For he will order angels to protect you everywhere you go.  Psalm 91:11

Happy Saturday!  My hospital care was fantastic, but I’m so happy to be at home now.

One thing that was on my mind While I was in the hospital, and even before, was how I need to take better care of my body.  After all, I Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, we should care for our bodies the same way we would care for our churches.  I know I could do much better.  So, last night when my IV machine was beeping I started identifying ways I could do better.  Please feel free to add to the list.

1.  Eat for fuel and well-being.  Yikes!  This is difficult for me.  I love food.  However, I know that food isn’t supposed to be my God.  Therefore, I need to monitor quantities.  That’s not enough though.  It is equally important to eat a diet rich in healthy food from God’s kingdom, while limiting highly processed foods.  After this bout with sickness, I think I need to include probiotic and prebiotic foods.  As I was leaving the hospital the Doctor recommended an over-the-counter supplement.
2. Exercise.  We all know exercise is good for us.  It helps all of our systems operate better.  I don’t especially dislike exercise, but it is painful on my joints and that slow me down.  So, I’m going to find a way to break up the needed exercise into bite-sized segments.
3. Drink water.  It is so important to keep ourselves hydrated.  It helps us to look younger and our bodies to operate more efficiently.  For me it is helpful to start the day with a couple of glasses of water.  It’s a great start and helps me from getting to the end of the day only to find that I need to drink a lot of water before bed.
4. Rest.  Sleep is imperative for a healthy body and I rarely sleep enough.  So. It is my goal to schedule sleep on my phone.  Can you believe your smart phone can do that too?
5. Breathe Fresh Air and Soak Up the Sun.  Something I sometimes take for granted is the need to get outside and enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and the beauty of God’s creation.  It is stifling hot in Florida, but today I did some stretching and walking in a swimming pool.  Late in the day, I sat outside in our swing and just took a break.
6. Meditate and Think Positive Thoughts.  Just stopping for two to three minutes throughout the day to clear my mind and take a deep breath would help me to remember what is most important.  I’m going to add this to my calendar as a reminder.
7. Take a Break from Electronics.  With an Apple Watch on my arm and an iphone or iPad in my hand most of the time, I need to give electronics a break for a period of time each day.  Today, God helped me with that when we had an unexpected loss of Internet service. I told my husband it was like the old days.

These are just a few ideas.  Please add yours and let’s take care of our bodies.  God bless you.

And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  Isaiah 65:24

Happy Friday!  I’m posting today from the hospital.  For my followers who struggle with Rheumatoid Arthritis and similar autoimmune diseases, you’ll understand when I explain that some of the medications we take actually hurt our immune systems and make it difficult to fight off illnesses, food poisoning and other things that don’t seem to bother others.  We are classified as immune system compromised.  It becomes a balancing act.  We can’t go through life in a bubble or with a mask on all the time.  At the same time we can’t stop our medication, if we want to function in the world.  It’s a little frustrating to watch others our age or older performing simple tasks so much better.  So, that’s what happened to me.  I don’t know if I had a bad case of food poisoning, a tummy virus, or a problem with the lack of good bacteria in my stomach, but I needed a little help after five days.

Asking for help may sometimes seem horrible, but it is not the worst thing in the world.  Being dependent on others gives them a chance to receive blessings from giving and allows us to understand what others are going through.  I can’t tell you how blessed I am.  First of all, my wonderful husband has waited on me for days.  Second, my staff are second to none.  Every opportunity available they are cheering me up.  They have texted or called me everyday.  Last night we had a wonderful visit in the hospital and I am enjoying the beautiful flowers they brought me. Today, we had a FaceTime chat and it was followed by a text with this photo.

Isn’t that awesome!  It touches my heart.  I also had a visit from three of my Crafty Ladies.  It’s always good to be cheered by our sisters in Christ.  Finally,  what a blessing the doctor and hospital staff has been to me!  Wow!  They have been responsive, caring and just all around wonderful.  Last night as the nurse was taking my blood pressure, I noticed a cross hanging around her neck.  It’s just nice to know that Christians are providing care for us when we are sick; people with the same love for God.  Oh, and now that I can keep food down, the food is out of this world delicious!  God is so good.

While I have been in the hospital, I have had worries about work, deadlines, meetings, and similar matters.  God worked all that out for me.  There is really no need for worry.  Just trust him.

While I’m in the hospital, I’m not going to waste a moment. I’m spreading the love to healthcare providers today!  I hope you wil also spread God’s good love everywhere you go.  God bless you!

Refuse to let the world corrupt you.  James 1:27

It’s Try Something New Tuesday!

Something I learned from an early age was manners.  It’s interesting how lessons learned early in life are instilled for a lifetime.  My parents were consistently correcting me on how to address adults.  The words “yep”,  “yes”, “yeah”, “no” and “nope” were not acceptable.  The proper answer to a question was “yes ma’am”,  yes sir”, “no ma’am”,  or “no sir”.  Adults were not called by first names, but “Mrs. Smith” or “Mr.  Smith”.  Adults in the family were addressed by their relationship plus their given name, for example “Uncle Tony”.  My parents’ and grandparents’ closest friends were referred to the same as aunts and uncles.  Bad language and interrupting was not tolerated.  We washed up and combed our hair before dinner.  We placed our napkins in our laps and chewed with our mouths closed.  Smacking, slurping and other meal time noises were not allowed.  When we were finished eating, we asked to be excused.  After everyone finished a meal,  girls were expected to help with the cleanup regardless of whose house you were visiting.

When I was a Girl Scout, the lessons continued.  I learned how to set the table, personal grooming and how behave in formal situations. This came in handy when we visited the Governor’s Mansion for a formal tea when I was eleven.

When my friends and I were preteens, there was a class in our church on dating etiquette.  We were taught about the way young men and women were to behave.  Leaders in the church instructed young men how to treat the young ladies with respect by opening doors, pulling out chairs at dinner, helping girls with their coats, allowing women to order first in a restaurant, offering a handkerchief, greeting a young lady at the door and walking her back to the door after the date, and similar niceties.  Young ladies were taught to wait for and expect proper behavior from young men and how to respond.  My father would have punished me for running out the door, if a young man honked the car horn when arriving at our home.  We were taught proper dress and grooming, how to dance and appropriate social behavior for a young dating couple.  When the time for dating came, we were so caught up in behaving correctly in our dating roles, that we forgot about the romance element, at least for a while.

When I was in high school, I took business classes where I learned the appropriate way to write and fold correspondence, greet customers and other professionals, and to behave over the telephone.  While this sounds a little unnecessary, you would be surprised how much I’m complimented on behavior I learned in these classes.

The lessons of respect have continued in my life as an adult, as have my husbands.  He still opens the door for me .  I still refer to people in a position of authority or elders as “Mr.” or “Mrs.”, which has been a little contentious at work sometimes.

Many of the rules of etiquette have been tossed to the side over the years, and some would argue they are no longer needed.  However, I believe manners teach us how to treat others with respect and how we should be treated.  Etiquette teaches us how to behave and prevents uncomfortable awkwardness in social situations.  With the lack of respect for others in society today, I think it should be reintroduced and taught to future generations.

Join me in teaching children and young adults manners.  God bless you.