Life Unexpected

It's been 3 weeks and 1 day since I started "7."  To be honest, I haven't really wanted to write this blog post, because I have felt somewhat a failure at this fast.  I have felt like a failure for a lot of reasons.  First of all, while I have eaten A LOT of chicken, spinach, apples, bread, black beans, eggs, and sweet potatoes, there have been several times when I have had to veer away from the fast due to traveling, retreats I have been on, and dinner appointments we have had.  Each time I have veered away from the 7 items, I have felt like I have failed...like I haven't done this thing as well as I possibly could, even though the reality was that I didn't really have access to those 7 items.  Guilt...it gets me every time. I have also struggled with hearing God's voice.  To be honest, one of the biggest reasons I chose to participate in this fast was because I so desperately wanted to hear God's voice on several major things I had been personall

Today marks one official week since starting our fast, "7."  To catch up those who didn't read my last blog, Nate and I are on an adventure to not only simplify our lives, but to draw closer to the heart of Christ, through an experiment/fast of simplicity.  This month we are focusing on food and have chosen seven food items we will be eating for the month:  chicken, black beans, spinach, apples, sweet potatoes, eggs, and wheat bread.  We have also chosen to not drink coffee.  While we have had to make a few "exceptions" this week along the way (which I will have to blog about later), I am learning as I go.  H ere are a few things I have learned in week one... 1.  Coffee has created its own rung on my personal food pyramid.  Seriously.  I consider it a necessity for life and parting ways with it has been painful!  The first four days I had a massive headache, I was a grouchy mama, and I every time I drove by Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, I think tears formed

Happy New Year and welcome to the first blog post of 2014!  This past year has been one of the most incredible years of my life and I am still in awe of all that has taken place.  It's hard to believe that 10 months ago we received a phone call that would change the course of our life.  My mom and I had just returned from a day out on our annual Mom/Daughter Florida trip, when Nate called with the news.  After a 3 year wait, we had finally been matched with a 4 month old baby boy in Ethiopia!  Two months later we would get the call that we had been invited to travel to meet him, and Nate, myself and my mom, would jump on the plane 24 hours after that call, embarking on a trip that would go down in the history books as some of the best days ever.  That trip would be the one that would captivate our hearts in a way we could have never imagined and we met and held our son Biruk for the very first time half way around the world.  Almost two months later, on July 22, we would official