Friday, March 7, 2014

Church is Not For Me!

These last few weeks have been busy beyond belief. We closed out our first month as a CARE's team, started planning our baby shower, started my Plexus business, started bi-weekly bible study (which I'll admit I have not started to read the book yet), and not to mention the crazy that has been going on outside of all of that, that has been our 'norm'. But this is what we signed up for. Being involved in all of this, I have figured out fast that there is a mission field right here on U.S. soil that needs to be addressed. Being a CARE's team has opened my eyes to living more intentionally by serving God's people but also telling them about God. This has been on my heart all week and actually I couldn't wait until I had a minute to blog about it.

When I first became a Christian 3 years ago, I no doubt felt that church was for me. I needed the church. I grew up being told I didn't need it. All I needed was to believe in God. This is false. I may have believed, but I didn't know WHY I believed. You have to know the why. You have to be able to tell others why. This is our purpose on this earth. I'll be honest, I didn't know I needed the church until I started going and realized how much I've been missing out on a lot of things. But actually, as I've been going to church, I found out it's not about me at all. And church isn't about you. Whatever reason it is that you don't go to church is your problem, and quite frankly, it's the devil's plan. If you are just a regular Sunday church go-er, but that's it, you're missing the mark. OR if you think church is just so you can get together with like minded people like a pep rally, you're wrong. I like how J.D. Greear puts it: It's like playing football. You huddle up with your team, you discuss and learn the play, and then you go out and demonstrate that to the other team. The worship team are the cheerleaders on the sideline.

Spread the Word! It's our job to go to church, then BE the church. I want to encourage those who feel as though they may not be living out life intentionally for God to listen to J.D. Greear's podcast titled: Mission, part 1 and part 2 They are each only about 25 minutes long, perfect in the car on a commute. Prepare to be challenged and encouraged!!! I was!!

By the way, I will be 6 months pregnant already next week! I can't believe how fast time is going by. I feel like Logan and I just found out but that was way back in October! Wow! Can't wait to meet our sweet baby!


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

God Can't Direct an Anchored Ship

So many things are going on in our world right now! We are expecting our first baby! We also just moved, I quit my second job, we're still building the practice, and I've begun a new endeavor. But before I get into detail, I just want to say how blessed we have been through this process with family and close friends on our side. They constantly encourage, motivate, and lift us up without hesitation. My prayer is that they all feel the same about us. Going through life with these people has been an answered prayer, and proof that life is more manageable when you have God and God's people surrounding you. Something I've learned in the last year is that God can't direct an anchored ship. You either pick up and move or stay in one place. We should always be constantly evolving and allowing God to be our compass. The last couple years for us has been exactly that. Changing, evolving, taking risks, creating new [better] habits, and moving forward when we feel the spirit of God pushing us. Some times it has been difficult to separate our emotions from the true path of God, but everything happens for a reason and has gotten us to this point today. 

Logan and I are officially missionaries in Richardson, TX. We've come along side Apartment Life to create community in the apartment world. Most of us have lived in an apartment at least once in our lives and I'm sure we could all agree on one thing: it lacks that close neighborhood feel. That's where we come in. We are the CARES team for our community. We create events and parties for the residents and welcome them to their new home. This brings people together. commUNITY is important! God wants us to have people in our lives that build us up and encourage us to seek Jesus. We feel so grateful to be part of this mission field right here in our own country. We know, ultimately, that Jesus is the root of our ability to serve others. We look forward to the many relationships we will build here and hopefully point them Jesus. 

With the new baby on the way, and all of the other new things going on, there's hardly been time for me to take care of myself. This pregnancy, admittedly, has not gone as to plan. (Isn't this what every mom says?) I realize having a second job while being pregnant was not such a good idea on my health and well-being. Now that I let that job go, I have already jumped back into my old routine: gym, food prep, and most importantly, focus back on my faith. It's easy to fall out of these things when life is crazy! So instead of making a new years resolution, I fasted [social media] with my church and dug into the Word for 21 days to help clear my mind of negativity and open it for opportunity. Just in time, too, because I let go of my second job, we moved, and we planned out a months worth of events for the apartment community all in the last week of January. (I'm still somewhat surrounded by boxes right now, which is what I should be taking care of instead of writing this blog.) 

One last thing that I have done this week was open myself up to an opportunity that I never thought I'd do again. Direct sales. Okay, I know what you're thinking…. but hear me out. I am a new ambassador for Plexus. You must be wondering why in the world I chose to go down this route (again). But anyone who knows me, knows how much I care about health in general, especially for those around me. I've talked to many friends privately about their health and what I did that worked for me. I love sharing my story. Those who have asked know that it's a story that's more than just about a thin girl who 'got fit'. I had digestive problems, mild adrenal fatigue problems, candida, bloat, a high resting heart rate (95-105), acne, the list goes on… I know that if I had not addressed these issues in 2011-2013 I would have continued to feel horrible about the way I looked, and the way I felt. It was time to change! I motivate others to do the same because I know how good it makes me feel to be healthy. Healthy doesn't just mean you are 'skinny'. I believe being healthy has a lot to do with how you feel. And because of this, Plexus Slim has been on my radar for a YEAR. I have recommended this product to others, that I would help them find distributors. Why? Because I've read the ingredients, the testimonials... I've seen my own personal friends have success with it not only for weight loss but also for other health problems. I've seen them be successful from a business aspect, not because they were spamming every ones Facebook with a sales pitch, but because of the true results they were getting from it. I'll be the first to tell you, there is no magic pill to health, and your health is yours and yours only. No one can tell you what to do or when to do it. It takes a mindset to get healthy- a positive, 'I'm-not-giving-up' mindset. This is why I chose Plexus Slim as my latest endeavor. I plan to use the product post pregnancy to get myself back in shape, but in the meantime, I plan to motivate and encourage others to take control of their health and life through Plexus and through faith. So if this is you, please email me for questions. I've done extensive research on the products and the business plan and am ready to answer them for you! Plus, I have an amazing team that is in it for the right reasons, just like me. 

I'll leave this very long, and first blog post with this: 2014 for the Spangler's is going to be one of the biggest, most blessed years of our lifetime. Spangler Chiropractic is taking off, our first baby will be here July 1st, and serving God's people in our new ministry opportunity! I will be blogging about our life more than on Facebook because I know not everyone cares about every detail of our lives haha, so I'll leave that up to the reader if they want to read about it or not.