Sometimes, it’s as little as the beginning of a new year or a new season that make us want to take a bit better care of our health. Other times, however, we need a major wake up call in order to change our habits – but, as long as you’re able to focus on the road ahead, your chances of changing your ways are quite high.
Getting rid of bad habits and leading a much healthier life than you used to can be a challenge, though, and make people before you have fallen back into their old ways despite a former health scare. Here is a handful of ways to make sure that you’re able to stick to your goals and keep your eyes on the price. It just makes it a bit easier to stay positive and happy about the future.
First: Replacing your bad habits You won’t be able to quit a bad habit unless you have something to fill the void with; it’s that simple. While some people encourage you to have a glass of water every time you feel like having a cigarette, for example, a bigger lifestyle change is in order to make you turn away from your harmful habits.
Focus on exercise, for example, and join a jogging team in order to improve your health. It will feel almost impossible, to begin with, but sooner or later you’ll crave that dopamine that a good run gives and you certainly don’t want to ruin your lungs by having a cigarette either.
You can have a look at Inspire in case you’re a cancer survivor to find just a bit more inspiration and encouragement.
Next: Start a healthy routine Sure, a good run now and then might make you feel like you’re heading somewhere – but, unless you manage to stick with it, you’ll quickly fall back into your old ways. A great way to ensure that you’re keeping track of your effort and get a sense of reward from your hard work is to keep a health diary.
Start by tracking what you eat, for example, as well as the hours you put into exercising and make a habit out of writing down your mood as well. How does it make you feel, where do you think you’ll be able to be in a few weeks from now, and how can you encourage yourself in the future?
Remember to reward yourself This brings us to our final point; rewarding yourself after a good exercise, a proper portion of self-control or a day free of sugar is going to help you a lot along the way. Don’t be afraid to use food as an encouragement, by the way, unless you’re trying to lose weight, of course.
If this is the case, you might want to take yourself out on a shopping trip, tap yourself a nice and long bath, and just turn off the outside world for a bit. Every bit of reward and encouragement is going to tune your brain into preferring your new and healthy habits so keep up the good work.
When God speaks to you, you may not always understand it or know what it means. But if you are obedient and follow His voice, He will not lead you astray. Just know that He is watching over you and is protecting you.
I wanted to share with you a series of events that happened to me over the last week. I didn’t understand it at first, but in the end; I knew that God was speaking to me and directing my path.
Jay in the Jeep Wrangler
On Saturday, February 9th, I am at the Dobbs Clocktower in North Saint Louis County. The Jeep Wrangler was in for a state inspection and an emissions test. As I finished up and made my payment, I remembered that I needed to make another appointment for our Jeep Grand Cherokee, for the same thing. I knew that I wanted the appointment to be on Thursday, February 14th. I was going to be off of work on that day and it is a good time for me to complete errands and the like. I typically make the appointments for 9am or 10am, so I can go straight there after I drop off my wife at work. The associate offered me the 10am appointment time. But immediately I said, “No, do you have anything later?” Not sure why I said that, but it is what had come out of my mouth. He then offered 12pm or 2pm, so I took the 12pm slot. I left the store and came home.
Now, fast forward to Thursday, February 14th. I dropped my wife off at work at 8:30am and began my day of errands. I went off to Target and Trader Joe’s in the Brentwood Promenade in Central Saint Louis County. I needed to pick up a few groceries because these stores were not far from where I dropped off my wife. As I was finishing up, I glanced down at my watch and saw that it was only 9:30am. I still needed to get to fill up the Jeep with gas, go by Aldi for a few more groceries, and then to Walgreens to get a Valentine’s card. I thought that I would go to the Aldi in the Clocktower (next to my Dobbs) by 10am, get the gas and go by Walgreens; and still have enough time to get to Dobbs for the appointment. As I finished making the plans in my mind, I heard this voice on the inside of me say, “Go to the Aldi in Maplewood, it’s closer.” Yes, it was closer to my current location, but further from my Dobbs. I thought about it for a second but nevertheless I decided to go to the Maplewood Aldi. I filled up the Jeep with gas on my way there. After leaving Aldi, I decided to go home, unload the groceries before heading back out to Dobbs. I would wait on Walgreens until after I finished at Dobbs. I arrived home by 11am and I was back on the road to Dobbs by 11:40am and arrived at Dobbs at 11:55am.
When I got to Dobbs, I spoke with Ken. He is the Assistant Manager and has been seeing a lot of me lately, with inspections, new tires and oil changes. As he got me checked in, he says to me, “It’s a good thing you were not here a few hours ago.” Confused, I asked, “What do you mean?” He then says to me that there was a shooting in the adjacent parking lot a little bit ago. One person had been shot and another person’s vehicle has been shot up. Not really sure where or what he was talking about exactly, I said, “WOW!”, signed my paperwork and took my seat in the waiting room.
As I sat down, I grabbed my phone and quickly searched the local news to find anything about what Ken had just told me. I was drawn to a headline that said there was a shooting in North Saint Louis County. I clicked the link to find out the details. The article had stated that just before 10am, in the parking lot of Ross’ Dress for Less and Aldi in the Clocktower Shopping Center, a man had been shot and about thirty rounds of bullets had been fired. I quickly went to another website and saw the same details.
I just sat back in my chair with my hands over my mouth, in awe. I was supposed to be in that parking lot at about the time that the shooting had occurred. I had wanted my appointment to be at 10am so I could already have it done and I could go about my day. But when I made the appointment for 12pm, it wass till okay. I thought I could still be in the area, doing my other errands.
But That Still Small Voice told me, twice, not to be there at that time. As I sat there and thought about it, I realized that God, through the Holy Spirit, was speaking to me. He didn’t want me to be there at that time. He was watching over me and protecting me. He knew that I wanted to be there at the time, but He knew better. He was speaking to me, I just had to be obedient to Him and listen.
We don’t always know when God is speaking to us. Sometimes we think it has to be this loud audible voice that everyone hears. Not always. Sometimes, He will speak to us through the words that come out our own mouth. Sometimes, it is a gut-check to our heart that leads you to do something that you are not planning to do. Either way, we just have to be able to hear to that voice, obey it and to listen to it. We don’t always know what God is telling us, nor why? But in time, He will reveal it to us.
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Temperatures in Missouri were in the negative range early in the week and now is supposed to be almost 60 degrees this weekend. Oh my!
If you ask my hubby I am not watching 24/7 football, however, that Prince halftime show was and continues to be priceless. Everyone knows whether a football fan or not that this is Super Bowl weekend and the ever-determined Patriots versus. the strong bucking Rams. I go over and over in my head that the Rams were in St. Louis, Missouri for twenty years and the only Super Bowl win was while in the Gateway City. In this post in Sports Illustrated by Joan Niesen, “St. Louis’s Super Bowl: Confusion About the Rams-and Contempt for Stan Kroenke” says that most St. Louisans want to just not even bother but that’s not everyone. I have some friends who don’t care about Kroenke’s antics and have gone to California to watch live and in person at the Coliseum.
In 2014, JT met then Rams players Corey Harkey (left) and Cody Davis (right) at a Lady Rams event.
I know even though Kroenke was born and raised in Missouri, space and money is the main focus of moving the Rams back to Los Angeles, California. The new stadium according to the Washington Post will cost approximately $5 Billion dollars that’s no chunk change. In the article by Liz Clarke, “The Rams’ $5 billion stadium complex is bigger than Disneyland. It might be perfect for L.A.,” the new stadium will cost megabucks.
“The surrounding multiuse development, which includes a 250,000-square-foot West Coast headquarters for NFL Media and the NFL Network, will be constructed in stages and drive the total project’s cost well over $5 billion.”
Money, Money, Money!
We want to say that money isn’t what it’s about and that it’s about the game. But we know, in today’s era of professional sports, that just isn’t the case.
With this year’s Super Bowl featuring the now Los Angeles Rams against the New England Patriots, a big dilemma has hit the people of Saint Louis. Who does one root for? Let’s look at it. The Rams won their first Super Bowl following the 1999 season. The Greatest Show on Turf was rolling high and the Rams were the talk of the NFL world. By the end of the 2001 season, the Rams were back in the Super Bowl, taking on the upstart New England Patriots, with a second-year quarterback by the name of Tom Brady. The Rams were a heavy favorite to win the game, but much to the surprise on many people, the Patriots came away victorious. This win by the Patriots propelled them into a string of Super Bowl appearances. In the last seventeen seasons, the Patriots have won five of the eight games they have played, with this year’s game being number nine.
The fact that New England defeated the Rams and their continued success has left many Saint Louisans feeling not so nice things about the Patriots. We know many people who would always cheer against Patriots whenever they were planning, especially in the Super Bowl.
And when Kroenke and the Rams left the Gateway City after the 2015 season, many Saint Louisans feel the burn of a money-hungry owner who allowed his team to hit rock bottom all the while demanding a new stadium for his team. While Saint Louis officials were planning to build a new stadium for Kroenke, he convinced the NFL League officials to approve the move back to Los Angeles while promising to build a sports and entertainment complex that would benefit the NFL as a whole. Officials overwhelmingly approved the move and Saint Louis was once again without a professional football team. Many Saint Louisans supported the Rams from day one and became true supporters and fans. If leaving Saint Louis for Los Angeles was not bad enough, but once they get back to Los Angeles, they start playing better, winning games and now back in the Super Bowl. Saint Louisians’ frustration and loathe for the Rams have now been taken to a higher level.
So here we are. February 2019. The Saint Louis, I mean the Los Angeles Rams are playing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII. Who does one root for? The team that left our city for more opportunities and more money. Or the team that beat our then team back in 2002. I can honestly say, I don’t know. A colleague at work said he would be root for the team that ends up winning the game. Maybe so!
I would like to hear your thoughts and comments! Who are you rooting for? Do you even care? Are you more interested in the halftime show or the commercials? Or will you not be watching any of it and doing other things.
It is a 12-degree snowy day today and it is also the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. I know I that there will be posts on Facebook and YouTube of different speeches by King giving honor to the man who preached PEACE. I know today is a day off from work for some. However, I hope that we will all take some time out to reflect what this day is all about. Embed from Getty Images
Please listen to the “I Have A Dream” Speech, by Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Archives PDF of ‘I Have A Dream‘ Speech here
What Does The I Have A Dream Speech mean to you?
I know that as a person who is a honey peach caramel complexion that I actually can sit in any seat on the bus and not be asked to get up because of the color of m skin. Also, I can drink a sip of water from any fountain or go into a restroom I choose without having to look at a sign that says, NO COLOREDS. I know that my godson can go to a school where all lovely colors are welcomed. We aren’t looking at race, but instead focusing on their knowledge.
JT with her godson, Zach.
With where the world is going today, King’s message is even more important and never gets old. His message never gets stale or trendy, no matter what the decade or century.
The naysayers say that the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech was too sappy or too sugary and that we need to fight back with hateful verbal attacks, and not with love. I believe that those naysayers are wrong and that love is the only way.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14 (NIV)
Hate is what started all this mess; and love, joy, and peace will be the building blocks that will change it. The I Have A Dream speech is not just for people with African dominate DNA. It is a message for the world and that is why it resonates through the ages. People try to put others in a box that represents them and we can’t because we are all unique.
This year I am celebrating each month with my hubby our 20th wedding anniversary. I married a man who has European dominate DNA. When we look at each other, we see best friends in this thing we call life, we see love. God blessed me with a man who truly loves me for me, and that runs deeper than the color of my skin.
The Media
Today we are in an age where advertisers are now placing on billboards multicultural singles, couples, and families in ads of all different kinds from buying a home to styling natural hair. That’s the way it should have always been, everyone is unique and beautiful. I hope the marketing teams of these brands keep it going at even more in an effort to be inclusive.
Reflecting I remember going on a retreat with my (future) husband in preparation for our wedding in 1999. The St. Charles Lwanga Center offered a pre-marital retreat for couples who were planning to be married in the Catholic Church. We had to take quizzes to measure compatibility and after that, you go on a retreat to meet other couples like you. We would discuss with couples such things as finances, kids, etc. before getting married because you both want to be on one accord. I was a great start because you learn to communicate with each other and talk about everything.
One day when we had a break between sessions, Jay and I went outside to get some fresh air and just hugged each other. Nothing gushy or mushy, just a simple hug. The retreat was in a predominantly African American neighborhood. A black man driving in a car stopped at a stop light and yelled, “Man what are you doing, you can’t hug her!” and drove off. We just looked at each other in astonishment that this was happening in 1999. Well, that didn’t stop us and here we are twenty years later. Some would say that this wasn’t racism because African Americans are not capable of being racist because they were oppressed then and now. Love goes beyond color of the skin. Racism can come in all shapes and sizes and it takes love to stop it in its tracks.
Jay and T at the Pre-marital retreat, back in 1999
What does the I Have A Dream speech mean to you? And what are you doing to make it a reality in your life? What is your dream today?
There are literally hundreds of rules for the road that we don’t know about. Many of them we just learn to pass our test and from then on we use all the other signs around on the road to give us guidance. However, if you take driving more seriously you’ll know certain actions on the road that are permissible by law and those that are not. Many, many other drivers don’t know or don’t care to know so what happens when you have an accident? Well, most of the time the two parties will behave as if they are innocent, but if you asked them both to prove how they were in the right, a lot of the time you’d get an answer that’s equivalent to a shrug of the shoulders. Is there a way to prove you were right then? There, in fact, are several ways to prove you were right and some take preparation and a bit of knowledge regarding technology and the road.
Frontal filming Dashcams are something that you should definitely invest in. they are very easy to maintain and the film is recyclable and can be used over and over without any kind of blips or skipping. They are almost always electronic and thus they run on the car’s battery and have a lot of storage space internally. This is great for long journeys and those that drive every single day such as commuting for work. Frontal collisions happen usually at intersections. One vehicle is travelling fast, the other is not. One has to give way and the other is almost always the victim. This is when the smaller roads are heading into the highway and those on the highway try to skip a light. With a dashcam, you can prove that you moved when the lights signalled for you to and also what angle the other driver collided with you.
Rear view to internal view Rear view mirrors are often used to hang stuff on. It could be religious symbols, little freshener trees or even little toys. But you can also fit an internal camera that points backwards. It can be scoped to just film that inside of the car or facing entirely rearwards to record the vehicle behind you. This way when you need to contact a personal injury or car accident legal team like Derrick Law Firm you have firm proof of your innocence. Relying on a team such as them, means you are handing over your case of injury to those that have a mentality to win and never lose focus of the true aim. The goal is to get you back up to full health and make sure your innocence is firmly in the mind of the court when dishing out compensation.
Having a car accident is very stressful. Even if you’re not hurt badly it’s a game of he said and she said as soon as you get out of the car. With cameras watching your moves and other drivers’ too, you have the proof you need to take to a good legal team.
~~FTC Disclaimer~~ This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
I hope you are having an awesome weekend.
In my area, we received over nine inches of snow yesterday and today we are expecting to get another two to four inches. It has not snowed like this in many, many years. The last couple of years, we only have gotten a few inches for the entire winter season. But I must ask you this question.
Am I weird because I like the snow?
Every time I say that I like to see and play in the snow, I get these Bah Hum bug facial expressions. I don’t look at you crazy when you say you like to bask in humidity and heat. I get rebuttals like It needs to be 90 degrees, I hate driving in the snow, or all I need to see is a dusting on the grass and that’s enough.
I hear you, some people drive crazy and that’s even with no snow. I can’t tell you how many people I see speeding up to beat the red light or it’s red for a few seconds and they run it any way.
Seeing the snow fall makes me feel like a kid again, what can I say I am a big kid anyway. I want to keep that magical glimmer of fascination, peace and wonder alive each and every day. Life is what you make it so might as while turn that frown upside down and smile. Would you believe I married a man who enjoys the winter too, bonus.
Ever since I have been a little girl, I have always enjoyed the snow, being out in the snow and, of course, playing in the snow with my doggies. When the snow first started to fall and I saw it begin to accumulate, my heart fills with excitement and anticipation. I remember that my feet would get cold for being outside for a long time. Also, as a child, it would snow regularly throughout the winter season. I remember thinking, how much snow will we get? Will school be cancelled?
Now as an adult, I still enjoy seeing the snow come down. It is so peaceful when the snow has fallen and I can go outside. Many people are not out and about. There’s nothing like it.
If you don’t like the snow, there’s nothing wrong with that. Be safe in the snow while you’re driving and are able to get in the house quick. I pray you have four-wheel drive and it doesn’t take a long time for you to get to your destination.
For those of you who are kids at heart or have kids, let’s build a snowman.
Jay with the snowman
Today’s snow was perfect for making a snowman. A little on the wet side, so that the snow could be packed together. It wasn’t not too wet where it was slushy. And too dry where it wouldn’t stay together. And we hadn’t had this much snow in a while where we could. be building a snowman.
Let me know your thoughts about snow. Yes? No? Only at Christmas time? Only on TV?
Learn More About JT Bubbling with Elegance and Grace is a place for life long learners. The Bubbling With Elegance And Grace team was created 14 years ago. A passion for fashion sparked a lifestyle blog for our Elegant Community to enjoy. We are thankful and in gratitude to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for those who have been with us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
Image via: Fresh and Lean
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