Wonder Woman <3

I am linking up with Holley Gerth and the God-Sized Dreamers today! 
This weeks prompt was: It's time to have a little talk with the fear in your life. Write a letter that starts out, "Dear Chihuahua of Fear, I have some things I'd like to say to you..." 

Dear Chihuahua of Fear,
I have some things that I'd like to say to you...

I wish you didn't exist. I wish I never "bought" into you.

Before I had you I could dance on the edge of a cliff and not think twice.
Before I noticed you, I felt like I was wonder woman! (she is so cool)
Before I let fear into the door I never let anything or anyone hold me back.



Then you showed up. 
Nagging me with that annoying bark of yours. Just to let me know you were there.
Guess what though...wonder woman is back! She has God on her side and no one is stopping us!
The dreams are visions, the dreams are in the making, the dreams keep growing and growing. 
I"m kicking you to the curb! (sorry, but I never liked Chihuahua's anyway)

<3 Veronica

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,

but a spirit of power,

of love and self-discipline."

2Timothy 1:7

Faith.

The first word in the title of my blog. One word, but something that I will always make bigger than that.

On Sunday morning pastor Josh at Carlisle BIC once again touched my heart and really got me thinking with his sermon based solely around Faith. He shared a touching story of a family that never lost faith as their young son was taken to heaven after suffering from a very rare brain tumor. There was not a dry eye in the auditorium. They never lost faith. They knew it was not the end and that they will one day be reunited. So hard. That little boy has touched so many lives as an angel from heaven.

Every day I am working to build my faith, my belief in God. Mary Magdalene had the most unbelievable faith. She constantly looked for Jesus. Something drew her to him and caused her to have a deep love and affection for Him. She was the first to see Jesus and report it to the disciples, not matter what she never lost hope. Mary Magdalene is a true woman of faith.

I know what has drawn me to Him and why I constantly look for and love Him, because he's awesome!
The stronger my faith gets, the better the balance between food and fitness becomes for me. I continually look for and ask for God's guidance and support and I know He will never let me down.
I know it will never be easy, but I know I have God on my side and nothing is better than that!
He lifted me up all those times I fell even before I looked for him and let him know how much I loved him...that's one incredible God!


I am growing in my faith <3 It feels awesome!

<3 Veronica

Two angels, one life saved!

Two years ago on April 5th, God placed me in the hallways of NHHS during cheerleading tryouts to safe the life of a girl that at that time I did not even know. Heather Skillman went into sudden cardiac arrest while running the mile. My years of training went into auto pilot as I ran to her side and without even thinking and immediately started CPR. With scared teenagers all around me I held it together as I kept going and saying to her "please don't quit on me, please don't quit on me". When the AED arrived I stepped away so others could take over. I was in shock, I had no idea what had just happened...

Heather was taken in a medevac minutes later. Still fighting for her life.

Weeks later a young girl walked up to me in the hallway and stood in front of me. I looked at her, she looked at me. I hadn't had her in class before, but why did I know this girl. Then she said "It's Heather!" It was her, the same girl that I found face down in the halls upstairs just weeks before that. She was back in school and ready to go! 

I am so proud of the woman she has become today. Heather is finishing up her freshman year at the University of Vermont! She is an inspiration to so many. She was faced with death and will let nothing stop her now! 

God may have placed me there for her, but he placed her there for me too. To this day I refer to Heather as my little angel♥ Love her!

Five Minute Friday.
The timer is set.

After.

What are we doing after dinner?
What are we doing after we go to church?

Those were such common questions I distinctly remember asking as a child. Those were the thoughts that first jumped into my mind after spending quite a few days with my two favorite nephews!

Why are we so worried about what we are doing after?
Why can't we live in the moment?

I think of after...and I think of next...and I think of the future. But the present is where I want to be right now. Enjoying every moment now and letting "after" be the next moment to enjoy.

Yes I am a dreamer and a goal setter, but life is too short to always be worrying about or thinking about the after. I want to live in the now:-)

Dessert is my favorite treat after dinner. I broke that habit during my reset, but I am looking forward to a treat after dinner tonight. We are taking Mark's niece and nephew to the Turkey Hill Experience. I know what I will be doing after dinner...yup...having a little bit of Turkey Hill Ice Cream Yes, just a little bit, because I don't want my stomach to hurt. Too much too soon might not be a good idea since I haven't had dairy in over 3 weeks now :-)

Live in the now.
Worry about the after when it is the now!

I have wanted a bread machine for months! My women's bible study group and I read Ann Voskamp's "one thousand gifts". A few different evenings we watched a video she made to go along with her book study. She always had loaves of fresh bread. (She was no joke though, she didn't need a machine!) Ann is such an admirable woman. Not because she can make fresh bread, but because she is such a strong woman of faith and is affecting the lives of so many. Definitely a book I would recommend reading. She writes so eloquently you feel like she is sitting next to you telling you a story! 

So my treat to myself for finishing the RESET was a bread machine! I wanted to be able to make my own clean-eating bread. First two attempts...not so good...Veronica 0-Bread Machine 2. Don't get me wrong, they were both edible, but not something I would want to bring to your house to have along with dinner. The first one looked "normal" but was had a little bit of a flour taste to it. The second one looked like a meteor hit it in the middle, but tasted much better :-) But it still is not right. 

Balance. 

Bread is no different than life. 

Once I find that balance my bread will be better! 

Everything in life has a perfect balance of ingredients. 

It is up to you to make that choice and find your ingredients to make that perfect loaf of bread.

Your Life.

"He who supplies seed to the sower 

and bread for food will supply 

and multiply your seed for sowing 

and increase the harvest of your righteousness."

 2 Corinthians 9:10

Every day I strive to be closer to God. Every day I take the time to listen to Him, he multiplies my happiness and guides me to do his will. Every day my relationship with the Lord grows more and more. 

Like my bread I continue to go on this journey to find the perfect balance of faith, food and fitness for me. 

I will get there. 

On his time.

Oh yes, I will get there! 

  Veronica

The bread machine and I will face off again tomorrow morning! Stay tuned...

I am trying something new again. I am a day late on it, but I had the most awful headache and body ache yesterday and the last thing I wanted to do was open up a computer. I am joining one of absolute favorite bloggers and an amazing group of women for "Tuesday Link-up". It goes along with her book "You're Made for a God-Sized Dream" that I am slowly working my way through. Each Tuesday she poses a question and then you link up your blog post along with all of the other amazing women doing the same!
Here is this weeks:
Why is your dream worth pursuing, fighting for and seeing through no matter what happens?

The first thing to pop in my head is that my dream is worth pursuing and fighting for because it is My Dream! Not my parents, my friends, or my boyfriends. It is mine and I am going to make it happen!


Since I am joining this party late, I guess it would be a good idea to let you know what exactly My Dream is. My dream is to help others through their struggles with Food and Exercise and to reclaim their life with a healthy balance. I do not want to not see others go through what I went through. I want to be that person that will guide them so they do not feel alone. 

Why is My Dream worth pursuing? Here are a few reasons. Because...

• He has placed it on my heart. For years I have ignored His calling, but it wasn't until this past year I started to listen. I started to actually take the time with the Lord to hear him speak to my heart.
• I want to fulfill what He has asked me to.
• I want to show others how awesome God is and what he has done for me...and continues to do!
• I want others to feel as free as I am from the shackles placed on them by food.
• I have an amazing support system right in the palm of my hand!
• I have struggled through my struggles to do this. I would not have said that years ago, but I know now why I went through what I have in my life...

I will fight, I will pursue, because it is My Dream. I will never let Him down!

 

"Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before Him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people,
the sheep of his pasture."
-Psalm 100: 2-3


He has risen!
I had the opportunity to attend Easter service at South Ridge Community Church yesterday in Annandale, NJ. This is the church that I go to when I am at home. I was so touched by our pastor Nathan's service, as many in attendance were.

To be honest, this was the first year that I personally reflected on the entire Easter weekend. As a new Christian, in years past it was truly just another holiday that family would gather together with food and festivities.

This year was different.

This year I took time with the Lord to thank him for all that he did for me.
For you.
For everyone who is broken.


Nathan had us take personal time to reflect on our brokenness.
With a small bit of ash placed in both palms. (All come from dust, and to dust all return. Ecclesiastes 3:20)
Then water poured over to wash it away. (You are washed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:11)


I thought about every bit of my past that was broken, and every bit of my brokenness now. My thoughts especially settled on the battle I fought with an eating disorder. With only 1 day left on my reset I have really been focused on that piece of me and all that was taken from me during that time. Sunday's service was another opportunity for me to start fresh, another chance to break away from my past battles with food and fitness. I am well on my travels of my new journey! Stronger in my faith every day of the journey.

Cleansed from the inside out and the outside in.

A perfect song for the Easter season!
Matt Maher-Christ is Risen