Celebrate!

6.27

It's the first day of winter, Christmas is 3 days away, and the year is over next week. Hard to know where another year has gone. How was 2019 for you? Challenging? Rewarding? Predictable?

I welcomed winter with a 12 mile run this morning, and I can definitely say that 2019 has been challenging, rewarding, and appropriately unexpected. I completed my second Spartan Trifecta, including my first 50k, Spartan Ultra. Whew... What a year.

I am deeply thankful for the journey I'm on. Every day I try to take time to reflect on all the ways our family has been blessed, and I try to keep that gratitude present as the days and weeks fly by. And at some point it is important to celebrate all that we've prospered through.

I'm almost 10 years into my wellness journey, and there is no way I could have anticipated how far a wellness lifestyle would bring me. My Garmin tells me that I ran over 670 miles this year, and that in 2019 I set a PR in all 5 running distances that  Garmin tracks (5k through marathon and furthest distance.)

I feel younger and healthier than I can remember for literally decades. What a blessed journey. So, this week we'll celebrate Christmas, and the miracle of God coming to earth to live among us. And it will be a great time of feasting ( and fitness) and family. A great celebration to close out 2019.

How about you? I'm certain you have grown and thrived and overcome in numerous ways... Make note of all of them. Celebrate the achievements, and the times when you simply held steady -- When you reached a new high, and when you held your ground. 2020 is right around the corner, and there will be a whole new year to journey and grow through.

By the Way 

Remember that with all the parties and rich, sugary foods, you can be the one to take along the healthy snacks, entrees or desserts. Comfort foods are fun, but can easily be balanced with tasty, healthful choices. Your body, and your wellness journey, will be glad you did.

Bon Appetit!

6.26

To maintain great wellness, I've consistently ascribed to an 80/20 or 90/10 approach to meal planning and eating. Once we find our nutritional groove , and know what foods brings us health and healing, we should lean into those foods for the majority of our calories. It's okay if 10-20% of our calories originate outside our wellness goals...

Thanksgiving is the biggest celebration of food that we have every year. A time of family and community and feasting. But not a time to completely set aside our wellness convictions and goals. With that said I wanted to pass along a fun and engaging food resource that highlights tremendous foods, and I think it can help anyone enjoy this season of celebration and gratitude.

The resource is the Bon Appetit  channel on YouTube. One of our kids turned us onto Bon Appetit last year, and it has become a fun 'cooking show' distraction for us to watch together. This Channel is a sister to the Bon Appetit magazine and web site of the same name, and gives the viewer a behind the scenes look at the world-class staff and editors that make it all possible.

Note well, Bon Appetit isn't about foods that are particularly healthy or healing, but they are certainly about quality, taste and community. And their recent YouTube post are all about Making Perfect Thanksgiving...from turkey to sides to desserts, they have Thanksgiving covered.

So be sure to celebrate gratitude, providence, community, family and more this Thanksgiving. Maybe mix in a new dish that respects your wellness goals, while at the same time taking advantage of the abundance available to us. Bon Appetit!

By the Way

If you are looking for great holiday recipes that DO respect your wellness goals, go over to Dr. Josh Axe's content, or Mark Sisson's (Mark's Daily Apple). Tons of valuable content from these two sites!

Deeply Grateful

6.12

There's a quote I appreciate that circulated a lot some years ago:
"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

This is a calling to genuine and daily gratitude, and is a valuable way to live life. This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day, and all the freedoms we gain from the hard-fought liberties we enjoy in America. We remember the sacrifices made on our behalf, whether centuries ago on foreign lands, or in our present day, right around the corner.

I often share guidance from Dr. Josh Axe, and he has a great article on the benefits of Positivity, see the full article here: 6 Health Benefits of Positivity

Gratitude is fundamental to living a positive life, and it works much better when we have a peer group to share in our thankfulness. When we identify our tribe, and if together we are a positive bunch, we will all benefit from the life we share. (Remember that we become the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with.)

So as we launch into summer 2019, wherever we are on our wellness journey, whether advancing or retreating or resetting, make it a goal to be grateful for right where we are. Find a group to help keep you accountable not only to your wellness, but also to an uplifting life and future.

By the Way

Our neighbors who serve in the military have done so sacrificially... be sure to remember everything soldiers and their families invest in our nation, and thank them.

A Time Out

5.22

No matter what the season, there is value in calming our mind and being still. Now that the holidays are here, it is certainly a great time to practice some mindfulness in the midst of the festivities. Mindfulness and meditation have existed since ancient times, and with modern science to back up the value and add to the techniques, there is no time like the present to get started.

Have you heard of neuroplasticity? This rather recent field of study is proving the positive effects of mindfulness and meditation. Fundamentally, it is finding a quiet time to rest our minds and disconnect from whatever may be mentally pressing on us. More than just a time of prayer or a time of quiet, it is detaching from the present to experience something pure and simple and different from our normal day (like the sound of our breathing.)

The ways that can lead to worthwhile meditation and mindfulness are numerous. With apps and websites galore, we have all kinds of resources at our disposal. The key is to start, even if starting small, to make quieting our minds part of our wellness lifestyle.

The benefits of meditation? Reduction of cortisol, stress and inflammatory triggers in our metabolism to yield peace, calm, clearer thinking, and more resolved self-control. And who wouldn't benefit from all of these over the holidays? (and all year long for that matter.)

Check out this great article from Dr. Josh Axe's website with substantial content on what meditation and mindfulness is, and a simple (beginner's) approach to guided meditation:
The 5-Step Approach to Guided Meditation

The pace of western culture isn't getting any slower, so we won't see relief from the busyness anytime soon. Find some time to explore mindfulness and meditation a bit further, and consider adding to your wellness lifestyle. Your body, mind and spirit will likely thank you.

By the Way

Watch for great apps to support meditation and mindfulness if you want a simple way to start. One is Headspace, available on Apple iOS and Android. Founded by Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson, Headspace is a tool for bringing successful meditation into our daily lives and backing up the lifestyle value with science.

Make Your Best Choice - Now!

4.30

In 2018 I'll turn 50. I'm going to make kind of a big deal about it, because of how thankful I am to hit the half-century mark. My dad passed away at 48 years old, after a 6 month battle with lung cancer, so he never got to see 50...

It's not that my father was all that unhealthy, but knowing I have the same genes, I'm very aware of the risks, and very thankful for the journey that's gotten me to today. Is that some of my motivation behind Power Pantry, and a wellness lifestyle and doing Spartan Races? You bet it is...

About 7 years ago, I learned that there is a fundamental choice we all make, between healthy lifestyle choices, and unhealthy lifestyle choices. And over the ensuing years, I've leaned hard into a wellness lifestyle.

I don't know how many years I have, but I plan to live them to the fullest and absolutely make the most of my days. We all have the same opportunities for healthful choices, and it starts with recognizing the fundamental role that food plays in our well being. Food truly is medicine - and poor food choices are certainly a detriment to our health.

So if you are new to a Power Pantry, start today to read labels and choose real food. Cut out the processed food-like products, and refined, empty calories. Moderate your portions. Lose some weight. Create an exercise program you can truly live with, and get moving. You'll be glad you did and you'll likely add years to your life.

By the Way

There is research from the last 6 to 8 years that is looking into 'healthspan' instead of just lifespan. The point being, if we live into our late 70's with chronic disease and failing health, is that a worthwhile wellness goal? What if we can extend our health into those later years, and nearing our end, spend a minimal amount of time in decline and poor health. That seems like a much better goal.

Giving Thanks

3.32

The US has always been a unique nation. And one of our 'firsts' is setting aside a day every year to be grateful. Gratitude is a core competency for living with wholeness and connection and wellness. Without gratitude, we're left with entitlement thinking and inaccurate perspectives on loss and abundance.

Dr. Robert Emmons is the world's leading expert on gratitude. He's devoted his career to seeking out the crucial essentials of thankfulness and appreciation, and has drawn innumerable conclusions on why living with thanksgiving is life-giving.

I appreciate a key distinction that Dr. Emmons makes between feeling grateful and being grateful. We can't will ourselves to feel a certain way... our feelings follow from how circumstances align with our expectations. But being grateful is a choice; it may not be the easiest choice in the moment, but it is simply our choice, nonetheless.

Check out a great article on Gratitude from Dr. Emmons here. And for some quick thoughts on thankfulness, check out this infographic from the John Templeton Foundation. 

So this Thanksgiving holiday, connect more deeply with those in your life, based on an attitude of gratitude. Genuinely count your blessings. Enjoy and appreciate the relationships you have in your life. Realize all you have from the simplest pleasures to the overflowing abundance right in front of you. And as you reflect, commit to taking your gratitude with you into the year to come.

By the Way

For some great perspectives on Thanksgiving, its history and numerous proclamations, check out this page from the Pilgrim Hall Museum (www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org)
Pilgrim Hall Museum on Thanksgiving

Feeling Stressed?

3.30

The basics 'always' work because, well, they're the basics. We all go through seasons of stress, and choices which follow the whispered lies of our western lifestyle, and include high levels of cortisol and adrenaline which destroy our health. I've posted on this before, and how a wellness lifestyle is the best relief valve for stresses of all kinds.

Not only are wellness choices great at combating stress, but they also bless us with a long life. Last year I had done a post on the Blue Zones popularized by Dan Buettner - check it out here.

The point with the blue zones is that pockets of some cultures display long, healthy, well-adjusted lives among their citizens. Consistently. And the world has noticed (at least some prescient researchers have). What do they do differently?

They combat stress with good living. Not just clean living or some crazy-strict diets, but simple, good living. Things like these punctuate their days and lifestyles:

• Put family first
• Smoke little or not at all
• Eat a plant-based diet
• Engage in constant, moderate physical activity, no matter what age
• Social interaction - staying engaged in community
• Make legumes a regular part of your diet

So, how are we doing? I ebb and flow between authentically engaging in these choices and alternately getting sucked along the path that work and busy schedules creates in our lives. Are you finding lifestyle bandwidth to practice these choices?

The way to reduce stress is to pull back from the crazy, ragged edge that blurs hours into days and weeks into months. And if you've lived on that edge, you know that you wake up one day and realize you've missed out on life... You may have accomplished much in the world's terms, but were you truly living?

If you find yourself on the ragged edge, step back. Reset. Take life, take living, seriously enough to realize that the world's dreams and promises are empty shells. True wealth is found in genuinely engaging in what we learn from the blue zones. Find growth, health and power in simple choices. Put crazy aside, and give yourself space to heal and really live.

By the Way

Want a secret to not just reducing stress, but eliminating it? Try generosity... and gratitude. Studies prove beyond any doubt that simple life practices like gratitude and generosity take away the cortisol and adrenaline coursing through our bodies, and yield healing and restoration.

A Great Reflection

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As the year draws to a close, it's a great time to look back on where we've come from, and to think ahead to where we're going. New Year's resolutions aside, a little self-searching goes a long way in considering our todays and tomorrows.

I've shared before in Power Pantry that I often consider life 'in the middle of a decade'. Where was I five years ago? Hmmm... 2010... our oldest son was 12 and Jen and I had been married 15 years, and that was the year we had our fourth child. I was travelling a lot for work, and even in the midst of the recession we were very blessed. I weighed about 35 pounds more than I do now, and I hadn't yet read "Eat to Live" (from Dr. Joel Fuhrman). Life was a lot different just five years ago.

Since then we've recognized the value of whole foods and nutritional density, and the detriments of wheat gluten, dairy and numerous other common foods in the American diet. I started running in 2011 sometime, with a very slow and painful introduction.

In five years we've seen two of our kids grow into awesome, trustworthy young adults, another enter middle school, and our youngest start kindergarden. Jen has been 'cured' of her arthritis from simple nutritional improvements, and I've trimmed down to a scrappy 158 pounds and have a maturing running habit and wellness lifestyle... cool.

What about five years from now? I doubt I'll run a full marathon, but I do intend to try some of the Spartan Races, and maybe even their Trifecta (three progressively harder races completed in one year.) We have some cool trips planned as a family (before our older kids fly the coop) and I'm sure there will be some great nutritional additions and unhealthy subtractions from our wellness lifestyle. (Somewhere in there we're supposed to get a local Whole Foods Market...that will be very cool.)

How about you? Sitting here in 2015 and reflecting on where you've come from and where you may be going, what do you come up with? A step in the right direction can change everything, and set a positive course for years and decades to come. As the long winter nights and holiday breaks afford some extra time (hey, no grass to cut!! At least in our northern latitudes...) find quiet time for reflecting, and a little goal setting. 

By the Way

Our family likes to do jigsaw puzzles every so often. We got out the puzzle table and a fall-themed puzzle at Thanksgiving, which we're completing bit by bit. One of the great leadership reminders I get from doing puzzles is to keep the box handy. The lid of the puzzle box is the most important part - that's where the vision comes from. If we didn't have the picture of the finished puzzle, we'd have no vision to understand the value of our efforts. While reflecting from the middle of a decade, keep that in mind that there is a bigger vision at stake for all of us. What does your future look like?

Blessed to be a Blessing

2.83
With the violence in CA, I'm kind of at a loss for words. I think it's a good time to hug a loved one a little longer, contemplate the blessings of life more closely, and be truly grateful for all the ways we are blessed. Being a positive force today might make all the difference in the world.

By the Way

I got this quote from a friend today, so I'll close with this:

"We are healed to help others, blessed to be a blessing, served to serve, not just sit around and wait for heaven."

Gratitude at Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving is such a unique holiday and celebration, and when our nation began to recognize gratitude as a national event, no other nation had anything like it. Since 1621, the US has been regularly expressing gratitude, and I think we're all better for it.

And thankfulness is a good foundation for a power pantry and a wellness lifestyle. Gratitude has so many benefits, we would be foolish to not exercise gratitude daily, and if we don't yet, we should start immediately.

Check out this great web site and page from www.happierhuman.com noting dozens of benefits of gratitude (and citing much of the research to back it up):
The 31 Benefits of Gratitude You Didn't Know About

All the way around (Health, Personality, Emotional, Social, Career) gratitude revs up our lives and sets us on course to be a better person. Make 2015 the year you start a gratitude journal, or at least a gratitude habit. And enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

By the Way

I saw a great vegetarian turkey the other day...

Well, sort of...
:o)

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas season is a rich time of connecting with family and friends, celebrating, and finding fullness in the lives we're blessed to live. And it's solidly founded in the gift of God to all of us - the gift of Christ, Emmanuel, God with us...

Blessings to you from the Mullers, and we trust you will find the peace and light of Christ as you seek Him out this Christmas.

By the Way

Wait til you hear about the really cool kitchen gadget I got for Christmas! An excellent addition to our power pantry... More on that soon!

Light in the Darkness

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When we think of a wellness lifestyle we probably consider better nutrition and physical activity, and maybe making some down time in our schedule. But there are other aspects to living out power pantry choices, and I think the Christmas season highlights one of the best. The truth is, there is real darkness in the world, and there is real light. At Christmastime, we have the opportunity to experience both.

I love living in the northeast US and seeing the change of seasons, and the winter solstice, which is upon us, has always been interesting to me. It's the shortest day and longest night of the year, so it certainly brings literal darkness, and a good reset and appreciation for lengthening days. Beyond physical darkness, there's no lack of spiritual darkness in the world as well. We don't need to look far to find junk and weirdness...

What Christmas promises is the introduction, or re-introduction, to the Light. God has always known there would be spiritual darkness in the world, so he gives us the opportunity for light, and He sent Christ thousands of years ago to be that Light. While I grew up in a Catholic tradition, it wasn't until I was in my 20's that I made a choice to follow God through Jesus Christ. Literally, when I made that decision, the light of Christ became a part of my life.

My spiritual well being is a significant part of my power pantry lifestyle. Not a day goes by that I don't connect with God by reading the Bible, or in gratitude or through some dialog where I need His direction. The great thing is that when I seek Him, I find Him, and we're promised that when we draw close to God, God will draw close to us.

So this Christmas season I hope you'll seek out the Light. There is a peace and assurance available to all of us, which is beyond anything we can understand. There are a few days left before Christmas... I'll encourage us all to seek and follow the Light... that's what Christmas is all about.

By the Way

I've  heard it said that Jesus is a gentleman. He doesn't force His way into our lives, but patiently waits for us to be ready to follow Him. The Bible even says He stands at the door and knocks. I like that. As part of your wellness journey, maybe this Christmas you'll seek the Light, and even answer the door.

Fruitful Fields and Healthful Skies

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I often say there is much more to a wellness lifestyle than maintaining a power pantry and great whole food choices. Thanksgiving is one of those attitudes and practices which brings depth to our wellness, and our American tradition of thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity for focus.

Without gratitude we are apt to think we are the source of all the goodness happening around us, like our relationships, the improvement in our health, maybe even a deep, abiding spiritual walk... The reality is that over years and decades, and by overlaying wisdom with our life experience, I think we can't help but give credit for all we have to a sovereign God who chooses to give us so much, and bless us in so many ways. Not only are we blessed beyond measure, but He chooses not to take us out for the craziness we collectively generate in world around us.

So I think it's fitting to reflect on one of the best Thanksgiving day writings ever: Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation 106, of 1863. Prior to that year, Thanksgiving was celebrated state-by-state or locally, but not on a national level. We have Lincoln to thank for uniting our thought behind gratitude as a nation, specifically on the fourth Thursday of November. Here are some of my favorite parts of this proclamation:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
...
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.
...
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.

If you'd like to read Proclamation 106 in its entirety, you can find it here...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and those you love. Besides some great power pantry choices, I'll encourage you to take the few extra minutes for a gratitude break during the day. We are blessed in so many ways - well beyond our need, and definitely beyond our capacity to understand God's providence.

By the Way

Jen has been reading an incredibly inspiring daily devotional, based on a great gratitude book, One Thousand Gifts, A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp. In it the author tells of taking on a friend's dare to count 1,000 things she loved. She took on the challenge and experienced more daily beauty and surprising wonder than she could ever have imagined. Her daily hunt for God's grace had ushered her into a fuller life...

Jen has taken this challenge as well and is now logging her first one thousand gifts. I think I might make the time in 2015 to start my own list as well...