Fitness: Chloe Ting’s Flat Stomach Challenge – Week 1

Image screenshot: Chloe Ting 2021 Flat Stomach Challenge

This post was updated daily for days 1 – 7 of this challenge.
Click here for week two’s updates of this challenge.

Yesss! So it begins… I am really excited to be doing this challenge with a bunch of other people on Discord, but also some of my church friends who have been interested in getting back into exercise. The program was pre-released on Saturday and I’ve been dead excited about it ever since. It’s got some of my favourite videos in and the entire schedule looks very well thought out. (Not to mention, I actually came up with the challenge name hehe.)

This is a 4 week challenge and I don’t really want the post to be too long, so I’ll be tracking my updates on a new post every week. It’s only been a few days since I completed the 2020 2 Week Shred Challenge so I won’t be posting starting physique photos. I look the same so please check out the bottom of that post if you’re curious about pictures.

Originally I had wanted to take the entire weekend off from exercising after my 2 Week Shred completion, but thanks to a song my friend played on in the Discord voice chat I ended up basically doing Day 1 of the 2019 2 Weeks Shred challenge plus most of Chloe’s 6 Pack Abs video with a 5lb dumbbell… for funsies. In jeans, t-shirt and socks on carpet haha.

The impromptu workout was unintentional, but thoroughly enjoyable. I did sweat during the workout, but not nearly as much as I would have done in the past. I was able to go through the entirety of the workout without additional breaks or struggling very hard at all.

Super thrilled at how much stronger I’ve become, and I’m excited to grow even stronger through this program! Chloe has released a new warm up video, and will be releasing a new cool dow video as well, so I’ll be trying both of those out as part of this program. As before, dates will be written in US format since I live here now.

Read More

Bullet Journal: January Setup

It’s been a while! Yes, I have still been using my bullet journal but I haven’t really been writing about it. I haven’t done elaborate spreads, and if anything they’ve become a lot more basic, but they’re fit for purpose. It’s a new year! But instead of doing a bunch of new year spreads, I kind of just continued my single page 1mo spreads because there isn’t enough going on in my life for each week to warrant its own double spread anymore.

I decorated January’s a little more than usual, but pretty much my spreads just look like this:

This is to be used for the entire month, and if I end up needing more space I’ll just add another page to it as I go along. I don’t add mood or habit trackers anymore because I don’t think I do enough of them per week/month to warrant tracking. That said, as I mentioned in a previous post, I have started to do my skincare a lot more now that I’ve broken out my new ESPA products heh, and especially since it’s been colder lately so my skin has been really dry. Maybe I will start tracking again at some point, but for now it’s not necessary.

One thing I will be tracking, though, is a monthly resolution. Last year’s resolution to memorise Romans 8 failed, but this year I’ll be aiming to have mini-resolutions on a monthly basis that are easily achievable. For January, I will be aiming to read Romans 8 once through every day. This is totally doable, and by the end of the month, having read it once per day, I’d hope that I’d be able to remember a good chunk of it already.

Plus, taking time to read it will give me time to internalise the words as well, rather than just memorising and spewing out words meaninglessly. It shouldn’t take me more than 2-5min per day, and if I really can’t find the time to do that on a daily basis there’s probably going to be a deeper heart issue that I’ll need to look into.The monthly resolution I can track at the bottom of the page by writing the days in and just crossing off each day that I’ve done.

I like my basic spread! It’s simple but it’s cute and it should work well for me, that’s the most important part I feel :) It doesn’t take long to set up and is easy for me to use. Hopefully this new year will bring a new degree of productivity.

Muchos love,

Bobbie

Hello 2021

Last year was a special year, indeed.

I remember my only resolution (because I suck at them) was to memorise the entirety of Romans 8. Unfortunately, I am fairly embarrassed and ashamed to say I did not succeed, especially since I had so much time at home to study it. This year, though, I’m thinking of having the same resolution, but will also aim to continue uploading my Bible reading onto YouTube, and continue sharing the gospel online via Twitch. Whether or not I succeed in the latter part of that will be quite easy to see. Please feel free to keep me accountable.

Perhaps my biggest resolution, however, should remain to love the triune God of the Bible with all my heart, mind, soul, strength — my entire being — and glorify Him alone.

Happy New Year! Here’s to 2021.

Blessings,

Crystina

2020 Reflections: There’s So Much Beauty Here

Image credit: Unsplash.com

It’s been a really difficult year, I know, for so many people. But for me, looking back on 2020, I have nothing but gratitude. There has been a lot that has gone wrong, but focusing on the negative and dwelling on the disappointments will not change the outcome and might only cause me to fall into despair. So, instead, I just want to take time to give thanks for the year that we’ve had.

During Sunday School, our pastor gave us a few prompts to consider and reflect upon. We were encouraged to come up with 1-3 top things for each. I enjoyed this activity a lot, feel free to try it for yourself as well! :)

What are some things you celebrated or found joy in this year?

  1. My wedding!
  2. Exercising and improving my health/time of rest
  3. Extended honeymoon period/spending a lot more time with hubs due to Jacky working from home

What are some significant things you learned or ways you grew?

  1. I really lack self-discipline and that is one of the major ways I’d like to grow in
  2. Not take basic necessities for granted – i.e. toilet paper, milk, eggs, canned foods
Read More

Merry Christmas!

Image credit: Unsplash.com

Merry Christmas, everyone! Jesus Christ is born! What a joyous, momentous occasion that God would love the world in this way: that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:13-14, ESV

Jesus came to bring peace to men on earth. It’s been a pretty un-peaceful year for so many people this year. I pray that this would be an opportunity for anyone who is lacking peace in their hearts to turn their hearts towards Him who is able to not only give them eternal peace, but also eternal love and life.

I have to admit this year has been a bit strange for me. Basically not leaving the house for the majority of this year has meant seasons have passed and all I’ve experienced is the warming and cooling of the inside of my apartment. It hasn’t felt very Christmassy, I haven’t really seen lights or even been bothered with decorations for the apt. But God has been gracious to me this year – I am translating for our church’s Christmas Eve Chinese/English service and it’s given me time to reflect.

Thanks to Jesus, I am at peace. The world may be experiencing turbulence, but I believe my God is sovereign. Nothing that’s happened so far this year has surprised Him, and with my future in His hands, there is nothing for me to worry about. If you haven’t yet received the love of Christ and are interested to know more, please let this Christmas be the year you give it a shot.

If you’re interested, please feel free to join in our live service starting at 8pm PT here. Otherwise, I think the link can still take you to the service if you want to check it out later. Please let me know if you do.

May God’s peace and blessings be upon you and your family. Merry Christmas!

SDG,

Crystina