7: Day 28

Here it is..the last day of 7, month 1. The last day of eating only chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes, almonds, whole wheat bread, apples, and bananas.

I cannot believe that I made it this long. There were days when my entitlement told me to quit. There were days were I felt so tempted to just eat anything other than my 7 foods, just to rebel. I didn't because of the hope that God would change me through this. And He has. I felt hungry. I felt tired. I physically hurt some days. I had headaches. And all of this, every second, God has used for good. I feel like I have been emptied out, and filled back up with purpose. It needed a whole month to work its course. If I had done this for any shorter amount of time, I would've just gone through the motions. I got to a point where the good emotions of doing this were gone. I wanted to complain and just quit. I sat at restaurant after restaurant, either not eating, or eating a piece of grilled chicken. My whole foods were not appealing until I realized that they were. All of the excess had clouded of vision of where joy and true reliance on God occur. If God will provide for the birds, will he not provide for me? (Matthew 6:26). I never really understood fasting until this month. Fasting is not a feel good, happy spiritual practice. Yes, it can bring great joy, but it is difficult. It is not easy. It means suffering, going without, and letting God change you. Fasting is hard. When Jesus was fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, he was allowing Himself to emptied out physically so that God could fill him up and prepare Him for His ministry. He was tempted and tried in the desert. He was offered all the kingdoms of the world, to quit and follow Satan. Satan tried to get Him to challenge God and be disobedient. Jesus would not. He would not yield to temptation and power. He stayed faithful to God and His plan. If the Son of God found it valuable to fast, then why shouldn't we still do this today? We need to be emptied out and prepared for the plan which God had set before us. Jesus' fasting led to the most powerful, incredible act of love in all of history.  He prepared Himself to be crushed for our sins, to wear the scars that should be in our hands, and to reconcile us to the Father. So, how does grilled chicken and apples relate to Him? To His sacrifice? Taking away the excess in my life is exposing. It exposes your weaknesses and shows so clearly the ways we are not like Christ with our excess food. And yet, at Day 28, I feel better than I have in years. My mind is focused on Christ and fulfilling His plan for me. My waist is smaller and my heart is so full. Full of the confidence that I can do hard things with Christ. He is the center of my life.

So, Here is my prayer on Day 28. Here is my heart Lord. This is all I have to offer. Let this month begin a new day in my life. You are changing and speaking words of life into me. Please, break any barriers in my heart that would prevent me from hearing You. Please take all the things in my mind that I replace You with and put them in the place they should be, because all I need is You, and I know that now. All I need is You. Help me to trust that You love me. My current circumstances and failures are not a reflection of Your love for me or anyone else. No matter what, Your love for me cannot be changed or watered down. You love me with no boundaries or conditions. God, help me to love you the same way. I love you so much. Speak what is true in me. Change me. Mold me. Wreck my life and my small plans for You and Your plan. Let me not be your daughter who always says Lord, Lord, but Your daughter that says God, I desire for Your will to be done above all my selfish desires and plans. Since 13, You have been my best friend and sanity. Thank you for never leaving me. Thank you for holding me and showing me light after light. You know my heart and love me anyway. Here's my heart Lord, Speak what is true. 

Tomorrow starts The 7 Experiment- Month 2- Possessions. Matt, Callie, and I will be giving away 7 things each, each  day. I will be posting them on my facebook and blog. If you see something you need, please take it and if you know someone that could use it, please take it to them.

Amsterdam: Windmills & Canal Boat Rides

After the wooden shoes and cheese factory, we stopped to look at windmills! This windmill in the photo below is actually a home for a small family. It was so beautiful. It would be weird to wake up and have lots of strange travelers taking pictures in your front yard. The tour guide said that they are used to it and love it.

There isn't anything quite like seeing your little girl in such a beautiful place. I love this picture...so so much.

 Later that afternoon, we took a boat ride through the canals of Amsterdam. It was so so pretty. I can't imagine living in this garden home (below).

 My two favorite people in the world!

 Callie took about a million pictures during the ride. I loved this one because you can see 8-9 canals down the river.

Amsterdam- Holland Countryside- Cheese and Wooden Shoes Factory

So, I am continuing my series from our trip to Europe this summer. On Day 2, we traveled to the Holland countryside to learn how traditional wooden shoes and Dutch cheese are made. This cheese was delicious!!! In Holland, they still wear wooden shoes for gardening. Holland is built on water. They explained this really complicated process of how they did it and I semi-forgot everything except for the fact that the buildings' foundations crack because of the water and that the ground is always muddy. Hence, the reason they wear wooden shoes! The wood protects their feet from moisture and back in the olden days:) they protected the gardeners feet from cows that might step on them..true story! The guy that owned the shop was hilarious. He actually carved a pair of shoes for us and explained the different types. Here we are in front of all the carving equipment.

 

 Dutch Cheese...I will never forgot how good this tasted. Even Callie loved it! They make it fresh in their shop everyday.

 Here are some different types of wooden shoes. They have shoes for gardening, weddings, church, and special occasions.

 Callie wanted her wooden shoes to have her name on them (I loved that idea). The owner was able to burn them into her shoes. We bought the size she wears now so we could remember how old she was when we went to Amsterdam.

 This photo is blurry but I loved her trying on the children's shoes. My cutie pie is a sport! My mom made her this dress with vintage linens. I was born in Holland, so this trip was very special to me. I was able to show Callie part of where we lived while I was small.

 Callie was part of the presentation on how they make cheese. She loved getting to help out the demonstration.

 

 



Travel Post- Amsterdam

Let me just start by saying that I am the worst blogger ever! I am working 2 full time jobs but still..I am awful at posting frequently. I am going to get better! I wanted to document our 2 week in Europe this summer. I have so many photos that it is hard to choose which pics to share. Matt and I (Matt does most of the work) lead groups each summer on international travel tours. We are usually gone about 2 weeks or less and find so much joy in showing others the world. As parents, its a crucial part of Callie's life to see how wonderful our world really is and how many different cultures there are to experience. I could go on and on about that in itself! She has experienced 4 countries so far and by next summer will have been to 9. It's such a great time and we enjoy these experiences as a family. So- here was our first stop this summer: Amsterdam. When you think Amsterdam, a few things come to mind. For some, those things are canals, the city built on water, The Anne Frank House, and tall skinny buildings. For others, it's legalized marajuana, legalized prostitution, and a wild night life. All are true..except the night life part..I'm not sure because I am so tired by the end of the day that I usually fall asleep before it's even dark outside. (It gets dark in Europe around 10:30-11:00 pm!)

 This is the iconic I amsterdam sign. People climb all over this thing to get a great shot! Below is my Callie resting in the "A."

 It was really hot this day. This was also our first day after a 12 hour plane right. When we landed, it was early in the day so we stayed up to get ourselves adjusted to the time change (6 hours) but we were exhausted!! At this photo below, we had been awake close to 40ish hours.

This shot shows us in front of a canal. Amsterdam is known for their beautiful canals and they were amazing. I have also never seen so many bicycles in my whole life. Matt and I love to rent bikes in Europe and ride around the town...not in Amsterdam. You will get killed...seriously..thousands of bikers all the time...jumping curbs and darting in front of traffic.

 This is our whole group minus Matt. We had an awesome group this trip. They made fast friends and the bond they share from this trip continues. This fountain is right in front of the i amsterdam sign. We cooled our feet in the water and rested. This is also right outside The VanGogh Museum. If you ever get the chance to see a VanGogh original..take it! Pictures of that to come.

 



This was at dinner on our first day. We were tired. Callie is an expert traveler. She has always been the easiest kid to travel with since we started traveling when she was young. She can get through security, passports, and customs like a pro. We are proud! We tried to eat authentic Dutch food here but we are both very picky. Shortly after this picture, we walked a block or two and found a pizza stand and a neat art stand. Pizza=happy americans. Art for our house= happy Matt.

More Amsterdam soon! Oh yeah..I wanted this bike. How cute is that?! Our tour guide told us the Amsterdam locals have 2 bikes. A nice bike and an ugly bike. The ugly bike is spraypainted and is well, ugly. They use this bike most of the time. On special occasions, like date night, they use their nice bike. This one would def be a nice bike.

Family Reunion

Every year on Labor Day weekend, we travel to Gatlinburg for a family reunion. My family lives all over the country so I get soooo excited when I get to see them. Our family has SO MANY GIRLS! Boys are few and far between (girl power:) Naturally I had to make all the little girls matching shirts. My aunt made sure they matched everyday too and my mom made them all matching purses. Here they are in their matching shirts I made them.

(left to right: Gabbie, Taya, baby Phoebe, and Callie)
 



Callie used some of her own money to buy her and Taya matching best friend necklaces. They only get to see each other once a year...but when they do it is pretty special!