I am really excited about this series because I am sharing about something that is near and dear to my heart.  I want to give women, like yourself, important information to help you experience the healthiest life you can and make long-term choices that will lead to optimum emotional and physical health.

I love health and nutrition and I love helping women discover their passion and purpose.  I always have.  I have more books than I can count on nutrition, yoga, relaxation, healthy cooking, searching for significance and growing deeper in Christ – the list goes on. I am afraid Winters could tell you exactly how many I have because he has helped me move them many times.

Just to give you a little background. One reason I was always interested in healthy living  is because I watched my mother struggle with her weight most of my adolescent and adult life.  I saw the impact it had on her emotions, self-image and self-worth. It was incredible how many books she had on weight loss.  Mom almost always put everyone else first.  She put off her art, she put of traveling and furthering her education and it was not until the end of her life that she finally started focusing on her art, but by then she had very little time.

My mom did every weight loss program ever know to man and that was ever on the market.  But when she returned to Weight Watchers in her early sixties after being inspired by my sister-in-law’s dedication and success, she finally lost her weight for good.

With weight gone, Mom was more confident and more out going than ever before.  Her story is apart of my story.

My mom overate for many reasons and she shared some of her pains with me over the years.

As a counselor, I found this change and transformation in my mother so interesting, as well as heart breaking. I saw the changes in her life up close.

There really was a joy I had never really seen in her before.  I think that made it even more tragic to lose her at such a young age to a brutal disease like Alzheimer’s.  She and daddy were so happy and fun-loving together, partially because Mom was so much more secure, comfortable, confident in her skin. It was obvious she felt good!

It made me sad that she had struggled all those years and it made me sit back and contemplate what we can do differently as women to take better care of ourselves and focus more on our needs.  We need to address our needs, as well as the needs of those we love. Finding the balance is key.

We all know that we are always putting everyone else first.  But we must be sure that we are taking care of ourselves and that we are healthy and strong. That may mean that sometimes we have to say “it’s my turn.”  Today I am first.  Don’t panic, I know that God is always first.  What I mean is that with our families, sometimes we have to say “this is what I need and I need it now!”

We have to take care of our body.  We need it to be strong for us.  It is God’s temple and we need it for this journey we are on.

Many of you have shared with me your struggles, both emotionally and physically.  I am preaching to the choir when I say we must make sure we take care of themselves along the way.  Being strong is so important for the journey. It is important for you and important for your family.  yet as moms we are often juggling so many balls in the air at  one time.

As the old saying goes, “if momma isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” So I want to help you be healthy, happy, stress-free and fulfilled!

Again, let me  say I am just like you, I have my good days and my bad ones too, but over the years I have really tried to focus on the idea of Healthy Living From the Inside Out.

So everything I will be sharing in this series is from my own personal experience. Some of  The LBD’s  Guide to a FabYOUlous You ~The Essential To Healthy Living tips are obvious,  but we can always use a good reminder. Hopefully, there are some new ideas as well.

But they are my top essentials to being a FabYOUlous You!  I believe these can help get you on the way to your purpose and passion and health and happiness in your lives from the inside out!

I Look forward to you following the LBD’s Guide to a FabYOUlous You!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today as we  start living a healthier life.

We made a decision in December of last year to move back to Oklahoma to be near my aging parents who had been struggling with dementia and Alzheimer’s.  (You can read more about that in SANDWICHED IN.)  However, due to my parents’ rapid decline, we subsequently moved my parents to be near my brother in Denver.   We decided to keep our plans to return to Oklahoma and begin to build a new life.  The path continued to change along the way and it didn’t look quite like we had thought it would.  We have celebrated and trusted that God was still on the throne and that none of this was taking God by surprise.   It, however, was taking us a bit by surprise.  Mom passed way in June, and as my husband so appropriately put it on his blog, Just Flip the Dog, she was  escorted to heaven by a legion of angels.  I was in Georgia at the time, preparing for the move on June 16th. That story is for another day.

My birthday is about one month away and as I spoke to a dear friend  recently she said,” I bet you can’t wait until your birthday.  It has to be a good year considering how hard this one has been.”  I had to agree with her.  It has to be better.  Change and growth are never easy but that is just a part of life and as my Father say “Struggles make us stronger”.  God has been faithful to me and to my family and He has made stronger.   I have learned so much about myself, my family and my friends through this experience.  I have learned much about God’s faithfulness,  His compassion and His sovereignty.

When I am overwhelmed by the events of this last year and the loss of my mom, I think about one of her favorite songs, Put on the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness. Mom loved this CD intitled Revival in Belfast.

The song is based on the scripture Isaiah 61: 3. I read that scripture yesterday and was reminded as I read, that Isaiah 61 is called The Year of the Lord’s Favor. How appropriate for a woman who needs a new year and how appropriate for each of us. If you to need a new fresh start this is a must read!  I want to share a few of my favorite verses with you but I hope you will want to take a moment to read this great passage in its entirety.  I promise it will be a blessing to you as it was to me.

Isaiah 61:2-3 To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.     Verse 3: And provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.  The oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of splendor.  Verse 7 :   Instead of their shame, my people will receive a double portion. Verse 10: I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God, For he has clothed me with garments of Salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.

My prayer for you today, dear friend, is that God will give you what you need this week and this year will present the opportunity to fulfill the call that the Lord has on your life.  I pray he will give you the strength to serve those around you.  My experience has been that if we don’t have it to give, we can’t give it.  No matter if that is love or even just a kind word.    So I pray God will fill you up with an abundance of compassion, grace,  and mercy.   I pray you will truly experience the Year of the Lords Favor!