Listen to Battle Ready Prayers for Women

As we end the official corporate prayers for husbands today, let us now pour into our own souls.  Pray for your sisters who are wives, and wives in waiting.  Ask God to replenish them with His love and fortify us with His strength.  No matter what your current situation, realize that help is only a prayer away.  

Click to listen to healing prayers of calm, safety and reconciliation Battle Ready Prayer
visit Battle Ready Prayer Website for more prayers and powerful resources

Five Top Tips for Women's Health By Beth Hoover

These five top tips for women's health will help you look and feel your best and have the energy to work and play at the highest level. They're here to guide you, whatever your challenge, whatever your goal. All you need to do is follow them.

Rule number one is eat a healthy diet. Why? It's the best way to look and feel your best. Eating right will help you to control your weight. A good diet will also help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and help prevent heart disease, stroke, arthritis, specific cancers and a host of other common health problems. Build your daily diet around skinless poultry, fish, lean meats, low fat or non-fat diary products, whole grain breads and cereals, and at least five daily servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Rule number two is establish a regular exercise program. Staying physically active is about as important as eating a good diet if you want to get healthy and stay that way. Know that exercise does not need to be overly stressful. To stay in shape, all that's really needed is about half an hour of physical activity five days a week. Taking a brisk walk around the block is more than enough.

Rule number three is manage stress in your life. Women - as daughters, mothers and grandmothers - experience quite a bit of stress on a daily basis and stress is often the first symptom of many more serious health problems. That's why it's so vital for women to take a bit of time each day for themselves no matter how busy they are. Find a way to relax and just let go.

Rule number four is break all risky habits. And that includes smoking, recreational drugs, alcohol, unprotected sex and overindulging on sweets, salt and fats. These habits are dangerous and even deadly. So don't smoke and stay away from people who do. Say no to drugs. And never drink more than one drink a day.

Rule number five is avoid the sun. Skin cancer is extremely common and, if it isn't treated soon enough, can be a killer. So be sure to stay covered with long sleeves and a wide-brimmed hat and and/or an effective sunscreen of at least 15 SPF whenever you're in the sun for more than just a couple of minutes.

If you trust and follow these five basic rules for women's health, you can live a long, healthy and happy life. They've been tested over time and proven to work.

CommonSenseHealth.com covers a a variety of health related topics, from healthiest vegetables to foods high in protein. You can visit us online at CommonSenseHealth.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beth_Hoover

Women Over 50: A New Beauty by Joyce Becker

When we were growing up, women over 50 just weren't thought of as beautiful. Sure, you'd have the occasional Elizabeth Taylor, whom people admired well into their 30s-but then, even Liz Taylor's heyday came when she was in her teens and 20s.

Otherwise, after women hit 50, something-strange-seemed to happen. Our grandmothers and mothers had no trouble at all finding shapeless old-lady's clothing and frumpy coats, but there just didn't seem to be anything available that reflected their maturity and their beauty.

Fortunately, ours is a generation that has already changed the way people look at youth. Now we're doing the same thing for aging! Today's women are staying vibrant and sexy well beyond their 50s, and we don't have much trouble finding clothing that shows us off beautifully!

For some good examples of the changing faces (and bodies!) of women over 50, take a look at Sharon Stone. She's still active, and she's still gorgeous. Meryl Streep is well over 50, and she's doing some of the best acting work of her life. Christie Brinkley is back to modeling because cosmetics companies have realized that women who are over 50 are still buying makeup-because we still plan to keep looking good!

Granted, once we reach and pass 50, we have to pay more attention to our beauty than we used to. Our skin and hair can start to become thinner, and we have the potential to develop osteoporosis, which can affect our looks and our health.

But today, women over 50 also have access to exercise routines that can keep us active while we also have a lot of fun. And, with medical science and increasing knowledge of proper nutrition, we can keep our bodies beautiful and healthy at the same time.

As an over 50 woman myself, I know I'm taking better care of my beauty than I did when I was younger-and I'm really seeing the results! Here are some things I recommend for women over 50 to help them understand that our beauty matters.

· When we hit 50, sometimes the "wages" or our past diet "sins" start to come back to haunt us. If you've always eaten a healthy diet, congratulations! It's not too late for the rest of us, though. Every little healthy change you make can have an impact on how you look and how you feel, so get started today. Maybe you'll want to do a diet makeover or just increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Whatever you do, you will see a difference.

· Exercise is even more important after 50 than it was before. Over 50 women can be at risk for osteoporosis so it's especially important that we do weight-bearing exercises.

· In addition to diet and exercise, we need to pay attention to the needs of specific parts of our bodies. For example, our hair can become thinner and more brittle after we hit 50. In addition to diet and exercise, we need to learn how to be more careful of our hair by avoiding harsh chemicals and brushing it gently. There are even foods you can eat to reverse your gray hair!

Women over 50 remain beautiful, sexy women. In fact, part of our allure is that we have a comfort in our own skin that we just didn't have when we were younger. All we have to do is be a good shepherd to our beauty, and we can enjoy it for the rest of our lives.

Joyce Becker is a successful marketing entrepreneur living in New Jersey with her husband of over 30 years. Joyce is also a trailblazer. As a woman and a Baby Boomer, she has broken molds, working in a variety of careers and providing inspiration to countless women whose lives have been touched by her spirit and energy through http://YourSecondYouthBlog.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joyce_Becker

Girlfriends, More Precious Than Gold (Excerpt from Pearls of Wisdom for Wives: How to Have a Joyfully-Ever-After Marriage)

Celebrating my 54th Birthday September, 2010

Many wives say that their husbands are their best friends, yours truly included. Additionally, I am blessed to have several BFFs (Best Friends Forever). They are ladies in my circle of influence who are near and dear to my heart. Some of them are my age, some young enough to be my daughters, some seasoned enough to be my mother. Some of them have become my friends within the past couple of years, others within the last twenty years; and then there are those precious jewels who have been my girlfriends since we all had waistlines. My BFF Thomasina still has a waistline, and she can still do a cartwheel! All of my friends are a necessary part of my life but not necessarily at the same time. I'm bound to my girlfriends by the interests we share; by business ventures, church or community involvement. One thing we all have in common is the love of Christ.

I've been told that you can only have one or two real friends and for most that might be true. Fortunately the relationships I have with the women I'm referring to have stood the proverbial test of time. I've also enjoyed short term, transitional relationships which were meaningful for the season in which they took place.

A woman who, like me has been blessed to have a loving, supportive husband and nuclear family is fortunate indeed. And I don't take that privilege lightly. It's such a treat for me to be in the company of my true, got-your-back-no-matter-what girlfriends.

I've heard women say I just don't trust other women or I don't get along with other women and I feel sad for them. Women who subscribe to the philosophy of mistrusting or avoiding friendship with other women based solely upon their gender have either had a very bad experience or have been trained to think that way from an early age.

Women have told me they don't trust other females or have girlfriends because the girl I thought was my best friend stole my boyfriend/baby's daddy/husband. They cut the friend off (and rightfully so) but let the cheating man off the hook with some sort of warning - placing the weight of the blame on the woman.

Some women deny themselves the pleasure of having meaningful friendships with deserving women because they don't want to risk getting burned again, but continue to get involved in toxic relationships with the same man in a different suit. That’s insanity.

But, as they say I digress to the benefits of having a girlfriend or two in your life. There are things you can share with your girlfriend that your husband can't - and doesn't even want to relate to. For example, your hormonal issues, the way the guy in the next cubicle is trying to take credit for your hard work, the woman in the alto section who you think gives your husband way too much attention... Those are conversations men often dismiss as "emotional" or as "female paranoia" - and sometimes they may even be right. I often tell my husband he can't relate to some of my feelings and opinions because he doesn't have a uterus.  It's wonderful though, to have the freedom to bounce our feelings, be they legitimate or not, off your girlfriends and not be judged.

You can be real with your girlfriends; you don't ever have to be on. No age group has a monopoly on genuine relationships. They can be enjoyed during the Pimply PMSing teen years, the neurotic, psychotic 20s, the Think-you've-got-it-all-together 30s, the Fierce 40s and, where I am today, the Fabulous 50s and even beyond.

As with any relationship, the time spent and energies invested in establishing, cultivating and maintaining a relationship with girlfriends requires prioritizing and balance. You can't neglect your household, work or family in favor or your girlfriend, unless of course she is in crisis mode. By the same token, the woman your kids call "Auntie" shouldn’t  be sitting at your kitchen table every time your husband comes in from work and you shouldn't be running over to her house all of the time. There isn't a set calculation for what is considered reasonable and what is not. That is dictated by the needs of your household and should be agreed upon between you and your husband.

Imagine your life as a scaled down dart board. In the center, the bulls eye, is Jesus, your spiritual core, the next "ring" represents your husband, then your family. The rings don't end there, and neither does your life. Our total being is made up of many components. Work, personal interests and non-nuclear relationships are among those components. A woman who excludes rich external relationships may not be aware of the myriad of benefits derived from having at least one BFF.

I encourage the outlets of lunch dates, chick flick nights, retreats, pamper parties, etc. Being involved with girlfriends in the proper context, can help you as a wife to maintain a sense of self and simply adds joy. If you're a person who can't get into female relationships, but would like to, email me and perhaps we can get to the root of the matter.

I conduct a powerful workshop for women entitled, Your Slip Is Showing, which addresses the development and maintenance of agape friendships between women. For information about how you can bring Your Slip Is Showing to your women's group, email me: venusisms@gmail.com 

What I Learned by the Time I Turned 50

54 Baby!

• God's majesty becomes more evident to me each day.
• I've been blessed with a phenomenal family.
• I had a very happy childhood.
• I'm much smarter than my kids (but my kids are much smarter than they pretend to be).
• I won't go to hell for drinking an occasional glass of wine or doing the hustle.
• It is truly more blessed to give than to receive.
• My joints can predict the weather.
• Favor ain't fair - neither is gravity.
• Nips, tucks and liposuction are NOT evil 
• It's "hip" to be square.
• Worrying about what others think of me is a waste of my time.
• The only enemy I have is the devil.
• I wish I'd learned how to make Nana's cornbread dressing.
• The bible is the best How-To book ever written.
• Grandparenting is like math.  It divides your time, adds joy to your life, subtracts from your wallet, and multiplies your Kodak moments.
• Watching my kids grow up is bittersweet.
• I'm grateful for my girlfriends.
• Children have a way of humbling you - one way or another.
• The key to really, really good spousal intimacy is quality, not quantity - no really!
• Tea is the nectar if God.
• Being transparent is far less stressful than faking it - people find out anyway.
• Now I have respect for money.
• You can never have too many pairs of unmentionables.
• Bras and Pantyhose were invented by someone with a sadistic mind.
• Now I have something to blame my mistakes on - my age.