Body: It's spring - getting out and getting active.

Image by UGArdener via Flickr

Spring in the South:


How lucky I am to live in East Tennessee in the Springtime!

The forsythias are so vibrant and the dogwoods and other blooming trees are starting to bloom as well.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

The tulip bulbs I planted a couple of falls ago are starting to have blooms!

Image via Wikipedia

This time of renewal beckons us to get out and work in our yards but also to take walks, bike rides and go to the park. It is such a short time that God shares these beauties with us - wherever you are in the season of spring - get outside and get active! Enjoy this gift!


Remember:
Walking 30-40 minutes every evening after dinner is such a great habit for your body! Think of it as giving yourself a close-up look at the beauty of spring.     
 "Exercise: Exercise can help decrease feelings of anxiety and can give you a sense of well-being. It boosts the oxygen and blood flow to the brain helping it to relax regularly. It also enhances well-being through the release of endorphins, the brain's feel-good chemicals. Research shows that as little as 30 minutes of exercise three to five times a week can provide significant anxiety relief."




from: http://www.lifemojo.com/

Spirit/Mind: baking cookies for loved ones

When you take the time to do something for others - it heals you spiritually. When you are down, it is a wonderful "lifter" to bake cookies and take them to someone who would really appreciate them. I have been making different versions of chocolate chip cookies and my husband made a request for chocolate cookies with white chips. I did a couple of versions and I want to share the one that turned out the best. It is a brownie-like cookie - that is only 4 points per cookie (weight watchers plus).

Preheat oven to 375degrees, mix 1 cup of softened butter with 3/4c. brown sugar and 3/4c. sugar. Then add 2 eggs and 1tsp. of vanilla to mix.

Melt 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate. Mix into rest of cookie batter. Beat in 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Stir in 12 ounces white morsels.



scoop dough onto parchment paper-covered cookie sheet and bake for 10min.

Yummy!! this is how I served it to my teenaged sons and my hubby too. To give them this treat filled up my spirit!





 

Spirit: listening to our inner voice

Image by Robert Mehlan via Flickr

We have goals to reach and sometimes the success seems so far ahead of us in the distance that we think we will never reach the end of the metaphorical pier but I do know we are equipped with a powerful tool.
We all have an inner voice that is (for most of us) guiding us toward wise decisions. I wonder why sometimes we ignore that wonderful gift and say "ah hell with it - let's have a little fun". When we go there it usually ends up hurting us or taking us farther away from our goals. You may not literally say the above words in quotations but you might as well sometimes. You are figuratively saying it when you are making the decision to do something that you know will not really be good for you.
I do believe that if we took  a moment to think it through, and make a real decision by listening (i mean really listening) to our inner voice we would save ourselves a lot of anguish.


Here is the question that I hope you will ask the next time you are tempted to buy something you should not buy, eat something you should not eat, drink something you should not drink, say something you should not say etc. : "Will what I am about to do benefit me (my body) or lead me closer to my goals in life?" If the answer is no then run away from the object of temptation. You are the master of your ship!!

Body/ Spirit- Overeating (eating beyond full)

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I am thinking a lot about why I have the urge to eat 5 cookies instead of 1! Especially when I am not even physically hungry. I am talking about "really thinking" about it!

Have you ever been eating a bowl of a really good cereal (1/2 way through the bowl) and start thinking about getting the second bowl?
This really does not make sense because you don't even know if your hunger will be satisfied with 1 bowl or not. You are eating for something other than hunger and nutrition.

Image by Sam Cockman via Flickr

I am learning that this type of overeating is permissible ----- But NOT beneficial(1Corinthians 10:23). Not paying attention to what is beneficial for your body's needs almost always leads to an unhealthy choice and an overweight body.

My new plan (Weight Watchers)- has got me just sampling (really small portions) pleasurable foods. For example I did just have 1 delicious homemade choc. chip cookie the other day and thought "well, that is really a nice treat that I enjoyed and was plenty to satisfy my physical needs".

I think at the heart of any weighty issues is the truth that (simply put); the desire to overstuff past satisfied makes you store fat! If you can eat according to your hunger and fully embrace the idea that pleasurable eating is only truly real between the boundaries of hungry and (NOT full but) just satisfied -- the battle is won.

Here is the hunger scale that I am trying to become used to following:

Eat when you are at 3 on the scale and stop when you are at 6 on the scale. ---------

10- You are so full that you feel a little sick (acid reflux, belly ache etc.)
9. uncomfortably full and feel the need to loosen your clothes (especially the top button of your jeans & don't ask how I know this one).
8. bloated and lazy
7. a little uncomfortable - Would say that you are full and  that you would like to sit around for a little bit.
6. Perfectly comfortable - satisfied
5. You could eat a little more but are more or less satisfied.
4. slightly uncomfortable - beginning to feel empty - "I could eat".
3. Stomach is starting to growl and you are very aware that you are hungry.
2. You are experiencing true discomfort. You are feeling irritable and unable to focus on something other than your hunger.
1.You are light-headed and feel nauseous- extreme growling.


I believe that God wants us to be free from any desire to overfeed our bodies- Don't you? Next time you are faced with a desire to ovreat - Ask yourself if :having a lot of food is beneficial to you or if just a dab'll do you?

Image by Keoki Seu via Flickr

Spirit: my son: Jake Potter - National Honors Society Induction: March 3, 2011 (1)

Proud Mama moment!!
Does the spirit good!