Heart Choices: 2009-04-26 -->

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How to Order Healthy at the Drive Through Window



How about this new way to order healthy?

Rhett and Link are from North Carolina and have been best friends since they were kids. They have a comedy act and do videos that have become quite popular on YouTube.

I had to laugh at this one since it goes along with making healthy choices. I hope you enjoyed and had a good laugh.

Remember smiling ...is good for your health!
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Then Sings My Soul Saturdays ~ Do Re Me



It's Saturday so this must be Then Sings My Soul Saturdays. You can link with other participating blogs on Amy's blog at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

A friend of mine sent me this video that just warmed my heart.

Although it's not a so-called Christian song I love it and ...it made me smile.

And did you know that ...smiling is good for your health and your heart?

This was filmed at Antwerp's Central Station. Give it a few seconds at the beginning. It actually sets the tone for this amazing video!



Did you enjoy that? I loved watching the faces of the people as they stopped, listened and watched. Did you notice the smiles?

Maybe this is a lesson for us all. Stop and listen to the music! And why not join in the fun? Take time to smell the roses today!
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Fitness Friday ~ Are Friends Good For Your Health?


It's Fitness Friday so let's talk health. I hope you do lots of things to try to take care of your health.

You know the drill ...drink lots of water, eat your fruits and veggies, exercise, get a good night's sleep, eat smaller portion sizes, go to the doctor for a physical, take vitamins, supplements or whatever.

Well, did you know that having friends ...may be good for your health?

I recently read an article that was featured on the front page of the Health section of the New York Times. The title read "What Are Friends For? A Longer Life". Well, that intrigued me enough to keep reading.


I snagged the image from the NY Times article above. I thought it was so cool with the blood pressure reading and the two friend's hands holding flowers. Good job, Stuart Bradford!

Here's some of the latest research:
  • According to a 10 year Australian study, older people who had a large circle of friends were 22% less likely to die during the study than those with fewer friends.
  • Harvard researchers reported last year that strong social ties could promote brain health as we get older.

But listen to this one:

  • According to a large 2007 study, you have an increase of nearly 60% in the risk for obesity if your friends gained weight.

I always knew we become like the friends we spend time with. I like to tell that to my nieces and nephews. And do you know what? It may be true for our animals too.

According to Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, the role of friendship isn't well appreciated and that friendship may have a bigger impact on our psychological well-being ...than family relationships.

Hmm ... I find that interesting. How about you? I guess we can't pick our family ...but we can choose our friends.

In a book entitled "The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a 40-Year Friendship" by Jeffrey Zaslow, the story is told of 11 childhood friends who remained connected despite living in 8 different states.

When two of the friends learned they had breast cancer, the first people they reached out to were their girlfriends from Ames. They felt comfortable discussing anything with them.

And in a study of almost 3,000 nurses with breast cancer, they found that women without close friends were four times as likely to die from the disease as the women with 10 or more friends. What I found very interesting was that having a spouse wasn't as protective.

I don't know about you but having friends helps me in many areas of my life. When I'm stressed, I can call a friend.

I'm also thankful for my blogging friends even though I've not met many of them face to face ...YET.

Knowing that friends care and even pray for me is very comforting. I also find that I am more accountable writing a Fitness Friday post. After all, I need to practice what I preach. So, I exercise more and try to eat healthy because I often write about those topics.

So, what do you think? Do you exercise with friends? Are your friends health conscious too?

Don't forget to stop by Sandy of God Speaks Today for her Fitness Friday post. She's answering lots of questions. And Sarah of All Pain, No Gain will also be joining us each Friday to offer her advice for Fitness Friday. Don't forget, you can't have too many friends, right?

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Thankful Thursday ~ Courage


It's Thankful Thursday again and our theme is courage. Laurie of Women Taking a Stand is our hostess and you can link there to visit other participating blogs.

I have to confess that I'm not all that courageous.

It's one thing to appear courageous. But what I way too often feel inside is ... FEAR!

It figures that this painting was done by a Norwegian. What happened to the courageous Vikings?

When I trust in myself ...I am fearful and not very courageous.

But, I'm so thankful that I know where to run when my courage is gone.

I was sitting next to an older woman I didn't know several weeks ago in church. When we stood to sing, she sat and cried softly. So, I sat down and put my arm around her and asked if I could help. She told me that the world had become so scary to her. She was afraid even though she was a Christian. I reminded her that we didn't need to be strong and courageous in ourselves, but we need to remind ourselves of who we belong to and ...to run to Him.

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose
word I praise, in God I trust. What can mortal man do to me?" Psalm 56:3-4

Here's my thankful Thursday list:

  • I'm thankful that I don't need to know everything that will happen in the future even though my natural "self" would like a clear road map.
  • I'm thankful that I don't have to be courageous in myself since I belong to the God who can do ALL things.
  • I'm thankful that I am healthy and I don't take that for granted.
  • I'm thankful that I have a sound mind and can replace the lies the world says with the Truth of God's Word.
  • I'm thankful that I know exactly where to run to be safe; my strong tower ...The LORD.
  • I'm thankful that I can pray and know I am heard and cared about.

How about you? Where do you get your courage to endure, especially when life becomes scary?

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Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?


Have you ever had one of those days? You wake up expecting to accomplish your list of things to do. But life gets in the way.


I was greeted with this message on my blogger acccount:

Blogger had Heart Choices listed as a possible spam blog! Can you believe it? Of course, I reviewed the Terms of Service to see if I'd inadvertently violated something. No; I hadn't!

Notice that I was unable to publish new posts until the issue was resolved and ...my blog would be deleted within 20 days unless I requested a review!

So, of course, I requested a review. But in the meantime, I was scheduled to host In Other Words Tuesdays for the first time the next day. I had written my post but had been experimenting with the Mister Linky thing. After all, I'd never done this before and I wanted to be sure it all went very smoothly.

Isn't that how things can sometimes go?

It brought back memories of the morning I was scheduled to take my driver's license test. I guess I was 16 years old. My parents weren't available and so my next door neighbor was going to drive me there. Well, wouldn't you know what we were greeted with when we were ready to leave.

Two flat tires!

Not one, but two! Can you believe it? It was such an important day for me. I hoped to get my driver's license which at that time meant ...freedom!

Well, the two flat tires got fixed in time. Whew! And I got my driver's license. But I'll always remember that day.

And in case you're wondering ...Heart Choices is NOT a spam blog!

Blogger had a real person check it out and confirmed that it must have been one of their robot spy thing errors. So, thankfully I got back up and running just in time for hosting In Other Words Tuesdays. How's that for timing?

I had been reading Romans that morning. Here's what Romans 12:12 says:

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in
prayer."

Hmm ...maybe I just needed to put into practice what I'd read.

How about you? Have you had one of those days that you'd care to share? And has anybody else's blog been labeled a spam blog besides me?

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In Other Words Tuesdays



This is my first time to host "In Other Words Tuesdays". It's a great way to get a variety of opinions on a quote for the week. I love to visit all of the participating blogs to read their take on our weekly quote.

Maybe this week we might have a few new blogs participate. All you have to do is write a post and link below.

Here's the quote I chose for this week:

Do you ever stop and listen to the messages you say to yourself every day?


  • I'm not talented.
  • I can't speak in front of people.
  • I can't help it. I just have a short fuse.
  • I'm not pretty.
  • I'm fat or ...I'm skinny.
  • I'm not athletic.
  • I'm just not an exerciser.
  • I'm just not good with people.
  • I hate the way I look in jeans.

How many lies do we tell ourselves? What we continously say to ourselves often determines how we feel.

If you keep telling yourself that you're not athletic or you're not an exerciser ...you probably will avoid most physical activities.

If you don't like the way you look ...you may avoid interacting with others.

If you believe you can't speak well ...you will avoid public speaking.

But what would happen if ...you stopped listening to the lies and started filling your head with Truth?

Truth like:


  • "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
  • "I am God's child." John 1:12
  • "I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind." 2Timothy 1:7
  • "I am a citizen of Heaven." Philippians 3:20
  • "I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me." 1 John 5:18
  • "I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me." Philippians 3:20

If you took Truth like this and meditated on it, would it change how you felt? Would it change how you act?

When I think on these Truths it changes my perspective.

After all, it's not about me. It's about Christ in me.

And nothing is impossible for Him.





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