Reflection, gut health and a challenge or two

Hi friend!

We’ve made it to March. It’s never been my favorite month, to be honest. Both my daddy and my father-in-law passed away in March, so it carries a weight of loss. But even as it marks those anniversaries, it’s also a season of new beginnings—and I’m a spring-loving gal. My love letter business began in March, my first devotional was released in March, and now, at the end of this month, my first children’s book will make its debut. So I’m choosing to focus on life—the birth of new ideas—rather than letting grief take center stage.

Do certain anniversaries hit you, too? It’s a strange thing how time loops back around, isn’t it?

March is also the month I kicked off a health journey when I turned 50. I had just gotten my cholesterol checked, and it was scarily high. So, I sought out a holistic nutritionist, made some changes, and for a while, things got better—cholesterol dropped, I lost ten pounds, and I was feeling good. Then I got a little too ambitious. I decided to try a parasite cleanse. I took the prescribed dosage of XYZ, and then… all he!! broke loose.

I want to say it was a good thing, that maybe something needed fixing. But honestly, that saying, "If it ain't broke, don’t fix it?" Yeah. That. After just two days on the parasite meds, my gut went completely off the rails—for eight. solid. months. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. Every time I ate, my intestines gurgled like a science experiment gone wrong, and… well, you can imagine the rest. We tried countless protocols, but nothing worked. Eventually, I dropped my nutritionist altogether.

Finally, in one last cry of desperation, I reached out again, and she gave me the simplest advice: stop everything—every single supplement—and do a bone broth and soup diet. I also added celery juice for breakfast (one whole package, organic, blended—discard the pulp). And that was the game-changer. It took three weeks, but the issues finally disappeared, and for the most part, my digestion is back to normal.

Here are the two soups I ate every day for three weeks:

• 2 lbs ground beef

• 2 containers grass fed beef bone broth

  My favorite brand is Remedy.

• 1 package of shredded green cabbage

• 6 button mushrooms, sliced

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 1 zucchini, cubed

• 1 turnip, cubed

• 1 package of frozen English peas

• 2 cans water chestnuts, drained

• Small handful shredded carrots

• Salt, black pepper, powdered garlic

• 1 rotisserie chicken (Costco is my go-to)

• 2 containers organic chicken bone broth.

  My favorite brand is Remedy.

• 6 mushrooms, sliced

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 2 cans water chestnuts, drained

• 1 turnip, cubed

• Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning

Serve over white rice if you’d like!

I have a habit of picking up random fitness crushes—it changes week to week, totally dependent on my motivation, energy, and, let’s be real… my hormone cycle. 😉 This week’s obsession? Denise Bovee (IG: @denise_bovee). One picture on Instagram sent me down a full-on rabbit hole, and now I’m hooked.

Her “fitness” highlight is super motivating! She only has maybe 3-4 workouts up, but wow, they are fire. I’ve already knocked out two of them, and they did not disappoint!

Along with a bazillion squats, she also throws in the occasional 100 pushups a day for a month challenge. So… here I go. I’m two days in, and let me tell you—my arms are quivering as I type this. Pretty sure that means it’s working. 😅

Last weekend, I went to a vintage market curated by my friend Linsey (IG: @braveheartedbeauty). She had stumbled upon a treasure trove—one she didn’t realize at the time would bless my socks off.

I happened to catch her stories highlighting her finds, and she set aside a big bag full of Moleskine travel journals from the late Eunice Kern. Eunice was an artist who loved to travel—just like me. 🙂 And when I looked her up, I discovered she also painted silk scarves… cue the goosebumps. I was meant to have these.

Most of the journals had only a few pages filled in, so I’m continuing her practice—adding my own travels to hers. She had been to many of the same places I’ve visited, making this such a sweet and unexpected way to carry on her journey.

Flipping through one of the journals took me on a walk down memory lane. In 2018, the year my daddy passed away, I took my oldest daughter, Maggie, to France for an art retreat. We snuck off to Paris for a few days and found ourselves inside Shakespeare and Company. This was the view from the upstairs window—Notre-Dame before the fire. What a beautiful day, a beautiful memory, a beautiful keepsake.

For some reason, Eunice’s dedication to these journals has deeply inspired me to do the same. These are treasures for me now, but I know that someday, my loved ones will treasure them too.

Let’s leave a legacy. ❤️

Our church is studying the book of Colossians, and the message is simple but powerful: information leads to transformation. Jesus is everything I need. Not Jesus plus some fancy new revelation. Just Jesus and the work He did for me on the Cross.

"Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it." — Colossians 4:17

BOOM! For someone like me who gets easily distracted and loses focus, this was gold! Thank you, Lord, for your Word that refines and pushes me to stay the course.

Which leads me to…

I officially have a date set to read my book, My Forever Home: The Hope of Heaven, to a classroom full of kids in Nashville soon. And for some reason… this terrifies me. I wrote it for them. He’s got this. Get a grip, Becky! 😅

What Else Am I Working On?