Have a relationship with the food you are with.

We tend to choose our friends wisely, we know who will enhance our lives and who will have a potential to harm us, emotionally or physically. There are people that we gravitate toward and others that we back away from. Perhaps if we develop the same approach to food we would live safer and happier. During the 2nd world war the soldier would call out "friend or foe?" In future I intend to be on my guard when it comes to food and ask are you a friend or an enemy, will you bless me or enslave me? I am going to develop good relationships with food that nurture me and limit my relationship with food that have the potential to harm me. Perhaps if I talk to food before I put it into my mouth I will think twice about swallowing it.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can pick him up, but pity the man that falls and has no one to help him up. -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

A diet is a diet

When I told my husband about The Joyful Sisterhood he gave me that look and said “ if I counted all the diets that you have been on…” my comment was that if I had not been on those diets I would be as big as a house by now. It is true that I have gained 10# for every decade since I was in my teens but I am still able to camouflage my weight well. The truth is that if the average baby weighs 7# I would be carrying triplets and I can remember carrying one was difficult. It is no wonder that I puff and pant when I walk fast or climb stairs.
No matter what you call eating, it involves a diet. It can be a healthy diet, a junk food diet, the fruit diet, a low carb diet, a high protein or a balanced diet but like it or not it is a diet. We need to give up our denial and look the facts in the face. We are going to have to choose a diet.
Growing up with a mother who was never happy with herself because of her weight caused my sister and I to vow that we would never get fat and feel that miserable about ourselves. The problem was that watching our weight meant watching our weight. I have kept a journal for years and I thought that one-day my children and grandchildren would read my journals and my journals would be filled with wisdom. What a shock to find that when I read back over them they were filled with whining about my weight or PMS. There were some wise comments but they mainly came from another author.
As Dr Kara Davis said in her book Spiritual Secrets to Weight Loss “we are digging our own graves, one forkful at a time”. On second thoughts I wonder how long that would take. No seriously, the closer we are to the grave the more thought we give to keeping the body we travel in healthy.
I want to start somewhere so I will start here hopefully with the fellowship of sisters (or brothers) who will encourage me along.
Be patient with every one, but above all with yourself. I mean, do not be disturbed because of your imperfections, and always rise up bravely from a fall. I am glad that you make a daily new beginning; there is no better means of progress in the spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh, and never to think we have done enough. Francis De Sales.

The Joyful Sisterhood

Health Support Group.

We all have reasons why we want to lose weight, we have a wedding to go to, a school reunion or we are going on vacation. On New Year’s Eve we promise ourselves that we will do better this year. I have had a lot of years like that, a lot of days sick of thinking about weight loss. As I have got older my goal for weight loss has changed from becoming a beauty queen on the beach to “I just want to be healthy”. However, no matter what my goal is the weight has continued to climb. Thinking about it does not work, we really have to do something and that is where many of us get held up.
What will really motivate us to lose weight? I think what we really want is peace and joy. I would like to stop thinking about the weight I have to lose which would give me peace of mind. As I lose weight I will gain joy. God’s Word says “the kingdom of God is not meat nor drink it but righteous, peace and joy”. If we do what is right we will have peace and joy. The hard part comes when we have to do right. Right? So how do we do what is right? Christ was able to suffer the cross because he knew the reward that was beyond the cross. Jesus suffered the pain to receive the reward.
Now we move beyond the pain, hallelujah, I have come up with an idea that may help us lose weight and continue to be faithful to our health program. This is how it will work. You find some family or friends who wish to be part of a Sisterhood to help one another to lose weight. You get together and for 2 weeks they have to give up sugar and sugar products. They meet Monday through Friday for 30 minutes for the first 2 weeks while they detox from sugar. A bracelet is purchased that you can add beads and charms to as you lose weight. The bracelet will be a reminder as you reach for a donut or burger that you are part of a sisterhood that is supporting you to lose weight. You also get the opportunity to decide if you want the donut or the bead.
After two weeks the sisters meet once a week for support for 30 minutes and share their weight loss. When 5# is lost a bead can be purchased from a hobby store or a jewelry store depending on your budget. When the weight is lost you can add a bead after 3 months. The same benefit can be gained at 6 months and at 12 months etc. However, if you gain greater than 2# at any time you have to remove a charm or bead.
The method of weight loss is up to the individual and the advise of their physician. The journey is towards peace and joy so join hands with The Joyful Sisterhood and let us do what is Right.

Have you noticed that when you wake up in the morning you are just fine until you start to think? The other morning I woke up fine and was pretty much ready to get out of bed without any particular effort and then I began to think. The first thing that came into my mind was the ice cream that I had mixed with peanut butter the night before. Why would I think about that at this time of the morning? It had nothing what so ever to do with breakfast and then I started to think about going to work. My mood was now beginning to develop in my mind, a blue funk was heading in like rain clouds. Then I received a message in my mind that said “did I not save your life twice? Did I not heal you from cancer and have you not enjoyed 20 years without reoccurrence? Two years ago did I not heal your mind and body when you fell 8 feet from the attic and suffered a fractured skull and several subdural hematoms? Each day that you live is a gift. The day is the present that I have allowed you to enjoy. I felt so convicted. Did my life belong now to me or did it belong to God? Do I live to please myself or do I live my life as a thank you note to God for His gift to me? My day was now set before me and I would unwrap my day with delight and pleasure and sharing the contents of my gift with others with a thankful heart.
May God bless your daily gift.

Compassion Fatigue

Do any of these symptoms seem familiar?
Irritable
Overwhelmed by unfinished business
Take stress out on your family members
Blame others for fatigue
Insomnia
Decreased energy
Find changes draining
Feel like a failure
Loss of compassion
Pleasing others instead of yourself
Not taking enough vacation time
Feel like a savior rather than a server
Over extended, over commited
Neglecting your own health

Solutions to consider.
Find a safe environment to vent feelings
Talk to a friend or coworker
Make time for yourself each day
How would you live if you knew the day you would die?
Be your own best caregiver
Take the advise that you would give to others
Eat healthy, exercise and get a good nights sleep
Laugh often, tell yourself a joke each day
Set good boundaries, if you were dead someone will take your place
Make use of your vacation time silly, you get paid for it.
Sex is good I hear - be wise
Stay in the moment, don't borrow from the future, don't carry the weight of the past.
Find counsel if you need it
Check your motives for being over involved and overworked
Love yourself

Do you do Hospice or does Hospice do you?

Different approach to my blog, hoping for more input. If the journey through grief is to find someone to share your thoughts and your pain with then would this process service to relieve stress and frustrations? One of the most cohesive teams that I know spend time venting with one another. When the steam is released there seems less potential for explosion. I sit with my neighbors as they vent their views about politics and although I prefer peace I can appreciate that these heated discussion bring a sense of relief. So I encourage you to share your big and small frustrations. Lets see what your peers have to say.

pushing the envelope

So here I was in my new office navigating the computer and trying to mail merge eighty names to grief letters and labels. After some stumbles and printer problems the letters were printed and the labels were ready to be put on the envelops. I have two wonderful volunteers, Melba and Corlene, who stuff the envelops and apply postage ready for mailing. At the end of the day I decided to record the people who were to receive the mail only to find that I had made a mistake and was about to sent letters to dear folks that had already received the same letter and brochure that I was about to send them a second time. The envelopes were already metered for mailing and as the new bereavement coordinator I was unwilling to confess my error. It was not a medication error, no one was going to die so I decided to try and remedy the error on my own time. That evening the box of envelops went home with me. My husband and I had decided on fish and fries for dinner the night before so as soon as I got home the soup saucepan went on the stove and the fish went into the oven. The fries would go into an electric frying pan on the counter. When the water came to a boil on the stove the envelops, two at a time, were placed on the top to steam open. My husband said "do you think you could do one thing at a time?" but I said in the same tone as a woman in labor "no, there are too many to open, keep your eyes on the fries". When all the envelopes were open I peeled all the labels off while watching America's got Talent, I think I could qualify for that show with my envelop talent. I re-stuffed the envelopes and re-applied the labels. Then believe me or not I ironed every envelope shut clean and crisp. Ask me if I will make that mistake again? There is a lot more to this bereavement job than I ever imagined. I hope your day is enveloped in love and peace.