Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts

Monday, January 30, 2012

Amor of God

Oh, what a feeling! I’m definitely happy to say that I’m still going strong! This morning was day 2/1 of AOG Fitness. This past Thursday 1/12/12 I thought, ya know what…tomorrow I have nothing to do, it’s time to redeem that free month gift certificate - I’ll get the kids off to school and pump some iron. I text Vivian from AOG and sure enough they had a class for 8 am. The sun rose Friday morning and I grabbed a disgusting protein bar and a Gatorade (gotta look the part, right?) then headed out to take Sophia to school. Long story short, OMG! I felt that 8 minute work out for the next 48 hours!! I’m not sure the terminology to call what the workouts are called, but lets just say they’re short but intense in a very deceiving way. After I finished the 8 minutes, I thought, man this is gonna be good – the next morning my legs felt like I had 50lb weights strapped to each one. They were tender, sore, heavy and tight. Ugh. To make my soreness even better, we spent the day in South Padre Island walking around. Needless to say, I survived. Although, after nearly 2 weeks of healthier eating, I reached my cheat weekend. Yeah, it was supposed to be a one cheat day, but I made it a 2-day affair. I ate fried shrimp, fish, fries, onion rings, fajitas, flour tortillas, chips, soda and cake!! It was deeeeelish! I didn’t feel too bad – and I’m glad to say that my mind had been disciplined enough that I was actually ready for Monday to come. I feel bad for Monday…Monday has been promised so much, but how many of us dieters always break those promises. Week after week, we wait for Monday to show again. We never really break promises we make with Friday’s. Ha ha, just a thought. So this morning came and my alarm buzzed me at 3:55 am (I probably was the one to wake the rooster, lol). I woke up and got ready to see how hard I could push myself again at AOG. FYI: I’m loving the schedule they have cause the first class they have is at 5 am and the workouts can be anywhere from 2 minutes to 30. It gives me plenty of time to workout without having to change my work schedule. My work out this morning was 12 mins long with a 5 min warm-up…let’s remember the ‘intense in a deceiving way’. My thighs were still a bit sore from Friday’s air squats…today’s workout consisted of MORE air squats. AHHHHHH! I made it thru the workout but as I walked back to my car I could literally feel my legs trembling. By this time it was 5:25 in the morning, I hadn’t had anything to eat, only water was in my system along with the greasy crap I ate from the weekend and now my limbs felt like I had no control or strength over them. As I drove to work I kept thinking to myself, what did I do? What did I do! Am I crazy to workout at 5 in the morning! I felt myself getting hot (and not cause my body temp was up), I felt hot like nauseas and sick and nervous and weak and hungry and all types of yuck! I called my husband, not to make sure he was awake like I was supposed to, but because I wanted to pull over to the side of the road, cry and tell him to come get me L . As the phone was ringing I heard over the radio, “If you ever feel like you just can’t get up from this place you’ve found yourself in – like you have no hope, no strength – God wants to find you there, so you will be completely dependent on Him and then you’ll get up by His strength”. I immediately hung up the phone and thought, Lord, I need You. I need You give me the strength to not give up – to know that this is pain is weakness leaving my body. I. Can. Do. This. Philippians 4:13. And speaking of scripture, this morning during the workout I was doing push ups and before you think, oh, easy, it’s just push ups, NO! This push ups were like this, ready position, go down all the way – body to the ground – lift hands then back up. After 7 or 8 you begin to feel your weight. Yeah, at one and two I was flying, feeling like I was light as a feather and then I soon felt the 170lbs I’m carrying around. So, during my struggle I’m focused on the white board that ready, ‘the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’. Boy, is that right. Ok, so back to my breakdown. I finally made it to work, weak as ever, went into the restroom and soaked in my anxieties. After 5 minutes I changed into my work clothes, got a tall glass of water and a granola bar. Thank GOD I was refueled in less than 20 minutesJ.
So, I am just ecstatic to report that rounding out week 2, things are looking up and my weight is dropping down! I’m so looking forward to working out, getting toned and slimming this waist line…might be looking like Brittney Spears soon! Ha! But hey, I’m gonna be looking like a new and healthy - sexy for my man, Jessica Gutierrez!!
I pray anyone who reads this that is pushing thru and climbing over obstacles to get to their healthy body that you rely on God’s strength to get you there. You will not get there on your own and remain there. The bible says to remain in Me and I will remain in You. It takes more than just physically ability to achieve. It takes mental, emotional and spiritual strength to get there and keep it there. Rely on the Helper each and every day before, during and after your workout.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Men really are from Mars...and so is there metabolism -_-

1.18.12
Good morning friends! Welcome another windy cold front to South Texas! And speaking of cold, I gotta tell you all about my evening last night! About a week ago my sister came up with a grand idea – me, her and my brother taking our mom to New York City for a weekend of appreciate for all she does everyday for us and our families. Yeah, that includes babysitting, taking the item we forgot to stick in our kids’ backpack for school, staying home with a sick kid and even cleaning up our house when she’s there. We straight up LOVE HER! Personally, she does an incredible amount of things for my family. My job requires me to be at work by 6 am. My husband works shifts, so sometimes he has to be at work by 6:30 am. The two of us working that early in the morning leaves no one to wake our kids and take them to school – in comes my mom. My daughter goes to pre-k half a day and gets out a 11 am – in comes my mom. I don’t get out of work till 4:30 pm and my boys get out of school at 3:30 pm – in comes my mom. So, even though this routine isn’t everyday (thank God for the shifts), the point is, she’s willing and does it and I’m grateful to her. Unfortunately, just a while back she got a report that her cancer has resurfaced and that hit us pretty hard. I’m not going to go into details for the simple fact that I’m at work and if I start expressing all this, I’ll be snot crying all over the place. No, we’re not taking this trip because of that, but more of thank you and let’s enjoy each other, life and moments that irreplaceable. Above is the picture of the amazing cupcakes. They were just as delicious as you could imagine!
So this male co-worker swings by my cubicle office to say hello and what not. I didn’t have much to say, but I did remember that he had started this weight loss deal less than a couple weeks ago. I asked him how that was going and he said, “Man, I just don’t have any patience – I want things to happen quicker.” I asked him how much weight he’s lost so far and he casually yet disappointingly says, 14 lbs. FOURTEEN POUNDS?!?! “You’ve lost 14 lbs already (in less than a month) and you’re not thrilled?!?!” I screamed said. He went on to say, no…he hates that it takes forever, oh and he just started exercising last night. Oh my gosh. For real? I’ve been working out, exercising, eating health[ier] since the beginning of the year and to date have lost 4 lbs and this GUY has lost that much already with just not eating sweets and cokes?
CONVO WITH GOD: God, You know that I don’t really question anything you do, right? You know I love You and I know Your ways and thoughts are much higher than my own, but really, God? Really? Just let me ask one “why” question…Why do mean lose weight so much quicker than women? Why? What are You teaching us in this?
I mean come on now! Ladies you know you’ve seen the commercial with the cartooned sketched lady and man – they start a diet – he drops pant sizes and she drops a pound. It’s a known fact…men loose weight a whole lot quicker than women. WHY!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh. Alright, reality check to myself. I’m thinking back on all I’ve learned…I’m not defined by measuring tape or a scale – I know my self-discipline to eating right and working out has been way more than ever before, so pat on the back to me. I won’t base my happiness on what size pants I’m wearing because size 12 or 2, I know who I am in Christ and those attributes don’t require me being a certain size, hair/eye/skin color or my abilities. Ahh. Ok. I’m better. I’ve regained my composure. Back to my conversation…I kindly congratulated him and gave him just a little encouragement to keep up the good work, as my sore muscles from this morning’s workout remind me of my hard work. This morning defined the word strength for me. My workout was 5 bear crawls from one side of the gym to the other – then 100 jump ropes – then 15 squats with 20 lbs. TIMES THREE! It was torture. I literally crawwwwled my way to the end of the gym as I finished up that last workout, grunting, and giving out a yell here and there. I felt as if I was going to fall flat on my face because of how weak and tired I was. Aside from the echoing chants of support, I know that I was completely dependent on God’s strength. I had to be because if I didn’t I would’ve not only given up, but not been able to even move one hand in front of the other or even squat down with 20 lbs weights on the bar I struggled to hold up on my chest.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Shine!

I just wanted to drop in a quick post on some great news! Who doesn't love good news?!?! Wednesday, Jan. 4 was the first official day of my new lifestyle habits and I'm happy to report good progress already - not even a week in yet! Whoo! Oh, I didn't join WW afterall - I felt that I could use the $43 dollars on some healthy food instead - I also picked up a book I had on my shelf for a couple years now called, The Abs Diet, written by an editor of The Men's Health Magazine. No, it's not how to get abs in a week or anything, its actually a really, really, really great eductional book on the crap thats the food we put in our mouths. It's an eye opener to realizing the fat that sits comfortably around our waist is actually DANGEROUS! The greasy fat cells that spew out acids causing sicknesses and even possible cancers! It instantly changed "I'm tempted to eat that _____" to "I straight up do not want to even that!". Yeah, I found myself becoming that annoying skinny lady reading the labels on everything at the grocery store. I do that and think, OMG! high fructose corn syrup is in this?!? Aside from that food knowledge, it tells the reader on eating the correct foods to build muscle which burns fat constantly - not just when working out. And how it's more beneficial to build muscle than sweating out calories on the tredmill. So, with that education, Zumba, spiritual guidance and eating healthier I am proud thankful to say that I am already down nearly 2 pounds from just 3 (or 4) days ago! I wasn't supposed to check my weight again till next Wednesday, but I decided to sneak in a peek at the numbers and wa-la :) I'm happy & more motivated! But I do want to add a little lesson learned from Made to Crave. Though I'm done pounds already and yes I'm happy, I'm not only happy cause I've lost or the numbers are lower, but I'm happy because of a couple things. I know that even if the numbers weren't down, I'm still really proud of my self-discipline - I know that I have been making dramatic differences in my eating choices and most importantly, I'm happy because no matter what number I am on a scale, I am always loved unconditionally by my Father in Heaven. I know that this moment, this experience, it was already predestined by God. He knows how I got here (to this weight and eating habits) and already had plans to get me out of this.
This is definitely the beginning of the end. I'm slowly saying goodbye the old me. I'm glad that I never got used to this body and size cause its not me. I have unfortuantely got here by bad eating habits, low self-esteem caused by bad experiences, lack of knowing how to handle matters properly and not knowing the power within to overcome! I, Jessica, was made for more by God! 2012 will be my year to shine my light for the glory of my King!



Monday, March 7, 2011

Weekend Wrap-Up

A wonderful weekend it was! Thursday called for dinner at everyone's fave, Olive Garden, for my sister's 31st. Of course the food was great and so was the family time. 
Here's the birthday girl ecstatic over her black diamond earrings she got from her hubby

Then Friday a bunch of us from church headed northeast to Houston to catch the amazing HILLSONG UNITED! Here are a few pictures...and you'll notice from the Rock & Worship Tour pictures I posted, I just adore the sight of people in worship!!
Below, the talented Joel Houston (who looks like a mix of Jesus and Kurt Cobain)
Immediately following the concert I made a decision that I would never in my life do again!! We drove home from Houston at exactly 12:39 AM and finally made it into to town near 4 AM...crazy! I was sooo extremely tired and delusional :D. Why would I do such a crazy thing? Because I had to make it back in time to see my son's UIL competition the following morning at 8:00. 
This is Leo. This is Leo looking a bit nervous.
Here is just a few of the kids competing in Storytelling
Still nervous...
And we now we wait...
2 hours of sleep and this here was my breakfast:
Sickening, I know.
And my goodness, if anyone could have told me that number one, we weren't going to be able to see him compete I could have caught some more zzzz's and two, I missed the memo on the judging taking FOREVERRRR! We waited at a squeaky lunch table for hours and hours! < that was my justification for the Starbucks and DP ;). He and his friends occupied their time playing on his nanae's (my mother in law) iPad.
Airheads to keep them going

The results were in and this is where I had to stop being the paparazzi...he didn't place :(, but I know he tried his best!!

Sunday night we worked on Leo's science project, which was a first for both of us.  Probably a month ago or so I heard on Air1 some ideas for these projects and decided we could do it on microwaving different kinds of soap.  It turned out to be a reeeeally interesting and FUN project.  Check it out...


Friday, February 25, 2011

Rock & Worship Tour

We had a blast at the Rock & Worship Tour last night! They came down to Corpus Christi to put on a great concert and I must say, that place was PACKED! The last time I was there was for Shakira and it wasn't nearly as full as it was last night - and that's a good thing being what kind of worship concert it was.  We were a little bummed that Thousand Foot Krutch couldn't make it, but still it was a beautiful time of praise and worship for God! I want to share some pictures with you...
 My Kodak Moment :)
 Sharing a bit of word on a ministry they work with...
The Afters - a fave of mine
 Here they sang 'Light Up the Sky' 
 The sight of worship is beautiful

 Look at that!! Wow!
 Another favorite, Matt Maher
 The crowd went crazy for Lecrae! 
 Jars of Clay :)
 My son, ha ha, he had fun with those glasses

 M E R C Y M E 











Glory to God