SOULFUL STUDY of WOMEN'S HEALTH

3/30/08

What a time!

It was a blessing to finally put "faces" to the names that Dawn has talked so highly of. You all are wonderful women, and I congratulate you on your success of this "Soulful Study" and spiritual journey. I pray it's not the last time that I'll be seeing you. Kris Hansen was powerful tonite; and I thank you so much too, for joining me in the sacred musical moment - honoring each other and honoring God.

3/16/08

March 30th - Pilates at 4pm, SSWH special program follows at 5pm!

SSWH is proud to announce a special night of celebration with Kris Hansen and Susan Duffield, slated for Sunday, March 30th at 5pm.

3/10/08

March 16th SSWH!

On March 16 @ 5:00, we discussed "Menopause". Jan Arnold, RN and Carol Ornee, RN were our special guest facilitators. Last Sunday we explored the best vitamin options, calcium tablet, protein source. The jury is still out. Thank you for all who answered the survey. If you have tried the experiment and your vitamin dissolves in water after 30 minutes, e-mail me the brand name. Berna Welling provided us with an informative pamphlet on fast food calories. If you didn't get one, pick it up next week. It is an eye opener. Some days we can't control much about our day, but we can always control our portion size.

3/6/08

Nutrition is everything!

Nutrition was the highlight of our SSWH, on Sunday, March 9th. Great discussion and informative questions on health and nutrition is the norm around here.

3/3/08

Highlights from our last SSWH!

2/20/08

Judy Van Dyke, special guest for the March 2nd SSWH

What does being created in God’s image have to do with curling irons, hair color, and botox? Pastor Judy Van Dyke, former artistic director at Panopoulos Salons, gave us some helpful hair and beauty tips along the way as we explored what it meant to be made perfect in God’s eyes.

2/18/08

Finally - "Better" weather and a good time!

The pictures from SSWH speak for themselves! "Stop! In the name of love!"

Wow - those "Dutch Supremes" were a hit!

2/10/08

Bummer - the weather!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel the February 10th meeting - due to awful weather . We were back on track the next Sunday, February 17th, for the second session of SSWH.

2/6/08

On Protein - from Sandy

From Sandy VanStratt on the topic of protein:
According to the Food and Drug Administation guidelines, RDA for protein fits in the following formula:
You need .8 grams of protein per 2.2 pounds of your "ideal weight".
Just thought that you might be interested in one of my favorite websites, www.healthatoz.com . On that site, you can find your BMI (body mass index), and take a test to help determine your physical fitness. Additionally, this site gives you a nice analysis of your personal wellbeing based on the answers to questions given. I just love it and find it very, very easy to use.
You asked where I get my protein...well, I try the best I can to get it from eating good foods. Tuna, black beans, almonds...just to name a few. I'm not one to drink protein shakes. I like to eat toooo much!

Reflection for Lent

A Different Kind of Fasting
Fast from judging others… Feast on Christ dwelling in each
Fast from seeing differences…Feast on the Spirit in all life
Fast from apparent darkness... Feast on the reality of light
Fast from thoughts of illness…Feast on the healing power of God
Fast from words that pollute…Feast on phrases that support or confirm
Fast from discontent…Feast on gratitude
Fast from anger…Feast on patience
Fast from worry…Feast on trust in God’s Providence
Fast from complaining…Feast on appreciation
Fast from hostility…Feast on non-violence
Fast from bitterness…Feast on forgiveness
Fast from self-concern…Feast on compassion for others
Fast from discouragement…Feast on hope
Fast from lethargy…Feast on enthusiasm
Fast from idle gossip…Feast on prayerful silence
Fast from suspiciousness…Feast on Truthful Relationships
Fast from the shadows of injustice…Feast on the Son of Justice
(Taken from Western Seminary weekly bulletin, Feb. 6, 2008)

2/4/08

Pilates in action!

Our first "Soulful Study of Women's Health!" Bring on the Pilates! Actually, this is a full-body worship motion - Old Testament style!

Our first SSWH session!

My prayer for you is that you experience God's peace and wholeness this week. We all pray that everyone slept well last night! Our first session was a huge success and we'll continue in the weeks to come, to keep growing and moving in the direction of spiritual and physical wholeness. We'll have many more topics, speakers, and discussions to explore. The Pilates class was lots of fun! Be sure and bring towels or mats for future sessions.

Shalom, Dawn

2/2/08

A workshop for all women!

A special workshop, dealing with issues that women face today, began Sunday, Feb. 3rd at 5pm at Beechwood Church. "God created you to be a whole person in body, soul, and spirit; and when one area of your life is neglected or stressed, the whole person suffers." (excerpt from "Total Heart Health For Women"/Young-Duncan-Leachman/Word Publishing)

Relating

Discussion questions:

Where do you meet your friends?
How do you stay in touch?
Do you have childhood friends?
How do you nurture your friendship?
Do you have too many friends?
Do you expect your friends to encourage you?
Or do you prefer to encourage them?
Do you pray for your friends?
Do you just have e-mail friends?
What do you do with a difficult friendship that draws too much?
How do you balance your friends and your family?
How do you balance your marriage with your friends?
How do you set priorities?
How do you balance emotional support?

Scripture for memory - Philippians 4: 4-8

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understand, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Notes from Feb. 17th SSWH

Boundaries

No Boundaries
• We do for others what they can and should do for themselves.
• We demand that others conform to our way of thinking
• We consistently try to argue others out of their opinions or feelings
• We take responsibility for the feelings or decisions of others
• We try to control the behavior or responses of others (even when it is for their own good!)

Healthy Behaviors
➢ Agree to disagree and then move on
➢ Clearly communicate our own position while allowing others to do the same
➢ Take responsibility for our own ideas and decisions
➢ Welcome how others differ from us, seeking to learn from them
➢ Say no and set limit when appropriate
➢ Take care of our own needs whenever possible, without coercing others to take care of us

From: Herrington, Creech, & Taylor. The Leader’s Journey San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 2003 Pages. 72-75

Ways to increase anxiety:

· All-or-nothing thinking: You see things in black-and-white categories. (If your performance falls short of perfect, you are a failure)

· Overgeneralization: You see a single, negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.

· Mental filter: You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively, so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like a drop of ink that discolors a whole beaker of water.

· Disqualifying the positive: You reject positive experiences by insisting that they don’t count for some reason or another.

· Jumping to conclusions: You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion.

· Mind reading: You make assumptions about someone else’s thought without bothering to find out what he or she is thinking.

· Fortune telling: You anticipate that things will turn out badly, and you feel convinced that your prediction is a fact.

· Magnification or minimizing: You exaggerate the importance of negative things or inappropriately shrink positive things.

· Emotional reasoning: You assume that your emotions reflect how things really are (“I feel it, therefore it must be true”).

· Should statements: You try to motivate yourself with “should” and “shouldn’t”; the emotional consequence of this is guilt.

· Labeling and mislabeling: Instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yourself. If someone else rubs you the wrong way, you attach a negative label to him. You use labeling language that is emotionally loaded.

· Personalization: You take things personally. You see yourself as the cause of things that in fact you are not primarily responsible for. You interpret things personally that may have nothing to do with you.

Truth: Romans 12:2 “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.

2 Corinthian 10:5 “Take every thought captive…”

From: Burns, D. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, New York: Harper Collins, 1999.
Copied from: Herrington, Creech, & Taylor. The Leader’s Journey San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 2003 Pages. 72-75