Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I <3 You!  Seriously, if you're reading this it's probably because you're a friend or a family member and I really do love you.  If you are neither, then I bet I would love you if I got to know you.

Today is a wonderful day to practice loving others.  Jesus said that others would know us by the way we love others (John 13:34-35).  I hope that most of the time I do that.  Today, I'm going to try extra hard to be loving.  I love John Wesley's admonition to us:

It's also a good day to love on someone with a good meal.  Hopefully you have something special planned for yourself today, maybe it even includes someone else.   Make it a healthy one.  Today is also a good day to think about your heart and the heart of the ones you love.  Whatever you're putting into your mouth is impacting your heart too.  Choose wisely.  

While we were snowed in this week, I made a version of these delicious Snickerdoodle Pancakes.  I couldn't actually bring myself to making them just as the recipe is...too indulgent, too much sugar, not really breakfast material.  Instead, I tweaked the recipe like this - replace the AP flour with 1/2 cup buckwheat flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour; omit sugar (you'll add syrup and they'll be sweet enough); trim the butter to 3 Tbs; replace sour cream with plain yogurt and use buttermilk instead of milk.  They were delicious, cinnamony, light, and slightly sour from the buttermilk, slightly sweet from a drizzle or real maple syrup (not the fake stuff!).  And...no guilt for me.  Enjoy! Be healthy!

Today Started Yesterday

If you've read much of anything or know me in person, you know that I talk a lot about living one day at a time.  I really believe that and have been working for years to learn to be present in today, not losing time lamenting about the past or over-anticipating tomorrow.  So, what's up with today's post?   Well, in a very real way, today started yesterday.  You see, how you ended yesterday has a huge impact on how you started today.  Good habits at the end of each day will help set you up for success the following day.

As a sleep deprived mom of an infant, I'm a work in progress, but these are habits I incorporated before becoming a mom.  I don't do these things every day, but many days I do - and when I do, my morning goes much smoother, setting the tone for the day.  Here are some of the things I try to do at the end of each day to help tomorrow be better:

• Select and lay out clothes and shoes for the next day. This is a simple one, but it keeps me from wasting time staring at the closet half asleep trying to decide what to wear.
• Prepare and pack breakfast, snacks, and lunch for myself and my sweetheart.  If I'm sending my hubs to work with leftovers, I go ahead and pack them in separate containers for him when I'm putting away dinner and put out his lunchbox so I remember to fill it up before he heads out.  I sometimes make overnight oats or boil eggs for early morning eats.
• Use the delay settings for coffee, so it's ready when I am.  Even if you don't have an automatic setting, go ahead and do everything except hit brew and you're ahead of the game.
• Get ready for my workout.  I put shoes, workout clothes and my gear out and ready for me.  You might put them in your bag in the car, beside the bed, etc. so you remove one barrier/excuse (I forgot my shoes/shorts/yoga mat) by making it easy for yourself.
• Write and/or review my to-do list for the next day.   I keep a running to do list on my smart phone so that I can just refer to it as needed.  (See this post about the app I use for this.)  Before turning in, I take a moment to review what's coming up the next day.  I have less surprises, forget fewer important things, and feel better prepared to take on whatever it is when I do this.
• Practice active gratitude.  I take time to think about and thank God for the gifts of the day.  When I'm off - not quite myself emotionally and spiritually - I write them down to remind myself of how blessed my life is, but usually I just mentally review the list of amazing blessings in my life.  This brings a calm sense of peace to the end of my day.

All of these are small things and they only take 15 minutes or so to do the night before when I've got plenty of time and am in no hurry.  Fifteen minutes leisurely spent preparing for the next day is easy the night before.  Fifteen minutes in the morning is sometimes hard to come by.  Plus, I hate to start my day feeling like I'm running behind - I never quite feel like I've caught up.

The last thing I try to do is go to bed early enough.  Getting the right quantity and quality of sleep is essential to good health.  Being sleep deprived has been linked to overweight and obesity, heart disease, depression, and a variety of other health conditions.  Give yourself the gift of a better start tomorrow by starting tonight.  Prepare for tomorrow and sleep well tonight.  Be healthy!

First Things First

As it is the 2nd (3rd when you read this), my mind is still on the beginning of a new year.  Things I want to accomplish professionally and personally, anticipation for wonderful milestones with my baby boy, and hopes for expanding our family.  I'll get back to all of that on the next post.  Today is about priorities.

As I was working through my day - feed the baby, play, rock the baby to sleep, write/email/laundry, repeat - I read a post on Facebook that a friend's son is being moved to hospice following a battle with cancer.  The post stopped me in my tracks.  My friend is the same age as me, we went to high-school together.  She started her family earlier, so her son is nearly grown.  Still, my heart knows that he remains her baby boy and it breaks with hers at the thought of what she's facing.  I can hardly force myself to think about it.  As a new mom, my heart is too tender still, hormones too ripe - no, that wouldn't matter.  Mothers aren't supposed to bury their children.  I prayed for her right away.  I've prayed for her over and over today.

After reading her post, my perspective shifted.  My priorities got right.  I cried for her.  I found myself on my hands and knees scrubbing the shower praying for her.  Crying for her and at the same time thanking God that my greatest inconvenience of the day is fighting the mold in my shower grout.  Grateful that I have the opportunity to be exhausted from lack of sleep and days that run into each other as I change diapers, wake up at night to calm tears, feed and rock my son, clean our house (even the floors and the bathrooms), and work for my clients, without the heartbreak my friend suffers.  But for the grace of God...

Yet I know the grace of God is with her too.  It is with her son.  Though they may not always know, His grace is with all those who suffer loss, injustice, the unfairness of cancer, "random" accidents, heartbreaks that we cannot, do not understand.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ~Psalm 34:18

I do not understand why.  I won't pretend to understand.  I have borne witness to the losses of friends and loved ones - holding the hands and sharing my heart with others as they've lost in ways I do not fully understand.  Felt completely helpless, useless, because I didn't understand why then either.  In the midst of loss, I have known what I know still.  God does not leave us alone in our pain.  We may not always feel His presence or hear his voice, but He does not leave us.  Whatever comes, my deepest desire is that my heart be tethered to Him, to the One who knows, who sees all of history past and future together and knows the whole story. And to be able to share that with others in their suffering - and in their joy.

Abide in me and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. ~John 15:4

I want to abide in Jesus.  [Verb: Abide - live; dwell.]  I want to live, to dwell with Jesus. To find rest in Jesus. How do I do that in a crazy world? with so many competing "priorities"? with pain and suffering and sorrow?  The simple phrase "keep first things first" fits.  If Jesus is to be first, it must be how I start each day.  Scripture.  Prayer.  To prioritize means to make first, more important than other things.  First thing each day I need to seek His face, His will, His word.  First thing when worry, fear, calamity strike.  First thing when I see needs, feel the heartache of someone else.  To paraphrase Ann Graham Lotz...Jesus.  Just give me Jesus.  Not Jesus and ___.  Jesus is enough.  He is first.  Abide in Him today.

Compounding Interest

I love the start of a new year.  It's like a blank sheet of paper.  An unpainted canvas.  Clean sheets.  Okay, you get my drift.  Starting fresh each year is a beautiful thing.  Of course, we could start each day like this if we wanted...living one day at a time, leaving yesterday there and not reaching too far ahead into tomorrow - we could actually enjoy each day in and of itself.  Love that thought and it's part of my plan for this year.

For many years, I've worked to live one day at a time.  We only have this one day after all.  Once the day is closed, we cannot undo what has been done.  There is no returning to yesterday to relive a moment, change an outcome, or keep from sticking our foot into our mouths (or at least I can't).  Likewise, we can plan for tomorrow, but there is only the illusion of control.  The truth is that we cannot truly control tomorrow's happenings.  There are always unknowns that will impact what happens tomorrow.  We won't know about those things until we get there.  Better to stay fully present in today, making good choices, and breathing in the smell of this flower before it wilts and is gone.

Of course, there is the compounding interest effect.  While we can't control tomorrow...we can influence it.  Making consistent healthy choices day after day, year after year, is like saving pennies per day and their compounding interest that leads to a comfortable tomorrow.  Little daily inputs lead to much reward.  There's no way to avert illness, challenges, or unfortunate circumstances completely, but by making small positive deposits into your "health bank account" each day, you can be better prepared for tomorrow - while at the same time enjoying them today!  Wow...profound, I know. 

Seriously, small daily habits can make all the difference.  Here are a few to consider incorporating every day of 2014 (one day at a time, of course):

• Start your day by reading scripture or inspiration - just 5 minutes.  You have 5 minutes.
• Take time to breathe deeply, meditating and praying with thanksgiving.  Give yourself the gift of 5 minutes for this in the middle of the day.
• Eat a nutritious breakfast.  Need not be elaborate.  Boiled egg, sliced orange, yogurt, and piece of whole grain toast with PB.
• Make a conscious effort to call or visit in person with a loved one; you will both benefit.
• Stretch for 5-10 minutes at the end of the day.

Try incorporating these into your day today, tomorrow, each day.  The impact may not feel huge today, but it will add up.  Imagine if you did these five things each day for a year!  More peace.  Lower blood pressure.  Healthier body weight.  Deeper connections.  Improved flexibility and balance.  What would you add to this list?  Be healthy!

Thanksgiving Tips

Thanksgiving is only a week away!  Don't even get me started on what that means about Christmas - holy cow.  Thanksgiving is like the Superbowl of eating. It's the day when everyone seems to completely forget themselves and stuff themselves like they're the turkey.  According to the Calorie Control Council, people may eat as many as 4,500 calories during and around the Thanksgiving meal - that's nearly three days worth of calories for most people!

If you don't want to end up sick at your own behavior, consider these tips for a healthier Thanksgiving day:

1. Start the day burning some calories.  Across the country there are charity walks and "gobble" events - 5k, 10k or more will help create a negative balance to balance your calories later.  Plus you'll be doing good for someone else.  If your town doesn't have an event, take a very brisk, very long walk and get the whole family out for a game of touch football or tag after the meal.
2. Drink plenty of water and not much else.  Liquid calories don't trigger satiety the way that food you chew does, so beer, wine, and sodas (or sweet tea if you're in the south like me!) just add to the bottom line.
3. Take a dish to share.  Make it a nutritious and tasty choice.  Choose something you feel good about eating and which you can eat plenty of - salads, fresh vegetables simply prepared and fruit salad are all good choices. 
4. Don't skip meals.  Letting yourself show up at the Thanksgiving feast hungry is an invitation to gluttony.  If you're too hungry, you will not make wise decisions.  Which leads us to the final suggestion...
5. Choose wisely.  Make sure that at least 1/2 of your plate is made up of fruits and vegetables, 1/4 of the plate can be grains or starchy vegetables and the final 1/4 can be meat.  Limit servings of foods that are high fat and/or high sugar (like sweet potato casserole) or consider them your dessert.  Speaking of dessert...a few bites goes a long way, especially after an enormous plate of food.

Of course, be sure to focus on the reason for the day - a day to give thanks.  Thank God for the abundance you have in your life - not just on your table.  Be grateful for the gifts of family, friends, health, and financial blessing.  Take time to number your blessings and know that there are reasons to be thankful all around you. Be healthy!

 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 

1 Chronicles 16:34