Lately I haven’t been up to doing any serious blogging so I figured it was time for a lighthearted, short read.

Here are my 10 things // Fall update:

 

1. Tyler and I moved into our very first home in August! Not only was it our first home purchase but we also decided to build. It was ALL a God thing. From the time we actually purchased our lot to the time we moved in was just under one year. We weren’t necessarily keeping it a secret, our family & many friends knew we were building but we didn’t want to share anything on the “web” until the house was finished. We absolutely love every part of the finished product! I feel like I’m living in a palace. The interior is all painted the same beautiful shade of gray and it feels so PEACEFUL. I really wanted our house to be a place of healing, rest and tranquility… that’s exactly how it turned out! At some point we will share photos of how everything looks with our furniture/decor.

 

1. I’ve been practicing positive affirmations and meditation for the last two weeks. Fall is my favorite time of the year, yet ironically depression always coincides with this season. This is probably because my sickness started in the month of October and there are many memories of hard things that resurface during this time. This year, the exhaustion of moving in combination with me feeling worse & worse seemed to make the depression hit me even harder. I cried every time I looked in the mirror. I felt dark in my mind and very alone in my suffering. Prayer certainly helps. Being transparent with friends is therapeutic too. I realized I was holding onto things I couldn’t control. I was carrying the weight of other people’s problems and it was too heavy. So, I started doing guided meditations from YouTube and I finally felt like I could LET GO. I also added in positive affirmations where i vocally praise my body for all the great things it does for me. I’m conscious of the inner and outer qualities that I like about myself and I’m working to acknowledge them.

 
3. These two are having a baby girl in March!! I can’t wait to be a first time aunt be a beautiful child. Uncle Tyler is super excited too as this will be the first grandchild on either side of our families. I felt enormous pride watching my big brother become a husband, I think I’ll be very emotional watching him as a father!

1. G.L.O.W. (gorgeous ladies of the word– it’s a play on a show from Netflix called “G.L.O.W. gorgeous ladies of wrestling”) is the ladies bible study group that meets at our house every other week. This was something God placed in my heart a few years ago when I was stuck in bed dreaming of the day I would be able to build friendships again and be a part of a community. Our group usually has 7-9 young women between the ages of 23-26. I feel honored to be able to host and lead and share life with these wonderful friends! A few weeks ago we decided to do a fun outing rather than our typical night of study. We headed out to the pumpkin patch for a photo shoot since Mackenzie is a professional photographer (she’s the one responsible for all the professional pictures I use on Still Waters) & what group of girls says no to taking pictures?!

5.  I had the honor of working the Chrysalis retreat last weekend. Chrysalis is a weekend Christian retreat for high school kids which greatly impacted my life as a teen. I was able to work 3 retreats in high school but after going away to college, then becoming sick, I haven’t been a part of the community in many years. It was awesome to reconnect & rekindle special friendships while watching the kids grow & mature in their faith. I had the privilege of being a speaker & intimately sharing the story God is writing through my life. It is heavy, hard, & toll-taking to publicly speak about some of the darkest moments of my life. But I KNOW this is what God is calling me to do; it’s why my spiritual gift is speaking. I pray for more of these opportunities in the future!

 6. My raw food healing journey is hard yet I truly know in my heart that this must be my lifestyle forever. After being completely raw for 3 months I tried incorporating some light cooked food such as steamed veggies, soups, & steamed potatoes. Even those very simple, plain foods are too heavy & clogging for my body to break down, digest, & filter. Although I was still eating 95% fruit & juices, I quickly noticed a huge change in my healing. It was as if it stopped. My bloody acne (which formed as a result of heavy detox/healing crisis) got worse & more painful. My inflammation became horribly uncomfortable & made me so self conscious. My legs were noticeably swelling everyday. My digestive system was shutting back down, even more. I was experiencing greater depression & anxiety. Moral of the story: even the healthiest, plain cooked foods are not healing for my body. So, I have to stop eating them. It has been hard coming back off of these foods that are warm & comforting. No, I haven’t been perfect in the last few weeks. Although I have been totally raw the majority of days, there have been some days on which I’ve taken anywhere from a bite to a bowl of cooked things. The most healing & life-giving foods for my body are ripe, juicy fruits & celery juice. Anything else seems to be burdening for my system. I’m doing my very very best every single day to honor what my body needs even though it is hard to live in this world, even in my own home, & be vastly different from everyone.

1. Tyler has been working extremely hard to get his CPA license (certified public accountant). He has been working as a staff accountant for the last 3 years & this is the next step for him to move forward in his career. He must pass 4 exams in a certain window of time. These tests are HARD (that seems to be an understatement) & studying for them is truly a full-time job in itself. We are praying for him to be finished by the end of this year. Once tax season starts in January there just won’t be enough hours in the day for him to work full-time & study like he needs. Regardless of what happens, I am SO proud of Tyler & his work ethic. He’s a wonderful, selfless provider for our family!

 8. November = #purpleforpancreas month! Not sure what this is, check out these posts here and here.

 

Thanks for reading! Want more? Connect with me on Instagram & Facebooks @stillwatersblog 🙂

 

xoxo,

 

Mal