Health - Creating in Faith

You never know what you got till its gone..... 

Do you take your health for granted?, how could you make the most of it now? 

When I was younger I was extremely active, from bike riding, gymnastics, athletics and tennis, I was always doing some sort of activity, it was as natural as breathing to be doing something. The older I got the activities seem to tale off, I started going to the gym and working out but keeping fit and healthy became more challenging due to changes in lifestyle and priorities. I never once gave a thought to not being able to do an activity due to pain or a physical ailment, I was young, felt invincible and had loads of years ahead of me to have to worry about not feeling well, or seeing those around me unwell. 

Forward 20 or so years and you hear yourself complaining of this ailment, that pain, and a promise of looking after your body and no longer taking it for granted. When we see those around us unwell we begin to look at our own life in a different way. We are of the age now where we all know more and more people suffering from something, throwing new light on our own mortality. 

We have to treasure our health put the right nutrients in and get the necessary exercise. We ask a lot of our bodies, expect a lot and yet we continue to let it run on empty, we have to decide that enough is enough! What of your spiritual health, are you spending time in the Word allowing it to minister to you, or like those takeaway packets and processed foods you ate last week are you expecting a quick spiritual fix to get you through the week? 

Yes, in the past I made many promises to myself about getting fit, spending time and looking after myself, and I’ve also let myself down time and time again. What makes this time different?.... I’ve woken up, smelt the coffee, and want to make the most of every moment that I have left on this earth. I want to be able to run and not get weary, feel the fresh air in my lungs and the sun on my face, and most of all value the relationships I have!   It can be done - it takes discipline, and determination, as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. You know where you want to be, you have to make the effort to get there, plan the journey, take the necessary provisions and keep on task. 

It’s March and there is no time like the present to start. 

Is it time you did an inventory of your physical, spiritual and emotional health? We have all got something in our lives that needs and over haul....what’s yours?  Have a blessed week!

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:8

Gratitudes - Candles

Candles 

Combined with a pampering session brings about a peaceful time for reflection and renewing batteries...

What are you grateful for today?

Forgive - 52 Weeks of Colour

A Thought for the day.....

Sing your song, someone somewhere needs to hear it. You came out the other end of your trials or you may be coming out of what seems like a very long tunnel, you need to let go, and forgive yourself. The lessons that you learnt along the way are not just to keep to yourself; you have seen the miracles that can happen every day, be the miracle in someone else’s life.

Quote 

The days come and go, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away. ...Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Scripture 

"your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." Matthew 6:8

What life lessons about forgiveness do you have to share to encourage someone else?

Gratitudes - Sunshine

Sunshine  

Feeling the rays of sun on my skin, closing my eyes and imagining I am somewhere tropical...

What are you grateful for today?

Health - 52 Weeks of Colour

A Thought for the day....

The future is waiting for you - don’t be afraid to live in your present, ensuring that you take the steps to keep your mind, body and spirit healthy will enable you to walk in your gifts.  You can do it one step and one day at a time...to someone else in this world you are a miracle. 

Quote 

Being curious is like giving yourself a present whenever you want one. ...Unknown

Scripture  

"He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." Psalm 91:15

What are the first steps you need to take to ensure that you get on the road to improved health? 

Creativity - Creating in Faith

What will you create to make the world more Awesome?  

We were all born to be creative in some form or fashion.  We were created for a purpose and in turn we have that inner drive to create.  However you choose to express it is entirely up to you.  When I was younger growing up there seemed to do two types of people.  Those who did 'proper jobs' where you could earn a living, like in a bank, office or school and the others who were 'Artists', who didn't seem to make any money and were typically shown as messy, spontaneous, reckless, and disordered.  My view of the world was that you became an adult and worked hard doing a job you didn't like and then had children and worked even harder to give them the things that you never had.  It's what my mum and dad did and they were my reference.

Deep inside though I knew I wanted to be different.  I wanted to be among those artists who did what they loved to do, shared their passion, inspire others and who also made a living.  I remember standing on my balcony of our flat as a child, and singing at the top of my lungs a song that I had made up, about the dispair of an eleven year old trying to make it in show business.

My singing sessions were tolerated by my parents and the neighbours, though my little brother always made fun of me.  As I grew up and went to college I started singing with a group of friends, and later went on to do musical theatre, and in my 20's started painting and drawing on a regular basis.  It still didn't seem like something that you could do full time and get paid, and I always kept them as hobbies, feeling the push to do more, express more.  I now try and immerse myself in creativity and whether or not you want to make a living at it there is something about taking part in a creative activity that impacts on your state of mind and  general health and well being.

By allowing yourself to be creative you are able to go on an adventure of the imagination, soaring to new heights of possibility.  We cannot leave it to chance either, there is no way that you could leave your materials on a blank canvas without doing anything come back and find they have created a masterpiece, you have to show up and that's where the miracles happens.   Creativity doesn't happen by accident and neither were we made by chance.  As you go about your day take time to think of one thing that you find really challenging and try and approach it in a more creative way and see how it turns out.  If you want some more encouragement, check out this young man called 'Kid President. You will also find some more really inspiring talks on TED about creativity.
 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him Colossians 1:1

Leaping into the Unknown?

 

It is always a great idea to take a stock of where you are, where you are going and where you want to be.  This is key especially if you have set some goals, and dreams that you want to see fulfilled.  We are coming to the end of February and if you take your eye of the ball you'll turn round and see that Christmas is not far off and you won't know what you have accomplished.

I am not about to give you any tips or hints about the 'Top Ten Things' that you should be doing to maximise your time, or the 'Amazing Systems' you need to have in place.  All these are useful tools that you need to put in place in order to see any change.  You do need to be expanding your mind, reading and learning from those that have gone before.  But I think that you already know all this.  My guess is that you've been holding yourself back for one reason or another, or haven't quite come to terms with the fact that you really are able to make changes to your life and you've just been waiting for permission to take that step for whatever reason!  Sometimes you find making those changes harder than you thought, you come across rocky ground and suddenly those old way of doing things really does look appealing.

Taking the leap
As I sat thinking about the things I needed to do, I realised all those plans that I had got excited about at the begining of the year, things I wanted to learn, experiences to put in place, I realised they seem to get lost in 'stuff'.  I had taken my eye of the ball and drifted down a different road, and I could walk away from my dream and continue down this road or do a U turn and get back on track committing myself to something that will bring me closer to my goals.  Generally speaking I feel that I have quite a good sense of direction and can work out where it is I need to be, but every now and then you find yourself drifting, and loosing sight of things, but you have to learn to pull yourself back into check.  

This year one of the things I wanted to learn was how to work the video camera so that I could start showing some of the processes I use in my art.  I had all the excuses ringing in my ears as to why I shouldn't and  What I decided to do was just to go for it anyway.  Once I worked out where I needed to have the camera placed, and what angle looked better the only thing to do was to press record.  I didn't have to worry about anyone else seeing it, it didn't have to be perfect in anyway, all I needed to focus on was what I was learning and the new doors that open when we acquire new skills.

What has to change is our approach,  know what you want to do, acknowledged the fear of not maybe knowing exactly how things are going to turn out, but go for it anyway.  I took the leap and didn't worry whether the videos came out the way I thought they should come out, but just wanted to have fun and knew that I could learn the necessary skills.

We often stop ourselves from doing something because it doesn't turn out the way we feel that it should, despite it being our first time, feeling that we should immediately be the experts.  We begin to compare ourselves with others and wonder why our efforts don't look like theirs,  forgetting that the more you practice the better you get, and the more skill you ultimately acquire until it's the way that you envision.

With that being said, with no one stopping you but yourself don't let another day pass by without doing something that will get you closer to your dream.  

What is it that one thing you should just take that leap and do?

Blessings for the weekend!