Joyfull Living

    It's week 3 of the Living and Active Challenge and due to some motivation, I have a good report this week!  My goal was to eat well and stretch my running endurance in order to run my first 5K  Through the week, my running was built up to 3 miles non-stop and my diet was good, even through eating out one time.  I did yield to the temptation of a bowl of warm peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream! Race day arrived with a small surprise.  My youngest son had ran with me during the week, wanted to do the 5K. Here we are before the race: Then after the race: My son had a friend who was also running and they ran together, doing a great job.  My goal for the race was simply to finish, hoping to run the entire time.  I did and even got an award for best time in my age category!!   This week's challenge is "Craving Conquerors".  In our diets, cravings can quickly undo the hard work we've done. ...

  This week's Revive Your Marriage topic is "Praise".  The essence of 'revive' is change - if we're ready to put a new spark in our marriage, we will have to change.  But, change doesn't have to be an overwhelming thing, small things such as our attitude, words, kindness can bring about big changes. Praise is a powerful thing - for the giver and the receiver.  Who doesn't like and is spurred on by words of praise?  When we are the giver of genuine praise, a heart and mind change usually come first.  If we purposefully look for good, we will find it (goes also for not so good!), but as our choice is to build up, we find good things and share them.    In day to day life with our husbands, it is easy to take  him for granted.  Does he do little things that get overlooked?  Take out the trash, fill up your car with gas, pick up after himself?  This week, let's take notice of the things he does and the traits he has ...

Do any of your days seem to fly by in a blur?  Do you race around in a frantic pace and feel like you’re accomplishing nothing?  Are you looking for the ‘perfect system’ to organize and help make the day more productive?  Me too!   This morning’s devotion shared this passage of Scripture: And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalms 90:17 The best way to begin the day is to seek the Lord and His plans.  He cares about our life, our future and our day to day activities. When we seek Him first, things fall into the rightful place and He establishes the work of our hands.  This picture is the theme verse over at Home Sanctuary where this was shared ”Yes, I want the work of my hands to be established by Him. And more than anything, I want His beauty to permeate my life and home with a sweetness that is palpable. I want to see his glory in...

    The focus for this week's Living and Active Challenge is "Dedicated Daily".   In our spiritual and physical walk, daily dedication is the key to growth, improvement and change.    If you have ever gone on a 'diet', you know that you will eventually go off of the diet and the old eating habits and lack of exercise will undo all that had been done!  If not practiced daily, we go  back to what is normal.  Healthy habits must become the 'new normal'  ingrained, practiced and made a part of our daily life. Finding some favorite healthy alternatives to foods that are not good for us will take us to the path of better eating habits.  Replacing the bad with the good, done over and over is what makes changes.  But in the beginning, we must be dedicated.  Dedicated Daily to make the best choices in our food, to do some sort of exercise and choose to be healthy.   This is the verse for our 'soul food'...

This is week 1 of the Living and Active Challenge and it could not have come at a better time for me!  I've just spent a few days at the beach...you know, sitting around, watching the waves roll in, lounging by the pool, eating delicious dinners and cooling off with an evening ice cream cone!!!  Although I did do some walking on the beach and 'attempted' to eat healthy, I was still on vacation and treated myself with some indulgence!   Another reason this challenge is so timely, is that this will keep me on the upswing.  For many years, I have diligently walked each evening, did weights to keep toned and had a comfortable fitness routine which was actually a way of life.  A few months ago after hearing so many of my friends had taken up running, decided to give it a try!    I have always HATED running!  But I knew it burned more calories and fat and those who were doing it were loving it!  When I began, I used a routine where I ra...

The focus for this week's Revive Your Marriage is Attitude!   If you have been married any length of time, you understand that attitudes can change.  Our mates are not perfect and we are called upon to give much more of ourselves than we ever have before...talk about attitude adjustment! Through the years of married life, our attitudes continually change.  Adjustments are made and often we fall into a comfortable lifestyle with out mates.  As wives, we can almost mechanically feed him, clothe him, love him and send him off to work.  We learn that comfortable love - he is always there and fits perfectly into our home.  But....our husband is to be our highest human priority.  It's not just about meeting his needs, its about being his best friend, his cheerleader, his support and the love of his life. Again...attitudes may need adjusting!  This week's challenge is about attitude: It does a marriage good to go back and reflect on th...

Nothing is more inspiring to me than a challenge!  I love being accountable and encouraged in a quest!    Being  physically active is one of my strengths, simply because I love it!  Walking is not only a fitness tool for me, but is my passion!  It gives me time in the early morning or evening to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and provides some time 'just for me'!  I have walked regularly for years.  Another fitness tool that benefits me are weights.  Just using weights a few times a week gives tone and sculpture to my muscles. This easy routine helps keep me fit and is more like a daily part of my routine rather than a habit that I must do.  But, staying in the same routine for a long time often yields low results.  To get more, you must give more!  So, I'm joining this challenge!   This 5 Week Living and Active challenge goes beyond 'getting in shape', it encompasses the Physical and Spiritual and add...

Marriage ....is wonderful, fulfilling, a challenge at times and a tool which can be used to purge out selfish intentions and instill the biblical attitude of putting others interests above our own.  It's a whole lot of work, work and more work!  But God's plan for marriage is for it to be our highest human priority.  When we follow His plan and allow Him to develop some of these qualities - kindness, patience, love, faithfulness, integrity in our lives - a beautiful tapestry of love is created and fills our homes and future generations.  The statistics of a good marriage are already against us and daily we battle foes within us (selfishness, pride, desiring my rights etc.) and in our culture - low morals, temptations and ungodliness all around.    Every now and again we need a Marriage Revival!  A time to dedicate to evaluating and working on our marriages.  Even great marriages can use a spark of life every now and again.  I'm part...