How To Be Happy the Rest of Your Life!

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I am very proud of my oldest daughter, Kathryn, and how she's so wholeheartedly followed the Lord in her life.  The other day, I told her, "You know, you win the Happiest Mother Award," because she is so imperturbable in everything that happens.  So even keel and...happy!


Somehow I think she's got the key to happiness, no matter the circumstances.  Here is what she says:

“Follow your heart!” Perhaps you’ve read it in a romantic “Christian” novel, where the heroine makes her decision to fall for the unlikely suitor. Maybe you’ve heard it from your peers, or perhaps from some well-meaning relative, encouraging you to go for “what you want” in life. Whether you are looking for your lifelong soul-mate, or your future occupation, the idea of discovering what you really want and going for it is pretty universally championed.  After all, if it’s not what your heart really desires, then you’ll be miserable the rest of your life, right?  But the question is, is “following your heart” right?  Will it even make you happy?

I recently read an article rebutting this popular notion, on the basis that the Bible teaches us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.  Therefore according to the author, to look for what we want would be wrong, and the opposite of following Christ.  But does this mean that we will never be doing what we enjoy? Does it mean that if we want it, it must not be what God wants?  No, because God tells us in Proverbs 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” So, no, your heart is not necessarily always wrong!  So, how can we be happy for the rest of our lives?  Do we follow our heart?

1.  Find a Reliable Guide

The real question, then, is, “is your heart a reliable guide?” If you are, or ever have been, a teenage girl, you will have a pretty good idea of the answer!  Our emotions and our heart can change almost as fast as our outfits!  What we feel we really want one moment (especially if it’s late at night, we are on a sugar high—or crash, having a bad day, or any combination of the above), can seem like the worst idea imaginable in the light of the next day! Our hearts are intrinsically tied with our emotions, which are permanently connected to our hormones, which can fluctuate hourly!  So, we can either spend the rest of our lives trying to decipher our heart’s ever-changing desires and following them in a million different directions—like a scared rabbit zigzagging across a field… or we can find a reliable guide to which to mold our heart and its desires.

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2.  Seek God's Priorities First

The key is in the verse I quoted above, “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”  Matthew 6:33 puts it another way, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” God’s Word and the principles that He teaches must be the yardstick for us to hold our heart’s desires up to.  You think that your heart wants to fall in love with the not-so-Godly, but very cute, boy up the street? Whoops, that one doesn’t measure up with the 2 Cor. 6:14 measuring stick! Does your heart want an education or a career that might take you away from church and from Godly influences?  You’d better check the Psalm 1:1 and Hebrews 10:25 criteria!

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3.  Find a few godly mentors

Another good way to check your heart’s reliability is through Godly mentors (AKA counselors).  Find someone you can look up to—who is patterning their life after God’s Word—and give them veto power in your life.  This doesn’t mean that they will write out a life plan for you! This means that if they think you’re getting ready to do something that isn’t wise or Biblical, they can tell you to put the brakes on!  Just like a crane operator needs a spotter on the ground to point out things he can’t see from where he sits, we need “spotters” to point out dangers and pitfalls that our hearts might overlook!  Our emotions can get so absorbed in a situation that we don’t see the entanglements—which is why we need Godly mentors.

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4.  Make your life choices carefully - prayerfully!

Above all, we need to trust that God knows what will bring us true happiness!  Just as a car engineer knows exactly what stresses and loads that vehicle can handle and what situations to avoid (i.e. don’t take your Chevy Impala mountain-climbing!), God designed your heart, and he knows exactly what is best for your life! Climbing a mountain with your car might seem cool—until you barrel roll down the mountainside and land upside down in a ravine.  “Following your heart” may seem exciting and liberating—until that cute-but-unsaved boy you married turns out to have a terrible temper and three other girlfriends, and you’re left abused and alone. Not every desire of our heart is wrong—the closer we are to God and His Word, the closer our desires will be to His!  We just have to use the measuring sticks of Godly principles and mentors to help us choose. Then, when our choices are aligned with God’s wishes, we can be sure that real happiness will follow! There’s nothing so liberating as knowing you’re doing what’s right!

Well said, Kathryn!  Thank you so much for sharing with us!  Kathryn blogs about all sorts of wonderful frugal decorating and homemaking ideas at A Heart-Ful Home!  Check it out!


Some of you ladies have been around quite awhile longer, and may have some additional suggestions for us.  Please let us know what you think!


Yours for a Happy Journey,

...make every act a masterpiece...

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."  1 Corinthians 10:31


"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."  Ecclesiastes 9:10


Whether it be sweeping floors, changing diapers, wiping runny noses, or spending time with your hubby, do it with excellence; do it with thy might.  You will find yourself blessed in time to come.


Yours on the journey - with excellence -

Creating Your Own Exercise Routine

My daughter took some pictures of me during one of our  running times.  Here is the warm-up.

If exercise is a huge part of Stewarding Ourselves, how do we start?  What do we do?

Developing your own exercise routine is not nearly as hard or complicated as you may think.  Some people may want to take the extra time and money to go to a gym with a personal trainer, but I prefer to stay at home with my family and pocket the extra change!  Being somewhat a do-it-yourselfer and a self-starter helps, but anyone can upgrade their lives by moving a little more.

Take about 15 minutes to sketch out your exercise routine.  That’s probably about all it takes to get moving!  Remember the principles of STEADY PRESSURE (work out consistently), INTENSITY (really push yourself sometimes) , and VARIETY (don’t do the same thing every day; change your routine up occasionally) as you plan your program.

1. Choose your days to exercise.  Three (3) times a week is the recommended minimum, but if you can only get one in, that’s still better than none!

2.  Choose your length of time.  I recommend starting with 15 minutes and increasing 1 minute once every week or two, but make sure you tailor your schedule to your own exercise ability.

3.  Choose your Aerobic exercise  – choose your preference: walking, running, cycling, rollerblading...even games with the kids will work as long as you choose something pretty active (soccer, tag, basketball, etc.)  If you have small children, plan on playing games with them once a week.

A Friday Family Fun Run!  We got to go to a park trail in Arizona, and the weather was delicious!

4.  Choose your Strength training exercises  

You can choose bodyweight exercises (that’s exercise using only your body weight, no machines or weights), dumbbells, elastic bands, or even a big machine!  I’m cheap, and I have very little room, so I have a few hand dumbbells which I use only rarely.  I generally stick to body weight exercises.  I figure that more than likely more of what I do in real life will not require me to lift any more than 135 pounds!!

            

    a.  Think of the activities you do every day that use the basic movements: push, pull, squat, bend, etc. Bending over and picking up a toddler, for instance. 

               b.  write down every exercise you can think of that may help you do these movements.  Push – push ups, wall push ups, chair push ups, etc.  Pull – pull-ups, pull downs, bent over rows, etc.

                c.  write down every core exercise you can think of – planks, sit ups, crunches, etc. (if you need some help, here are some great ideas)

                d.  take your list and choose one exercise from each movement to do every day.

                e.  eventually, you can expand your workouts to concentrate on one movement a day, varying movements every day push one day, pull another, legs another, core another

5.  Choose your stretching routine – SLOW is the key!

                a.  Take your arms and legs and carefully stretch them to their capacity, hold that  position for about 10 seconds, and then slowly return to normal.

                b.  If you want to just free-wheel, you could simply lay on the floor and stretch, rolling around and enjoying the feel.

                c.  For a more structured approach, Google “how to stretch," or check out this article for some specific stretches and stretching tips.

6.  Do it!  It sounds ridiculous to say it, but this last point is the very most important!  Just Do It!  There is no bandwagon, only a faithful Stewardship of Ourselves.

Happy Trails to you!

God bless!



Note:  please read our medical disclaimer before following any sort of medical advice from LisaRaub.com

Stewarding Ourselves: Getting Active with Children

I love to write, but I am first and foremost a wife and mother, so this week I’ve been keeping up with school, laundry, and meals while we had revival meetings and haven't been able to blog much.  The music and preaching have been tremendous, and I’ve been truly blessed and encouraged by Dr. Doug Fisher’s messages!

My daughter Johanna has a cute little crown-tail Betta fish, which Sharon, Jason and Lydia gave her for Christmas.  He is, as all Betta fish are, a solitary little thing, swimming contentedly in his one gallon tank.  

Freddie lives a good life, but Betta care instructions tell us that Freddie could get very bored if he doesn’t get any excitement now and then.  To spice things up a bit, they recommend taking a mirror and holding it right outside the aquarium. 

Now, if you know anything about Bettas, you know that they are solitary for a reason.  Male Bettas, of which Freddie is one, are fierce fighters, and will attack each other just because they are there!  Putting a mirror in front of the tank presents an instant foe for Freddie, and he puffs himself up like a red balloon!  Every once in a while, he attacks his enemy, and then swims away in a triumphant puff of red swirly fins.

It’s good for him to be challenged, even if it is only with a mirror!

When it comes to Stewarding Ourselves, we need to understand the importance of being challenged.  I’ll leave most of that to your imagination, but I think you can see that being a parent is definitely a physical challenge.  If you’ve ever had a two-year old to chase, you can understand why it’s so easy to fall exhausted into your bed at the end of the day.  And many of you wonder about this thing of exercise.  How can I possibly find the energy to get up and go while I’m so busy taking care of my little ones? 

I completely understand your dilemma.  I’ve been there too.  So let me share with you what I have done to help me Steward Myself and my children over the years.  These are great for you to get exercise even if you can't jog or lift weights, etc!

Here are some ideas to get some exercise even with small children:

Babies: stroller is the way to go!  Walking is a great activity, and babies love to be out.  Lydia and Johanna were so close in age that we got a double stroller because we liked going on hikes.  It was important for us as a family to get out and enjoy God’s creation, so we often went on family day hikes in our area.  Because we had a jogging stroller (though we didn’t jog), we were able to tackle almost any terrain!

Children: games are great!  This way you AND the children can  be exercising!  I suspect children are about as excited about exercise as going to the dentist, so making exercise fun is important.   Here are some games we have played, plus a few others:

1. Capture the flag – This is an active game where each side has a “flag” (we’ve even used stuffed horses, of which we have plenty!  Then, of course, the game becomes “Capture the horse,” which becomes more deeply personal for those involved, hence more action!) that the other team tries to capture! 

2.            Tag – the standard game is where one person is “it,” and tries to tag another, and the only safety is the “base.”  Take away the “base” and the game becomes more interesting! 

3.            Freeze tag – The standard game is where one person is “it” and tries to tag others, and they are “frozen” in one spot.  Others can tag them to “unfreeze” them.   Since we rarely do anything the “standard” way, we often take teams, dividing into two (or more) teams.  More people, more action! 

4.            Soccer – Since I know very little about soccer, we rarely play, but it is great exercise.  When we do play, it’s quite challenging, and fun! 

5.            Family Football – two hand touch, of course!  These are some of our favorite memories! 

6.            Red Light, Green Light – My daughter insists that this game requires a lot of running, and I’m sure she’s right! 

7.            Basketball – A very active game, but one that requires a lot more skill than most of us have.  Still, it’s a lot of fun, especially if your team wins!
 

Remember, the goal is to Steward Ourselves, and bless the children in the process!

Happy Activity!

PLEASE NOTE:

Beginning on February 1st LisaRaub.com will be switched to LisaRaub.blogspot.com for a few months while we work out some necessary changes. If you visit LisaRaub.com after Feb. 1st, you will be directed from this site to the .blogspot domain until February 24th (when this URL will be temporarily unavailable).

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Stewarding Ourselves: NEVER Give Up!

{inspiration and principles for applying the law of Steady Pressure}

Winston Churchill, the famous prime minister of England during perhaps the darkest time in modern history, had been called upon to make a speech.  

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Pondering what to say, he thought grimly of the awful war his country had been forced to fight just a few years before.  He knew there would be tremendously hard times.  He thought about the strong possibility of bombing raids on his English cities, the thousands of people who would lose their homes, their loved ones, and their sweethearts.  He knew his people needed a grim determination to persevere if they were to succeed.

He knew what he had to say.

To the boys at Harrow School, he uttered these historic words:  “Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''   With one last look at the crowd, he released his hold on the podium and sat down.

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Never give up.

May his words ring true in our ears. 

When it comes to Stewarding Ourselves, this principle of STEADY PRESSURE can mean the difference between life and death.  It means that we keep going, day by day by day.  We must Steward Ourselves, because God has chosen to use us to take care of His creation, our husbands and our children.  He has no Plan B if we ruin our health by eating coconut bon-bons and sitting at the computer all day. We MUST take care of ourselves, and never give up, no matter how many things get in our way. 

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Maybe we have a bad day.  Is it time to quit?  Never!  Maybe we’ve twisted an ankle, and we can’t walk for two weeks, or even something worse – a long illness.  Should we give up?  Never!  Maybe we just don’t feel like going for a walk.  Do we stay in bed?  Nope!

Here are a few ways to keep STEADY PRESSURE even when we don’t feel like it:

• Make a commitment to yourself, and especially to God, that you will do everything in your power to keep going.  You may even want to take some time on your knees and ask God to help you make that commitment, and keep it.  Then write your commitment on a piece of paper, date it, and sign it.  Keep it in a place where you will run into it regularly.

• Set some goals.  Try to keep them realistic.  If you haven’t exercised for many years, you don’t want to have a goal of running a marathon!  Also, if you haven’t been eating right for the past ten years, don’t set an unrealistic goal of never eating one speck of sugar.  It’s better to say, “For the next week, I will eat no sweets,” then evaluate your commitment after your time is up.

• Decide to do something you enjoy.  Find out what you like and do it!  If you hate running, don’t decide that that is what you will do.  Use something you enjoy and you know you can stick to.

• Get a Partner!  See if your hubby will come along, or take the children!  It’s been my great joy to have my children come along with me on many of my runs.  When the younger ones go with me, I like to go on a circular track so they are always in sight, but sometimes, when it’s just Sharon and I, we go on long straight trails. 

• Look for Inspiration!  When the battery of your own inspiration runs low, ask God for some Scripture verses that will help you.  One of mine is, “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Also, plenty of inspirational quotes can be found by doing a little search (or visit our favorite inspiring quotes collection)   Here are a few of mine:

• “A year from now you may wish you had started today." 

•   "My life tomorrow will be the result of my attitudes and the choices I make today."

•    "Don't sacrifice your future for a momentary pleasure."

 and...

• “If you always do what you've always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always had.”

I remember reading a story about a guy who had a junk car in his garage.  He didn’t want to pay the money needed to have it towed off to the junkyard, so he decided to take a sawzaw to it, cut it up into trash-can-sized pieces, and bit by bit had it carted off to the dump in his regular garbage pickup!  All he did was go out to the garage every day and cut a few chunks off and throw them in the trash.  Working steadily, he was able to throw his car away!

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We may not want to throw a car away, but we CAN make a little bit of progress every day.  In the end, a lot will be accomplished!  STEADY PRESSURE is what we need to help us Steward Ourselves!  

Always remember, NEVER give up!  

My Fitness Story

Since we’re talking about Stewarding Ourselves this month, I thought it would be good to tell you a little bit about myself and my story.

You can read all about me in the About Lisa page, but in brief: the Lord has blessed me with 7 children, 3 grandchildren, a wonderful husband, and a traveling ministry.  Because the Lord has given me so much to do, I try to take care of myself as much as I can.  I run 3 miles 3 to 4 times a week, do my best to eat right to keep my weight in check, and do bodyweight strength training exercises 3 to 4 times a week.  Right now, coming out of the Christmas season, I weigh more than I should, around 135 pounds, but I know what to do to get that lower, and I’m working on it.

But I haven't always been fit. 

First, let me tell you the things that are against me:

• I’m 47 years old, and I got quite a late start at getting in shape.

• I've had eight pregnancies, and spent the majority of them on bedrest.

• We live in an extremely small place, 320 square feet to be exact.  It’s pretty hard to exercise here.

• I find myself very busy, homeschooling four children, writing a book, being involved in ministry and traveling.

• My schedule is quite unpredictable, changing time zones regularly and varying daily according to the folks we stay with.

• My husband is a night-owl, which makes it tough to get up early sometimes.  Need I say more?

•  Add to these things, I am hypoglycemic, which is similar in some respects to diabetes.  I need to be very careful what I eat, and always have a supply of food on hand to keep my blood sugar stable.

My health habits were not very good while my children were growing up.  For a while, when my husband worked warehousing M&M/Mars, my afternoon snack consisted of a Twix bar and a Mountain Dew! (What's that about blood sugar??  Yikes!)

When I was pregnant with my youngest child, I was soooo tired.  Really, tired is not the word.  Extremely exhausted was more like it.  I knew that I had done some exercise in the past, but I was sure I would never exercise again.  The only thing I felt like doing was sitting and zoning…for the rest of my life!

After I had Jason, I felt some better, but I was still about 30 pounds overweight.  That’s the equivalent of 3 ten pound bags of potatoes!  That may not be much for some, but for my small frame, it was quite the load to carry around. 

So after a few years of that, I finally drew the line.  I said, “This is enough!  I will not get any heavier!”  So, with a lot of prayer and a lot of determination, I set about eliminating all starches and sugars, and slowly but surely, exercising. 

I was amazed at how little I could do!  I decided to start by walking for 15 minutes.  Surely I could spare 15 minutes!  So I started out each morning, walked seven and a half minutes, turned around and walked back.  For the first week, I was exhausted!!  And believe it or not, I was very sore!  --just walking for 15 minutes a day.  There were some days I was simply too tired, too sore, or the schedule was too crazy and I didn’t walk, but most days I did.

After about a month I added a minute every week or two, and within about a year I was walking for about 30 minutes.  It was around this time that I read Aerobics, by Dr. Kenneth Cooper, and learned that it was possible to feel even better.  I decided it was time to kick it up a notch, so I began to run for one minute while walking 29.  Every few weeks I would add another minute, until I was walking 5 minutes, running 20, and then walking another 5.  I felt great!

I discovered that it takes a very long time to get better, but I knew I had nothing to lose but the feeling of exhaustion.  Many times I was tempted to give up in frustration, wondering why my body was not cooperating like I thought it would.  Needless to say, I learned that getting fit takes longer than I could possibly imagine, but it has been worth every step.

Anyway, I could go on about my slow recovery from serious exhaustion, but let’s just say I’ve been on the other side of these tracks, and I know how hard and frustrating it can be.  But I know that if I can do it, you can too!  

It has taken years, but now I’m a decent weight, can run 3 miles (though it is somewhat slow!), and have more energy than I’ve had in many years.  God has helped me to take care of my body, and I know He can help each of us.  I want to encourage others to embark on their own fitness journey!

How about you?  Do you have a fitness story?  Take a minute and share it with us! 

Stewarding Our Lives: 3 Principles of Growth

I am really excited about this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing some real growth in our lives.  My goal is to be a blessing to folks, specifically by bringing the wisdom of the older women into the world of the younger women, and putting help where people can reach it.  I have some topics and interviews planned that I think will be a real encouragement to those of you seeking to live for God this year.

Our theme this year is Stewarding Life.  God has given us this life, and now it is our duty to live it for Him.  We can show our appreciation for His gift of life by taking care of it, and that starts at home, with us.  So in January, we’re going to focus on Stewarding Ourselves: Our Bodies, Our Hearts, Our Time.  Along with the regular posts, I plan on giving various tips I’ve picked up along the way from the real “experts” – those who have successfully raised godly children.  It will be quite a treat.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Sandy was given a big responsibility: the teen girls’ Sunday school class.  She was really pumped about it, desiring to be a help to the young ladies, but she made a terrible error.  Since the only other class she had ever taught were 2 & 3 year olds, she simply read Bible stories to the girls and used her flannelgraphs!  Before she knew it, girls were whispering during class, texting, or even worse, sleeping!  One Sunday afternoon found Sandy in her room in tears, wondering what had happened. 

What did Sandy do wrong?  Wasn’t she earnest enough?  Did she have enough Bible knowledge?  Was something wrong with the Word of God?  Was she a bad teacher?

No, Sandy was not a bad teacher, and she definitely had a passion for the Word of God.  Certainly, nothing is wrong with the Scriptures.  Sandy’s problem was that she didn’t take natural laws into account.  By ignoring the Natural Laws of Learning, Sandy’s efforts became useless.

What I’m going to do is take some natural laws, and apply them to our lives.  We will find that we will no longer stagnate, but grow!

NATURAL LAW #1 – STEADY PRESSURE! Slow and steady, steady and slow, that’s the way we always grow!

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The first principle of growth: do a little bit every day.  I’m amazed at folks who exercise once every two weeks!  Though it’s better than nothing, it would be better to do a little every day than exercise sporadically.  Reading our Bibles every day  is a must for growth, and in marriage, there needs to be some communication on a daily basis, or the marriage will wither and die.

NATURAL LAW #2 – INTENSITY!  Slow and steady gets me ready, but working harder gets me farther!

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While a lot of growth occurs slowly and steadily, employ short, intense sessions to expand your horizons quite a bit!  In the physical realm, it is imperative to “stress your body” (exercise) in a controlled manner, so that if (or when!) there is an emergency situation, you are able to handle the stress.  Spiritually, our hearts need regular “exercise” of memorizing Scripture, witnessing, and the sharpening action of godly fellowship.  In marriage, the embers burn steadily all the time, but flare up in intense expressions of passion.  Intensity is an integral principle for growth!

NATURAL LAW #3 – VARIETY!  To kick it up, change it up! 

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While it’s imperative to have a steady stream of input, and that there be times of greater intensity, it is also imperative that we vary things up a bit sometimes.  Physically, our bodies become quickly accustomed to whatever level of activity we have, and so become unchallenged.  Boredom sets in, and variety is necessary.  Spiritually, it becomes quite easy to get in a rut of reading the same amount every day; variation helps prevent monotony.  And in marriage, if we’re always doing the same ol’ thing at the same ol’ time in the same ol’ place, it gets very droll indeed.  A little variety can spice things up a lot!

So now we’re set to Steward our Lives!  By God’s grace and with his help, we can make some serious strides in becoming “Fit For the Master’s Use!”