“Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” ~ Luke 12:15

Things that can complicate our mind and our life:

Difficult Relationships - Sometimes difficult relationships are allowed to become the focal point of our thoughts and take over or complicate our lives. Whether it be resentments held toward others or difficult family, friends or co-workers that we have to deal with frequently.  Changing our attitude toward those types of relationships is the only way to gain control of our emotions. Perhaps we need to reduce our expectations of these people and focus our attention elsewhere.

Workplace – Work is probably one of the highest causes of stress in most people’s lives. An overbearing work environment can sap all of ones energy. Work should not be anyone’s whole life. Ask yourself if changing your job would help to simplify your life? If it would then take steps to make that happen. Learn new job skills, downsize your standard of living so you can earn less and still get by. Start saving money so you can make the change. Plan ahead and you can make it happen.

Home Life - Get your home life in order by eliminating chaos and clutter. Get everyone involved and make home and family a priority. Teaching everyone to respect each other and their space is important to creating harmony in the home. Decluttering your home will help to simplify your life.

Health Issues - Dealing with health issues is stressful but there are ways to navigate the complexities of medical problems so you can gain control. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, encouragement and prayers to get you and your family through a medical crisis. Accepting help from church members, friends and family is important. “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” ~James 5:14.

Money Problems - No matter what income level you fall into gaining control of your money is vital to every aspect of your life. Learning to manage what money you have and how to spend and save it is one of the most important things you can do.

Emotional stress can clutter your mind. Worrying about problems at home, work or ones health and money can easily overwhelm you and cause your mind to be overburdened with stress. But we can simplify our lives by changing how we think, where and how we live, and where we work. That is a goal we can ask God for help in achieving. Pray for guidance is searching for a new job, downsizing to a smaller home or for help in changing unhealthy emotions.

Gain control of your home. Get rid of excess stuff and organize what is left. It won’t happen overnight but the changes made will be an improvement and set you on the path to clutter free living. Decluttering our minds and our lives should be something we strive for everyday for better health and well-being!

Link-Up Connections: Raising Homemakers Homemaking Link-up, {TITUS 2} SDAYS

According to WebMD, a medical professor at the University of California Irvine has found that laughter plays a role in helping to fight viruses and bacteria, and possibly cancer and heart disease. Laughter reduces the secretion of stress hormones.

Life is funny. Our kids make us laugh. Our husbands do crazy things. Our friends bring us humor. We need to laugh more often. When we are laughing we are not worrying. Laughter brings relief from everyday life and happiness. Everybody needs that!

Have you ever noticed how people are drawn to those that express laughter and happiness. They want to be like that. To experience the feeling of joy.  Some people are just naturally that way. Others have to work at it. It’s worth the effort.

Children seem to always find laughter and happiness. Simple things make them happy. They love to laugh and play. We need to watch and learn. A child embraces fun in everything they do. This is what is missing from most adults lives. Fun and laughter. We don’t seek it out and we should.

The Benefits of Laughter

• Relieves stress
• Enhances relationships
• Defuses conflict
• Improves mood
• Eases anxiety

The bible talks about laughter. There will be no tears in heaven, only joy.

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”
Genesis 21:6

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
Job 8:21

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
Psalm 126:2

Choose to be happy and welcome laughter into your life everyday!

Metabolism Facts

1. You don’t have to live with a slow metabolism. Lifting weights and working out will help you speed up your metabolism. You can raise your metabolism rate from 10 to 20 percent.

2. Your metabolism does not have to slow down after 40. Your metabolism may slow down by 5 percent each decade but it is mostly self-induced due to inactivity. Muscle tissue burns three times as many calories as fat so you can prevent muscle loss and ward off weight gain as you age by strength training regularly.

3. Caffeine has little effect on how many calories you will burn. Caffeinated beverages won’t help you burn more calories as you exercise and caffeine can dehydrate you. But it may give you an energy boost to help you exercise longer.

4. Eat more often to lose more weight. Small frequent meals help keep your metabolism up resulting in burning more calories. If you have too many hours between meals actually slows down your metabolism.

5. Eat fat burning foods to help bolster your metabolism. Eating hot peppers and very spicy foods may have a slight impact on metabolism for a short period of time.

6. Don’t skip breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast may increase your resting metabolism by 10 percent.

Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

• Aerobic exercise
• Strength training exercises
• Avoid a very low-calorie diet
• Eat plenty of protein
• Avoid bad carbohydrates (such as white bread) and eat high-fiber carbohydrates instead
• Get plenty of low-fat dairy
• Get plenty of sleep
• Avoid stress
• Avoid eating late

Exercise is the best way to jump start your metabolism. The perfect combination of exercise is aerobic  and resistance training. This offer the best optimal metabolism and fat burning boost.