Why I'll Go Bare & Bald!

Do you ever pause to remember and think about how your passion got its start? Did you go into the arts because of a teacher? Did you become a mechanic because you liked to take things apart as a kid? Did you personally witness something that made you want to go into a particular profession or fight for a cause? What were the things that inspired you?

This year's  t-shirt!

I often think about these things when remembering why I'm so passionate about the sanctity of life. My earliest memory was hearing my pastor preach about the truth of abortion when I was a teenager. I don't think I remember truly knowing much about abortion until I heard that message. I was stunned and brokenhearted! It horrified me and angered me that this kind of thing actually occurs!

The burden on my heart to fight to make it stop only grew the more I learned about it and how to get involved. It was the book "Answering the Call", by John Ensor, that really drove it home for me (as well as "Gianna: Aborted, And Lived to Tell About It" by Jessica Shaver Renshaw. My own daughter, Gianna, was named after her). I remember crying and feeling completely broken after seeing one of the images of severed baby body parts on one of the pages. That devastation I felt when I first saw those pictures comes rushing back every time I see one of those recently released videos; you know, the ones in which Planned Parenthood's evil and barbaric practices of butchering and selling aborted babies for profit get exposed. Yeah, those! I just can't fathom how anyone can watch those and NOT be outraged and moved to do something!

I normally wouldn't be posting an entry like this on my fitness blog, but I just had to make sure that the word was getting out in case you hadn't read about it on my other blog! My family and I will be participating in the Heartline Walk for Life this Saturday (so yeah, that's fitness related lol! There's a 5k too if you want to sign up for that!). I also wanted to post on here because I haven't posted anything for "Media Monday" in a while and this song has been on my heart. It's a song by Kathy Troccoli called "A Baby's Prayer". This was also one of those things that sparked my passion for fighting for life and I even sang it for church. Please, watch this video and listen to the words. It's such a beautiful song!

Grace and peace to you, my friends! I am hoping and praying that in these final days before the walk, my family, friends, and readers will help me meet my goals! As I mentioned, I have promised to make a lot of personal sacrifices to encourage you to donate (even a dollar will help! Can you PLEASE donate at least a dollar?!). I have vowed to go a week without makeup and post a no-makeup selfie each day (this is kind of a big deal for me lol). I've also offered to giveaway a Piyo workout program (the same program that Chris and I have been doing) as well as a bag of Shakeology! My husband has also offered free computer tune-ups. And....the big one.....I will SHAVE MY HEAD if I raise $5,000 or more! I'm serious...I'll really do it (and you know how much my hair means to me lol). Do you want to see/make that happen?! Donate something and not only will you be helping to save lives (and your donation is tax deductible, by the way) but you'll also be getting a chance to win this stuff I'm offering and possibly see me go bald for babies! :) Please, our crisis pregnancy centers need your help more than ever!!! Please, donate SOMETHING and share this post with your friends on social media! Contact me if you have any questions about anything! Be infused! God bless you!

What Makes You a Woman?

If you're a woman, chances are you have lots of ideas in your mind about what femininity is (or isn't). We're taught by our Moms, family members, friends, and our culture about what it means to be a woman and are bombarded with so many different things that we don't always know who we really are. Often times, we end up with distorted views of who we are supposed to be; thinking that what makes us a woman is how we good we look, what we can do, etc.

There is no easy way to define what a woman is in today's world, but there are some things that never change and that is how God designed and fashioned a woman to be. There's no way I could describe it as eloquently as Kent did on Mother's Day, so you'll just have to watch it for yourself. Trust me, you'll love it! As always, he explains things in a style that is not only informative and thought provoking, but humorous as well! As a matter of fact, "It's not about the nail" is likely going to become a running joke between Chris and I. Kent shared a video of a woman talking to her husband about how much her head hurts and how tough things are and the husband is telling her that she has a big nail in her forehead (which she does; a big huge one lol). She yells at him that it's not about the nail and that he's not listening to her lol. I think we, as women, have those moments; where we just want to be listened to and all the guy wants to do is fix things. Though, as a lady in the service pointed out after the sermon, sometimes we have to allow our men to "fix" things and take out those nails. God has gifted us with special men in our lives that he put there to help mend and heal thing;s just as we help mend and heal them. Pride has to be laid down and we have to be open to accepting help and healing.

One of the main things I got out of this message was that Kent said that men (and society) has largely reduced women to being about their parts. The more he said it, the more I seen it in a fresh way. Yes, we see and hear the overly sexual images, songs, jokes, etc. that talk about women's "parts" in ways that are less than flattering. Though, we don't give much thought to it anymore and many buy into the lie that that's what women are all about. As a result, women buy into the lie that it's all about how those "parts" look and what they can do with those "parts". Ladies, that's not true! Men, that's not true! Who a woman (or any person) is, is determined by the parts you can't see: the heart and mind.

Grace and peace to you, my friends! Women (and men too, actually) really need to hear this message! I promise it will bless you in so many ways! I was beyond blessed to hear that message and to rethink what it means to be a woman! It was humorous as it was enlightening and inspiring, and I hope you'll take a minute to see it for yourself! Be infused! God bless you!


Mother's Day: Biblical Femininity from Vineyard Community Church on Vimeo.