Muzammal Blogger

  Do you ever find yourself in that trap … you know that comparison trap? I find myself there far too often. Someone is always prettier, thinner, smarter, has the better job, never seems to struggle. It’s not a good place to find myself, and I don’t think it’s a place God wants me to fall into. It’s a dangerous place to be for so many reasons: 1. It undermines the unique person God created me to be . 2. I find myself feeling sorry for myself. 3. I focus on things that truly don’t matter and deserve my focus. The truth is , I know things aren’t as they often seem. People are good at putting up facades. Sometimes the people who I think have it all together are fighting their own battles. For me… I can’t eat the stuff everyone else can. My skin isn’t as clear as I wish it was. I’m not where I want to be professionally in my career. My writing isn’t where I wish it was. And on and on . On the radio the other day, I heard a reminder that God works while we are waiting. His plan fo...

  Life can get so complicated and busy.  I think it’s important to pause and reflect on the simple things. The simple things help me put my life in perspective, focus on what truly matters, and to demonstrate true gratitud e. So, what simple things do I mean? A hot cup of tea and a stack of books I look forward to reading Really good dark chocolate Warm fuzzy socks Waking up with a smile on my face when I remember it’s my day off work Listening to my 11-year-old son sing along to the songs on K-Love Listening to my 17-year-old daughter share her newest mission minded idea Enjoying a delicious meal from Chipotle Mexican Grill (my favorite!) Stopping to ponder the magnificence around me The calm, quiet of morning Coffee with a good friend Yes, the simple things are worth pausing to embrace. Don’t let the noise of the world drown out the joy of everyday moments. Sometimes, these desires are wrapped up in the simple moments of every day life. What are your simple things, your simp...

 I love writers’ conferences. I just attended my seventh writing conference. This particular conference was held at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. It is called the Indiana Faith and Writing conference  The thing about writing conferences is that suddenly a room full of introverts appear to be extremely extroverted. This can be wonderful and scary to a writer all at the same time. At a Christian writing conference, the support from the writing community can feel welcoming and supportive, but it can also feel intimidating and overwhelming. So, why do I attend writing conferences? I always learn something helpful to propel me along this scary journey called writing. I always come home with crazy ambitions like telling myself I will get up at 4:00 in the morning to write. I meet some great people. I know and believe that God can use anything at any time to bless me. What exactly do I mean by number 5? Last year, I attended a writing conference to learn about blogging an...

 Stress… Killer of joy. Stealer of Sleep. Instigator of stomach irritation. Everywhere. Everyday. In the messy clutter of life . Clutter and Stress I want to propose that stress is a choice. When I walk into the facility where I work in the morning, I have a choice to embrace whatever comes my way with confidence and determination or to allow the insane craziness stress me out. When I step through my front door after a 9 hour work day and an hour commute and trip over three pairs of shoes, see papers strewn all over my dining table, and find a s ink overflowing with dirty dishes, I can choose to scream at my precious children for the house they have trashed or I can breathe deeply and take it in stride. I can choose to waste a few more minutes on social media or I can choose to go to bed earlier and relish in precious sleep. I can choose to eat the foods that I know make my body feel the best or I can make choices that make me feel crummy (sugar, too much chocolate and caffeine...

I have learned to have faith that I will be okay along the lines of my health.  I have learned to have hope and trust that all things work out for a greater purpose . I have learned to love food, good food, that heals my body. And food, need I say more ? I love food. When I was going through the worst times of my GI issues, food was not my friend. In fact, I ate so I could run. I used running as my sanity. Over time, I have experienced healing in my gut, and I can once again happily attest that I love food. Coffee is not food, but coffee is something I love. My body does not always love it. The acid tears at my stomach. It appears to make my hair all the more slick.. It makes me jittery. This frustrates me because I love coffee. Well, friends,  I have found a better coffee. Puroast coffee has 70 % less acid than most coffees , doesn’t tear up my stomach, and has lots of antioxidants. It’s all in the roasting process. So, I can enjoy my coffee sans the effects of excess acid...

 It’s hot and humid here. I want something to drink besides water, but I’m not really feeling like a hot drink when it’s so humid. I love dandelion tea so I decided to try it iced. Brewed and cooled. A little Rice Dream milk . A couple of ice cubes. Delicious. It has a coffee like taste without the jittery caffeine effects. Dandelion tea is a great liver detox drink. It is a natural diuretic and can aid digestion . I have grown to love it and drink it daily. Iced Dandelion Tea It’s a lazy summer day although the official start of summer is actually tomorrow, Sunday, June 21st…the longest day of the year. We are enjoying a lazy day at home watching a family movie on Netflix. My children leave for church camp tomorrow…. no TV for a week. Update on “The Plan” ….I haven’t had bloating in over two weeks and the cleanse helped shed excess water weight. My edema is better. I do find that I have a bit of food anxiety fretting over what I can and can not eat. Under the Plan, only one new fo...

  What do you do when your prayer is answered but leaves you with more questions than answers? The past few months , although truly, it has been longer, I have been dealing with unexplainable pain, “brain fog,” headaches, exhaustion, and other random issues. I had an appointment with a specialist this week, and my prayer was that God would provide a name to what I have been feeling. He did. I received a diagnosis. Fibromyalgia. Pain and exhaustion and not a lot that can be done for it. Chronic. I look fine yet I don’t feel fine. In the past when I struggled with my health issues and other issues in my life, I ran. I used running to hide behind. I can’t run this time. I can’t physically run because I truly don’t have the energy to do this. Ironically, the physical difficulty with running this past spring is what first alerted me to knowing something was not right. And, I can’t figuratively run this time, either, because the pain is always there. I cannot hide behind my running. Th...