See how EASY and often SIMPLE it is to stay KETO during the holidays! All you have to do is type, click and search and there are HUNDREDS of delicious recipes right at your finger tips! Pintrest makes it SO easy to find substitiutions for your holiday favorites and has a myriad of ideas that you might not even have thought about!
Know that this list is just a starting point! I would love to hear below what some of YOUR favorite Keto recipes are that you have found so that I can add them to my ongoing list!!
YOU are strong.
YOU are beautiful.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Let food be fun, fat your friend and the holidays a time to truly focus on what we are grateful for.
Lets talk about the process of enjoying the journey and letting go of anxiety along the way!
How do you manage your stress and anxiety when life is busy, stressful and complicated? The answer is a little more simple than I want to admit…Accept the process. Don’t allow the details of the day to day steal your joy and the little victories along the way. No matter what you are facing, you have a CHOICE in how you are going to respond. No one else can make that choice for you. That’s up to YOU.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety most my life, I understand when everything seems to spiral out of control. BUT GOD. Am I leaning into Him and listening to the peace of His voice? Am I bringing my requests to Him and letting Him fight the battles? Sadly, not enough. But my desire is to take each day and find those victories and celebrations. I want to live from a place where JOY. Not happiness. Happiness is just a feeling that is fleeting. BUT JOY is my portion and He has the ability to reach others in and through me.
So my challenge to MYSELF and anyone else who needs a little pep talk is to REST IN HIS TIMING AND PROCESS. Rest in His perfect leadership and enjoy the journey. Tomorrow is not promised, so how will we live TODAY!? In peace and rest. And it is a DAILY CHOICE! Hard? Yes. But doable? YES YES YES!
I am rooting you on and cheering for you from the sidelines! YOU have the ability to CHOOSE to live a life fully pleasing.
Take a deep breath and let the process perfect you in love! It is worth it dear friends and I am on the journey with you!
Oh HI there!!
I know I know, I might seem a little bruised and beat up but I have a secret!
2016 might have tried to crush me to pieces but something amazing happened.
I finally let go. The surrender of finally breaking.
I finally found a peace I never knew available.
Been a hard year beloved? Yea… Me too.
I feel like we have gone from one traumatic tragedy to the next…
2 miscarriages. ER & ICU visits for me and different family members. Financial struggles, relational challenges, depression, hopelessness… You name it! OH and this week a LOVELY car accident to put a little icing on the top… My natural tendency is to panic and FREAK OUT!
But I feel the Lord whisper that there is another and a better way.
What is it you ask?
GRATITUDE.
Yup. That’s right.
Gratitude.
Oh man… there she goes… giving us the “lets all just ignore whats going on and walk in the opposite direction talk”… But Rachael my life has been HARD!
Yes friend.
It HAS been hard.
But did you know that He has been with you the whole time?
I know… I didn’t realize it either till I finally let myself BREAK.
Its inside out and upside down, but gratitude is a beautiful weapon of our warfare against the schemes, trials and assaults of the enemy.
To overcome obstacles, walk in gratitude.
Tired of fighting depression and anxiety, declare gratitude.
Want to wake up in the morning and not stay in bed ALL DAY, SHOUT OUT GRATITUDE.
GRATITUDE:
The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Seems easy enough. Right?
Well, that is till your world come crashing down!
Yet in the midst of all the trials and heartache we have gone through this year, something has shifted inside of me. I find myself telling God what I am thankful for in the midst of the pain. His mercy really is new every morning. The fact that I have 2 beautiful babies waiting for me… PRAYING for me in heaven. The miracle that I didn’t slip into a coma or die in that ICU room. The depth of love and trust that has been built through trial by fire in my husband and I’s relationship. All things that could have been brushed aside.
BUT GOD.
What does it even look like have a heart alive in love, trusting completely and knowing that His Word says…
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him,who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (emphasis mine)
ALL THINGS.
Not some things.
Or just the GOOD things.
Nor the I perfectly pinterest packaged together things.
ALL THINGS.
Do you believe it friend?
That even when you feel broken, He can see the end from the beginning?
He knows the end of the story and is creating something beautiful in you?
When things were easy and effortless it never stuck as deep.
Oh I looooooove Jesus… but didn’t really NEED Him.
OUCH.
The beauty of brokenness causes us to see that through the good & bad, broke & beautiful, bruised and battered, He is forging gratitude in me.
Gratitude in ALL THINGS. Not just the promotions, but the trials.
So to you dear heart, HOLD ON.
Hold onto your faith.
Let your heart fall into His and know that He has you.
Don’t force a thankful heart but look at what He HAS DONE.
For you are BEAUTIFUL.
Breathtaking.
Loved.
Cherished.
Fought for.
Let gratitude rest in your heart and carry you through the storm.
He’s not about your breaking in this season but MAKING you into something beautiful.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, that means only ONE THING… EVERYTHING CHRISTMAS!
With Holiday Cheer, family gatherings, mounds of gifts and sleigh bells ringing, make sure that you have ALL the beautiful wintery Oils handy!
WHY DO YOU NEED OILS DURING THE HOLIDAYS?
From Cassia to Clove, Citrus Bliss and Frankincense your house will smell utterly delicious! The BEST part is by diffusing these happy oils, you will be purifying and cleansing the air, boosting your mood and emotions while supporting your immune system! WIN WIN WIN!
Here here for Oily-Holiday CHEER!
Breathe in deep, get creative with these blends and have a VERY MERRY OILY CHRISTMAS!!!
It all comes at us like a hurricane. Winds of testing and winds of refreshing… yet some seasons seem to hurt more than others.
A little over 3 months ago we lost our second baby to the ache of miscarriage.
No one warns you about how its going to affect you.
I mean, honestly, how could they?
Yet as I share my story, I’ve come to learn that so many other women have gone through the same thing. SO many have not had a capacity to process or feel known, grieving in silence and sometimes even shame. And that breaks my heart.
No pain has touched us deeper yet no trial has drawn us deeper.
The very thing that the enemy meant for evil… for tearing… for offending our hearts was the VERY thing that drew us closer to the Father. He who formed us, held us. He who called us and our child by name wept deep tears with us and drew us close.
You want to know what actually anchored my heart these past few months? Hope in the promised restoration of ALL things.
He WILL make all things new in that day.
He WILL wipe away every tear.
He WILL vindicate all that the enemy has stolen.
My hope, my anchor and my rest is in the reality that I will be forever united with the Father and restored to my 2 beautiful children. They are IN HEAVEN now with perfect understanding. They are WITH GOD now, praying for my husband and I to stand firm and hold fast to faith.
I don’t always understand why things happen the way that they do but I know that He is working ALL things together for our good.
I trust that He is perfecting me in love and my life doesn’t end in this age.
I get to live FOREVER with God.
That my dear friends has been the very thing that has given me my voice back.
He will make ALL things new, just in time.
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come… Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”
-Song of Solomon 2:11-14
If you have walked through grief and feel the weight on your shoulders, know that this is not going to last forever. The Father will declare the time of singing has come.
If you are weighed down with every pressure and burden of life, know that this season will end. The Father will declare the time of singing has come.
If you are lost and without hope, take heart! He has promised that there will be a day where the winter is over and past! The time of singing will come.
Arise, beautiful one, and run to the arms of Love.
Run into the arms of the Father and weep on His shoulder.
He is big enough to carry you through the darkest storms.
Trust Him today and know that He sees you, hears you and sings a song of love over you.
