mother's day

This is an old pic! She is going to kill be because since this pic, she has lost a ton of weight, but this was the only one I had on this computer :). Sorry mom!

As we all know, sunday is Mother's Day, so here is post all about my awesome mom!

I wanted to make a blog that was dedicated to my mom. I almost feel bad doing this, because I don't want all of you to be jealous of how awesome my mom is. But, I think most of you already know it, so I thought I would write it anyway! Here are a few reasons why Melinda Shanklin is the best...

1. She is beautiful, has soft skin and always smells good. I love my mom's smell so much. I even stole a pillow from their house about a year ago because it smelled like my mom. I just love how sweet and clean she is. Haha. I also love how pretty she is. I think she really looks like she did 30 years ago. Her beauty has not faded. I hope I inherited that!

2. She is THE best friend you could have. I think if I asked 100 people who the top person they would call if they were in a pinch would be, 100 of those poeple would say, "Melinda Shanklin". She is selfless and giving and will get WAY too commited for her own good to ensure that you are taken care of. I hope I have learned that from her. I want to love people like my mom does. I want to be a friend like my mom is.

3. She is funny. I laugh so hard with my mom. And typically it is about inappropriate things. She is my favorite person to sit and sip coffee or wine with and just chit chat about life!

4. She loves my dad more than anyone. I am thankful to have their example of a marriage that is loving and most of all centered on Christ. She is dedicated to loving and serving my dad. To being a helper and a joy to him. I love it.

5. Above all, she LOVES Jesus. My mom is one of the most beautiful pictures of a Christ follower I have ever seen. Her life refelects Jesus in every manner. She is dedicated to seeking Him in all she does. I have learned SOOO much from her about what it means to be a woman who seeks to walk in holiness.

I could go on all day, but I have to do my job at some point! I hope you all take some time to think about your moms. If your mom isn't as awesome as mine, its ok. She is always open to taking in new children!

Love you, Mom! You are THE BEST!

back on the wagon

Hi team!

Well, Emily Rice gets really mad at me when I take too long between blogs. Needless to say, she is mad at me. Haha. Sorry, Em!

I have just had such a hard time getting back on track with EVERYTHING since Easter. But, I am feeling better and am slowly returning to normal. So I hope to get back on track asap. I have this mentality sometimes of all or nothing. I have just been thinking things like, "Well, since I didn't work out, I guess I can eat whatever I want." How crazy is thinking like that? It doesn't even make sense! But I see that I am in this pattern. I am trying to be more mindful about my cravings and eating right now. I feel frustrated. But I know that each day is new.

I am in a bible study that meets on Wednesday nights. We just started going through Richard Fosters book , "Celebration of Discipline." We met last night to go over chapter one. It was almost comedic that as we were there studying this book, I ate 3 chocolate chip cookies! But I am really so excited to read this book...I love this quote, "By themselves, the spiritual disciplines can do nothing;they can only get us to the place where something can be done. They are God's means of grace." I understand this book is far from being a book on food and weight loss. But, it is about practicing Gods disciplines. Walking in that should help me to honor Him by not using food as an idol. I'll be excited to share my gleanings from this book!

Happy cinco de mayo! Or tomorrow, as billy streu would say, cinco de seis! (I realize that means 5 of 6- that is a college inside joke...but it happens to be inside with like 30 people...)

thoughts.

Hi friends!

Sorry it has been so so long since I blogged. I have had a rough couple of days during the past week. I last blogged that we thought I had kidney stones. Thankfully, it was not kidney stones! We are not sure what caused my pain, but my scan came back clear and normal. So I am thankful for that. My pain has improved...so I am really glad for that. I also developed a cough last week during this and turns out, I have bronchitis! Ahhh! I am so annoyed with all of this sickness! Thankfully, I have not missed any work! So that is wonderful. I am just trying to not cough super hard and break a rib!

Since I have been sick, I have not done much exercise. That has been really hard on me. But I am just working really hard to focus on my nutrition and eating the right thing. I have to start trying noticing my hunger cues. I find that I eat when I am bored. So I am just trying to really pay attention to my body and hunger. It has been good for me to be mindful of that. I am ready to get on the mend and get back to cardio dance party and boot camp!

I also have had so many thought on this day that the United States is celebrating the death of one of our enemies. I really am struggling. Now, I want to make sure you hear me say that I am thankful that Bin Ladden is no longer able to harm others. That his hate is over. That he is gone. But, I have had a really hard time with the response I have seen from people-especially those who claim to be Christ followers. I have seen posted all over facebook, "burn in hell." It is hard for me to hear this. I realize Bin Laden was an evil man with the blood of many on his hands, but the truth of my soul as a sinner is I am no different than he is apart from the blood of Jesus. I am just as deserving of hell out side of the blood of Jesus. I want to proclaim my joy in Christ's sacrifice for me. Without that, I too would be condemned. Because of that, I can never rejoice in the death of someone or in their burning in Hell. Instead of running in the streets and chanting "USA, USA, USA" I urge you to fall to your knees and beg to God that we would continue to seek His mercy for our nation. That his Gospel would go forth to other nations.

I know everyone will have an opinion on this. If you have a hard time with what I've said, you can for sure email me whitbell25@gmail.com. But please dont post anything. I dont want this to be at all political. I just am kind of explaining my own journey and thoughts as a christian.

"remember, beloved, God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked."

Ezekiel 18:23

have you missed me?

Hi friends!

Sorry it has been a WEEK since my last post! Longest ever!

I haven't posted this week because I have a hard time writing when I have something else really on my mind. So I just decided to write what it is on my mind....

Last Wednesday I started having a weird pain in my right side and back. As the week went on, it got worse (I was sobbing on Easter morning)...well, I went to the Dr yesterday, and we think its.....Drum roll please.....KIDNEY STONES! I have a ct scan today to confirm. But, lets just say I am in some pretty intense pain. And, I am still working (meaning chasing and lifting 20 lb babies!). So I just havent had much to write about. I am just ready to figure my pain out. This is how bad its been- I had a coveted ticked to Mumford and Sons last night and I sold it! That is pain. So, I am just waiting for my scan this afternoon and to hear back from the Dr. I will let you guys know once I know!

Sorry to be a debbie downer!

Cheers to kidney stones!

and we're off!

Hi friends!

Today is the day we leave for Easter in Lubbock! Super excited! I may even get to see some of you while I am in the hub!

I wanted to blog really quick about a workout class I went to on Monday night. It is called "cardio dance party." If that isn't an awesome name for a class, I don't know what is! It was at 7:30 pm and was packed. It was basically dancing to all types of music for an hour. We did swing, African tribal dancing, hip hop, BEYONCE!-I mean it was great. And, the instructor was a legit dancer. She actually reminded me so much of my bff Priscilla. She was fun, funky, and could dance! It was amazing. I wore a heart rate monitor to watch my calorie burn and I burned 900 calories in an hour! Wow! It is definitely something I am going to put into my work out routine! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great holiday. I pray we can all celebrate the life we have because of Christ and the selfless sacrifice of His own life. Love to all of you!

Easter week! Hooray!

Hi friends!

Well, finally we have made it to Easter week! I have been looking forward to this for so long! I am so excited to go to Lubbock and get some wonderfully needed time with my family! I am also really hoping for time with my sweet niece, Laney-Who yesterday said, "mimi" and "elmo". So funny. So we leave wednesday night after work and are there Thursday-Sunday. I just can't wait!

We had a great weekend! I went to yoga on saturday and am really loving getting back into it. It is such a great way to kick off a weekend. It was also great because while I was there I knew that the memorial service for Jen was happening and I was able to just be quiet and reflect on her and celebrate her in my own way, while also doing downward dog :).

On sunday I went to boot camp again. I still love it so much, but made the mistake of eating lunch at maudies after church. Now, I ate really well- we split chicken fajitas for 2. But I skipped the tortilla and just ate chicken, peppers, salsa, guacamole and black beans. It was so yummy! But, when 3 pm rolled around and I was doing bungee runs on a football field (yes, it is as bad as it sounds)- I was really regretting the mexican food. But, I was able to keep it all down and was really proud to not quit. That was my goal, just don't quit. It was amazing.

I have another funny story for you. My husband, Andrew, is a very picky eater. He does not like ANYTHING weird. Like hummus really freaks him out...Well, recently, I have really been a fan of morning star foods. Morning star is a vegetarian food brand. I love their corn dogs, chicken nuggets, burgers, etc. They are super yummy and really low ww points. Well, I recently purchased their buffalo chicken nuggets and andrew spotted them. He has not caught on that it is vegetarian. So when he asked me to cook some for his dinner last night because he thought they looked good, i went right on ahead and baked them. HE ATE 10!!! He loved them. After he ate them all I asked if he liked them and he said yes. Then I told him it wasn't chicken, but vegetarian. He looked kind of mad and then just congratulated me for making him eat something healthy and said he would eat them again! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!!!

Haha. It was great! I hope everyone has a great week!

kind of amazing

Well, I realize I have already blogged once today. But I just had a realization that I had to share with you. I was looking at my prayer journal from last week. I try to spend time while my gals sleep in prayer and reading the Bible. Last week, I had just gotten off of the phone with my mom and had gotten an update on Jennifer that she was starting to fade. Now, she was still walking, talking, eating, and all of that. But, her eye was beginning to droop and her balance had gotten bad again. So they knew she was fading. So I was led to pray for her and her family-specifically for her mom, Chris. Now, my prayer journal is VERY private. It really is between Jesus and me. But, I will break my own rule to share with you my prayer from last week. It is amazing to see how the Lord answered this...

" Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Lord, I cry out to you to cover the Jones family. Cover them with mercy, Lord, right now. We ask that if you can, please protect Jen from suffering. Protect her from slowly going. Take her quickly, Lord. May it be quick and sweet. Protect Chris's heart. She is just really walking through it. I know she must feel so worn out, so afraid, so alone. Lord, how amazing it is that in each moment of each day, you walk with her. I see a picture of her walking through their house and you behind her, leading her with your hand in the small of her back. I see you in front of her, holding her hand, taking her to sit. I see you singing over her. Sitting with her weeping. You know! You know what it is like to watch your beloved child die. I see you smile as Chris sees Jen do well. When glimpses of Jennifer are visible. Please God, draw so close to her. Pour your spirit into their home. I pray that you breathe your spirit of hope, eternal life, joy, trust, WORSHIP, an their home. May any anger, despair, fear, worry or pride all wash away by your blood. Cover them. I just keep feeling Psalm 23 so so strong on my heart for this family.

Psalm 23- the message

God is my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows., you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through deaths valley, I am not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd crook makes me feel safe. You serve me a 6 course dinner right in front of my enemies.. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me everyday of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life."

Amen.

I am just amazed to see that my prayers for Jen to go quickly with out suffering were answered! God is so good. Even in death, He is still so so good.

Jen's service is saturday at 10 at westminster in Lubbock. Sadly, I can't go. But I am really excited to get to spend a little time with her family when I'm home for easter next week. Please keep praying for the Jones family!!