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Endures Forever.

11/28/2012 *Sara-Marie* 0 Comments

Thank you, Lord.
Recently, I was given a new teen study Bible along with the other youth of my church. Since I teach Sunday School twice a month, it's nice to have the same version as my students. While I was waiting for my dinner to finish up in the oven, I decided to pop open the Bible for some quick spiritual nourishment. I found some additional notes on the meaning of the word endure that I just love and had to share with all of you.

The Hebrew word for "endures" is amad (aw-mad'). It means "to take a stand and refuse to be moved." To endure is to remain constant and never end. How incredible is it that God's mercy towards us is never ending. God has taken a stand on our behalf and refuses to be moved from our side.1

Amen to that.


1Extreme Teen Study Bible
Copyright 2012 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Proverbs 31 - A Virtuous Wife

11/25/2012 *Sara-Marie* 2 Comments


Source
10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31:10-31 NLT

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We're doing the Whole30 - AGAIN!

11/24/2012 *Sara-Marie* 4 Comments


The
AGAIN!
After both successfully completing our own Whole30s, we did a little off-roading. At first it was just little things we allowed in, but slowly our old way of life started creeping in. As I mentioned in a post last week, I could feel a difference in my body. I had lost my Whole30 glow. So after Thanksgiving, we decided to start another Whole30 between now and Christmas. And then another Whole30 between Christmas and our anniversary in late January. Why you may ask?

1.) I want increased energy, better sleep, and that awesome feeling I had before to come back!

2.) I still have weight to lose - especially since a little bit came back :(

3.) We are going to try to go to Puerto Rico to celebrate our anniversary!!! This is Operation Beach Bod!
Excited about doing another Whole30!
We originally planned to go to Italy, but we just didn't save as much as we thought we would have saved by now. Life happens! But I'm really hoping we can make a small trip to PR happen. I have lots of family that would take care of us - if need be! Of course, we still want to save enough to spend a few nights alone in San Juan! ;)

I don't think I'm going to post daily about my Whole30 progress as I did before - I just don't have that kind of time. But I will most likely post pictures of my meals on Facebook - so if you don't already follow me there, you may want to consider it! I will, though, do a weekly recap, since Saturday mornings are my new dedicated blog times.

So here's to another 30 days of eating whole, real foods! For those that are not familiar with the Whole30 program, please click here for more information or take a look at my signs that are taped to our fridge!

Taken from It Starts with Food





Join us if you dare!

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Dear Blog: I am sorry.

11/17/2012 *Sara-Marie* 5 Comments

Dear Blog,

I am sorry for neglecting you. I have been very busy with work, church, and wifely duties. With everything on my plate, I needed to re-prioritize my daily activities. Unfortunately, I realized that I was letting you distract me from the what I really needed to get done. At the time, I decided to cut out blogging completely (I even quit Facebook for a week!), but I do miss you. However, when I should be working, I need to be working. When I should be at the gym, I need to be at the gym. When I should be cooking, cleaning, or just snuggling up with my husband, I need to be doing that. I just have to find a good time to fit you in. Maybe I go back to just once a week. We shall see. This is the first Saturday morning where I didn't have something planned, so I'm taking advantage. Actually, I was supposed to be on my way to NYC to meet up with my girls Steph and A'sha, but A'sha has been interviewing at different hospitals all over the place and we couldn't keep our date.  A little disappointed, but I'm so proud of her! Med School is no joke and she has been so dedicated and focused. It's paying off now that so many different hospitals want to interview her!

Any who, here's what's been going on in my life.

GOOD FOOD JOURNEY:

I need to get back on track. Whenever I cook, I am still making good, real food, but we have let ourselves indulge in takeout or at restaurants a little more than we should be. My face is breaking out a lot more again, I feel sluggish, and I just don't feel as awesome as I did before. I probably have gained a few pounds, but I don't want to check. I said I was going to break up with my scale and I meant it. I'm gauging my need to clean things up by how I feel. And that was the whole point of the Whole30 right? To listen to your body? I thought so.

Here are a few delicious and nutritious meals that we have enjoyed. I'm taking this as a reminder that I feel so much better when I eat like this! I am more satisfied and generally happy about my food choices when they are colorful, flavorful and packed with good-for-me stuff. Don't forget this SMP!
Sausage, sweet potato, scrambled eggs, avocado, and cilantro
Chicken salad made with homemade mayo, mixed greens, stuffed in red pepper shells and carrots

Roasted butternut squash and it's roasted seeds!
Spanish Tortilla with potatoes, sausage, green peppers and onions
Sweet potato and cauliflower soup
Go BIG or Go HOME Salad: mixed greens, roasted broccoli, roasted butternut squash, roasted tomatoes, garlic chicken, and of course, avocado.

Roasted chicken (yes, I roast breast-side down) and potatoes (yes, white potatoes)
Lemon Rosemary potatoes and brussels sprouts

Bowl of comfortliciousness

Roasted cauliflower, golden beets and chicken wings
Even during Hurricane Sandy, we tried our best to maintain our Good Food principles:

Bacon on the grill
Eggs cooked in the bacon grease - amazing!
Thank God we still had gas for our grill!

PERSONAL STUFF:

We are also going through some personal stuff - within our home and within our family. No need to go into too much detail, but I just want my readers to know that I'm real. Everything isn't always peachy. Nothing's ever perfect. But despite the season that we and our loved ones are passing through, we are believing in God. Believing in His love, His mercy, His grace and His peace to bring us through the storm. There is nothing impossible for God, so we are standing on His promises.
Philippians 4: 6-7

Fresh red roses under the 1 Corinthians 13 sign in your bedroom is a welcomed reminder that LOVE NEVER FAILS.


IN OTHER NEWS, I cut my hair! Of course, I already miss my long hair, however I really needed the cut. It's much healthier now and I know it will grow fast. It always does.


Until next time!

XOXO,
SMP

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