Grace Like Rain: 2013 Forecast.

Yesterday's post was a brief introduction to what you can expect on Grace Like Rain this year, but I thought I'd break it down a little more and give you some details.  Firstly, I'll explain the title.  "Grace Like Rain" is a worship song by Tom Agnew that was released in 2004.  Since my walk with Jesus began, my story has been one of learning grace.  It's never made sense to me that I have been so incredibly forgiven despite my wicked heart and selfish desires, but I suppose that's why I am so in awe of God and who He is.  Maybe grace isn't supposed to make sense to me.

In any case, my most recent blog, Grace and Peace (see tab above for the link to it), was a wonderful growing experience for me.  Though I wrote the posts with a target audience of close friends and family members, I often feel like I'm just writing journal entries and learning more about myself as I write.  In any case, I think those things are important for you to know as you take on reading this blog.  That's kind of my perspective of where I write from, and I don't really have an incredible theme picked out for this blog.  It's about life and love, following Jesus, living a healthy life, pursuing passions, finding great reads, attempts at cooking and baking, and growing in relationships.  This can't be labeled a food blog, a spiritual blog, a design blog, etc.  The topics will be as random as the inner workings of my brain.  I hope you're still interested.  Here's more on my vision.

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Healthy Living (Including running, cooking/baking, other exercises & more)

I'm not entirely certain how many of my friends know this about me, but throughout high school and most of college, my weight was constantly on my mind and consistently something I struggled to feel good about.  I left home at 16 to go to the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham, NC, and while there, was faced with challenges and stresses beyond my wildest imagination.  I began stress eating, and though we had a gym with plenty of exercise equipment, fell into a pattern of laziness and a life of inactivity.  This continued through college, though I did take advantage of our Student Rec Center's group exercise classes a bit more in addition to beginning my life as a runner.  

May of 2010 was the beginning of my journey as a runner, and I have hardly looked back since.  In fact, you'll notice that this blog has some posts from a few years ago.  This blog originally began as my running blog. My first post, May 24, 2010, was when I was finally beginning to feel like I could label myself as a "runner."  I started running in Chapel Hill, NC down Gimghoul Ln.  It was a big accomplishment when I could run the full mile through Gimghoul.  I remember setting out on my first day of running and being discouraged because I could only run half of a mile, but I used that as my motivation to run farther.  I did not let my asthma hold me back, and even now, I use my inhaler before each run and carry it with me at all times.  In fact, my asthma has improved greatly since I started running.  I rarely have symptoms of wheezing or the "barking" cough that I used to experience when I was younger.  Running has somehow improved my health in that way, and I am so thankful for that.  

I will also tell you that I used to despise running. Absolutely despised it.  So for those of you reading this thinking I'm some wild, crunchy, granola chick (I'm becoming more crunchy now than I ever would have imagined, but that's a story for later) who came out of the womb running marathons, this is not the case.  I hated running with a passion but knew I needed a cheap and simple way to exercise.  Running, the "poor man's sport" as many call it, is so simplistic.  All you need are exercise clothes (not even nice ones, at that.  Shorts and a cheap t-shirt work great) and running shoes, and you're all set.  You don't need fancy equipment, a gym, a personal trainer named Byron (more on him later), or anything like that.  As you might be able to tell, I'm now a passionate runner and find it to be the greatest stress reliever when I'm having a terrible day or just need to be outside for a bit.  I'm training for a half marathon now, which you'll hear plenty about this year, and hope to continue running for many years of my life (dear knees: please be good to me. I don't want to give up running for you!).

Back to healthy living, though (apologies for my tangents, friends).  When I graduated from college this past May, I saw pictures of myself looking the biggest I had ever been.  I felt sluggish and large, and very unhealthy.  I knew I wanted to change-- but how could I? I had my nursing boards to study for, weddings to attend, moving to a new house, etc.  There didn't seem to be time.  But then I met with my friend Kirsten, one of my roommates from high school and a good friend since then, and we started talking about practical ways to lose weight (over delicious Port City Java coffee).  By the end of our conversation, we had mapped out a weight loss plan and had set goals for our journey.  We planned to check in with one another every so often, made plans to hold each other accountable, discussed healthy eating and how many calories a day we should eat, and even logged into MyFitnessPal (my first time, though she had used it before) and connected to one another to watch each other's progress.  How thankful I have been for Kirsten and her motivation these past few months.  We have both lost about 20 pounds since May (alright, you caught me. I've only lost 19.4. But I'm SO CLOSE), and though we have had setbacks, continue to pursue healthy living.  I still have some pounds to shed and toning to do, but it will all come in time.  I'm not on a mission to lose as much as possible quickly, but rather to ensure I'm losing weight in a healthy way and continuing to find advanced methods for a healthy lifestyle.

So that's what you'll find on here this year in regards to healthy living.  I'm a newly converted crockpot girl and love my crockpot more than any other item in my kitchen (calling myself out for a lie again: my coffeepot might be my favorite item), so you'll find healthy crockpot recipes coming this year that I've either thrown together on my own or modified from other recipes that perhaps aren't quite so healthy.  You'll find updates on exercise- new kinds I'm trying, things I hate, things I love, etc.- as well as simple substitutions I use in cooking to add more nutrition or less fat/calories to a dish.  I'm by no means perfect, I live by the 80/20 rule and try to eat healthy 80% of the time and "splurge" 20%, though some weeks it's more like 60/40.  or 40/60. Depends on a lot of things :)

My 2013 Fitness Goals

Before & After. First picture taken at my

graduation in May 2012, second one

from December 2012. 

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Books (What to read, what NOT to read, book reviews, etc). 

One of my favorite blogs I follow has a link on the side that shows what books the author is currently reading, and I'm hoping to figure out how to do this.  Coming soon will be a tab at the top of my page called "She Reads" which will show book reviews, what's on my nightstand, and what I'm hoping to read in the near future.  I'm in two book clubs and have been horrible lately with keeping up with the books, but I'm hoping to keep up with those, read additional books, and tell you about all of them so you'll know what's good!  Also, I'm happy to take suggestions so please leave comments or e-mail me at gracelikeraincristina@gmail.com with recommendations for books!

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Faith (Following Jesus, Scripture, Challenges in faith & more). 

One of the biggest parts of who I am is my faith.  In my every day life, such as at work, at the gym, etc., I struggle to talk openly with people about my faith, though I strive to live out Jesus's commands through my actions.  I'm much better with the written word, which is why I write so much about my faith and even write my prayers out on most days, but I am working on being more open about my faith in my every day life and not just in my blog.  I try to spend time in Scripture every day (though I fail sometimes!) and while doing so, I process a lot of things about what I'm reading and like to share those things with you.  I'm also in the process of writing a book right now, which I've told only a select few people... but now you're all in on the secret, too!  It's a work on faith, actually, and I hope to share some of my journey in that with you as well this year.  If anyone out there is into publishing, let's be friends! :) I'm going to need a publisher one of these little days when I finish my book.  

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Real Relationships (On long distance/long term ones, singleness, friendships, families, etc.)

I love writing about relationships, people, the importance of friendship, marriage (though I am not, myself, married), and all other things involving relationships.  I'm hoping to feature a lot of guest posts in this genre, so please e-mail me with things you'd like to post! I'm particularly interested in capturing the diversity and complexity of relationships.  My experience is as a twenty-something surround by young friends getting engaged and married, while other close friends of mine struggle with singleness in the midst of all of that.  I'd love to hear from others in this stage of life, as well as those who ARE married (newlyweds or those who have been married for years!), those who have struggled with failed relationships (my heart goes out to you & I know it's hard to share those things, but if you feel led I'd love to feature your wisdom on this), those with difficult family relationships, those with loving family relationships, toxic friendships, blessed friendships, relationships with the Lord, etc.  I just want it all! Relationships are so intriguing to me.  

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Guest Posts (from anyone & everyone! Even if we've never met, message me!)

Do you have a small business that you're trying to promote? A side hobby that you want to share with others? Maybe you just have something on your heart and don't know where to post it.  This is your forum.  It's your space just as much as it is mine.  Prefer to remain anonymous?  No problem.  Truly, I'm excited about this part of the blog this year.  Please don't hesitate to participate in this, and don't feel silly in doing so.  Embrace what you have to offer and hop on in.  I'll welcome you as a loved family member here on Grace Like Rain. 

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I think that's all for now, friends.  The 2013 forecast looks bright, and I'm optimistic about where we're going together.  Hope you'll stay for the ride!

Grace & peace to you all.

C. 

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