Being Real

One of the things that I desire to accomplish by having this blog is to be more real. I have found that it is so easy to go through life acting one way when really I am someone else on the inside. It is so easy to answer the question, "How are you?" with an ultra-fake, "Just fine."

I think a lot of people can relate to this. While I do not want to dump everything that may be on my mind to anyone who asks, I have found that I do need to let people know that I am weak, vulnerable, and make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with that. If I hide what/who I am because of what someone may think of me, then I am desiring to please men instead of God, which is a sin. I must be willing to be open and real with what is going on.

My husband and I are working with a new church plant in the Chicago area. It is SO refreshing to be around this small group of believers - because they are so real. The Lord has blessed us so far with the ability to share the struggles that we are going through and really be open with each other. At times I still struggle with this, but I can see some headway being made.

Isn't it neat when we do share our struggles and someone else is benefited by the fact that "someone else is going through the exact same thing"? It can be such a source of encouragement and help. I have seen that sometimes this is the exact reason that God gives us a struggle - so that we can comfort someone else.

So, as I write this blog, I desire to share my heart with you, the reader, who ever you may be. It is one way that I can be open and real. I hope that you will join me in this journey.

Have a wonderful Sunday in the Lord's house! I'm sure I will.

Kathryne

Weight Gain

Does anyone else out there struggle with gaining weight? This is never something that I really battled until getting married. Then, OH MY!!! My hubby and I both gained "just a few" pounds very quickly. It is horrendous!!

So, for a few excuses:

I think part of it is because I was used to eating with a family of boys. Yes, I am one of six children and there were only two girls. My mom would make a certain amount of food that was plenty to feed everyone. But, I had to eat quickly if I wanted to get seconds or the boys would eat it all. Sounds vicious, but that is really how it was (in a tame way). It really was a blessing though because I just ate what I needed and didn't eat anything extra.

But, now that I am married and there are just two of us, and because my husband is a great cook, and because we both love to be in the kitchen, and because I now work at home and barely move around, and, and, and. . . I know, all excuses for why I've gained weight.

It started back on the honeymoon eating all of those yummy meals. Then when we got home, we loved cooking dinner together and would end up with feasts on the table (we seriously had to make our table bigger because all of the food that we prepared wouldn't fit on the table!). I was also a much faster eater than my husband, so I would finish my plate when he had barely started, so I would take another helping, and another. . .

So, now, after being married for about 18 months, we have decided that this has to stop. We will NOT be gaining any more weight. We will NOT be making feasts and desserts anymore. We WILL be exercising on a regular basis and we WILL be eating healthy.

Check back with me in a week and see how it is going. You'll have to help keep us accountable.

A Meeting in Chicago

On Tuesday night we went to an eXfuze meeting in Chicago. Sandy Burgess, one of the top marketers for eXfuze came all the way from California to Chicago just for the meeting.

Saul and I learned a lot from the meeting. It is also neat to hear other people's testimonies about how eXfuze has impacted their lives. Sandy is a type 2 diabetic. Her main testimony is that she had neurapothy in her foot. She couldn't even put a sheet on her foot without it burning up. Doctors had given her no hope of it getting better. However, a friend of hers was taking eXfuze and recommended it to her. She took it and within a week, the swelling in her foot started going down. Six months after being on the product she is wearing flip flops and her feet don't bother her. Her blood sugar levels have also started leveling out as well. It is always exciting to hear other people's testimonies about how eXfuze has helped in their lives.

Sandy is also very knowledgeable about eXfuze. She has been down to the center where they produce the product and has seen the whole process of how they get the extracts, soak it in the grape juice, and bottle it. She also knows more about all of the ingredients in eXfuze and many of the medical benefits. One of the things that gets me pumped up about eXfuze is that it has seven different super fruits in it, so it doesn't just target one symptom. It isn't just for people with one type of problem - it helps a multitude of things. It has helped me with my headaches, it has helped Saul with his sleep and mental focus, it has helped my mom with her arthritis, it has helped my sister-in-law with her foot pain. I could go on and on about the people that it has helped. I haven't talked with one person who has taken it who it hasn't helped.

Sandy gave us lots of great ideas for sharing eXfuze with people. She calls it liquid gold, and in many ways, I feel that it is. I know that I couldn't be more thankful for what it has done in my life.

Anyone else take eXfuze or another liquid supplement (Noni, Goji, MonaVie, etc. . .)? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

This is Hard!

I've only had this blog one week and I'm already doing poorly at updating it. So far, I haven't taken more pictures and I haven't been good at making time to write. Obviously, this whole blog thing is going to take a little getting used to.

We have had a really busy week, and weekend, which made it much more difficult to write on here. I don't think anyone (other than you, my dear husband) reads this blog anyway, so I guess it doesn't make too much difference right now. Maybe one of these days I will be privileged enough to have people go back and read my archives. = )

We were able to go up to Wisconsin and see my brother Kirk and his wife Kelly along with my sister Carolyn this weekend. It was so great to see where they all live and just hang out. Wish it could have been longer, though. We were only able to see them on Friday night because we stopped at their place on our way up to a wedding. It was a fun weekend of seeing old friends. Fun, but completely exhausting. We were pretty wiped out after getting back.

We are now playing catch up and spent tonight trying to get caught up on things and a little more organized. Laundry, cleaning, and my bed are waiting, so I will sign off for now. Goodnight, my faithful reader (aka, my loving, endearing husband!).

Kathryne

My First Post

Ok. Breath in, breath out. Can you tell that I am just a "little" nervous about starting a blog? I feel like this is so huge, even though it probably isn't that big of a deal. I think there is always a little bit of fear in "exposing" yourself and just being completely real and down to earth. However, I am up for the challenge.

I am excited about blogging because I think it will be a great way to document life in the "G" home, get to know other people, push me to take and download more pictures, and also share about the eXfuze product that has so dramatically impacted my life.

So, here is to the start of "The eXfuze Life." It will be great to be able to look back and see where God has taken me!

Edit: Not too long after starting my blog I changed it to "Thoughts from Kathryne." It was formerly "The eXfuze Life."