Give and it will come back...

As I sit here tonight I think of the blessings and how God has showed up the last few days. It may seem small to some however to me it is a miracle and blessing.
Being single and not having a saw and lawn equipment can be hard sometimes. Yesterday I came in from Shreveport and a huge limb that had fallen out of a tree had been cut and moved. Today I return from an appointment to my yard mowed. Do I know who did this? Not a clue,but I know one thing they will blessed with the measure they gave.
 Luke 6:38 tells us this...Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Have you ever gotten tired of doing good and being kind? Im not going to lie to you sometimes it gets hard. It seems time and time again when you try and do what is right you get used and hurt. The one thing I can say is I give it my all to swallow,breath deep and remember what God tells me to do. Oh I have had many thoughts as I struggled... if i'm doing for others and giving for others why does it seem when I need help no one is there? That is just the thinking the enemy would like to keep us in. If he can keep us in the why me state of mind he knows we are not claiming the promises given to us by God.

One thing God can not do is lie however what he promises us we have to claim and stand on.

The last few weeks with the help of some amazing spiritual sisters we have started to stand with one another for what God has for us and what we allow the devil to steal. I have given so no questions ask it will come back..not only come back, pressed down shaken together and RUNNING over. Now that is what I call getting back. This doesn't just mean money this means your time and talents. Anything to do for others is yours to come back as a blessing.

In the last few days I have received that blessing back by someone showing up when im gone and working in my yard. Today I just would like to thank God for his promise and remind you that even when you don't see it..keep doing what is right and claim it back in your life!

The princess and her prince

Once upon a time there was this princess.She lived in the Southern Islands. Night after night this princess stayed in her castle. She knew there was a big beautiful world out there she desired to explore however something was missing. As she would lay in her bed night after night she would pray to God for her prince. She knew deep in her heart he was out there. One evening when she was looking in a book full of men who thought they were a prince she came upon a photo. With every page she turned she couldn't forget the image burned in her mind. The image of strength all dressed in the most vibrant blue.All though the vibrant color stayed in her mind that wasn't what she couldn't forget. Each time she closed her eyes she remembered his beautiful smile and eyes that glowed like none she had ever seen. From time to time she would go back to the book and look and admire him.
One night as she sat there she decided she would try and contact him. Though many miles away she had hope that this prince would get her letter. Much to her surprise one day she received a letter in return. Her heart beat with joy as she read it over and over. Could it be true? This handsome prince that she had admired so long was going to ride into town to meet her. As the day approached her excitement grew. Early one morning she awoke and put on her beautiful dress and got ready to go into town to finally meet him. As she mounted her tan mare she had no idea that this day would change her life. Glowing with excitement she mounted her tan horse and started her journey toward town. Each mile she rode her head was full of thoughts of what the prince would think of her. As her horse pulled into town she looked for him. He was not there and deep within her stomach she felt butterflies however she knew he wouldn't let her down. She looked to her left and to her right wondering where could her prince be.Just like she had dreamed all of the sudden he appeared. He was riding the most beautiful grey mare. Even though his mare was shining and beautiful it couldn't compare to the beauty of the strong man that climbed down off of it. As this strong man came toward her she knew this was the man that she had seen in her book. His eyes glowed even brighter than she could ever have imagined. The closer he got his smile was bright like the stars.
Within minutes as she touched him she felt a tingle of life that she had never felt. Minutes turned to hours and they shared special moments together. When late evening started to set and she knew they must part she didn't wanna see him ride away. There was something she seen deep in his heart that drew her like no other.
As the princess arrived back to her castle that night all she could do is smile as her mind replayed the day she had spent with this beautiful man. There he was the man she had prayed night after night for.
Though they had distance and time between them they made up their minds they both shared a deep desire to be together.
With great effort they spent as much time as they could together. They shared so many special times and love grew stronger one for another.A love that she knew nothing could change.
One night when she was sitting at her castle a great storm started to blow. It was a storm that would change her life. A storm that would keep the man she had grown to love like no other away. Day after day even though the sun would shine there was still always darkness. A darkness that only the brightness of his smile and glow from his eyes could bring back.
The princess would get up day after day and go through her life however the thought of this prince never went away. Late at night she would long for his strong arms..the arms that made her feel so secure. She longed to feel his heart beat..the heart that she could see like few could. She longed for those beautiful eyes that glowed like gold. Not one night did she ever give up and stop praying. She knew that her God didn't bring this prince to allow such a storm to keep them apart.
One day when the princess was out doing her chores she got a letter. As she opened the letter her heart started to beat so hard she could hardly stand it. The princess found her a place to sit and read the letter again. Her prince was coming into town and wanted to drop by the castle. How could she prepare for this she thought. She dreamed so many nights of the touch she missed. Would she really look into his eyes again? Would she really feel the strength of his arms again?
The moral of the story...Many storms in life will come.Many storms that will try to steal and take you away from the dreams and desire you have in your heart.Never give up..keep the faith and when you find that something special fight hard for it.

With tears I crossed the finish line...

With tears I crossed the finish line...many of you may ask why would I have tears as I finished my first Half Century in Santa Fe New Mexico. You would have to understand the name of this blog to understand the tears. "Brenda's Restart" a blog that I started when I was given a second chance at life and decided to pick life and not allow my past to destroy me.
I'll back track a few years for those that are new to my blog. See it was only a few years back that all in one year I had my right ankle crushed,my left toe smashed off that it was only holding on by the skin,a head on collision so with all this I was in a wheel chair because I couldn't use either foot. If that were not enough a few months later I had emergency surgery after bleeding 11 weeks straight and thinking it was cancer. Oh and I can't leave out the death of a marriage I was in for 29 years.
Now that I have you caught up lets get back to life today because that is where I live now! I give God the glory for my life and testimony he has been building in me.

On Sunday the 17th of May I completed my first Half Century cycle event in Santa Fe. yes that is 50 miles. In those 50 miles as I rode across some beautiful country side it gave me much time to reflect my life. A life that I decided to give my all to..A life that Satan desired to destroy!

With each hill and each mile I felt so blessed. I thought how easy it would have been to give up the fight. How many people let the struggles in life beat and keep them down. I thought about the days that were so hard I didn't know how I would make it however I kept my eyes on God the one that carried me and gave me strength for each new day. With each baby step that I took he met me where I was. I would have never thought that one day id look back and see how far he brought me. I thought about how God picked me to live this story so I could share with others and give them hope.

As I rode further I could see how all the lonely hard times God was making me stronger..giving me a fight deep within.

I felt him there with me..and had a new understanding of the call he has on my life. 

The tears that came as I crossed the finish line were tears of Joy..tears of praise...tears of hope and most of  all tears that I decided to live with God leading me and not give up.

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Keeping your temple healthy...

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food

This post comes because of a few different things. 1) So many sick people I have been dealing with this week 2) People asking me about my way of eating and weight loss.

Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,

First let me say I am no doctor or nutritionist however I know experience is the best teacher at times. I am proud of the things I have learned as I walked my journey in life. I have always had a great interest in the natural way of life. I have always believed God made the things we would need to keep our temple healthy. I mean just think about it...he made us to do his work and im sure he desires us to be healthy and not walk around sick and worn.

My choice is to cook and eat healthy with the foods God made for us...

 Lets start with what I listed as number one reason for this post. The week started out with me doing lots of running around for what I call my little babies (elderly i've adopted that need me) After days of getting calls and seeing all the sickness it really hit me how important nutrition is to our health. In a visit to one of my babies she had company when I walked in. As I sat there and observed I saw a lady that was sad and hurting. As she started to open up to me not only did she suffer from a sickness (Diverticulitis) that could be helped by nutrition,but also Alzheimers. It broke my heart to see this once beautiful lady sitting there with her hair uncombed,lonely and hurting.She felt all alone and broken with no direction.
I have another baby that I go by and take groceries and do things she can't do for herself. She suffers from a illness that keeps her on breathing treatments and oxygen. The weather has had her very sick and taking so much medication. Due to her  age and income she can't go out and get the things she really needs to eat,herbs and vitamins. This is just a few of the stories I have ran into this week that opened my eyes to how important it is to "Keep our temple healthy" we only get one. It also opened my eyes to the things God created for our good. Oh how I wish I could go out and buy the things that could help these sweet elderly that have gave their life for us and now sit in need.

This has become the normal picture in America...

The number two reason for this post is my talking to others this week that ask about my choices and changes I have made in my life. I have many come to me for help and questions about weight loss. It is my hearts desire to share with anyone that you can do this. I love to be a support for others fighting to "Keep their temple healthy" because I know it will make them much happier. I know because when I made this choice it changed my life.
I had to make a trip to Wal-mart yesterday and had to stand in line. As I stood there I have never seen so many over weight and unhealthy people.People that are in wheel chairs because they are to over weight to walk. PLEASE don't think im down on people or judging people because that is not who I am. I am speaking the truth that I have lived.Whether it start from a illness,loneliness,being on a fixed income and think eating healthy cost I just desire to share and support others. To do my best to help others feel good about themselves.To reach out and love those who feel they are alone.
I made a choice to do my best to "Keep my temple healthy" I am not perfect or do I have all the answers. But I do know the desire is there. I will continue to research and learn. I will seek God for his help and strength and reach out to others to "Keep our temples healthy" If I can be of help to anyone out there reading this please contact me. I will never look down on you,but do my best to lift you up!!!

                                         One choice at a time will bring change...

                                          Food can be fun,good and healthy at the same time...

I sleep with God...

This morning as I sit here I have to give praise where praise is due! I am so thankful to God for two full nights of sleep with NOTHING. This may seem small to many however if you have ever laid awake and cried because sleep wouldn't come you can understand.
My problem with this really started after my husband left. So many nights I fought the fear of feeling alone. It seemed that my brain would never be still and the devil sure knew where to hit me. I started out going to the doctor right after my separation and getting on medication. I hated the feeling of waking up feeling drugged. I never stopped praying yet I was still trusting man. Each new trial brought sleepless nights even though I pushed on. It was when my insurance stopped and I was left with no way to go to the doctor or money to pay that the fear really kicked in. Sometimes we don't realize just how bad things are and hate to admit it. I must say I praise God that he kept me and I have never been addicted to pills..that is drugs I mean. It would have been so easy if not for the strength God blessed me with!
All though I praise God for this the other day I had to face I had allowed something to control me. After my insurance was dropped I started taking Tynol P.M. I knew it wasn't good for me,but just the thought of having nothing scared me. I guess at first it helped however the body gets used to it. What do we do when this happens? We take more or add something to it. Even though the Tylenol stopped working I still continued to take it. I guess it gave me a sense of peace..crazy how we trust junk for that. After lots of nights of no sleep and fear I started to add Dramamine and sometimes cough syrup.It all depended on how bad I needed sleep.All during this time I never realized that even though we get this over the counter and so cheap it is still something you depend on! I like to call it a crutch.I have never been one that liked anything to control me.
It wasn't until last Sunday at church I was talking to my one of my pastors and she ask me was I okay. As we started to talk I said yes Im really doing great. I am allowing God to build and polish me. Trusting him to get me where he desires I be. I then started to tell her that the one thing I hated was my lack of sleep and the Tylenol I took because it was bad for me.We then got into a conversation of just how much do we trust God? We pray and ask for something yet we depend on our crutch. Can we really have faith in him when we can't let go of something that controls us?
Sunday night I made up my mind that no matter what I was going to "Sleep with God" I was going to pray and give it all to him. I wasn't going to give him alittle of it while holding on to something I depended on. Oh yes the devil did try and bring fear...fear that id lay there and no sleep would come. Praise GOD the devil is a liar and the truth is not in him. That night as I started to feel sleepy I shut down everything. That means the TV,internet,FB,instagram and even my phone! I have realized that so much gets my mind going and this is what I needed to do. I fell asleep praying only to wake up and realize I got a full nights sleep! Night two rolls around and I do the same thing..I got this right? WRONG. Just as I started to doze my dog jumped up and went to the door going crazy in a way I have never seen her.I heard my door moving and fear started to fill my body. I could feel the tightening in my chest. Even though my mind said FEAR my spirit said pray. I got up went to the door to check it all while praying for my safety. Crawled back in bed and something said "Oh you better take some Tynol you will never sleep" Yea right devil not this time!!! "I sleep with God" the best partner one could ask for. Today I praise him for two nights sleep depending on nothing,but his peace.

Making a life style change...

Okay we are kicking off a New year and this is a time that most people decide to diet. I thought this was a good time to share some of my "Life style change"
My "Life style change" started after the separation from my husband.It was the moment I looked in the mirror and wondered where did BRENDA go? Yes I had a year full of health issues and some of that packed on weight however I can't blame it all on that. It was at that time I was also on many medications that cause weight gain. Not to mention I was raised Southern and loved to cook.
That day standing there in the mirror was the life changer for me though. I started to reflect on all the activities I loved as a younger girl. I remembered how active I was before I filled my life with kids and staying busy with a family. It was then that I realized that the same person was in my heart. It was only me now and it was important that I felt good both inside and out. I knew that with the injuries I had that it maybe a slow process,but that wasn't going to stop me!! I know many of you reading this have health problems and think there is no way I could go to a gym,ride a bike or run. If you only knew that when I started I found it hard to walk to my mail box.If you remember I had a ankle injury on one leg and a toe injury on the other. You can't worry about the race just take baby steps.Remember that some is always better than none.
It was after my doctor told me that exercise would help the pain that I decided to join the gym and it did change me. I started to feel so much better and the energy came. Before I knew it I was adding more and more activity.
The other part of this "Life style change" was my eating and cooking. Diet is such a dirty word however when you think of it as a change for the better it is easier. I started to search for recipes for the foods I loved that would be made healthy. I also started to research and see just what is in some of this junk we eat. Wow that will sure cause you to change for sure. The healthier I ate the better I felt and the energy was even better.I also found that the cleaner I ate I even felt better.
I have had many people contact me and ask me how and what I do. I may make a few folks upset here,but I tell you no matter what if you take in more than you burn it has no choice..it will turn to fat.If you eat fast food and box food you will not only gain weight you are not getting good nutrition. Have you ever got bad gas at a pump in your car? How did it run? Well your body is your car for life and what you fuel it with is how good it will run.
I have also had people ask me did I have weight loss surgery? NO I could never see that as the answer. To me it was a fast fix that you still had to cut back and eat small portions. No matter what you have to make change to get change.If you go back to your old habits you will get what you started with. I love the saying" If you want something you never had you have to do something you never did" I have found this so true in my life.
Today I can say I have found "Brenda" again. Each day I have to keep going and know it was worth the "Life style change" to get here.
I know if I can do this anyone can.It is my heart to be there and help others anyway I can. Dig down deep,muster up strength and make that "Life style change" for YOU!

There is hope...

As I sit here today looking over the last few years of my life and wondering where 2015 will take me I realize that all I can do is place each day in Gods hands...I must wake up everyday and pray for his will. Some days I catch myself questioning my purpose and wondering when I will arrive at the dreams I have built in my thoughts. Each day is a new walk that one day will lead us to our destination. We have to wake up and make a choose to move forward...
Today I feel in my heart I need to assure some of you "There is hope" No matter what your struggle is you can overcome!
I know some of you look at me today and see my pictures and  have no clue of my journey. A journey that has not been easy....A journey that sometimes has knocked me down...A journey that some days I had to reach down deep just to get out of bed. It was the journey that made me into the woman I am today.I know I still have much growing to do however today I am so thankful for God and that one day he showed me "There is hope"
As I look back and see the steps I took I know that many days he carried me. Some days were so overwhelming and I lost hope,but I looked to the hills knowing my hope was in God.
My journey isn't just about weight loss it is a journey of losing the man I thought id be married to until death, realizing in a moment others choices can change your life,accidents that put me in a wheel chair,surgery and sickness.All of these things had to be overcome taking small steps.
Make the best of this day that has been given to you...give it your all and most important trust God because in him"There is hope"

                      Psalms 62:5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him