WELCOME TO MY HEALTHY LIVING BLOG

Welcome to my ever-expanding blog site. I trust you are enjoying your day. I invite you to browse the site, read the articles and enjoy my photography. Your opinion counts, so please leave a comment at the end of the posts. If you enjoy reading these blogs, feel free to pass the link on to any friends you think would also enjoy it.

The purpose of this blog site is 3-fold: a place for sharing general information, a place to share about spiritual matters that will help move us toward a healthier inner life and a place where I can talk about my business and the products that can help us experience better health. Note: This section, though still on the blog for you to read, is no longer relevant to me as I am no longer in business since I retired in 2010

Thank you for dropping by. I trust you will consider your visit worthwhile. This site is a 'work in progress', sometimes changing by the minute, so come back soon to see what's new on MY HEALTHY LIVING BLOG.

God bless you today and every day. Remember, "A joyful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22-NASB). Blessings and health to you and yours.

Diane

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all photos on this blog taken by Diane Stephenson

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sunday, January 3, 2010

BE THANKFUL FOR EVERY EXPERIENCE



What do you think of when you are asked what you are thankful for? If you're like most people you'll think of all the good things, positive experiences, wonderful surprises, special gifts, influential friends, love of family and friends, etc. And there's nothing wrong with being grateful for these things - you should be.

But have you ever thought about giving thanks for the "bad" things that have happened? What! Thanks for the bad stuff? Never! I'm just happy it's over and done with. After all, some of those things nearly ruined my life, my relationship with..., wiped out my income. How can I possibly give thanks for those things? Give thanks when I was falsely accused? Are you kidding? Give thanks when someone close died? I don't think so!

Well, I have learned that when bad things happen we have two choices. We can moan and groan, cry over spilt milk, throw in the towel, have a pity party, rage and wail. Or we can realize that everything in life can teach us something if we will allow it. We can use it as a stepping stone to something higher and better, to positive change. We can learn and move on.

Last year the company I was building with changed their marketing plan. I lost just about everything I had worked for. I then researched other companies and made a choice. I'm not saying it was a bad choice. It's a great company with a superb product. But my timing was off through no fault of my own. I signed up just a few days before my mother died. I lost all momentum and, try as I might, could not get that business off the ground. Nothing seemed to work.

My finances were fast fleeing in every direction in an attempt to pay debts, to just live. My mother had been with me for nearly five years and had been helping with the expenses of rent and groceries as well as other incidentals. With her death her income also stopped. I seemed to be between a rock and a hard place. How would I live? How could I be grateful for this?

Well, I could see many ways in which I could be thankful, especially since I was thankful to the Lord, not to any other human, not to society, not to those who caused the bad stuff, for what happened. And in giving thanks to God, we receive His blessings. I can thank Him because He holds my life in His own hands and won't allow anything to happen that I can't handle. And He allows it so that His purpose for my life can be fulfilled.

I'm thankful that everything "bad" that happened last year spurred me on to something better. I was unwilling to quit, to be discouraged, to despair. I chose to walk on those things and allow them, like an elevator, to take me higher. And so I can say, "Thanks" for every one of those circumstances. Thanks for my mother's death? That's taking it a little too far, don't you think? Well, she was 97, had lost much of her hearing and her eyesight was getting worse. She was falling from time to time and when I wasn't able to be at home I worried that she might fall when I was out. She was sleeping longer and longer every day, and I would tiptoe into her bedroom every morning just to see if she was still breathing. So, as much as her sudden death a few days after a fall stunned me and changed so many things in my life, I can thank the Lord that she died in hospital and not at home. I can give thanks that she isn't in pain any more, that she isn't left out of conversations because she couldn't hear. And so on.

I'm thankful that my other businesses didn't work out because I would never have taken advantage of the opportunity I am now with that has brought more positive response in a shorter time than all my other businesses put together. I would have missed the health benefits of the product that I have been experiencing. Yes, I can be thankful for failure. As long as you don't live in an attitude of failure, every failure can bring you closer to the success you have been aiming at. Every failed attempt will be one less you have to experience before you are truly living your dream.

So yes, I'm thankful for all the good things in 2009: my family, my wonderful friends, my church, the love and support I get from my pastor and his wife, gifts I have received (especially the unexpected ones), my relationship with Jesus. But I'm also grateful for every "negative" experience. Always remember, a double negative makes a positive.

Be thankful for every experience.

Re-blog from Daily Journal for Success - 30 days of blogging - http://dailyjournalforsuccess.ning.com/profiles/blogs/be-grateful-for-every

Friday, January 1, 2010

TA-DA!


I'm re-posting my blog from BetterNetworker here for those who have not heard yet. I just wanted to announce, first of all, my new business - Healthy Coffee. But my main announcement is that, in less than two weeks with the company, I find myself in the list of Founding Members in Canada! The response to this business and the products has been overwhelming. I have been in a number of network marketing businesses in the past but have never seen anything like this. I'm really excited and believe the momentum that I started with just a week before Christmas 2009 is going to explode in 2010.
I am not what you would call a coffee-holic. In fact I'm anything but. Until I tasted Healthy Coffee, especially the Blend (with non-dairy creamer and cane sugar), I normally drank only one coffee a week. Yes, you read that right! One per week! Now I drink two cups of Healthy Coffee - or sometimes Chai Milk Tea or the Energy Drink - every single day! And I'm loving it! I already feel the difference in my body.
Healthy Coffee products are relatively caffeine-free (0.3% in contrast to the 8.6% to over 13% in other decaf coffees) and all contain reishi mushroom and ginseng, adaptogens that help keep your energy flowing without the caffeine energy burst or crash. I had spent months fighting a battle with fatigue before I began to drink these products. Now I have energy when I need it for as long as I need it. And the pain level from arthritis and fibromyalgia was increasing in spite of taking supplements that were supposed to help alleviate the symptoms. In just a few days the pain had decreased significantly even after a long day on my feet on cement floors - and in the cold.
Below is a picture taken at the market where I share my product and business opportunity every Tuesday. If you live anywhere near Aylmer Ontario Canada I'd like to invite you to stop by and say, "Hi!" I'll even give you a sample of the product to try for yourself.
So, all of you coffee and/or tea drinkers who are reading this post, and any of you who love energy drinks, please check out my web site to see not only what we have but the new products coming this year. It's getting 'gooder and gooder'.
For anyone interested in joining my team, there are still positions in the Founders Club open in Canada and  in the US, so now is the time to get on board before the 300 positions in each country are filled. We also have offices in seven other countries and are building in 23 in total. The company goal is to be in 100 countries within 10 years. Join me and grow a team with me and with Healthy Coffee International. Make 2010 the best year ever. Remember, coffee is only second to oil for global revenue. Let's work towards earning our share in that revenue.
I wish you success and prosperity in 2010. Happy New Year!
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