Heart Choices: 2010-01-31 -->

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Then Sings My Soul Saturday ~ El Shaddai


It's Then Sings My Soul Saturday when I link up with Amy of Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

I've been reminded this week that our God never changes. He is the God of the impossible. He is unchanging, the same yesterday, today and forever. How comforting that is to me!

May you remember that our God is ...El Shaddai.

No matter what challenges you may be facing He is the God of the impossible. I'm learning to trust and obey.

Blessings,


QuickEdit

Wear Red Day


Today is National Wear Red Day. The American Heart Association aims to educate the public about heart disease.

Did you know that the #1 killer of women is heart disease? We often think it's breast cancer which seems to be impacting more and more women every day. But the statistics prove that ...heart disease is the #1 killer of women.

As many of you know, I worked as a cardiovascular nurse specialist for 25 years. Although I no longer work in this field, I try to keep up as best I can.

I was born with a congenital heart defect called an atrial septal defect. Although today this is a simple defect to correct with open heart surgery, I was born way back in 1953. This was before our modern surgical techniques.

My parents learned of my diagnosis when I was two years old. The recommendation given to them was to wait until the surgery became less dangerous. As a result, I was a very sedentary child during those early years. At the age of seven, I finally had open heart surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Children's Hospital in New York City.

At that time, we needed 30 blood donors with B+ blood. They were required to travel to NYC to donate blood the morning of the surgery. I'm amazed at how the techniques have changed and improved. My mom was having a hard time locating donors with B+ blood. So, she turned to the newspapers.

A Newsday article "Mother Pleads for Blood to Save Life of Debbie, 7" got the attention of the public and thankfully we had enough blood donors. The good news is that I came through the surgery and I've been healthy and active ever since.

For years, my mom and I would do all we could to help the American Heart Association by going door to door collecting donations. Mom felt this was the least we could do for this organization.

There's a simple online test you can take to check your risk for heart disease.

Here's the link to get started. It only takes minutes and will show you how to get started taking better care of your heart health.

I want to encourage you to wear RED today! I love the color RED so I have no problem wearing it. :)

Heart Choices is all about how your day by day choices determine what your tomorrows will become. These choices impact your body, soul (mind, will and emotions) and your spirit.

Let's take care of our bodies and our hearts so we can be about the work the Lord has called each one of us to do.

I'm going to link to Sandy of God Speaks Today for this Fitness Friday so you can read more about ways to take care of your health.



And don't forget to wear RED today!

Happy Wear Red Day Friday!


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In Other Words Tuesday ~ A Child's Heart


It's In Other Words Tuesday and Nina of Mama's Little Treasures is our host for this week. The following is the quote she choose for us today:

There's something about children that touches my heart. They're like little vacuums as they absorb and learn from all the influences in their lives.

I always wanted to have children but was unable to have them.

However, I was honored to be asked into leadership in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) as a children's leader. I loved every minute of the 8 years I served in that capacity.

I clearly remember the first day I shared the bible lesson with my group of four year olds in the Panda class. As soon as I completed the bible story, the entire group came running to me with open arms, giving me a group hug.

At that moment, I felt the Lord saying to my heart that He never forgot my desire for children. He was blessing me by giving me the privilege and the opportunity to teach the children about Jesus.

Oh how my eyes filled ...with tears of gratitude and joy!

At the conclusion of each BSF year, there's a sharing day. The women who attended that year have the opportunity to stand and share something they learned that year. I would often hear young mothers stand up and share lessons they learned from their child who was being taught in the children's class.

Many times there were grandmothers who enrolled their grandchild. They often shared stories of how the child would ask their parents if they could pray before they ate, just like they did at bible study. And several even asked for a quiet time when they would lie down on their blanket. This is something they were taught in their class. They would have a time to quietly talk to God or think about God but it wasn't a time for sleep.

How precious is that? Talk about a child's heart reaching the world's heart. It doesn't get any better than that.

Can you tell what touches my heart when you look at this photo?

I just want to add a special thank you for all the awesome birthday wishes yesterday. My blogging friends have touched my heart in such a special way too and for that ...I'm so grateful.

Blessings,

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