Conveying What's Within

his & hers
"His & Hers" material is huge especially for the newlyweds!  I wanted to create something that reflected God's word while basking in the married life so-to-speak.  Overall I like the piece, but it didn't come out exactly how I envisioned (I'm still working on getting what's in my heart, onto the canvas), but the important thing is the message.  I came across two scriptures that highlighted some key qualities that husbands and wives should have.  Many of them were similar while others distinctly highlighted the male and female role.  The world will tell you that husbands aren't faithful, that it's weak to be gentle and "you're a man, so do what you feel".  However, this does not line up with the word of God.  1 Timothy 3:2-3 tells us who the man is and what he should strive after.  In the same way, some women cringe at hearing the word submit, that a pure and quiet spirit is weak because "if I have something to say, Imma say it".  with the neck roll and all.  But Titus 2:4-5 lets us know what we should not only be living but teaching other young women coming up.

I've been painting or what I like to call, creating for about 3 years.  I have watched my style change and can see the progression of my craft.  I am getting better at communicating the message that's in my heart, onto the canvas.  I still have so much growing to do regarding this skill, but one thing I have to continue to remind myself is that, my creativity is a gift from God.  I will sometimes look at other artwork and wonder why mine seems so different, amateur-esque lol  Other pieces look so much more perfected...

but the great thing about art is its subjectivity.  The artist creates and bares her spirit; there is one truth about the painting but the beholder can get so many things from that one truth that 10 people can look at one piece and receive 10 different revelations; and then get something else when they look 2 months later.  The same is true for the word of God.  The bible says that all scripture is God breathed, (2 Timothy 3:16-17) which means that He is the true author of all that is written, it's not just another book written by mere men, it's inspired by Holy Spirit.  If it's in the book, it has a meaning, it's useful for teaching and can be applied to everyday life.  
When you have a gift from God remember to admire and learn from others with similar gifts, but to never covet what they have.  Know what it takes in order to perfect that what God has given you and DO IT.   

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection.  But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me...Philippians 3:12
-His Millennial Housewife

wired for love
A continual piece, I did not lift the brush until I was done. God's love is continual and nothing can separate us from His perfect love for us (Romans 8:35)  You can't tell where the painting begins or where it ends and that's part of why I like this work!  When I look at it, I see wires and even the human brain which brings everything together full circle.  We are wired for love only and when we corrupt Gods original plan for our minds by abandoning love, we literally create chaos and brain damage -Dr. Caroline Leaf
We aren't meant to hate, to compare, to fear.  Instead we are intentionally wired, by God, to live in faith; encourage, nurture and sharpen others and to walk only in...love.

Hustling, Humble and Hungry.

This Instagram post really ministered to me and when I say ministered, I really mean convicted me!  It's easy to just sit back and admire others while they do what they love and forget that I have goals of my own that need to be cultivated.  Having a dream is great and the desire that God puts in your heart to complete your purpose is priceless; however, it can't stop at a dream.

The Lord put it on my heart quite some time ago to give attention to the gifts and abilities that he has given me....to cultivate them.  I began painting, writing and anything else to express what I had stirring on the inside of me.  Since then, I have learned where those gifts can fit in building God's Kingdom.  While I did some things, I neglected others and of course, once "life" gets in the way those other "side things" go to the wayside.

But what is life if you're not doing what God created you to do?  To me, life became going through the motions, seeking a job that will bring me fulfillment. I thought that if I had a full time job making "real" money that I would feel more accomplished; the cycle, however, always seems to come full circle.  I would get a job, like it for the first few months and then be right back where I was...seeking more, wanting more, wondering 'what is my purpose?; I want a passion; what am I doing?'  I thought I was being lazy at first but I now know that it's hard to fit a circle in a square peg.  I am created to do something a bit different and the Lord won't let me rest until it's done.

Deep down, I have always known that, but that inevitable "life" drags me back saying "you need to do more.  Look at them, etc.  Going through continuous ups and downs in this area, I have now become fed up with the emptiness.  I want God's best for me at any cost.  I have hoped for it for so long, but I haven't devoted myself fully to WALK in my purpose.

Today in church, our Pastor was talking about reigniting your dreams; that God gives you a dream and then equips you to live it out.  I may not have all the answers at this moment, but I have served God long enough to know that I am going to have to walk in faith.  To do one step, then the next, and then do that one long enough to get the next step.  You see I have gone from quitting things when the going gets hard to forcing the wrong thing just to prove myself.  Now I'm at the point where I am okay with having a different path from my friends' and okay with taking the steps to walk that path.  However, as Pastor says, "analysis paralysis" sets in and too much time goes by while I evaluate and wait for the perfect conditions.  This is partly the reason why I began blogging again.  It's a way to bring all of my creativity to one spot.  From fitness to art, spirituality to hair and of course writing!

In addition to doing these things, I am going to devote myself to a more sincere prayer life, an intentional one.  I believe that God has given me everything I need to carry out my purpose and it's all inside of me waiting to get prayed out.  Romans 8:26-27 This is the area that I have often fell short in and I know that I have delayed my own progress because of it.  Not anymore.

If you can relate to any of this, I encourage you to revisit the last thing the Lord told you to do...and DO IT.  We must put obedience before convenience.  Can the Lord trust you with his purpose for you, or will He have to give it to the next willing vessel?

Be Humble.  Be hungry.  Hustle.

-His Millennial Housewife

Quads vs Jeans

"You either want quads or you want jeans you really can't have both"

I saw this quote on Instagram today and it fits perfectly with my blog for today.  I now know that I am not alone.  Over the past month or so I have had the bitter sweet opportunity to experience gains first-hand!

The first occasion was this summer, I wanted to slip into some fitted cargo shorts and couldn't even get them past my thighs.   When I couldn't fit the shorts, I was so excited becuase I had just gotten through complaining to the hubby about how slow my leg progress was...very ironic.

The second occasion was a pair of old jeans.  All of my usual jeans were starting to feel a bit more snug than usual (Most of my bottoms are fitted with stretch specifically because I was not genetically blessed with the traditional "black booty" if you know what I mean).  I grabbed an old pair from my mom's house that were skinny but were a larger size and wider leg openings...I was putting them on and as I got to the hopping portion to get my pants in the perfect spot..."riiiiip"  I stood there with the uh-oh-face looking at my husband.  "Did you hear that?!"  I looked behind me and sure enough, the pants were gonners.

The final straw was this past weekend.  Now granted, I have gotten to the point where I would much rather wear leggings, shorts or dresses just because my legs have started to get so uncomfortable in my other pants, but I could still wear them!  This weekend, I went through literally three pairs of jeans that could no longer fit past my thighs and if I could squeeze them past, they wouldn't sit on my waist.  I felt like I was sagging, but it tight pants lol you know how the guys are wearing them these days! p.s. that's not cool.

With my wardrobe options dwindling, I began to get a tad bit frustrated.  Then my husband had to remind me "Hey this is a good thing!  Gains baby, this is what you wanted remember?"  "yeah but these are nice jeans!"  I was a little annoyed but I had to snap out of it quick; hubby is absolutely right.  I have been putting in a lot of lower body work to see shape and definition reveal itself in my naturally slim frame. I still have bulking goals and growing out of pants is a victory that I will take!

What's pretty cool is that I'm not the only one experiencing "gain-syndrome".  There's so many ladies on social media that share my experience.

I'll go shopping soon to replace clothes that I've outgrown, including dresses and tops that now fit too tight around the arms.  I'll definitely be more strategic about what I purchase so I'll literally have room to grow.

-His Millennial Housewife

Twist and Shout

Okay, so I have been rocking my curls consistently for the past 3 weeks and I’m loving it!  I by no  means have all the answers but here are the top 3 things that have helped my twist out keep the lock and luster...

1       Re-twist hair at night

This can be a pain, but take it from someone who has tried sleeping with just a bonnet and woke up disappointed.  My hair is considered medium length and for me, just sticking the bonnet on did not work for my twist out (This works for my flexi rod sets).  It takes me about 30-45 minutes to re-twist my hair.  Your nightly routine may vary and you have to find what works for you.  A lot of my length is at the top of my head and middle is extremely dense.  This is why I think the pineapple isn't effective for me unless I’m going to wear a puff the next day.

2      Oil up and Don’t fully detangle

What I mean by this is, avoid the denman brush at night.  For me, I have found when I slip some oil along the chunk of hair I’m about to twist and lightly detangle with my fingers, it works great!  The next day when I unravel my hair, the twists from before pretty much separate on their own!  One twist from the middle part of my head usually separates 4 or 5 times with minimal finger interaction which we know ladies, means LESS FRIZZ!  I also noticed that my hair stretched nicely with this method.

3        Seal Ends with curl cream AND Eco styler gel

Speaking of frizz, I was noticing that even when I moisturized the night before, my ends still looked frizzy and dry.  As a longer term goal, I will be sure to deep condition more regularly; but an effective short term is adding some gel at the end of my twists.  I simply add a small bit of curl cream followed by an even smaller day of gel and finger curl the ends.  When I tell you that my take-down was much more successful…I was literally smiling in the public locker room mirror!

Share your tips, I want to hear them!

-His Millennial Housewife

Nutrition Update

Okay, so I'm technically 6 weeks out from my 1st figure competition and nutrition has been the most challenging, by far!  I say technically because I have slacked so much with my food intake that I would not be bringing the best package to the stage.  While I know that my workouts are strong and consistent, I have been constantly struggling to see what works best for me nutritionally and stick to it.  The most frustrating has been the lack of "ab-age" LOL.  My quads are sweeping, shoulders are popping but the abs...where for art thou abs?!  LOL.

Here's what I eat on a typical day:

Breakfast: Oats or Ezekial Bread and Eggs

Lunch: Chicken Breast and usually Brown Rice

Snack: Fruit, Almonds

Post Workout: Whey Protein Shake

Snack: Pb&J or Pancakes

Dinner: Steak or Roast and Veggies

Snack: Fruit

Okay, so looking at that breakdown, I know that I am still not getting enough protein to foster my muscle growth.  My husband always gets on me about not having my evening casein shake when I want to snack instead...and speaking of snacking, I am also starting to learn that carbs in the evening, outside of post-workout is not ideal for me and sometimes I'll have my pb&j/pancakes too late in the day.  In addition, I want to regulate the fruit I'm consuming, as some fruits are high on the glycemic index and cause me to bloat.  Lastly, while the goal is 1 gallon of water a day, I am hitting more like 72 ounces.  

Overall, I don't think this is a bad log, however, for someone with goals that are still kind of far off, I need to be tighter.  Not to mention the weekend!  My husband and I usually eat out at least 2-3 times on the weekend, and we're not hitting up 7 Greens, if you know what I'm sayin'.  I enjoy food, but even as I write this, I am embarrassed to say I have a goal but still haven't got it right in the kitchen.   

Although I am postponing my show debut, my focus for the next few weeks is getting robotic with my food and starting to track my macros again; to keep the workout intensity high while giving my body adequate time to recover (I've had a few aches here and there).  Discipline and consistency are my partners thru this journey and if I keep at it, I know I'll see the results that I want...even when those thoughts of failure come into my mind, I know that those are not my thoughts and cast them down.  The only reason I haven't seen MY best physique is because I haven't done everything I know to do, period.  With that said, here are 5 things I haven't been doing but I will do consistently for the next few weeks:

1. Track my macros each day and adjust where needed

2. Cut carbohydrate consumption after 6 pm during the week

3. Drink 1 Gallon of water per day

4. Consistently take my supplements

5. Remember why I'm doing this...I have a personal desire to look like a complete package athlete.  I'm not doing this for my husband, not to walk across a stage or to flaunt my body on social media.  I'm doing this for me.

-his millennial housewife