Fun Exercise Alternatives

If you are anything like me you exercise because it's a necessity not something you enjoy.  Everyone knows that exercise is an excellent way to improve your mood and keep your body in shapes but let's face it, exercise can be boring.

Here are some fun exercise alternatives:

1) Rock climbing. There are many indoor rock climbing places. This is a fun full body work-out.
2) Karate. There are many karate schools offered at decent prices. I take karate and love it. It is an excellent full body work out and a great way to learn self-defense
3) Take a walk in your neighborhood.  Go for a jog in the park. This is the perfect opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, pray, and listen to music, while getting a cardio workout.
4) Swim. Swimming is a fun alternative to working out. So swim some laps, tone your muscles, all while getting soaking up some sun and having fun.
5) Sports. Whether you like baseball, basketball, or tennis these are all great workouts. Grab some friends, head out to a park, and enjoy a great work out.
6) Dancing. Dancing is always fun and a great workout. You have the option of finding a dance class or dancing alone. Personally, I like dancing with the just dance games for the Wii
7) The Wii. The Wii offers sports, yoga, fitness, and dance game that are fun and will leave you sweating.
8) Play outside with a kid. Whether you play tag, hide and seek duck duck goose or dodge ball you will be worn out when you are done.
8) Jump on a trampoline. This is a great workout. If you don’t have a trampoline, there are individual trampolines with exercise DVDs included
9) Hula hooping. As a kid, this was one of my favorite activities.  I still remember how sore it left my abs afterwards. There are even weighted hula hoops available to make it even more challenging.
10) Bike riding. This Is a great workout and a great way to enjoy nature. Be sure to pack plenty of water because you are sure to sweat with this work-out.
Here are some alternatives:
11) Skating. This is personally one of my favorites even though I haven't gone in a while. Ice skating and rollerblading are both great workouts.

Pizza Pasta

Trying to think of a dish your kids will actually eat? Or maybe you just trying to figure out something different to cook for yourself. Why not try this easy pizza pasta recipe?

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 jar of spaghetti

I small can of diced tomatoes

Italian seasoning

I small bag of pepperonis

1 Package of rigatoni noodles

1 bag of your choice of cheese

Onions and Bell Peppers

Directions:

Brown ground meat, bell peppers and onions. Cook spaghetti sauce, and diced tomatoes for half hour. Boil and drain Noodles. Mix noodles, meat, bell peppers, onions, and sauce together. Place these ingredients in a baking casserole dish. Preheat oven to 350.  Top with desired amount of cheese. (Keep in mind you will be adding more cheese later. Spread pepperonis on top of dish, much like you would a pizza. Add desired amount to cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes and Enjoy.

You can add variety to this dish by substituting ground meat for Italian Sausage or you can add other pizza toppings you like such as mushrooms, Canadian bacon, etc. 

Must Read List

With Summer around the corner, it’s the perfect time to sit outside with a good book and soak in some sun and good words as well.

Here is a few Must reads I love:

1)      “Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Women’s Soul”.by John and Stasi Eldredge. This is one of my favorites and I have read it at least three times. This book explores femininity and explains many of the desires girls carry on to adulthood. This book explains that many women desire to be swept up in romance and beautiful and how each woman can find their beauty in God.

2)      “Heaven in for Real” By Todd Burpo. This is a must-read. I am reading it now and have not been able to put it down. In this book the author describes his son’s visit to heaven after a near death experience. The boy was only three years old and describes things that he saw with a childlike honesty. Colton describes scenes in the bible that he could not possibly know and people who died before he was born. This is a great book for doubters or believers that just want a glimpse of heaven.

3)      “The Shack” By: William P. Young. In this fiction story, Mack the main character struggles with the death of his daughter who is killed by a serial killer known as the Little Lady Killer. Mack who is angry with God for taking his daughter away goes into a secluded shack where he has a face to face in counter with God.

4)      “The Wedding” By Nicholas Sparks. This is one of my favorites by Nicholas Sparks. It is the prequel to “The Notebook.” The main characters are the daughter and son-in-law of Allie from “The Notebook” In this inspiring love story. Jane and Wilson have been married for 30 years, but like many couples who have been married 30 years their love is fading. The book describes the love that once was, and the regret Wilson feels for letting it slip away. While Jane and Wilson are  planning their daughter’s wedding, he begins courting his wife again in an attempt to save their marriage.

5)      “Safe Haven” By Nicholas Sparks. While I’m throwing in Nicholas Sparks books I have to throw this one into mix. This recently turned movie is one of my favorites of Sparks as well. Katie moves to South Carolina in order to run from her dark past. Her only friends are a neighbor named Jo and a widow named Alex and his two children. While she tries to avoid falling for Alex, she soon discovers that love has the power to overcome fears.

6)      “The Guardian” By Nicholas Sparks. (I apologize to all non- Sparks fans, I am a Sparks fan. This is the last one my list. I promise.) Julie, a widow is left with a dog that her husband Jim always wanted to own. The dog is a Great Dane named Singer. Julie begins dating again, but is unimpressed with the men she dates. She develops a close friendship with Mike, who was Jim’s best friend. The title the guardian refers to Singer, and this book is a great example of the loyalty and protection of man’s best friend.

7)      “Alice” By Sara Flanigan. A powerful tale of a young girl’s journey in finding the true meaning of love and compassion. In this heart wrenching tale Ellie finds a deaf girl named Alice who is locked in a shed by her parents and treated like an animal. Ellie and her brother begin teaching the girl how to speak, play, and count transforming an entire town encompassed by ignorance and cruelty. While no one wants to help Alice, Ellie, fights for her right to be treated with loved until she is heard.

8)      “The Chronicles of Narnia “By C.S Lewis. I read this book series, as a kid, but would recommend it to fantasy lovers. This series chronicles the events of Narnia, a fantasy world filled with mythological creatures and talking animals. In this series many children play a vital role in the struggle between the good and evil of the land.

9)      “Evidence Not Seen: A Woman’s Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II. This is the true story of Darlene Deibler Rose and the courage and faith she displayed as a missionary in New Guinea. Her husband was killed in the mission field and she is forced to admit to a crime she did not commit. Then she is placed in a Japanese prison, where she gets a death sentence, only to be spared.

10)   “Love Letters from God” By Bonnie G Schluter. These are beautiful and intimate love letters written as if they were written from God himself. It is a reminder of how much he loves us. 

Grief

If you dealing with the grief of losing a loved one here are some bible verses you can meditate on and promises you can hold on to. 

“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

“And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall no longer  be any death there shall no longer be mourning or crying or pain.” Revelation 21:4


“The lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

“Cast your anxiety on him for he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“Where o death is your victory? Where o death is your sting? The sting of death Is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to god. He gives us the victory through our lord Jesus Christ. “1 Corinthians 15:55-57

" My comfort in my suffering is this: your promise preserves my life." Psalm 119:50

“When you pass through the waters I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze" Isaiah 43:2

“This is my comfort that thy word has revived thee.” Psalm 119:50

“The lord is my rock and My fortress and my deliverer, my god my rock in whom I take refuge my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Psalm 18:1

“Come to you all that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

“For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. “Romans 8:18

A Crown of Beauty for the Brokenhearted

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18.

The above verse is such a sweet promise for those who are grieving for the death of a loved one. It is a wonderful promise that God would draw close to us in our brokenness and save us. Lately I have been no stranger to grief. Last week I found out I had a miscarriage and I had one in October as well. This is a trying time, but in my grief I can sense God’s love and care for me more than I have before. If you are experience some sort of grief whether from a miscarriage or the death of a family member or friend, I hope this entry will give you hope. Here are some things that you can do, some of which have helped me in dealing with my grief.

Allow yourself time to grieve.  There is no proper time frame that suggests how long you should fill sad and at what point you should be healed from the pain of grief. Don’t feel guilty that time has passed and you are still hurting. I know from experience that there may be some people who try to tell you that you shouldn’t feel sad anymore or that you need to get over it. Don’t allow anyone to tell you that you do not hav  a right to feel sad or that it is time for you to get over it. Allow yourself to take time in the healing process.

Talk to a trusted friend about your feelings and your grief.

Consider joining a support group for those who are grieving or attending grief counseling. Compassionate friends is a support group that meets in Lafayette for those who are grieving from the loss of a child. Those suffering from the loss of a miscarriage or stillbirth are welcome to go as well. The Healing House in Lafayette offers support group for children age 4-18 who have lost a loved one. The Greif Recovery Center in Baton Rouge and the Seasons Greif Center in New Orleans also offer counseling and support group services.

Cry out to God in your mourning. “To all those who mourn in Israel he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,  a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”  Isaiah 61:3

Journal. Journaling always helps me to express my feelings and discover feelings I may not have known I had prior to journaling.

Find scriptural promises you can stand on dealing with grief. A couple to look up are Matthew 5:4 and Revelations 21:4. Next week I will be posting more bible verses for those who are grieving.

You want me to love who?

Everyone knows that God wants us to love others. Most of us are familiar with the two great commandments of the bible the first being “Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your mind and all your strength” and the second command being.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31 says of these two commandments “There is no commandment greater than these.”

Sometimes loving our neighbors, friends, and family is not a difficult command to follow, because these or some of the people who have loved us when we thought that we were unlovable. However, the command of loving others goes even further than this. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says to us “Love your enemies, Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you.”  According to this we are not just called to love those who are loveable, but we are called to love the unlovable, those that hate us, those who do not like us, those who have hurt us. This has been an issue I have been dealing with lately. There is a person in my life that I know doesn’t like me, and will reject me if I try to reach out to her, but I am being called to love her anyway.  This is a very challenging task. It’s difficult to love someone who you know will not show you that love back, but I believe that this a good opportunity for us to search our hearts and determine our true motives. It’s normal to want to receive love from others, but if we only love others so that we can get love back from them, then our hearts are in the wrong place.

I don’t have to ask you if there is someone in your life that is hard to love. I’m sure that as you are reading this people are coming to your mind, maybe an old friend you had a disagreement with, a difficult family member, a cranky neighbor, an annoying boss or coworker. I challenge you to do everything you can to love that person. Treat this person with kindness, even when they don’t do the same for you. Pray for that person daily. Pray for grace to deal with that person. Remember that we are called to  love even the unlovable.

You are no longer a catepillar so fly!

" If anyone is in Christ the new creation the old has gone the new has come" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
When I read this verse, I always wonder how can I become a "new" creation. How does a person who has been one way their entire way become a new creation? Can I truley become a new creature, when I commit my life to Christ?

So I started thinking..... Are their  any expample in nature when one being becomes an entirely new creation?  Of course, the caterpillar came to my mind. When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it becomes a completely new creation? Isn't that just a fasinating metophor of what Jesus does to us when we become christians? Have you ever walk up to a butterfly and said to it "You are still a caterpillar. Your not a butterfly. You were once a caterpillar you will always be a caterpillar." Of course not. That would be silly, and you would get some strange looks if anyone ever caught you doing that.

However, don't Christians do this to ourselves everyday? We look back on the past and let it define the person that we are to day. We allow ourselves to be overcome with guilt and condemnation for the person that we used to be.

Does this sound like you? Are you holding on to the person you used to be? Are you allowing you were define who you are today? I want to encourage you to let go of the person that you used to be. If unconfessed sins come to your mind, confess those sins and let them go. However, if confessed sins come to your mind ask Jesus to show you that the debt has already been payed for those sins. You are forgiven. Find scriptures that will remind you of the person that you are forgiven. A few you can look at are Romans 8:1, Hebrews 4: 16, 1 John 9,and Act 3: 19,

I challenge you to find a picture/sticker of a butterfly and put it in a place you can see it. Let it be a reminder of that you are forgiven, that you are a new creation in Christ. Don't look back at the times when you crawled in the dirt like a caterpillar. Allow Jesus to take you to new depths and dimensions as he continues to transform you.You are beautiful! You are Christlike! You are a butterfly!