Thursday’s Q&A – Hilary V.

It’s Thursday… which means another Q&A!

Meet Hilary.

Isn’t she cute?

Hil and I go way back. We met as freshies in high school English class. I don’t actually remember learning any English, but I can tell you exactly where our seats were in the classroom!

Hil is a personal inspiration when it comes to the commitment and dedication it takes to making healthy living a priority. As a busy mom, wife, and employee, she still prioritizes her time to workout, eat right, and meet with God.

Awesome, right? Here’s Hil:

Thursday Q&A: Hilary V.
25 y/o – Salem, WI – Special Education Aide

Q: Who is God to you?

God is my father and my helper in all things. As a new mom and a still relatively new wife I need as much help from God as possible to attempt to be more like him. I look to him in my troubles and questions and find a sense of calm in knowing that I do not need to know all of the answers to every question or how to do everything on my own. I have a God that wants to help me in all times and cares about everything that I care about from how to be a good wife to what kinds of food I should buy/feed to my hungry little one. I am blessed to know a God that cares and has my best interest at heart. God is everything. Without him I could do nothing..

Q: Do you have quiet times? If so, when and where do you do them, and what do you study?

Yes, I do have quiet times. As I have to be to work so early in the morning I tend to have my quiet time at night after the little one has gone to bed. I find that I am better able to connect with God when I am not in a hurry and am able to really relax with him. Many times my quiet times are in bed with my husband. We use the Bible app a ton on our phones and love to listen to God’s word before bed. We use the plans/devotionals that the Bible app provides and go through them daily. We just finished one called Elisha: A tale of Ridiculous Faith that was very good and inspiring.

Q: Have a favorite verse?

I do have a favorite verse and I also have a verse that I have been looking too in this certain time of my life. My favorite verse is Psalm 18: 6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” I love knowing that if i cry out to my God that he will hear me. I have turned to this verse many times in my life.

Currently though I have been looking to one particular verse to help me through my current life situation and it is Philippians 4:12-13: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” I want to be more like Paul when he wrote this. I want to learn to be content with whatever God has given me and always remember to be thankful for the many blessings and graces that he has given my family and I.

Q: Do you work out? If so, what’s your routine?

Yes, I do work out. I tend to work out early in the morning because I am both a full time mom and have a full time job. I already feel as though I have little time with my family and I do not want exercising to cut into the time that I do have with them after school. Right now I have been focusing on getting back into a running routine. There are a couple of races this summer that I really want to compete in and I would like to be in the best shape possible for them. If I can put in a shameless plug for one of the races I will, Journey Church in Kenosha is going to be hosting The Hope Run in June. The proceeds of the run will be going towards the fight against human trafficking and the sex slave business. There is a facebook page set up if anyone is interested in donating/running in the event.

On the days that I do not run I love to do Yoga. I have the Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD and think that it is a fantastic workout DVD and really provides a nice change of pace from running all the time.

Q: If so, what’s your favorite music to work out to?

Lately I have not been listening to music when I work out. I rigged up a bookshelf in front of the treadmill and put my old laptop on it so I can watch movies while I run/walk. My guilty pleasure as of late has been Harry Potter. I started on movie 3 and have been making my way through the rest of the series. If I do not have the dvd player though I have a 90’s country radio station on my Pandora that I like to listen to :)

Q: Favorite food or recipe?

I think that my favorite go-to recipe is Mexican chicken. You simply put 4-5 chicken breasts in the crock pot with a jar of thick salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, black beans, and corn and let it sit for the day. It shreds so easily and then we usually use it in taco bowls or taco salads and have left overs for work the next couple of days. So easy and so good.

Q: What is something that God has done or is doing in your life that you want to share with the world?

Some of the ladies at my work all decided to read the book Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh Demoss together. This book has really truly changed my life and the way that I look at my life and situations. It has really taught me to work to see all of the blessings that God has given me. It has challenged me to see God in all things and to remember that what we have on earth is fleeting. It has challenged me to be more thankful and to see God in small things. I think about that book everyday and remember that my God is good. It is a challenging book but it is worth every second and I would recommend it to anyone.