Say Hello To My Little Friend….

I’ve shared a bit about my history with chronic pain in a few of my past blog posts, but I first learned of the benefits of using a TENS Unit after I was injured in a car accident in 2010.

TENS units have proved to be a great help to me. For those that are less familiar, TENS is short for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.

This Easy@home EHE010 Pulse Massager TENS Unit delivers electric impulses to nerves, muscles and cells on different part of the body.

The impulses, used in proper strength and frequencies, make continuous and gentle stimulation to trigger the body producing natural response to block, relieve pain and to stimulate the regeneration of tissues.

Natural and Drug Free Way for Pain Relief

Pain Relief without Medicine! TENS stimulates your body to produce higher levels of its own natural painkillers, better known as “Endorphins”.

Easy to Use

Large Blue Backlit LCD screen shows you at a glance exactly what is happening, including the type of massages, intensity and the time left on the cycle.

Portable and Long Battery Life

About the size of a remote control, this unit packs enough power to thoroughly massage your body, but can travel with you anywhere you like. Take it to the gym, on a trip, or even to the office – it fits in your briefcase or purse.

So, “Say hello to my little friend.”😄Maybe you’ll be like my husband and decide you want one of your own. 😉

He recently gave in to my suggestions and used one of my units when he hurt his back while doing yard work and he’s been a fan ever since!

Heading Back to the Gym

I’ve been ripping and running for the past three weeks and I am looking forward to getting back to my normal routine and going to my neighborhood gym.

There are 3 things you need when going to the gym: a pair of shoes, a comfortable outfit and a great gym bag. I normally have a bag on hand for my gym sessions, but my husband does not– which means he resorts to asking me if he can put his keys, phone and wallet in my gym bag. Not a major issue, but I wouldn’t be a “good wife” if I didn’t seek to remedy this issue…. by getting him a gym bag of his own. 😉

This bag features padded carrying handles, a mesh pocket for water bottle, and built-in cellphone holder.

The top of the bag has a zippered flap that opens wide for easy packing and also features zippered end saddlebags that expose the roomy center storage compartment. He officially has more storage space than I do in most of my bags…. maybe he can be responsible for being the keeper of the gym gear for a little while 😀

Here’s the clip from my YouTube Channel of him looking over the bag.

Light It Up

“Light it up. Light it up. Let the world know that JESUS LIVES!…”

Something as simple as a set of balloons brought those lyrics to mind.

I received these glowing LED balloons to review and I really like them. You simply pull a tab to light up the LED bulb and inflate the balloon by mouth or helium tank just as you would with any regular latex balloon.

If you’ve been following my blog for any period of time, you know I’m a big kid at heart. Balloons are one of those simple joys in life. I love how this item takes something that is classic and introduces a new twist and with an energy efficient element that will last for hours at a time.

My husband was the first person to really get me to become a fan of LED products. He’s an engineer and will quickly explain the difference between a standard bulb and an LED bulb… Don’t get him started on television sets. You’re in for a full blown lesson. I’m thankful though, times like these are when I realize how much I’ve benefited from what he’s shared with me as God uses those moments to minister to my heart in a whole new way.

In this instance, me looking at these balloons also made me think back to the first time my husband explained the technology behind an LED TV and how it was better than a standard TV.

Have you ever made the transition from a standard definition television to a High Definition, LED TV? Stay with me here. Do you remember the first time you turned on your new TV and that moment when you saw the screen “light up” and how you could see the difference in the image clarity and overall picture?

That’s how our walk should be with Christ.

We are new creatures… but we are creatures that are constantly evolving. We should be going from GLORY to GLORY in Him.

I may have accepted Christ when I was 12 years old, but there should be a new definition to who I am in 2016. My light should be becoming more efficient. My “model” should be constantly evolving and showing the world what God will do with a surrendered and sincere heart. And when there is an fault with the current model, I should look to the author and finisher of my faith and do the work necessary to correct the error.

Just like these balloons are a new technology or a new evolution of a former thing… so should we be.

Matthew 5:16 New Living Translation

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 New Living Translation

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God.

Book Review: 30 Days of Goodness, Love and Grace

This insightful 30-day, eBook Bible study contains selections from the Faithgirlz Secret Power Girls Bible Study series.

I am less familiar with this series, but I enjoy reading books like these because of the work I do with the youth ministry at my local church– specifically our Girls of Destine mentoring program. I know I’m getting older and more removed from things that younger girls are doing and reading, so I try to take advantage of review opportunities like these.

This text was written especially for girls between the ages of 8-12 years old. In the text, author Susie Shellenberger shares deep truths in each daily devotional that will challenge, inspire, and nourish a reader’s growing soul.

I’ve included a few selections from the publisher’s description that provide a good example of how the text takes classic bible stories and uses modern day examples to connect them to more common day stories/movies that young girls may more readily know and understand (like Cinderella):

The Secret Power of Love (book of Ruth),
The Secret Power of Grace (1 Peter), and
The Secret Power of Goodness (Colossians).

The Secret Power of Love: Like Cinderella, sometimes it’s easy to feel left out and ignored. Maybe things with your family aren’t right, or you don’t feel very lovable. But something amazing happens when you discover God’s love. Journey through the book of Ruth and study one girl’s real-life “Cinderella story,” and see how God transformed her world.

The Secret Power of Grace: You probably want to achieve great things. You probably want a happy life. And you probably want to look incredible every step of the way, sporting a style that makes you sparkle. For a girl like you, that’s no problem—because you’re about to discover the secrets to true success, lasting joy, and a killer style you’ll never outgrow. Cruise through the book of 1 Peter and learn God’s ideas about a beauty and style unlike anything money can buy at the mall.

The Secret Power of Goodness: Sometimes it seems everyone has a different idea of what is true. Some people say that truth is simply whatever works for you. But what if you found reliable truth—as solid and real as the ground you walk on? What if it changed your life? What if it changed you? Come explore the book of Colossians and learn to sort through what you hear about other’s beliefs while discovering what makes our faith special and what it means to be a Christian.

While, I do believe that this type of approach is very effective for the target age group (8-12 years old) I think that it should also be partnered with a “real talk” dialogue that also addresses the issues that these young girls are facing at an increasing rate in this day and age.

Overall, I think this is a great text and approve of the author’s move to create an e-book bible study guide for young girls. Much of our work and social activity is conducted using electronics and an e-bible study will be a great method for attracting an already captivated audience.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Water and Workouts Go Hand-in-hand

What do you need after a good workout?

WATER!

I cut down our waste by using our fridge to bottle freshly filtered water in my tumblers and thermos bottles.

This #purelifefilter has NSF/ANSI 42 certificition and effectively reduces the chlorine taste and odor in tap water while preserving beneficial minerals.