Poetic Inspirations and Practical Applications for Blissful Living

Guest Post: SAD

SAD?

Guest Post by Heart and Soul Health Coach Mike Fenton

 

SAD

Image courtesy of marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

SAD?         

     During this time of year it is easy to become affected by what is known as “Seasonal Affective Disorder”. Typically a person will be affected by this during the same time each year, so if you get depressed during the winter months but feel much better during the spring and summer, you may have SAD.

It is most common among:

  • People who live in areas where winter days are very short or there are big changes in the amount of daylight in different seasons.
  • Women.
  • People between the ages of 15 and 55. The risk of getting SAD for the first time goes down as you age.
  • People who have a close relative with SAD.

 

     Usually the culprit behind SAD is the lack of sunlight. It upsets the sleep/wake cycle as well as other circadian rhythms, which in turn causes problems with the brain chemical serotonin.

 

     Most people that are affected by SAD will notice their energy levels are down, and they have less tolerance for normal daily activities. This is probably directly related to the interruption of the sleep/wake cycle I talked about earlier. Most folks are in a much better frame of mind when they have a good night’s sleep. Another sign of SAD is you will eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta.

     It is difficult to tell the difference between non-seasonal depression and SAD simply because the symptoms are very much alike. If you are going to see a doctor to find out if you have SAD he will want to know if:

  • You have been depressed during the same season and have gotten better when the seasons changed for at least 2 years in a row.
  • You have symptoms that often occur with SAD, such as being very hungry (especially craving carbohydrates), gaining weight, and sleeping more than usual.
  • A close relative-a parent, brother, or sister-has had SAD.

     If you are diagnosed with SAD your doctor most likely will prescribe light therapy. There are two types of light therapy:

  • Bright light treatment. For this treatment, you sit in front of a “light box” for half an hour or longer, usually in the morning.
  • Dawn simulation. For this treatment, a dim light goes on in the morning while you sleep, and it gets brighter over time, like a sunrise.

     Light therapy works well for most people with SAD, and it is easy to use. You may start to feel better within a week or so after you start light therapy. But you need to stick with it and use it every day until the season changes. If you don’t, your depression could come back.

     If you or someone you know is affected by SAD you can lessen its affects by keeping in good mental and physical shape, and by watching your diet. Make sure to fit that trip to the gym in your daily schedule, and if you are getting cravings for carbohydrates resist them, and choose something healthier to curb that carbohydrate crave such as apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon.

 

“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances”.

Martha Washington (1732 – 1802)

Poem: Smiling Snowflakes

Smiling Snowflakes

  

Smiling Snowflakes

Smiling Snowflakes

Image courtesy Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee at www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

“His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow…” Matthew 28:3

 

Snowflakes falling,

Brilliant and bright,

Clothing the earth

In radiant white,

 

Dancing blithely

In cold winter air,

Each with a song

To happily share,

 

Gliding gracefully,

Landing on the ground,

Such that white blankets

Everywhere abound…

 

And in the snowflakes,

As they fall ‘round me,

I see a promise of life,

A kiss of eternity.

 

For Jesus, my Jesus,

Speaks to me in the snow,

Whispering of wonders

I have yet to know:

 

In the cold of life

There is beauty too,

All things in due time

God does renew.

 

Yes, this season of snow

Will give way to spring;

In the winters of life

We find sweet blessing.

 

So let us remember

As snowflakes are falling

That our Lord Jesus

Is still to us calling.

 

His graces to us

Everywhere abound,

No less now than when

Salvation we found.

 

His love with us

Forever He does share,

Sweet is His love,

Rich beyond compare.

 

Yes, in snowflakes falling,

Brilliant and bright,

We feel the love of Jesus,

We see His eternal light!

 

© COPYRIGHT 2014 Caroline Gavin

How do you celebrate smiling snowflakes and eternal Sonshine?

I treasure your Thoughts and Comments!

~*~

Want more joy for your journey? I offer 5 complimentary “Take Me to Transformation” consultations per month. Contact me via caroline@purposefulpathway.com to see if you qualify for this powerful session. Walk away with heightened clarity, renewed energy and a customized action step plan!

Release to Receive

Release to Receive

Release to Receive

Release to Receive

Image courtesy Gualberto107 at www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

Purposeful Pathway is the haven for faith-based entrepreneurs. Part of my mission is equipping faith-based businesses with information that is practical, actionable and Scriptural.

The theme of this post is release to receive!

 One way to enjoy remarkable growth in our faith-based businesses is learning to receive. Our Loving Father desires to lavish us with blessings from His bounty. Yet how often do we stymie our receiving by clenching our spiritual fists? When we push too hard in our labors or when we cling too tightly to outcomes, we actually repel the act of receiving. Yes, it is important to plan, to give our best efforts and to be committed to highest results; yet it is equally important to release outcomes to God’s hands and to make space for grace.

How exactly do we release to receive? Let’s look at five practical yet powerful steps:

 

  1. Review. First things first: start with an honest review. Are there any areas in which you are pushing too hard or clinging too tightly to outcomes? Are there any areas in which you can open your hands to give more of yourself or your resources? Are there any areas in which you are spinning your wheels rather than seeking God’s grace? Ask God for His revealing light in these areas.
  2. Renew. Once you have reviewed, choose to renew these areas by God’s grace. Commit to Christ your desire to change; allow His Holy Spirit to spark the transformation.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
  3. Release. Having reviewed and renewed, it is now time to release. Release control of outcomes; release stress about success; release fear about finances; release perfectionism in your projects; release excess items in your environment; release unhealthy relationships in your heart; release your anxieties to God. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
  4. Receive. Having released, be ready to receive. Open the hands of your heart to God and to others by giving; in doing so, you open your heart to receive from God’s bounty. “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)  And we know, as Jesus told us, to “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)
  5. Rejoice. Remarkable are the love and providence of our Redeemer. Choose to rejoice in Him and in His grace! “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

 

Yes, release to receive…and rejoice all the while! I encourage you to be intentional in this practice for boosting your business and deepening your joy!

 

If you need help with releasing to receive or with building your business overall, I invite you to attract your ideal clients and powerfully boost your business over the next 40 days! There is no need to reinvent the wheel. I have organized my knowledge and experiences in business into an implementable 40-day series of actionable daily steps, instructional videos and powerful worksheets. If you need a serious boost in business, I encourage you to take the next step by visiting  Purposeful Pathway Business Academy today!

 


Let’s Pray: Remarkable Redeemer, we thank You for Your perfect provision. Help us to release that which hinders our love for You and for others; strengthen us to let go of that which is not for Your glory. We choose to release these things in order to receive Your goodness. We love you with every fiber of our beings, every moment of every day…and it’s in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

 

I Treasure Your Thoughts and Comments!

Poem: Source of my Song

Hymn of Praise

Source of my Song

Source of my Song

Image courtesy Luigi Diamanti at www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

“Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!” (Psalm 105:2)

 

You ask me, my friend,

The source of my song…

How can I sing

All the day long?

 

How can my eyes

Sparkle so bright?

How come like day

Shines every night?

 

How can my joy

Be constant and true?

How can this happiness

Each day renew?

 

The answer, dear friend,

Is one very clear:

Happy I am

Because Jesus is near.

 

He is the sun

Of my night and day,

He is the light

On my pathway.

 

He is the song

In my heart playing,

He is the inspiration

For all I am saying.

 

He is the joy

Pure and complete,

Making each day

Beautifully sweet.

 

So, my friend,

I ask you now,

Into your heart

Our Jesus allow.

 

Let Him also

In your life reign,

For then good things

You will gain.

 

You will find joy

Both constant and true;

You feel happiness

Each day to renew.

 

Surely your eyes

Will sparkle so bright;

Like the noonday

Will shine your night.

 

Yes, you and I

Will sing all day long,

As Our Lord Jesus

Is the Source of our song!

 

© COPYRIGHT 2014 Caroline Gavin

How do you celebrate the Source of your song?

I treasure your Thoughts and Comments!

~*~

Want more joy for your journey? I offer 5 complimentary “Take Me to Transformation” consultations per month. Contact me via caroline@purposefulpathway.com to see if you qualify for this powerful session. Walk away with heightened clarity, renewed energy and a customized action step plan!

Guest Post: What Does Your Silence Say?

What Does Your Silence Say?

Guest Post by Heart and Soul Health Coach Mike Fenton

 

     Have you heard the term actions speak louder than words? Often times our actions will convey our feelings more clearly than our words. One of those actions are what is sometimes called “the silent treatment” or “the cold shoulder”. What message are we sending out to others? How would you feel if it were happening to you? Silence may be golden at times, but not when someone is trying to communicate with you. In Mark 7:12 we are told “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”. So if we would not like to have someone treat us that way we should not treat others as such. If we want others to listen to what we have to say, we should be listening to what they have to say.

How about taking time to talk things through if there is a misunderstanding, is that not a better solution than not speaking at all? It is written in John 13:34A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”. There will be times when you have made the effort to talk things out, but have not received a response back, at least you have made the effort. The only thing left to do is pray and put it in God’s hands.

Silence does not always stem from a misunderstanding or argument, sometimes it comes from not paying attention when someone is trying to communicate with us. Often times we find ourselves pre-occupied with electronic devices like the I-phone, which now not only allows us to communicate, but to watch TV, play games, listen to music etc…

Being silent because we are too preoccupied with our electronic device sends another message all in itself. It has the potential to say, what you’re saying is not that important. When we are together with others (especially if we are with a loved one) we should leave the electronic devices to another time and spend time enjoying the company of others.

Lastly, think about what our silence says when we have not spoken to the Lord in a while. Take some time now as He is waiting to hear from us all.

Live Your Power: Freedom of Forgiveness

CarolineM.Gavin

Live Your Power Radio Show: Freedom of Forgiveness

 
 

 

I am tremendously grateful to have shared my journey with Jesus, how to live with joy and how to find freedom through forgiveness on Jenny Craig’s inspirational “Live Your Power” radio show!

Listen to the interview via Live Your Power with Christian Business Coach Caroline Gavin

 

Jenny Craig shares: Caroline Gavin is a Christian Business Coach, Speaker, Author and Radio Host. Her life path involved overcoming the dark depths of depression and the near-death of an eating disorder. She is now passionate about sharing hope, inspiration and joy in her journey. As a Christian Business Coach and the Founder of Purposeful Pathway Business Coaching, she helps faith-based entrepreneurs pave their vocational paths, live with purpose and walk with God’s way.

* 3D Vitality Health Coach Ann Musico and Purposeful Pathway Business Coach Caroline Gavin have linked arms to offer a 40-day program called Healthy Business, Healthy Body and Healthy Life! This powerful journey is very affordably offered at an introductory price of $27 through January 31st. Visit PurposefulPathway.com and click on the “Healthy Business, Healthy Body, Healthy Life” tab to learn more and to register for this amazing program at an amazing introductory price! 

 

* Purposeful Pathway Business Coach Caroline Gavin invites you to sign up for the free 7-week Journey to Joy. Rich with Scriptural insights, practical step-by-step guidance and poetic inspiration, the “Purposeful Pathway: Journey to Joy” workbook is a gift from Caroline when you sign up at www.PurposefulPathway.com

 

* Purposeful Pathway Business Coach Caroline Gavin invites you to join the 21-Day ATTRACT Clients NOW Challenge! If you are an entrepreneur desiring to change the world for good with the gifts God has given you and yet you are struggling to find clients consistently, embrace the opportunity to sign up for this free 21-Day Challenge today. Simply visit www.PurposefulPathway.com and click on the “21-Day Attract Clients NOW Challenge” tab to register. Caroline looks forward to working with you to attract more clients and to create a fun, fruitful and profitable business for you! 

 

* Purposeful Pathway Business Coach Caroline Gavin invites you to reach out to her for a complimentary “Boost my Business” session. She is excited to offer five sessions per month to qualified candidates. From this 25-minute session, you will walk away with clarity, renewed enthusiasm and a clear-cut customized action plan to boost your faith-based business; simply email Caroline via caroline@PurposefulPathway.com to learn more.

Adding Adventure

Adding Adventure

Adding Adventure

Adding Adventure

Image courtesy pat138241 at www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

Purposeful Pathway is the haven for faith-based entrepreneurs. Part of my mission is equipping faith-based businesses with information that is practical, actionable and Scriptural.

The theme of this post is adding adventure!

My prayer is that you are savoring the start of this New Year! These past few weeks have involved a lot of traveling and shifting personal situations for me, and some have labeled my life as full of “adventures.” I must say that I have to agree! As disruptive as these “adventures” may be on the surface to a business, they are rewarding in that they shift perspective and boost creativity. It is very easy in our faith-based businesses to get lost in the practicals; it is important to remember the power of adding adventure!

 

How do we add adventure? Let’s look at seven steps for doing just that:

 

  1. Be open to it. Decide that adventure is an important component of growing and stretching…and decide to embrace it as part of your business (and life) journey. If you view adventure as dangerous or frivolous, you will not carve the space and the grace for it.
  2. Determine what adventure is to you. Your idea of a healthy adventure may be completely different than mine. What is a good adventure to you? What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like? Taste like? Sound like? Write down in detail what your fun and fruitful adventures involve.
  3. Open your eyes. Once you have defined your adventures and have opened your mind to them, keep your physical, emotional and spiritual eyes open as well. God is gracious to give us opportunities, but we must be vigilant to see them and receive them.
  4. Don’t dismiss discomfort. Yes, you want the adventure and you have been looking for it…but do not expect everything to smooth sailing. It would not be an adventure if that were the case, right? Remember that the discomfort stretches us, challenges us and changes us…and all for the better if we allow it. “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
  5. Find purpose in pain. You may find your adventures to have periods of pain far beyond simple discomfort. Others may resist your changes, you may feel unsettled with new scenarios, old wounds may come to the surface; yet purposeful is our pain when we remember that God only allows what is for our best and for His glory. Choose to see the purpose in the pain, and choose to embrace peace by seeking God’s Presence. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 12:8)
  6. Find fruit in the fun. On the other side of the pain and discomfort is fun and joy. Learn to find the fruit in the fun. Grow in the midst of it. Be freed by it. Give glory to God in it. Allow fruitful fun to boost your Christ-centered creativity. “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9)
  7. Add adventures while adding value. Add value to your business and to God’s Kingdom as you are adding your adventures. Share the wisdom, the treasures, the insights and the love that you have gained with your family, friends, followers, clients and colleagues. Beautiful, then, is the ripple effect of your remarkable adventures! “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

 

I encourage you to be intentional in adding adventure for boosting your business and deepening your joy!

 

If you need help with adding adventure or with building your business overall, I invite you to attract your ideal clients and powerfully boost your business over the next 40 days! There is no need to reinvent the wheel. I have organized my knowledge and experiences in business into an implementable 40-day series of actionable daily steps, instructional videos and powerful worksheets. If you need a serious boost in business, I encourage you to take the next step by visiting  Purposeful Pathway Business Academy today!

 


Let’s Pray: Awesome Adventurous Father, we dedicate all to You on our purposeful pathways. Help us, Divine Daddy, to add adventure for Your glory and for the blessing of others. Stretch us, change us, challenge us that we may become more and more like Christ. Allow us to enjoy fruitful fun for you, O Father. We love you with every fiber of our beings, every moment of every day…and it’s in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

 

I Treasure Your Thoughts and Comments!

Guest Post: All or Nothing

allornothing

“Health and Fitness: The All or Nothing Principle?”

Guest Post by 3D Health Coach Ann Musico

allornothing

With weight loss clients, one of the basic principles of my Today’s the Day plan is the 90-10 rule. Even this isn’t set in stone – it can be 90-10 or 80-20.  Often clients feel if they don’t follow the plan “perfectly” or if they are unable to do everything “right” it will ruin all their efforts. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This 90-10 or 80-20 principle applies to any health or lifestyle change you want to make. I thought it was important to highlight this since January is typically the time we all try to lose weight, get healthy and improve our habits. What I am suggesting is that if you eat cleaner – making the best choices available to you 80 or 90% of the time, the other 10 or 20% will not derail all your hard work. Consistency and balance the keys here. Do your best most of the time! But don’t be overly harsh and legalistic with yourself. Be realistic and flexible – you are a human being and there will be good days and bad.

This is why when people get all worked up over eating cookies and special foods over the holidays that are not on their “diet” I say – it matters more what you do between New Years and Thanksgiving than what you do between Thanksgiving and New Years!

The same holds true for exercise. Try to stick to your routine and plan most days of the week. There will be times when an unexpected appointment or something else happens and you miss. It’s ok. In fact, you should take a day or two off a week to allow your muscles to heal.  Over training causes injuries and inflammation which, as I have said before, is the root of all illness.

You can apply this to all areas of your life and if you do, I believe you will benefit greatly.  Getting stressed about it is the most destructive thing you could do. Make it an enjoyable process rather than a stressful one and you will experience success so much more quickly!

Are you strict and inflexible with yourself – an “all or nothing” person? As Dr. Phil would say, How’s that working for you?

picture3

I am a holistic health coach and independent nutritional consultant. All my coaching plans are based on my 3-D Living program and a big part of that are the Beyond Organic Products and Emergent Health Supplements I proudly offer! Visit my website at http://www.threedimensionalvitality.com and learn more!

 

Closer to You

Closer to You, Lord

Closer to You, Lord

Closer to You,  Lord

Image courtesy Graeme Weatherston at www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Psalm 145:18

 

Closer to You, Lord,

This I now pray,

May I be every moment

Of each passing day.

 

Your sweet voice I hear,

Your radiance I see,

Your presence I feel

In and around me.

 

So deep is Your love,

So warm Your embrace,

So beautiful Your blessings,

So glorious Your grace,

 

Precious Your path,

Wonderful Your way,

Timeless Your treasures,

Every Word You say.

 

So take my hand,

Bring me closer to You;

Allow me to walk

Your path precious and true.

 

And like You, my Jesus,

May I be ever more;

I desire to be

Like the One I adore.

 

Through my eyes

Let Your eternal light shine;

Through my lips

Speak Your words divine.

 

Upon Your pathway

Guide always my feet;

Your love let sing

In my every heart beat.

 

Closer to You,

For this, Lord, I do long;

Take me in Your arms

Eternal and strong.

 

My soul is Yours,

With it Your Spirit fill;

I live to bring You glory,

To do Your perfect will.

 

Closer to You, Lord,

What sweeter thing could be?

May I be closer now

And for all eternity.

 

Yea, stay nigh unto me

Every moment, every day –

Ever closer to You, Lord,

This I now pray.

 

© COPYRIGHT 2013 Caroline Gavin

How do you ensure to grow closer to Christ?

I treasure your Thoughts and Comments!

~*~

Want more joy for your journey? I offer 5 complimentary “Take Me to Transformation” consultations per month. Contact me via caroline@purposefulpathway.com to see if you qualify for this powerful session. Walk away with heightened clarity, renewed energy and a customized action step plan!

Dance with Joy

Wisdom of Winter - Inspirational Christian Poem by Caroline Gavin of Purposeful Pathway Christian Life Coaching

Dance with Joy 

 

Wisdom of Winter - Inspirational Christian Poem by Caroline Gavin of Purposeful Pathway Christian Life Coaching

Image courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net
“Winter Sun” by Evgeni Dinev

 

 

“The young women will dance for joy,
and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.” ~  Jeremiah 31:13

 

Snowflakes falling,

Countless before me,

Dancing in the winds,

Cloaking every tree,

 

Covering the fields,

Making the world white,

Surely it is a gift

To behold the wintry sight.

 

Only God Himself

Could create such a dance;

Countless snowflakes

Could not arise by chance.

 

With love and with beauty

He creates one and all;

Yes, God has ordained

Each snowflake to fall.

 

See with what love

He has sculpted each flake;

Behold the beauty

Of crystals He does make.

 

Surely if such love

He gives to flakes of snow,

Greater love to His children

The Lord does show.

 

Fearfully and wonderfully

He has made each one,

And all His children enjoy

Grace from the Son.

 

So like the dancing flakes,

May we choose to celebrate:

Let us sing for joy

In all God does create.

 

Yes, let us praise Jesus,

Let us cloak ourselves in white,

Let us fix our eyes on Heaven,

For the Son is our Light.

 

And like snowflakes falling,

Countless for us to see,

Let us dance with joy

For all God made us to be.

 

© COPYRIGHT 2013 Caroline Gavin

How do you dance with joy for Jesus?

I treasure your Thoughts and Comments!

~*~

Want more joy for your journey? I offer 5 complimentary “Take Me to Transformation” consultations per month. Contact me via caroline@purposefulpathway.com to see if you qualify for this powerful session. Walk away with heightened clarity, renewed energy and a customized action step plan!