As my husband would say, “Go and get off the asphalt!”
Too often, we stay in the grind, and we wonder why we have no peace.
We keep our head down, our hands busy, and our feet on flight.
We rush through the routine, seeking more and coming up empty.
But instead of continuing the toil, you’ll find that if you’ll stop to breathe, you’ll actually find more energy.
When you pause, reflect and take a minute, you’ll find the world can stop spinning.
So, go take a deep breath and soak in the mountain breeze.
Stand by a waterfall and remember it’s not about you.
Hike the hilltop and see that you can accomplish and win.
Walk beside a creek and find your laughter again.
Do some star gazing and be reminded of the Creator who causes your heart to beat.
These are never times wasted.
They are moments refreshed, restored and rejuvenated.
They are glimpses of peace and serenity.
Go get you some.
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
Psalm 19:1-4
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?
There are probably several strategies I use to maintain my health and well-being and many more that I truly need to implement.
Like exercise and eating right. I need to do better in these categories. Eating is alright, and my saving grace is most likely that I do eat a lot of salads, try to make sure I’m getting good fiber, making better choices throughout the weeks, and I eat one big meal most days (lunch) and a protein bar at the other two meals. So, better than some, not as good as others.
However, I’d say the thing I work hardest at is keeping the right mental attitude, and that contributes to a ton of my well being.
Avoid stinkin’ thinkin’ for a good and prosperous life!
I am naturally introspective, and because I’m a reviewer (there are doers, dreamers and reviewers in life), I tend to automatically see what will go wrong in a given situation. Over the years, with the help of my “optimistic-big picture,-always seeing what can go right-amazing leader” husband, I have learned to not only see the problem but to also work hard to see the solution, too.
So, that’s what I do.
I strive to look at the good, the solutions and the HOPE in any given situation. I don’t always get it right, but I can proudly claim I am light years ahead of where I was 25 years ago.
A couple of things that help me do this:
1. Daily Scripture reading. Yeah. I read the Bible. For some, you’re already tuning me out because you think I’m going to get all religious on you. However, hold just a second, please, and just read a few more lines to see what I’m talking about…
I have found that the Bible is a great big story of incredibly amazing people, and it’s beyond interesting. It has mind-boggling miracles and mysteries, intriguing family dynamics and dysfunctions, and all kinds of battles and victories. It’s a great history book as well. And it’s certainly led me to a greater level of understanding, knowledge and insight. So, beyond the soul refreshing relationship I’ve found through knowing and talking to the ultimate Hero of the Book, it’s an incredible piece of literature. And it’s no wonder it’s been the #1 Best Seller for centuries. (I challenge you to just try reading it sometime.)
Then, the added bonus for my reliance of daily Scripture reading is that I find it gives me peace of mind, restores my joy, and fills me with more love than I could ever imagine. So, this would be the first and foremost reason for my daily reading plan of the Bible.
2. I strive to THINK right. Too many people will just let your mind wander all over the place, or maybe be consumed with so much reasoning that it lends itself to confusion, or even allow yourself to be so overwhelmed with thoughts of fear, anger, bewilderment or just plain chaos, doubt and confusion that you never have a clear thought about anything.
There’s another great book I’ve come across that has helped me learn to think right: Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. She teaches you how to retrain your mind to have the right thoughts, no matter how messed up it might be right now. It’s a really good book! I highly recommend it.
3. I’ve learned to forgive and forgive again. This is huge. Unforgiveness can eat away at your health and well being before you know it. And when you’ve let unforgiveness fester so long that it’s turned into bitterness, it can literally destroy you!
I read an article once that talked about the scientific benefits and dangers of unforgiveness and negative thoughts. It described how these cause neurons, atoms (or something?… it’s been a while since I read it. Lol) or something in your brain to actually develop little spikes on them. And because your brain is the communication to the rest of the body, these little spikes start poking and prodding the various areas of your body and begin creating toxins and miscommunications, which then develop into sicknesses, diseases and even terminal illnesses.
Now, maybe someone wrote that article, and it was more theoretical than proven, I have no idea. And I really don’t care. It makes perfect sense, and it made a huge impact on me. So, I work hard to avoid harboring unforgiveness and negative thoughts.
4. I’ve embraced positivity and try to avoid negativity. (See explanation above.) I’m not always the best at this, but I try, and try, again. Being positive is really good for you mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Plus, it’s so much more enjoyable to be around someone who’s more positive than negative.
Now, this doesn’t mean I always have my head in the clouds and never see anything bad. That’s honestly a dumb way to live, too. And I’m a bit too much of a realist to be that way. But if I can choose positivity, I will work really hard to do so.
5. I don’t do drama. I don’t do OPD (other people’s drama), and I don’t do my own. Drama just works everyone up for nothing. If you’re going to fight a battle, there better be spoils, and good ones. But when everything gets dramatic, and especially when it’s someone else’s problem and solution into which you are inserting yourself, there’s usually absolutely no good pay off. So, why do that to yourself?
6. I strive to keep peace in my heart. This doesn’t mean that there’s never a storm of life that I’m not walking through. It just means that I’ve learned to embrace peace no matter if the circumstances around me are chaotic or not.
And truthfully, I can’t do this in my own strength. None of it. Whether it’s being disciplined to read Scripture, thinking right, being forgiving, being positive, avoiding drama or seeking peace, I really don’t have the ability to maintain all of this by myself. I’m not passionate enough, strong enough or even wise enough to know how to do all that, but I’ve met Someone who works it all in me and through me: my loving Savior, Jesus.
He is truly my Rock, my Shelter, my Peace, my Provider, and my Source for all I need for health and well-being. And often, those who don’t have a relationship with Him will say, “That’s just a crutch.” And I have to admit. Yes. I have found I can’t even walk without holding onto His hand. For when I’m leaning on Him, I can do all things well…
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Well, this congrats popped up in my WP notifications today, and it made me smile. Just about a week ago, I was writing here to say thanks for the nine year anniversary on WP.
Today, I’m writing to say, Thanks for being my 1,000 readers. I’m not foolish enough to believe that all one thousand of those followers read my blog everyday, but it’s nice to know each one has dropped by from time to time. It’s a nice feeling of appreciation.
So, if you’re reading this, just know that thanks goes to YOU. If you’re dropping by, and maybe your blog is way beyond this point, thanks for the inspiration. And if you’re here just at the beginning of your WP journey, here’s my gratitude and encouragement to say, Keep Going! If I can do it, you can! You’ve got this. 😉
Thanks, again, WP community. You make a girl feel good to know maybe someone is out there listening (and reading)… 💞
I recently lost my grandmother of 94 years, and I miss her so. She and I were a lot alike in so many ways, and often growing up, she was more like a mother to me than a grandmother.
She taught me how a young lady should carry herself and how to really love your man.
She taught me that a gentle word really can turn away wrath and a loving touch can bring harmony to a chaotic world.
She taught me how to be classy and be okay with tradition, religion and “the way things have always been.”
She taught me that you’re never too old to try new things, as she traveled to Jamaica in a missions trip at 80 years old.
She taught me that if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish just about anything, as she lived by herself for almost 20 years in a great big bay front property after my grandfather’s death.
And the most important thing she ever taught me was that a relationship with Jesus Christ and with the joy of the Lord being your strength, you can live out your days with laughter and peacefulness, no matter what the storms of life might bring.
I am thankful for the heritage she offered, and I will gladly pick up the mantle she left. She may not have always done everything right, and she’d have never wanted you to call her the picture of perfection.
But if I can live my life with as much dignity, class, integrity, charm, joy, love and peace as she had, I will call myself a blessed woman.
What heritage are you grasping hold of today?
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Proverbs 31:30-31
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
Proverbs 31:25
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
Too often, people blame their circumstances for their behavior.
They blame someone else for their poor choice.
They blame their upbringing for their bad response.
They blame this one or that one for their own failure.
Tragedy comes to all us in one way, shape, form or another.
Trauma befalls every individual on the planet.
(If it hasn’t hit you yet, just keep on living.)
It’s not the events that matter.
As much as, it’s what you do with it.
It’s what choices you make to get out of it, to keep fighting, to win.
A champion never wins by staying on the mat when he’s knocked down.
A hurdle jumper never sees success by remaining on the asphalt on top of the broken hurdle.
A rower never receives the medal by flailing in the water once knocked out of the boat.
We’re not promised good fortune simply because of what family line, nation, or skin color we have.
Our modern society claims if you’re born into the right circumstances, you will always win.
And those same people claim if your birth brings you into the wrong heritage, wrong race, or wrong town, you’ll never achieve more.
Lies. All lies. Never embrace those fallacies.
Show me a person who cannot succeed when effort is made.
Show me a person who cannot achieve when sacrifices are made.
Show me a person who cannot triumph when the passion is deep within.
Does it mean some have it easier than others?
Sure. That’s the life we live.
But never hate someone for the blessings she has been given.
You never know the cost that has been paid.
Never curse someone for the accolades he is presented.
You never know the hell he had to live before you saw the crown.
Stay focused on your purpose.
Stay tuned in to your faults.
Grasp the convictions needed.
Stay fixed on your goals.
Your success never depends on them.
It depends on the determination within.
And sometimes, you’re no longer winning because you’ve lost the two vital ingredients to score:
Coaching and support.
Everyone needs someone better in their corner. Let them refine you.
Everyone needs someone to cheer them in the darkness. Let them soothe you.
But never let them coddle, pacify, or justify your resignation.
Fight to win.
Win to testify it can be done.
Extend a hand to someone else.
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
2 Timothy 1:12
The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.
Desires can thrust you into success or throw you down in shame.
And what you do with hidden desires will be the difference in honor or humiliation.
Desires have to be pulled out into the sunlight and exposed to verity and axiom.
Desires have to have the magnifying glass of honesty peered over them in full.
Desires have to be broken down with integrity and authenticity all wrapped in accountability.
Otherwise when concealed, neglected, and cloaked with insignificance, those same desires will become a dragon thirsty for flesh.
Those veiled desires throw off their disguises and unleash a furious reckoning that cannot be hinged.
So no matter how wise of a sage you have grown to be,
Those ignored desires will grow to be a beast not easily reconciled or silenced.
No matter the might you believe you posses,
No matter the expertise you trust you’ve acquired,
If those desires are held in secret, they will become your evil demise.
Reveal them to absolute truth and faithfulness, and those demons who seek your soul may be impeded and chained.
…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
James 4:4
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battlewithin you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, yousinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
My journey didn’t stop with mere time travel or writing; it led me to become one of the most sought-after empaths, a soulful psychic who reads the hidden depths of the human spirit. I’ve been blessed—or perhaps burdened—with an ability that allows me to feel the emotions of people from every corner of time.
I am a licensed psychologist based in Greece. My love for housekeeping has inspired me to create this blog about home management and family relationships. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!
Dedicated to movie nerdom, nostalgia, and escape. In the late 90s, I worked at Blockbuster Video where they let me take home two free movies a day. I caught up on the classics and reviewed theatrical releases for Denver 'burbs newspapers and magazines. Today, while raising two young, beautiful daughters with my amazing wife, I look forward to anything rated R and not Bluey. Comments and dialogue encouraged!
the grizzle grist mill 