Author: Angela Ireland

Health Bites, Lifestyle

Health Bites to Start Your Day- Intentional Eating

Angela Ireland
Enjoy meals as a family

I could spend hours writing about food and nutrition, if given the chance, but that is not the purpose of this post.

This post is about being intentional with the food you eat. Keep in mind that the food you consume does matter. You are either contributing to health or disease by what you consume.

The process of digestion begins in the brain, which instructs the release of certain enzymes needed to breakdown the food once it is ingested.

But what if, we took a bit more time to be intentional about our meals? For example, setting aside time to eat with the family instead of eating on the go or in shifts.

Incorporating these small steps into your routine, may make meals much more enjoyable and nutritious for the entire family.

1. Set aside a specific time for every meal. This gives the family a time to look forward to and anticipate.

2. Show gratitude for you are about to receive. In my home, we give thanks to God for each meal. Regardless of your religious persuasion, giving thanks for the food before you sets an intention of appreciation that is beneficial too in the digestive process.

3. Consider mealtime as an opportunity to reconnect with family in a meaningful way. Actually discuss the day, laugh and savor the time you are spending together as a family.

4. Clean away the dishes as a family to continue the conversations. Slowing down and being appreciative allows your body to better utilize the nutrition provided.

5. Finally, just be still. Your body is much more efficient in a calm relaxed state.

How will you be intentional with your meals?

With joyous intention!💖

AngelaChristine

Health Bites, Lifestyle

Health Bites to Start Your Day-Self Care

Angela Ireland
Personal Gratitude Journal

I don’t know about you, but I am glad that 2020 is over. As with every new year, I try my best to continue the good habits established in the previous year or years before and then maybe add one or two new ones. Not resolutions that sound good on day one, but fade into the sunset by week four. These are nuggets of gold that should be a part of anyone’s daily routine.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Self-care” is just an excuse to spend money on the things you wouldn’t normally spend money on due to budget or it’s deemed discretionary. Let me clarify, self-care, is the time you spend, whether it’s ten minutes or an hour doing the thing or things that will nurture you, yes you, physically, emotionally and spiritually with intention. Intention is key.

With intention, how do you plan to care for you in 2021? Here are a few ideas or tips that you may find helpful.

1. Rise up early to spend time in prayer or meditation. Praying early in the morning gives you an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God and to set your intentions for the day.

2. Get your body moving. Exercising first thing in the morning, has so many health producing benefits and it clears your mind for your day ahead.

3. Get in your in home sauna. If a full size sauna isn’t in the budget, there are some great sauna blankets that are just as effective for a fraction of the price. Here is the link to the one that I purchased recently. https://sweatandglowsauna.com/products/us-plug I try to use it after my workouts for muscle recovery, continued fat burning and detox.

4. Keep a gratitude journal. Make a point of writing down all of your blessings. It’s a great way to acknowledge that there is more good in your life than bad and it helps you to prioritize what is really important in life.

5. Prepare most of your meals at home. It may sound counterintuitive that I would add this to self care, but it really is important. Preparing your own food, is an act of love. You’re going to be more intentional and careful about what you put in your body when you prepare it in your own kitchen.

6. Set aside time to tap into your creative side. You might be surprised by your hidden talents. I know I was when I started making jewelry a couple of years ago.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Taking time to feed our bodies and souls regularly, prepares us in so many ways for what’s next; but it also manifests itself in being fully engaged in your own life as well as in the lives of those you love and love you in return.

What do you do to fill your cup?

With intention!💖

AngelaChristine

Health Bites, Lifestyle

Health Bites to Start Your Day

Angela Ireland

“Drink more water!!” We hear that all of the time, but for many people drinking more water is just not that easy.

As an aspiring Functional Nutrition Counselor, I often spend time trying to think of ways to help people incorporate more health in their day to day. With that in mind, I thought why not start with one of the most important nutrients, perhaps the most important nutrient.. water!

These are just a few tips that can make drinking water not only more palatable but enjoyable and easier to incorporate into your daily routine.

1. Add citrus fruits to your water. Adding freshly squeezed lemon juice to your water, not only brightens up the taste, but it can also aid the body in flushing toxins out of the body.

2. Throw in a cucumber or two. Cucumbers in and of themselves have a high water content which increases hydration, is loaded with antioxidants and may aid in keeping you regular!

3. Toss in a few of your favorite berries. Berries are antioxidant rich, are low in sugar and can make a boring glass of water a sweet treat!

Living life healthier doesn’t have to be hard, it just needs a plan!

To your health and wellness!

Angela💖

Faith, Mindset, Reflections

Reflections

Angela Ireland

I wrote this last year after my father and his wife came for a visit. That morning started off a bit rough because only hours before their arrival my son, Ethan had a seizure. I could use that as a reason, but if the truth be told it was primarily because my relationship with my dad had been strained for quite sometime and I wasn’t quite ready for their visit.

As I reflect on that day once more, I am so grateful that I did not allow anger and resentment me to ruin their visit for so many reasons. But the number one reason, is you never know what the future holds. On that day, I had no way of knowing that my father would once again be a widower. 😢

But God! He knew that I needed reconciliation and so by His divine will, He orchestrated a better day than I could have imagined for all of us. Happiness and joy filled my home that day. You were loved and you are missed Ms. Marjorie.❤️

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since I wrote this original post after my dad and Marjorie came to visit.

Provision and Restoration. Those two words showed up today and hugged me until tears ran down my face.

I was not expecting it, I expected tension and resentment or at least those were the guests I had prepared for at my table (thankfully, I had some wise counsel last night who had cautioned me against being battle ready) so after praying and sleeping on their words, I decided this morning that the best action would be to let Jesus to take the wheel. Even though, I had predetermined would be difficult.

So, what happened you ask? A very important person walked back into my life today after a four year hiatus (restoration) along with a person I had found challenging to embrace, but who ended up giving me an amazing gift (provision) that I never would have expected. Like never.

Today, I learned several valuable lessons, first life is way too short to hold onto past hurts and disappointments, two, Jesus’ yoke is easy and not burdensome, three, when you have the mind of Christ, your vision is perfect and your heart is renewed.

Today was a good day. Thank you, Lord!❤️

January 1, 2020

Faith, Mindset, Parenting

Whatever it takes….

Angela Ireland

All of the trials we have conquered together, all of the miles we have traveled together, all of the suffering that you have experienced in your short lives, every sacrifice, I make is for you two. Your hopes and dreams are always front and center in my mind. Your future is my ever present motivation. I will not give up.

Whatever it takes according to God’s will, I will be, no, I am a Diamond rising to provide you with a legacy that will extend beyond all of the hills and valleys I traveled to get there.

Always for my beloved!

Faith, Reflections

Life Makes Three

Angela Ireland

When the three of us rolled into Georgia five years ago, hopeful for a better future, I never would have guessed that was a sign of our future. That ultimately it would just be us.
In fact, the last family picture that we took was taken in Charlotte, NC, before we made our big move.

I have to admit that when we took these pictures two weeks ago, I was a bit nervous and hesitant about capturing us as one less. But the more I thought about it, not taking these pictures would have deprived us of seeing all that God has lovingly brought us through.
Our family may not look like it did when we moved here, but it does look like a family renewed and refreshed after living through a category 10 storm.

What you no longer see in that picture, is a mother who was worn and tattered after being diagnosed with autoimmunity and living outside of her inheritance. Thanks in large part to Triplex. Three plant based and powerful products that removed the barriers to my healing. You see two children who now understand that although their lives have changed in an unimaginable way, they rest well at night knowing that God has given their mother the strength to endure and who loves them unwaveringly!

No, Ethan is not exactly where I had hoped he would be at this point, but he is exactly where God wants him to be. He is filled with love and wonder and it’s just a matter of time before we see his fullest potential revealed.

My Emily, has become my anchor. She has so much to offer this world, her light is just beginning to flicker on and she hasn’t even fully realized that she is more than she even knows right now.

No, we’re not the same, we are better because we have weathered the storms and we still have joy!!

Peace and blessings!
AngelaChristine

Current Events

The Cost of Liberty

Angela Ireland

The past week has been quite the whirlwind in politics and culture. The vast majority of Americans believe that somehow since every media outlet has proclaimed that Joe Biden is President-Elect, that it’s over, the Trumps are leaving the White House in January.

Unfortunately, for all of Biden/Harris supporters cheering with glee, that is a bit premature. First, the media cannot declare a Presidential winner. Two, none of the States have certified the votes(required), the Electoral College doesn’t vote until December 14, which means the votes/election will not be certified until January 6, 2021. But who cares, those are pesky details. May I direct you to the following sites to educate yourself about our Republic.

https://www.libertyjustice.info/ and https://www.krisannehall.com/

I guess what disturbs me the most is how easily beguiled most Americans have become. No one questions the lockdowns or the insistence of wearing masks. Or the potential for mandatory masking promised by the Biden/Harris administration. No one questions, why churches are closed, small businesses are not permitted to operate or that even more draconian mandates are being passed. They just nod and continue on as mindless drones.

https://youtu.be/4_bnkDVGLpY

And for those of us who refuse to go along with the charade, we get labeled as subversive or defiant. I never knew until this year that standing up for freedom and liberty would be considered a radical act in this Constitutional Republic, we refer to as the United States of America.

We have watched elites in Washington D.C, the technocrats in Silicon Valley and their co-conspirators in mainstream media work feverishly in concert with our enemies abroad to subvert our Republic. They even influence the behavior of our servant government on the state and local level. Unquestioning everyday Americans have fallen in line. When you think about it, it’s the perfect plot. Use public education to indoctrinate, promise free stuff, divide the population along every ism, you can conjure and viola here we are on the precipice of Communism.

Once you arrive on the doorsteps of Communism, freedom and liberty are lost forever without enormous bloodshed.

While, I may not have any control over decisions made by our servant government, I can control how I respond to tyranny. I will resist with every fiber in my body. I don’t relish the idea of fighting against my friends and family over the ideal of liberty, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make if it would guarantee that my children never spend a day enslaved by a government that is rooted in the depths of hell.

Freedom does not come without sacrifice, so the question, is are you willing to suffer for it to restore our Republic? If not, please get out of the way of those who are.

In Christian liberty,

Angela C. Ireland

Reflections

What you thought you knew..

Angela Ireland

I remember growing up thinking that one day, I would get married and have a family. But, it wasn’t in the traditional way that little girls think. I grew up in a very Christian traditional household where roles were clearly defined. My father was the breadwinner and set the standard for our home and my mother was the homemaker and manager of the house; even though she worked full time as a Reading Specialist/Teacher much of my childhood ( by choice).

As a young girl, growing up with two brothers who had their clearly defined roles of working in the yard and doing all of the boy things, that structure didn’t sit well with me. I perceived housework as unfair and stereotypical, so I rebelled. Fortunately, my mother didn’t tolerate nonsense, so I ended up doing the “girl” stuff anyway (I am grateful because I know how to manage my home as a result).

I thought that my mother was too submissive to my father (whom I adored); he was and still is a wonderful example of what a Christian husband and father should be in my mind. My mother loved the Lord and shared Christ all of the time. My parents were a modern day Priscilla and Aquila. Even though my mother’s heart was faithful to God, I thought that being obedient to her husband was weak, but in reality she was strong and was doing her best to set a godly example for her children. It worked! Both of my brothers have stable marriages. I, the rebellious one did not.

Alas, instead of learning the lesson, that she wanted me to learn, I internalized that I would never be in a place of submission, but would be equal with my husband never once having to honor the obey part of my wedding vows. We would partners, not operating in a traditional hierarchy.

Fast forward a couple of decades, I accomplished what I planned professionally and even bought a couple of houses without the benefit of a husband. The one remaining goal was marriage and kids. I waited until my mid thirties and so by that time, the pickings of eligible mates had become slim. This is where it would have been better had I had my heart and mind more closely aligned with God’s will for my life. Or even had studied my mother’s choices more closely, the outcome would have been different. Instead, I selected a mate based on convenience and availability instead of what God wanted for me thus the outcome…. divorce.

All these years later, I finally understand what my mother wanted me to see, it’s not about obedience to your spouse, it’s about obedience to God for your life! It’s about bundling up all of His promises in your heart and knowing that by submitting to your husband (the right one) you are ultimately submitting to God.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Always,

Angela Christine Ireland💖

Continue reading “What you thought you knew..” →
Faith

Just to touch the hem…

Angela Ireland

A little over a week ago, one of my friends asked why I haven’t blogged in a while. I immediately said, well, I really don’t have any ideas at the moment and I don’t know what to write about that would be interesting. Her immediate response was, “ are you kidding me?!” She said, “you have a ton of stuff to talk about!” “You can speak to special needs families, you can speak to finding your joy after divorce, the Bible.” She gave me an entire list of items that I could write about to encourage and provide value.

Wow! What a splash of cold water in the face that was! What she was telling me was that no one expects perfect, but they do expect authentic. That was a hard pill for me to swallow. Sharing who I am is excruciatingly difficult. Opening the door to scrutiny is not what I signed up for. I mean I’d rather get a root canal than to open the door to my less than perfect life.

That is it, it’s not perfect, it’s messy! It’s clothes washed and dried, but rarely folded, ironed and put away. It’s sometimes dishes left in the sink after a meal made from scratch. It’s reading stories and saying prayers with my kids at night because I want them to love the word and Jesus.

It’s saying, I’m sorry when I become overwhelmed by all that life demands and fall to my knees in tears or even saying words that hurt. It is touching the hem of His garment, because I know that is exactly what will make me whole.

My journey is not your journey and yours is not mine, but when we reach out to the one who can carry it all, then the messy is not that messy after all. It’s a grace filled blanket that covers it all.

Living an imperfect grace filled life!

Angela Christine Ireland❤️

Mindset

The Season of Gratitude

Angela Ireland

While gratitude is something we should do everyday, I love having an entire month devoted to it. Sure, November is famous for Thanksgiving, but I what I love the most about this month is the anticipation and celebration of family and friends.

I do miss the long days of summer, but at the same time there is something cozy and comfortable about the cool, calmer and shorter days. I like seeing the trees change their dress for the season and the boots and cozy attire. It’s an entirely different vibe that speaks home, warmth and joy.

So as we transition into the familiar and the festivities of this season, I will be grateful that I get to create more memories with the ones that I love.

Be blessed!💖

Angela Christine Ireland