Heart Choices: 2013-09-08 -->

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Five Minute Friday: Mercy


It's Friday when I link up with The The Gypsy Mama. We receive a one word writing prompt and get to write for five minutes flat. Our word for today is MERCY.


GO

Mercy can be defined as kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly.

To be in the presence of God, I need to be holy and perfect. No blemish, no speck of sin.

I don't meet the requirement. 

No matter how many good deeds I perform. No matter how many mission trips I go on.  No matter how many people I help.  No matter how often I attend church services.  No matter how much money I give.

I don't meet the requirement.

But then mercy entered the world.  His name is Jesus. He bridged the gap that I could never cross to God. He was perfect, spotless, blameless.  And He offered me mercy.

He paid with His life. He died on the cross for me and for you. He lived a sinless life so He could be our substitute.  He offers us peace with God ...through Jesus.

In His mercy, He forgave me. I am free.  I am loved. I am forgiven.

How can I not love and have mercy towards others?

STOP

Blessings and love,

QuickEdit

The Challenge of Getting Back in Shape As We Get Older


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It's challenging to stay in shape (much less get back in shape) the older I get.  I am one of the baby boomers. That's a person born between 1946 and 1964; those born during the post World War II baby boom.  Since there are so many of us, we tend to believe we're still young and can do anything.

However, today's culture tends to celebrate youth.  So we attempt to hold on as long as we can.  After all, inside I feel the same way I did when I was in my twenties.  That is, until I look in the mirror or attempt to run up the mountain.

Yesterday, I read this revealing post on my friend Liz's Facebook profile. I've included it today after requesting her permission.

As anyone can attest to, getting out of shape is very easy. This year due to major depression lasting 4-6 months, I decided not to work out or swim. I did actually go to beach 2-4 times (no exercise involved) and pool same as above.

Well Liz is back and I'm working out in house and pool until the pool gets cold around November. This is necessary for body and mind/brain, as well as my age of 60 years. I'm already hurting, but I don't care. No pain no gain.

Have a lovely day and thanks for reading, love you all Liz


Almost immediately, I noticed a barrage of comments from many of my high school friends.  Many offered advice about walking and starting slowly.  Others shared how they suffered from a variety of ailments, including back problems, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and depression.  But what I came away with was that it's easy to gain weight as we get older but much harder to get it off and keep it off.  

One of my high school friends Elisabeth continues to be in great shape.  She responded to Liz with encouragement and wrote that over time the workouts will become a habit.  Isn't that what I've been saying? Btw, Elisabeth teaches Water Dance, a warm water therapy session and wellness classes. And she's the same age as me.
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According to Biomarkers: The 10 Determinants of Aging You Can Control, a person's basal metabolism drops about 2% per decade starting at age 20.  As your metabolism decreases you need less calories.  So to simply maintain the status quo, you need to take in about 100 calories less per day with each decade. Too many of us continue to eat as those we were 20 years old!

So what do we do about this?

  • Decrease the amount of calories eaten each day
  • Choose what we eat carefully so as not to waste them on empty calories
  • Increase muscle mass with weights
  • Increase aerobic capacity through exercises such as walking, bicycling, swimming
  • Include stretching in your daily routine
There are many practical steps to getting back in shape as we age.  This is just a start. I hope to continue this series.  

Even if you're young there's much you can learn now to prevent problems as you get older.  After all, it happens to the best of us!

I'm linking up with Kim of Just For Clicks for Weigh-In Weigh-In Wednesday. Oh and by the way, I'm sticking with my exercise plan which has now become a habit. I still need to modify and improve my eating habits though.  But it's a work in progress and I'm committed.

Blessings and love,


QuickEdit

Overflowing with Thankfulness


Overflowing with thankfulness.  Did you know that is how we are to live the Christian life?

I've been studying the book of Colossians.  Paul was writing a letter to the believers who lived in Colosse while he was in prison in Rome.  There were many ungodly influences in this city that was on a main trade route.  Paul wanted to encourage them in their faith. The words he wrote continue to help, inspire and encourage us today.

Overflowing with thankfulness is a wonderful way to live.  Of course, life has its many challenges.  But if I only focus on what's wrong, I miss out on what's right and good and pure.

It's been too long since I sang Don Moen's song "Give Thanks".  But it's a good reminder of how we are to live.

If you cannot view this video, click here.

I just had to include this collage my niece Kristin put together of little Kenzie 'driving' the car.  Isn't she just too cute?

And so I give thanks:

#935 Rain, rain, and more rain in Phoenix
#936 Learning through the eyes of children
#937 Lessons learned through Scripture reading
#938 September is here!
#939 The kindest & most loving email from my Uncle Bob
#940 Learning more and more about the teaching profession
#941 Watching the three year olds learn to write their name
#942 Seeing photos of my family who lives cross country on Facebook
#943 The flow of writing
#944 The joy of seeing my photos
#945 Smiles on the faces of children
#946 Giggles from little Ronnie as I pretend to tickle him
#947 Children falling asleep during nap time as we rub their backs
#948 Swimming laps in the pool when my feet are too tired to go on the treadmill
#949 Reading books
#950 Holding hands with my husband
#951 Remembering how far we've come in our relationship
#952 Viewing a video from my parent's 50th wedding anniversary

I'm linking up with Ann of A Holy Experience for Multitudes on Mondays.



Blessings and love,

QuickEdit
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