Wow. It feels really strange to be sitting down typing out a blog post. 

This year’s reflection on my body, mind, and spirit is hitting you two ways. Read it below, or listen here on the podcast. 

Or if you’re an overachiever, both. 

The podcast version is a little more raw and less polished, but it also represents a moment in time when I parked myself in my fancy podcast studio (aka my closet) and verbally hashed out the previous year.

I’ve never been great at business vision planning or goal setting. But the last few years I have taken a minute to consider the previous 12 months. I’ve grown to appreciate the few moments of reflection and realization that I did, indeed, do more than meal plan and drive carpool.

How 2019 treated my body, mind, and spirit

Body

At the moment, thank you Jesus, I feel really good. That’s not to say I’m without the occasional aches and pains, but I am very grateful to not feel like I am stepping on needles from plantar fasciitis when I get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. 

Sure, I’d love to be able to pull an all-nighter again, (“all nighter” meaning I can go all night without having to pee) but there’s really nothing to complain about.

It wasn’t like this the whole year, though. I worked through a few injuries, particularly those on my feet and my hip. Foam rolling, stretching, and changing shoes made a difference. I’ve also been taking curcumin supplements and swear by their anti-inflammatory properties.

I’d like to think some of this progress is thanks to the research I’ve been doing about aging and fitness. Mobility work and transverse movements are now part of my weekly routine. 

Did this help heal me? Maybe??? Or maybe it just ran its course. Regardless, I feel well-stocked with information on injury and overuse prevention. 

Ciguatera

This summer dropped an unexpected challenge. If we are friends on social media or are a Graced Health subscriber, you know I came down with something called Ciguatera while traveling with my family to the Bahamas. 

Ciguatera is a disease caught by consuming toxic fish. This is not an environmental blog, but it really gave me an appreciation for how dirty our oceans are. Basically, toxins accumulate on coral, which is consumed by small fish. Bigger fish consume those small fish and it goes up the food chain until a woman decides she does not want steak at at steakhouse and orders red snapper. 

The food chain toxicity ended with me but not before I had 24 hours of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad food poisoning (like Alexander’s day from my favorite children’s book). Next came nerve damage, which lasted about six weeks. 

I made a YouTube video sharing some of the resources I used to help manage my symptoms.  If you ever know someone who contracted Ciguatera, feel free to send this their way. 

Thankfully, in about six weeks I was feeling back to normal. The only exception is I still can’t consume any fish, as I was advised to wait a full year. I guess I will be ordering steak at a steakhouse until then.

Nutrition

The latter part of 2019 gave me an opportunity to work on my nutrition. If you have been with me for any period of time, you know food is not something I typically have great control over. I ate a huge piece of humble pie and hired a coach to help me figure things out. 

What was the catalyst for this?  

I had a realization: I spend a lot of time thinking about the right types of exercises I need to be doing as I’m getting older. I research and apply what I learned. I’m intentional about how I move. Perhaps it was time to afford the same focus on my food as I do on my exercise. 

My body had been telling me that what used to work well and be the right way for me no longer was. Certain data markers were not trending in the right direction. My pants were tighter and even some of my Skirt Sports were cutting into my stomach.

It was time to try something new.

I’m actually going to tease you on this and tell you to tune into the podcast that comes out this Friday, December 27th, 2019.  (If you already subscribed, you’ll get it automatically.) You’ll get to hear me interview my coach, commit to the program, and in a subsequent episode hear my experience.

Mind

Teen fitness classes

The first was by coaching a teen fitness class over the summer. How is that mentally demanding, you ask? 

Figuring out how to motivate and encourage young women who were only half awake at 8:30am was a new challenge. I received a lot of blank looks I wasn’t sure how to read. In hindsight I think they were just tired. It was hot, humid, and early for them. We had a short nutrition lesson with take-home cards at the end of each class as well. I am the first to declare I’m not a registered dietician or nutritionist, but I felt comfortable providing basic information like how to build a smoothie, breakfast ideas, in the importance of water.  The classes were a fantastic experience and I plan on doing the same thing again in 2020.

Podcast

The second big thing that challenged my mind was starting the new Graced Health podcast. 

How does one start a podcast, you ask? You listen to podcasts telling you how to start a podcast. Seriously. I had to start from the ground up and figure it out. 

I don’t do everything right, and I’m still trying to get my natural voice to show through. BUT – having so much fun with it! If you haven’t listened, I’d love to have you join me in that space. 

Listen to each episode on Apple | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart Radio.

 You can also listen on the hosted web page here.

Spirit

New church home

One big event I haven’t spoken much of publicly is our family transitioned to a different church.  We had been attending the previous one about twelve years. I still love it: the pastor, the people, the worship.  

My son began getting invitations to attend youth services with a friend at a different, closer church. All of a sudden he’s talking about kids he goes to school with and is claiming he’s more accountable at the lunch table now. (I always thought having a vibrant youth group would keep my kids more accountable on a Saturday night, knowing they’d see them on Sunday morning. But if it keeps them making good decisions in the middle of a ham sandwich, then I’ll take that too.)

The youth structure is engaging and offers a small group atmosphere in the midst of a larger service. 

My husband and I made the difficult decision to transition and attend there as a family. It just seems like the right place for us to be at this time. 

We really like our new church home and I’m excited about all the ways it serves the members and community.

There are similarities and differences, of course. I could compare and contrast them, but it doesn’t really matter. What matters is they both have the intent of knowing Jesus and helping other people know Jesus. That’s enough for me.

Leverage The Speaker Conference

In November, I attended Leverage The Speaker Conference, hosted by Kathi Lipp (and curator of all things for communicators). I’ve been speaking to women’s groups for a couple years. I came home recharged and reaffirmed in that part of my “businesstry” (a new term one of the ladies and I made up. It’s a business and a ministry: businesstry.)

Stepping into the communicator space is strange. I feel led to write, speak, and now podcast but sometimes the things we “should” be doing, like daily posts on the socials and FB Lives, feel forced. 

Leverage gave me confirmation of some investments of my time and permission to drop others. I came back with my spirit recharged and ready to actively pursue more speaking engagements, particularly to moms and teen daughters. If I can plant a seed in these young women’s head that they don’t have to look, eat, or exercise a certain way in order to be healthy and fulfill God’s calling in their life, then I will be thrilled beyond measure.

Side note: if you’re interested in learning more, shoot me an email. I’ll also be updating the speaker tab on my website mid-year after I have an event I’m working on with my new church. The current one is just OK, which AT&T tells me is not OK, so I won’t even link it here.

Quiet time

Finally, I had a revelation about my personal quiet time: I need guidance. Sitting down with just me, my Bible, and coffee typically leads to my thoughts wandering and making a to-do list while simultaneously shaming myself for letting my thoughts wander.

I’ve begun purchasing the Experience Guides from First 5, which delve deeper than the daily devotional. I’m finishing up Isaiah, which I have to admit has been difficult for me. All of the prophecies and references to what was happening during that time has been confusing and somewhat frustrating. But I just keep reading it because I have learned that sometimes you have to wait for good things, like a Savior, to come.

In some ways, it feels like this year has flown by. But when I stop to think about the moments, rather than the months, it feels richly full. Sure, I’ve had my bug-eyed wild mom moments and emotional, teary breakdowns. I’ve also enjoyed cherished time with long term friends, investing time with newer friends, and watching plenty of sunsets with my husband and a glass of wine. And you really can’t ask for much more than that.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may you find your own rich moments in 2020.