Today’s trying to be healthy Tuesday post is going to take a little different bent. Instead of focusing on specific food or exercise advice, I want to challenge you to think about something a bit more philosophical: What is your healthy identity?

Sometimes when we decide to make healthy changes, we feel that we must become like the trainer on tv, the organic lady next door, or the weight lifter at the gym. It is so easy to get caught up in trying to achieve what others have defined as healthy, that we can quickly lose sight of who we are uniquely created to be.

So often, I find myself striving to be this unrealistic version of the perfect person that lives in my head. She has it all together, doesn’t stress about anything, only eats whole foods, and is a yoga master. I find myself trying to do all things well, all the time, and the reality is, this is just not possible. Not only is it impossible, but attempting it makes you miserable.

Today, I am challenging myself by asking, what would the healthier version of me look like? I think part of the answer is that I would love myself in-spite of my imperfections. I also think I would find joy in my work and not allow myself to get so caught up in completing my to-do list. It is time to start loving being me, instead of always trying to imitate someone else’s picture of health and success. I am going to give myself time today to do a little soul nurturing, and if that means we eat pizza for dinner, then so be it :)

I hope this post encourages you to give yourself some grace today, and that it reminds you that part of being healthy is embracing your unique identity.

Today’s post is the third and final post in a series entitled “Secrets to Finding Hidden Cash In Your House.” Read the previous post here

Here is my final conglomeration of tips for generating extra income by selling unused household items:

–Craigslist– I have found this to be an excellent alternative to selling things on Amazon and Ebay because it is free to post. Also, since I only sell to people locally, there are no shipping costs. A few disclaimers, you must be very careful when using Craigslist. Always make sure you are a dealing with a real person before you give any personal information (even a name). I recommend only taking cash payments. When meeting your buyer, be cautious. Meet during the day, in high traffic areas, and if possible bring someone with you. I usually meet in a Walmart parking lot. Using these safety measures and common sense, I have a very positive experience using Craigslist, and have made over $50 selling items we no longer use.

–PlasticJungle.com -Have gift cards left over from Christmas that you don’t think you will ever use? Here is a great place to sell them for cash. You can also buy gift cards here at discounted rates. This site is really great for turning frozen gift card assets into liquid cash :) Follow the link above to learn more!

-Start planning ahead for a garage sale– it is never to early to start a garage sale box. I have one composed of items I was unable to sell on craigslist. If you start pricing and preparing items as you notice them, it will make hosting a sale in the spring much less work.

What creative ways have you found to sell unused household items?

Note: I apologize for not posting yesterday. A friend had a health emergency, and I had to spend the day helping with their little one. The good news is that he is healing well, and I got to spend yesterday with the sweetest one year old I know. In today’s post, I will try to cover both thriftiness and faith by writing about a topic I have been thinking about quite a bit lately:.

Awareness

Recently I realized that so much of the growth in my life has come from simply becoming more aware of my options and the impact of my choices. For example, just recently my husband and I just completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. Through this class we learned to become more aware of how our financial decisions were impacting our future. By becoming more aware of the impact of our current decisions, and learning how to make better choices we have been empowered to take significant steps towards financial health.

This process has caused me to ask: How many other areas of my health are being affected by my lack of awareness. Am I aware of how my choices are impacting my physical, spiritual, and emotional health? Awareness also plays a vital role in learning to live an eco-friendly life. Here are a few questions I ask myself to increase my awareness and improve my overall health (I have arranged the questions by topic in the acronym PRESENT to increase memorability):

Physical: How is my body feeling? Do I feel tense or fatigued? Have I given myself what I need in terms of water, exercise, and sunlight to help my body function at optimum levels?

Relational: How are my relationships? Am I making a positive impact on those around me?

Emotional: Have I emotionally checked-in with myself lately? How am I feeling? Are there any warning emotions that might be trying to tell me I need to deal with something? Have I been stuffing or hiding any feelings I need to let out? Or conversely, have I been allowing myself to become totally dominated by my feelings?

Spiritual: Have I fed my soul this week? Have I been intentional about pursing spiritual growth?

Environmental: Have I been conscious of my use of resources this week? Did my use of water, electricity, gas, and paper products reflect my desire to reduce my carbon footprint?

Nutritional: Am I making decent choices with my food this week? Is there one area I could improve on?

Time Management: Did how I used my time today contribute to a healthier life? Did I allow myself adequate times of rest while still accomplishing my most important goals? Did I remain focused on the big picture and avoid “majoring on the minors”?

Attending to the PRESENT by asking yourselves these questions will arm you with the knowledge to both celebrate your successes and improve your weaknesses. It is vital to take time to monitor ourselves in order to be aware of how our current actions impact our long-term goals. Even when make mistakes, we must not allow defeat to set in. Remember that achieving goals is a step-by-step process. Just like weeks are made up of days, days made up of hours, and hours of minutes, a healthy life is the sum of millions of small positive choices. We must be in the life-long process of learning how to make the best choices.

So often we get stuck in a routine and settle for “good enough” or “I’m-surviving” choices, when we were created for so much more. The daily grind threatens to lull us into contentment with the average when better is so much closer than we think. For me, the journey to healthier living is all about awareness.

This post is the fourth post in a series entitled Keys To Unlocking Great Relationships. Read the previous entries in this series here.

In today’s post, I wanted to share a simple concept that improved the quality of my relationships:

Think Outside The Box

You might be thinking, “Well that sounds nice, but what does that really mean, and how it will it make my relationships better?” What I mean by thinking outside the box is trying to get a different perspective on the relationship you want to improve. So often we find ourselves in a relationship that is stuck in a rut due to the daily grid of routines, assumptions, and negative communication patterns. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help think outside the box in your relationships:

1) Have I made an active effort to see things from this person’s point of view? Or have I thought about what it might be like to be in a different type of relationship with this person (co-worker, boss, etc)

2) Have I ever (or recently) stepped out of my comfort zone in this relationships? Are there ways I can try to learn or do something new in order to connect with this person? Could I find a way to serve this person, or help meet a need for them?

3) What lenses am I viewing this person though? Have they become clouded so I only see certain aspects of this person instead of viewing them as a whole?

4) Could I consider praying for this person (and our relationship) on a regular basis?

I think this last one is the one I need to do the most. Being that I am a pretty vocal person, I tend to think that all relationships can be improved by talking. However, I am learning that sometimes prayer is the most powerful thing I can do to improve the quality of my connections.

P.S. Make sure to check out my post from earlier today. Two posts in one day… its been an exciting day!

I have some exciting news!

RecycleBank.com has just released their remodeled site. It looks awesome and has enhanced features! You have a chance to earn new points (even on old quizzes you have already taken). Also, they now have a refer a friend program. I wrote about why I love recycle bank here (check it out if you haven’t yet).

Using this site allows me to get free healthy and green products every month, while learning how to reduce my carbon foot print. It is fast, easy, educational, and I highly recommend everyone join!

Today’s post is the second in a series entitled “Secrets to Finding Hidden Cash In Your House.” Read the first post here.

Today I would like to share with you two methods I used last week to earn some extra cash. Here are this week’s suggestions on how to make extra income by reusing and recycling common household items.

1) Sell your unwanted books to a local used book store
After using cash4books.net to sell some of my unwanted books, I still had quite a large stack of books I was willing to part with, but cash4books was unwilling to buy. I decided to take those books and some old DVDs I no longer watched to a local used bookstore. They offered me $26 in cash or $40 in store credit. With my book addiction in full force, I had to muster more willpower than I knew I had to take the cash, but I was able to walk out the door $26 richer. I plan on going back with more books to sell with the intent of getting store credit, so I can feed my book addiction for free. New books offer me an incentive to part with some of the books I currently have. I am going to combine this second visit with our date night, which will make a fun and free addition to our night out.

Don’t have any books you want to sell? You could also check your closet to unwanted clothes. Consignment shops will often give cash or store credit for gently used items.

2) I took my used ink cartridge to Office Max, where they give me $2 store credit for every cartridge I bring in. This is a great way to recycle while also earning free office or household supplies. So far I have used these credits to score free printer paper and free paper towels. You must be a MaxPerks Rewards member, but it is free to sign up and they offer great deals. See here for more information.

“It seems to us that people are really healthiest, and happiest, when setting goals and achieving them, and it’s a process that has to be ongoing in life.” -Sandra Cusack

When I saw this quote this morning I thought, “Oh this fits perfectly with what I wanted to write about this morning!” My plans were to write about stewardship today, and how vital it is to remember that we are but managers of the life we have been given. However, during my morning reading, I was reminded of something I think I needed to hear even more.

“What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. ” – 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

Although it is both wise and healthy to set goals, I realized this morning that at times I get so caught up in worrying about my progress, that I forget that this world is not my home. As this verse reminded me, yes our time is short and we should steward it well. However, we must do so with the proper perspective. This world and our achievements in it are not are the final goal. This verse challenged me make sure I am investing my energy in things with eternal significance. Proverbial wisdom says “don’t sweat the small stuff” and I today I remembered why.