I’ve Been Doing a Light Workout 4 Days a Week- Here is What I’ve Noticed

I have been working out and eating healthy for the past month or so, and I have not felt this good in a long time.  Here is what I have felt change that has kept me motivated and wanting to workout:

1. I am less tired.  At least one of these four days I get up at 5:30 and go for a run.  Even a 20-minute run wakes me up and I feel the energy all day.  On the days I am not running in the morning, I feel sluggish and tired all day.
2. I am sleeping better.  My muscles are so tired that my body and mind are exhausted after a run in the morning, a 10-hour workday, and then errands and cooking in the afternoon.  Now that school has started, I have added in my classes, two jobs, and on-campus research.  So as soon as I am able to, I go to sleep and unless my schedule is thrown off, I fall asleep quickly.
3. I drink way more water than I used to.  I started drinking 96 fl oz a day at the start of July.  Water makes me feel more awake and helps me not overindulge when I am eating.  So not only am I energized and hydrated, but I am eating less and therefore losing weight.  At the beginning, drinking this much water was difficult for me.  I have now come to the point where I am craving water and have cranked my intake to a little over a gallon a day!
4. I lost body fat.  I don’t weigh myself typically, but I have been recently to see what running will do to my body.  I have discovered that I have lost weight, but more importantly, I have lost body fat.  I am not one to track my calories and body fat percentage, so I did not do this.  But I have noticed that my jeans are not quite as tight on my stomach and thighs.  I wore a dress this week that I would not have before I started this routine.
5. I feel empowered and confident.  I have always considered myself a pretty confident woman.  However, up until a couple weeks ago, I have found myself not feeling good about my body.  Not because of the way I look, but because of the way I feel.  I missed feeling strong and capable of intense workouts.  I feel a lot better about myself now that I am working out again and eating healthy because I know that I am taking care of my body the way we all should.
6. It has surprisingly become fun! Every time I stop working out, I forget how much I love it until I start back up again.  I love the ache the next day and the feeling that you know you are challenging your body past what you think it can go.  I love the stress release and the feeling that I can forget all of my worries and just focus on the burn.

On days when I am not doing a quick run, I instead substitute the run for some kind of light workout.  Whether it is 100 squats or a 15-minute intense yoga routine, I am making sure I am feeling a burn but not taking up more than 30 minutes of my day.

It has been amazing to see what tiny little changes in my schedule can do and how great I have felt in doing so.  I wonder how much more I will have lost in another month!

 

What are your healthy habits and workout routines?  How does being a college student/ young adult affect your habits? Share in the comments below!

 

With love,

Mattie

 

 

Long Distance Best Friends

Having long-distance relationships are hard. And sad because you don’t get to talk to your best friend every single day like you could before college (& tbh life) got in the way. Even though you will make new friends, you always wonder what your best friend is up to and if they are missing you as much as you miss them.

Well, I’m here to tell you they are. Missing a best friend will make your relationship stronger. There is something to be said about what distance will do. It makes you appreciate the relationships you have even more.

It is easy for those far from you to forget how much you love them. Don’t forget to remind them. Sometimes your best friend just needs a reminder that you still think of them when you order their favorite drink at Starbucks or watch y’alls favorite movie without them.

Keep up with the people who mean the most to you in your life.  If you are thinking about someone, there is a good chance God put them on your heart for a reason!

With love,

Mattie

Don’t Sit Around and Wait For Your Life to Change

Often in life, a lot of people see what they want, and make excuses because they are scared to put themselves out there. 

It is so easy to sit around and wait for things to work out.  Well, that shouldn’t be us. If we see something we want, we have to be on board 100%.  We can’t be afraid of making the first move. 

Sometimes it’s okay to wait. It’s okay to wait for something if we are doing so in order to make a more mature decision. Waiting on renting an apartment until you get your next paycheck, waiting on making a life-changing decision so that you have time to get counsel.

It is wise to spend a generous amount of time talking to God and deciphering His will for our lives.  But at a certain point, we have to take a step back and analyze if we are using this as a crutch when God is nudging us to make a move.  

Sometimes, we have to move on. We have to pick up everything we are doing and do something bold. Maybe that means moving on from the feelings we are feeling now, whatever has been holding us back mentally, spiritually, or physically.

Do what you need to do. Want a promotion? Ask for one. Want to raise your GPA? Stop waiting on tomorrow, study today. Drinking a tea that will make you lose weight the easy way? Get a gym membership and find the right motivations for working out.  Waiting for the “one” to come along? Spend your days kingdom building so that when the time comes for a relationship you are spiritually and emotionally ready.   

Let’s make a conscious decision as brothers and sisters in Christ to not make decisions out of fear and timidness so that we can move towards that thing, person, or lifestyle that God has planned for us.

With love,

Mattie

Items I Forgot At Home That I Wish I Had Studying Abroad

Hello all!  I can’t believe summer is almost over.  While I had an amazing time studying abroad in the first half of the summer, I have been working every day this last half.  It has been nice to get back into my work routine.  While I have been doing this, I realized that there were many items to which I found myself saying “wow that would have helped”.  Here is a list of things I wish I had brought (or was really glad that I did) in my travels:

• Carabiners
  • These came in handy so many times.  Whether I needed to swing my Chacos or my water bottle onto my purse/backpack, they were always helpful.
    • Bonus, they hardly take up any room and you can leave them hanging on your bag because no one really wants to steal a couple of carabiners
• Refillable water bottle
  • My Nalgene was used to its full capacity in Italy.  It was so nice to have a water bottle to fill up, especially in 105-degree heat.  I did not want to spend 6 euros on water every hour.  Filling this up at the water fountains helped keep me hydrated.
    • Bonus, pack this by stuffing your socks or other small items in it to save space in your suitcase.
    • Yes, I did drink out of fountains that I probably shouldn’t have been.  But drinking potentially dangerous water is better than becoming dehydrated, right?
• Watch
  • This was something I did not have but really wish I did.  While walking at a fast pace, it was time-consuming to have to stop and dig my phone out of its secret hiding place in my purse.  It was so easy for my friends to just check their watch to see if we were on time en route to our next location.
• Data
  • I totally cheeped out on buying data and wish I hadn’t.  I waited two weeks before I decided to buy a sim card for my phone- a sim card that I later had issues with and ended up not having data anyway.  If you are in another country longer than or up to 3 weeks, I would highly recommend buying a sim card (if your phone is unlocked).  It will allow you to be free from relying on other people, will make it much easier to travel, and you will know you can call the authorities if you were ever in an emergency.
    • Bonus: If you get lost or have something scary happen to you like me, it will really be helpful. I blogged about my crazy experience in Paris, if you haven’t read it you can find it here.
• Day pack instead of a purse
  • I made the mistake of choosing fashion over convenience.  While my purse was nice to have, I constantly wished I had a bigger bag.  Two of my friends were carrying Kavus and it made me wish I had my little day hiking bag with me.  They could carry water bottles, their wallet, chapstick, etc, along with bigger items like jackets.  I, unfortunately, could barely fit my wallet and other little things in my bag along with my water bottle.  Even then, I would not be able to close the top of my purse.

• Good walking shoes
  • Similar to my purse, I wish I had only brought my comfortable walking shoes.  I brought two pairs of boots that I only wore once (read why I didn’t get to use them in this post), a pair of flats, and my Chacos.  The only time I really wore my flats was in London and my feet killed me.  By the end of the night, I would get back to the hostel with bruises on the soles of my feet.  At the end of the 6 weeks, I was down to just using my Chacos.  When I was in them, my feet were perfectly fine.

Don’t forget these things when you head out on a big or small trip anywhere!  They will make your trip a little bit easier.

 

With love,

Mattie

And God Remembered His Covenant

Don’t we serve an amazing and just God?  I have been slowly making my way through the Bible, attempting to breakdown every book and every verse.  As I have been doing this, I have seen more and more of the greatness of God and his promises.

We begin to see His promises and how He follows through as early as Genesis.  Genesis 17:7 says,

And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

God tells Abram, now Abraham, that He promises to reward him by looking after his family line for years to come.

Later in Exodus, the Israelites were suffering immensely as slaves of the Pharaoh.  They remained faithful to God and prayed to him for relief from their suffering. God heard their groaning and responded by using Moses to rescue God’s people.

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Exodus 2:23-25

Isn’t it amazing that God not only listens to our cries, but He follows up on His promises?  He is a righteous and just God. It is so cool that God gives us this amazing tool so that we can learn more about Him and His nature.

Where in the bible have you witnessed God fulfill His promises?  How has reading about them and attempting to align your actions according to His will adjusted your growth in faith?

Related posts: All In God’s Timing

With love,

Mattie

Defeated, Broken, Hurt Thoughts

What do you do when you are broken, mentally exhausted, and feel defeated? Sometimes I am so worried, so anxious, so hurt that I sometimes can’t think beyond a couple words. I need to cry out and allow myself to let some of my emotions out.

Not long ago, I had a moment like this.

I curled up on my bed and just kept repeating-

The Lord my God is my savior.

Over and over. When I feel like this, nothing helps. Not talking to a friend or eating ice cream. The only thing that ever makes me feel like there is hope, is repeating these words to myself over and over. Because God is hope and sometimes He is all you got, and that is more than enough to get you through whatever you are going through.

A lot of people see Christians and believe that we chose the easy life. That we haven’t had any hardships and that is why it is so “easy” to believe in God.

It is actually quite the opposite. Living our lives seeking God and following Jesus’ teachings is hard. It would be extremely easier to forgo everything we know about the bible and live a life ignoring our sin.

Choosing to live your life for Him is not easy. You will be tested and put through trials, but that is the beauty of faith. I know in my heart that no matter what I am going through, God will pull me out of the situation I am in and make me a stronger and better person because of it.  He is good.

Jesus did not come to earth and claim that we would live an easy life. He came to spread his glory throughout the world, and to show us the sin we are living in and that we will never be able to handle the hardships of this world on our own.

But with God, we can handle anything. Because He is the Almighty, the Great I Am, the Redeemer, the King of Kings.

So when you are on the floor, crying out because you are hurting, find comfort in the great love of our God.

With love,

Mattie

Related post: 4 Truths About Grief 

4 Truths About Grief

Hello all,

I recently had someone very important in my life pass away.  It is always arduous, learning how to deal with an emotion as fierce as grief.

It is indescribable.  No one can understand what another person is feeling, because we all go through these hardships in unique ways.  

As I have been learning how to deal with my heartache, I have learned a few things from the bible study I have been completing.

Side note:  I have added in links so that you can access these verses on bible.com.  

You are not alone in your grief. 

Not only are there millions of people suffering around the world, but even Jesus experienced pain and sorrow during his brief time on earth. (John 11:35)  He knows what you are going through, and He is the only one who knows how to heal your heart. (Psalm 147:3)

God hates death just as much as you and me.

God hates death because He hates sin.  No matter how dreadful the situation, we have to learn how to trust that God will make something beautiful out of the midst of such darkness.

God will use this experience to change the hearts of those around you.

He has a master plan.  (Isaiah 46:9-11) Whether it is you or someone else close to the person who passed away, God will use this experience to change hearts.  He will use it for good, not evil.

God does not expect you to understand His ways.

When someone close to you passes away, it is hard to understand God’s reasons. (Isiah 55:8-9) His ways are not our ways and we do not have the complexity to understand God because we are not God ourselves.   We have to remember that believing in the one true God is understanding that we can never comprehend Him or why He does what He does. While we can never truly understand the “whys” of everything, He does expect you to trust Him.  Trust, even in your suffering as you are reading the word and getting to know Him as much as humanly possible. (Isaiah 41:10)  He gives us enough to follow Him, but not enough to understand Him.  (Deuteronomy 29:29)

These are some things that I am working through, and if you are missing a loved one, you probably are too.  Don’t give up hope.

With love,

Mattie

Related: Here are some tips for when you are struggling with getting up in the mornings and need a little boost.

 

 

 

I Don’t Want to Get Up

Most mornings I don’t want to get up. Especially if you have post-long-vacation-in-Europe-laziness.  I, sort of, wake up to the sound of my alarm and groggily try to do anything but fall back to sleep.  I, however, know that if I do not sit up, take a deep breath, and take a few moments to focus on the positive, I won’t have a productive morning.

My way of getting through my morning when I am dreading my day is to remember why I am getting up.  Not only am I blessed in so many areas of my life, but there is always something to be grateful for at the beginning of the day and eac new day is an opportunity to dedicate my life to Christ.

Something as small as trying a new coffee or going to hang out with a friend after work can help give me the motivation that I need to get up in the mornings when it is so hard.  Ultimately, these bits of blessings that God gives us brings me so much joy because they are a testament to His love.

If you have trouble waking up some mornings, stop and take a few moments to visualize and appreciate a part of the day you are about to conquer.

Then, get up.  Just do it.  You can do anything with a positive mindset and God on your side!

With love,

Mattie

Tips for Traveling in a Foreign Country As a Newbie Traveler

1. Always plan to spend more money than you think you will.  When budgeting for my six weeks abroad I planned for food, travel accessories, coffee, shopping, transportation, etc.  I stayed on track for my extra shopping and travelings.  What took the biggest hit on my bank account was my money for food.  I calculated meals every now and then when I would not want to eat meals at school, and then two meals a day for my weekends.  What I didn’t anticipate was disliking the food that was provided at the hostels so much that I would end up buying three meals a day on my trips anyway.  Not only that, but we were walking so much that I found myself becoming hungrier faster than I do at home.  There were times when the only options around were super higher-end restaurants for miles.  That meant sometimes we would have to sit down and split a meal with someone and still end up spending 20 euros (about 23 USD) apiece at the cheapest.
2. Really know the public transportation system that you will be taking before you leave.  Know how much it will cost.  Loosely know how far each subway stop is from the next.  Most importantly, know what your limits are.  If you can only walk 3 miles a day before you are doing more than your body can take, you need to know that.  You do not want to ruin your trip running to get from place to place and then you are too exhausted to finish everything you wanted to do while have fun doing it.  My friends and I were averaging 10-12 miles a day.  10 miles isn’t bad at all.  Except we were walking in uncomfortable shoes AND on cobblestone streets.  You hear about how much European streets will hurt your body, and everything you hear is true.  10 miles feels more like 15 on those streets.  If you have a handy map of the city’s public transport system, a basic understanding of how it works before you go, and an idea of how much public transport you will be using, you will make your trip much less stressful and hard on your body.
3. Plan your days.  One of the most important things, that my friends and I began to understand after 4 days in London, is to know what you want to do each day you are traveling.  I am a bit of a planner…okay maybe a lot of one…so I like to know what I want to do.  More so that I don’t accidentally forget about a spot that I really wanted to visit, a bridge I wanted to photograph, or a coffee shop I wanted to try.  I created a spreadsheet, looked at a map, and planned what day we would- whether it was the north side of the city, the side across the Thames River, or the west side of the city.  Just having a loose plan ensured that we were not wasting money going back and forth on the tube to get to different sides.  We were saved a lot of money by picking one area each day so that we were exploring one area of the city instead of wasting time riding the tube.
4. Know the local weather based on research, not your friends.  I cannot stress this enough.  If I had looked more into England weather, I would have packed completely different outfits.  The most important thing is don’t listen to other people who have been there.  They cannot predict the weather based on when they went three years ago in a different season than you will be there.  I originally packed summery clothing because I was going to be mostly in England in June and I am a person who is just naturally hot all of the time.  After talking to people who had been to England, France, Italy, and Scotland, they all warned me that I would be freezing with the clothes I currently had.  After several people, I finally began to believe them and switched some of my favorite clothes for colder weather clothes.  I completely regret it!  Even though the weather is typically chilly in the UK even in the summer, I happened to be there in the middle of a heatwave.  I was burning up almost every day.
5. Find the best student deals.  There were so many places that I thought I would have to pay to get in to see, and ended up getting in free because I was a European student.  For example, I heard many people saying that students can get in free to the Louvre museum on Saturdays.  However, I did not believe them as it is such a big and expensive museum.  I went to the museum expecting to pay, and ended up getting in for free with my student ID!  A similar thing happened to a friend of mine at the Versailles Palace where they got in free.  However, another group of friends tried the same thing and they had to buy a ticket anyway.  Make sure not to 100% trust other people and don’t go without money.  Sometimes getting in free depends on the person behind the counter when you are trying to get in.  If you hear a museum might be free for students, try it before you knock the idea yet also be prepared in case things don’t go as planned.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help/directions.  Sometimes, you have to suck up your pride and ask for help.  There were multiple times when I got lost, both with and sometimes without my friends, and without data had no other choice than to ask someone for help.  When traveling in a country that speaks another language, it is especially hard to navigate by memorizing the directions to an area.  You don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, but you absolutely do want to make sure you are heading the right way before you get too far on the wrong track.

For those of you who have traveled in a foreign country before, how accurate is this list?  Did you run across any of the problems?

To read about some of my favorite travel spots in London, click on this link.  Wishing everyone a fun and cool summer!

With love,

Mattie

Paris, the City of Lights, Pickpockets, and Undercover Cops: Part Two

Readers, thanks for coming back to read the second part of my story! I can’t wait to hear y’all’s feedback.  If you missed Part One, make sure to read it to catch up!

Part Three: The Dubious Hero

We were all flabbergasted. In awe. And I was immediately cautious, naturally.  Why? Because a minute after the police man revealed who he was a man walked up to him and explained that he was one of his partners.  But the strange thing was, I recognized this man. Before all of this happened, I noticed the partner standing near us waiting for the metro and hadn’t trusted him even then.  He looked pretty normal with his scruffy short beard and headphones casually over his shoulders. What had caught my eye was the tough, hard look he had on his face.

So at this point, I was not trusting a word these men said.  I did not understand anything they were saying to one another in French and my first thought was, how would I be able to identify the French police?  Would I even know what a real French police badge would look like? 

The police man informed us that he would need to take a statement before Julia could get her phone back.  She was compliant–who wouldn’t be? She just wanted her phone back. However, I was extremely skeptical.  

He began to ask Julia what her name, address, phone number, etc was.  As Julia began to give up the information, I stopped her and told the (fake?) police that we would happily give that information at a police station.  

The police man and his partner began talking back and forth in French, pointing and looking at us as they talked.  

He then told us that they could no longer take the statement in the underground and that we would have to take a car with them to the police station.  

He began to make excuses when we told him that we would walk or take the metro there to meet them.  We even suggested riding the metro with them.  He insisted that we would have to identify the man if we wanted him locked up and that we had to do it within the hour or they would have to let him go.

There was NO WAY I was getting in a car with this strange man and his “partners.”  

There was no way I was letting Julia either, even though she was so exhausted and just wanted to get her phone back that she was prepared to go.  I absolutely believed that this was a big scam and that if we got into a car with these strangers that we would end up in a sex trafficking ring.  

After about 10 minutes of arguing, and the three of us desperately attempting to recollect the numbers to call to let an adult know what was happening, the men finally agreed to take the statement there.  I presume they finally understood that we would not get in a car with several strange men for a phone.  We found a spot out in the open where patrons buy metro tickets and the original man began to take Julia’s statement.

Part Four:  Pickpockets, Pickpockets Everywhere

As the “police officer” filled out what looked like a very official statement report (not sure why he had just then brought it out) we stood off to the side talking with his partner.  The partner, let’s call him John, began to tell us about how serious the metro thievery truly is. He talked about how they cannot get the pickpocketing under control and how often it really happens. We joked that maybe now we will become undercover cops and be heroes of the city. His face immediately dropped, as a gloomy expression made its way across his then furrowed eyebrows.  With pain, he explained to us that we could do that anywhere but Paris. He went on to talk about how there is no justice, how it will never end, and how it is a very arduous and defeating job.

As he ended that conversation, all of a sudden his face turned dark and a knowing look crept into his eyes.  He calmly said, “Keep talking to me, like we are having a conversation,” and at this point, I was thinking, this is it, this is the moment we die, “And don’t look, but there is another one behind us”.

This is the point at which I begin to believe that they are real cops.

We one by one casually glanced over our shoulders and there was a man, clearly watching the tourists and their belongings.  Our cop made up fake conversations with us, pretending to give us directions so that he can casually turn and watch the thief.  The thief suddenly hopped the gate where you insert your ticket to access the metro station. Our cop turned to us and said, “See you guys later”, with a foreboding look, slipped his headphones on, and casually began tailing this thief through the metro.  

My friends and I were a bit dazed and had a million questions.  I was just about ready to drop out of school to become a cop.  

We continued talking between the three of us and John casually walked back up a couple minutes later.  He informed us that he couldn’t get the guy because he didn’t actually see him steal anything.  

Five minutes later, the same exact same thing happens again with another thief.  This time, all of the sudden the thief took off running out of the station and John quickly jumped into action and sneakily chased him out.  He slyly pretended he was just in a rush to get somewhere, a look of ultimate focus upon his face.  We did not see John again.   

We finished the statements, Julia got her phone back, and we shook hands with the cops that I now truly believed.

Sometimes we have to learn the hard way.  Learn from our mistakes!

While we had a crazy night, it ended on a good note.  We were all so grateful that this happened to us.  We had become complacent and that almost cost us a phone.  Everything had happened exactly as God wanted it to.  If we hadn’t decided to head home early that night things might have been much different.  If the police had not decided to tail this particular thief, we would have never seen Julia’s phone again.  It is crazy how so many things fell together and created a moment that I know I will never forget about.

I promise I still loved Paris and will visit again one day.  Just maybe after a couple years of working when I have enough money to stay in the finer parts and can take a taxi everywhere!

That was my rough Paris experience.  Have you ever been in a situation like this, even in your own hometown?  Would you have trusted the “police” right off the bat?  Was I crazy for doubting them the whole time?

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Comment below!

With love,

Mattie