Search Results for: lifestyle

Creating healthy habits as a family

January 20, 2022 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Mothering involves managing a lot of things for a family, including health routines. I’ve actually been trying to establish some healthier routines around here, and I’m hoping those habits rub off on my family. Even small steps in the right direction will help change the course of our health.

Habits and rhythms have been themes for me in the new year. I’m working on living an unhurried life so I can take time to take care of myself and the people around me. I’m reminding myself consistency is greater than intensity.

Take walks

A great way to get some fresh air and to get out of the house for a bit is to incorporate walks into your family routine. We love to traipse around our wide-open spaces in the country, exploring our land and soaking up some sunshine. Of course, I love to take photos when we get out and about. My husband got me a new treadmill for Christmas and I’ve been enjoying that on these colder days.

Cook homemade meals

When you cook at home you are in control of the quantity and quality of the ingredients. Fresh ingredients lead to healthier meals and have less sugar and salt in them. Cooking at home can easily be healthier than ordering a takeout meal, which is typically quite high in saturated fats and salt.

Since 2020, when social distancing forced us to stay home more, our family has grown to prefer cooking at home. We can make foods we love and tweak recipes to our preferences. Recently, my husband has been trying to eat a heart healthy diet, so we’ve been experimenting with cooking salmon and found some recipes we love for that. We especially loved this glaze baked with this foil method.

Catching up around the dinner table is one of my favorite ways to stay connected, so dinner is even good for our mental health as a family. If the kids have basketball practice, we may all meet up at a restaurant, but even then we can recap our days together and maintain the mental health of our family.

Instruct others

Sometimes hobbies become side jobs, so if you’re more devoted to exercise than I am, you could always apply for a cycling certification online. This would motivate you as you motivate others in their health journeys. I’m really enjoying the iFit instructors that lead me through my treadmill walks.

Enjoy music

My husband plays the guitar and my youngest child likes to dance. The rest of us like music even if we aren’t musically inclined ourselves! Like any hobbies, enjoying or making music together can bring us closer together, create strong memories, and even make learning the basics of music theory easier for younger kids! I know my husband is hoping one of the kids learns to play guitar — something he taught himself to do in college. Who knows, one day we may even be getting some equipment like cable management tools if we decide to get more serious about a new hobby. For now, we’ll probably stick to making playlists and going to concerts.

Establish bedtime routines

Most evenings I’m ready for everyone to go to their beds, so I can go to mine! When we’re home in the evenings, we spend the time together playing board games, watching a show together, or reading a good book. Another habit I’m developing this year is reading more books so I spend less time scrolling social media. It’s pretty easy for me to do if I have a book near me, which is easy with my Kindle Paperwhite. (Need book recommendations? I’ve got those too!)

My favorite bedtime routine for my own mental health is to recap the day in my line-a-day journal. I love how the journal has a space on each date for five years, so I get to remember the past years as I recap my current life. I’m in the fifth year of doing this, so I’m going to need a new journal next year.

Healthy habits can be developed one day at a time. Small steps in the right direction gradually change the trajectory of your life, so don’t rush yourself into a completely different lifestyle all at once.

The beauty of intentional sacrifices

June 27, 2018 by Kristin 18 Comments

In Guatemala, we met a family of five kids – two girls who were in their 20s and their three much younger brothers. When we visited, the 71-year-old dad and 49-year-old mom were working in nearby fields. The girls told us about how they didn’t get to go to school when they were younger, so they still lived at home to help provide enough money so their brothers could go to school. Going to school costs money because there are required supplies and uniforms, but often families have to choose between education and food.

These two twenty-something-year-old girls didn’t want their parents to have to sacrifice their brothers’ education. So they waited to be married and start families of their own. They take care of the two-room house with a dirt floor. They weave beautiful belts other women in this culture with Mayan roots love. (These belts take about 20 days to make and they get the equivalent of $14 for each one. Our team bought three.)

They make intentional sacrifices for the well-being of others.

Just down the road in this little community of Paquip, we met a dad of 12 kids. His wife was working in the fields. Some of the other kids were doing other jobs to support each other. The oldest daughter at home that afternoon told us about how she sings in area churches, who give her offerings that help buy corn to make tortillas and black beans for protein.

Again, she could be pursuing her own life, but she’s pouring into her family so her siblings can have opportunities too. In fact, one of her younger brothers is 12 years old and hadn’t planned on continuing beyond sixth grade next year because the price of education doubles then. Our team was able to secure an education sponsor for this boy, who wants to be a teacher.

Intentional sacrifices.

During the week in and around Tecpan, Guatemala, our team of 16 visited 18 other families and found ways to help most of them, distributed 51 wheelchairs, poured two concrete slabs for houses after mixing it by hand and then built metal houses on them later in the week, and installed eight stoves. We did all this alongside missionaries Hannah and Saul who work full time with Bethel Ministries International – a ministry Hannah’s parents started decades ago. Pastor Juan and his wife Anna serve in this area of Guatemala and helped Bethel find people who needed physical assistance. Their son David helps with the construction projects and was easy to work with. Saul’s brother Marvin does various jobs with Bethel and was a joy to be around. There are others who work and serve with this ministry we’ve come to trust and respect.

More intentional sacrifices.

This is how we’re supposed to live too – wherever we are, with whatever our skill set, and alongside whoever we meet. God has shown His faithfulness as he’s provided what we don’t always realize we need. As our faith grows, we are able to love and serve others – not just for a week in Guatemala but all the days of our regular lives.

Yes, that lifestyle takes some intentional sacrifices of our time and money and comforts, but it pales in comparison to the one God made with His son on a cross for our sake. Let’s imitate intentional sacrifice and rejoice for the opportunities and beauty doing so brings.

They make intentional sacrifices for the
well-being of others. Let’s do the same.

{Tweet that.}

*****

I have more stories to share from Guatemala, but until then feel free to watch a video I made to summarize our week. Thanks, #PorchStories friends, for all your encouragement and prayers.

Loading InLinkz ...

Even God-sized Dreams can change

August 8, 2016 by Kristin Leave a Comment

Moving to a wide-open space to call home been one of those one-day dreams for when circumstances seemed right, the land was located in the right place, and the house suited our needs and wants.

Well, one day happened.

In June, we moved 8.3 miles away onto 33 acres. Around here, we call that moving to the country. Now I run errands in town.

Our house is all on one level, which I love. The kitchen is many times bigger and brighter and the open layout of the living, dining room fits our lifestyle, and the laundry room is bigger but still close to the kitchen. There are windows with views, wide open spaces to roam, and woods and creeks to explore.

Months before we moved in, I stood on the front porch looking out to where my boy could run free, where my husband could let his dreams take root, and where we could all five adventure together, I knew the dream had changed.

Dreams can change, you know. {Tweet that.}

I say that because I’ve been hesitant to believe that.

Join me at the God-sized Dreams website, where I’m sharing more about what moving taught me about dreaming.

_____________________
Subscribe to get new posts and/or a monthly newsletter with content not available on the blog in your inbox. When you subscribe, I’ll send you a FREE #choosingJOY printable.