Eternity

The whole, very real concept of eternity has been heavily on my heart lately. It's easy for me, and I think many would agree, to see Heaven and the idea of eternity as a very faraway, and difficult to grasp concept. I for one often find myself viewing heaven and eternity as some sort of an end goal rather than something that is very real, and very present in every second of my life.
Eternity is not something that just happens to take form after death, it is already happening right beside us and all around us. In the spirit, eternity is very alive and in motion, though we may not perceive it in the flesh. Heaven and the Kingdom have been established, it has always been there, before anything, created by God the one, ultimate founder/artchitect/designer of... Everything that was and is and is to come. Heaven is happening, Heaven is moving, always. In our sleep, in our daily mundane affairs, in our sadness, in our elation, God, Jesus, His kingdom is perpetually, unceasingly in motion.
As someone who thinks about mortality a lot, and used to feel a lot of anxiety about the thought of it, this truth brought and keeps bringing me an immeasurable amount of peace. Eternity is a literal reality that walks alongside us, in every moment and facet of our existence. For any of you who feel lonely, we are never quite alone. Quite the contrary. Heaven is a vapor away from us, Jesus is a vapor away from us, rooting for us always. As I'm typing this out, Heaven is moving. As I take a drink of my water, Jesus is watching, all but a mere breath away.
All that separates us from forever with Jesus, is a small, small breath. That is how inconceivably close He is. One gasp of air, draws a line from our existence here to our flourishing existence in Heaven. Truly, death WHERE is your sting? Where, O death, is your victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55)
Eternity is not a remote, improbable approximation... Nor is it an end goal per se. Eternity lives and overflows in abundance of love and truth and reality, alongside us in every moment of our lives. God has never and will never stop existing. Eternity walks with us in this fleeting journey in our flesh. From the first breath to the last, eternity exists and anticipates us. God is so good, and His kingdom so real.
Knowing this brought so much peace to me, I hope it brings peace and joy to anyone else who reads this.

No Sugar Challenge Day 8-9 - 5/7/2015

I've been drinking black coffee, and yesterday morning I didn't drink any coffee at all to really transition into a full on vegan diet and man... I didn't realize how much that cup in the morning makes a huge difference. I was so tired yesterday and had to make myself a small cup this morning to wake myself up. Maybe I'll try to wean off coffee by limiting myself to two cups a week or something, and then eventually cutting it off completely.
My cravings, or lack thereof, have improved significantly. I don't find myself thinking about junk as much anymore and I look forward to my fruit and veggie smoothies every morning/night. My skin is also looking pretty clear... But that may just be because I'm done with my woman times. Anyway, everything is going really good. My body is adjusting very well, and my metabolism is CRAZY right now... In a good way. BRING ON WEEK 2!

No Sugar Challenge Day 7 - 5/5/2015

We are at day 7 of the no sugar challenge. I woke up feeling pretty great. To my surprise, no cravings whatsoever for any processed sugary foods in the morning. I did an ab workout last night and I noticed I had a lot of energy. Usually I'm knackered about 15 minutes in, but I was going strong from start to finish. Anyway, this morning was great, had some boiled eggs. For lunch I had a green juice from Whole Foods and some pineapples. I also had some chicken and broccoli... Now it's that time of day again. Snack time. I'm starting to think about chocolates and candies right now, and to distract myself I started munching on some sprouted almonds and sunflower seeds. This is helping a bit, but man... smelling that nacho buffet in our work conference room is going to SUCK. The party starts in about 5 minutes and to be honest, I'd like to just hibernate and close my office door to stay way from the temptation, but I know I'll be okay. I watched "Hungry For Change" on Netflix last night, so I'm still pretty motivated. I'm hoping to maybe turn this no sugar, eventually into a vegan raw diet soon. Call me crazy, but I want to reset my body back to health, naturally. God designed our bodies to heal itself, and I really believe this. Everything God does/makes is good. If it's not good, it's not from Him. I digress...
Time to head off to the Cinco De Mayo party. Pray for me.

No Sugar Challenge Day 6 - 5/4/2015

Had some boiled eggs and my green smoothie for breakfast this morning. Feeling pretty tired and out of it today. Walking past the candy corner near my office today was especially brutal. We have a Cinco De Mayo celebration in the office tomorrow with my VP's "famous margaritas" and a nacho buffet. Not having any of that is going to be another level of sadness. If anything, this challenge is shedding light on the crap that I used to eat without even thinking twice. I'm THAT person that checks the labels on everything at the Whole Foods now. Now that I see the refined and processed junk that is hidden in everything, it's no wonder cutting sugar off is so difficult.
My brain is kind of learning to sublimate now. Not that I'm not craving cookies and chips, but along with that I'm also really craving one of my green smoothies right now. Before, it used to be the cookies and chips only, and I'd force the green smoothie down my throat. Looking forward to this day being over... It has been a long Monday... And I need some rest especially if I'm going to practice all that self control tomorrow. Nacho buffet... Seriously?!??!

No Sugar Challenge Day 4-5 - 5/3/2015

Day 4: Started the day off with some egg white omelettes and a green smoothie for breakfast. After a lovely hike we had some plain acai bowls without granola or honey, and for dinner we hit up our local vegan restaurant "Green Temple." We both are doing pretty good, having mild cravings for things like boba and chips, but we're managing. Towards the end of the night, I started having some strong cravings for junk. I picked up a banana and that helped a bit, but I went to sleep pretty disgruntled.

Day 5: My women time began this morning so my debilitating cramps distracted me from my sugar cravings for a bit. After Midol kicked in, I made myself a green smoothie and lied back down to try and ride the cramps out. Towards the afternoon, I made myself another smoothie, this time with blueberries and blackberries and had a vegan wrap for dinner. Cravings for cookies and chips and things are still there, but what I want most is some sweetener in my iced coffee. :( Sigh. Bring on day 6!!!

No Sugar Challenge Day 2 - 3

Totally forgot to post yesterday, mostly because I pretty much ate the exact same thing as I did on Wednesday.
I feel the same... Maybe a little more energetic. I did wake up yesterday morning thinking about sugary cereals though. That was weird. I also had a dream about binge eating candy... It's like I'm quitting drugs.
My cravings aren't so bad yet. Not really thinking of sugar much during the day. The hardest time is around 3pm because that is usually my snack time at work. I always pick up a candy bar or a bag of chips, so that time of day gets kind of depressing. I had an egg white spinach omelette for dinner last night, and made myself a green smoothie and hard boiled eggs this morning. Still going strong. Excited to see how I start feeling in a few more days!

No Sugar Challenge Day 1 - 4/29/2015

Today was the first day of my no sugar challenge. I had a spinach/kale/banana smoothie in the morning with some chia seeds, and a mix of chicken, onions and asparagus for lunch. When I felt like snacking, I ate a banana, and later on in the day I had some grapefruit. That sufficed for about an hour and now I'm hungry again. I don't have any wacky cravings or anything, but I've got into such a routine of snacking around this time of day (3pm-4pm)... It just feels weird that I'm not grabbing for something.
Overall, I feel pretty normal. A little tired, maybe a little bit more grumpy... Some Oreos sound so good right now... Ugh. Gotta snap out of it. My motivation is still high, especially after watching Fed Up, so I'm excited to see how I feel in a week. I'll be home from work soon, and will probably make another smoothie for dinner. Sheri, I hope you're hanging in there, too!