Losing My Religion
I'm excited for those of you who are joining us in our Faith & Fitness challenge starting August 1st! We are going to have a blast. Truth is, when it comes to feeding my body correctly I am all about it, but taking the time to workout is not necessarily my forte. I find it hard to fit time in to workout and if for any reason I get out of my groove I tend to put fitness on the side burner! Needless to say, I am so excited to have you all in with me to keep me accountable and so we can cheer each other on!!
Yay for accountability!!!
But what has me even more excited is the "faith" part of this challenge! If you have never read a Jen Hatmaker book you are in for a treat! What I love about her is her down-to-earth approach to faith, being a lover of Jesus and how to shine your light and love towards other. Her approach makes sense to me, not to mention she is HYSTERICAL - and who are we kidding we can all use a little laughter in our life amiright? I'm not going to lie, in my mind Jen and I are BFFs!
I love the idea of taking that same down to earth approach and applying it to a bible study- that is what I'm all about. You see, since February of 2015 I decided to read my Bible from Genesis to Revelations and I'm excited to learn how to dive into a specific book and explore more of God's word. I've never done that and I think moving forward it would just be nice to get deep into a study...the Bible is full of amazing teachings and lessons and stories.
I'm not sure if most of you are like me, but I didn't grow up in an environment where being in the word was a top priority not to mention even taught. I grew up believing all the lies of religion and because of that I never grew up having a genuine relationship with Jesus and cultivating that relationship and my faith.
My grandma, a devout Catholic tried to encourage church and sacraments, but none of what was being taught in Catholic mass on Sunday mornings truly stuck with me. Instead I felt unworthy of God's love any time I made a mistake or failed to make confession on Saturday. I grew up thinking God's love for me came with stipulations and if I ever came short of those exceptions there would be a disconnect between me and God, period.
When I was in my late teens I recall stepping in to Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California on a Monday night bible study and accepting Jesus Christ in my life. As life would have it, a few years after that day, I proceeded to live life in the world and the relationship I had planted in that church those years prior was put on the side burner and I began to live life thinking my ways were far better than His.
If I am being completely honest, it wasn't until the end of 2014 that I finally decided to listen to the nudge I kept feeling for a few years prior. That's when I finally decided that enough was enough and I knew there was something extremely big missing in my life and that is when I realized I was missing my faith and my relationship with Jesus.
This is when I decided to redirect my path, head back to church and live my life with intention. What has transpired since I made that decision has been the cornerstone to the person I am this very minute. I find so much lightness in my heart and in my soul and I cannot imagine what life would be moving forward without this newfound relationship. I discovered that despite the fact that I've worked hard for the beautiful life I currently have, it wasn't until December of 2014 that my blindfold was removed and I realized how blind and lost I had been.
Losing my religion has been the best part of my life since that day in 2014. My life is no longer led with the guilt I was brought up with and the lies that religion tried to feed me. I now get that my God loves me and that Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for my sins...and that even if I made a few bad choices along the way after that day in Costa Mesa that He loves me regardless and it doesn't matter that it took me this long to realize that.
My life is different, my faith takes precedence, and my relationship with the awesome God I now know is my priority. I lost my religion and gained this beautiful relationship I never knew could exists. In losing my religion I was able to decipher His voice and be lead by His everlasting love in my life.
Doing this study with you all will now bring this new me to a full circle. I have been intentional about being in the word but now I look forward to learning with you guys how to dive deeper into His book. If any of you have good tips, pointers and advice on how to dive into this study based on techniques you have used in the past to study your bible I would love to hear about it.
On the fitness front I am excited to blend this faith and fitness challenge and I cannot wait and see how we all come out of this challenge both physically and spiritually at the end of this whole process! It's scientifically proven that exercise not only has amazing benefits physically, but it has a tremendous positive effect on our mental state I think combining that with strengthening our faith muscles we will be forces to be reckoned with. #Jesusgirls #faithandfitnesschallenge
BE Blessed!
XOXOX!
Marcy
Amanda Battistoni —
I’m incredibly blessed for having found you and the community you’ve built at the exact time I did… Without darkness, there wouldn’t be stars! Oodles of love to Marcy, the KD family, and our beautiful friends!