Tag: exercise

The Buffet Table

Welcome to the buffet table! I’ll be jumping from one subject to the next, so get your plate and fill it up. The good news: you don’t have to worry about portions, fat, sodium, sugar, GMOs, nor calories.

TOMORROW We’ve all said at one time or another, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” I’ll begin that project tomorrow. I’ll go on a diet tomorrow. I’ll start a savings plan tomorrow. I’ll start getting more sleep tomorrow night. I’ll give my life to Christ tomorrow. I’ll start working on things that God has laid on my heart tomorrow. I’ll get life insurance tomorrow. I’ll start exercising tomorrow. I’ll choose to be happy tomorrow.  Tomorrow came, and you still didn’t do what you said you were going to do. The cemetery is full of the bodies of people who said, “I’ll do it tomorrow”, but tomorrow never came. Books, ideas, songs, inventions, plays, crafts, testimonies never to be shared, and destinies never to be fulfilled have been put in files labeled tomorrow. It’s so easy to put things off for tomorrow. Tomorrow is not promised.

Let your tomorrow begin today!

RESURRECTION DAY You usually don’t hear people talking about Resurrection Day until around Easter. The ultimate resurrection was when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He died but when He rose, He rose with all power in His hands. His resurrection made it possible for us to have resurrections in our lives. We all go through things. Sometimes the situation looks, feels, and smells so bad that we think it’s dead. Just like God raised Jesus up from the grave, and just like Jesus raised up Lazarus from the grave, He can raise your situation up from the grave also. So when you find yourself in what you are sure is a dead situation, rest assured that your Resurrection day is on the way!

REFLEXOLOGY It is said that a large percentage of disease is stress related. Getting a massage is one way to release stress. There are many more benefits associated with massage therapy including relaxation, increased and improved blood circulation, and increased flexibility. Reflexology is a therapeutic form of foot massage and of course, hand reflexology is a therapeutic form of hand massage. Reflexology may benefit people in the same way massage helps people relax and reduce their stress levels.

Reflexology is based on the belief that each part of the foot is a mirror site for a part of the body. The big toe, for example is considered a reflex area for the head. The heart and chest are around the ball of the foot. The liver, pancreas and kidney are in the arch of the foot. Practitioners believe that certain areas of the hands and feet are linked to other areas and organs of the body. For example, the brain can be helped by putting pressure on the tips of the three largest toes on both feet.

One day while on the computer, I did a search on hand reflexology. I found a web site that allowed me to print out a free 10 step hand reflexology self-treatment. I sat at the computer and did some of the exercises. I can’t begin to describe how good my hands felt. I have two different foot rollers and a porcupine massage ball that I ordered online. I had no idea that my feet and hands could feel so good after using them.

One time I had a pain in my neck. The pain was there for more than a week. I took aspirin. I applied a heating pad. Neither of those things worked. The Holy Spirit brought to my attention my porcupine massage ball. I began to roll one foot and then the other over the ball and immediately the pain began to ease. I did it the next day and the next, and then the pain was totally gone!

Check out reflexology. Visit the library or google it. There are reflexology charts available that show the locations and therapeutic indications of pressure points on the hands and feet. I thank God for letting me discover the benefits of foot and hand reflexology. I use my porcupine ball on a regular basis. I get so busy that I sometimes forget about my foot rollers and hand reflexology techniques. That’s why I like sharing healthy living tips: As I review topics and share them, I get reminded of certain things.

GROWING UP It’s generally thought that wisdom comes with growing older. It does happen with some people, while others become stupider (yes, I had to look it up: stupider or more stupid). I like using stupid because it really gets people’s attention. I’m growing up while growing older. Sounds silly doesn’t it? Life seems backwards. By the time you grow up and begin to figure life out, it’s time to exit.

“I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it makes sense.” Harold Kushner

I like to think that my life would have turned out much better if I would have had the wisdom I have now, when I was 25. But I don’t dwell on that thought because I can’t go back to when I was 25. I can’t undo what’s already been done. All I can do is learn from the mistakes, stupid decisions, trials, and disappointments because they were instrumental in making me who I am today. Not that I’m all that, but I like to think that I have become a better person. I’m not where I need to be, I’ll be growing up until I die, but I thank God I’m not where I used to be.

“In the trials we’ve faced, something good has happened too: God has fine-tuned us so we are more compassionate, more caring, more loving, more aware of others’ pain.”

I would have never chosen this path for my life, but my strategic, all knowing, loving, Daddy God had other plans. He knew and still knows the best route for my life. After all, it was He who formed me while I was yet in my mother’s womb. He tells me in Jeremiah 1:5a “I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me before you were born” and in Jeremiah 29 verse 11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Now that’s good news!

HUMOR TIME Willing to take a bullet for Jesus? The two thousand member Baptist church was filled to overflowing capacity one Sunday morning. The preacher was ready to start the sermon when two men, dressed in long black coats and black hats entered through the rear of the church.

One of the two men walked to the middle of the church while the other stayed at the back of the church. They both then reached under their coats and withdrew automatic weapons.

The one in the middle announced, “Everyone willing to take a bullet for Jesus stay in your seats!”

Naturally, the pews emptied, followed by the choir. The deacons ran out the door, followed by the choir director and the assistant pastor.

After a few moments, there were about twenty people left sitting in the church. The preacher was holding steady in the pulpit.

The men put their weapons away and said, gently, to the preacher, “All right, pastor, the hypocrites are gone now. You may begin the service.”

The dog closed his eyes in concentration. This fundamentalist Christian couple felt it important to own an equally fundamentally Christian pet. So, they went shopping. At a kennel specializing in this particular breed, they found a dog they liked quite a lot. When they asked the dog to fetch the Bible, he did it in a flash. When they instructed him to look up Psalm 23, he complied equally fast, using his paws with dexterity.

They were impressed, purchased the animal, and went home (piously, of course). That night they had friends over. They were so proud of their new fundamentalist dog and his major skills, they called the dog and showed off a little. The friends were impressed, and asked whether the dog was able to do any of the usual dog tricks, as well. This stopped the couple cold, as they hadn’t thought about ‘normal’ tricks. “Well,” they said, “let’s try this out.”

Once more they called out to the dog, and then clearly pronounced the command, “Heel!” Quick as a wink, the dog jumped up, put his paw on the man’s forehead, closed his eyes in concentration, and bowed his head.

I hope you leave today – as full as a tick.  laughing happy face with tongue   Bye for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Resources http://www.christian-jokes.net/Jokes/Church-Jokes/115-willing-to-take-a-bullet-for-Jesus.aspx http://www.christian-jokes.net/Jokes/Bible-Humor/141-The-dog-closed-his-eyes-in-concentration.aspx Jeremiah 1:5 International Standard Version http://biblehub.com/isv/jeremiah/1.htm Jeremiah 29:11-13New International Version (NIV) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A11-13&version=NIV Johnson, B. (2006). I Don’t Suffer From Insanity….I Enjoy Every Minute of It! (Mar. 3) Siloam Springs, AR: DaySpring Cards, Inc.

A Healthy Lifestyle

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
James Allen

“There is always something to be thankful for. If you can’t pay your bills, you can be thankful you are not one of your creditors.”

I hope this video blesses you.  This is one of my favorite songs.

Six components of living a healthy lifestyle

There are many reasons to try to live a healthy lifestyle:

To lower the risk of disease.

  1. To relieve stress.

  2. To have increased energy.

  3. To increase the length of your life.

  4. To increase the quality of your life.

  5. To be fit for the Master’s use.

I am not trying to increase the length of my life, but I am trying to increase the quality of my life. I don’t do everything right. Some days are better than others. I love food. I love to eat. The problem is I eat too much. Anyway, I’m working on it.

If I had to pick the most important reason for striving to live a healthy lifestyle, I would choose #6. We all have a destiny to fulfill. We have been given gifts and talents to use for God’s use. I don’t think most of us truly grasp that. If we did, we would be doing more for Him.

Everyone won’t write a book, be a movie star, the president of a large corporation, or a great artist. The greatest accomplishment that any of us can do is to accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior and be found trying to fulfill our destiny. Life passes by so swiftly. We have only a limited number or years. I don’t want to die without at least trying to discover and use my gifts and talents. What you do may not be on a professional level. My videos and my blogs sure aren’t. But at least I can say – I tried.

I want to share with you six components of healthy living.

 Air is a component of health that we totally take for granted. We don’t go to bed and say, “I sure hope that I won’t run out of air while I sleep tonight or I wonder if I’ll have enough air in the morning.” We just assume that we will have air.

It is possible to go weeks without food and days without water, but six minutes without air and you’re a corpse. Air is so important because of oxygen. The blood and trillions of cells that make up the body perform the functions of life. They must be oxygenated regularly or death occurs. We receive our supply of oxygen by extracting it from the air we breathe into our lungs. This is called respiration. In tiny air sacs in the lungs, the blood is purified, supplied with oxygen, and sent on its way to the rest of the body. When we breathe out, we exhale carbon dioxide gas and a lot of other waste materials.

Even though it’s practically impossible to have really pure air in this day and age we can still do what we can to make the best use of the air that we breathe.

Deep breathing         breathing     is a component of health that supplies us with the fuel that keeps us alive. How we breathe affects how we absorb oxygen into our bodies. The oxygen feeds the brain, the nervous system, and every cell of the body.   Normally, we should breath abdominally. There are enormous benefits that accompany breathing the way the body is designed to breathe. Most people breathe totally from the chest.

Abdominal breathing clears your mind and relaxes you. It balances you. It’s the key to relaxation and to the correct oxygenation of your body. Abdominal breathing takes pressure off the heart, and has an amazing effect on the nervous system.  We want the abdomen to expand as we breathe in, and then we want the air to move up and out as we exhale.

Exercise    exercise    is a component of health that greatly assists in the oxygenation of your entire body, especially aerobic exercise, which accelerates the heart’s pumping action. There is an exercise routine for everyone. Bones are alive, and just like every other part of the body, they benefit greatly from exercise.

Life depends on the flow of blood in our bodies. Every drop of blood circulates through the entire body, every minute! A larger heart is a healthier and stronger heart. Any good exercise routine should address basically three areas of fitness: (1) cardiovascular, or aerobic, (2) strength, and (3) flexibility. Aerobic exercise is the form that strengthens the heart.

Water: There is not one function of the body that is not dependent on water. Approximately seventy percent of the body is water. The brain is 80.5% water, the lungs 80%, and the blood 90%. From the minute food enters your mouth, every process necessary to transform it from a food to blood, bone, muscle, and tissue – depends on water.

Water holds nutrients in solution and transports all food necessary for life to the various parts of the body. The body uses water to extract the vitamins, minerals, proteins (amino acids), carbohydrates, fats, and the other basic nutrients of life to the proper place and drops them off in the exact amounts needed at exactly the right time in the body.

Water holds wastes and toxins that it picks up from the cells and carries them to the organs of elimination. Water carries them to the four organs of elimination – bowels, bladder, lungs, and skin for disposal. Water brings in what we need and carries out what we don’t.

Without sufficient water you would have no saliva. You wouldn’t be able to swallow! The organs that perform the functions of life are all more water than anything else. Water is the chief agent in regulating body temperature, like water in the radiator of a car.

As to how much and what kind of water to drink, well the experts have different opinions. One thing is for sure, the less you get from your food, the more you have to drink.

 

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