Is This Love?

Here’s a fun one for all of you who are dating out there! Here is my top ten signs that you are in love list! Let me just clarify that this is for those of you who are dating, you know, looking for the one. This is not for those of you who have already found that one and settled down. Butterflies in the stomach can fade with time, I know that. But the kind of love you share when you have been with someone through thick and thin is strong and something to be desired and worked towards. Just make sure you find the right someone to grow that love with, and as far as I can tell, these are the signs that you’ve found just that.

1. The 30 day rule: If you had just 30 days left to live, who would you want to spend that time with? Is the answer your significant other? If so-brilliant! That’s a great sign. If not, as I often say, head for the hills. 
2. Can you picture yourself waking up to that person every single morning? I mean every morning! Good days, bad days, bad breath, messy hair. If that’s the face you want to see before your coffee, great! If you feel like you’d rather wait until the shower has been run and coffee has been sipped, well you might have an even tougher time years down the road.
3. How do you feel about his/her quirks? Do you find them adorable or do you just put up with them? Trust me, if they bug you now they’ll bug you ten times as much in the future.
4. People laugh when I say this, but I believe it’s true. You don’t get grossed out when his/her feet touch you. I think that’s a great sign.
5. This is the best test of chemistry: one touch is electrifying. I know that chemistry isn’t everything in a relationship, but for it to be long term you’re going to want some there. Sparks are a real thing between people. Pay attention to them.
6. Love should not hurt, as the song would have us think. Is your relationship stress free? Now all relationships will go through some highs and lows, but if you feel your stress level is over-all elevated by your significant other as opposed to eased, well that might not be your soul’s mate.
7. You should respect their principles. In other words, you admire what they stand for. If you’ve never thought about it, you should. That will make a big difference in life altering decisions.
8. You should feel that there is something you can learn from them. I mean, there should be aspects in your significant other that you can look up to as much as you do your mentors and heroes.
9. The person you love will change your eyes. Very few people look good 100% of the time, but the person you love will be attractive to you even at their worst.
10. The last one may seem silly and obvious, but it’s true. Life is just better while the person you love is in it. You  will see a noticeable change in your happiness level since meeting them. You will know that you’d rather not go back to life without them.

Listen, friends. It is important to evaluate your relationships. The right relationship will define much of your life. I believe that God has someone for everyone, but it’s important to wait and find that one perfect person.

 

That Made Me So Mad!

Well, I would really like to take some time to share some of what I’ve been struggling with lately. We all have different struggles, but I think most of us struggle with many of the same issues. I have had some of the best times and some of the worst times of my life in the last few years. I’m not sure if any of you can relate, but I sure do think that sometimes when you’re trying so hard to do something good and helpful there are likely some nearby with not your best interest at heart.

I found myself over the last several weeks dealing with a few people who had made me quite angry, I must admit. My standard answer to people problems is just to pray for anyone who initiates angry feelings in my heart. I would like to be candid with you, however. I struggled with that this past week. I continuously found myself angry and questioning how I would relate to specific situations in the upcoming weeks.

I have decided to share the input I received over the last week. It might help you as much as it has helped me. Last week I was having a very deep and intense conversation with my cousin in which I commented on how extraordinary it is that when one is trying especially hard to do good they are often confronted with snakes in their midst. He said something so profound that I found myself pondering it even later. He said, “Many of us have snakes around us, but we are living right as long as we don’t behave like rats.” Wow! This kind of puts it in perspective, doesn’t it? I thought about this for days but still I admit I struggled.

On Sunday morning, I found myself on my knees asking God to guide me and help me to deal with anger so that it did not make me bitter. Then, I went to church and realized that God always finds a way to answer your prayers. Pastor Qwynn gave such a powerful sermon on, you guessed it, dealing with people even when we’re angry. Strange, huh? Not so much really because this is exactly how God works. Back to the message, though. This is what was so important about what I walked away with from church yesterday. It is absolutely normal to feel anger. It’s how we deal with it however, that determines our character. You see, what I was reminded of yesterday was that we will of course get angry, but we must always maintain integrity and honor. The point is, you can confront an individual who has made you angry, but always come from a place of truth and demonstrate with your words that they have hurt you. Then you can explain that while they are not to behave in the same way again, you will still forgive them. This folks, is dealing with anger in bad situations with love in your heart (which is ever so difficult), but as I was reminded yesterday God may get angry at us, but he does forgive us, doesn’t he? As Pastor Qwynn so eloquently stated, “You must deal with all people through love and honor on this level in order to get to the next level.”

Oh Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who’s The Fairest of Them All?

What percentage of us is vain?  How many of us try to look younger instead of older?  How many out there are looking for the fountain of youth?  It seems to me the answer to these questions would be…a large number of us, in fact millions.  I can say this simply as a matter of fact, based on the millions of dollars that is spent around the world on anti-aging products.  So than why are millions of us sabotaging the very thing that we’re spending millions of dollars fighting against?

Visualize this for a moment if you will, a woman enters a room, you notice her because she has beautiful glowing skin, pearly white teeth, shiny and sweet smelling hair and somehow she smells of fresh laundry detergent, not even quite perfume.  Is she a smoker or non-smoker?

Why start an article on smoking like this?  It seems somehow almost cruel.  Allow me to clarify.  The affects of smoking ravage our bodies, commercials and advertisements demonstrate the extent of the affects on our bodies.  It does not seem as if the commercials and advertising are as effective as they should be.  To that point, viewing a commercial whereby an individual’s lungs are obviously black, and you can hear that individual hacking away, does not seem to be as effective as say, for instance, showing us a commercial whereby two people are the same age and yet one obviously looks 10 to 20 years older.

Let’s discuss vanity for a moment; our vanity perpetuates millions of dollars at makeup counters and drug stores.  Our vanity is the reason why we spend a ton of money whitening our teeth.  Our vanity is the reason why we combat wrinkles with Juvederm and Botox.  We carry around perfume to mask the smell of smoke; we sprits spray in our hair to freshen it.

So now let’s consider what a smoker looks like.  A smoker may have wrinkled, yellowy skin, yellow stained teeth, hair and nails that are not so shiny and bright, putrid clothes and rancid smelling hair.

This all seems a bit harsh but let me point out that I grew up in Europe where we all thought social smoking was cool!  So believe me folks, without a doubt, I can empathize with you and the difficulties regarding giving up this (not so cool) habit.  This is a difficult article to write since I know my words seem unsympathetic, but I really believe that most of us feel as if we are invincible.  And every smoker believes that they will not be affected by smoking.  Maybe if you smoke, you won’t be affected; maybe your organs will remain clear and strong and you will live to the ripe old age of 100.  But here is one thing that I can certainly guarantee, and this is a 100% certainty, you can rest assured that if you smoke you will not smell, look and feel as beautiful as you can be.  It is highly likely that in addition you will probably look 10 to 15 years older than your chronological age.

Why raise this issue?  Well, quite frankly we can’t look in the mirror and see our lungs and heart.  We can certainly look in the mirror and the signs of smoking are obvious.  My challenge to you is decide today that you will give up smoking, not only for your health but for your skin, hair and smell.  Please allow me to point out this article is not intended to vilify smokers; but rather to challenge you to give up smoking and instead introduce methods whereby you will look younger and more beautiful than ever.

Have I captured your interest by now?  Instead of appearing 10 years older, let me demonstrate to you, how to look 10 years younger.

 Ways to Look More Beautiful and Younger Than You Ever Have

 1.    Eat a diet rich in, what I like to call, beauty foods.

• Wild Alaskan salmon;
• Sweet potatoes;
• Chia seeds;
• Kale;
• Lobster;
• Raw walnuts;
• Quinoa;
• Blueberries;
• Brussels sprouts;
• Good quality extra virgin olive oil;
• Water, lots and lots of water!

2.    Exercise is one of the best ways to give up smoking and look younger at the same time.

• Walk your dog or walk alone, it does not matter, four to five times a week;
• Try to strength train three times a week.

3.    Exfoliate your skin (I can’t emphasize enough how important this is).

• Exfoliates need not be expensive, they can even be oatmeal or sea salt;
• Exfoliate every other day, moisturize like crazy and hydrate your skin by drinking tons of H₂O.

4.    Reduce your stress.

• Exercise is obviously one of the best ways to reduce stress;
• Give up smoking, when you look older you are more stressed;
• Try yoga, deep breathing and relaxation techniques.

5.    Let me share a little secret with you.  Want to look your very, very best and look younger for that evening function?  For exactly three days try the following:

• No alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy or preservatives and additives;
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner will consist of salmon, blueberries, kale, Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes;
• Do cardio everyday for three days;
• Drink tons and tons of water

Keep to this plan for three days, I guarantee you will be impressed when you look in the mirror and you will certainly hear about it when you get to that function.  Oh, and by the way, this is not intended only for women.  To all the men out there who have taken the time to read this article, I suggest you try this.  Don’t you want to look younger too?