Wellness

I have not done a very good job of maintaining this blog.  My goal is to try to blog at least one time each week.

I have been re-evaluating what I would like to do with this blog.  For several years I have had wellness on my mind.  A few years ago, I led a women's devotional and exercise group at church two nights a week.  The goal was to improve both our physical wellness and spiritual wellness.  That group has since stopped meeting, but my interest in wellness has not gone away.

Last spring, I asked my husband to train with me to run a 5K in the summer.  We trained for a couple of months, but my husband began having pains in his side when we ran, so we stopped running, too.

Summer in Northwest Ohio was very hot and dry.  I am a teacher, so I spent most of the summer in the comfort of my central air-conditioning.  Russ, on the other hand, works in a cabinet shop that has no air conditioning.  When he got home, he was ready to soak in the cool air.  We didn't do much to continue our path to wellness.

That changed for me, though, when I coached 8th grade volleyball at school this year.  This was a learning experience for the team AND the coach.  I played volleyball from 7th grade through my junior year of high school.  I have also played church league volleyball but not in recent years.

After volleyball, I enjoyed being at home in the evenings for several weeks.  Toward the end of November, I asked Russ if he would mind if I tried one Zumba class that was being offered at our park in town.  He said that it was okay with him.  When I got home, I asked him if I could show him my favorite move.  He asked if it meant I was going to go back.  I said that I would like to try one more class.

That did it.  I was hooked!  I have been attending Zumba class 3 nights a week most of the time since November.  I really enjoy it.  The instructor also works at the school where I teach, so we talk Zumba at school, too.  I like that I can be active and get a great workout while dancing.  It doesn't feel like exercise to me.  I was a cheerleader in high school and in college.  We often did routines to music, so it feels similar to that.

This long introduction brings me to the new focus of my blog:  WELLNESS.  Russ & I have been members of The Wellness Company, Melaleuca, for nearly 3 years.  They focus on Total Wellness:  Physical, Environmental, Personal, and Financial.  I would like to add a fifth category, Spiritual.

I would like to invite you to join me on my journey to total wellness:  physical, environmental, personal, financial and spiritual.

Have a great day!

The Power of a Positive Mom - Week 5

Life has again gotten in the way of me maintaining my blog.  I am again going to try to get back on track to blog at least once a week.

I'm still working on the "From Grumbling to Gratitude".  That's a big challenge for me.  If anyone would be willing to pray for me, and with me, in this area of my life, I would greatly appreciate it.

Here is the Week 5 entry...

"The Beauty of God's Love"

Key Scripture:  Deuteronomy 7:7-9

The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!  It was simply because the LORD loves you, and because he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors.  That is why the LORD rescued you with such amazing power from your slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt.  Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God.  He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands.

Journal Prompts:

1.  My Thoughts:  Do I live my daily life with the constant awareness that God deeply loves me?

No, I don't.  I struggle every day with self-esteem issues.  I often feel like I'm not good enough to do what needs to be done in the different roles I play:  wife, mom, daughter, educator, cook, housekeeper, etc.

2.  My Choices:

• This week I will choose to relish and reflect on God's great love toward me.
• This week I will choose to show God's love to others in my words and actions.
• This week I will choose to help my children understand the beauty of God's love.
• This week I will choose to:

I will spend the rest of this week seeking out Scriptures that remind me of God's great love toward me and try to memorize some of those Scriptures to pull out when I am feeling low.  My prayer is that in learning more about God's love for me, I will be able to express God's love to others and help my children understand the beauty of God's love.

For Further Reading:  Deuteronomy 6-7.

The Power of a Positive Mom - Week 4

From Grumbling to Gratitude

Key Scripture:  Numbers 14:26-30

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "How long will this wicked nation complain about me?  I have heard everything the Israelites have been saying.  Now tell them this,'As surely as I live, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.  I, the LORD, have spoken!  You will all die here in this wilderness!  Because you complained against me, none of you who are twenty years old or older and were counted in the census will enter the land I swore to give you.  The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.'"t

Journal Prompts:

1.  My Thoughts:  In what areas do I need to change my grumbling into gratitude?

I need to stop grumbling about money.  God has always provided just enough for our needs to be met.  We don't have a lot of extras, but God makes it possible for us to live comfortably. I also need to stop grumbling so much about my daughters' behavior and fighting.  God blessed us with 2 children.  I need to be grateful for them and help them to see God's blessings, which includes their sister.

2.  My Choices:

• This week I will choose to take my eyes off what is wrong in my life and look at what is right.
• This week I will choose to replace my grumbling with gratitude.
• This week I will choose to encourage my kids to see God's blessings all around us.
• This week I will choose to:

I'm going to try to do all three of these things.  I need to do them all.

For Further Reading:  Numbers 14

The Power of a Positive Mom - Week 3

The Grace Challenge

Key Scripture:  Leviticus 19:16-18

"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.  Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the LORD.  Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.  Confront your neighbors directly so you will not be held guilty for their crimes.  Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD."


Journal Prompts
1. My Thoughts - In what ways do I need to show God's grace toward others in my life?
This week I am having a rough time with being Mom to my oldest.  I need to remind myself that she is young and will make some poor choices.  I am much older and make some poor choices as well.  I need to forgive her just as Jesus has forgiven me.  I also need to help her ask for forgiveness for the choices she made.

2.  My Choices

• This week I will choose to focus on God's great love and grace toward me.
• This week I will choose to show grace toward others.
• This week I will choose to ask God's help in guarding my heart and mind.
• This week I will choose to...

This week I will work at showing grace toward others.

For Further Reading:  Ephesians 4:28-32

The Power of a Positive Mom - Week 2

"I Will Help You"

Key Scripture:  Exodus 4:10-12

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker.  I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me.  I'm clumsy with words."

     "Who makes mouths?"  The Lord asked him.  "Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go, and do as I have told you.  I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say."

Journal Prompts

1.  My Thoughts - Do I trust God to be my strength in my weaknesses?  What "I can'ts" do I need to give over to him?

My most recent "I can't" is that "I can't stand it when my girls fight with each other or whine."  I teach school all day, so the last thing I want when I get home is to listen to the two of them fighting.  I need to give it over to God and maybe send each of us, both girls and myself, to our rooms for a little bit when we get home to just relax a bit and unwind from the day.  

2.  My Choices

• This week I will choose to focus on what God can do, not what I can't do.
• This week I will choose to seek God's leadership and guidance.
• This week I will choose to ask him for help in all the tasks I undertake.
• This week I will choose to:

This week, I will ask God for help with being Mom, being a wife, teaching music, practicing music for praise team, laundry, cleaning, cooking, running.

For further reading:  Exodus 3-4

The Power of a Positive Mom - Week 1

Created in His Image

Key Scripture:  Genesis 1:27-31

So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.  Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals."  And God said, "Look!  I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.  And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food."  And so it was.  Then God looked over all that he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way.

Journal Prompts

1.  My Thoughts - "In what ways do I see myself as a unique and special creation of God?"

     God has given me a passion for music.  I have been playing piano for over 30 years.  When I began piano lessons, my goal was to play at church.  Whenever I thought I wanted to quit lessons, my parents asked me if I was good enough to play at church.  I said no, so I continued.  For the past 15+ years, I have played piano and sung on one of our church's worship teams.  I also lead hymns on a rotational basis.  Often when I read the Bible, I have at least one praise song or hymn go through my head because I have spent so much of my life experiencing God through music.  I also am a professional music teacher in a public school, as well as a private piano lesson instructor.

     God has also created me to be a dedicated and devoted person who is emotionally connected to others. Sometimes I do not appreciate my emotions because they are difficult for me to control.  I get intensely emotional when I am frustrated.  I am working on this to believe that I my emotional response to situations is one of the ways that God created me to be unique and special.

2.  My Choices -

• This week I will choose to rejoice in the fact that I am created in God's image.
• This week I will choose to encourage my children to know that they are made by God in an excellent way.
• This week I will choose to enjoy every person who crosses my path as a unique creation of God.
• This week I will choose to:

     When my children get frustrated with school work, I will choose to tell them that God created them in an excellent way.  God does not make mistakes, so we need to appreciate how God created each of us.  If we are not satisfied, then we can work to make improvements.

If you would like to read more on this topic, read Genesis 1-3.  Have a great week.  I look forward to continuing our journey next week.

The Power of a Positive Mom - Introduction

Starting today, I am embarking on a journey for the next year.  I am going to be reading Karol Ladd's book "The Power of a Positive Mom:  Devotional and Journal".  It is a series of 52 Monday Morning Motivations.  Yes, I realize that today is Wednesday, but we had an unexpected day off of school, so I'm going to start today.

Once a week, hopefully on Mondays, I will blog the scriptures that Karol uses for her Monday Morning Motivations.  I will also list the journal prompts that she uses so we can be thinking together about how to be more positive moms for our kids.

I invite you to read, reflect, and grow with me in the next year.  I also invite you to share your progress on this journey.

Thanks for joining me.  Please recommend my blog to any mom that you think would enjoy this journey as well.