I need a makeover of mind, body and spirit

I had a restless night. I kept waking up every couple of hours, looking at the clock, trying to prepare myself mentally for the day ahead. I decided over the weekend that I was going to re-commit myself to exercising and eating healthy. I also decided I needed to replenish my mind and spirit by getting deeper into God's Word.

After sending out an email, announcing my new and improved website, I hit the cross country trail at Duke University. I love and hate that course! It's an absolutely fantastic workout, complete with nearly three miles of tough terrain and hills. But, on the other hand, it is a very strenuous workout, and when you combine it with the heat, humidity and "heartbreak hill" you leave the trail thinking it might be OK to let your middle-aged body hang on to a few extra pounds!

I've actually been walking on that particular cross country trail on and off for several years. I used to take my daughter when we were BOTH younger and we would have mini-sprint races along the way. Since she stopped going, I stopped doing the mini-sprints because it's just no fun to run alone. Besides, this baby boomer babe is trying to look halfway cute when she's out there and it's kind of hard to look your best when you're sweating like a pig and constantly gasping for air!

I really don't know how some of those women do it. I mean, I see them jogging along with their ponytails swinging from side to side and they don't even break a sweat and they actually look cute doing it!

WHATEVER!

No, I don't have the ponytail bounce (my hair isn't long enough) but I do have a little jiggle going on. My belly and behind can shake pretty good! On a day like today, I just want to call up Ty Pennington and ask him if he and his crew could come to my home and give ME a makeover.

Anyway, on this particular day, I decided to do a two-for-one. Get a good workout in and have some good gospel music minister to my spirit. These days I'm listening to Jennifer Evans' CD, "Delayed but not Denied." She has a song called "First Aid Building" which says:

"I'm going to the first aid building where God can see you through
I'm going to the the first aid building where you can be made brand new."

I needed to be in the first aid building getting my spirit rejuevenated this morning. I needed to be reminded of God's promise that He will never leave nor forsake me---even when I screw up. I needed to cling on to His promise that He will deliver me from evil, because honey let me tell you, evil is on a rampage and I don't want to be in the way. I also needed to learn how to just STAND STILL sometimes and allow God to handle my situations.

This morning's workout gave me just what I needed!

Peace & Blessings,
Beverly Mahone
"babyboomerbev"
Author, Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age

Marriage: The second time around

Is marriage really better the second time around? As one who falls into that category, I say absolutely! I'm very excited and feel blessed to have been given another opportunity to love again.

But in hindsight, my first marriage wasn't built on a foundation of love. It was "lust" right from the start. Unfortunately, when the passion started fading away, we realized there was nothing else we had in common. Many young people tend to confuse lust for love and fall into the trap of letting their emotions take control of their logical, rational thinking mind.

In my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age, I talk about the differences in the way we think when we're young as opposed to when we grow older and wiser. When I look back over my younger days, I realize I spent way too much time craving the WRONG man for all of the RIGHT reasons. I wanted to feel love, to be loved, and to give love in return but the sex clouded my judgement in making sure I was choosing the right mate. Can you relate? How many times did you ignore someone's red flag warnings because you were head over heels in love with the "idea" of being in love? How often did you justify or simply overlook his or her faults and irresponsible behavior because you were so sure they would change?

Then what happens to your happily ever after? Mine ended abruptly in divorce court and I spent many days and nights trying to understand why I let myself get into such a mess. But thank God for maturity and wisdom! Once I wiped the tears away for good and took off the blinders, I began to see what it really meant to be involved in a meaningful relationship.

One of the beautiful things about growing older is it gives us the benefit of wisdom. That, in turn, allows us to make smarter choices. As for me, I'm smart enough not to believe in love at first sight anymore. One reason being, I don't see quite as well as I used to. I'm also smart enough to be more discriminating in my taste. I've learned how to weed out the imitation from the real thing.

So now I'm happy to say God has blessed me with a new love. He's a man who's strong enough to deal with my strengths, yet gentle enough to understand and cope with my emotional stress and strife. I'm totally enjoying my second marriage and yes, it makes lusting after him even better!

Peace & Blessings,
babyboomerbev