my summer faves...

I can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by! It's hard to believe the girls will be going to school in a little over a month! Summer is my favorite time of year and I will be sad to see it go.  I decided to put together a little post on some of my favorite things from this summer so far.  

1.  My fitbit Flex.

I am definitely a goal oriented person, and you give me something to work towards, and I will go after it until I get there.  My favorite thing about the fitbit is that it syncs to your phone and you can use their free app to keep track of your steps, log calories or water intake, track exercise and sleep, and keep an eye on how much distance you have covered and how many active minutes you have had throughout the day.  One of my daily goals is to get the recommended goal of 10,000 steps per day.  I don't always achieve it (especially on rainy days that I am stuck inside), but it gives me something to aspire to each day.  It has definitely given me a different mindset when it comes to being active, and I will take the stairs rather than the elevator, or go down to the basement to get something for the millionth time that day rather than ask my husband if he will graciously do it (he enjoys this about the fitbit as well).  

2.  Working out daily.

Oh how I have loved this.  Now that I am home during the day with my girls, I have been able to make working out a priority and I have done it for eight weeks now! I am on my last week of the 21 day fix, and then I will start Jillian Michael's Bodyshred.  I am both excited and nervous for this!  It has been so great to see the change not only in my physical appearance, but in my energy and my confidence as well.  I am eating clean as much as I can, and tracking my calories daily.  I do this to keep a log of my choices and to see how quickly it adds up, but I am not doing it just to lose weight.  I would like to lose a pound or two, but mostly I want to make sure I am not choosing things with empty calories, but with nutrients that will fuel my body for the day.  I appreciate my body's hard work and I don't want to undo my workouts in the kitchen!

3.  Going on adventures.

I promised myself that if it was a sunny day, the girls and I would go out and enjoy it, at least for a little while.  I tend to save all my cleaning/laundry/vacuuming for rainy days so that the other days we can go to the beach or  hike a mountain.  We have gone to Storyland and we have made ice cream at a nearby farm, we have planted flowers in our front garden and have gone strawberry picking.  The summer is going to end eventually, and when it does, I want to feel like we made the most of it.  On those rainy days, I let the girls play on the computer or watch dvds more than I normally would, but if it is a nice day - forget it! I want them to enjoy the lazy days of summer and get the rest that they need, but I also want to make sure they are being active and enjoying the lovely sunshine!

4.  Upping my water game.

I have been really trying to stay hydrated and encouraging the girls to do the same.  Sometimes plain water is, well, plain.  I cut up a small lemon and lime and put them in a large mason jar and I drink it throughout the day.  This gets harder when we are on the go, but I am trying to be more intentional about it, and I can tell when I haven't had enough!  The fitbit app helps you keep track of how much water you have had, and so I use that to help me as I try to reach my goal of 64 oz a day!

5.  KIND bars:: My go-to snack.

One of my favorite snacks to grab and throw in my beach bag are KIND bars.  They are so good, and I feel like they are pretty good for you for the most part.  I don't have these every day, but they are super tasty and perfect after a run or while at the beach. 

6.  Protein Shakes.

Most mornings I will make a smoothie with frozen fruit and almond milk, but sometimes there is not enough time for this.  I love that on busy days I can just grab one of these protein shakes and a banana, and walk out the door.  Summer has been busy, (and not just to hurry and get a good spot at the beach!) ;)  We have had a few early mornings for appointments or swim lessons, and this makes my morning a lot simpler!  I have tried a few different kinds, but the milk chocolate one by Level Life is my favorite by far!  It takes delicious and I promise I feel full until lunch.  

7.  Justin's Maple Almond Butter.

I have fallen in love with almond butter.  My favorite is the maple, but I like Justin's Honey one too.  ( I haven't tried the vanilla, but I think I will next time).  I have found that PB&J's are great lunches for the beach, although in my case I guess it is an AB&J.  I pair it with my homemade strawberry basil jam, or sometimes I will put a teaspoon or two of organic raw honey.  So good and super easy for throwing in the beach cooler.

8.  Coconut water.

I only tried coconut water once before, and it was the plain/original.  I didn't like it, and so I swore off all coconut water for years.  I decided to give it another shot, and I bought a four-pack of it.  Still did not like it.  However, I saw some flavored ones and figured I should at least try them before I decided coconut water wasn't for me.  I went with the pineapple. So. Good.  I love it. Don't worry, the original coconut waters didn't get wasted.  I have found that they are just fabulous poured over ice and mixed with some Malibu.  Yep, just saying.

9.  Pretty pineapple background:: thewonderforest

I found this on www.thewonderforest.com and fell in love.  They have a strawberry and watermelon one too, but this is the one I like best.  It is on my phone and on my laptop.  It totally feels like summer to me, and it is so fun.  Definitely one of my summer faves.

10.  My powersheets:: Keeping them visible

I have been using Lara Casey's powersheets since January and I absolutely love them.  One of the things that I just started doing, was keeping my goals, my vision board, and the list of what fires me up visible.  I actually re-wrote my goals (they stayed the same), re-did my vision board (decided to use pictures rather than words) and expanded the list of what fires me up ( I added a LOT more. ) before putting them on the wall, and I really love waking up to this each morning.  I might re-do my vision board seasonally because I want it to capture where I see myself going over the next few months and that changes with the seasons  (flowers and the beach in summer, apples and beautiful leaves in the fall, etc).

All in all, I want my summer to be one that I look back on and cherish and feel like we made the most of every day.  I am totally loving it, and never want it to end!  

fresh from the oven :: raspberry - lemon zest buttermilk muffins

I love raspberries.  They are my favorite fruit of all time, and I haven't met anything raspberry I didn't love.  Except poptarts.  I do not like raspberry poptarts, but since those aren't real fruit, I don't think that counts.  When we moved into our house five years ago, one of the best things that I discovered was several raspberry bushes out in the backyard.   My husband and I trimmed down the dying branches earlier this spring, and took out a lot of the weeds that made picking difficult in years past.  As a result, we have a lot of bright red, juicy berries ready for the picking, and I am in love.

I decided to make some raspberry muffins because my oldest daughter loves raspberries almost as much as I do, and she also loves muffins for breakfast.  I went online to find a great recipe, and then tweaked it a little because I love the taste of lemon with raspberry, so I wanted to add some zest.  You can find the original here.  I only added a couple ingredients, but I think they made all the difference.  Here is my recipe - I hope you enjoy it!

RASPBERRY-LEMON ZEST BUTTERMILK MUFFINS

makes approx 15 standard sized muffins

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

zest from one small lemon

6 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tins.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest into large mixing bowl.

3. Cut in butter, using two forks or your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Add egg, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix just until moistened.

5. Gently fold berries into the mixture.

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.  Cool slightly and enjoy warm with butter ( the best!) 

to keep seeking Him...

One of the desires of my heart lately has been centered around community.  I have been wanting to be a part of something bigger than myself but have yet to find where I fit in to that.  I really think that part of my longing to begin my own business is to become part of a community of creatives and boss ladies that I so admire and want to learn from.  I see pictures of amazing conferences being posted all the time on Instagram that I would love to attend.  I wish I could network with these wonderful ladies, and yet I don't even have a business yet.  I have been asking the Lord to reveal to me where He wants me to go from here, and I feel like He just remains silent.  Today I was really seeking some answers and I asked Him why He would keep this from me?  Isn't community something that is gospel-centered?  And if we were created to be in community with one another, why haven't you opened any doors, Lord?  And then He spoke.  It was so quiet and yet so unmistakable.  He said to me, "I have designed you to be in relationship.  And yes, that is to be in relationship with others, but first and foremost it is to be in relationship with me.  And while it is not wrong to want to be among like-minded women who want to create and grow and encourage others - it is good, in fact - it is NOT the end goal.  Focusing on finding your niche is the wrong thing to focus on.  FIRST, you need to focus on me.  Keep growing, keep learning, keep your eyes on ME."  Community is such a gift, and it is not wrong to desire it.  But HE is the prize.  He is the first thing I should seek in the morning, and the last thing I should dwell on before I lay my head.  It was the beginning of a much-needed perspective change.  I fully believe that He can and will reveal to me what He has created me to do, and I just as fully believe that He has created within me this desire for a reason.  I just know that right now I need to focus on Him alone and what He wants to teach me.  When the time is right, He will reveal a little more.  So thankful for a God that desires relationship with us, and encourages us to keep seeking Him.

a new season...

So we have entered into a new season here at the Wilson house.  I quit my job last week, for reasons I won't get into here, and I cannot begin to tell you what it feels like to have that weight lifted off of me.  It was such a hard time of waiting and pleading, but the Lord is so faithful.  I am thankful for this new adventure of being home with my girls (for as long as He allows).  I am hopeful for this time to be one of mental, physical, and spiritual refreshment.  I also hope to get back into blogging, but words are elusive lately, and I struggle to catch them and put them here.  Perhaps time will change that.  After all, the goal is progress not perfection, and sometimes the words themselves don't matter as much as the process of being vulnerable and letting them be read.

I am also trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.  I want to create, to make, to design, to do something, but I am just not sure what that may be.  I have been asking for direction, but He hasn't chosen to reveal it to me just yet.  In the meantime, I dream and hope and pray.  I had a love of cakes, but I no longer find much fulfillment in that.  I still do it from time to time, mostly as a way to give to others, but it is not the joy of my heart.  I just wish I knew what would cause my heart to sing and my days to feel full of purpose.  I am in a time of searching, and I hope it doesn't last too long.

thoughts on prayer...

One of my goals for this year is to be more intentional with my prayer time.  I bought a Prayer Journal by Val Marie Paper which I love, and I had envisioned myself sitting down with a cup of coffee every Saturday morning and pouring my heart out to God in prayer.  I pray every single day, mind you, but during the week that looks like driving to work with the radio off and speaking aloud to God in the quietness of my car.  I wanted my weekends to be different and more focused on Him - not driving, not the clock - just Him.  I have not been as faithful to this time as I would like.  I push it off - one cup of coffee while doing laundry, a second cup while making the grocery list - and before you know it, half the day has gone by and I still haven't prayed.

So I asked myself why is this happening?  Why am I rushing around the house trying to cross off items on my to-do list and not attending to the most important thing - my relationship with God?  It came to me all at once, my very flawed thinking:  I think there is a part of me that feels like prayer is passive.   I have dreams that I want to succeed and tasks that I want to accomplish, and being still in prayer seems counter-intuitive to making things happen.  I have been trying to do, do, do and go, go, go.  But you know what?  If I don't bring it all to Him in prayer, every wish and desire - big or small - than what am I really accomplishing?   John 15:5 says " I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."  Prayer IS action - it is coming before the throne of Jesus and laying it all down at His feet.  The messy and the broken, the hopes and the dreams.  By coming into His presence and seeking out what He has purposed for my life -  that is when action really takes place.  It is where He opens my eyes and opens doors. It is where He prepares my heart, and prepares a way for my dreams to take place.  Seeking Him and His kingdom FIRST and then asking Him to show me what He wants me to do next. THAT is action my friends, and that is the only way we will bear much fruit, or any fruit at all for that matter.  Thank you Jesus that you care about our desires and our dreams, and thank you for inviting us to come to you with all of them, no matter how small.

for such a time as this...

Yesterday I decided to read my first blog.  Sometimes it is nice to just take a trip down memory lane.  I started it six years ago and some of it was quite hilarious.  I really have grown a lot since then - in all the facets of my life - being a mom, a wife, a friend, and my relationship with Jesus.  Although embarrassing to read about some of the things I felt or thought, it was really neat to look back on how God was working in my life then. One thing that really stood out to me while I was reading, was a post that I had written after my devotions on Esther.

Here is the post from 7/26/10:

"When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: 'Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?'" Esther 4:12-14

This morning I read these words as part of my devotions.  When I came across this phrase in this passage, it stopped me in my tracks.  How foolish I have been!  Why have I doubted Him for even one moment?  I am not outside the reach of His hand, the orchestrations of His sovereign plan.  This place that I am in at this very moment is ordained by Him that goes before all things and by Whom all things are held together (Col. 1:17).  Lord, help me to trust you though the road often seems dark.  I could walk on water if only I keep my eyes upon You.   Help my gaze not to be swayed by the storms of trying children, hopeless finances, dead-end jobs, or frustrating relationships. 

I do not know what God has planned for me, but I DO know that I am here in this place to learn, to grow, to help others, and ultimately to become the woman God desires me to be. If I could learn the lessons He wants to teach me in a different place or in a different way I would BE in that place. But I am here. For such a time as this. I pray that I make the most of it.


It was so weird to read this and to feel like my past self was stretching across the years and hitting my present self over the head and saying "You keep forgetting this!!! Stop forgetting this!!"  Because I have been forgetting this.  Each day I am faced with the choice of choosing contentment in where I am and who I am, or feeling like I am missing out on something I am supposed to be doing, or the person I am supposed to be.  And you know what? Even though I am not that same girl that wrote this almost five years ago, I am still finding it so difficult to choose contentment and gratitude over discontentment and longing.  But the above still holds true - if I could learn the lessons He wants to teach me in a different place or in a different way, I would BE in that place.  He doesn't make mistakes, I am not forgotten.  He chose me when I was five years old, and He still chooses me every single day that has passed since then.  And so I am left with my own choice - do I keep striving to be someone I am not, and make myself unhappy by focusing on all the things that I do not have?  Or do I choose to follow my Savior down any road that He leads me, trusting the outcome of my life to Him?  I look back on all that I have learned over the past five years - so much that He has taught me! And He has never failed me, not once!  I don't know where I will be another five years from now, what roads I will have walked, but I do know that I will be right where I am supposed to be.  And that, my friends, is a good place to be.

dreams on fire and standing still

Hi, I’m Meghan.   I love sunshine, fresh notebooks, coffee, and Jesus.  I could think of a list a mile wide of the things that I love and the things that I don’t, places I've been, and places I want to go, things I am passionate about and things that I just enjoy watching others be passionate about.  But is this list really who I am?  Am I the sum total of all of the above?  Every time I try to define who I am, I feel like something is missing.  I feel like the greatest part of me just hasn't been discovered yet.  Well, the greatest part, hands down, is that I am a daughter of the King and that wins every time.  But I still feel like there is so much that I am capable of doing.

There are women that God has brought into my life, both in person and through social media, who have really inspired and encouraged me.  I love what they are doing for Jesus.  Their words are often a breath of fresh air to my soul.  It’s like God has picked them special just for me.   They share truths that I need to hear, when I need to hear it.  I am so inspired by how he is using them and I want to be willing to let him use me too.  I feel like God has instilled in me this great desire to go and do mighty things for Him, and to make a life out of pointing others to Jesus.  I just don’t know how He wants me to do it.  I just don’t see how it is all going to play out.

I just finished reading a book called Love Does by Bob Goff.  It is really an amazing book and I highly recommend it.  Bob shares a story in his book about his dream to get into law school and then says “I've always wondered if, when we want to do something that we know is right and good, God places that desire deep in our hearts because He wants it for us and it honors Him.” It was very motivating for me and I felt so ready to just jump in to whatever God has planned for me – right now!  Only I don’t know what that is.  So I asked God – am I missing something?  Do you not want to use me?  Why do I have these dreams on fire in my soul if there is no place that I can let them burn for you?  At the end of the book Bob writes, “you weren't just an incredible idea that God never got around to making.”  This really resonated with me because I guess I have been feeling like what if this is the case?  What if this fire I feel lit inside of me just smolders and goes out?  Or what if I am just looking in the wrong place?  What if I have been standing on my tip toes looking out into the future plan of my life and yelling so loudly “What is it God?! How will you use me?!” that I am missing his quiet voice telling me that it is already right here.  This place that I already am.  This job that I drag my feet to every day.  This season of waiting and monotony and routine.  Is it here that he wants to use me?  Maybe He doesn't want me to hop on a plane to help in Uganda, maybe he wants me to help my neighbors next door.  Maybe He isn't calling me to become a national women’s speaker to travel all over and share His truth, maybe He just wants me to share His truth right here –  to you.  Maybe He isn't calling me to pursue my dream of being a small business owner right now, but wants me to get in my car each day and go to the job that He has chosen for me to be in because He has plans for me here right now.  

One of the women that I already mentioned before, Ashley shared this verse today and it hit home for me: "And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not."  -Deuteronomy 8:2   I thinking that maybe right now He wants me to be faithful to Him in the standing still because He can see so much more than me.  He has heaven’s view and I have tunnel vision.