Do you think it’s possible to worship God through exercise? Do you think it’s possible to draw closer to God while you perform an exercise or stretch? Let me share with you something that allows you to do both of those: a stretching devotional. A stretching devotional is a devotional that you can use when you first wake up (or any time of the day) and can take 5 minutes to stretch.
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The Roots of All Disease & Obesity
Lately, as I continue my study of wellness, fitness, and weight management, I feel like I am inhaling books as fast as I can digest them. I have been reading books by MD's, PhD's, ScD’s, biochemists, nutritionists, personal trainers, and others on topics of the metabolism, the food industry, the human body, food politics, and pharmaceuticals. As more information presents itself, two common themes pop up again and again. By sharing these themes with you, I hope you will be able make better informed decisions regarding your health and wellness.
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New Beginnings
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV, emphasis added).
These verse from the book of Lamentations are some of my favorites to dwell on for several reasons, but one reason I'll share with you now is that God's mercies are new every morning. Let's break that down a little bit.
First, God gives us new mercies--not day old, not half spent ones (I admit this is how I often feel)--new mercies. Second, these new mercies are not new when I'm faithfully praying, when I'm at church each week, when I've met my nutrition and exercise goals for the day. No, these mercies are new EVERY morning regardless of what I've done. What a relief! No matter how badly yesterday went or how much you have to tackle today, our Lord blesses us with mercy every morning.
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Spelling Fear with 6 Letters that Start with ‘B’
There is a 6 letter B-word that strikes fear into the heart of many adults. Bagels–no. Bounce–no. Bakery–no. Booger–well maybe, but no. Budget–that’s it. If you are starting to perspire already, wait! Don’t close your internet browser just yet, there is hope! I’m excited to share with you a resource I’ve started to use that has completely transformed budgeting for me.
Before I get into what tool I use for budgeting, you may be wondering why you’re reading this on the Living Wellness Blog. Great question! Our hope in writing these blog posts is to bring you relevant and encouraging information that will nourish your body, mind, soul as well as your family and home. In Living Wellness for Growth Groups, Ashley gives a great list of resources that have helped to mentor her on her journey of Living Wellness, including a resource for finances (check out page 243).
Budgeting can be a huge source of stress (I know it was for me!). Stress negatively effects how your body is functioning, predisposes you to illness, puts tension in relationships, and can encourage unhealthy coping strategies such as binge eating/drinking…none of these sound like fruits of the abundant life that Jesus wants us to be living in. Ashley talks about stress is one of the leading causes of chronic inflammation (Living Wellness for Growth Groups, p. 92).
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Nature's Secret Weapon: Roasted Garlic Recipe
I don't know about you but lately every time I hear a sneeze or cough, I'm tempted to run and hide until cold and flu season is over! It seems like everyone is getting sick this time of year.
(Cue Mission Impossible theme song)
Today I want to share with you what I believe to be Nature's Secret Weapon...My tried and true Roasted Garlic Recipe (initially created by my dear mother). Anyone that has been to my kitchen knows you will likely smell garlic when you walk in. I love garlic, but I especially love garlic to keep me from getting sick and to shorten the duration of an illness.
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Mindful Eating: Excerpts from Living Wellness for Growth Groups
What a fantastic weekend at the Home and Garden Show in Minneapolis and the Bridging the Gap Sisterhood Leadership Retreat in Alexandria! It was so exciting to share the message of Living Wellness with people who were on such different parts of their wellness journey–from those just getting started to the veterans who have been making healthy living choices for years. Although the Bridging the Gap Retreat is done, you can still catch us today (Sunday 2/26) and next weekend (3/3-3/5) at the Home and Garden Show. See you there!
My speaking topic at the Bridging the Gap Sisterhood Leadership Retreat was on how to avoid burnout by incorporating freedom, balance, and abundance into our health. One strategy I mentioned for avoiding burnout is to nourish your body through the practice of mindful eating. As I promised in my talk, here’s your step-by-step guide for how to practice Mindful Eating.
This post is an excerpt from my new book Living Wellness for Growth Groups which is available our website, Amazon, and Itasca Books.
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Rainy Day? Try these At-Home Exercise Tips!
Rainy day? No worries! I have some at-home exercise tips – just for you!
I celebrated 10 years as a certified personal trainer this year. I also completed my Master’s Degree in exercise science! Praise God!! It’s no surprise that I have a passion for fitness and wellness and I deeply desire to share my success secrets with YOU!
The best exercise routine is one that is actually practiced! Use these tips on days when you can’t get to the gym (or don’t have a gym membership).
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Eternity in Our Hearts: Longing for More
I have a confession to make. I recently started listening to Christmas music again. I know, I know…it’s February! It has been seven weeks since Christmas. Forty-nine days. Not sure about you, but it feels like it has been forever. I began listening to Christmas music again when I began to feel this insistent sense of longing, longing for something more. In our Christmas post, I talked about this sense of longing. I challenged you to fill that sense of longing with the abundant life Jesus offered when he came as a baby lying in a manger.
As we move into mid-February, the snow is melting a bit revealing a brown and lifeless looking scenery. I find that this is a really tough season of the year for a lot of people, including myself. The Christmas parties are over, the Christmas cookies are gone, all of the excitement and hype of the season is done. And we’re left with an ache for something more.
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Don't Put that Slow Cooker Away!!
Waaaaittt!! After you wash out your slow cooker from your Super Bowl potluck, don’t put it away! I want to share with you a super easy and healing bone broth recipe from my new book Living Wellness for Growth Groups (p. 227).
What’s bone broth? Bone broth is broth make from slow cooking chicken, beef, pork, venison, or turkey bones with a few other ingredients you likely have in your kitchen. Slow cooking extracts the amazing vitamins, minerals, and gelatin from the animal bones and releases them into the broth leaving you with an immune boosting broth. This broth is delicious by the mug or in place of traditional broth or stock in a variety of recipes.
Share in the comments below your favorite ways to use bone broth and any other ingredients you like to add!
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Why I Wrote Living Wellness for Growth Groups
We’re counting down the hours of our Kickstarter campaign to launch the new Living Wellness for Growth Groups! Right now it’s t minus 58 hours and we’re less than $500 from our goal!
In light of the campaign coming to a close, I wanted to share my heart with you—why I wrote Living Wellness for Growth Groups. I wrote this book not for the fame or money, but to share the knowledge I have gained in my own journey of living wellness.
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Trusting God's Best for Your Health: Excerpts from Living Wellness for Growth Groups
I trust God when he says he wants the best for me and my life (Jeremiah 29:11). I trust God when he says he wants me to have a full, abundant life (John 10:10). I didn’t always trust him, though. Especially when it came to my health.
I trusted myself, my doctors, and my over-the- counter medications to keep me functioning, because, let’s face it, that’s what I saw everyone else doing. Well, it turns out God has thoughts about being transformed, starting with the renewing of my mind. Read Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
When I began trusting God with my health, I had to ask for a new mind-set. I started to think about food and exercise differently. The past several years have been an intentional journey to honor God with my whole life, not just my spiritual life. My health has changed radically since I decided to trust God’s best for my life.
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The Gut Balance: Excerpts from Living Wellness for Growth Groups
Travel back in time with me for a moment to a time in the not so distant past where I was sick ALL THE TIME.
Even as a fitness professional, my colleagues would say, “You are the healthiest sick person I know.” I blamed my constant illness on bad genes and having children that brought home the bug. Sinus infections, common colds, pinkeye (yes, as an adult), strep throat, asthma, allergies, adult acne, influenza, and the stomach flu: I had all of it, one after another. However, I had a gradual awareness that my illnesses were wearing on my family and me. I hit the breaking point of being sick and tired many years ago, and I have rarely looked back.
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Ashley's Easy Soul-Warming Chili
If you haven’t looked at the weather for this week, let me quickly summarize it for you: it’s going to be cold and snowy. Have no fear! Our hearty and soul-warming chili will chase away those winter chills.
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Looking Back and Looking Ahead: Your Wellness Field Guide for 2017
Friends! Happy New Year!
New Years is such a great time for renewal. This is the time we look back at the previous year's trials and triumphs. We reflect on what's happened and how we've changed as a result. It's also the time to thoughtfully consider what we'd like to change in the new year.
It has been quite a year - perhaps one of the most difficult years of my life. But this last year has also been one of the most wonderfully-growing years of my life. I’m so grateful for my family and friends who have supported and loved me, even when I’ve stuck myself in a cave.
Dear friends, as you reflect on 2016 and look ahead to 2017, I want to empower you with seven health and wellness tips. Use these like a field guide as you navigate through 2017.
These tips come from my life experiences and from writing and refining my new book, Living Wellness for Growth Groups. Let's jump into 2017. Let's get shoulder to shoulder and share and support each other's goals and resolutions for 2017.
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Longing for More
As a kid, the week between Christmas and New Year’s was always full of fun and excitement-- a whole week off school, new toys and clothes, staying up late or getting up early--but it also had this gnawing feeling, an ache, a longing for something more.
This longing feeling always started on Christmas Day. My parents have always been very generous at Christmas time. I think gift-giving is also one of their primary love languages, so that meant there was always quite the pile of wrapping paper to clean up on Christmas day. If a gift had multiple components that could easily be separated—say a pair of socks-- my parents would often wrap each part separately because my siblings and I loved the thrill of opening another gift. Okay, no they didn’t actually wrap socks individually, but you get the idea :)
Since I’m reminiscing about Christmas growing up, I also need to confess that I was “that kid” who was counting how many gifts everyone had under the tree, and I totally would scope out where all my presents were in the days leading up to Christmas.
So why am I telling you all of this? Well, after the last box was opened, after frantically searching through the pile of shredded wrapping paper to find your doll’s left shoe, after looking around at your new bounty of loot—it hits you: Is that it? Isn't there something else? The longing for something more sets in. It’s like now that the excitement is gone, the longing for something more begins the fill the void that excitement once filled.
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God Provides Toilets
Now I know you're wondering, "What in the world is this blog post going to be about?" Don't worry. This post won't be stinker or a blow-out :) This post is a reflection on the amazing ways God reminds us of His provision.
The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. We're all busy finalizing our Christmas lists and frantically shopping for the best deal. Others are busy baking cookies. This is definitely a busy time of year.
Busy. Do we often pride ourselves in how busy we are? Do we boast in how many "things" we've accomplished and show all the "stuff" we've done? Busy. That's how my heart has felt lately, and it's keeping me from focusing on the important things this time of year.
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Need A Little Spice In Your Life?
As promised in our Mouthwatering Buttermilk Ranch Recipe post, I'm finally releasing my world-famous Harissa & Cilantro Chicken recipe for you to enjoy. In the words of my toddler "Okay, okay, slooow down". This recipe is world-famous in the very small world of my home and a handful of others that have dined in my kitchen :)
We like to make this chicken to pair with a freshly tossed salad and topped with my Mouthwatering Buttermilk Ranch Recipe of course; paired with Danielle Walker's amazing Enchilada Stuffed Sweet Potatoes; or for a protein packed breakfast--paired with buckwheat, fresh mozzarella, cubed sweet potato, and avocado.
Did you catch that??? I actually eat this every day for breakfast! I know, super weird and definitely not the typical American breakfast, BUT this breakfast has done wonders for keeping my blood sugar stable throughout the day. Plus it's AMAZING!!
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Confessions of a Personal Trainer on Weight Loss (or the opposite!)
’Tis the season to reflect! Would you spend a little time with me for a cozy heart-to-heart?
As a theologian and personal trainer, my “angle” is helping clients (and myself) rise to the next level of a healthy lifestyle. It’s going deeper and asking, “what is it, really?” What is it that you want? What stops you, really, from going after it? What stops you, really, from succeeding? What is it, really, that motivates you? Allow me to share a current personal struggle in hopes we can all learn from it.
During my month-long trip to Europe visiting my family, I gained eight pounds. Before this past Thanksgiving week, it had been five pounds. Even though I did everything I could comfortably do (working out, drinking lots of water, and limiting portion sizes and snacks), those five pounds did not disappear on my scale. So, realizing that I ate more than I needed to over the past few days, I refrained from weighing in, only to be rudely awaken this morning.
Once my shock developed from a mere emotional to a more rational level, my mind began to argue with my body: “But yesterday I only had one and a half servings of strawberry-cream-pie and I walked on the treadmill for almost 45 minutes!!” It went on an on (for the few moments my 22 months old little boy granted me for my distraught inner dialog, did I mention a rude awakening?) until my truth-loving spirit rose up in me and began nudging: “What is it, really, that bothers me?”
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Reflection: Gentleness
"Let your gentleness be evident to all."
"Let your gentleness be evident to all."
I was frustrated. As I put my toddler son to bed last night, I was frustrated that he refused to lay still for a diaper change. Some days I may be talented, but securing a diaper on a jumping toddler who was singing at the top of his lungs was a skill I did not possess at that moment. After securing the diaper on him and rushing through story time, I began recounting my frustrations of the day in my head.
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Touching-up Your Makeup Routine: Part Two
As I mentioned in last week's post, I have been working on "touching-up" my makeup routine over the past few years by choosing products listed in the "low hazard" category on the Environmental Work Group's (EWG) website Skin Deep.
The reason makeup matters is because everything we put on our skin eventually works its way into our blood stream. So, if we use toxic makeup, our body absorbs those toxins--ugh! We have other options. We can make a few swaps with our makeup and nourish our body in the process.
Alima Pure is the makeup I use daily, and I love it. I have now been using their products for almost three years and have learned some tricks along the way that I'm excited to share with you.
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