A couple of years ago I got a call from the Heart and Stroke foundation.  A lovely man was on the other end, and asked quite apologetically if I would be able to canvass for them that year (in February).  The routes were very small, he assured me, and I’d have two whole weeks to get it done, and my own street was available if I’d like to do it.

He must have caught me at a weak moment, because I said yes.

“What?!” he exclaimed, in shock “You’ll WILL?!”   He must have been having a bad day, because you would have thought I’d just handed an eight-year-old boy his first puppy.

We laughed about that, and he told me the person in charge of my area would be in touch.

A few weeks later I got a phone call, set a date to get my packet and some brief training, and I was “in”.

The scheduled canvassing weeks arrived.  I spent one evening going door to door completing the route for the first time.  It took a little over an hour, and everyone was very pleasant, and most were willing to donate even a small amount.  I took note of the addresses where no one was home, and the following Saturday I visited those homes again.  This took another 45 minutes or so.

I came home, added up my totals, and walked over to the route supervisor’s home and turned in my packet.

All done.

This year, not only did they call me again, but now the Canadian Diabetes Association has asked me as well (there must be a shared database of willing volunteers) and I canvassed for them this past Saturday.

It really is a simple way to force yourself into a walk, and it’s a worthy way to help those less fortunate.  A route is usually fewer than 50 houses and you can often get one in your very own neighborhood.  It’s not complicated, and it’s GREATLY appreciated.

Why not give it a try?

I just added 2,000 steps to an otherwise lazy day!

Darlene

I’ve been participating regularly in the “10,000 Steps” community over the past couple of months. They have some fun and motivating ways to keep you walking, one if which is the “Million Steps Challenge”. Every Time you log 1,000,000 steps they send you a certificate. I got mine on the 16th. My next one is due in December.

It’s kind of fun! Check them out :”10,000 Steps“

Darlene

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Canada Day is here, and I’m celebrating by going “Walkabout”.  Here are the details:

Jenolan Caves to Hill End
Your Blue Mountains journey begins in Jenolan Caves. Jenolan Caves is home to the oldest discovered open caves in the world, approximately discovered in 1835-49, featuring numerous Silurian marine fossils and calcite formations. From Jenolan Caves walk to Gulgong a gold rush town which was founded in the 1870s and then on to Mudgee in the Cudgegong River valley, which is now a wine producing region. From Mudgee continue on to Hill End which was established in the 1850s as a gold rush town. Hill End is also classified as a historical site by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The GREAT NEWS is that you can join me, because I’m only walking “virtually” using this very cool website:

You just create an account (choose to join the step log on the bottom left), then go to the “I-challenge” link, and sign up at whatever level you’re comfortable at.  With the training I’m currently doing, I’m going for the second level.  I should be able to accomplish that.  Then get yourself a pedometer and get walking.  Every day log your steps and the rest is done for you.

Pretty cool, eh?

So sign up, find me as a friend on there, and we can walk together.

Happy Walking, Happy Canada Day!

Darlene

PS: I’m still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June – can you help? Just click the badge below and you’ll go right to my page

Well, how are the resolutions coming?  Have you broken them all already?

Did you try to do the “drop 40 pounds in a month” diet, along with the latest “Best Abs/Butt/Thighs in only 3 minutes a week” fitness plan, on top of the decision to improve your housekeeping, love your kids more, spend less money, pay off your debts, and dress complete with makeup every morning all starting on January 1?

I’ve tried that too.  So far, it’s hasn’t worked for me.  I guess I try too hard to be a hare, and end up losing the race.

I’ve been doing a lot of study on the art of Kaizen (sorry about the sales letter, but it explains it for our purposes better than anything else I’ve found on the web!)

So this past year I’ve been researching and testing the most efficient habits for weight loss, fitness, and great mental, physical, and emotional health.  I’ve shared some of those discoveries here already.  I’ve also been constantly tweaking and improving my PraiseWalking Primer – a program that helps you take the “Tortoise View” of developing habits via the Kaizen method.  Every two weeks for eight weeks you get a specific area to focus on, and small, very doable habits to practice one at a time, so that at the end of eight weeks you’re creating great nutritional, fitness, and mental/spiritual health habits that last. I’ve now completely re-vamped this program to make it even easier and more comprehensive!

AND . . . I’ve been testing a weight loss program with my husband, and we’ve both had GREAT success with it, in spite of “life” interrupting us with coffee dates, dinner guests, celebrations, and other diet pitfalls.

SO . . . The long and short of all that is that I am releasing BOTH the diet plan AND the PraiseWalking Primer FOR FREE (yes, you heard that correctly – not a single penny!) and you can download both of them instantly by clicking the banner below.

So if you’re a tortoise, trying very unsuccessfully to be a hare, or if you’re a complete wash-out for your wellness resolutions, or if you’re simply tired of the roller coaster and want something stable that actually works and makes you feel GREAT, download your copy right now and get started!

No point in waiting until NEXT January to get it right, now, is there?

Happy walking!

Darlene

Time to share another cool tool for keeping track of your fitness/weight loss. Today’s tool is the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer with Advanced Omron Health Management Software!

This is SUCH a cool pedometer, as it not only is one of the most accurate pedometers on the market, it also has cools software for tracking your daily goals and achievements. The PraiseWalking system (especially the first level) is all about being able to accurately count your steps, and keep track of your progress. You don’t want some cheap, inaccurate pedometer to track something as important as your improving health! Having said that, the Omron is really not that expensive, and if you’re lucky, Amazon will give you a deal on getting both the pedometer and the hear rate monitor, which is a key tool for level 4 of PraiseWalker.

Here are the things I like:

• you can wear this in a pocket, on your waistband, in a purse, or anywhere else as long as it’s perpendicular to the ground – in other words, it can’t be on its face or back
• it shows you all your steps, and it keeps track of which ones are actually aerobic steps which are considered as steps walked more than 10 minutes continuously
• large display, clock, detachable belt holder and security strap, so it’s hard to actually have it fall off and get lost
• it re-sets itself every morning
• the software is incredibly easy to use
• it’s robust – it would be pretty hard to break this sucker!

I’ve been using this for almost a year now, and I’ve been delighted with the ease of use and its many features. This is my number one choice for a pedometer.

We have mice.

They’re desperately cute the first time you see them popping their little heads out of the stove burners (?!), but not after they’ve been caught eating your food and pooping all over your kitchen.  Perfectly disgusting creatures.  We’ve tried spring traps (they lick them clean of peanut butter without setting them off.  Cheese is just as bad), poison (they think it’s a nutritional supplement!), glue traps (they can get out of these! – though it’s pretty hard to extract the dog when he’s decided to play with a captured mouse!), sonic devices, essential oil of peppermint, and anything else we can find.

Ever seen “Mouse Hunt“?  Trust me, I’m about ready to hire the guy with the bazooka!

Anyway . . .

My family and I have been reading the book “The Hiding Place“.  In there, two sisters from Holland who run an underground for escaping Jews are arrested and eventually sent to Ravensbruck.  There they find deplorable conditions, but Betsy, the older sister, is anxious to discover how to serve God there, and they decide – based on their Bible reading that morning – that they will serve God by being thankful for everything.  Corrie, the younger sister – and much more like me – decides she can find ways to be thankful for many things, but NOT for the fleas which were rampant in their living quarters.

They discover that in spite of desperate conditions and the fact that they are watched every moment of the day, they are, for some strange reason, given a wide berth when they’re in the main room of their quarters, and discovered that the guards avoided them because of the fleas.  Now Corrie could truly give thanks for them.

I was thinking of this as I was deep cleaning the kitchen, trying once again to rid the place of mice and their filth.  I was angry – I not only hate mice, but I’m not too keen on cleaning.  To have to do it over and over because of THEIR mess does not make me a happy person.

However, I did decide to praise God for them, because I could see that they were forcing me to be a more diligent housekeeper – which is a good thing.

The exercise so inspired me that I cleaned the whole house vigorously for FIVE HOURS!  My house has never been this clean all at once!

So if you’re gonna visit – come now.  The house is sparkling, and I think my cleaning products have gassed the mice – I’ve not seen any today . . .

Darlene

Ok, this is too cool to miss, so I’m sneaking in another extra post this week!

Take a virtual walk through Europe in the month of December! Go to 10,000 steps and register for an “Active Lifestyle” membership (it’s free) and then select the “Join an I-Challenge” link from the left hand menu, scroll to the bottom for December’s goals.

I’m still at the beginning of my walking program (following my own advice in the Primer) so I chose the shortest choice, the “Germany and Austria” one.

Come join me, and become a walking partner!

Darlene

One of the main purposes of “PraiseWalking” is to bring your spirit, soul, and body together in a place of growing. One way to do this is to practice spiritual exercises while walking, and one of the easiest exercises to do is a “Gratitude Walk”.  If you think of the 4 definitions of a noun “Person, Place, Thing or Idea” and use them as your guide, you can spend your whole walk thinking of things you’re thankful for. First you think of all the people, but instead of just listing names, be specific. For example, I might pray: I’m thankful for my husband who is, to me, an incarnation of Christ; He loves me unconditionally and shows me through that, the heart of God.

I am thankful for my son who has a serving, compassionate heart and a dry wit that makes me laugh out loud.

I am thankful for my daughter, the muse, who always brings a deep question to a light conversation, and makes us think. Then you move on to places, and in those places, experiences. Then things you’re thankful for, and why. Finally, think of things like love, joy, beauty, sorrow, pain, and anything else that is a part of your life. You might want to write yours down and share them below.  Or put them on your own blog, and link to it here. I’d love to create a HUGE collection of these, and start a gratitude revolution.  Wanna join me?

Darlene

Don’t forget to pick up your FREE COPY of the PraiseWalker Primer! And also, please check out my Christmas challenge here!

I’ve been in a bad place recently. I have an area of my life that was immersed in hurt and confusion and I didn’t know how to resolve things.

I asked a friend involved to tell me the truth about that part of my life. I hate asking for truth – you end up hearing really hurtful, shameful things about yourself – but it’s so much more freeing than wallowing in ignorance.

He spoke truth to me, faithfully, painfully, and with healing. It was hard to hear, but it was also very freeing.

As I took what he said to God, God showed me that I am seeking significance in things outside of Him:

Significance:

1. importance; consequence: the significance of the new treaty.

2. meaning; import: The familiar place had a new significance for her.

3. the quality of being significant or having a meaning: to give significance to dull chores.

When I seek significance outside of God I create dark, shameful things in my life.

The truth is, there is no significance outside of God. That’s easy to say. Not so sure how to live it out as fallen man. I’m going to begin, however, by rehearsing truth (something else we talked about), so I’ve turned to Neil Anderson’s “Who I Am in Christ” to begin with, starting specifically with “I Am Significant”:

I am significant… (click the links below for the verse)

• I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
• I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
• I am God’s temple.
• I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
• I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
• I am God’s workmanship.
• I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
• I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Amen

With that kind of significance behind me, I can hardly feel small.

Darlene

Don’t forget to pick up your FREE COPY of the PraiseWalker Primer!

The truth is, I absolutely hate Halloween. Except for adorable little children in fluffy costumes, I don’t see that the holiday has a single redeeming feature. Blood, guts, decomposing bodies, horrifying monsters all decorating our kids and our streets, nasty kids out there wanting to create damage and havoc, and then weeks of sugar crashes. No siree. Not for me. I wish someone would ban it.

However, I don’t want to be a humbug, so to make up for my bad feelings about Halloween, I’m giving anyone and everyone a gift.

It’s taken a lot of hours of writing and research, not to mention years of trial and error, but it’s finally done! The PraiseWalker Primer is ready and available for anyone who wants to have a simple, stress-free, pain-free way to get physically, mentally, and spiritually fit.

Here’s what it is:

• It’s a 126- page, nicely illustrated, step-by-step program for people who neither have the time nor the energy to work on wellness
• The program starts from total couch potato and eases you into a regular walking program over a period of 8 weeks
• You get small steps, working on only one area at a time for a two week period so there’s no overwhelm
• You get a specially designed journal that uses the latest research in accelerated learning to actually program your mind for success
• You learn creative prayer techniques that you can eventually apply to your walking program
• You master each of the pieces of PraiseWalking so you’re ready for level one which will train you to walk 5k
• and there’s are some simple nutritional tricks and suggestions that will help you lose weight without being hungry.

Better than that, I giving it away. For Free. No strings attached.

For those of you wanting to join me in Florida in January 2010, this is your first step, and it starts on Monday, Nov 1 if you want to keep up with the whole program.

Get the e-book here:

Your Name:
Your E-Mail:

Note:  Your information is safe with me.  I will never sell, rent, or share it with anyone for any purpose.

Powered by GetResponse email marketing software

Happy Halloween!

Darlene