A Few More Thoughts on Acting Like A Kid

I can just hear some of you ladies who read my post yesterday saying, "If I didn't have so much work to do, I could go outside and act like a kid." Yes, I know we can't neglect our responsibilities, but we can make them a little more fun and physical. While you're in the house, turn on the music and move. I'm sure there are some women out there, like myself, who were taught that dancing is wrong. Well, I'm sure it's okay to dance with a broom, especially to Jesus music! Dance through the house while you're working, race your kids to the car, see who can finish their chores the fastest, grab a kid (or your husband) as they walk through the room and do a little waltz with them (my kids thought I was losing my mind half the time). Oh, and sing, sing, sing! This is good lung exercise. Not long ago, I was taking a little boy to church with me (he's around 8). I had the radio on in the car and was singing away. He looked at me and asked, "Are you an adult or a teenager?" (he was serious). When I told him I was a grandma he had a hard time believing me. My sister was talking to an elderly lady on the phone recently. The 80 something year old woman told her that when she looked in the mirror she noticed she was putting on a few pounds. She said she had started putting in her Gaither music video and moving to the music. I would love to see this.
So, try adding some movement to your chores, put a little bounce in your step. Show your kids that work can be fun. You may end up finishing your work faster and actually have time to go outside and play together after all!

Nehemiah 8:10, "for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Want to Lose Weight? Act Like a Child!

Yesterday, makingthemostofbeingathome.blogspot.com posted about her goal to lose weight and has invited others to join her. She inspired this post. Okay, weight is not really an issue for me, but, exercising is. I need to exercise, because I want to stay healthy, but I hate the very word, exercise. Lately, I've been working on just doing something physical everyday, even if it's just for a few minutes. Sometimes it's floor exercises. Some days it's this exercise machine I have (I don't know what it's called). This weekend I got a chance to go swimming. I wanted to just sit by the pool and read really, but, I made myself swim around for a while. I read a book once about a lady who lost a lot of weight by trying to spend some time doing the things she did as a kid. Watch a child for a while. They never quit moving. A lot of times even when they're watching TV they're moving back and forth. This lady took some time off, went to the country and lived that time like she did as a kid. She went from horseback riding, to swimming, to something else. She stayed outside and played all day. She ended up losing a lot of weight. Apparently, exercise is another thing we adults tend to complicate and make work. Why can't we just play like we did as a kid?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Put Yourself First

Doesn't the title of this post sound like such a worldly way of thinking? Does it go against the grain of everything you believe? Me too, but, there are times to put yourself first. What are some instances in which we should put our self first?
1. Our spiritual lives-I've been reading the book "The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman" a practical guide to Spiritual Beauty by Anne Ortlund. Today the exercise at the end of the chapter was to write down all the things you do with your time, and in prayer, give each area to God to do with as He wants, and also, to write down all the bad circumstances in your life and thank Him for each one(1 Thess. 5:18), and turn each one over to Him asking Him to heal your thought life concerning your worry, resentment, control, etc. over each one. As I did this and was praying, I thought about how important this was that I was praying these prayers for myself. Before I try to help anyone else or pray for anyone else, it's important that my own heart is right. I need to make sure my own ways please the Lord before I start trying to help someone else,otherwise, I just end up stressed, resentful, and wondering if this is the way the christian life is really supposed to be.Sometimes, especially as moms, we spend so much time trying to teach our children to live right, and praying for them, that we neglect our own personal prayer, study, learning time, which should be foundational. "The more of us is invisible, hidden from the world in quiet, in study, in planning, and in prayer, the more effective our visible life will be" (Catherine Marshall, Adventures in Prayer). How can we be effective in leading even our own families to the Lord, if we haven't first, prepared ourselves, and laid our own hearts open before God.
#2 Our health-My mom told me recently, "If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will." This is true. And, how can we take care of our families if we ourselves are weak and sick. Besides, our example speaks louder than anything to our kids.
#3 Our appearance-I don't know about you, but, my natural tendency has always been to get up and start getting everything else rolling before I take too much thought to what I look like. But, ladies, time to make ourselves look at least worth looking at, needs to come pretty high on our list of priorities in the mornings. Who wants to wake up to a mom that looks like she would love to be in bed herself? And, when your husband goes off to work, he doesn't need to go from someone who is not very appealing to look at and whose breath is repulsive, to a place where the women are pleasing to look at, smell nice, and carry on pleasant, lively conversations. He is human.
Putting ourselves first is not always a selfish thing. It can actually give us the peace, joy, and strength that we need, to then give ourselves to others.

Listen to Your Body

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I went on a fast not long ago. I actually was really worried that as soon as I officially went off, I would binge on everything I wasn't letting myself have, and thus, put on every pound I'd taken off plus more, and feel worse than ever. Well, so far, that hasn't happened. Yes, I am consuming caffeine now, but just not near as much. And, I am having some sugar, but not near as much. I find that moderation is a big key here. And most importantly, I'm trying to listen to my body as far as what works for me. I found that when I came off the fast, spicy foods were not making me feel very good, so I'm trying to stay away from them. Also, I feel a lot better if I eat simple and light meals. Anything heavy, such as a lot of meat I am trying to eat less of and load up more on fruits and veggies, and I can tell a big difference in the way I feel after eating these meals. I was starting to eat a lot of grains and I found out that I feel better if I don't overdo with that also. I read in "Nourishing Traditions"(p.466), that"Asians have larger pancreas and salivary glands in proportion to body weight than Westerners, and these traits make them ideally suited to a grain-based diet. The Westerners who eat rice at every meal, may develop serious health problems." I thought this was interesting, because every time I start eating a lot of grains (oats, brown rice, corn meal, whole wheat) I start feeling bad. Well anyway, in listening to my body, I'm finding that I am not putting the weight back on like I usually do after a fast, in fact, I actually lost a pound yesterday, and I was really surprised, because I thought I was eating a lot, but I'm trying to listen to my body and change my eating habits a little, accordingly. I thought this might be helpful to someone out there. Just think, you really don't need to deprive yourself, just get to know yourself.

Flexible is Good, Right?

At the beginning of this year I resolved to exercise and eat healthy. I was doing really good and feeling really good for awhile. Gradually my good habits began to go down hill. I have really felt the effects of it too. I'm normally a morning person and I have been having a really hard time getting out of bed in the mornings. The last couple of days I have felt like I've been run over by a bus. My friend, Elisabeth told me that she has quit drinking Mt. Dew and has lost 10 lbs. and is feeling really good. When I left a comment to AmyEllen she encouraged me to define a few things I can do to "do better". Okay, these ladies have encouraged me so, I got up this morning and told my husband that I'm giving up caffeine and sugar, at least for awhile, til I feel better and can be moderate with it. I did without my cup of coffee (with cream and sugar) this morning and went without it all day. At lunch I decided it would be okay to have unsweetened tea. After lunch I decided it would be okay to have a piece of cake. I made a cake for company day before yesterday and it's sitting on the table all day. So, I'm letting myself have sugar until it's gone. Okay, I am still resolved to not have coffee or cokes (that's what we call all sodas in the south). I did realize though that part of the reason I've felt so bad yesterday and today is probably due to the fact that I am a woman. The months I was being so healthy I hardly even realised what time of the month it was. All the more reason to make some changes. But for now, I'll be okay, just let me go to bed with some pillows, a book, and some chocolate cake.
1 Cor. 6:19"...glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."