteless, dry, nastiness. It really doesn’t have to be like that. You can eat gluten free and eat delicious food. If I couldn’t eat delicious food I don’t think I could live happily. Food is somethings I enjoy too much. It’s in my top pleasures like sometimes breathing and food are competing (just kidding-well not when my mouth is full). So, I had to come up with a solution.

First, half of that gluten free stuff is processed food which I was eliminating from my diet. I had to figure out how to eat clean and wheat free. I changed the flours I used from whole wheat and all purpose to oat, almond, coconut (not as much it’s kind of pricey) and brown rice. I use for certain textured things like cornbread-brown rice flour is great for cornbread perfect texture.   I also have to consider price. I make my own oat and brown rice flour and I use it mostly.  I buy it in bulk,gluten free and then I just grind it in the bullet for like 2-5 minutes and ta-da, oat and brown rice flour. So easy and so much cheaper than buying some well known companies.   Then I cook as normal or bake as normal only having to adjust things like baking soda, baking powder, sometimes moisture,etc. After some experimenting I have pretty much swapped wheat for other things and make gluten free yumminess.

Clarity

Now let me clarify I am not celiac or gluten intolerant but because of my wheat allergy it’s easier to go gluten free because gluten is a protein found in wheat and related grains. If it’s gluten free it’s wheat free and my digestion is free. Chicken Parmesan is a easy, before Bible Study meal or 30 minutes or less that I go to every few weeks in meal planning and a family favorite. I used to make myself separate meals but now I have gotten to the point either my family is used to it, really hungry or my food really does taste good. I often bring gluten free things to potlucks and never get complaints or get surprised reactions that it was gluten free. My brownies are still to die for without the gluten. I hope you test this recipe out and have the same positive reactions. What’s one of your family favorite meals?

Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan Tenders

Gluten Free Chicken Tender Prep finished chicken tenders

 

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Gluten Free Chicken Parmesean

Gluten Free Chicken Parmesean

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Oat flour
  • 1/2 c Quinoa Flour
  • 3 tbsp Quinoa
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 lb. Chicken breast (either cut into tenders which will save you a few dollars or buy in tenders)
  • 1 Jar Sugar Free Spaghetti Sauce
  • 1/2 lb of quinoa/corn Spaghetti noodle (my favorite blend of gluten free pasta)
  • Olive oil Spray (I use the pampered chef aerosol spray bottle so not sure how much exactly)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees
  2. Line cookie sheet with
  3. Cut chicken breast into tenders if not done, rinse, pat dry
  4. Mix all dry ingredients and Parmesan Cheese
  5. Coat chicken tenders in beaten eggs
  6. Dredge chicken in flour
  7. Lay on lined cookie sheet
  8. Spray chicken breast till evenly coated. (My kids love helping with this)
  9. Bake for 30-45 minutes until chicken breast cooked through and golden brown coating.
  10. Add sauce and noodles
  11. Serve
  12. Fresh Parsley to garnish and parsley great for digestion.
  13. Bon Appetite!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes
https://faithfueledmoms.com/gluten-free-chicken-parmesean/

 

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4 Ways Praying for My Deployed Husband Helps Our Marriage

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Updated: January 27, 2017

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I want to introduce Elaine Sinott a devouted women of God, mother and wife.  We met through Social Media and after reading her blog Military Wife After God I knew that she needed to share on FaithFueled Mom!  February will be our Family First February month and Elaine is a great example of just that. Our military families make such a sacrifice for our freedom. I am so grateful for their services and the support of their family!

 

I recently learned through the Unveiled Wife’s devotionals Wife After God: Drawing Closer to God & Your Husband and 31 Prayers for My Husband: Seeing God Move in His Heart the extreme importance in praying for your husband. These devotionals (which I HIGHLY recommend-they truly changed my life!) taught me that praying for your husband not only has an incredible impact on him as a person but also for your marriage!

The 4 things I learned from praying for my husband daily are:

  1. It has helped me to see him through God’s eyes. Praying daily for my husband has softened my heart towards him and has helped me to let go of things in the past that have been hurtful. It has helped me to begin to see him through our Heavenly Father’s eyes meaning I am much more willing to choose love over anger and I am willing to extend grace. It has helped me to learn how to forgive, that I should be quick to forgive when I am hurt because God does that exact thing for us over and over! And it has taught me the importance of forgiveness in marriage! When you forgive your spouse, and begin to see him through God’s eyes, you learn true intimacy.
  2. It has helped my marriage significantly! Yes, believe it or not, it has made a difference in our marriage even through a deployment! Imagine the changes that can happen when your husband is next to your every day! (I cannot wait until he’s home for me to experience that feeling J) I have noticed that our conversations are much calmer, loving, and attentive towards each other throughout this deployment (probably because my anxiety has been almost non-existent since I began a relationship with our Heavenly Father!). When he is upset about something, I am more attentive to how it makes him feel and I’m less concerned about myself (something I wish I would’ve known for our last two deployments as well). When he is excited about something, I’m more attentive to why it makes him happy and I share in that joy with him! We have truly grown closer despite the 6,000 miles between us!
  3. It has taught me to RESPECT my husband! Respect for men is like the need to feel loved for women – our husbands need respect to thrive! They need it to be happy in life, every day. When a man is not respected, resentment builds and it will be difficult for him to be in tune you’re your needs. What does respecting your husband mean? It means letting go of the sarcastic comments. It means letting go of the things you think he is doing “wrong” if he isn’t doing them your way (my mistake there-correcting him too many times when taking care of the kids!) It means listening to him. It means trusting in his decisions and supporting him. It means not gossiping about your husband. You are your husband’s partner in life and he is yours – your job is to build each other up, not tear each other down. I have learned how to truly respect my husband with my words and my actions and it has made a world of a difference in our marriage.
  4. It has taught me to become more intimate with him! Intimacy is often thought of as a sexual thing but intimacy actually means “making yourself known.” Praying daily for my husband has taught me to step out of my comfort zone and talk to him about things we never used to talk about enough, like God and our feelings. We talked a little about them but after becoming closer to God this past fall for the first time in my life, I have learned a whole new level of communication with my husband and it’s been AWESOME! We don’t hold anything back, there are no questions about anything. We’re honest and open with each other about every little thing. Communication is ridiculously important in a military marriage especially, as you can imagine, because that is all we have for months at a time. This whole new level of intimacy with my husband has been the start of something beautiful! Prayer has such power – you won’t realize it until you try!

Being your husband’s wife, your prayers for him are the most powerful. God wants nothing more than for your marriage to be centered around Him. And He promises when two or more gather in His name, He is there with you! What a beautiful and comforting promise our Heavenly Father makes!

One of the most intimate acts you can ever do with your husband is pray WITH him! Sit in your bed together at night before falling asleep, hold hands, and talk to God. Ask Him to bless your marriage – to let His will be done through it! Pray aloud for your husband, ask God to protect him emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally every day. Ask God to help your husband fulfill his duty of being a leader in Christ for you and your family. Ask Him to help your husband be the warrior in Christ he was created to be. And ask God to help you become to wife you want him to be – for you to love your husband the way God wants you to love him and to always forgive and love without conditions.

Praying for your husband can move mountains in your marriage. It can bring healing, understanding, forgiveness, love, security, compassion, kindness, gentleness, joy, and so much more. When you pray for your husband, you invite God into your marriage and, when God is the foundation of your marriage, you and your husband can conquer anything the world throws your way!

Meet Elaine

Elaine Sinnott is a military wife to Luke of 5 years, a mommy to 4 beautiful little boys, and a daughter of God, eager to learn and share what she learns about God’s purpose for marriage! She also wants to help the military wives out there know that they’re never truly alone when the lifestyle seems that way – that God is always with them! She credits the devotional Wife After God: Drawing Closer to God & Your Husband by Jennifer Smith (@UnveiledWife) for changing her life and saving her marriage.

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