So today marks the one month spot of being gluten-free. I am surprised that I made it a whole month! But it is also so encouraging to see that I can be in control of what I eat and I can be disciplined enough to eat only things I plan and choose to eat.

I don’t physically feel any different. I lost 5 pounds. But other than that, I don’t really notice a difference. It was very interesting to always be thinking about what I was putting into my body. Always reading ingredient labels. Mostly eating home-made and fresh things. I really liked that part of it. I didn’t snack on ANYTHING at work for the whole month. That by itself is a HUGE accomplishment. There’s always food sitting around waiting to be eaten. I also haven’t had any sort of syrups in my coffee drinks. So I went from having 2-3 chais and white mocha Americanos per day to only having ONE non-fat latte. That’s amazing!

What I missed most was really good bread. I love bread. Gluten-free bread stinks. It has horrible texture and flavor. I never found one that I liked and I tried MANY and I even made several different kinds of bread. No luck. I did find some amazing cookies that I loved, made a new friend at a gluten-free bakery, ate way more fruits and veggies than ever before, and went out to eat much less than usual. I didn’t find that it hindered my lifestyle much at all. There were times when I had to make two different kinds of pasta (one for the fam and one for me). Or when I had to choose to not eat the donuts and pastries that people bring in for the band each week, but there are gluten-free choices all around. You just have to know how to find them. Will I continue? I’m not sure. I still have a lot of gluten-free ingredients so I probably will at least until those run out. But I can tell you one thing. I will not be eating anything at work anymore and I will continue to steer away from syrups in my drinks. That will hopefully last as long as I work at the bux. I still have pounds to lose and Starbucks pastries will not help me!

The biggest thing that I learned in all this is that I am in control. I choose what I eat and I can exercise self-control and say no to things that won’t benefit me. I feel like this was a huge hurdle for me to overcome. I have always been a slave to food. Its my comfort. But I learned to cook more, use less ingredients, eat less processed food, and choose healthier snacks. I can’t say I love being gluten-free, but hopefully this month will be something I always remember and it will be a turning point in my eating habits.

Working on what my goal for February will be!

One month goal COMPLETE!

I have LEARNED the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do EVERYTHING through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:12&13

We were talking about serving in our small group this week, and someone brought up something that I had never thought of before. She said every time before they went out on stage their worship leader would tell them they were invisible. Their job was to play music and lead people to worship God. No one should see them up on the stage with their instruments. It wasn’t about them. It was about God.

This is SO hard. Every week we are up on the stage and on the big screen. Over 1,000 people see us each week. We are recorded, put online, watched, critiqued, judged. People notice how we dance, mess up, make faces, sing wrong words, or trip over chords. We get tons of comments about what we wear. What we should wear. How our hair looks. Ok, maybe that’s just the girls, but still. I once had a lady tell me that she loved the necklace that the keyboard player wore. It was turquoise and she always noticed when she was wearing that necklace. She loved it so much. It was such a great necklace. She couldn’t even remember what the keyboard player looked like, but she wanted me to tell her that she loved that necklace. (It was me) I stopped wearing the necklace. A very wonderful father of one of my good friends hugs me every week after service and tells me I’m a rock star. Makes my day. 🙂 But honestly. How hard is it to go up there week after week and NOT think about what you look like or what 1,000 people are thinking about you?

Her comment really got me thinking. I am invisible. I should BE invisible.

So as I fall asleep tonight and think about getting up in the morning and leading people in worship, I am praying that God would help me to be invisible. That they wouldn’t see me or my new skirt or Britt’s boots, or how awesome Willie is when he gets really into playing the bass. I’m praying that we would be invisible. And that we would lead the people to see God. To worship Him. To see that it’s not about us at all.

He is all that matters.

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I’m absolutely loving Downton Abbey. The fashion, hairstyles, stories…all of it. Love it

Today my friend Rebecca, my dad & I made an amazing dinner. We had shaved brussels sprouts, oven roasted dill potatoes, grilled Portobello mushrooms, and warm Italian bread. For dessert we made this amazing gluten-free, Kahlua, mocha swirl cheesecake. It was delicious! Didn’t look to bad either! We had a wonderful evening snapping pictures of food, cooking together, laughing with Papa, watching tv and just enjoying each others company. So thankful for good friends & family!

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Today my brother and I did something I have always wanted to do. We made sushi! It wasn’t well planned or fully thought out it was more of a spur of the moment decision but it was still awesome! We made 3 rolls with smoked salmon, cucumber, avocado, cream cheese, bacon, soy wrappers and sushi rice. So much fun. AND gluten-free!