Confession #19: I've always wondered, what would happen if...

I have to say I love the "On this day" feature on Facebook. It's fun to see what I was doing or what was on my mind last year or six years ago. Some days I'm surprised by how much I've grown in my faith. Other days I long for the days where I heard so clearly from the Lord. Sometimes I see God's grace and His hand over my life and other times I just laugh at the silliness of my friends and myself. It can also be a not so fun feature, like when I see how much thinner I was five years ago or when I see reference of a friend that no longer is. But no matter what memories or feelings the trip down Facebook memory lane, it serves as a virtual scrapbook and let's be honest, ain't nobody got time to scrapbook (well, at least I don't).

One year ago today I posted a series of questions. Questions that were birthed out of a place of anger and frustration, a place of disappointment in how we treat each other as women. It was birthed out of love. These questions weren't hypothetical but more like a challenge for us to step up as women. We are failing each other and I believe these questions are still worth asking. We need to explore all these "What would happen if" scenarios. So as you read my Facebook post from a year ago I invite you to ask yourself "What if?" but more importantly ask yourself "What now?"

What would happen?

What would happen if women came together and supported each other? If they would encourage and uplift each other? If they would celebrate each others gifts and celebrated each other talents? What if they didn't feel threatened by each others successes and mentored other women so they could also succeed? What if they pulled their resources together and worked along side of each other? What would their ministries, businesses, legacies, and families look like if they did?

What if WE as women committed to try to do some things? If we were intentional on liking, sharing, and supporting the ventures, businesses, and ministries of the women in our sphere of influence? What if we were intentional to include people in our tribe and make them feel significant loved and included? What if we stopped idolizing celebrities and leaders and we celebrated the stay at home mom doing everything to keep it together,the homeless women just trying to make it another day, the teacher that loves and instructs your kids everyday, the beautiful lady that greets you at church, or that one that posts exactly what you needed to read on FB or Instagram? What if???

#womenneedwomen #celebrateeachother

Much Love, 

Cristina

**This is part of the 31 day series: Confessions of a Faithonista**

Confession #17: How stuffing myself with food deafened my ears towards God

So in my last post I shared how food was the #1 thing separating me from God. It might sound dramatic but it's 100% true. Food is that one thing that I have yet to overcome. Food is harder than so many other obstacles because of one simple fact: You can't just stop eating! Admit it, you can't.

Partying, wine, worrying, compulsive behavior, drugs, medication, shopping, exercise, gambling, and fill in the blank are all things that you can survive without doing. Now, don't think I'm saying giving up any of these behaviors are easy. They aren't. Every struggle is unique and should never be minimized as we don't know what it's like to walk in the shoes of someone else. But food, you can't avoid. You need it for survival and you can't escape it. FOOD IS EVERYWHERE!

I first noticed that we were bombarded by food options when I did my first fast. As I vowed not to eat for spiritual purposes, I started to notice for the first time how overwhelming food choices were. The simple act of walking into the gas station convenience store would turn into a spiritual and physical battle as I was surrounded by both salty and sweet, hot and cold, crunchy and soft food choices. And that was just the food, let me not even start on the drinks and aromas...

It was hard, but fasting is supposed to be. It's not natural to not hunger and to switch the mindset to hunger God more than food, just goes against our fleshy nature. I was able to fast successfully though. It gave me taste of how clearly I could hear God. I saw Him in everything. I wasn't distracted by food or anything for that matter. I had to rely solely on Him to get through every second of the day. I was close to Him, because I was so aware of my need for Him. He had to sustain me and nourish me.

I pause here to say there are several ways to fast, some don't even involve fasting from food. I am not endorsing or encouraging fasting for health reasons. I have my views but I am not an expert on the topic nor am I a health professional. So please do not take this post as advise on whether to fast or how to fast. I am just sharing with my experience as it helped lead me to the realization that food is a hindrance in my spiritual life.

So for the first time, it clicked. I saw the Biblical importance of fasting and why it is necessary in the spiritual life of a Christian. But it wasn't until a few days ago that I saw that God calling me to fast was also about this moment. This moment of personal revelation. An altar of faith, one to look back on and be reminded of how clearly I heard Him when I removed that distraction and how close I felt to Him because of it.

I will leave this post here for now. I ask you, has there ever been a time where God (or you) removed something from your life and you were able to hear Him clearer or feel Him more? What was this? Were you able to remove this from your life permanently? Let's explore this together...I feel like this confession/topic will be one we will dig in deep with and I would love to know YOUR point of view.

Much love,

Cristina

**This is part of the 31 day series: Confessions of a Faithonista**