Paging Jenny... It's me, God.

So I hate to go all Jesus loving on everyone, but I'm going there. Get ready. Buckle your seat belts kids. Let's go. It's going to be a great ride, I promise. 

The Lord and I are typically on one accord. He's a pretty cool dude, with an amazingly, overwhelmingly great job. Not only does He have children all over the world, but all of his precious children are living their life to glorify Him. Woah. I feel honored that He loves me unconditionally with no questions asked. He is always proud of me. He's the one to encourage me when no one else is around. He is one of my personal cheerleaders when I feel that I cannot finish the race that is set before me. How cool is that? I'd say it's pretty rad. 

I would say that I have a very open and casual way of communicating with the Lord. I'm not one for big and long formal words in prayers. That's confusing sometimes and not really who I am... So I follow the philosophy of 'You do you'. That philosophy is one on a list of life mottos of mine (which includes, "Haters are my motivators", but we will get to that another day). I'm more of the type of person who starts a prayer off with something like this... "Hey God..."

I will admit, sometimes life snatches me up and gets busy. Sometimes I get snatched up in a random memory and other times it's by a tidal wave that knocks me over. I won't lie, life can get overwhelming sometimes, more often than I would like in fact. It is in these times that I start to feel alone and lost. 

I can't help but smile because whenever I find life starting to get overwhelming, the Lord sends me small blessings to remind me that everything's gonna be a-okay. One of his latest blessings that He has been sending my way is sunrises and sunsets. You might be thinking, "Well Jenny, those happen every day. If it's light outside than the sun probably rose. And when it gets dark, that is likely due to the sun setting." YES. This is all true. 

But it is in these times of stress and me being overwhelmed that the Lord is saying, "Paging, Jenny. Going once... Twice... It's me, God. The big man upstairs" But the way that He is paging me or contacting me is through the sun. It's on the roughest days or the days that I don't think that things are going to go right, that I see the most beautiful sky. I can't help but pause my day and the thoughts consuming my brain to look up at the sky in awe. All words escape me and I feel fresh air filling my lungs. Sometimes the sky stays pretty for a long period of time and other times it is just for a few minutes. It fills that void that I am feeling and reassures me that with the Lord by my side I can do anything. 

So what is it that makes you stop and count your blessings? Or calms you down in the times of doubt and struggle? Whether you are a religious person or not, life gets hard sometimes. It's important to have some way to calm down and stop to admire the beauty that we call life. 

Hakuna Masquata - It means nice booty.

I've never really been the very physically active type or the one to run 5Ks. Let alone even the thought of going to the gym made my skin crawl. If I am being honest, gyms totally scare me. My stereotypical view of the gym is that they are made up of two types of people. 1. The big, buff (and scary) bros. 2. The pretty girls/women that are already physically fit. So that basically means, those are the two types of people that I had no desire to hang out with while I look like a fool trying to be 'physically active'.

I've learned in life that in order to be honest with others, I have to be honest with myself first. I was not in a good spot with my health for a long time. I knew deep down that there needed to be a change, but I honestly had no idea where to begin. How does one who has never really stepped foot into a gym go from none to fun? The 'fun' being the idea that you're supposed to enjoy going to the gym... Well maybe it's a stretch, but eventually that would be my view.

I recently moved back to my hometown and found out that there was a new gym that opened up a few miles away. I initially rolled my eyes at the thought of becoming a part of one of those huge gyms where 'gymtimidation' is the real deal. To my surprise, this gym was totally the opposite. It is nice, clean, friendly (where people actually smile at you, what a concept) and not intimidating at all.

I had no idea that my life would be changed that day that I walked into the gym to check it out. It's been several months and I can confidently say that I am a different person. I have learned so much about myself during this "journey to fitness", as cliche as it sounds... I have learned about my mental and physical capabilities. Working out is about 75% physical and 25% mental. I learned that I am able to do much more than I thought I was able to do and that my body allows me to do this. I've learned that in order to survive a 60 minute Zumba class you need to throw your cares to the wind so you can have the ability to laugh at how ridiculous you might look. I've learned that having a personal trainer is a such a blessing. He is the one to push me, encourage me and make sure that I am holding myself accountable. He also is able to handle the sassiness and sarcastic comments that I say when I'm in the zone working out.

But most of all I have learned that it is okay to sweat. I used to think that sweating was a sign of weakness. In reality though, it is a sign of strength and hard work. You sweat when you work hard and working hard allows you to have the capability of being successful and meeting your goals. I'm not as self conscious while I'm spending time working out at the gym. I'm not as worried about other people looking at me or wondering if they are judging me. I'm more focused on doing what I gotta do and achieving becoming a master bro.

And with that, I say: Hakuna Masquata... It means nice booty.