Make-a-change Monday~Simplify

16 July, 2012 by 4 Comments
I’m a “want-it-right-now” kinda girl. Patience is not one of my virtues. Obviously over the seven years I was sick, God was well aware of my lack of patience and was trying to teach me a thing or two.  And I’ve learned my lesson. The hard way.

Making changes that produce great results don’t come easy.
  • No matter how many times I throw away all the junk in my pantry promising myself that I will feed me and my family only healthy food. The Fudge Rounds and Lucky Charms always creep their way back in. 
  • Every time I get all of the clutter cleaned up, I swear I will not let it pile up like that again. Let the following picture tell you how that has turned out. I just took these on Instagram (6:52 pm Sunday evening)
If you read Saturday’s post: I’ve been kidnapped, you’ll 
understand why I have an air mattress in my living room…
I promise this will look like a completely different house tomorrow, but I can’t seem to keep it that way. It’s a simple concept I attempt (though obviously fail) to teach my kids… “when you get something out, put it away.” So simple, right? 

You would think.

Living with pack rats (the other four members of my family) plus three dogs and two cats…it’s a full zoo. Here’s just a small representation 😉


I wouldn’t trade my crazy zoo for anything. They all bless me. But things around here must get under control!  

I know the answer; I just don’t like what it takes to get there. I’ve had the “sign”—literally—for years:

 

I’ve followed a blog for a while called “Simple Mom” that’s all about simplifying your life. I think mine needs an overhaul. 


So my {make-a-change} this Monday was buying the following book. I’ve been trying for years to simplify…it’s obvious I need some help! The title caught my attention. One Bite at a Time sounds like it’s all about small changes. Right up my alley. 

It’s a $5.00 e-book and hopefully well worth the money. I’ll let you know how it goes in upcoming posts. Maybe I’ll share some of my changes and some pics with you on upcoming {make-a-change} Mondays and you can join along with me. Although, hopefully, you are not all as hopeless…

From my heart,
Celeste
Filed Under: Family Focused, Making Changes, Simplify Your Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Marriage Menders

9 July, 2012 by 2 Comments



To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it,
Whenever you’re right, shut up.
~Ogden Nash, Marriage Lines: Notes of a Student Husband

Such a simple poem, but so hard to do! No one can get under our skin quite like the one we live with every day, wake up with every morning, go to bed with every night, pay bills with…you know. And Satan loves to keep us too busy to really communicate, so things we thought we said, we might not have; things we do say may not come across the right way. Yep, that can be marriage sometimes.

Busy has been the state of our household this summer, so communication has suffered. It seems like sometimes it’s easier not to say anything at all than “start” something. We have found ourselves going to bed too late, getting up earlier than we’d like, with too much to do, and not enough time to do it in.

I think as couples we often forget we are a team—two individuals with the same goals in mind. Really! Don’t we forget sometimes that we both want to enjoy some fun; we both want the best for our kids; we both want to get the bills paid with a little money left over; we both want to go on a great summer vacation. Why is it so hard to remember we are working together toward the same goals?

I think it all comes down to the word “love.” 

If you look up the word “love” in the dictionary, here’s what you get:

***

love |ləv|noun1 an intense feeling of deep affection : babies fill parents with intense feelings of love | their love for their country.• a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone : it was love at first sight | they were both in love with her | we were slowly falling in love.• ( Love) a personified figure of love, often represented as Cupid.• a great interest and pleasure in something : his love for football | we share a love of music.• affectionate greetings conveyed to someone on one’s behalf.• a formula for ending an affectionate letter : take care, lots of love, Judy.2 a person or thing that one loves : she was the love of his life 
***

Cupid? Really? 
Now here’s just a little the Bible says about love:

So A)”>we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. B)”>God is love, and C)”>whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
 (1 John 4:16 ESV)


And then there’s the little matter of the greatest commandments: 

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: D)”>‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment E)”>greater than these.”
(Mark 12:30-31 ESV)

Now go back and read today’s prescription verses from what we know as the love chapter of the Bible. If God is love, we can substitute his name every time the word “love” appears: 

[God] is patient and kind; [God] does not envy or boast; [God] is not arrogant or rude; [God] does not insist on his own way; [God] is not irritable or resentful; [God] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [God] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

Kind of opens your eyes doesn’t it? If God is love, reading these verses in this way makes me realize how much he really must love us—his children. 

Now comes the hard part. If we are to love our neighbors (and our spouse) as ourselves as God commands us, and we are to love God with everything we have, should we not strive to put our own name as a substitution for the word “love?” Get your steel toed boots on people…this one hurts: 

_____________ is patient and kind;
______________does not envy or boast;
_______________is not arrogant or rude; 
_______________does not insist on his or her own way; 
_______________is not irritable or resentful; {OUCH!}
______________does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth. 
_____________bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

What easy marriages we would all have if we could fill in those blanks with our name! Unfortunately, we are human. But so was Jesus. I don’t believe God would express such a genuine love for us if we were not capable of it as well. Easy? No. Worth trying? YES!

Maybe for the {make-a-change} Monday, we could just take one blank at a time…

From my heart, 
Celeste

Filed Under: Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Marriage Menders Tagged With: , , , ,

Make a change monday~nitrates

2 July, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Oh how I wish I could find more time to write. My brain seems to overflow with ideas, none of which come to fruition on paper. And today’s topic—I’ll be honest—is not terribly exciting, but is very important. One that I’ve done more than my share of research on over the years.

Finding a prescription verse for today’s topic was a little tough. I don’t think the Bible actually addresses putting preservatives in our food. I could go back to Genesis 1:29 that I’ve used before about food that God gave us on the earth. I’m not about to jump into the whole clean and unclean meat thing. That’s a theologian’s battle, not mine. So I realize I took this verse out of context, but I thought the whole mutilate the flesh part fit. So cut me a little slack on the verse today 😉

Preservatives in meat. Have you ever really thought about what we eat when we fix a ham sandwich? Okay, we know it comes from a pig, but how old is the meat we are eating? How long did it take to get from the you-know-where to the grocery store? We are essentially eating old, rotten pig. Yuck! And it’s not just pork; it’s all meat products.

Well, the food and drug administration so generously allows the luncheon meat manufacturers to use sodium nitrate/nitrite in our meat so it stays “pretty in pink” until it makes it to our town, our grocery store, and finally, our refrigerator.

I could write a long sciency bunch of gooble-gobble about how sodium nitrate and nitrite convert to nitrosamines in your stomach depending on the pH of the juices there, and how certain levels of nitrosamines are actually fatal but the FDA makes sure we don’t get too much, and how the levels we are exposed to cause esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, thyroid disease, leukemia, colorectal cancer, heart disease, and diabetes just to name a few.

But I won’t.

I’ll just give you the link to my delicious stack that contains more information that you could ever want to know.

Obviously, today’s {make-a-change} Monday tip is to avoid luncheon meats that contain these preservatives. Applegate Farms (they have a great turkey bacon) is one of my favorite manufacturers of healthy alternatives, but here are a few more:


  • Coleman’s
  • Trader Joe’s
  • Berkshire
  • Niman Ranch
  • Boar’s Head All Natural
  • Hormel Natural Choice 
  • Grateful Harvest




Just read your labels. Trader Joe’s even has a hot dog that is made from chicken and it taste’s great! Don’t even get me started on regular hot dogs. Spend a little time educating yourself about labels from the articles in my delicious stack or do some research on your own. You know me; I’m all about little changes at a time. And this little change could prevent a big, scary change in your future! 

From my heart, 

Celeste


Filed Under: Eating to Live, Make-a-change Mondays Tagged With: , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Count Your Blessings

25 June, 2012 by Leave a Comment


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 counting blessings is important—not something we should neglect or take for granted. 

  • A few months ago I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It immediately became a best seller.
  • Our church recently sang a remake of the old hymn, “Count Your Blessings.” Haven’t heard that song in years. 
  • In my research for my {Tips to a Happier You} Saturday posts, I’ve seen over and over again how important it is to actually write down your blessings—the exercise of writing down things you’re thankful for has been proven to actually help with depression.

I created a “One Thousand Blessings in 2012” page here on my blog that I’ve added to throughout the year, but I’m just on number 200. Not because I’m not thankful, but when you go to write down those little blessings, it’s really hard to think of them…without repeating the same ones over and over that is.


So my {make-a-change} Monday challenge for you—and me—is to write down three blessings every day. Just three things, big or small, that you were thankful for that day. 

Sounds easy, right?

If you’d like, hop on over to my One Thousand Blessings page, scroll all the way to the bottom, and put your blessings in the comment section each day. We can help each other realize the God-given blessings all around us!

I believe there’s more to recognizing our blessings that meets the eye 😉

From my heart,
Celeste
Filed Under: Beating Depression, How to be Happy, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes Tagged With: , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Freedom to Fly

18 June, 2012 by 1 Comment



I’ve written a few blog posts recently about freedom. With Memorial Day just behind us and July 4th ahead, we see much in the news about the freedom of our country. I’m thankful every day for the soldiers who fight for our country’s freedom. But for each of us personally, what good is the freedom of our country if we aren’t free within ourselves? 

Freedom is a big word. 


Personal freedom is like a hot air balloon. There are so many factors that affect whether or not it will be able to fly…. or be free. 


Some factors cannot be controlled. Wind and precipitation for instance. Then there are other factors which can be controlled, and are actually used by the balloonist to keep the balloon from flying—tethers and sandbags.  


Satan uses as many circumstances as he can to keep us from freedom. We many not be able to control the state of the economy, war among nations, poverty, or natural disasters, but we can control the sandbags and tethers in our lives. 


Let me rephrase…with Christ, we can control the sandbags and tethers in our lives. 




What are our sandbags and tethers?

  • Addiction—To television, pills, work, sex, pornography, food, etc.
  • Animosity—Holding a grudge against someone
  • Greed—Constantly feeling the need to hold on to your possessions
  • Worry—About the future, the economy, your children, poverty, war, etc.
  • Abuse—Verbally or physically by someone close to you
  • Pride—Defining success by your own understanding and accomplishments
These are all burdens we bear unnecessarily. Just as the balloonist might feel safer and more in control with a few sandbags in the basket, we get comfortable with things in our life that keep us from true freedom. 

I held tightly to my sandbags for seven years…some of them most of my life. Pride, addiction, and worry were the tools that Satan used to keep me from freedom. 

You know that verse in the Bible that says everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial? Read this translation from The Message:

Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean
that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever
I thought I could get away with, I’d be a slave to my whims. 
(1 Corinthians 6:12 MSG)

There is no freedom without boundaries. God gives us some boundaries in scripture. Some are created simply by the law of our land. Most boundaries, however, are left up to us. 

When I was battling addiction and depression, I was a complete prisoner to my medication. Whenever we would plan to go out of town, I panicked when I thought there was a possibility I could run out. One year we planned a family vacation to Park City, Utah to go skiing, and all I could think about was, “What if I run out of medication?” Sad.

I was a prisoner. 

My {make-a-change} Monday challenge today is to identify the things in your life that keep you from complete freedom. What are your sandbags? Pick one, and see how you can change it this week. It may be as simple as keeping the television off for a week; it may be as hard as seeking help to get out of an abusive situation. It may just be looking inside your heart and finding forgiveness for someone who has hurt you. 

I promise God can handle whatever sandbag you’re trying to throw out of the basket. He has it under control. We can fight for control, knowing we will eventually lose, or we can let him have it and begin to live a life of freedom in Christ. 
Be still, and know that I am God. 
(Psalm 46:10 ESV)



Throw off those sandbags and fly! 

From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Freedom in Christ, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~My Neighbor, the Farmer

4 June, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I love the convenience of the grocery store. One stop shopping, everything in one place. I  try to buy organic when I can, shopping at Whole Foods or Earth Fare, but I do my share of Wal-Mart shopping as well. 


Well, my family and I went on a “Farm Tour” this weekend. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Here in the Upstate, there are about 30 farms within easy driving distance that all participated in a tour to make people more aware of them and their products. There is a Buffalo Farm right here in Simpsonville! Real, live Yosemite Buffalo! And they are a breeding farm only…no killing. So I loved that. 


Anyway, one farm in particular really made an impression on me and got me thinking. Happy Cow Creamery, less than 10 miles from my house, works very hard to provide local, healthy milk to the community. The owner has grown the farm from the ground up. They have their own “closed” herd of cows so no disease or bacteria are introduced from elsewhere. They minimally heat the milk so any possible bacteria are destroyed, but the enzymes that are valuable to our health are not. Tom Trantham, the owner of Happy Cow, lives a good, but modest, life. He cares about people and wants to help provide his community with healthy milk. The kind of milk that has been shown to prevent cancer. The kind of milk people can drink even when they have been labeled “lactose intolerant.” And it’s affordable. He has even been to Washington on our behalf to fight improper labeling of dairy products that make the public think they are making healthy choices. 


I’ve bought Happy Cow milk in the past, but just when it was convenient. But Tom Trantham is my neighbor. He started this farm because he cares about me. He doesn’t know me personally, but I am in his community and he started this farm because he cares about his community. 


The second most important commandment in the Bible is this:

 B)”>‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
(Mark 12:31 ESV)

Let me repeat that. You shall love your neighbor as yourself is the second most important commandment in the Bible. Only behind the first: 

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul 
and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 
(Mark 12:30 ESV)

I’m thinking that God puts a pretty high priority on the whole “love your neighbor” thing. 

Today’s prescription verse to stir up one other to love and good works and to encourage one another. 

I never would have realized how much Tom Trantham has done for our community had I not gone on that Farm Tour. He has made me realize the importance of supporting what our neighbors do for us. I’ve always liked to support local business for the sake of the economy. But this goes deeper than economy. This is about community. I will be making a point to visit Happy Cow not only for the great milk they provide, but to support my neighbor in his good efforts. To encourage and motivate him to continue his efforts to make us healthier. He is my neighbor. I’ll be taking that little country drive out to Happy Cow for my milk and cheese from now on. 

Do you support people in your community who are trying to do good works? 

My {make-a-change Monday} challenge is this: Don’t get so wrapped up in yourself that you forget about your neighbor. Do something to encourage and uplift someone in your community who is trying to make a difference. 

Even if it is just buying the milk from their cow instead of someone else’s. 
From my heart, 
Celeste

 

Filed Under: Eating to Live, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , ,

Make-a-Change Monday~A Time for Bubbles

14 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment


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
Filed Under: How to be Happy, Just for Fun, Life Through the Lens, Make-a-change Mondays Tagged With:

Make-a-change Monday~It only takes twenty seconds…

7 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Make-a-change Mondays is all about making small changes to become the person I want to be…or more importantly, the person God wants me to be. 


The greatest of all journeys begins with a single step. 


A few months ago the {make-a-change Monday} challenge was to Just Do It. In that post I talked about writing a book and how it took small steps—changes a little at a time. I’m know I’m on a great journey, but yes, I’m still working on the small steps. But what a great journey it has been! 


Have you ever wanted to do something you just couldn’t because you were afraid you would fail? 

  • I was afraid to begin blogging, but one step at a time, I’m getting the hang of it. 
  • I was afraid to attempt to write a book, but God has given me confirmations along the way to let me know I’m on the right track.
  • When I had to take the step to conquer m addiction to Lortab, I honestly didn’t see a way I wouldn’t fail, but one step at a time, with God’s infinite mercy, I did it. 

Now I’ll tell you a goofy little secret about myself: I’m a granola wanna-be. 


Yep…I’d love to: 
  • Be a crunchy-salad-eating-vegetarian,
  • Wear no make-up
  • Have get-up-and-go hair
  • Wear simple, comfortable clothes (which never require spanx)
  • And the hardest of all…be a runner.
Now let’s be real. No make-up is a little scary, and unless I’m abandoned on a deserted island, I’ve got to have my hair products, hair dryer and curling iron. And I probably could be a vegetarian fairly easy, but I have a family of carnivores. And I love steak. But I do eat lots of salad! 

But I am determined to become a runner. But just like anything else that’s worth accomplishing, it’s all about one small step at a time. 

My family and I watched the movie We Bought a Zoo tonight from which I have adopted a new favorite phrase: “It only takes twenty seconds of incredible courage and amazing things will happen.” 

I started running in November of last year. I didn’t know how important those twenty seconds were, or how much courage they took. My first run, I thought I would die within the first twenty seconds. 
Then twenty seconds became a minute. Then two minutes, Then five minutes. Then two miles. Then three miles. Then five miles. Then six miles. Then one day I ran nine miles…only because I lost my car key on the run and had to keep running til I found it. But still…. nine miles! 

I haven’t been able to run very often during the last three weeks, so I’m back to the three-mile run and working my way back up again. But the road to a flawless experience is always under construction.

The secret to those twenty seconds of courage and those small steps is Christ. The ultimate goal is to spend eternity in Heaven with Christ. 
  • Blogging each day hopefully inspires others and gets me writing practice for the book.
  • The goal of writing a book will hopefully help others, and God will use it to expand the boundaries of His kingdom. 
  • My granola-wanna-be desire is a little more selfish. I’ve never seen how my desire to be “crunchy” could better my relationship with Christ.

Until I started running.


Yes, God wants us to treat our bodies well because they are His temple…He lives within us. 

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that 
God’s Spirit dwells in you? 
(1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV)

But for me, running is a spiritual challenge more than a physical challenge. God has to give me those twenty seconds of courage just to get my running clothes on and get out the door! I started out with music like, Eye of the Tiger (from Rocky) and some other fast-paced 80’s classic rock. It failed me. Now my running music consists of Mercy Came Running by Phillips, Craig and Dean, This is Home by Switchfoot, and Courageous by Casting Crowns. 

My grace is sufficient for you, 
for my power is made perfect in weakness. 
(2 Corinthians 12:9a NIV)

When I feel like I can’t run anymore, I depend of Christ in my weakness. Running becomes not only a physical challenge, but also a spiritual one. And I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13 ESV).

So if you are still on this train of thought with me, my {make-a-change Monday} challenge today is to take that twenty seconds of courage. Take the first step to an amazing journey. If it’s a journey that takes courage, it will also take Christ. And any journey that takes you closer to him is one to be taken. 

From my heart,
Celeste
Filed Under: Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Physical Wellness Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Shift Your Paradigm

1 May, 2012 by 4 Comments


Do you know what a “paradigm shift” is? It must be a fairly important concept to understand. When I looked up the word “paradigm” in the dictionary to give you a definition, I actually found “paradigm shift” in the dictionary. I expected to find “paradigm,” but not “paradigm shift.” 

paradigm shift
noun
a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.
I believe the term probably became worthy of a space in the dictionary when The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey was published. 
Here’s the example of a paradigm shift he shares in the book: 

I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Saturday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly—some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. 

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, and even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing. 

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Can you imagine what I felt like at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently. I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh, I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?”

Everything changed in an instant. 

Did it give you chills to read that story? 
Not to completely stereotype myself, but I grew up as a Southern-Baptist-only-child-goody-two-shoes kind of girl. My life was wonderful. I succeeded at most anything I attempted, and I held myself to very high standards. You know…the perfectionist. While I am grateful to my parents for the wonderful childhood I had, being a perfectionist did not serve me well. 

When my world was turned up side down with the onset of grand-mal seizures and the following drug addiction, I spiraled into adeep depression. I really believe I could have handled the seizures and all the came along with them—no driving, no bathtub/swimming alone, bumps and bruises—but the fact that I “allowed myself” to end up addicted to pain medication was just too much. It was the infamous straw that broke the camel’s back. 

The thing was, when I finally admitted to the world that I’d had an addiction, so many people said, “Of all the people I thought could become a drug addict, I never would have believed it would be you.” And I say, “Me either!” 
Anytime I had to go to the hospital for anything (usually seizures, but once a bad stomach bug I picked up in Florida), I told them no narcotics because I had been addicted. Now, this was after I got off the Lortab. While I was still struggling, I welcomed pain meds at the hospital! Anyway, as soon as I was labeled an “addict,” I was treated differently. And no, it was not in my imagination. 
Its really funny—and yet not so funny—how God gave me a serious paradigm shift. For the first fourteen years I worked as a pharmacist, I was judgmental of my customers who came in every month for pain medicine. I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t help it. I could not understand how they were so dependent and desperate for their pain pills every month. WOW did I get some empathy lessons. My perspective changed completely when I learned first hand how they felt. I found myself walking in their shoes. 
So my challenge for you today is to not be judgmental. Let God be the only judge. Know that no matter how a situation seems, there is always more than meets the eye. When you find yourself passing judgment, remember that God loves everyone, and he is the only judge. It’s very freeing to be able to love people for the messed up humans they are, and let God do the judging!
Don’t wait for something to shift your paradigm, shift it yourself.  
From my heart,
Celeste




Filed Under: Freedom in Christ, Have an Eternal Perspective, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Blind Trust

23 April, 2012 by Leave a Comment


When I was little, I remember playing the “trust” game with my friends. You know, the one where you stand in front of someone and blindly fall backwards, trusting them to catch you? It’s really hard to do. 

•   Sometimes they catch you
•   Sometimes they are just mean and decide to let you fall
•   Sometimes they claim they didn’t know you were about to fall back

Either way, sometimes you turn out okay, other times, not so much.
How would it feel to know that no matter when you decide to close your eyes and fall backward, there would always be someone there to catch you? 
You see where I’m going with this…there IS always someone there. God. 
If you believe in our almighty God, it’s not hard to know He’s there. The hard part is actually trusting Him—having the faith to know that He is there and He is in control, no matter what the situation. 
Bad things happen we don’t always understand. 


If you click on the links to the stories above, you will see something they all have in common. No matter how hopeless the situation seemed, God used it to expand the boundaries of His kingdom. That’s His plan. 
As humans, we live bound by the limits of time. Everything in this world has as beginning and an end, and it’s hard for us to comprehend eternity. God created time, and His desire is to spend and infinite amount of it with His children in His kingdom—a paradise we will know as Heaven. 
So today’s make-a-change Monday is to work on our spiritual self—and I promise when our spiritual self is in good shape, our physical self follows along. 
Every morning when you wake up, pray this short prayer:
“God, I’m putting my trust in you today. 
No matter what happens, good or bad, I know you have it under control,
 and it’s all part of your plan to create an eternity beyond my wildest dreams.”
And just so you don’t forget, get out that all-purpose post-it note, write “trust” on it, and stick it on your alarm clock. Gotta love those post-it notes! 
Just in case you are thinking, “If God has this big plan, it doesn’t matter if I pray or not,” let me say this: 
Prayer doesn’t change God. Prayer changes us.
 Praying “tunes us in” to God and His plan,
 and makes us more aware of His presence in our lives.
Just try it. Even if it’s just words starting out, God will begin working in your heart. Remember, it’s all about small changes. Try it for 3 months and see if your thinking changes. What do you have to lose? 
I’ve got my post-it note up to remind me! 😉
From my heart,
Celeste


Filed Under: Living in Faith, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~A Yummy and Natural Sugar Substitute

16 April, 2012 by 1 Comment

I took today’s prescription verse from The Message—a modern-day language translation of the Bible. I’m not sure Solomon was really speaking of “fast food” here, but how well it applies to today!  

We’ve been talking about sugar lately—how it negatively affects us physically and emotionally. But the artificial sweeteners are just that—artificial. We reach for both sugar and artificial sweeteners because we want something fast and easy (and sweet). 
So today, I am giving you just a little easy tip for your make-a-change Monday. 
How many of us love sugar in our coffee? I’ve gotten a little better over the years; I used to drink a little coffee in my sugar! 
There is a natural sweetener that has gained a little popularity recently…enough so that it can be found at Wal-Mart! It’s Agave Nectar. Here’s you a picture: 
Last Monday’s make-a-change was to do a sugar fast…or a least a sugar decrease 😉 In that post I told you about how sugar causes our pancreas to produce insulin, therefore prohibiting it from producing glucagon, thus increasing our belly fat 🙁 This means it has a high “glycemic index. 
Sugar (glucose), or anything that rapidly converts to glucose in the bloodstream, has a high glycemic index. Foods that do not rapidly convert to glucose, but rather convert slowly, creating a lower and more steady level of blood glucose, have a low glycemic index and are much better for you. 
Here’s a link to tell you all you need to know about Agave Nectar and the beneficial effects. 
So when you hit the grocery store this week, pick up a bottle of Agave Nectar and try substituting it for your sugar necessities this week. 
It’s especially good in coffee and oatmeal! 
Let’s keep making those good little changes and see how far we’ve come by the end of the summer! Hopefully we will see happier and healthier versions of ourselves. 
I want to see the me God wants me to be. 
From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Eating to Live, God's Pharmacy, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , ,

Make-a-Change Monday~Surprise!

9 April, 2012 by 2 Comments
My oldest daughter, Miranda, turned 18 on Saturday. We asked her repeatedly what she’d like for her birthday, and the only answer we ever got was “love.” First, she loves being loved, and second, she couldn’t think of anything she really wants. If you know Miranda, you know she is loved. She demands love and attention, but more than she demands it, she deserves it. 
Miranda had her birthday all planned out in her mind, and of course the day didn’t go at all as planned. Most things typically don’t, right? 
At the end of the day, she was a little bummed out. She didn’t want to be, but I could tell she was. 
What she didn’t know was the amount of “love” she’d be getting on Sunday. We had a big surprise birthday party planned for her. It turned out great. We surprised her for sure and had a house full of her friends jump out at her yelling “surprise” when she walked in the door. 
The previously bummed-out Miranda was now smiling from ear to ear.

  • She loved her friends for caring enough about her to be there
  • She loved being the center of attention
  • She loved the fun we all shared
  • She loved that we love her enough to have planned it
  • She loved the surprise    
The surprise built her up. 
The surprise made her feel special. 
The surprise made her feel loved. 
God commands us in scripture to build each other up. There is enough tearing people down in our society don’t you think? 
So…today’s make-a-change Monday is to surprise someone. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate surprise party. You could:
  • Take a bag of groceries to someone in need
  • Grab a Starbucks coffee and take to a friend
  • Plant some spring flowers for a neighbor
  • Babysit for a friend to have a night out
  • Take a friend to a movie
The possibilities are endless…and the blessings are plenty. 
You never know what small gesture will make a difference.
Was Miranda blessed by being the recipient of a surprise? Absolutely. Was I a pleased-as-punch, camera-toting mom? You betcha! The slightly bewildered, on-top-of-the-world look on her face was priceless; one I wanted to remember forever. 
Surprises are good for everybody!  
…And remember,
I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,
 you did it to me. (Matthew 25:40 ESV)


From my heart,
Celeste

P.S. I’d love for you to leave me a comment with your surprise, and any blessings received!


Filed Under: Just for Fun, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Parenting Tips, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , ,

Make a Change Monday~A Sugar Fast

2 April, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I am currently reading Made to Crave, by Lysa Terkeurst, and I love it. I’ll talk more about the book at a later date, but for now I just want to share one of Lysa’s suggestions for today’s make-a-change. 

Lysa explains we are made to crave. God designed our bodies to crave, but more importantly, he designed our soul to crave…Him. When we sacrifice something our body craves and replace that physical craving with a spiritual craving, we grow closer to God. It’s really that simple. 
But denying ourselves our physical cravings is not simple at all. It requires will power and prayer. 
On Saturday I shared with you what sugar does to your brain—how it affects your emotions. Today I want to share just one thing sugar does to your body that will help motivate you even more: 

When you eat sugar, your pancreas produces insulin to break it down. When your blood sugar is low, on the other hand, your pancreas produces glucagon to find something in your body it can break down to use for energy. The only time your body produces glucagon is when your blood sugar is low. Here’s the kicker…the glucagon targets fat in your body, especially around the belly area, to break down into glucose for your body and brain to use. 
I know it gets confusing and takes a little backward thinking, so think of it like this: 
The less sugar you give your body, the more fat your body will break down to use as energy. 
Giving up sugar is tough, but the less we eat it, the less we crave it. 
So today’s make-a-change is to give up sugar, or at least cut back. Word of warning though, don’t switch to “diet” drinks and “artificially sweetened” products. And if it says “sugar free,” make sure it doesn’t have the artificial sweeteners either. I’ll talk more about artificial sweeteners soon, but for now, know that the only sweeteners you should use in substitute for sugar are Xylitol and Stevia. 
So when you want that Pepsi—40 grams of sugar— at the movies, say a quick prayer, and choose water instead. (And save a few bucks!)

…And you may just get in a few more—or a lot more—conversations with God throughout your day! 

From my heart, 
Celeste
 P.S. For ways to decrease the sugar in your diet, check out my delicious stack of helpful articles with lots of tips and hints; but beware of those artificial sweeteners. There are still many believers in Nutrasweet and the like…

Filed Under: Beating Depression, Chronic Illness, Eating to Live, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Rescue Your Fridge…and Your Family!

26 March, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Since we’ve been on the topic of food lately, I have a confession to make: 
I really don’t like to cook. 
For those of you who know me personally, I’m sure it’s no surprise. Cooking has always been a struggle for me. As soon as I get on a roll, I get in a rut. 
I begin with great intentions. 
•   I get together my recipes…some new and some old. 
•   I take a pantry inventory and make my grocery list.
•   After my trip to the store, I put away the groceries and keep my recipes out to use.
I typically cook the first few of my planned meals, but as the week progresses and schedules change, I end up with ingredients and leftovers in the refrigerator that I don’t use. 
That’s where I am now. 
Once again, my refrigerators (yes, two of them) are full of food that’s probably growing it’s own food by now. 
Today’s prescriptions verse is from Proverbs 31—you know, the “perfect woman” chapter of the Bible. This particular verse pretty much flattens my toes and really should be rewritten for me to say:
She does okay looking to the ways of her
household and tries not to eat
 the bread of  moldiness.
For those of you who cook every night and actually keep your fridge in good shape, you get this week off…or you can get motivated and make another change you’ve been thinking about. Leave me a comment if you do; it might be a change I need to make too! 
For those of you like me, today’s “make a change Monday” is to clean out the refrigerator—and make an attempt to keep it that way. 
And, so you don’t open the refrigerator door and stare blankly, here’s the link to my delicious stack of great articles to tell you what to do: Rescue Your Fridge…And Your Family!
Time to get busy looking to my household. 
…And my moldy bread! 
From my heart,
Celeste
Filed Under: Eating to Live, Family Focused, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , , ,