I’m beginning to think I’ve never placed enough value on actually counting my blessings. I know I’m blessed. I’ve had a very comfortable life overall—yes I struggled for those awful seven years, but I now see that as a blessing too! It’s the small blessings in the every day that I take for granted. The prescription verse today tells us whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father. I’ve had some gentle reminders lately that {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Happiness by Choice
David and I have been in Chicago this week at a training seminar for a home health care franchise we are purchasing in South Carolina. My brain is drained and we’ve had very little sleep. As I was in the seminar this morning, I was thinking, “When am I going to get my blog post done for tomorrow?” (You know the perfectionist in me can’t leave you without a {tips to a happier you} post for Saturday). As we were looking {Read More}
Make-a-Change Monday~A Time for Bubbles
Well, if you read my post on Saturday, you know I stayed off the computer for the weekend so not too much thought went into the {make-a-change} for today. I will share with you what I did instead of writing a post for today, which might just be a {make-a-change} we all need to make sometimes 😉 Who say’s you can’t put bubbles in a Jacuzzi?!? Hope you had a wonderful mother’s day! From my heart, Celeste
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Stretch Your Way to Happy
When Marlee was just a toddler, she would stretch endlessly. When I would go to get her up in the mornings, she would stall saying, “Hang on, I’m not finished stretching yet.” And she would stretch to one side, then the other, procrastinating because she didn’t want to get out of bed. But she always got up in the best of moods! Stretching does so much for our mind and body. When I get up in the morning, I try {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Do what you love
I love to take pictures of people. It’s both challenging and rewarding to capture the essence of someone’s personality in a photograph. Sometimes you can see personality characteristics in a photograph that you can’t see in real life. We were created in God’s image, and every single one of is is a masterpiece created by the Master Creator. One of the best ways to fight depression—or even just the blues—is to do something that you love. For me, photography is one of {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~The Artificial Sweetener Conspiracy
Since we’ve been talking about how sugar affects your health, I thought it would be helpful to look into the plethora of sugar substitutes available to us today that are FDA approved. My research, most of which I already knew, brought me back to the conclusion I shared in an old blog post, God’s Pharmacy. We just can’t leave well enough alone. God gave us some great stuff when he created the earth! But we insist on manipulating it to suit our {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Rest
These next two months will hold many moments for me to stop and reflect. My firstborn is 18 years old today and will be graduating from high school next month. If time were personified she would obviously have wings. I’m really not sure where the last 18 years has gone. I look back at clouded memories wishing every moment had been recorded. But they weren’t. It’s up to me to hold those memories close to my heart. It’s up to {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Music Therapy
Everyone is affected by music. In one form or another, it’s all around us. In the Bible, David wrote the entire book of Psalm dedicated to singing to the Lord. David had a heart for God, but if you read the stories of David in scripture, you also know he was just another sinful human being saved by the grace of God. Music has been used for years as therapy for depression, stroke victims, and accident victims—virtually anyone, whose brain {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~The Muddled Multitasking Mind
Join me inside my head for a few moments, will you? I have got to go clean up the kitchen. {Walk to kitchen} I can’t believe Marlee left her dirty socks in the floor when she took off her shoes. {Pick up socks and take them to the laundry room} Shoot— I can’t believe I forgot to take the clothes out of the washer last night and now the smell horrible! If I have to start it again, I might {Read More}
Make-a-change Monday~Don’t Be a Sloth
So let’s review. What small changes have you made so far this year? Are you sticking to them? Have you seen any result? Here are our “Make-a-Change Monday’s” so far: Make a Change Monday~Just Drink Water Make a Change Monday~Post it! Make a Change Monday~Just Do It Make a Change Monday~The Fifteen-Minute Clutter Clean Up Make a Change Monday~Love One Another We’ve attempted to work on our physical body, our spiritual relationship with God, our home, and our relationships. It’s {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Time to Dance
I will admit that this Southern Baptist girl hasn’t done much dancing in her time. It’s not that I don’t like dancing; I’ve just never had many opportunities to dance. There was my senior prom, for which my date (now my hubby) and I learned to shag, but beyond that we have never spent too much time in ballrooms. With the era of X-Box and PlayStation, you no longer need a fancy dress and a ballroom to dance. You {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Forgiveness
Today’s tip to a happier you is forgiveness. First, forgive me for such a quick post today. I have been invited to speak this weekend, so I’ve been busy preparing (and biting my nails =o/) and haven’t had time to spend much time blogging this week. God commands us to forgive over and over again in His word. Holding a grudge only hurts the one holding it. It can consume and destroy you from the inside out. I am short {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Acts of Kindness & Altruism
Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” (Romans 15:1-2 Msg) The definition of altruism in the New American Oxford Dictionary reads as follows: altruism |ˈaltroōˌizəm| noun the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others One of the foundational truths repeated time and time again throughout the Bible is that we should practice altruism: You shall love {Read More}
Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Get Moving!
When God created man, He sent them out to work in the garden. He didn’t tell them to sit down at the computer and play Farmville on Facebook. We were created in His image. He created the intricately detailed system of nerves, glands, neurons, and neurotransmitters in our brain that controls our emotions. All that He created was good. But our world has changed. As I mentioned in a recent post on the benefits of being outdoors, (click here to {Read More}