DAY 1: 6 Miles & A Head of Lettuce

The beach, Sunday Mar 6, 2011

Day one of the exercise regime... 6 miles + 30 minutes on the ball and LOTS of lettuce. I may have learned more about lettuce today then I ever hoped to know!

I woke up early and ran 3 miles from 5:00-6am, than at lunch I ran about 2.5 (in 30 minutes- still trying to figure that math out, LOL- WOW), then after dinner, I spent 30 minutes on the Pilate's ball (abs baby abs). After the ball, I was able to run around the block with the kids and earn that little extra .5. I actually chased the baby, he was so cute... he ran the whole way! Little Tiger!

As of yet, I do not feel tired at all. Maybe just from thinking too much- but not from the physical exercise. I really think that the 2 hour morning Bible time, and the eating all natural food in this process has given me the energy I have needed to get and keep things going.

I am praying for you, that you will feel the wholeness of God upon you and your families!

Love you-

Jessica

One Whole Mom is Honored and One Whole Mom Repents

Ok, so one-whole-mom is being honored... what a thought! A few months ago I received an invite from my Pastor's wife for any woman who had a radically and redefined moment in their life to send in either a written testimony, or a video-testimony. Personally, whenever requests come in I try to do my part to engage in them, so therefore with this request I immediately took to heart that is was a sort of a God-directed-order. It took me a few weeks, and then after a nice dinner with my husband- LATE at night (my best working hours)- I made the video... and low and behold it won!

I talk a little bit in the video about our Ministry, the book I wrote, but mostly I talk about following after God, moment x moment. I tried recording the video a ton of times, and narrowing my radical life down into one instance (other than salvation) was IMPOSSIBLE.

Since this is my personal blog on life and everything in it, I really thought that I should share a little about what I am going through. First of all, I am embarrassed and am repenting publicly that I have let myself go in the last few months. I am currently back to my original "wholeheartedly fit" weight (I had an old blog about my fitness journey), and I feel sluggish. This award and the visibility I am going to have as a WHM representative has KICKED my BOOTIE into gear! Yes, I feel a exercise program coming on hard-core. In order to "get into fighting shape" here is what I am going to do:

• build a itunes playlist
• wake up early and run
• run/walk at nap time
• exercise an hour before bed
• eat ALL natural food only
• pray & Bible study (firstly of course)

I am telling you all of this because, I hope to encourage you in what a difference 3 weeks can make, and that you don't have to belong to a gym in order to succeed at weight loss. All the work I am going to do is going to be before working hours, during lunch and at night.

As far as the food is concerned, I stopped eating meat other than fish about 4 months ago, and I am going to be STRICT in these next few weeks for two reasons, #1 so I can be in fighting shape and #2 so I can be spiritually strong.

This morning (as I was face down on the carpet praying), I prayed that the Lord would use me as THE wholeness representative of faith. I prayed to God that I desired to show EVERYONE on Taffi Dollar's talk show, that if I could be "whole" EVERYONE can be whole. The Spirit then started moving in me, and I began immediately praying that people would be free from debt, free from jobs that that they hated in order to work just for money, and free from... processed food? That was odd- but the Lord convicted me that processed food is a placebo that people take when they feel they need to supplement what God has already made perfect.

A lot of people have turned down wholeness simply by eating "yummy" foods that will kill- because the momentary "high" of food fills an emptiness in them. (Or so they think) I can say this, from experience.

So all natural to me today meant; salads with no dressing, plain nuts with no salt, WHOLE fruit for breakfast, iced-tea, squeezed juice & water. Every time I went to buy food to eat I thought "My desire to be the wholeness representative is greater than my desire for processed food. I WANT TO BE WHOLE." Amazingly, I was full to overflowing- not hungry- and other than the salad greens being bitter, it felt good to eat bitter food- if it meant that I could encourage one person toward their wholeness goals.

Well, thanks for sharing with me this amazing opportunity to touch lives in a radical and redefined way. If you would like to watch the video that won the RADI award, here is the link: Jessica's Video . I am extremely humbled by this opportunity, and I ask for your prayers as I work towards the conference date March 23, 2011... a day that will forever be remembered.

God Bless you,

Love-

Jessica

Mom-the-BOMB makes Homemade Peanut Butter!

Somedays I must admit I DO go to bed feeling rather MTB. (mom-the-bomb) These are the days when all 5 children have brushed their teeth, recited their memory verses, played a family game, and read stories together. Yes, rare but growing more and more familiar- these momentary MTB moments have ushered in a new era.

In honor of these MTB moments (dishes done, laundry folded, babies taking naps), I thought I would share with every MTB, MTB in training, or MTB hopefuls a recipe sure to portray to others your mad skills- Homemade Peanut Butter!

Hoody's 5 lb bag of peanuts from Costco

Having 7 people (husband and wife included) stare at 5lbs of peanuts, does not get them eaten. Fortunately however with a workforce of this magnitude, shelling the nuts is easy. It took us about 30 minutes to shell 2 1/2 cups of nuts. It was a great bonding time, even the 4 and 2 year olds helped.

[2-3 tsp] Salt, [2-3 tbs] Olive Oil and [2 1/2 cups] Nuts...

(peanuts-NOT the kiddos :-) )

Last week I splurged... I MUST admit it. A few months ago I spotted this Cuisinart Food Processing gem at Costco for 160$... it came complete with a 14 cup capacity, different attachments, and a nice powerful motor. I had some "want" money so I "wanted" it and I bought it! Not quite sure how you would make PB without it... a food mill, probably ?!

Run in the Processor for about 2 minutes, or until creamy

From here on out it gets pretty easy. Just turn the processor "on" and let it grind up those nuts, oil and salt. To each cup of nuts use 1 tbs oil, and 1 tsp salt (if you want it salted). If the mixture is "clumping" add more oil, one tbs at a time.

YUMM YUMM ! Bread, milk & homemade Peanut Butter!

After the PB is made, scrape the processor bowl clean into an airtight Tupperware or Rubbermaid container (something that seals shut) and refrigerate.. enjoy!

Some potential add-ins-

1. Honey
2. Cashew's or other nuts
3. Different types of oil
4. Oreo Cookie crumbs (for sweet teeth)
5. Vitamins, (protein powder/iron/calcium)

Get creative... your an MTB after all!!

A Little Ridiculous

I guess to most it would seem pretty ridiculous that I just spend 30 minutes scanning through Google images for Pixar photos to download to my iPhoto software. What kind of mom does that?! And WHY?

Well, here is my justification (in case you were wondering-seriously-), so we have the living room big screen TV wired in a way that we can plug in our laptops and watch/listen to music from them. (This is a way cool feature when you go to a Sunday morning on-line church service)

I was notice today however that when I was listening to music and cleaning the house some really boring pictures were coming up on my screen saver (in 50+inch big screen features none-the-less). I thought to myself "This simply can not do". So, when I had some free time I TOOK the time to input our families Pixar faves into a photo folder so that tomorrow when the screen saver comes on instead of a boring seascape (I might find pretty) a gigantic Sully, Buzz, or Remi the Rat will pop up on the screen! (Yes, this kid crazed mom is excited about it too, and lives for the screen saver picture shuffle on her laptop screen)

It is in these little moments of taking the time to think about my kids and go the extra mile for them, that I feel most like one WHOLE mom. Taking a moment to walk by the TV and noticing a boring picture, and thinking to myself "How fun would it be if the kids were mesmerized by... ohh ohh what could the next picture be!!?? Buzz? Woody?!!"

If God is in the details, than I would suggest to any parent to take the time to look over the details in your children's lives as well. Often, as a mother and wife, I put 120% detail into serving my husband and seemingly in comparison forget ENTIRELY about the minute details that my children ALSO crave.

I think that this Pixar project really opened my eyes and created in me more of a desire to be the best most whole mom possible through serving my kids-down to the tiniest detail. After all-these are the future lawyers, doctors, politicians, and business leaders f America... right?!

I AM ANTI Laundry Sorting & PRO Kid-Free Zones!

Saying that I DO NOT sort laundry is only partly true. I do separate the laundry SOMETIMES, but most often than not an underwear here- a sock there, no worries. This only becomes a problem when iPod's and personal electronics are left in pockets- or the occasional cashmere sweater. (Which eventually becomes the BABIES cashmere sweater-but hey-stylin' baby!)

The reason why I feel compelled to divulge this information, is to draw a light to an otherwise "perfect" seeming life. I do not remember to brush my teeth every night, I do not always sort the laundry, and more-often-than-not I have asked when glancing in the fridge "How long has THAT been in there?"

For a long time these types of stereotypical mom-faux-pas plagued me with insecurity. After all my "Mom", "Grandmother", "Best-friend" seemed to have it all together- why not me? But then again-what is perfection anyway?

Perfection to me is having a house appear magazinesque. I understand that this is totally unrealistic- but it is something to strive for, eh? At least I am looking for a room that when people walk into it Elmo doesn't fall from the ceiling, or Cookie Monster (covered in cookies) doesn't stick to the floor! Am I looking for a room with sans kids... hmmm... perhaps so. Having 5 children however, this is becoming harder and harder to do!

A few posts ago, I had mentioned turning the dining room into the playroom... well that lasted all of a week! Now we have turned our secondary bedroom into a playroom/daughters room. So all the toys have congregated OUT of our living space THANK GOD!

See, I think MOST moms neglect to give themselves a "kid free zone". (Isn't that what the tub is for? OH WAIT that has duckies and naked Barbies in it!) What you need.. MUST HAVE... is a zone made JUST FOR YOU. Yes, my living room now is calm and relaxing again! NO TOYS, NO BINKIES. Does the occasional Thomas the Train leap the playroom fence- yes- but a parents sanity is so much more important than having "happy children".

Children with zero discipline = whinny, complaining, grouchy I WANT IT NOW kids. Kid Free Zones enforce discipline, and create a warm and inviting space for you to relax when the day is done, so that maybe your laundry can get sorted properly... MAYBE!

You can become a fan of Wholehearted Ministries on Facebook @:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wholehearted-Ministries/75471627683

You can follow Jessica on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/imwholehearted

PS.. This is NOT a picture of my living room! LOL

It's ALL About Daddy... ALL the Time!

I tried giving up Diet Coke for awhile, it didn't last.

The point to today's blog entry ISN'T that I drink Coke (diet), but that I (like everyone) have routines and habits. Some I am trying to break (like brushing my teeth at night-COME ON GIRL-DO IT!), and then there are habits that are established, and are great things to do. I think the number one positive habit that I have, is my ability to drop everything I am doing for myself in order to do something for my husband-when he asks me to do it. (Crazy thought-I KNOW)

Every morning at (XYZ:30), my children come and bounce into our king-sized bed. There are moments that I am so tired, that I don't even notice, and I wake up face-to-face with a three year old or bottom to bottom with a four year old. Kids that sleep anyway BUT parallel! They are perpendicular sleepers AT BEST.

This week a friend was asking me, "Jessica, how do you stay focused during prayer time?" It was a great question, and it led me to wonder... Do I HAVE prayer time? Gloria Copeland says that we should pray an hour a day, and I so admire people who can do that. (Hindsight-I guess if I wake up BEFORE the five kids do, maybe I COULD pray for an hour too...hmmm) But then on the flip side- Jesse Duplantis (another fab preacher) says he "never" prays, but he talks to God ALL-THE-TIME. I have always been of this sort of person. Thinking, talking, and communicating with God via constant communication. This has taken some time to be confident in doing, but I have learned.

You know how I learned how to do it? I established the habit by putting my husband #2 (next to God alone) in my life. Everything I do-I do for him. I have made the habit of cleaning the house for daddy, putting on make-up for daddy, dressing for daddy, and being 100% present for daddy. Pretty much-unless I am doing something for God-it is ALL about daddy ALL the time. This is NOT an unnatural affection-this is a marriage relationship, and after 15 years we have figured out that as long as I DO it that way (100% available-you-can-call-and-ask-me-anything-any-time-and-I-will-do-it), and he makes all HIS cleaning the house for mommy, going to work for mommy, dressing for mommy, and being 100% present for mommy... we have created a relationship that will last!

Learning the habit of being 100% present for someone (or something like prayer), IS A HABIT THAT TAKES AVAILABILITY. Are we "available"? I feel like one-whole-mom, when I can give my husband 100% of me, dropping whatever I do when I am doing it to serve him-because my children have watched their mother and father attempt to out serve each other! What an example! What a blessing!

It's Good To Be a Mom

I have to face it, it is the "mom" season. NOT the "I am... season".

The season of babies, sippy cups, Lego's-under-toe, desk corners in thigh muscles, and laundry overloads. OH WHAT A SEASON.

Really though- could their BE any better a time? With things chaotic and uncontrolled, we are learning everyday and giving ourselves over to the unpredictability of hit-or-miss. Daily we fail-daily we succeed.

Whether or not things are "perfect" matters little to our precious ones. They could care less if we graduated from Stanford, Yale, or nowhere at all. They just need a shoulder to cry on, a boo-boo to be kissed, and a pat on the head in approval. Kids, let's face it are KIDS and praise God for that!

I woke up this morning at a quarter to 6AM, thinking "WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE?!" Then I stumbled out of bed-past a pile of laundry on my left, bumped into a doorway on my right, stepped forward into the bathroom over bath toys and forgotten clothing strewn across the cold tiles and stood in front of the red ducked-taped toilet seat and thought... "I have been a MOM, THAT is what I have been doing- Could there BE any thing BETTER to DO with my life?"

There is NO Doubt, my wholeness comes from Jesus-and that my kids make up 99.9% of the reasons why I pray... what can I say... it's just THAT season!