Good morning and Happy Fat Tuesday!

“Joyeux Mardi Gras!” sounds a lot classier, doesn’t it? French is just glamorous like that.

Before I get into Lent and deep-ish talk, I’ll catch you up on what happened in my life yesterday. First and foremost, I had a nut-butter-happy breakfast of banana bread English muffins with almond butter + peanut butter + banana slices!

I also finished the last bit of Greek yogurt with a few more banana slices. My mom knows me so well and bought FOUR big containers of Greek yogurt for me since she’ll be leaving for Florida soon. Those might last me 2 weeks. 😉

School was swell, and then I headed to the gym in the afternoon. I didn’t forget my gym shoes this time! I did, however, nap in the car at the gym parking lot for about half an hour again. You would think I would be a little more self-conscious, but sleep trumps image at this point in my high school career (or any point in my life). I just park in the corner of the lot and snooze for a lil’ bit. I doubt anyone even noticed. A cat nap can go a long way, folks!

After my mini-siesta (I still think we should have those)…

Moves

5 min. rowing warmup

Supersets of:

• TRX rows + TRX pike to pushup
• TRX tricep extensions + TRX bicep curls

Then I did some proper pushups (so hard!), staggered pushups, and 6 minutes on the rope climbing contraption. I finished with an 8-minute ab tabata.

Dinner was absolutely delicious, and it was a cinch to put together thanks to Mom’s prep work.

Quinoa/rice blend + seared tuna steak + avocado + blanched broccoli + ponzu

Mom had already prepared the quinoa/rice blend in the rice cooker, and she had also blanched the broccoli earlier in the day. She’s da best.

I don’t know about you guys, but I love me some whole grains. Brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, farro… I could totally eat grains by themselves. I adore their hearty aromas and slightly chewy textures. This organic quinoa/rice blend that my mom got from Costco (I think) was fantastic!

Guess what I had for “dessert”? You win a virtual high-five if you guessed dried figs and Greek yogurt!

Being Humble Hurts

So tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent, which is the 40-day period leading up to Easter for us Christians. A lot of people like to give up certain pleasures or do extra good deeds to grow closer to God during this time as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

I’m not going to talk all about Lent too much, but I’ll tell y’all what I’m going to try my very hardest to give up:

• TV
• listening to the radio in the car
• complaining

And I will try do more of this:

• Meditate/read devotional

I was considering giving up nut/seed butters, but then I thought about how we have, like, 5 jars in the fridge. Someone’s gotta eat them… 😀 But in all seriousness, these four things are going to be tough for me already. I won’t be able to live vicariously through Giada or Ina on Food Network, I won’t be able to groove to jams in the car, and I won’t be able to open my BIG mouth at times.

I will be able to learn humility.

We all have several humbling experiences in our lives, but I don’t think it ever gets an easier to put our pride aside. At least, for me it never does.

Last night, I was in an argument— more like a petty bicker— where voices were raised and tensions amounted. I knew I did not start the argument, but my emotions got the better of me, and I let myself raise my voice several times to try to defend myself. (This was all over something so trivial too, but for some reason it turned into a big mess).

After breathing for a few moments and letting things simmer down, I wanted to apologize to the other person, even though I did not feel like I needed to do so. Nevertheless, I practically owe this particular person my life, no matter what the situation is. Thus, I said, “I’m sorry for raising my voice at you.”

The response I received was not as forgiving as I had expected (for privacy reasons, I won’t say what the exact response was). In fact, it stung so much that I literally stopped what I was doing and stared straight forward for a good 10 seconds. I slowly grabbed my laptop and went up to my room as tears welled up. And then I just talked out loud to myself and to God.

I was angry and upset. All that went through my head was: I didn’t even start this! That wasn’t fair to say! I apologized, and that’s what I got? WHAT THE HECK?! 

In the past, I probably would have gone downstairs and made a fit again. I definitely wear my emotions on my sleeve. But God was telling me to be humble. Not to be submissive or stepped on, but to just accept things as they were at that point. Trying to defend myself even further would have been solely for my pride. It wouldn’t have actually made anything better.

I tweeted this:

Because it does hurt. But then I think about our great Lord and His incredible humility, and there’s nothing I can do but bow to Him. And then zip my big mouth.

Again, this doesn’t mean I’m an advocate of being submissive, but in some instances, pride is only fuel for the fire.

“…he leads me beside still waters/he restores my soul…” -Psalm 23

OKAY. That got a little deeper than I initially anticipated. Fat Tuesday!!

Have a great day, everyone 🙂

So tell me:

How do you handle moments like these when your pride is roaring?

If you observe Lent, what are you giving up/doing?

What is your favorite grain?