Joyfull Living

Have you noticed how many people walk for exercise these days?  Any town you may encounter usually has walkers up and down the roads.  If you are a walker, you find a bond with them as you pass!   It's no wonder walking is so popular, it's fun, easy and brings a host of benefits such as: Brisk walking helps reduce body fat, lower blood pressure, and increase high-density lipoprotein that transport cholesterol and triglycerides to the blood stream. Walking helps to improve balance and coordination. It is suggested that walking 6,000 steps a day will improve health and 10,000 steps a day will help one lose weight. Walking can help decrease the risk of heart attack, decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and can even reduce the risk of bone fracture. Additionally, brisk walking can reduce stress and depression levels as well as improve cancer survival rates. Researchers have found that women who walked at least 1.5 hours per week had significantly better

As a little girl, I was a homebody. Spending the night away from home terrified me, going away for a week of camp never entered my mind! About 15 years ago, our church joined with a few other churches to provide a close by camp experience for children. It was the first time our boys went to camp and they fell in love with it. That first year, there were 18 campers plus adult chaperones.   The camp continued and grew in number each year.  One year, I was asked to be a cabin counselor for the girls cabin. Being around a cabin full of girls was quite a new experience for me!  I quickly learned about the differences in boys and girls, from their emotions to the simple acts of preparing themselves to go out the door. Every summer, my boys and I would eagerly go off to camp!  Once the boys were too old to be campers, they became junior counselors until they became too busy with work and adult life!  Our youngest son is now too old to be a camper and began his adventure of junior cou

This weekend, our 27th wedding anniversary and Father's Day are in the same weekend.  In the midst of celebrating, it is also a little bittersweet.  My father passed away within days of my wedding.  It was truly a devastating week, but also one where God's comfort and grace filled our hearts. Circumstances like that are where we find and experience God's grace. Through those 27 years, there has been a time to grieve and a time to heal. A time to love and to allow God to grow us in love. Now, years later, a bit wiser but never at a place that stops growing and reaching for more, my heart is so full, it is overflowing! As only God could orchestrate a life, He blessed me with a wonderful father.  He loved me, taught me many life skills, wisdom and embedded in my heart that I was loved and cherished. I was Daddy's girl, protected, adored and made to feel special from as early as I can remember.  One area that lacked was a spiritual influence. I didn't reali

Being one who loves order, a planner is a very important tool.  But, did you know that it's not enough to desire order, but you have to pursue it? I formulate in my mind many great plans, but follow up seems to be my slacking point.  Things like spending a day writing my weekly plans, but never opening the planner up!  I need a planner I can use...daily!  Every year, a new one is purchased and I"m always looking for that right one.  In the beginning of this year, I purchased one that promised to help me fulfill my goals, by setting them and marking the steps to move toward the goal.  Sounded great, but is too complicated!  I'm a day to day conqueror! An email came recently offering the opportunity to review a planner from Anchor Press Planners.  I quickly jumped at the opportunity, expressed my interest and went along the way, mainly forgetting about it! A package arrived in the sweetest box stamped "packaged with prayer" along with a heartfelt welcome

Adoration, Holiness, Stillness, Awe....characteristics of worship.  How do we as Christians worship God? What exactly is worship and what does it look like?  A recent sermon touched on the thought .. ."Those who know God best, worship Him the most." To worship God, we must know Him.  We know Him as we read His Word and discover His greatness. I've always loved the verse... "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength.  Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Psalms 29:1-3 The last phrase "the beauty of holiness" is a thought I've always loved, but again, what does that look like?  I found out one morning this week! My usual morning routine is that my husband wakes up an hour before me. He comes in to kiss my goodbye and then I get up.  This is usually around 5:30 AM.  The clock is on the opposite side of the bed, so one morning this week, I got up an

It's been said if you run for recreation, no matter the speed or distance, you can safely call yourself a runner!  I LOVE being able to say "I"m a runner", it sounds so strong, so energetic and healthy!  For me it is one area I excel in simply because I'm doing it for me.  My distance and speed is only measured by how well I did last time.  It's not about competing against others but to see progress and watch goals unfold, that is what had me hooked on running. Many of my friends are not runners and I"ve heard many of the comments of non-runners...."If you see me running, look behind me because I"m being chased", or "I could never run", "I've never ran 5 miles my entire life."  It's ok, we just keep moving on to find a more common ground. But, for my runner friends...there are a few common identifiers we may share.  I found this cute little list and can surely resonate with a few...how about you?

Our family celebrated a huge milestone last week...our daughter in law's graduation from college. Apparently, celebrations and traditions are a little bit more meaningful to girls than they are boys! Our oldest sons each received their college degrees but chose not to participate in the ceremony. Those treasured diplomas arrived in the mail with a 'well done' from mom and dad. This sweet girl gave us plenty of advance notice and invited us to come be a part of the celebration.  There was quite a group of supporters for her, with her family and friends and our family, we enjoyed the ceremony, and lots of pictures afterward, then continued our celebration at a seafood restaurant!      Dad in law and his first daughter!     Because selfies are important to us girls! Nothing like a supportive husband: One big, happy bunch celebrating! We dearly love our boys and all the blessings they have brought us through the years.  We are also so

Breakfast is an area of epic failure for me as a homemaker. My hard working husband is up way early and headed to work just as I'm getting up Through the years my sons have learned that breakfast can be quick and easy (if they want any!). On a good morning, I can whip up a bowl of oatmeal or some fabulous cinnamon toast! But it's nowhere near the grits, eggs and bacon my guys love on the weekends.   So...this week I saw and new recipe and am sharing (to be accountable to do it!) it! It sounds easy and delicious and is made with tater tots, a favorite at my house.  Ingredients:   1 lb. ground sausage  1/2 of a 32-oz. bag of tater tots  1/4 tsp. garlic powder  1/4 tsp. onion powder  Salt and pepper to taste  1 c. grated cheddar cheese  4 eggs  1 c. milk  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage in a large skillet, drain fat. Combine sausage, tater tots, and cheese in a large bowl. Pour into a large casserole dish. In a separate bowl, whisk togethe

If you ask most any Christian family if they want to honor the Lord in their home, most would immediately say "Yes"! A Christian family is one that believes in Jesus and strives to live upright, moral lives, doing good, blessing others, imitating behavior like Jesus - being "Christ like".   But, in the home, where our day to day, real life attitudes come forth, things like our comfort, desires and needs scream out for some attention and honor too! A recent sermon at our church was titled "Honoring Jesus".  There was this little section about honoring Jesus in the home.  It brought out a whole new awareness of what it means to honor Jesus. It impacts all that we are and all that we do.  We honor the Lord with our lives, in our God given roles and in our everyday choices.  It may mean making some choices to put Him first.  If we are going to honor Jesus in our home we've got to honor Him from our heart.  Here is a powerful peek at what