Joyfull Living

 Today's word prompt for Five Minute Friday i s DESPERATE. This brought to mind an example from years ago. When our boys were younger, they were involved in 4H clubs and one of their projects was to raise a pig to show in the county fair. The purpose of this project was to learn responsibility in caring for the pig through meeting its daily needs such as food, water and shelter. One of our boys was doing some work on the pen which housed the pig and unhooked the automatic waterer. This water system was perfect, as the it connected to a source of continual flowing water and when thirsty, the pig went to the spigot and the pressure of its mouth opened the flow of water.  On this day, once the work was completed on the pen, my son forgot to reconnect the hose to the automatic waterer. Later in the day, my husband went to look at the pig. You could tell the signs of the pigs desire then desperation for water. It began to push much harder on the spigot, trying to get water, then began

  This summer, I participated in a fitness challenge for 8 weeks. The challenge encouraged our group to make small, lifelong and healthier choices. One of the healthy habits to establish was adequate water intake. This was an area I thought I did ok in, but for optimal health, you should drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Through the weeks I intentionally kept my water intake close to my goal.  Then, one night I woke up with some pain and discomfort. Unable to sleep, I went to Google for information about my symptoms. It indicated a UTI - urinary tract infection. This occurs when bacteria finds it way in the bladder or urinary tract and multiplies. A remedy was to drink water to flush the bacteria out before it travels and does more damage to the body. At 2:00 AM, I began drinking water, attempting to flush the bacteria out and made an online appointment to see a doctor first thing in the morning. As daylight came, I kept up with the water intake. The discomfort seem

 Over at Five Minute Friday - which is a fun writing exercise, the weekly word to write about is ACCOUNTABILITY.  This is one of those words depending on your personality that you may view as either safe or intrusive. Accountability is an action that requires us to share, trust deeply and step into some action of transparency. It may mean exposing our weaknesses, confessing our faults and asking for help to become better. The end result, if we align ourselves wisely, brings us to a better place. I have always loved fitness and exercise. Evening walks were a source of relaxation when I was younger. Once pregnancy and babies arrived, exercise helped me lose the baby weight. But, I was always a 'fitness loner', staying home and exercising with videos or a routine. I thought my routine was great for so many years, but the routines were not challenging, done with the same intensity, simply being something to check off my daily schedule. They helped maintain a level of health, but n

 There is something so pure and beautiful about a wedding. Everything is new, crisp, clean and at its best. The bride's dress has been purposefully chosen, correctly sized and finally able to be revealed in all its glory. The groom looks dashing in his tux, the attendants coordinate and everyone has hair and make up applied so they look their absolute best.  Once the wedding ceremony has passed, true life begins. There is beauty in newness, a new home, new priorities, the freshness of the newlywed season. Eventually, all the newness rubs off and who we are and who we married becomes our reality! During this critical point, our vows and covenant to love one another hold us accountable to continue to build a life together.  But as the newness wears off and the commitment takes hold, something beautiful happens. Our lives are now well merged into one, our daily plans and schedule are made with consideration of our mate. We have a soul mate who knows us better than anyone else and trul