“Faith is not believing that God can, it’s knowing that he will.”

Throughout these past few years, very few things have been constant in my life. Becoming a young wife; living in Orlando; living with other couples; graduating college; Dustin leaving baseball; going back to school for a second degree; living in a very familiar, yet completely different town; becoming a vegetarian/vegan; knowing Dustin as a student and not a student athlete; again, being a wife; being a dog owner; becoming a yoga instructor; completing a marathon; moving to Jacksonville; interning at Mayo and the list goes on and on…all still seem very new to me.  However, there is one thing that has been steady this entire time: God’s love, guidance, and protection for me.

Honestly, I have no idea what tomorrow holds. Where will I work once I pass the RD exam? Will Dustin accept a job away from Jacksonville? So many questions run through my mind on a daily basis. The only certainty in that is that I will be a Florida resident until March 1, after that, who knows where, what or when?

One day last week, as I was leaving Mayo, a bolt of joy rushed through my mind. All I could think about was how much I loved my life. Over and over, one sentence rolled through my thoughts, “God is so good.” While I sat in Statesboro just a few months ago, again clueless of what tomorrow would hold, God knew exactly where He was sending me and why. What have I done to deserve this amazing life? Nothing. What have I done to deserve a husband that loves me more and more as the days go by? Nothing. What have I done to deserve a life of happiness, accomplishment, and affection? Absolutely nothing. I have done nothing but accepted Jesus into my heart; He did it all. By his hands, I am healed.

Last summer, if you followed along then, you may remember reading that one of my summer goals was to read the Bible in 365 days. While I didn’t meet this goal exactly (365 days have gone by and I’m still reading), this goal at least got me reading more. Monday through Friday I wake up about 15 minutes earlier than I would to spend time with God, reading his words and talking to Him about this life. It’s amazing the clarity that I am able to receive in just this 15-minute time span. There, I am able to gain strength to face the day because I know, without Him, I am not near strong enough. It’s amazing the peace He delivers even when life is so confusing.

Anyways, just wanted to share my tid-bid on faith; He’s pretty incredible. I hope all is well your way. This is my last week in my Food Service rotation… wow, time is flying! I head to Austin, Texas this weekend to celebrate a dear friend as she ties the knot in just a few short weeks!

Have a wonderful night!

Good health!

The post Faith appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Today was better than yesterday, that’s for sure.

Last night, I stayed up a little too late (on into the wee hours of the morning) watching Water for Elephants (which was wonderful, by the way…and I am sooo not a movie person either), so our morning started a little bit later as well.  We rolled out of bed and hit the Old City Farmers Market first thing. Organic kale, pickled okra, dried strawberries, dried kiwi, hummus, and vegan stuffed grape leaves were on the list of goodies that we came home with.  Successful day to say the least. After hitting the local grocery store too, the refrigerator is stuffed to the max full of fresh goodness to carry us through the week.

A pickle-on-a-stick and a black Kenyan coffee may or may not have been breakfast.

In this life (and after yesterday…I’ll explain later), it’s easy to feel sorry for ourselves. Really, it is. No matter what the situation. We must remind ourselves however, that it is through the trials and tribulations that God molds us into the people He wants us to be.

Yesterday was not a day that we walked with sunshine over our heads, both figuratively and literally.  And it’s hard to bring this guy down.

Actually…you won’t. And thank God for that or who knows where I’d be.

We definitely had a play date on the nearby playground a few days ago.

Not only was is POURING here all day long (minus about ten minutes) but we also managed to get scammed three times… in. one. day. Our new record.

Let me explain.

Scam number one: We are currently in the process of finding a place to live once we move up to Jacksonville. We have searched and searched and searched. We’ve gone through realtors, classifieds, and now Craigslist too.  Even though I hate the word hate, I hate Craigslist.  There is very little good that actually comes from that site.

After speaking with a man/woman/it over e-mail quite a few times, we thought we finally found the perfect place.  He/she/it told us to drop by the place to check it out (he/she/it was “out-of-town,” so for today we could only see the outside). That alone seemed sketchy to us, so after driving 45 minutes up to check out the house, we decided to ring the neighbor’s door to find out a little bit more about this he/she/it. The place seemed too good to be true. My mom quickly reminded me tonight that “if ever something seems to good to be true, it is.” She was right.  The he/she/it in the e-mail claimed to be a man working in Alabama and that is why he needed to rent out his home. When we asked the neighbor about the owner he said, “Francsis? Oh, HER health started declining so SHE had to move in with HER son a few miles up the road.”

Realllllllyyyyyy……

This he/she/it is still e-mailing me (I haven’t yet let him know that I’m on to his scam), trying to get information to steal my identity and in a few more e-mails I’m going to let him know that he too has been scammed. So tricky, aren’t I?…Muah hahaha. Ha! Yeahhh

Scam number 2: Dustin decided he would go help out at a youth baseball center with a seemingly prestigious name (I’m not going to name names). We drove an hour up to this baseball complex to find a baseball field in the middle of a cow pasture (deep into the projects too). For a 14-15 year old team, the tattoos were pretty impressive (joking) and the language was well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want your children to here the words coming out of these also children’s mouths. Back to square one we go.

Scam number 3: While Dustin was at his incredible youth baseball practice, I decided to find a dog park in order to let Boss and Gunner run around. I Google-mapped a park and found “7 Leashes Dog Walking Park.” Sounds legit, right? I drive thirty minutes there to find a cement side walk…awesome dog park, Jacksonville, awesome.  We did two laps around the “park” (taking all of eight minutes), and loaded up and called it a day.

Enough was enough. Let’s go home.

You know those days where nothing seems to go your way, this was one of them.

Today was much better though, I can happily say. Even though there is so much confusion and so many unanswered questions in our life right now, I am certain and have full trust in our amazing God. I will never doubt the plans he has for us.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

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