Decide to Be Happy

Today's Ideas: 

Play Hard.

Study and Learn all you can.

Work Hard.

Enjoy Yourself.

Find Joy.

Decide to Be Happy!

 ¹ For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
 ² a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
 ³ a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
 ⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
 ⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
 ⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
 ⁷ a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
 ⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
 ⁹ What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?
 ¹⁰ I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.
 ¹¹ He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end.

 ¹² I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live.
 ¹³ And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3

Life is short. Why not enjoy it as much as humanly possible?

Get some exercise every day. Have some fun. Find something to laugh at. Find the beauty God has so generously sprinkled all over this awesome planet.
Find your balance.

The Gift of a Lifetime

Like adults, children should be physically active most, if not all, days of the week. Experts suggest at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily for most children. Walking fast, bicycling, jumping rope, dancing fast, and playing basketball are all good ways for your child to be active.

As children spend more time watching TV and playing computer and video games, they spend less time being active. Parents play a big role in helping kids get up and get moving.

Be a role model for your children. If they see you being physically active and having fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives.
Involve the whole family in activities like hiking, biking, dancing, basketball, or roller skating.
Focus on fun. You can do a lot of walking during trips to the zoo, park, or miniature-golf course.
Include children in household activities like walking the dog, raking leaves, car-washing, or shovelling snow.
Limit your children’s TV and computer time. Offer them active options, like joining a local recreation center or after-school program, or taking lessons in a sport they enjoy.
Encourage your child to be physically active every day.

Healthy Habits

What's a Parent to do? How do you teach your children to eat healthy and avoid the kinds of choices which lead to obesity or even just just less than optimal health?

It is so easy to come home in the evening and order a pizza or stop and grab some take-out. The drive-thru lane at any fast-food ( or is that fat-food? ) eatery on your way home always seem to have a constant stream of traffic. Sure, they offer some relatively healthy choices. Milk instead of soda. Maybe applesauce in place of fries. Our little ones always seem to want the good old standard fries and burgers.

Why do I take the easy, convenient option even when I know, in the back of my tiny little mind, that my kids are not getting the best possible diet? Time and convenience are the key words here. Would my children be better served if I take a few more minutes to pass by the fast-food fat store and simply make something healthy at home? Absolutely.

We can teach our children healthy eating habits. We can enjoy tasty, nutritious meals prepared with locally grown produce. You can, without too much sacrifice teach your children the benefits of Eating Healthy.

Getting them involved makes it fun for them and they will actually want to eat something they’ve helped prepare. We make omelets as a team. The boys handle the eggs – after washing their hands – and Dad handles the omelet pan and other ingredients. They even get to pick what to include in their own unique omelet.

I read somewhere that our little ones learn the most by watching what we do. If we teach them by example they will gain more from our lessons. Simply telling them the benefits of eating healthy is far less effective than getting them involved in actually practicing healthy eating habits!

If you're like me - and millions of other parents - you might have gained a few more pounds than you had just a few years ago. Don't let your children watch as your body goes in the wrong direction. Lead by example. Them them healthy habits.

If you're wanting to drop a few pounds - The quickest way to lose weight is to combine healthy eating with plenty of exercise. Start getting in shape fast and watch those pounds melt away!

The Best Way to Lose that Belly

Vigorous exercise practiced most days of the week is the best way to lose that belly. You can have a slimmer, better toned tummy without spending hours doing crunches. The key is to shed the fat that covers up your ab muscles. Two habits can help you shed those unwanted pounds, and keep them off!

First you have to get in the habit of eating healthy foods - in moderation. Enjoy at least three servings of veggies every day. And plenty of fruits too. On the days you exercise - start your day off right with some protein! Have an egg white omelet! Mix in some green peppers, peas, spinach, and onions if you like. Take a piece of whole grain wheat bread and a banana along with you for a mid morning snack.

Skip the drive-thru and have a healthy lunch. Sweeten up your salad greens with a no-fat lemon-lime spritzer! Try to include a variety of colors in your salad. Tomatoes in the Summer are plentiful and good for you! Toss a handful of red beans in your salad as well. Maybe an avocado and a few walnuts for some healthy omega fats!

Pass on the soda - and the beer - stick with water. Lots of water!

Make a pact with yourself to avoid pre-processed foods as much as possible. Avoid the white flour and sugar based stuff so many of us grew up with. Stick with whole grains and fresh fruits and veggies if you can. Enjoy some salmon a couple times a week.

No body slimming effort will succeed without habit number 2. A variety of vigorous, heart-pumping exercises to help you burn more calories - and keep burning them long after your workout! If you do the same thing every day - you can achieve some success losing weight. A variety of cardio and strength training exercise will help you get rid of belly fat much faster!

A good rule of thumb is at least five days of aerobic exercise and three days of resistance workouts every week. Try new and different workouts. Lots of people are finding Yoga a helpful way to reduce stress and maintain stronger, healthier muscles!

Work your body hard and you'll see results sooner. Get a jump rope - and a good pair of running shoes. Do as many sets of push ups as you can muster every other day. A variety of intense exercise will work more muscles and help tone your body!

The best way to lose belly fat is with intense exercise and eating healthy foods!

Healthy Habits for our Children

Watching the children as they ran merrily through the park I was surprised to see several of the children seemed kind of chubby. Some rather alarming statistics are emerging about the growing numbers of children who miss out on exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Small wonder. Television and video games take so much time out of many a child's day. One study found that one-quarter of U.S. children spend 4 hours or more watching television daily. Too many children just don't get outside and play very much.

The health benefits of moderate and vigorous physical activity are not limited to adults. Physical activity among children and adolescents is important because of the related health benefits (cardiorespiratory function, blood pressure control, and weight management) and because a physically active lifestyle adopted early in life may continue into adulthood. Even among children aged 3 to 4 years, those who were less active tended to remain less active after age 3 years than most of their peers.

A recent study over in Europe found that school aged children who did just 15 minutes of cardio or aerobic exercise during the school day were less likely to gain too much weight. Bottom line - they were not as likely to get fat!

How simple a habit? Don't we owe it to our children to teach them a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps if we lead by example we can more readily gain their buy-in. We all win when our children get a little exercise each day. If we do it with them - its even more of a win win situation!

Make it fun. Encourage them to have fun!

Aerobic exercises help you and your children increase your cardiorespiratory fitness.

Here's a few examples of activities that you can do with your little ones to help you improve your cardiorespiratory fitness:

• Bicycling
• Swimming
• Skating (Rollerblading)
• Running/Jogging/Walking/Hiking
• Soccer
• Full-court Basketball
• Tennis or Badminton

Allow your child to try a variety of sports or outdoor activities in order to find some he or she likes. Look for programs hosted by a local parks and recreation department. Free or inexpensive Summer camps offer children lesson in basketball and other fun games or activities.

The health benefits of physical fitness are both physical and mental, lowering your risk for many diseases, while helping to increase longevity and improve your self-esteem and ability to manage stress. You'll be more productive and safe at work, and school.

If your family is like ours - and TV time too often exceeds a couple hours of the day - now is the perfect time to start some new healthy habits. Get outside this Summer and start getting in shape fast!

Lead By Example

Some famous writer once noted that children learn more from our actions than our words. Leading a healthy life - full of healthy habits will give our children a foundation for lifelong good health.

If we encourage our children to embrace the same healthy habits they see us choosing then perhaps they will lead much healthier lives! Simple habits - eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise - if learned early, will develop into natural parts of their hopefully long lives! Nurture your child's brain with healthy foods and plenty of play time. Let them see you having fun playing sports and getting plenty of vigorous exercise.

Keeping mentally fit isn’t that different from staying in good physical shape. In fact the two go hand in hand. Your mental health can be inextricably tied to your fitness level. In the end – it’s really just about lifestyle. If you exercise regularly, you’re already on the right track! Medical research experts suggest that up to a quarter of the blood pumping through your body is delivering performance enhancing oxygen to your brain as you exercise.

Food choices are vital to your brain’s overall health. Start by cutting the unhealthy fats from your diet. The brain actually benefits from healthy omega-3 fats. Cholesterol buildup can reduce the oxygen supply to your brain by almost 20 percent over time. Load up on foods rich in antioxidants, such as strawberries or red beans, to nurture brain cell health.

Add cold-water, wild caught fish like salmon to your diet. Eating fish helps reduce inflammation, increase memory, and help your brain send and receive messages efficiently. Eat lots of leafy green vegetables like spinach. Spinach is rich in folate which is known to enhance your brain’s processing power! Spinach even provides a little calcium too!

Another way many people stay sharp is to try new things. Learn a new language. Try a crossword puzzle or even Sudoku. Give your brain a workout with new and different mental challenges. Entertain the little ones with fun games they can learn from. Word games and math games.

And play outside as often as you can. Teach them to love nature and have fun in the great outdoors! Kids who play outdoors and get plenty of exercise tend to have healthier self esteem. What better lesson might we share than teaching our children to have fun?

If you are a smoker, quitting smoking will be the best step you can take to improve not only your health but theirs as well.

Give your children the greatest gift any parent could possible teach - show them how to lead a healthy life!

Teaching Our Children Healthy Eating Habits

If you live in the USA you've no doubt heard - or seen for yourself - the alarming number of children who are overweight. University and Medical Science studies are revealing an alarming trend. How can we fix this? How might we better teach our children to make healthy eating choices throughout their lives.

It is so easy to stop at your child's favorite fast-food place and get them something quick and easy. However the time we save too often results in really bad food choices. Fast food is all too often FAT FOOD. We've seen attempts by the big chains to offer healthier alternatives with their children's meals. That's Great! The responsibility for our children's health lies with us parents.

I love fries! And after two or three of those salty delights I've had enough grease for one day! And a big, juicy hamburger sounds really good sometimes. Almost always the taste is - well - not as great as the memory from younger days. Those fast food burgers are just not that great tasting.

Wouldn't it taste a whole lot better to pick out some lean ground sirloin or angus and create a hamburger masterpiece? Toss on a bunch of fresh spinach or green and an onion or tomato slice. Use whole wheat bread instead of those plain white buns. Skip the fatty mayo and use a low fat spicy mustard instead.

Skip the soda or milk-shake and prepare a healthy smoothie instead! Or serve some low-fat or soy milk. How about some plain, filtered water? My kids don't seem to drink anything except soda anymore.

Calories are but one aspect of your child's diet. Perhaps we need to show them to eat types and amounts of food that will promote better health. You could use up all of your calories on a few high-calorie foods or drinks, but if you did, chances are you wouldn’t get the full range of nutrients your body needs to be healthy.

Instead, choose the most nutritionally rich foods you can each day—those packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients but lower in calories. Pick foods like fruits, vegetables, dry beans and peas, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk.

Maybe if we teach our children the habit of eating healthy foods we can help them avoid the unpleasant consequences of obesity. Maybe we can show them the ways to better health via fun and sports and exercise. Who knows, maybe we might all enjoy the benefits of better health together!

Saving Your Family Money on Health Care

The whole Family benefits from healthy habits. Make fitness a family affair! Most health and education experts would agree that healthy habits are best learned at an early age. Encourage your children or favorite young ones to join in the fun of sports and better fitness. Teach your children at an early age the life long value of sports!

Give them a healthy head start. Children should be encouraged to get involved in sports and physical activity early in their precious young years. Show them. Get out there and play with them. Childhood goes by way too fast as it is. Enjoy their early years with them in healthy pursuits.

Good Health and Fitness will reduce the likelihood of developing a number of health-related conditions. In addition, sports help build important social skills such as determination, cooperation and problem solving.

Leading a healthy lifestyle helps boost self-esteem. Exercise and sports participation offers all kids positive feelings about body image, improved self-esteem, experiences of competency and success and increased self-confidence.

A Healthy body makes it easier for children to enjoy a better balanced mind and body. Exercise and sports participation can enhance the physical and mental health of adolescent girls and boys.

Sports relieves stress and the blues. Physical activity can help reduce symptoms of stress and depression among all children. Lets give our children the greatest blessings possible - lots of love, and fun! Fun in the form of play and sports.

Sports are educational assets. Many high school athletes report higher grades and standardized test scores and lower dropout rates, and are more likely to go on to college than their non-athletic peers.

Athletes tend to live longer and healthier lives. Regular physical activity in adolescence can reduce a child's risk of obesity, which can lower adult onset of heart disease, osteoporosis and certain cancers. Research proves physical activity does improve quality of life.

Lets give our kids the best quality of life we can. And it doesn't have to cost a small fortune. Running, jumping rope, riding bikes and countless other fun activities are inexpensive and good for the whole family!

Get healthy and start saving your money! Make the most of your precious family time. Spring will soon be here. What a perfect time to have more fun with your children or little loved ones. So turn off that TV, get outside and do something healthy and fun! Teach your children healthy habits!

Family Fun

Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the best lessons we can share with our young ones. Show them - give them their best opportunity to enjoy life more and preserve your vitality. Lead by example - A few simple habits often produce magnificent results in better health. Get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Accept and adapt to your limitations. We may not be able to hit serves or run down shots like Maria Sharapova or Rafael Nadal while playing tennis. We can still have fun and enjoy the game together. Parenting doesn’t mean we have to give up the sports and fun activities we enjoy. Share the fun with your children. We can make exercise and sports seem like a natural part of everyday living. ( And the better health that naturally comes along with all the fun! )

Studies show that optimists live longer, more satisfying lives. So if you’re not exactly the optimistic type, you and your young ones can benefit by learning to adopt a more positive, upbeat outlook. Vow to make your first thought of the day a positive one. Many people get a certain peace of mind through early morning prayer or meditation. Join the countless millions who enjoy a little early morning exercise. Try to read something positive like some inspirational quotes or affirmations to start your day off right.

Try new sports. Join a class at the local library or college. It will help keep your mind sharp. Focus on making some family time for healthy pursuits every day. If you miss a day or two - no worries. Don’t look back - regret is just a waste of time. If life isn’t working out like you hoped for or planned, forgive yourself, learn from your mistakes and then move forward! Edison used what he learned from his many unsuccessful attempts – he kept trying!

You can lead your family to a much better and healthier life if you get a little exercise most days of the week. Combine healthy eating habits with your daily exercise and enjoy a healthier and happier lifestyle! Whether you are out to improve your self esteem or trying to get in better shape - you can! Make it a family habit. Teach your children to play more, exercise and stay in shape. You'll see your quality of life improve tremendously!

Give your children one of the best gifts you can - share with them a lifelong habit of healthy living!

Teaching good habits - Exercise and eating healthy

Leading by example has been proven throughout history as the best way to teach. Children are kind of like sponges. They tend to absorb things - good or bad. Healthy or unhealthy. If I sit in front of the TV for hours on end each day - then guess what I'm telling my children? If I choose to smoke and drink excessively - they seem to learn that those habits aren't all that bad.

If I instead choose to get outside and get some exercise, they are exposed to a healthier lesson.

Childhood goes by so fast. In the grand scheme - our time with our children is so brief. I wonder if I might impress upon them a healthier lifestyle in this brief window of opportunity!

I wonder how much better their lives will be if they absorb the notion that exercise and sports are fun! If they naturally learn to enjoy sports and physical activities they will develop a habit of healthy fun. Our childrens' health is perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can share.

Teaching them that exercise and eating healthy are good habits will only help them lead healthier and hopefully longer lives!

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12: 1-2