Welcome

Hello. My name is Matt Simeone and this is my blog. I have always wanted to start writing down my thoughts however, I never found the courage or motivation to begin. (remember I said that) I have decided to spend my daily lunch break blogging instead of mindless driving around or going shopping for items I do not need just to kill time. This post is just going to be a bit of an introduction and my general thoughts and plan for this blog.



The Purpose of this blog is just for me to write about whatever is on my mind/heart for that day.

· It may be me wrestling with deep wounds from my past

· exploring problem areas in my life and seeking guidance

· a place for me to just release my thoughts and a platform to discuss and share things ive kept wrapped for years

· share my personal passions and interests

· I hope to share favorite recipes/workouts/inspirations

· I hope to inspire and motivate others

· Basically anything!



Ultimately I just want this to basically be an open, honest, personal journal that I can express myself on my good/bad/happy/sad days. I am a thinker, a dreamer, and tend to examine all things.



About me - Family: The first thing that I need to point out is that I am married to the most beautiful, wonderful, loving and passionate women in the entire world. Erin has a heart bigger than the universe and is the only person I have ever met who legitimately cares about every single person in the world. She puts everything before herself and would do anything for anyone at anytime. I am the luckiest guy in the world because of the unconditional love and support she shows to me which is 100% undeserved. She has stood next to me, supported me and picked me up through all of the many stumbles I have encountered in my life. I also have a fantastic family comprising of my Mom, Dad and sister. They have also stood next to me and supported me throughout my life though all of the ups and downs. My parents are incredibly hard working successful people who I feel raised my sister and I wonderfully.



About me – Faith: I love Jesus. I am a Christ following Christian who stumbles and falls short every single day. I am a sinner and do not deserve the grace that has been given to me by our Lord and Savior. My biggest hope and prayer for this year is to truly grow closer to Christ and allow Him to fully penetrate my heart and show me where I need to grow and learn and what parts of my life I need to change. Erin and I recently felt led to leave our old Church and start a new Journey at a different Church. We attend River Oak Church and absolutely love it. We have joined a Newly/Nearly wed couples bible study which is truly fantastic and something we have been seeking for many many years. The “Faith” aspect of my life is probably going to be a key topic in many of my posts.



About me – Friends: I have the greatest friends in the world. The problem is, I have shut most of the out of my life over the last few years. Why? We will cover that in many many posts to come.



About me – Fitness: Anyone who really knows me, specifically over the last 4 years, would probably agree that I could best be described by being obsessed with Fitness. I agree. Fitness is not a bad thing to be obsessed with right? Wrong… Sort of. Being physically fit is extremely important for your health. However… when it becomes an Idol…. is when it can be bad. I do love working out. A lot. I totally love CrossFit. I am not a member of a box (crossfit gym) but I do it on my own. This will also be a major topic of my blog. I hope to share insight on what works for me, fun things I do/learn, and hopefully inspire others. My “Fitness Focus” for this year is to turn my working out from simply a “must do this to burn calories so I can eat food” to enjoying workouts, trying new things, working out to become stronger, and I really really really would like to utilize my passion for fitness to find a way to use it as a type of ministry and use it for the greater purpose of helping others meet there goals utilizing all my past experiences through the highs/lows of my fitness journey.



About me – Food: Here is the touchy/emotional/deep/#youprobablydidntknowthis part of my life. (ok you probably thought something was wrong if you have seen any pictures of my over the last year). Basically throughout the entire year of 2013 I suffered from the eating disorder known as Anorexia. Yep. But wait… isn’t that a girl’s disease? False. Many men deal with eating disorders and unfortunately it can actually be more dangerous for men due to the fact that it is presumed to effect women much more… most men would never admit to it for fear of looking feminine and never seek help. This usually ends badly. Thankfully Erin, my family, and my closest friends cared enough about me to recognize the signs and symptoms and finally convinced me I had a problem and needed to seek help. I probably need to provide a bit of a background for anyone who doesn’t understand how this came to be. Erin and I set out on a journey to lose weight back in Dec. 2009. To make a long story short we were incredibly successful. Erin lost 90lbs and looks fabulous and enjoys life. I lost 115lbs and looked fabulous and enjoyed life. Then… something happened. I felt like I could do more. I decided that losing 115lbs and not having a 6-pack or 4% body fat wasn’t fair. I worked way to hard. I deserved those things. So weight loss round 2 began. 20lbs later I looked sick, emotionless, had no energy or passion for life, but you better believe I was wearing a Small Shirt, could fit into 29in waist skinny jeans, and was record low 146lbs. that’s right. 275ish to 146. Success! FALSE. More on this to come. However I will let everyone know I working through this and have definitely made strides towards healing and getting rid of this horrible problem. The horizon is bright!



About me – Fun: Ahhh a less depressing topic! If you asked me, “what do you like to do for fun?” 7 years ago…. I would have said… Surfing, Skateboarding, Drinking, Lifted Trucks, Punk Rock music, and quite honestly being a douche bag. I was. Ill admit it. I was so insecure with myself being the fat kid in life and in my circle of friends, that I hid those insecurities by acting funny and acting like sarcastic jerk because it made people laugh… and as I learned later in life it made people cry. So… anyway nowadays my interests and passions include: Painting, DIY projects, fitness, cooking, I love all things Christmas, and serving others in a variety of ways. I plan also using this blog to share my interests with others.



About me – Favorites: Following the “F” trend I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my favorite things.

Movie: Good Will Hunting

TV Show: The West Wing

Teams: New England Patriots and Chelsea FC. (Pittsburgh Steelers by marriage)

Month: October/November/December. I am a sucker for the holidays

Actor: Matt Damon

Food: Eggs and Broccoli.

Author: John Eldredge

Book: Wild At Heart. The Polar Express.

Way to spend an evening: Around a Fireplace/Fire pit with friends any family.

Favorite Part of the Day: Taking a walk before the sunrises, then watching the sun rise.

Store: Trader Joes

Artist: Thomas Kinkade

Band(s): Hillsong, anberlin, casting crowns, wolves at the gate, The Piano Guys



About me – Final Thoughts: Well this has already turned out way different then I thought it would. My “introduction” just turned into a small biography. This is not a bad thing at all! I want these posts to go and flow in any direction. No rules, no formats, no limitations. Just me writing what is on my heart this day.



Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord you God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9