Leading out of Abundance: Pursuing Relationship with the Servant Leader

April 04, 2019 in Nourished Leadership, Nourished Mind, Nourished Home, Nourished Soul

We're continuing our leadership series in this week's blog post (see post 1 and post 2) and we felt it was most appropriate following Easter to reflect on the greatest leader, Jesus.

Jesus did not come to earth as the type of leader everyone expected and hoped for. He did not come as a proud and triumphant warrior but as a meek, gentle baby. He did preach in beautiful and extravagant venues wooing people with emotion and whit but instead in homes, boats, and hillsides preaching and teaching relationships, truth about sin and forgiveness, God's grace and mercy. And he did not die gallantly destroying his enemies, but loving them instead and making a way for new life in him. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, the life of Jesus can teach us many lessons about leadership.

Service First

Jesus came not to be served but to serve others. We witnessed examples of his servant heart when he provided wine for a wedding, fed thousands, visited sick and dying people, and washed his disciples’ feet. Service was central to Jesus’ ministry. He didn’t put his own agenda ahead of God’s; afterall in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed "not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39b). He led by example through service and invites us to do the same.

Holiday Survival Guide: Faith

December 24, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

Christmas Greetings to you!

Christmas truly is an amazing and beautiful time of year. Where we live, we have a cold, but sunny day. The prediction is that we will get a mountain of snow this week. One of my favorite parts of this beautiful white snow is that it reminds me of the fact that with only a single thought proclamation, Jesus completely covered our sins, just as the snow covered all the brown dirty ground.

So what does this have to do with Christmas? With all of the beauty and wonder that surrounds Christmas, it can also be the time of year when emotions are plentiful, sleep is short, gatherings are abundant, and expectations are high. In the midst of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, various thoughts can creep into the purest of minds. These thoughts can often form around unhealthy expectations, such as the desire for our children to be perfectly behaved at social gatherings, for our friends or spouses to give us the perfect gift, or for our bodies to magically transform to perfection because we approach New Year’s resolutions.

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Three Thoughts for a Health Breakthrough

October 07, 2018 in Nourished Leadership, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

I just returned home from the annual Thrive Conference this weekend. The theme this year was Audacious Hope. Shout out to all the ladies who attended the conference (it was incredible)!

There are too many topics and ideas to fit into one blog, so I picked out 3 takeaways from the conference that I want to share with you. Guys, Thrive is a women’s conference, but these ideas and questions are universal.

The first question I have been pondering was presented by pastor, author, and speaker, Craig Groeschel. Craig was speaking about leadership, specifically on ‘becoming a leader people love to follow.’ This question was asked in relation to leadership, but I’m going to ask it to you in relation to your health & wellness habits:

1. “What is no longer working that needs to be changed?”

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

September 30, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well,” Psalm 139:14.

Sometimes it’s hard to read verses like this and find peace with them when our bodies feel broken, maimed, undesirable. These are not the descriptors that God gave our bodies. He made us good, in his image, fearfully and wonderfully. So then what happened? Why do our bodies sometimes feel broken? Why do they wear out? Why do we look in the mirror sometimes and wish to see a different reflection?

Our bodies had been designed in the image of God which is described in Genesis 1:27: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." After Adam and Eve created distance between themselves and God in the Garden of Eden, creation—including our bodies—began to break down.

But God used this situation to write a beautiful redemption story. He would send Jesus to "comfort the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release the prisoners from darkness" (Isaiah 61:1b). Jesus came to reconcile us with God and he is now preparing our final home with him. We will not always have broken and maimed bodies. We will be restored and made new. What a great hope we have in Christ!

3 Warning Signs Your Life is Out of Balance

September 09, 2018 in Nourished Home, Nourished Mind, Nourished Leadership, Nourished Soul

I used to think that achieving balance meant having a quiet (CLEAN) house, using a calm speaking voice all the time, and maintaining an empty schedule. . . And then I had kids!

Think about a day when you were running non-stop and then at the end of the day you ask yourself, “what did I even do today?” After a day like that, I wonder how I can be so busy, and at the same time, so unproductive!

I think achieving and maintaining balance begins with defining your priorities. Take a moment right now while you are reading and see if you can answer the following questions OUT LOUD.

What is important to you today?
What is important to you in this season?
What is going to be important to you at the end of your life?

Proximity: The Distance Between You and Success

July 07, 2018 in Nourished Body, Nourished Home, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

Proximity can be the difference between meeting and missing your goals.

Proximity can be the difference between having a dream and making it a reality.

Proximity is nearness in space and time. So what is the distance between you and success?

I tried to explain this concept to my husband as he was lugging a heavy and awkward spin bike from our basement into our kitchen at my request...yes into the kitchen. He was as confused as you may be.

We do not have a spacious kitchen but it fits our needs. There happened to be a space between our kitchen table and the deck door that looked just the perfect size for my experiment with proximity. See the spin bike fit nicely in our basement and I had the best intentions to use the bike while watching TV downstairs. I was excited at the possibility of have a consistent, easy to access workout option in our home that I could utilize despite the variable Minnesota weather.

As I've alluded to in previous blog posts, working out is not second nature to me like my dear sister Ashley Darkenwald. I'd go as far to say most of my life I have loathed exercise. It always felt like punishment because it was boring, hard, and painful...and honestly I never stuck with in long enough to see results which only has made me more discouraged from doing it. Fast forward many years of turbulent health challenges and dramatic changes to my daily nutrition, I've found myself exercising again but with a completely different mindset. Instead of thinking of exercise as a punishment, I seek out exercise I enjoy, find my "happy movement" as Ashley calls it. In addition to being much more mindful of what I like and dislike doing for exercise, I'm more aware of how much my body personally needs.

Solitude: The Secret to Joy

June 24, 2018 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

“You’re everywhere!”

I hear that a lot, especially from my friends on social media who like and comment on my hashtags, selfies and foodie pics.

“Awesome!”

“You look great!”

“Wow, how fun!”

To them and the rest of the online world, I’m a bona fide social butterfly, always out and about at a different event in a different outfit with a different group of people. Yet while I enjoy socializing very much, there’s been many times I’ve passed on meeting up with friends, just to sit at home alone and do absolutely nothing.

I spend time alone on a regular basis, intentionally seeking out moments to be by myself in complete silence, because I find getting comfortable being alone allows me to get in touch with my own thoughts. Seeking out these quiet moments helps me feel centered, which has the effect of producing calm in my life. And I like that. I like calm.

In My Weakness

June 03, 2018 in Nourished Soul, Nourished Mind, Nourished Leadership

My friend and pastor Bjorn Dixon kicked off a new summer series at church this morning titled "Called to Be His." Another friend sitting next to me wrote down a line during the sermon that caught my attention and got me thinking about the leadership series I've been writing on this blog. Here's what she wrote: "God meets you in your weaknesses and limitations and uses you anyway." - Donna Schwab

What does that mean for a leader?

Strength, authority, and goal-oriented are just a few words that come to mind when I think of the word 'leader'. Christ was a leader who had all of those attributes. But he spotlighted another characteristic that isn't talked about a whole lot in leadership circles: weakness. He told the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

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Spring Cleaning: Clearing the Clutter and the Chaos

April 07, 2018 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

I don’t know about you, but I am itching for warmer weather. Here in Minnesota, spring has not yet, well, sprung which has left us with the cold winds of winter and piles of snow.

There is definitely a place and a season for winter, however if you live in Minnesota, that means this season seems to take up most of the year. I do love the beauty of a fresh snow fall especially when cozied up inside with a mug of my favorite hot chocolate, but now that we’ve had winter for what feels like 12 months, I am excited for the warmth and the changes of a new season.

Historically I haven’t really liked the season of spring. I’m not much of a fan of rainy days combined with the brown foliage of winter that lingers, though I do love watching the transformation from the dead of winter to the beautiful colors of spring. Another thing I love about spring is spring cleaning. I know that may sound crazy, but cleaning and organizing has become a fairly effective and productive stress reliever for me… most of the time. Check out this post for a few ideas on how to get more organized with your cleaning.

Today though, I wanted to talk about a different type of spring cleaning, spring cleaning that goes a little deeper. Spring cleaning of our time, spring cleaning of our thoughts, and spring cleaning of our heart attitudes.

Press Release: Weight Loss and Wellness Go Hand in Hand

November 19, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

We're very excited to something big: our official Press Release for Living Wellness for Growth Groups! Our book was published in February, but it recently won the Gold Evergreen Metal for the Living Now Book Award!

About the Award

Four years ago, the Evergreen Book Medals were launched to commemorate world-changing books published since the year 2000. We all seek healthier, more fulfilling lives for ourselves and for the planet, and books are important tools for gaining knowledge about how to achieve these goals for ourselves, our loved ones, and for Planet Earth. Divided into five categories, these books are honored for their contributions to positive global change.

We're so honored that Living Wellness for Growth Groups won the GOLD Evergreen Metal for the Health and Wellness category!

Weight Loss and Wellness Go Hand in Hand

Not everyone recognizes the link between nutrition, fitness, and faith, but longtime personal trainer Ashley Darkenwald is an exception. In her award-winning new book Living Wellness for Growth Groups, she takes readers on a journey of self-discovery toward exceptional health through freedom of mind, balanced living, and an abundant relationship with God.

Bible verse_ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”Colossians 3_17.png

Introducing: My Friend Areya Goodnuff

October 29, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

Today on the blog, I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to introduce you to a dear friend of mine: Areya Goodnuff. Yes, I know, she does have a bit of an unusual name. I just checked and it is not on the top 10 (or top 100 for that matter) list of baby names for 2017. Regardless of her quirky name, we're great friends and chat often.

Areya Goodnuff and I chat daily. We're besties. Okay...maybe daily was a bit of an understatement. We check in often during the day. Hmm... how often? Maybe really often. Okay, fine, I'd call it frequently. I consult with her about pretty much everything. See Areya Goodnuff just has an opinion about everything and she helps me remember things I might forget.

She reminds me how often I forgot to work out this week. How few veggies I've eaten today...or this week. She challenges me to think of other activities I could get myself involved in at home, work, church, community, etc. I mean there's always more of me to go around right?

When's the last time I cleaned the toilet? Areya reminds me: three weeks ago. Is a full night of sleep really necessary or could I use some of that time to be more productive--that was an Areya original! She reminds me that I really could do more in the day and that even my best efforts could be better. Isn't it great to have a friend that doesn't let your shortcomings and mistakes fall through the cracks? What would I do without her? What would I be without her?

Roots: Going Deeper

October 22, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul, Nourished Body

I recently had some dental work done to fix alignment issues in my mouth. The treatment was pretty straight forward:

I was to pay x amount, follow the instructions attentively and in x weeks I will achieve x results.

The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like how I use to view my work as a personal trainer.

Clients would pay x amount, follow the instructions carefully, and in x weeks they would achieve x results.

Both of these equations lead to a positive end result. The difference between these two equations, however, was that one ends in lasting change all the time, the other does some of the time. Can you guess which one is which?

The answer is in the roots. See, my dental changes are a permanent change because my dentist made sure to address the problem deeper than the surface level. In my early days as a personal trainer though, my guidance and strategies often seemed to just stay at the surface--clients would commit to my program, loose weight, stop the program, gain the weight back. What I didn't realize at the time was that our health and weight journey is usually grounded in deep emotional, psychological, and/or spiritual roots. Let's dig a little deeper :)

Autumn Peace- Piece by Piece

September 02, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul, Nourished Body

I feel blessed to live in a place where the season of fall feels so magical. As a child, I loved to jump into piles of raked leaves. This was one of our favorite family celebrations to welcome fall.

Many people celebrate the fall season with crisp morning walks, cozy blankets, or homemade apple pie. These I do enjoy, but mostly, fall is a season to meditate on a change in of season, a change in life, and to find peace within God's divine presence.

Without the warmth of the sun the leaves surrounding us will begin to change and true colors will be revealed. Friends, we have unique colors within ourselves too, at all times of our lives. God creates our colors to change and shine, and not to be covered up. See your colors as transition, moving into the next season of life. Someone once said to me, "Without change, there will be no change". This made so much sense to me, and to this day I silently speak this in my mind when I am afraid of the unknown or of what will be in my future.

Quote_ Rest & self care are so important. Whenever you have time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel._.png

More of Me

July 30, 2017 in Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

Well friends, tomorrow marks the last day of our #LWGG30Day Challenge. Thank you for sharing this journey with me and supporting me as I challenged myself with my wellness goals.

My hope is that over this past month, you found our wellness challenge posts to be inspiring. Inspiring you to nourish your body with different types of exercise. Inspiring you to choose your body with foods that not only satisfy your hunger but nourish your body with the building blocks it needs for health. Inspiring you to take time for yourself. And inspiring you to put nourishing your body, mind, and spirit at the forefront of your mind in order to worship God, honor God, and serve God more fully.

Two weeks ago, I shared with you in this post my progress with the Living Wellness 30 Day Challenge, what exercises I found I enjoyed, and a few take-aways that I learned from this challenge.

Today, I'd like to share with you one final take-away.

Rest

May 21, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

Rest.

Do you feel like you have enough rest? Would you consider yourself “well-rested”? If I’m honest, I’m not sure that I even know what “well-rested” looks like…or feels like.

If rest is something that seems to allude you, something that is either just outside your reach or maybe well beyond your reach, consider this: are you allowing yourself rest? Or do you feel this constant ache to achieve, accomplish, complete, check off the list, finish so much so that you cannot allow yourself to rest?

I was reminded of a scripture verse this week that has always captured my attention and my heart. This verse quiets that track in my head that nags at me to achieve, accomplish, finish and instead reminds me to rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people that were weary and burdened by the religious rules and legalism of his day. He invited them to come, follow him, and find rest—a rest that they could not find outside of him, a true eternal rest.

In the verse from the book of Matthew, Jesus invites us to come to him to find rest, but did you also know that God commands us to rest? In Exodus 34:21, God spoke to Moses and said, “six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.”

I often find myself too busy to rest. Ever feel that way?

What's clouding your lens?

April 30, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

My toddler son is currently in a phase where he loves to be a helper. I love this phase, but it can get messy at times. I was getting ready for bed when I heard my husband say, "bring those right to mommy!" A few moments later, I hear little feet walking toward me. My son came in the room holding my phone in one hand and gripping my glasses with the other. He very carefully handed them to me and looked at me with an anticipatory grin waiting for my praise. I thanked him for being such a good helper while also grimacing a bit. See my son doesn't know the best way to hold glasses. He held them securely yet gently, but he held them by grasping just the lenses with his sweet, little, sweaty hands. I looked at my lenses and they were completely smudged--though nothing a little soap and water couldn't take care of.

You may be wondering what I'm getting at with this--Just give me a moment and I'll explain.

Day Three Changed Everything

April 15, 2017 in Nourished Soul, Nourished Mind

Can you imagine what it would have been like to be an early follower of Jesus during those three days after his death?

I imagine that day one must have been full of shock--"this Jesus we've been following and listening to is gone." The second day, I imagine that panic and doubt would have started to set in--"I thought He was supposed to be the Savior...Could the Savior truly have been killed?...What do we do now." All of those moments of amazement after viewing miracle after miracle slowly start fading as the thoughts of doubt start creeping in--"did those miracles really happen? Did Jesus really heal those people. Did Jesus really say...?" Day three, I imagine my thoughts start turning to what others may start thinking about me or saying to me--"didn't you follow that Jesus? Where is He now? Guess He wasn't all that He said He was." Oh how quickly we forget the truth and how easily we slip into believing the lies.

Today we remember and we celebrate that day three did not end like a normal day. It didn't end like days one or two. No, day three was the day that changed everything. Jesus did the impossible. Jesus fulfilled Scriptures that were written hundreds and hundreds of years before (such as Deuteronomy 18:18). On day three, Jesus, who was dead, rose from the grave fully alive! Jesus, who was present and active in the creation of the world, died a horrible death to be a ransom for the sins of the world. He died that horrible death and rose again for you.

Mindful Eating: Excerpts from Living Wellness for Growth Groups

February 26, 2017 in Nourished Mind, Nourished Body, Nourished Soul

What a fantastic weekend at the Home and Garden Show in Minneapolis and the Bridging the Gap Sisterhood Leadership Retreat in Alexandria! It was so exciting to share the message of Living Wellness with people who were on such different parts of their wellness journey–from those just getting started to the veterans who have been making healthy living choices for years. Although the Bridging the Gap Retreat is done, you can still catch us today (Sunday 2/26) and next weekend (3/3-3/5) at the Home and Garden Show. See you there!

My speaking topic at the Bridging the Gap Sisterhood Leadership Retreat was on how to avoid burnout by incorporating freedom, balance, and abundance into our health. One strategy I mentioned for avoiding burnout is to nourish your body through the practice of mindful eating. As I promised in my talk, here’s your step-by-step guide for how to practice Mindful Eating.

This post is an excerpt from my new book Living Wellness for Growth Groups which is available our website, Amazon, and Itasca Books.

Eternity in Our Hearts: Longing for More

February 12, 2017 in Nourished Soul, Nourished Mind

I have a confession to make. I recently started listening to Christmas music again. I know, I know…it’s February! It has been seven weeks since Christmas. Forty-nine days. Not sure about you, but it feels like it has been forever. I began listening to Christmas music again when I began to feel this insistent sense of longing, longing for something more. In our Christmas post, I talked about this sense of longing. I challenged you to fill that sense of longing with the abundant life Jesus offered when he came as a baby lying in a manger.

As we move into mid-February, the snow is melting a bit revealing a brown and lifeless looking scenery. I find that this is a really tough season of the year for a lot of people, including myself. The Christmas parties are over, the Christmas cookies are gone, all of the excitement and hype of the season is done. And we’re left with an ache for something more.

Why I Wrote Living Wellness for Growth Groups

January 29, 2017 in Nourished Home, Nourished Body, Nourished Mind, Nourished Soul

We’re counting down the hours of our Kickstarter campaign to launch the new Living Wellness for Growth Groups! Right now it’s t minus 58 hours and we’re less than $500 from our goal!

In light of the campaign coming to a close, I wanted to share my heart with you—why I wrote Living Wellness for Growth Groups. I wrote this book not for the fame or money, but to share the knowledge I have gained in my own journey of living wellness.

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