GMG Week 1 Reflection

A good friend from our small group in Charleston recently shared a blog that was helping her with her quiet times and after checking it out I thought it would also be helpful to me too. So I've started studying 1 John with the Good Morning Girls group. One of the things the group encourages is for participants to blog about what they are learning through the study, so here goes!

Week 1: 1 John 1:1-4 (NASB)

"What was from the beginning what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the Word of Life-- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."

Two things stuck out to me this week as I studied these verses:

1) The author makes a big deal out of his personal experience with Jesus. He was not just relaying stories he heard from someone else. He had first hand experience with Jesus. We too can have first hand experience with Jesus! That is what the author here is inviting us to- into fellowship with the Word of Life, the One who spoke all of creation into existence, the Savior of our souls.

I feel like I can get into a spiritual rut where I rely on other people (our pastor, our small group leader, my mentor, etc) to teach me about Jesus. Just last week I was complaining to my girlfriends that I was really missing our church in Hawaii because I felt like I was really learning and continually being challenged by the messages our pastor in Hawaii would give and how I didn't really get that at our church here. And as I was complaining it dawned on me again (this is one of those lessons that I have to re-learn every so often because I'm kinda dense) that I am the one responsible for my relationship with God, and I am perfectly capable of studying His Word myself, but I have just been lazy lately and just wanted to rely on someone else to tell me.

The problem is that no matter how wonderfully crafted and powerful a sermon is, listen to someone else talk about what they have learned in their relationship with God is not the same as experiencing that relationship for yourself. It would be ridiculous for me to rely on a mutual friend to tell me what is going on with husband rather than spending time with him myself. It would even be ridiculous to rely on a mutual friend to tell me how another friend is doing when I could just speak with that friend myself. Those relationships would eventually die if that is how I treated them. But sometimes that is how I treat God. Thank goodness for His faithfulness even when I do not invest in our relationship like I should!

2) We are created for community. Community including God and other people. God creates us with this need for one another. Whether you are a Christian or not, everyone feels it. No one wants to be alone. We all want to share at least some part of our lives with other people. I believe it is even more than that, I believe we were all created with a deep longing and need for a relationship with God, whether we recognize it as such or not.

When something good happens, when we achieve a goal, or when we find a really good deal on something we've been wanting for awhile (girls, you know what I'm talking about!) we have the urge to share it with someone. When we get a new job or a promotion we celebrate by going out with our spouse or our friends. When we get married we throw a big party known as a wedding. When a new baby is on the way we have a baby shower. Just the other day one of my girlfriends was excited to show me a darling little outfit she had just gotten to bring her baby home from the hospital in a few weeks from now. Big things, little things, they are more fun and exciting when we can share them. Which is exactly what the author of 1 John meant when he said "these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."

Meeting Jesus and having a relationship with Him is a big deal. It is life changing for those of us who know Him. It is natural to share that joy with others. We were created to be in community with one another and to share our joys and struggles. For me, it is so helpful to have other women who share my faith that are willing to listen to all of my triumphs and trials related to faith or not. I need their support and perspective and wisdom.

Personally, I am so incredibly grateful for the wonderful women in my small group. We get together at least twice a week. Once with all our husbands and kids for an actual planned "small group meeting" in which we study the Bible or discuss a book. And then the ladies get together every Sunday afternoon for Vietnamese Pho at this little restaurant in our town. We are generally there for a good four hours and we talk about everything under the sun- our marriages, motherhood, our dreams, our fears, what we are learning, how we are failing, my fear of Hawaiian centipedes... I always leave our weekly Pho dates rejuvenated, encouraged, and often challenged.

It amazes me how God created us to need one another. My relationships with my family and friends are the most cherished things I have in life. My joy is complete when I spend time sharing life with those I love.

beauty. noun. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind.

Today was an incredibly gorgeous day in Monterey so we drove down the Pacific coast highway into Big Sur to do a short hike Sam's been wanting to do for a long time where you can see a waterfall spilling out onto an unspoiled beach. Driving the 30 miles down to the trail was a gorgeous drive. Despite the beautiful sunny weather, along parts of the coast there was a thick layer of fog over the ocean that sometimes creeped up the sea cliffs and over Route 1. Looking down at the ocean you couldn't see any hint of the water in certain areas and it reminded me of driving through the mountains in Ecuador when you were up so high that you looked down at the tops of the clouds. It was beautiful. However, during those patches of highway where the fog had creeped up over the road and it was so thick you could barely see the next curve in the road, it didn't seem so beautiful. In fact, the fog was so thick at our destination we weren't able to see the waterfall at all! What a bummer!

The fog was both beautiful and dreary depending on our perspective. Inside the fog it was dreary and bleak. It seemed like the fog was hiding the natural beauty of the landscape. But above the fog, the fog itself was beautiful and mysterious appearing to have a life of it's own as it climbed up the sea cliffs and drifted into the crevices of the landscape.

It got me thinking about life. Sometimes as a stay-at-home mom I feel like my life is about as beautiful as living inside the fog. I do laundry, go to the grocery store, change diapers, walk the dogs, clean the kitchen, and a bunch of other monotonous, less-than-exciting daily tasks. But with a little change of perspective I realize that my life is so incredibly beautiful and blessed. I get to see my son smile, and I get to be there for every "first," and I get to watch him learn and grow and explore his ever expanding world. I get to read to him, sing with him, and dance with him on a daily basis. When I think about my life in those terms I can't imagine a more beautiful life!

On the way back up to Monterey the fog had burned up enough for us to stop at a beautiful beach and stretch a little. Doesn't get much more beautiful than this little guy's smile when he's hangin with his dad!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

... that is what Morgan Belle Kirkpatrick is made of!

I had the privilege of throwing a baby shower for my sweet friend Lauren who is expecting her very first little bundle of joy. I was so thrilled to host her shower, not only because I love Lauren but also because she is having a precious little girl so I could go all out girlie! I had a blast planning, prepping, and hosting this shower.

The theme was sugar and spice. So in keeping with the theme we played "Guess the Spice" which was more difficult than originally planned thanks to my husband who thought my original spice selections were too easy and took it upon himself to make things a little more challenging... median score was 3/8 correct- thanks babe!

We had a yummy vegetarian lunch complete with pink lemonade, pink frosted strawberry buttercream and vanilla cupcakes and pink frosted sugar cookies. And since I knew my guests were all creative ladies I planned a fun craft of decorating onesies for little MBK with fabric appliques. It was really special because even though some friends couldn't attend the shower, they were still able to contribute by making onesies that I had hanging as decoration and examples. And we had another friend skype in from across the country!

Even big sister, Elle, Lauren's sweet pup, joined in on the fun! And our friend's adorable daughter helped Lauren unwrap Morgan Belle's presents :-)

It was such a fun day and we all just can't wait to meet little miss Morgan Belle in a few short weeks!

Meet Sarah: Inspiration for a healthy lifestyle

I'd like to introduce you to my good friend Sarah. Sarah is the kind of woman that women would love to hate- blonde bombshell that looks like a Victoria's Secret model- except that after meeting the friendly, unassuming Sarah who doesn't have an ounce of pretentiousness in her, you can't help but adore her!

I met Sarah a little over a year and a half ago at a Superbowl party. Her husband had just gotten assigned to Sam's submarine and this was their first wardroom get together. She showed up in a Ravens jersey and I just knew we would be good friends:-P We bonded over our childlessness (wives without children were a rarity in our wardroom), our mutual love for our dogs, Navy and Ravens football, sunshine, beautiful Hawaiian beaches, and all things Maryland.

Ours was a friendship meant to be. I have been, and continue to be, so inspired by Sarah. She is one of the few people who isn't completely bored with my obsession with The Omnivore's Dilemma and I've really enjoyed discussing health and nutrition with her many times. My idea of "the vegan experiment" is due to her influence because though she was already a vegetarian, she also went vegan for a month and then accidentally became one.

Recently Sarah blogged about becoming a vegan (she refers to it as her accidental lifestyle change) and her story is so powerful and touching I really encourage you to read it and even share it. Despite Sarah's stunning looks, she has struggled with self image and eating healthy. Now she is a completely happy vegan! But don't let me spoil her story... check it out for yourself at Blonde at the Beach Blog.

Thanks Sarah for making yourself so vulnerable to share your story in order to inspire and motivate others to pursue a healthy lifestyle! I'm so proud to have you as a friend and am grateful for your influence to get me to try veganism without your even knowing it:-P

Accidentally *almost* Vegan

If you keep up with my blog at all you know that a few months ago I tried a "vegan experiment" in which for a month I cooked and ate vegan for dinner. My motivations for the experiment were many, but mainly to break some unhealthy food addictions and to incorporate more veggies into my diet. I never intended to continue eating a plant-based (ie. vegan) diet after the experiment was complete but I more or less have. I've been meaning to blog about my motivations for continuing this way of life for awhile now but the task just seemed overwhelming. But my recently-vegan girlfriend Sarah, just published an inspiring blog post about her reasons for sticking with her vegan lifestyle which also started out as a month-long experiment and has thus inspired me to do the same!

First, for a little bit of history. A little over a year ago I finally read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, a book that was recommended to me five years ago when I was writing a research paper on the health benefits of eating organic. The book totally opened my eyes to the disaster that the American food system is and immediately lead me to change certain things in my diet, mainly switching to organic milk, cutting out most processed foods, and intentions of switching to free-range, organic meats. (I lived in Hawaii at the time so it was difficult to find free-range, organic meat.) That book planted the seed in me that something was drastically wrong with the way we eat (at least regarding the way we go about farming the food we eat). But, I wasn't ready to completely overhaul the eating habits I'd been developing since childhood, such as drinking lots of "healthy" calcium-rich skim milk and cheese, and eating lots of "healthy" lean meat, and consuming "healthy protein" in eggs. Plus The Omnivore's Dilemma didn't even suggest how to change eating habits based on the information in the book and certainly didn't push a vegetarian or vegan diet. So I just let the knowledge that I had gained just simmer in the back of my mind while I went on with life.

After having my son in December of 2010, cooking and meal planning got a lot more hectic. Trying to plan, shop for, and cook well-balanced meals with a newborn who demanded constant attention while also attempting to complete the last term of my graduate degree and train for a couple of half marathons was difficult to say the least. So I found that we would typically end up eating something very simple, like a grilled piece of meat, or a simple pasta dish, and I would not have time to get around to rounding out the meal with nutritious vegetable side dishes. I would routinely eat cheese and crackers for lunch because it required no time or effort on my part. I knew for a fact that this hap-hazard way of eating was not healthy and at the time I remembered my friend Sarah saying that she was going vegan for a month and thought that sounded like a pretty good idea to help me get out of my eating rut. But, I didn't think I could go totally vegan, so I just went vegan for dinner and tried a new vegan recipe every night.

At first it was hard. Vegan food doesn't taste the same as the food I was used to- duh! It took a couple of weeks for my taste buds to adjust to more subtle, less rich flavors. But once they did, I actually started enjoying the food I was making full of whole grains and vegetables. Some of the immediate results were surprising to me. I consistently felt full longer. As a breast-feeding mom I would frequently wake up at 3am starving but that stopped immediately when I started eating vegan for dinner even though I wasn't consuming any greater volume of food and in fact was consuming significantly less calories. My vegan dinner even fueled me enough to get through an hour of exercise in the morning before breakfast! I also use to have a problem with frequent headaches which resolved itself immediately.

Other results were slightly more gradual but just as wonderful. I found that after the first couple of weeks I very rarely had food cravings. Previously I would crave a certain food despite not actually being hungry and now I feel satisfied when I'm full without the constant draw to return to the pantry. My complexion also improved (even more so once I eventually completely gave up milk and cheese). And the last few pounds of baby fat came off even though I was still eating tons of carbs and routinely baking yummy vegan desserts!

Due to these surprisingly noticeable results I was interested to learn more about a plant based diet. I also came across a blog a friend of mine had shared titled "I have cancer. And I've never felt better." which regards a cancer patient's transition to a plant based diet and how it has completely halted the spread of cancer and has her feeling great. This had me intrigued to further research the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle. My friend Sarah recommended to me the book Veganist by Kathy Freston which, among other things, outlines the research that has been done regarding the impact of a vegan diet on health. Coming from the perspective of someone who fully believed in the merit of dairy and lean meats, the results of the research I was reading about was mind-blowing to me.

I read Veganist on the plane on the way to and from a summer vacation in Italy. This vacation occurred right after I had finished my month-long "vegan experiment" and though I was still attempting to incorporate some of the things I'd learned during that month, I was pretty much back to my omnivorous ways due to eating out every meal. I was acutely aware of how much worse my body felt after eating what most would consider a "healthy" meal. And that awareness of how what I put in my body affects how I feel, coupled with the knowledge I'd gained from reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and Veganist was enough to put me back on the path to becoming a vegan.

Now I am not totally vegan. I still eat meat and dairy when I go out to eat and if I am at other people's homes. I still want to be able to enjoy traditional holiday foods and family recipes on occasion so I have no intention of becoming a total vegan. But in my everyday life I am choosing a plant-based diet and couldn't be happier about it! For me, the key is to never "forbid" myself from having something. If I really want something that has cheese on it, I'll eat it. The difference is that now I am not addicted to cheese so having a little bit does not make me crave more. I look at animal products how I look at cake, having some now and then isn't bad, it just shouldn't be a main staple of my diet.

People ask me all the time why I changed and there are too many reasons to explain, but it can be summed up in these three points:

1) I feel so much better and healthier when I stick to a plant-based diet

2) The myriad of proven health benefits associated with a plant-based diet

2) I do not want to support the meat and dairy industry (side note: I am okay with killing animals for food... but I'm not okay with abusing them their entire lives.)

I hope this post helps any of you that are interested understand more about why I've chosen to become *mostly* vegan. I know my family is baffled by, and even initially annoyed by, this choice, but I can't ignore everything that I've learned and what my own body is telling me. If anyone reading this is interested in learning more, I highly recommend the books I've mentioned and I'd be happy to pass along some good cookbook and vegan product recommendations as well.