Happy First Post! I’m not sure if alter ego names are cool in the blogging world, but I’m doing it either way.
You can call me Rolypoly. Why? Haha, well, right now I’m a little plumper than normal. A week fresh from a mission trip to New Zealand, Nepal and India, I got well acquainted with the succulent desserts, dishes, and of course the grocery store cookie isles as I shared life with a lot of dudes who knew a thing or two about crushing large quantities of food at a time. I lived several months on a base well known for their “anytime toast”… so carbs weren’t hard to come by.
I’m now back in the States. My jeans are groaning when I try to put them on, and my t shirts seem a little bit tighter. Dresses don’t zip all the way, and I’ve never been happier! I’m Rolypoly because I love bugs, especially the round ones. Everyday, I realize a little bit more that the way that Jesus views me, trumps all societal opinions and definitions as to how I should look, act, do, behave, live. And as a once enslaved and unprotected female, completely dominated by false images and lies as to the way I should look externally, I now have protection. Rolypolies are always rolling up in a ball at any threat of danger, their armor-like skin hard and ready to defend. These last six months have been a period of time, where a shell of protection has molded around my heart and my mind. I am no longer fearful of what others may think about me, or obsess about the way I need to look. I’m protected by the armor of God, who consistently reminds me that my beauty is ravishing no matter what state of appearance I’m in.
Transparency is my motto these days. I’m completely aware that I weigh 160 pounds more than I did the day that I was born. But I’m more aware that I’m no longer waking up multiple times during the night pinching my stomach fat and hurling insults at myself for how much of a failure I am for eating ice cream or chips at the Mex restaurant the day before. I am no longer dictating whether or not I can justify being happy or hanging out with friends or going out by the questions, “Did you work out today? Did you overeat today? Do you look fat today?” Whether I was 175 pounds in high school, or 130 pounds a few years ago, I never recognized that i was in a prison cell. What was worse is that I held the keys to escape all along.
I won’t wish that it had taken sooner than twenty-three years to figure out. Not for a second. Life is a series of growth, learning, and a lot of freedom in recognition, acceptance in surrender. As a sole believer in Jesus Christ, and following the plans that He has for my life, He’s shown me, guided me and directed me to complete freedom in many areas of my life. I’m passionate enough to dedicate a blog to this particular area because I know that most females that I know are sitting stranded in the same boat that I’ve been handed a map to land and an ore to paddle with. Not that I hold some golden answer to how, we as women or even humans, escape this multi-dimensional issue of what it looks life to love our bodies and live a healthy lifestyle. But, I feel an urgent desire to join the fight, that’s been well pioneered already to encourage people to love the skin that they can either view as a poorly dealt hand, or embrace and thrive in. For me, this hasn’t been something I’ve been able to do by myself. It’s been God every step of the way.
It was God who surrounded me with people to love and encourage me in New Zealand. It was God who sent lots of mentors to talk me through the issues of self hatred and point me to Scriptures which were full of how delighted He is in me. But ultimately it was God’s voice which whispered truth into my ears of my beauty even when I felt that the image in the mirror was a complete contradiction. Everything about the way I now view myself has changed. Beauty is a direct antithesis of that which I once defined it.
I am Rolypoly because though I am not thin, I am protected from the deception that defeat is found when the scale hand goes above a certain number. And much like children love to hold and love this tiny creature, God is always doing the same with me. I’m not a fan of growing up or pretending to extinguish the desires of my heart which don’t reflect the “proper” way a grown woman should act. One of the things I really love about myself is how much I adore all living creatures. So, I get to pretend in this little realm of my cyber life that I am living in a bug’s world. Just a bug learning how to cook and strive to treat her body like a temple. Though the weight will go as I learn more about discipline, clean eating and healthy exercise routines, I am thankful that my mindset and heart of the way that I view myself doesn’t have to fluctuate.
Before I continue, here’s a few fun facts about rolly pollies: They don’t urinate. They drink from their anus. And they eat their own poop… I’m glad to finally find someone who I can relate to. What a relief!
“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” 1 Peter 3: 3-4
So as I’m pursuing this wonderful journey of a life fully embracing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and living life to glorify the Kingdom of God, I figure I should take into account that this means with everything. God wants to be a part of every second of my life. I often ask myself throughout the day if I’m glorifying God. One of the most prevailing things that I catch myself doing that is so out of line with God’s vision for my body being a temple, is revolved around food. Jesus made me to be a lover of chewing and savoring food; which is totally cool. However, I don’t think that stuffing myself with preservatives, ingredients that I can’t pronounce, and enough sugar to hype up an elephant really suffices as brining glory to this temple. I’m not a condoner of milkshakes and cheese sticks, but I definitely feel compelled towards a lifestyle of clean eating and filling my tummy with things that do great things for me physically.
I’ve always put working out first in my life. I was conscious of what I put into my body, but I justified everything so long as I was burning enough calories to counteract the pizza and breadsticks. I’ve decided to flip flop that mentality and focus on eating super well and healthy, and working out based on whether I feel like it or not. I want to hit my bed at the end of my day satisfied whether or not I did insanity or went on an 8 mile run. I love being toned and in shape. I think strong is very appealing and I’m a fan of muscle. I know God created me to be a freaking tank for His Kingdom, and I am… just wrapped in a few extra layers of winter weight at the moment. So, fitness will be a huge part of the rest of my life, but my main focus begins with nutrition.
I’m not sure really what my aim for this blog is yet. I want to post lots of recipes and talk about workouts I’m trying and that sort of thing, but mostly I want this to be a daily reminder that there is no failure when I am walking with Jesus, and through that, my prayer is that a few of you guys will be able to relate, feel loved and soothed by the way He sees you, and then come alongside me in living the healthiest lives we are able to live.
Enough ranting and raving though! On to the food!
I’ve been on cloud 9 this weekend after beginning my cooking escapade. I’m borrowing recipes from here and there which water my mouth, and hit a few requirements: Low calorie, high protein, vegetarian, unprocessed ingredients, no preservatives, and as many fruits and veggies as I can fit.
Here’s a few little delights I made today:
Homemade Peanut Butter:
This is a very unglamorous camera shot of a smoothie I made earlier today which I like to call The Maroon Lagoon. What this Kentucky tropical paradise blend consists of is a handful each of Mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, and spinach. From there, grab a carton of Silk Milk’s 30 calorie Almond Milk found at most grocery stores. Head on over to the opposite side of that fridge and gather up some ice for a chilly and thick spin to the drink. Almost finished: Plop that top onto the blender and spin er’ on up. The result is a very mediocre, unappetizing colored substance that I promise will throw you for a loop when you finally muster up the courage to taste test it and realize it’s the most incredible liquid substance which has ever high fived your lips and romantically kissed your tongue. You’re welcome.
This next one I made at 5am Friday morning on the tail end of a very unhealthy “Trailer Park Boys” binge. It’s a Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Delight. I stole this one from a recipe, so I won’t try to claim this one as my own, but it’s freaking good, and the best part is that it’s only 130 calories/serving.
Don’t feel obligated to try these things. I think it’s so much fun to mess around, switch up ingredients and make recipes my own. I’m fresh out the oven myself when it comes to cooking. I’ve never done it before apart from Hot Pockets and boiling spaghetti, but I know God has a huge purpose in developing my hands and culinary creativity to be a woman of hospitality and a killer wife and Mother someday. For now, stop on by the house and I’ll make you a healthy meal.
Goodnight :)
p.s. here’s a picture of the coolest shirt I found on Google images today when I was looking up pictures of Bubbles and Kitties because He’s my favorite television character of all time and also my soul mate, as are all cats of the universe. Peace.
You can call me Rolypoly. Why? Haha, well, right now I’m a little plumper than normal. A week fresh from a mission trip to New Zealand, Nepal and India, I got well acquainted with the succulent desserts, dishes, and of course the grocery store cookie isles as I shared life with a lot of dudes who knew a thing or two about crushing large quantities of food at a time. I lived several months on a base well known for their “anytime toast”… so carbs weren’t hard to come by.
I’m now back in the States. My jeans are groaning when I try to put them on, and my t shirts seem a little bit tighter. Dresses don’t zip all the way, and I’ve never been happier! I’m Rolypoly because I love bugs, especially the round ones. Everyday, I realize a little bit more that the way that Jesus views me, trumps all societal opinions and definitions as to how I should look, act, do, behave, live. And as a once enslaved and unprotected female, completely dominated by false images and lies as to the way I should look externally, I now have protection. Rolypolies are always rolling up in a ball at any threat of danger, their armor-like skin hard and ready to defend. These last six months have been a period of time, where a shell of protection has molded around my heart and my mind. I am no longer fearful of what others may think about me, or obsess about the way I need to look. I’m protected by the armor of God, who consistently reminds me that my beauty is ravishing no matter what state of appearance I’m in.
Transparency is my motto these days. I’m completely aware that I weigh 160 pounds more than I did the day that I was born. But I’m more aware that I’m no longer waking up multiple times during the night pinching my stomach fat and hurling insults at myself for how much of a failure I am for eating ice cream or chips at the Mex restaurant the day before. I am no longer dictating whether or not I can justify being happy or hanging out with friends or going out by the questions, “Did you work out today? Did you overeat today? Do you look fat today?” Whether I was 175 pounds in high school, or 130 pounds a few years ago, I never recognized that i was in a prison cell. What was worse is that I held the keys to escape all along.
I won’t wish that it had taken sooner than twenty-three years to figure out. Not for a second. Life is a series of growth, learning, and a lot of freedom in recognition, acceptance in surrender. As a sole believer in Jesus Christ, and following the plans that He has for my life, He’s shown me, guided me and directed me to complete freedom in many areas of my life. I’m passionate enough to dedicate a blog to this particular area because I know that most females that I know are sitting stranded in the same boat that I’ve been handed a map to land and an ore to paddle with. Not that I hold some golden answer to how, we as women or even humans, escape this multi-dimensional issue of what it looks life to love our bodies and live a healthy lifestyle. But, I feel an urgent desire to join the fight, that’s been well pioneered already to encourage people to love the skin that they can either view as a poorly dealt hand, or embrace and thrive in. For me, this hasn’t been something I’ve been able to do by myself. It’s been God every step of the way.
It was God who surrounded me with people to love and encourage me in New Zealand. It was God who sent lots of mentors to talk me through the issues of self hatred and point me to Scriptures which were full of how delighted He is in me. But ultimately it was God’s voice which whispered truth into my ears of my beauty even when I felt that the image in the mirror was a complete contradiction. Everything about the way I now view myself has changed. Beauty is a direct antithesis of that which I once defined it.
I am Rolypoly because though I am not thin, I am protected from the deception that defeat is found when the scale hand goes above a certain number. And much like children love to hold and love this tiny creature, God is always doing the same with me. I’m not a fan of growing up or pretending to extinguish the desires of my heart which don’t reflect the “proper” way a grown woman should act. One of the things I really love about myself is how much I adore all living creatures. So, I get to pretend in this little realm of my cyber life that I am living in a bug’s world. Just a bug learning how to cook and strive to treat her body like a temple. Though the weight will go as I learn more about discipline, clean eating and healthy exercise routines, I am thankful that my mindset and heart of the way that I view myself doesn’t have to fluctuate.
Before I continue, here’s a few fun facts about rolly pollies: They don’t urinate. They drink from their anus. And they eat their own poop… I’m glad to finally find someone who I can relate to. What a relief!
“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” 1 Peter 3: 3-4
So as I’m pursuing this wonderful journey of a life fully embracing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and living life to glorify the Kingdom of God, I figure I should take into account that this means with everything. God wants to be a part of every second of my life. I often ask myself throughout the day if I’m glorifying God. One of the most prevailing things that I catch myself doing that is so out of line with God’s vision for my body being a temple, is revolved around food. Jesus made me to be a lover of chewing and savoring food; which is totally cool. However, I don’t think that stuffing myself with preservatives, ingredients that I can’t pronounce, and enough sugar to hype up an elephant really suffices as brining glory to this temple. I’m not a condoner of milkshakes and cheese sticks, but I definitely feel compelled towards a lifestyle of clean eating and filling my tummy with things that do great things for me physically.
I’ve always put working out first in my life. I was conscious of what I put into my body, but I justified everything so long as I was burning enough calories to counteract the pizza and breadsticks. I’ve decided to flip flop that mentality and focus on eating super well and healthy, and working out based on whether I feel like it or not. I want to hit my bed at the end of my day satisfied whether or not I did insanity or went on an 8 mile run. I love being toned and in shape. I think strong is very appealing and I’m a fan of muscle. I know God created me to be a freaking tank for His Kingdom, and I am… just wrapped in a few extra layers of winter weight at the moment. So, fitness will be a huge part of the rest of my life, but my main focus begins with nutrition.
I’m not sure really what my aim for this blog is yet. I want to post lots of recipes and talk about workouts I’m trying and that sort of thing, but mostly I want this to be a daily reminder that there is no failure when I am walking with Jesus, and through that, my prayer is that a few of you guys will be able to relate, feel loved and soothed by the way He sees you, and then come alongside me in living the healthiest lives we are able to live.
Enough ranting and raving though! On to the food!
I’ve been on cloud 9 this weekend after beginning my cooking escapade. I’m borrowing recipes from here and there which water my mouth, and hit a few requirements: Low calorie, high protein, vegetarian, unprocessed ingredients, no preservatives, and as many fruits and veggies as I can fit.
Here’s a few little delights I made today:
Homemade Peanut Butter:
- Unshelled peanuts
- olive or coconut oil
- salt
- sugar (optional)
This is a very unglamorous camera shot of a smoothie I made earlier today which I like to call The Maroon Lagoon. What this Kentucky tropical paradise blend consists of is a handful each of Mangoes, blueberries, strawberries, and spinach. From there, grab a carton of Silk Milk’s 30 calorie Almond Milk found at most grocery stores. Head on over to the opposite side of that fridge and gather up some ice for a chilly and thick spin to the drink. Almost finished: Plop that top onto the blender and spin er’ on up. The result is a very mediocre, unappetizing colored substance that I promise will throw you for a loop when you finally muster up the courage to taste test it and realize it’s the most incredible liquid substance which has ever high fived your lips and romantically kissed your tongue. You’re welcome.
This next one I made at 5am Friday morning on the tail end of a very unhealthy “Trailer Park Boys” binge. It’s a Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Delight. I stole this one from a recipe, so I won’t try to claim this one as my own, but it’s freaking good, and the best part is that it’s only 130 calories/serving.
- 2 cups of rolled oats
- 1.5 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup of raisins
- 2 cups of diced apples
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups of milk of your choice (I used Silk Almond milk)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp splenda brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- First of all, preheat that oven right up to 325 Degrees F… Now that I have a lot of Canadian friends… Sorry you don’t do things the American… aka the RIGHT way, so you’ll have to convert that on your own ;) Just kidding I’ll do it for you. It’s 162.8 C. Crap, I just realized you all probably don’t use cups or tsp or whatever. Oh well. Maybe your Canadian computer will autocorrect it.
- Grease a pan with cooking spray. Here’s a side note. Don’t ever use cooking spray as a substitute for a baseball if you are in an actual kitchen with a baseball bat. Dishes will get broken. Possibly a window. Just let it do it’s job keeping food from sticking to metal.
- Fill a little bowl with really warm water. Let them raisins soak in that there bowl for five minutes so they’l get nice and fat like a baby kitty’s belly after a long drink of milk.
- In a pretty big bowl mix the oats, baking powder, salt, apples and raisins. Once they are nice and assimilated together, neglect them for a while and on to the next.
- You take your other big bowl and whisk eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together and pour it nice, slow and gently over the dry ingredients and gently stir them together.
- Pour that lovely concoction into your greased up pan and stick him (or her) into the oven for about an hour.
- Eat it because it’s good.
Don’t feel obligated to try these things. I think it’s so much fun to mess around, switch up ingredients and make recipes my own. I’m fresh out the oven myself when it comes to cooking. I’ve never done it before apart from Hot Pockets and boiling spaghetti, but I know God has a huge purpose in developing my hands and culinary creativity to be a woman of hospitality and a killer wife and Mother someday. For now, stop on by the house and I’ll make you a healthy meal.
Goodnight :)
p.s. here’s a picture of the coolest shirt I found on Google images today when I was looking up pictures of Bubbles and Kitties because He’s my favorite television character of all time and also my soul mate, as are all cats of the universe. Peace.
