20lbs later and still more to go!

Hodi hodi readers! (hodi hodi means knock knock in Swahili)

It's been a month since my journey to weight loss began and I'm already 10lbs lighter than when I was started (I'm being told I look less than that though)

When I started on this 'pescetarian' journey without the fitness regime I was at 220 in March. When I started my fitness training with Soldier Bell Fitness, I was at 210. Now that I'm on a more targeted diet, I've lost the same 10 lbs that I lost in those three months in ONE month.

How?

My trainer cares about his clients, and isn't shy to push you beyond what YOU think your limits are.


Let me just say, if there is anyone out there looking for a personal trainer that truly cares about his clients, you need to check out Soldier Bell Fitness.

If you are between the ages of 18-50, are looking to either build muscle or lose weight, then "Soldier Bell Fitness" personal training is for you!

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THIS! I am a living testimony of how this program can and WILL change your life for the better.

It's all about creating a better YOU, and helping YOU be on YOUR way to successful eating habits,a healthier lifestyle and a fresh outlook on exercise.

It has been a bit difficult this past month because I was juggling school and work and hence had next to no energy, but God is good and reminded me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement and I shall be posting up before and after pictures when my training is done with; just a heads up, I look quite angry in my before pictures lool

Some of my new friends include: epsom salts, brocolli, water, the treadmill and fruits lol

That's all for now folks... there is so much more I would like to write but I'm absolutely exhausted!

Be blessed in Jesus' name!

-Mbula Enobong

BEANS!! BEANS!! BEANS!!!

Good evening folks!

Yes it's been a month and I have half an hour to go before I miss my deadline! (Lord please anoint my hands!)

Before I give you and update on what is going on, here are a few tips on how to cook and prepare beans to reduce the amount of flatulence you may produce afterwards:

**sidenote to consider** : If your diet is not consistently filled with fiber, your flatulence may be due to the fact that your stomach is still trying to learn how to digest all the fiber from the beans

Tip no.1: minimize gas from beans by soaking and cooking them well, eating them in combination with 
other foods  like rice, salad, noodles, not eating excessive amounts, and chewing them well, of course, just as your mother always told you!   


-> Soaking loosens the skins and releases the gas causing stuff (sugar)
If you would like a chart of the boiling times for different types of beans let me know and I'll post it!


You're supposed to actually discard the soaking water and use fresh water that has been brought to a boil about three times


-> Don't add salt or baking soda, but you can add any of the following spices: fennel or cumin seeds, a slice of ginger, a bay leaf


Tip 2: breaking down the fiber in the be
ans by mashing or grinding, as in re-fried beans, or Hummus 


Tip 3: Pinto beans, adzuki beans, black-eyed peas, black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas, Indian pulses, such as split mung beans (mung dhal), or red lentils (masoor dhal) are 
all the easiest to digest. Navy beans, green or yellow split peas, brown lentils, are all harder to digest,
and therefore more gaseous and of course...Soybeans are MOST indigestible so in their famous form of tofu is the safest way to ingest them.

Tip 4: Eat about 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked as the average serving size. 


Tip 5: Combine your beans with whole grains, vegetables, and sometimes a little cheese or yogurt.  One example is burritos with whole-grain tortillas, re-fried beans, shredded cheese and sour cream


Tip 6: Rinse out canned beans before adding it to your main dish

HAPPY EATING FOLKS!!

"Losing It With Jesus"

Yes dearest friends.

The Lord has BEEN convicting me for the longest time ever to get my act together, start eating right and exercising on a regular basis.

Old stubborn me said: Why bother? I look good, I can fit into MOST dresses and I stiiiiillll attract attention from men (albeit the wrong kind) soooo why bother to change myself? Isn't the goal to love myself even if I don't like what I see in the mirror?

Note to self: you cannot change what you have not yet accepted as is.


Enter the Holy Spirit: "Your body is on lease to you for a short time, when you give it back to the Lord, what will He see? That you took good care of it or treated it like garbage and filled it with garbage?"

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10 (NIV)"
  
CONVICTION

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I have been given this body as a gift and as a the vehicle by which I can do God's work. It is my duty to take care of it, and be good to it and treat it well; after all, this is the temple in which the Lord lives in. If I can not take care of what little it takes to care of my body then how can He entrust me with taking care of other more difficult tasks?

CLEAN SWEEP

If I am a vessel for the Lord, how can He use me if I'm not willing to do the work required to be just that?
It simply isn't wise for someone in the profession of running around after children to be overweight and lethargic- what message does that send to children?

SO:
I prayed and the Lord answered within an hour. A sister from church posted a tweet about her experience with being trained by one of our brothers in Christ.

LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Fast forward to later on this past week to me signing a 20-session contract for personal training with Steven Bell from Soldier Bell Fitness ( his own business).

 How blessed am I to go to the same church as my personal fitness trainer?  Blessed and highly favored is the correct answer.

Lord, you are so good to me :)

The funniest part is that I had never intended to become a part of Bibleway Ministries (our church) in the first place.

I asked the Lord to place me in whichever church He wanted me to be in where I could serve Him best and that is where He led me....I'm beginning to see why.

So this past week has really been about me getting my diet in order; being conscious of the amount of fruits, veggies, proteins, grains and water I consume throughout the day.

INTERESTING FACT: If you look throughout the Bible, and think of the time that Jesus lived in, He would most likely have been following a "Mediterranean diet" which is mainly fish, grains and veggies

Since I don't eat meat anymore this has been really challenging in terms of finding protein substitutes that I'm not familiar with- beans for one -_-


BUT NO FEAR!

Apparently there is a way to prepare and cook beans in a way so that they don't give you gas; I will post the details in a later blog.

 To conclude, I'm thankful for the Lord's goodness to me, his patience, and most of all his love for me.

I'm still trying to understand what a daughter really means to a father and He is showing me DAILY what that means and it's healing my heart in places I didn't even know needed healing.

We really do serve a mighty God *amin*

Thank you for your staying on this journey with me fellow readers.

I appreciate it and may God bless you xox

-Mbula Enobong,
daughter of THE King

A Letter To Myself

Dear friends,

Forgive me for being away for so long but the last two months have been quite life-changing.

To begin with:

I am now back in school to complete my Early Childhood Education diploma (where the Lord wants me next, I have yet to confirm, but I have an inkling that it just might be Carleton University to pursue my Bachelor of Social Work)

This was quite an interesting decision to have to make so abruptly and so soon. I was originally going to complete my diploma starting this spring but in the evening. However, the Lord had something else in mind and wanted me to complete it during the day. Hopefully, this will speed up the process for me to also complete my final placement in a daycare center, hence allowing me to complete and get my E.C.E Diploma

NEWS FLASH: I used to hate having to type up my blog on my laptop because my mouse would always somehow manage to highlight all the wonderful things I had written...and they would automatically delete as I would continue to type the 5th paragraph I was already on. But Hallelujiah, thank you Jesus, I found the lovely little contraption on my laptop that renders your laptop mouse inactive while you type. Whoever invented this, GOD BLESS YOU


Now continuing:

Hummm....

I have been struggling for quite some time with understanding the concept of self-love and self-respect. I now know that all my `self-esteem` issues stem from the lack of a father figure in my household while I grew up into a young girl then later on into a young woman.


Here I am now and I am ready and willing to learn from the Lord.

It started with Him leading me to a website called "The Daily Love" ...and though there are some writers that I would call "hippie", I value some of the points the writers make about loving yourself.

Loving yourself is a continuous art that we must all strive to work at.

Why? Because when you love yourself and are therefore OVERFLOWING with love, it is then easier to do the Lord's work WITH and IN love.

(Hallelujia, thank you Jesus)


SO:


I wrote this little love letter to myself after a nasty fight with my mom that actually began the steps to healing and humbling me.

"Dear Mbula darling,

Yes, tonight's fight was the beginning of something beautiful: YOURSELF

I know you're tired of always standing up for yourself against your mother but YOU ARE WORTH THE FIGHT. YOU ARE AMAZING WONDERFULLY AND FEARFULLY MADE.

Trust in the Lord and He will help you humble yourself and honor your mother and father.
There is work to be done. I know there will be days where you don't "feel" like doing it and putting work & energy into your relationship but decide this; YOU WILL NOT GIVE UP ON HER!
She is also worth the fight.
You cannot move out unless it's perfectly setup.
I don't want you to wear a mask on the outside and be ugly behind closed doors.
I don't want you growing up thinking you can't develop meaningful relationships, bonds & conections with your children.
I know you think she doesn't care, but she does, in her own little kamba woman way <3
You can't change her, but you can change the depth & meaningfulnes of your relationship
When the Lord said let the dead bury their dead, it was for you. Show the Lord where you have buried this relationship and ou will see him bring it to life and loosen the bonds!"


Wow....


Reading all that now...It's actually quite prophetic. I showed where I had buried the hatchet, the axe, the chainsaw, the matches and the knife...and guess what? He turned all those weapons into tools.

My mother and I have some ways to go....but the process has just begun and I know the Lord won't give up on us until the good works that he started in us, is complete.

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to serve such a loyal, faithful and understanding God.

THERE IS NONE LIKE HIM: FACT

Mother's day is right around the corner and I really don't know what my mom would like except maybe for me to clean this house and cook her a nice meal...I'm thinking of getting her perfume instead LOL #Godhelpme

There's more I would like to write but it will have to wait until another day.

In the meantime,

God bless you all and keep you safe

xoxo

-MBULA ENOBONG

"All About the Kingdom"

Hmmm....

What to write, what to write.

Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you"

The Lord called something to my attention today- I'm always making it about ME.

ME ME ME ME ME

ME ME ME ME ME

Lord, what can you do for ME today?

Lord, how can you give ME wisdom today?

Lord, when will you bless ME in my day today'?

Lord, can you help MEEEEE with MYYY plans for the future?

Lord, can you help ME lose MY weight?

Lord, can you help ME with MY finances and MY bank account?

Lord, can you help ME with MY hair and MY sense of fashion

Lord, can you help ME with MY boy issues?

Honestly, this one-way selfish conversation could go on for DAYS

The point that the Lord was showing me is that He didn't create me for my own pleasure- He created me for HIS pleasure and HIS alone.

So when I do anything and everything that goes against pleasing Him, things WILL go haywire.

If I do what He is calling me TO DO, He will take care of EVERYTHING else. Job, car, money, boytoy, mom, hair,clothes name it HE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT.

RESOLUTION: DO YOUR JOB AND GET BACK INTO GOD'S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE.

It may not be glamorous, it may not be the high life you were dreaming of, but the 'things' and 'status'  but who you have by you side will decide whether the fame you gain will wither away and you will be easily forgotten or if you will be memorable for generations to come.

Living a life for God is worth more than any status or 5min or fame you will ever get because the reward is...ETERNAL, yes I said it EEEETTTEERRRNAALLLL

Ok folks- so let's get it together, snap out of it, stop sucking our thumbs (as pastor would say) and GET OVER IT.

It's not about YOU.

You can't see the big picture right now, and THAT'S OKAY!

TRUST IN GOD, RESPECT HIM AND OBEY HIM DAILY

Stop whining about what so and so did to you, how you were beat up in the fifth grade, how your mommy almost killed you.

YOU'RE STILL HERE

WHY?

BECAUSE GOD HAS A PURPOSE AND A CALLING FOR YOUR LIFE.

If you don't know, now you know...and if you still need to know, ask the man upstairs Himself.


That is all...GOOD NIGHT! xo

The Morning After

Woke up feeling sick and it went right down to my soul
This was last night`s aftermath, where my friend was the toilet bowl.
I had hugged it nice and tight and spilled out my darkest secrets.
And after I was done, it was enough to give you jeepers creepers
Just to see the mess I made and the bed in which I had laid.
This is the story of a girl,
who didn't cry a river and drown the whole world with tears,
But instead she silenced it with her fears.

Then came a hero, in a white and shining armor.
He filled her with joy and promised never to harm her.
You can tell from her smile that she's come quite far
And if you compared His love with others you will see they are all sub-par
Jesus Christ is Lord,
Need I say more?

Patience during\after prayer

Dearest friends,

I've been mulling over this concept for awhile and I think it's something the Lord would like me to share with you.

I work at a dispatch call center and in essence we deal with clients that need us to either turn up or turn down the heat, fix a toilet, mop an area, fix a door, change light bulbs...the list goes on.

NOW

This job can get pretty mundane and routine if you don't find a way to keep yourself busy or sane ( reading, sudoku, crosswords,) but overall, it's a great opportunity to learn how to multitask.

BUT HERE'S THE THING

Some calls\complaints MAINLY come from either one specific building, and if it's one specific building, there's usually a regular client that is calling to complain.

Here's what I've learned about how this co-relates with prayer:

When you ask the Lord for something, He's already working on it!

The Bible says that He already knows what you have need of! So it doesn't discredit your prayer or your request.

However, I noticed some clients will make a request and 15 minutes later, call in again to ask why the work hasn't been done yet.

Mind you in the span of that 15 minutes, we have either probably spoken to the technician/cleaner/building manager about the issue and SOMEONE IS ON THEIR WAY.

SO:

In the same way, please know that after you have prayed, HELP IS ON THE WAY.

Now, it doesn't mean go ahead and try and fix the problem by yourself while waiting * I do this alot *

Or that you should stop praying about it if you don't see results right away.

KEEP Praying Until Something Happens

PRAISE AND PUSH, PRAISE AND PUSH ,PRAISE AND PUSH PRAISE AND PUSH& PRAISE

Honestly, waiting is the best time to be praising and worshiping Him for answering your prayer(s)

So make the best of it!

That is all

#goodnight