Day 3: Birmingham's A-Bloomin' & A Tough Day & Good News

Verse of the Day: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him.” - Lamentations 3:22-24

What a beautiful sight it is to drive around Birmingham right now. Although I'm not particularly enjoying all of the pollen covering my car and coating the inside of my sinuses, the blooming trees and flowers are really a treat. 
 

Flowers and trees around our apartment complex/along my drive to work

Now, I don't understand all the ins and outs of how pollen is created, why it's created, or any of that stuff (actually, I just Googled it and tried to learn about it but my eyes started glazing over so I decided to just admit my ignorance). But all this beautiful (yellow sprinkled) nature really made me think as I drove home from work yesterday. 

There is such a complex system to which God allows the flowers to bloom - it's biological, it's scientific, it's perfect, it's a miracle. At the same time, there is a complex system to which God allows our bodies to work - it's biological, it's scientific, it's perfect, it's a miracle. 

That was exactly the "ah-ha" moment I needed to have a truth to cling to last night, because when I got home, things got rough. 

I had done really well living on veggies all day. I got really hungry right before lunch - like I thought I was going to pass out hungry - but I still didn't cheat. I'd basically stayed in a state of "I think I'm going to pass out" for the rest of the afternoon. When I got home, thinks only got worse. 

A few weeks ago, our ceiling started leaking right above our kitchen sink. When I got home, this is what I found...

Y'all that was one of the grossest cleanups ever.

I was not a happy camper.

Then I realized that half of that gross looking water was chicken broth from the chicken that I had put in the crock pot for Jason - the crock pot had a huge crack in it. 

When Jason got home, I was about at my whits end. When he found out that I'd felt like I was going to pass out for the last 5 hours, he forced me to eat some of his dinner (thanks Jason) alongside my large-and-in-charge salad. I decided not to argue, mainly because I didn't have enough energy to, but I think that he made a smart decision. I also ate a few crackers just to settle my stomach.

Jason's dinner is in the background...thanks for sharing J!

We spent most of the evening 'working' on our own stuff - Jason really did work on a video for work and I  read for fun (I love post college life). I really love nights like this because we're able to be together, smile at each other, talk when we have something to say, but still do our own thing. It truly is one of the many gifts of married life. 

Look how handsome he looks sittin' behind his computer makin' that money ;)

After a while of working on our own stuff, we went to Target to get a new crock pot because, if you know me even a little bit you know that I can't live without a crock pot (first-world problems, I know). Thankfully, Jason saw the necessity in replacing this item and I'm very happy that he did :) 

Yay! It's exactly like the one I already had! I need a name for this guy.

After I had a little bit of protein, I felt a lot better. I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore, and I only got a little bit hungry right before bed. What was weird though, is that on Monday, I was craving a huge salad. Yesterday, I was craving watermelon. Thankfully, today I can eat both. 

Here's the big question of the day: What progress has been made so far?

Well, first of all, a lot of self-control has had to come into play since Monday. Going from eating whatever I wanted to eat to this really strict cleanse was tough - and I've had to depend on a lot of prayer, encouragement, talking to myself, and scripture reading to maintain self-control. It's also been a physical challenge, because, like I said, I spent 5 hours yesterday feeling like I might pass out. I'm happy that I've been able to rely upon God to provide strength and energy to get me through the last few days and to quiet my cravings for food. 

A little side note: This morning, the place that I am in my reading guide even led me to read about feasts! Now, you want to tell me that our God isn't sovereign over ever little detail of our lives?

Second, I've lost three pounds so far! I weighed myself Monday morning right after I woke up. I did the same thing this morning, and low and behold I was three pounds lighter. For some of you, you may be thinking, "What? That's nothing!" but for me it is. I think about all of those days that I woke up thinking I'd lost five, six, or seven pounds after eating really really good for a week or two and I'd only lost [maybe] one. So, I'm making a decision to focus on the fact that I've lost something! I've relied on God's strength and He's given me grace throughout the last few days. I give the praise to Him for the three pounds I've lost, and I will continue to give Him glory for whatever victories He allows me throughout this battle.

Hooray!!

Now, onto my morning...

So, remember how our fridge wasn't working yesterday? Well, apparently it was fixed before I got home yesterday.

This morning I came to a different conclusion. 

Notice the sheet of ice along the right side of the picture.

That's all I'll say about that.

I made a juice with 1 kiwi, about 6 strawberries, 1 orange, and some pineapple juice that we already had. It was pretty good, but left another weird aftertaste - I think it's the orange. 

I'm a fan of my "MRS." cup.

I also ate the leftover watermelon and cantaloupe from Monday that was sitting the the broken fridge - it was cold though, thankfully :)

Although yesterday I did have some very "gray" coffee, I'm trying to hold out this morning to see how I feel. For lunch I brought lettuce and an avocado to make a salad. I also packed 2 apples, and 2 snack baggies with orange slices, strawberries, and kiwi slices. 

Couldn't leave out the multivitamins that have been photo bombing
almost every picture from the cleanse so far!

Here's the run down of my food consuption yesterday:

Click the picture to make it readable.

Here are the totals of the breakdown of my caloric intake, carbs, fat, protein, fiber, and sugar:

Still...such a weird eating day.

Here's my massive, over-the-top water consumption from yesterday:

Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the cleanse! Keep on encouraging, keep on praying...2.5 days down!

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