A trim body, great complexion, and shiny hair are not just signs of superficial beauty, they are also signs of inner health;  the health of our mind, our spirit, our heart, our entire body.

A healthy mind, heart and spirit are reflected in a bright smile,  sparkling eyes and an  attitude that brings warm-fuzzy love to everyone it meets.  A life of fitness shows in our posture, our figure and our energy levels.  A life of nutritious eating can be seen in luminous skin, strong hair and finger nails….  Real beauty, the kind that does not require pounds of makeup and countless plastic surgeries, truly is reflected from the inside out.

The Goal? Get Over Yourself!

What is my mantra when working with any of my clients in organizing their closet, or teaching a new makeup technique, or giving advice on a healthy lifestyle?

Simplify your life to the point that first thing in the morning you get yourself together, you read & pray,  you exercise, you get dressed and do your hair and makeup, and then you leave your bedroom and never think about yourself for the rest of the day.  You are then free to love on everyone else and not be constantly wondering…  “Does my hair look funny?” “I bet she thinks I’m  fat,”   “Gee this skirt is too tight!”  “Ugh, I’m too tired to read my child a book…”

Living a life that values our health shows that we  value our life.  Caring for our health by eating nutritious foods and exercising are signs that we  want to care for the bodies that God so graciously and lovingly designed for us.  It is all part of a lifestyle of worship.  We don’t worship the body, but we worship the God who  made it.  When we know that we were created for a purpose and live our life commissioned by God to do the work assigned to us, it should be a logical conclusion to take  care of the fragile vessels given to us to do it in.  We are then free to truly get over ourselves and focus on what matters.

As Shouts Arise by Jamie Bottoms

Lori’s 5 Keys to Beautiful Health

Here are the  5 areas in my life that I find contribute to  my overall health and allow me to live a more beautiful life.

1. PEACE for my SOUL  –

   Every morning, as soon as I am awake enough and before I let myself check e-mails or do a load of laundry I open up my Bible and read a chapter to let myself get centered with life giving words.  I pray in my spirit much of the day and flood my ears with praise  and worship music every chance I get.   Then I get my tushy to church EVERY Sunday to be encouraged and edified.   This all helps keep some of the ugly side of my personality at bay and keep me focused on what is important in life.

2. SLEEP for my STRENGTH –

   If I don’t get my beauty sleep I am a mess.  I am cranky, I move slowly, I think slowly, and if I let it go for too long my immune system  wears down and I get sick.   I know my body and how much time it needs and I let it have just that.   If you need to get up super early in the morning, know your limits  and don’t let yourself stay up late at night wasting your time and brain power watching garbage on TV.   At the same time, don’t make yourself sluggish by lazily sleeping in past your  needed time allotment,  too much sleep can slow you down too.

   

   Organic Lavender Peppermint Aromatherapy Eye Pillow by Besem Natural Scents

3. FOOD for my BODY –

   My philosophy for a good diet means to the best of my ability,  but not to the point of adding stress and worry, I avoid foods high in sugar, bad fats, packaged  & processed foods, artificial sweeteners, preservatives & fast food, and I eat foods that are organic, and go  for lean meats, lots of colorful fruits and veggies and whole grains.

   

   Heirloom Cosmic Purple Carrot from Azure Dandelion

4. ACTIVITY for my ENERGY –

   This one is not my strongest point but I attempt to keep my activity level up by making it fun for me.  I like to stretch while I am taking my steaming hot showers,  run up and down my stairs as I go throughout my busy day, take my children on physical outings like hikes, and find the time whenever possible to dance around my house with the music blasting.

5. ORGANIZATION for my SANITY –

   Disorganization sucks my time if I waste it hunting for a misplaced item or haveing to make unnecessary runs to  the  store because I did not properly plan ahead of time.  It sucks my energy if I am constantly trying to catch up instead of taking the easy way of maintaining.  It makes extra work  dealing with all of the ‘stuff’ in life and it stunts my creative flow as I end up focusing on the ‘mess’ instead of the  people and the talents.  To keep my life organized I plan my time very carefully by doing things like keeping shopping lists and have specific times that I go to the grocery store, pre-preparing dinners for nights that I know I won’t have much time so we avoid last  minute fast food runs,  have chore checklists for my children so they know what I expect of them so we avoid the stress of arguing  about getting things done, and having a designated place for nearly everything in the house so that even my 4 year old can help me put away laundry because he knows where to put Daddy’s underwear and the dish towels.

Well, I could go on on these subjects for days, but then, that is my goal.  I hope to write more posts  on a lifestyle of beautiful health because I do feel it is necessary for any stylish girl and goes right along with a lifestyle of faith and worship.