Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes!

Howdy folks & Happy New Year!!

It's been a minute since I released a blog! I believe the last one I posted was around my 23rd birthday last September. Nevertheless, I wanted to drop some new material and update you all on what's been going on with me since 2019 rolled in. As you all know, my blogs are completely transparent because I believe in sharing my testimonies, breakthroughs and even harsh times, to draw people nearer to Christ and to glorify His Holy name :)

2018 actually ended on a very great note for me spiritually. Before December, I was rarely in church for different reasons such as not wanting to get out of the bed aka lazy lol, oversleeping because I was exhausted from working the night before, being cold outside and the list goes on. Disclaimer: One thing that I always do is pay my tithes! I always pull my 10% out of my paycheck FIRST and place it to the side, until I'm able to attend church. Anyways, I believe the last Sunday before the year came to an end (the 30th), I made it my duty to attend church. It didn't matter about how I felt, how tired I could have been, how cold it was, I literally forced myself to go without hesitation. & I know that I'm not the only person who can attest to the fact that when you haven't been to church in awhile, it seems like the sermon was made directly for you lol. I definitely remember crying my eyes out while being there because God is just that good and I'm so undeserving of His heart. I also brought 2019 in while being in church as well! I think that I got off of work right before watch night started, but I already knew in my heart that I didn't want to be anywhere else on New Year's Eve! So what I've learned from that brief season is that sometimes as Christians we do become comfortable in our walks with Christ. Though the flesh is weak, we still have to make it our duty to kill it daily. & let's be honest, sometimes you have to force yourself to go to church, to read the Word, to worship etc. but one thing I've learned is the moment when you feel the least motivated to do those things, is truly when you should be doing it!

My word for this year is "moving". I simply want to make sure that I keep my faith, but also put action towards achieving what I want to manifest. I've spent a lot of time believing in God's power (in which you should), but God can't order steps that you're afraid to take. So I made it my duty within this year to maintain my faith, but also to put my best foot forward in almost to all circumstances :) Last year, my best friend Corey, inspired me to write down goals that I wanted to accomplish within each year and that was something I did before 2018 closed. I won't go into complete detail regarding all of them, but the goals ranged from:

* reading different books within the Bible

* building credit

* becoming healthier

* finding a better job

* getting into medical school

As far as reading different books within the Bible, I've started the year out with reading John. I've never read the Gospels straight through, so I figured that the Gospels would be a lovely place to start. Unintentionally I've always came across the same books within the Bible, such as Hebrews, Philippians, Romans etc. Even though I love those books (especially Romans even with the conviction haha), I do want to devote more time towards gaining wisdom from the other books that I never got around to reading. But I do know that wherever the Holy Spirit leads me, I simply have to follow. Sooo if the Holy Spirit leads me to reading Romans for the 1000th time lol, then I simply have to obey to receive what God needs me to take from that specific book, chapter or even verse.

Building credit is something that I've been wanting to do for like EVERRRRR, but never got around to doing so. Okay, I lied lol but it was something I've been wanting to do since finishing undergrad. I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but I grew up completely spoiled lol. Yes, I was blessed to have two parents who literally did everything in their power to demonstrate their love for me, but ya girl was a lost cause when it came to surviving on her own haha. I didn't have to cook, do laundry/iron, clean and other housework. Ironically I think that I took care of myself pretty well in college though. Anyways, because I'm declaring in Jesus' name that I will be in medical school, I knew that it was important for me to build credit. Credit is what will determine whether I would be able to get a car, apartment, and whatever else is a necessity. So I took the initiative to have my own personal bill for my cell phone instead of my mom continuing to pay for it, paid the rest of my old phone off and instantly bought a new one. To most that may not be much because most adults my age are already on their own in many ways, but slow progress is still progress!

Becoming healthier was probably what I ended up devoting more time towards tbh. A lot of people look at me, see a slim, young woman and instantly say that they would like to be this size. I definitely could understand why, but I was not comfortable with the person that I've grown to be. I was 140 lbs (the biggest I've ever been), with a pudge and love handles on the both of my sides. I even had to wear a shaper whenever I tried to wear an outfit that was form-fitting and that was the icing on the cake. People always told me to appreciate my high metabolism because eventually all of the harsh eating that I engaged in, would have caught up to me. I wouldn't say that I didn't believe them, but I wasn't expecting the weight to pick up until like in my 30's or 40's lolol. In all honesty, post-graduation depression is REAL, but that's another story for another day. What I will say is that these last two years since receiving my degree were frustrating and my depression actually led me towards eating horribly to comfort my feelings. When I graduated from college back in 2017, I was about 115 and at the beginning of this year, I weighed 140 as stated above. To make myself fall in love with who I was again, I took the initiative to contact personal trainers for advice regarding losing stomach fat. Not only that but a Planet Fitness actually opened within my town, so I knew that there wasn't an excuse at this point. I've been to the gym many times since the new year rolled in with my best friend Victoria and two cousins, Ciandra and Johnny. I've always talked about working out, but never had anyone to hold me accountable with my fitness or even accompany me. So I'm thankful for those three souls who not only accompany me, but also have similar goals to accomplish. Now what's working out without changing the diet? *inserts thinking emoji* This is the hard part you guys lol. Long story short, my sister in Christ Luthando, encouraged me to give the Daniel's Fast a shot because that would allow me to draw nearer to Christ and there are great health benefits related. I do want to say that I am not boasting about fasting because I understand that this is sacred between God and myself, but I do want to encourage you to try it as well. Within the spiritual groupme that I am in, I asked the ladies if they wanted to do 1 of 2 things with me or even both. The two things were the Daniel's Fast and this savings plan, which is simply a 52 week plan to develop a flourishing savings account. If you would like information on that, simply let me know so that we can ball out together lol. But back to the Daniel's Fast, I actually was hesitant about it because I knew that this fast subtracted a lot of protein and I simply didn't want to die, let's be honest lol. But I decided to give it a try because this was something that I was doing for the Lord and I knew that He would sustain me. I completed the fast with roughly 6 other girls from the groupme and each day, we shared pictures of what we ate because we couldn't eat much lol. We mainly ate fruits and veggies and drank nothing but water for 21 days. Speaking for all of us, I can say that it was challenging especially when all you ate before was junk lol, but so rewarding because we all noticed various things spiritually. What I noticed is during that time, I made sure that I prayed before anything, even getting out of the bed. There was one morning where I didn't pray first and I actually had an accident that caused me to see an eye doctor for my eye. It was then that I realized the importance of praying and starting my day off with prayer, period! But health benefits from the fast were simply my face clearing up pretty well but there's still work to be done, and I lost 10 pounds, along with my love handles + my pudge is going away slowly but surely :)

Finding a better job is blehhhhhhhh :/ I've absolutely become content with working in retail over the last year or so, but I'm definitely becoming spiritually drained and uncomfortable. I simply know that I deserve more, shouldn't work anywhere that's draining me and should be taking the steps necessary towards reaching my dream of being a doctor. Not once am I discrediting my current job because I'm grateful to have a job that provides money to take care of my present needs, but I am desiring more at this moment. So I've been praying, keeping the faith that God will bless me with an opportunity beyond belief and applying to different places within the health field. I know that He will come through, I just know that He will.

Lastly, I aim to apply to medical school again this year in Jesus' name. I'm retaking the MCAT soon and this time should be a lot better because not only do I know what to expect, but I've dedicated way more time towards studying. I can believe all day that I will get into medical school, but I simply have to be willing to take the steps towards showing God that I'm ready for this blessing. It's been a little difficult trying to juggle so much at once, but I know that my breakthrough will reveal all of the hardwork that I put in to reach all of my goals.

So all in all, this blog was simply to update you all on what I've gone through recently, what I'm currently battling, what I've overcome and what lies ahead. I forgot to mention that I have an IG account that is centered around my blog as a whole, @frompiecestoamasterpiece. I thank you for not only reading my blog, but also for supporting me on this journey. I love you guys and if you have any ideas for my forthcoming blogs, never hesitate to share them with me.

ALL BEST,

Kim <3