Walk On!

by Kay Heitsch

I was blessed to have had an excellent example of healthy living from my Grandpa Hays. Grandpa Hays lived to be 97, and as long as I ever remember, he walked at least 5 miles a day.

Not everyone in the family was motivated by his walking, but somehow my Mom seemed to enjoy it too. Since she enjoyed walking, I also did. We walked to town for groceries and back all summer long. We walked all over town and would stop in to visit people along the way. We walked in parks and picked wildflowers. At the lake, we'd walk to the A & W Root Beer stand, which was quite a hike!

We've lived in several states, and if you ask my neighbors, they would no doubt tell you, "Kay likes to walk." Todd, Shannon, and I walked and pushed Brandon in the stroller. We'd walk to the farm across the road and fed the horse. Great memories of those walks!

Walking and even jogging over the years have been of great benefit to my physical and mental health. When Todd died, I started to jog instead of walk. I'd jog a few miles, then come home and throw myself in the yard and sob my eyes out. I know this may sound strange, but it was beneficial and healthy for my physical and mental health at the time.

When we moved here, and I was working in Alterra, I walked a lot! People wore pedometers there, so someone suggested I wear one too. I was surprised how much I actually walked. I had always walked, so this just made it more fun.

I'm happy to see people wearing Fitbits and Vivofits or any kind of pedometer. Keeping active and healthy, in my opinion, is one of the very best things you can do for yourself and others.

People tease me about going to Planet Fitness. I tell them I consider going there, "Health Insurance." I'd instead do what I can to keep myself healthy than to have to try to regain the health I've lost. I see people who are trying to regain their health every day at Planet Fitness.

Well, I've sat here long enough writing this, so I'll get up, walk downstairs, and get the clothes out of the dryer.

Walk on and make it a great day!

P.S. I do not walk, exercise, or eat healthy to live longer. I do these things to feel good while I'm here on earth.

Enjoying Daily Chores

by Kay Heitsch

Yesterday at Planet Fitness, John said something that got my attention. He said, "Kay, the way some people view work we see as another way to exercise." You know that is precisely how I think.

Whenever I shovel, mow, clean, or anything else that some people consider work, I view it as exercise. I don't know when I started to think like this, but it has helped me enjoy my everyday life more.

I don't always 'feel' like shoveling, but when I think of the benefits, it makes it much more enjoyable. When work needs to be done, I always think about the calories I will be burning.

I feel great almost every day! I attribute this to my personal time with the Lord, plus my attitude towards any kind of 'work' that I can view as exercise and the benefits I gain.

Life is short, so I aim at enjoying even everyday chores because I know they are helping me live a healthier life.

"What Did I Do Right Today?"

by Kay Heitsch

This week a Facebook friend posted, "What did I do right today?" Somehow that question got my attention. How often do I think about what I did wrong and not what I did right?

When I posted the quote, "Count your smiles instead of your tears. Count your courage instead of your fears." I felt that went right along with Guy's quote.

I believe we could change the way we feel if we would focus on what we do right. Plus, counting our smiles and our courage. As the old song goes, "Count your blessings, name them one by one."

We all do things wrong and have situations in our lives that have made us cry. Worries and fears can sap our strength. When we think about what we do right and count our smiles, life is so much sweeter.

Today and I hope every day, I ask myself, "What did I do right today?"

How Was Your Day?

by Kay Heitsch

Today as a regular Planet Fitness member was about to leave, he turned around and asked, "How was your day?" I chuckled and answered, "Great as always!" He looked puzzled and replied, "How's that?"

Just then, a man I had never seen before walked towards us. I noticed what was written on the front of his sweatshirt. I pointed at him. He stopped, and I read the words on his sweatshirt out loud. "Got Jesus?"

I smiled and said, "There's your answer to why I have a great day every day. I got Jesus!"

I told them I didn't always have Jesus, so I know the difference in living life with or without Him. I just so happened to have some "In Loving Memory of Todd" in my bag, so I gave each one a copy.

Yes, today was another great day!

Happiness

by Kay Heitsch

I love today's quote, "Never put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket." Wow, how true is that!

It's natural for us to put the key to our happiness in someone else's or our circumstance's pocket. We don't think of it that way, but for most of us, we do just that.

The poems, "I'll be happy when... speak volumes to this.

The key to our happiness is in our own pocket. It's not someone else's job to keep us happy.

The Bible verse I put on today, "This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 NASB is a favorite of mine.

I choose to be HAPPY today! How about you?

Life

by Kay Heitsch

Today I thought about a poem I heard many years ago. It went something like this. Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last.

I think this poem has a point. "Only one life it will soon be past." Our life here is but a breath, according to the Bible. Here today and gone tomorrow. We never know when our last day maybe. I sure didn't see the day our son Todd (16) walked out the back door that it was his last. Life can happen very quickly.

Now the line, "Only what's done for Christ will last." I believe this is also true. The Bible talks about casting our crowns before Him when we get to Heaven. Why would people do that? Could it be they know that whatever good they did on this earth, they only did by allowing Christ's Spirit to work through them?

Change

by Kay Heitsch

I seldom know what I'm going to post every morning on Facebook. Today I thought about "Change." Really, I was thinking about the change of seasons from Winter to Spring. When I started to read the quotes on 'change,' my thoughts went in another direction.

The following quote hit home for me. "One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain."

This was true for me. I knew I needed change in my life, but I was familiar with the old. We may know something isn't right, but we get used to it. We're more afraid of change and what we may need to give up than what we'll gain if we do.

I can say I have been pleasantly surprised, and I mean amazed, to find out what I've gained from 'change' has been over and above what I gave up.

I can't say I've changed myself, but I can say that as I've allowed God to change me, it's been for the better, by far. My thoughts have changed for the positive by studying the Bible. Until I started to study the Bible, I never knew what a life-changing book it was. The Bible instructs a person on having a positive, abundant life right here on earth.

When I started to study the Bible, I was afraid of what I may need to give up. I was surprised that the very things I was instructed to give up, like worry, anger, hate, unforgiveness, etc., etc., were the same things that kept me from a great life.

Change can be a beautiful thing. Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.

Grateful Thoughts

by Kay Heitsch

When I saw this morning's quote, "Being grateful is the fastest way to get happy!" I knew it was for me.

On Friday, I drove to Columbus for our grandson Eli's 5th birthday. I came home yesterday. It's always fun to go there and see the excited look on Noah and Eli's faces when they see me. However, it's emotional for me to leave.

Today when I got up, I felt a little down. I went over on Pinterest and found this quote on being grateful. Boy, this really helped me feel happy when I thought about all of the things I have to be thankful for.

You'd think I should already know these things, and I do. But sometimes, like today, I needed a reminder to think grateful thoughts because these thoughts really do help me to feel happy!

Shoveling

by Kay Heitsch

I know some people wonder what in the world is a 5' 1" almost 66-year-old woman doing shoveling snow. I wonder that, too, sometimes.

For the most part, I like being outside. Doing work like shoveling or mowing in the warmer months gives me a reason to be out.

I've found I can enjoy doing both IF I keep a positive attitude. By keeping a positive attitude, I mean thinking of good reasons for wanting to do this work. I guess I'm burning calories! This helps my heart and muscles! Being out here gives me time to think good thoughts. I love to see the snow sparkling and the beauty of the white snow. I wave at people passing by.

I know I can not allow myself to even start to go down the road of negative thinking. I know if I do, I will feel unhappy, and the job will be nothing but misery. Why would I want to do that?

My Bible text Matthew 11:28 & 29 today had the words "learn from Me" in it. If I really want to keep a good attitude while shoveling or mowing, I need to think about how Jesus handled life. I learned one BIG thing that when he was under stress, He kept his mouth shut! I don't know, but I bet Jesus didn't allow negative thoughts to fill his mind either. He stopped to help others. This has helped me too.

It snowed a lot more last night, but I see the sun trying to shine. I'll be out once again today. I ran out of gas in the snowblower yesterday, but I have more. I'll fill the tank up, but I'll just use little RED if it's windy.

Worry

by Kay Heitsch

Today I posted, "Worrying is a total waste of time. It doesn't change anything. All it does is steal your joy and keeps you very busy doing nothing."

I was a BIG time worrier. I said I couldn't help it; because it was just the way I was. Plus, I had plenty of things to worry about.

When I became a Christian, I bought a Good News Bible. I asked the Lord to teach me what I needed to learn. I bought some colored pencils and started to highlight what was standing out and getting my attention.

Guess what? At first, almost everything I highlighted was about not worrying. This made me smile because I knew God had my number. Later I read that there is 365 text about not worrying in the Bible. So I knew I wasn't the only one with the problem.

After reading in the Bible that worrying was something God didn't want for me for my own good, I worked on not worrying. But it was a bad habit, and I didn't seem to know how to break it. Plus, I didn't know God well enough to be sure I could really trust Him.

A few years down the road, I started to attend a church. I'd heard about Lent, but it wasn't something I knew anything about. I knew people who told me they gave up chocolate or some other thing for Lent, but that's all I knew.

One Sunday before Easter, the pastor asked people to write down what they wanted to give up for Lent. I wrote down, "Worrying."

From that day on, things started to change. I became serious, and I mean serious, about not worrying. Every time a worried thought came to my mind, I'd pray, "Thank you, Lord, for working on this situation." Then I'd drop it, leave it, let it go!

I won't say that 'worry thoughts' don't come to my mind because they do. But I've learned to say, "Thank you, Lord, for working on this situation."

Truthfully, giving up worrying has helped not only my mental health but my physical health as well.