Joyfull Living

Words are powerful tools in our hands (or mouth!). Depending on our aim, we can make them arrows that can build up or tear down. They can impart wisdom or bring shame. They can deliver encouragement or deflate the spirit. Words can be a weapon or a healing balm. A welcome sound or a dreaded racket.  It is easy to remember words spoken by others into our lives. Some build us up and when we remember them, give us a warm feeling deep down in our hearts! They inspire us to become what those words spoke to us. Maybe we heard words that cut deep.  They too echo in our minds with a taunting cry and reminder of failure or mistakes. The voices we choose to listen to affect us greatly. We long to choose to remember the good words.  The Bible tells us that 'death and life are in the power of the tongue."  We cannot do anything about harmful words in the past, but we can begin today to choose to give words of life to those around us. Because words often seem to fly out of our m

How often do you step on a scale? How does it make you feel?  That simple act of stepping on a scale can bring a vast range of emotions. Disappointment, despair, determination to get the scale moving can happen if the scale is moving up, elation and victory if the numbers creep down.  If you're not a regular weigh-er or are avoiding the scale, a step up may also be a wake up!  If that step up to the scale brings a number your not happy with,  here are a few tips to make the scale move down! 1. START NOW AND START SMALL You gained weight…it’s a bummer, but you can’t dwell on it, or pacify it with chocolate!  Move forward. Instead of saying “tomorrow will be the day I start", just begin. Once you start you are closer to finishing. Most people love that post workout high,the feeling of accomplishment and endorphin rush, but the toughest part is beginning a workout.  Apply the same philosophy to food and goal setting. Instead of focusing on the 80 total pounds you

You know that a woman never runs out of make up!  Recently my foundation was running low.  Although an order was put in for more, it had not arrived yet and I was scraping the bottom and the sides to get what I could to use.  My life was feeling like that.  Routine, daily tasks, running on auto pilot. Work, church, home, so much to do but the same things done over and over. I was running on empty, just scraping the sides to get what was needed.   This weekend will be Mother's Day. Having lost my mother several years ago, it seems like a hump has to be crossed this time of the year. A time to acknowledge the pain of loss that is always there before turning the corner to thankfulness for her life and engaging in what she taught me. A recent devotion talked about a joyful mother. This was not me this week! The passage was from Psalms 34 and one I dearly love.  "They looked to Him and were radiant."   A joyful mother brightens the home, for she reflects the r

Do you need a detox? Years ago detox meant eliminating harmful effects from dangerous substances that were in our body in extreme circumstances. In today's culture, detox is a buzz word. It seems that everybody needs a detox...just ask Google! When people talk about body cleanses or detox diets, they talk about the dangers of “toxins” a lot, but usually in a very non-specific way: Toxins are potentially harmful substances we come into contact with every day — pesticides on your produce, pollutants in the air, unpronounceable ingredients in processed food, or heavy metals like mercury and arsenic in the soil, to name just a few. When you inhale, ingest, or absorb toxins, your liver and kidneys work to flush many of them out — and they’ve been doing this long before cleanses and detoxes came about. When we talk about detoxification, we’re not referring to difficult cleanses, painful purges or lengthy fasts. Instead, we mean bolstering your body’s own built-in de