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Who Else Wants To Get Fit?

A sucker punch in the face. That’s what happened as I read the words on the screen. For years I had believed I was doing my body good by being “active” until I came face to face with this starling truth, active and fit are not created equal.

 

I used to say that running around, playing with my children and running errands with my children was my health club membership. I believed I was getting enough exercise. Besides, I did workout from time to time albeit a brisk stroll on my treadmill and lifting 10 lb. weights every now and again.

 

Then a friend invited me to a fitness studio called Fit Like Me Divas. I had watched her metamorphosis, both internal and external as she committed to this new way of life. She invited me and when I could finally get childcare I decided to go.

 

Well initially, I thought, “These ladies are crazy”. “They are working way too hard and it doesn’t take all that.”  Though I had a great workout and pushed my body to perform things I never imagined possible, I was a bit annoyed that my hair was ruined because of all the sweating. Really?! Did it take all that?

 

Nonetheless, the next week, I was right back in there with trainer, Nevie Gray who it turns out isn’t crazy but determined to see women living up to their full potential. Not only was she guiding these ladies in how to get fit, she was guiding internal transformation as well.

 

After a few weeks of attending the Saturday bootycamp class, I received the blog post from Nevie Gray that collided with my foundational truth. My previously held belief that being active was enough was…well…not enough.

 

Being ACTIVE is engaging my body in physical activity i.e. playing with my children, standing while cooking, standing while helping children with their homework. Sure all that standing and movement could help me reach my fitbit goals but would that translate to being fit? And while my weight, stress test and cholesterol numbers may all be good by being active, I don’t want to feel my arms burning from carrying a few bags of groceries or get winded chasing my 2 year-old son or struggle to support the weight of my elderly grandmother.

 

Being FIT is pushing my body to achieve what it’s capable of performing in terms of strength, endurance, flexibility, speed and agility. As we can see, Active & Fit, the two are indeed NOT created equal.

 

I want my body to be able to perform at its peak ability. I can only get there by pushing myself, testing my limits and moving from the active zone to the fit zone. I was able to get into that zone with the PUSH from Nevie. She would say, “Get out of your head”. The head is the active zone. Then I’d be thrust into the fit zone where I felt strong, courageous, healthy and capable. When I operate in the fit zone, I almost feel lighter than air, like I’m walking on water. There is an extra bounce in my step.

 

Now let me back this train up just a bit here to address one more thing. I am no fitness buff. In fact, half the time, I’d rather write, read or clean than exercise. And my favorite forms of working out: African Dance class and Zumba aren’t a possibility with my family dynamic. Despite my schedule, childcare challenges or any other reason I can conjure up, I have a mandate to honor my temple.

 

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The way that I honor God with my body is by honoring my temple through proper nourishment, rest and exercise.

 

So who else wants to get fit?  If you want to move from the active zone to the fit zone here are a few things you can do:

 

~Get support by joining a fitness community. If you’re in the Metro Washington DC area please check out Fit Like Me Divas

 

~Schedule your exercise just like any other appointment

 

~Make your exercise count i.e. 30 minute treadmill run {active} vs. 30 minute high intensity internal training {fit}

 

~Properly fuel your body. Like any piece of fine machinery you have to properly fuel your body by eating food that is alive and unprocessed

 

~Carry weights, bands, kettle ball, or other equipment in your car and use them

 

What do you do to maintain a fit lifestyle? Please share your comments below.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!

 

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Are you Giving Today?

#Black Friday #Cyber Monday. Now #Giving Tuesday?

At this point, I think I’ve had enough of marketing strategies. #GivingTuesday is trending today on Twitter.

But when will we move from talking to doing?

 

serve

 

When will we move from Facebook LIKING to LIVING, from TWEETING to MEETING service opportunities as a way of life?

 

When will we move from giving one day because a creative marketer has made it official by giving the day a name?

 

I do not knock the efforts or giving that will be done today. In fact, if it raises awareness and people that have never given before are compelled to give, then the efforts would have been a success.

 

Wouldn’t we get the maximum impact though if we were to tell and show how to live a lifestyle of giving?

 

What would it look like if we each lived a life of service to others?

 

I am a servant to my family, friends and community. There are times when someone will ask something of me and say “oh, I know you’re busy so maybe you can’t”. And I have to clarify for them that while I am busy, if the request aligns with my calling, then I’m not busy. I use my time wisely in service to those whom I’ve been called to serve. My life is a life of service. From the time I awake, I am serving my children, serving my husband, serving women in my care, serving at church, serving at my children’s school and the list goes on.

 

{Let me just stick a pin here and say in order to serve it is critical to exercise self care which I’ve gotten better at over the last few years. I’ll come back to that in a future post.}

 

When I call myself a servant, I think it annoys my husband. He says “Ok. Good for you but I’m nobody’s servant” (yet he serves tirelessly too). I think our culture has come to view the term servant as demeaning. I think the culture has come to view servant as having the same connotation as subservient. They are far from the same. Today’s culture says, “Get Mine” “Me, Myself and I” “Keep Calm It’s All About Me”

 

#Me is even one of the most frequently used hashtags.

 

Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-28, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them.  It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Oh how it lightens life’s heavy load when we serve one another. Life is made brighter when another comes alongside us, in a demonstration of love and compassion to serve just because it’s the right thing to do expecting nothing in return.

 

Life presents endless opportunities to serve. Your eyes and ears have to be open and not be so inundated in your our circumstance and situation or else you might miss it. And every service opportunity may not be yours to carry out. But if it aligns with your gift, skills, ability, and opportunity, be open and listen to see if YOU are being called to fill that need. Needs like:

 

~The lady in line in front of you who doesn’t have enough money to pay for her food
~The neighbor whose husband is away in the military and her driveway needs shoveling
~The elderly gentleman across the way with no way to get to his Dr. appointment
~Winter coats, hats and gloves for the single mother of 4
~A word of encouragement for the one suffering from depression
~A hot cup of coffee for the parking attendant

 

What can you do today, tomorrow and the next to ensure you are living a lifestyle, not just a day of service to others?

 

Each act of love, each act of compassion, each act of service can spark #ALoveRevolution

 

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Martin Luther King Jr.

 

As always it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

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Score the Best Deals on Cyber Monday

Secure the best deal possible. 3 hours? 6 hours? 30 minutes? How much time will you spend on your computer today in your quest to snag just the item you’ve been looking for at the right price? I challenge you to set a timer and tabulate the total number of minutes you spend cyber surfing today. Will your surfing result in a purchase?

 

 

cyber monday

Retailers are betting that you’ll not only spend time but also spend money online today.

 

Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving is known as the biggest online shopping day of the year. With projected sales of $2.6 Billion for 2014, retailers hold hope that you will partake in helping them reach their annual sales goals.

 

I too may have been joining most in their quest to secure the best deals online. My oldest daughter who generally doesn’t ask for much in terms of clothes has requested items from a retailer that sells trendy tween girls clothes. Normally we don’t make such indulgences but I’ve consented to purchasing an item or two that will keep in line with our style, budget and family values. So I would have been visiting their website if…it weren’t for the tumultuous state of affairs in the United States right now. If the land of the free and the home of the brave were truly a place where ALL men were created equal. If young men and women of color were not senseless slaughtered. If…

 

So as a result, my family has decided to refrain from spending for at least the next week and reassess from there.

 

As my eye caught sight of a piece of mail from the retailer my daughter wants the clothes from, I thought for a millisecond, “I should just go ahead and buy the stuff anyway to save us some money because the clothes at regular price are so expensive”.

 

No one would see. No one would know except me if I had broken the agreement I had made with my family and myself.

 

For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all. Luke 8:17

 

Had I made the purchase, no one may have ever known but I would have known. And the Father would have known. And by God’s grace, just as quickly as the thought arose, it left.

 

Whatever is done in the dark eventually comes to light.

 

But more than scoring a good deal on Cyber Monday, I long to walk upright before the Lord; holding fast to the truth of His word and living a life that is in alignment with His character. And when you walk upright before Him, there may be times you feel alone on the arduous journey of faith.

 

No one is watching when you:

 

~Brush your elderly grandmother’s hair and sing to her as she suffers from dementia

 

~Change diapers on your 6th baby. In fact you’ve been changing diapers for 11 consecutive years

 

~Toil in the wee hours of the morning, writing your vision and making it plain on tablets

 

~Pay your sister’s mortgage again so she and your nieces and nephews don’t lose their home

 

~Open your home to a friend of a friend because she’s young and had a baby out of wedlock and everyone else has turned their backs on her

 

~Leave home at 6:00am to work all day then go to school in the evening then go to another job after class and work the 3rd job on the weekend in an effort to make life a little better than the one you grew up in

 

But when no one is watching, Jesus is watching.

 

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

2 Chronicles 16:9a

 

He sees YOU, the one fully committed to Him, diligently seeking to live a life worthy of being called by His name: A Christian in{deed}.

 

Not only does He see but also His ear is attentive to your cry.

 

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.

1 Peter 3:12

 

And not only does He see and hear, He wants to DO something about it. He wants to strengthen you. He wants to fortify you. He wants to build you up on all sides. And He wants to reward you.

 

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:6

 

The assurance that my God sees me, hears me and acts on my behalf is good news; far better than any deal I can score on Cyber Monday. Be inspired my friends that He sees you too. Every seed you’ve sown for righteousness hasn’t gone unnoticed and will reap a harvest in due season.

 

Needless to say, I won’t be scoring any online deals today. But I find comfort and reassurance in knowing I’ve scored the best deal ever, an everlasting relationship with the King!

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully.

 

 

 

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The Death of Black Friday

Radio. Email. Newspapers. We have been bombarded, invaded by a constant barrage of Black Friday advertisements. The onslaught is aggressive and relentless.

 

So it made me wonder…What would be possible if there were a constant barrage of images and proclamations of LOVE.

T&T Love Park2

TV. Radio. Email. Newspaper. Tweets. Posts. Billboards. Texts.

 

Trampling one another to get the best deal. Utter chaos breaking out…pushing, shoving near rioting in the name of a good deal?

All for an electronic or toy or article of clothing that will be broken, outdated or discarded in 2 years?

 

The Death of Black Friday

 

What would happen if we fought and clamored the same way to press forward in LOVE?

 

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

 

Suppose we begin a love revolution? Like the ALS challenge or Pay It Forward campaign. Oh the possibilities of each person demonstrating 1 living, breathing, mighty move of love.

Predicated on love, delivered in love and received in love.

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

 

The roots of Black Friday are sketchy. There are several theories as to where it began: ranging from slave auction to police managing traffic. Whatever its beginnings, its right now can be the beginning of something new.

 

When we examine all that is going on in our world today, the events are heart wrenching. In America, the land of the free and home of the brave young black boys and men are being mercilessly slaughtered. Around the globe we’ve got ISIS, child sex trafficking and the list of societal ill goes on and on.

 

Heart wrenching

But what is it for the heart to be wrenched? Should not the wrenching prompt us to action?

 

So I proclaim the death of Black Friday and the birth of The Love Revolution.

heart door

 

Out of Black Friday ashes, the phoenix rises. She soars high and looks low with love in her wings. She prepares to take a love dive. Swooping in she targets the heart. My heart has been penetrated. I swoon under the effects of having been pierced. I am persuaded that love conquers all.

 

What will you do today to be a conduit of love?

 

What will you do today to be intentional, purposeful, deliberate about showing love especially to those deemed unlovable?

 

A Love Revolution

 

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!

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Today You Must Know

No Greater Love

 

The instant I awoke my heart was flooded with emotion.

 

“There’s no greater love than my love for you dear.”  

 

Those were to sweet gentle words Jesus spoke to my heart.  Those words arrested me on the spot and I had to just sit with them.  As I proceeded to begin with my Thanksgiving morning routine, those words wouldn’t let me go.  In my head I continued to try to think about my food preparations but those words still held me in their grip.

 

“There’s no greater love than my love for you dear.”

 

As I drafted in my mind the wrap up to my 20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving, the words continued to resonate, floating around in my head and in my heart.  My mind wanted to craft an eloquent conclusion to the countdown about giving thanks but the magnitude of His simple statement to me “There’s no greater love than my love for you dear” still had me in it’s clutches.

 

Oh friends I am overwhelmed by the sheer weight of His glory.  So right now I give thanks that the Father in His infinite wisdom set about creating this world, placing us all in it, and ever so carefully orchestrated EVERY event of our lives down to the One Plank, the smallest measurement of time.

 

He loves us so much.  I cannot fully express the depth of my gratitude for the Father’s love for me.  And He demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Daily He demonstrates His love for you and I.  Don’t you see it?

 

You woke up this morning
You have someone who loves you
You have something to eat
You have been protect from hurt, harm and danger
You have joy
You have peace
You have LIFE

 

My friends this is good news.  Today, bask in the warm embrace of Jesus’ love for you.  Be assured, He does love you.  He assures us in John 15 that as the Father loved Him, He loves us.  Receive His love today then be a conduit of that love, allowing it to flow THROUGH you so that you are a channel for love flow.  All those that come into contact with you will feel the love flow from you through them.

 

Overtaken

Submerged

Inundated…in His love

 

There’s no greater love.

 

http://youtu.be/fERx5VZ-36g

 

20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving

Day 20 The Love of Thanksgiving

Believe

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9

Know beyond on a shadow of a doubt that the Lord loves you.  And out of His limitless love for you, He will do what’s best for you.  Sometimes what’s best for you doesn’t always look good, feel good or seem good but its for your good.

Do

Receive His boundless love for you today.  Embrace it. Bask in it. Relish it.  Know it. Believe it. Receive it.

 

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Buckwheat Granola

Raw Buckwheat Granola (Raw, Gluten Free, Vegan)

 

I love granola but it is expensive and depending on the brand, can be unnecessarily high in fat and sugar. To increase the nutritional value and cut the fat and sugar, make this good for you granola. This granola is also gluten-free. High in fiber, manganese and magnesium, this granola does a body good.

raw-hulled-buckwheat

Ingredients

1½ cups dry raw buckwheat (not toasted which is Kasha)

½ cup almonds, chopped

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ cup shredded coconut

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp maple syrup

¼ cup dried cranberries (optional)

 

Directions

Soak the buckwheat for one whole day changing the water at least twice. After one day drain the buckwheat. Preheat oven 200 degrees. Place buckwheat on baking sheet and dry (bake) for 30 minutes. Take buckwheat out and combine with remaining ingredients and dry for an additional 20 minutes.

granola and fruit

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Lentil Millet Loaf

Lentil Millet Loaf (GF, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Having a vegetarian or vegan over for Thanksgiving?   Make this classic vegan friendly dish.

 

Thinking of lentil loaf immediately brings to mind two things: a classic vegetarian dish and my sweet friend Kimberly to whom I was bonded forever when I made this for her during a time of bereavement. Kimberly this updated version is especially for you.

 

2 cups cooked lentils

1 cup cooked millet

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 rib celery diced

2 medium carrots peeled and diced

10 fresh sage leaves chiffonade

¼ tsp thyme

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp ground chia seeds

3 tbsp water

1/3 cup raw cashews

Lentil loaf mix

Preheat oven 350. Toast over low heat in a dry pan the cashew until lightly brown. Let cool. Grind in a coffee grinder and set aside. Take ground chia, add water and whisk until thick. Set aside. In the same pan heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion, garlic, celery and carrots for about 7 minutes until softened. In a large bowl combine lentils, millet, sautéed veggies, chia mixture, cashews and remaining seasonings and mix well. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

lentil loaf 2

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10 Ways To Beat The Holiday Blues

While the holidays are a time for celebrating, rejoicing and merriment, for many it is one of the most oppressive, anxious and depressing times of the year. With relational and financial pressure, the weight can become unbearable. Which is why I want to offer you 10 ways to beat the holiday blues. While many of the events surrounding your holiday season may not change, you can control your reactions to them. Today, purpose in your heart to embrace these 10 tips and watch as your peace abounds over the next few weeks.

 

 1. Give Thanks

Today is day 18 of the 20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving. We can beat the holiday blues by entering His presence.

Believe

In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. When we come before Him with thanksgiving, our joy is full. When we come into His presence, He is waiting to make the great exchange. He wants to give us beauty for ashes, joy for pain and a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness. When we make that exchange we are lighter and free to abound in joy. How do we make the exchange so that our joy will be full? We cast our cares on Him. Just yesterday, I was having some difficulty and was on the verge of saying, “Lord , I can’t do this”. Right then He whispered to me “Just call my name”. And that’s what I did. And we made the exchange. No blues, just joy.

Do

All that is suggested here so that you BEAT the holiday blues and emerge the victor!

 

2. Celebrate & Honor

Are you grieving a loved one who has recently passed away? Do you still feel the huge void left by the passing of the family member who just made the holidays all the more special?   Give yourself permission to feel what you feel. I learned a powerful lesson from one of my dear friends as she was grieving the loss of her uncle. While there is a commonly held grieving process, no one can dictate how another moves through that process and we have to lovingly give people space to grieve. We have to create environments safe for people to express their grief. They should feel comfortable letting others know what they’re feeling.

 

What can you do? Look at old photos of your loved one and share stories about their exploits. Tell the children a funny story about them. My own mother passed away when I was 18. One of my fondest memories was a Christmas she was living in a rooming house. My mom, my sister and I were in this one tiny room. But when we awoke on Christmas morning we were all together. We listened to old music, ate good food, opened a few presents and it was one of my best Christmases ever. And I specifically remember her playing one of her favorite songs “Sideshow” by Blue Magic. Now playing that song is part of my holiday tradition as a way to remember and celebrate my mother’s life.

 

3. Prepare But Don’t Overdo It

You have been blessed to be a blessing. To whom will you extend hospitality this holiday season? While you want to make your guests feel comfortable, save yourself some stress and don’t overdo the preparations. Even if your parent that is coming to visit is a perfectionist and will cringe because you’ve got a stain on your ceiling from a water leak months ago. Is now the time to go to Home Depot and get the supplies to tackle that project in the midst of preparing to feed the 30 guests you are expecting? I would venture to say everyone will appreciate the fellowship, food and fun and will talk about the good time for years to come but no one will be talking about the stain (except maybe Mama but since you know that’s how she is…LET IT GO).

 

4. Pace Yourself

Are you running a sprint or a marathon? In fact, are you even in a race? So that’s the rush? What’s the hurry? Slow down already. Check your calendar. Do you NEED to attend every event you’ve listed on there? Do you have to cook a dish and bring it to every home you will visit? Perhaps you can pick up something on the way. Or maybe you don’t have to bring anything at all. That particular house always has more than enough food there anyway, don’t they?

 

5. Stick To A Budget

Financial woes can certainly give you the blues. But you will remain steadfast and stick to your budget. It is so easy to pick up an extra this or that while waiting in the checkout line at Wal-mart. But those little this’ and that’s can add up. Have discipline and self-control to stick to a list and stick to a budget. Bring cash only as a means to help you stay on budget.

 

6. Guard Your Mind

From the day after Halloween, the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s onslaught begins. We are bombarded with images to see, songs to hear and fat and calorie laden food to eat. We have to be vigilant to guard what we see, taste, touch, smell and hear.

 

7. Martha Stewart (not now, maybe later)

A wise friend, at whose knees I literally sat shared a nugget of wisdom years ago that has stuck with me. She said, when cooking a large holiday meal, don’t make too many new dishes. Her suggestion was to make 1 new thing and save experimenting on new dishes when you have more time and less pressure. That is so wise. For Thanksgiving I’ll be cooking nearly 10 different items. Do I really need to complicate it by make 3 things for which I keep needing to refer to the recipe? That sound like a recipe for disaster.

 

 

8. Embrace The Now Moment

If you’ve visited this blog before, you may have noticed that I talk about this often. That’s because I see its power at work in my life everyday. Slowing down and focusing my awareness on what exists before me this very moment enables me to embrace what is true. I can then relish and celebrate this space, in this moment, at this time. The past is gone, the future has yet to occur but this very moment is blessed.   I am breathing. I am safe. I am surrounded by people who love me. I am loved.

 

 

9. Do Something Just for You

Ok. This is a hard one for me. It is only in the last year that I have embraced it without feelings of guilt. And its not simply “oh I need me time. I need time to myself”. Sometimes I need just a few minutes of quiet so I can catalog all the many thoughts flying through my brain. Sometimes I need just a few minutes of silence from the beautiful cacophony of my 5 children’s chatter. And the converse it also true. If you need to be around others so you aren’t consumed with feelings of loneliness, then connect with someone.

 

 

10. Be Flexible

Here again is one I’ve had to learn as it doesn’t come naturally to me. Naturally I am a linear thinker, one track mind. I’m headed in my direction and if anyone is moving the opposite direction and gets in my way…well. But I’ve learned to surrender my plans and to be flexible for whatever changes or modifications need to be made. You know what I learned in being flexible? Life is more fun. I can now embrace spontaneity (well just a little).

 

I would have wanted to add another. But since I like to look of 10 things instead of 11, please meet me right back here tomorrow because I am eager…I almost cannot contain myself…eager to talk about honoring our temples during this season. This could definitely be another holiday stressor so we want to proactively ensure we maintain our health in the midst of cakes, cookies, ham, turkey, gravy, chocolate, egg nog and on and on and on…

 

Having a Vegetarian or a Vegan over for Thanksgiving? Make sure to stay tuned for a recipe just for them.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

Stress Free

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Give Me 5 Days and I’ll Give You a Stress Free Week

Who said you have to be inundated with stress this holiday season? We’re on day 17 of a 20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving. On this journey we are reducing stress and embracing thanksliving by being intentional about where we focus our time, energy and efforts.  Thanksliving embodies the true spirit of what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about; not just food and the impending Black Friday but instead GIVING THANKS.

If you missed any of the days on the countdown, catch up by clicking here.

Continuing on this journey with me for the next 5 days  will duly equip you to look your frenemy stress in the face, say no thank you and proceed to bask in your week of thanks-LIVING. And we LIVE when we love. So for the next 5 days, let’s eradicate stress by choosing to love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves. We will embrace life now by beholding the beauty, majesty and splendor of the now moment and by honoring the temple.

You don’t want to miss a single post this week. So let our journey of Thanksliving continue.

autumn flowers

5 Sanity Savers for a Stress Free Week

 

  1. Give Thanks

Day 17 The Gift Of Thanksgiving

Believe

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving Colossians 2:6-7. The gift of Jesus was extended to you.  Prayerfully you received the gift with your hands extended and with gratitude.  When you receive a gift, the hope is that you keep it and use it, not for it to be regifted. Likewise, when you receive Jesus, you are expect to do as the scripture above says and walk in Him.  You don’t take what He tells you to do and discard it like the regift, but you apply His word to your life so that you are fortified and established on all sides.  And when you do this, you WILL abound in it with thanksgiving.

Do

Everything suggested in this post

 

  1. Protect Your Quiet Time

    Any manner of things is sure to crop up this week to try and rob you of your quiet time with God.  Extra running of errands, preparing your home for guests, travel, extra time spent in the kitchen, all of these distractions can aid in taking your eye off God.  Make Him your 1st appointment of the day, especially this week when activity can be a little more frenetic.

 

  1. Know When To Say NO

    Do you really need to prepare 100 cupcakes for the school?  Do you really have to visit 3 different homes on Thanksgiving day?   Protect your time and maximize on your energy and efforts by focusing on that which is essential.  Ok, I hear you.  Yup you.  You think everything is essential. Not all of you but that one person that I see cringing right now.  The task may need to be completed but does it have to be by you?  God told me several years ago, “I will grace you to do what I’ve called you to do.  If you pick up anything else, you’re on your own”.  I keep that in mind when I decide how to use my time.

 

  1. Pay It Forward

    Be intentional about listening for the Spirit’s promptings to bless another. Doing for others is equally if not more of a blessing to the giver than to the receiver.  Keep your giving in alignment by being open and listening to God.  He will prompt you on what to give and when.

 

  1. Embrace The Now Moment

    Slow down. Use your senses to connect with what is happening now.  See the last of the autumn leaves on the trees. When you are in the grocery store, slow down and look at the bounty of produce.  See the array of colors.  Perhaps the grocery store is offering some sample.  Taste and savor the flavors.  Give someone a tight embrace.  Listen to a child laugh.  Smell the intoxicating aroma of some goodies baking.

 

1 Easy Recipe for a Stress Free Week

Click here for a tasty, easy slow cooker recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner

 

I look forward to connecting with you again tomorrow as we examine how to beat the holiday blues.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!

Give Thanks 2014

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Crockpot Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Updated Candied Yams

Not only is this recipe easy, it will save you a ton of fat and sugar commonly found in most southern style candied yams.  Throw this in your slow cooker and it’s one less dish you need to think about as it takes care of itself. These slow cooker sweet potatoes are sure to please.

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into slices

3 granny smith apples peeled, cored and sliced

3 TBSP Earth Balance melted (or your preferred butter/spread)

1/2 cup orange juice

½ cup water

zest of 1 orange

2 TBSP cornstarch

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup

 

Directions:

Spray Crockpot with cooking spray.  Lay sweet potatoes and apples in the slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together orange juice, water, cornstarch, zest, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.  Pour over sweet potatoes and apples and place lid on.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours, until fork tender.

Sweet Potato

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!

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