2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

I've always (since I can remember) been afraid of horses. I think they are one of the most beautiful creatures EVER, but coming close to them gives me the most unsettled feeling ever. I didn't fall off of one as a child, or have any sort of traumatic horse-related experiences (unless I did and my mother never told me...MOM....) Kidding. I really didn't. It's a completely irrational fear that came from nowhere.
That is why I admire people like Leah who climbs ONTO them, and jumps OVER things with them. What. Ridiculous.
That being said, I feel as though this season of my life is one in which I am out to conquer my fears.
In no particular order, the ones that come to mind are:
1)That God isn't going to provide for us.
2)That my artsy hobbies like photography and other crafty things are going to be rejected by the general public.
3)That I am not capable of breaking bad habits.
4)That I am not going to be a good wife or mother.
5)....
......
174)......and on and on...

I don't walk around thinking about these things. Seriously. They are just ones that I encounter at various times and don't really think about or deal with.

So basically, God provided for us in the form of making finances appear out of thin air from the start of our marriage until now. Then he provided Chris with a gajillion interviews and finally the perfect job for him.

So basically, I went out on a limb and started displaying my photography. And then I started getting all kinds of great feedback. And then I came to the even greater conclusion that I don't really care WHO likes my art because I DO.

I went out and took some stinkin' pictures of a HORSE. Take that. My heart beat at a significantly high rate the whole time. There was a fence in between us. Baby steps.




These are all just little examples. But they are also little victories.

I want to live without fear. I want to own my desires and passions as I know that they were given to me when I was created. I want to take risks and push myself beyond a life of comfort. And for when all of these words I have just said fly out the window and I am faced again with my fears, I have this:

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 56:3-4
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Matthew 10:26
Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Had so much fun practicing my photography on these two. Always a hilarious time. :)
Some of my faves:

Talking about Insanity makes me feel like a super fitness crazed individual that's obsessed with body image--I can assure you, I am not. Nor have I ever been. My goal in exercising has never been to "look better," but has always been to relieve stress and to do good things for my body! Unfortunately, the culture of our country likes to think that exercise is just a means of looking "good," and barely goes below the surface of vanity.

Personally, I think people would think otherwise if we could all look into the INSIDES of our bodies instead of the outsides. If we could actually see our bodies processing the food we put inside them, could physically see what a lack of exercise does to the organs and muscles and blood flow on the inside...more would make time for it!

Good thing I have my health science husband to remind me of all these things when I'm curious about them (which is often.)

That being said: Insanity, I highly HIGHLY recommend it. I want to retract the statement I made at the beginning about needing to be in descent shape to start. Yes-it would be more motivating that way (which is why I said it) BUT, there are ways to do it in a more low impact way so that you can work up to the point they are at in the video. In fact, we had to take a small break when Chris was getting over his sickness and when he started back he took it easy so his body could recover, and he still got a good work out.

So, there is a way to track your progress through Insanity by these things called "Fit Tests." The fit test is a workout in itself, but goes through a list of exercises that you are to complete while COUNTING how many you're doing. You write it down, and then every two weeks throughout the Insanity schedule, you do it again and watch how you've improved. We are closing in our the time where we will be doing our second fit test so that we can compare it with our first time, and I'll be sure to post both of our scores so you can see the difference!!

Besides that, we both have freakish amounts of energy and feel so good all the time due to the release of toxins that happens when you sweat that much! (You can always shower, people..sweat is GOOD for you!) We can also see physical differences too, which is a plus. :) All around, it's just a very well designed work out that has put my "normal gym routines" to shame. We're both probably going to rely on Insanity for working out for many many years, and the best part is your living room becomes your gym, and you don't need ANY equipment other than your body! :) Can't beat it. We'll post the fit tests results soon! Need a motivational boost? Go watch Supersize Me. Haha.