Follow Your Heart

The American Heart Association has named February as “American Heart Month.”  This month will be filled with all sorts of events and initiatives aimed at helping us live healthier lives and avoid behaviors that increase our potential for heart disease, heart attacks and strokes. 

The human heart is viewed as one the most significant organs of the human body and affects the healthy function of every major system in the body.  When the heart is unhealthy is affects other major organs causing them to eventually fail and threaten our lives.

This thought prompted me to question, “How important is it to have a healthy heart in pursuing our dreams?”  Aside from the natural causes and effects, I’m really thinking about the importance of having the right dreams and passions lodged in our heart such that we will be lead down a path toward our purpose and destiny.  Without the proper diet, exercises and the right people checking up on our heart, we will miss the subtle issues that will lodge itself right in the center of our hearts. 

Let’s do a heart check-up right here:  Allow me to ask you some coaching questions that if answered properly can ensure that your heart is healthy enough to follow.  What fears are lodged in your heart that keep you from pursuing your purpose and destiny?”  “What books, materials and programs are you engaging that challenge you and keep your heart muscles growing and strong?”  “Who are the coaches and mentors who challenge you to grow and develop plans for reaching your goals and vision?”

Finally, “When was the last time you checked to see if things in your life are working properly?” 

If you are in a regular pattern of doing “heart checks”, you will ensure that you always have something in your heart worth going after.  If you find that you have big dreams and bodacious passions, you are in good health and your heart is alive and pumping. 

We have entered into the 2^nd month of a new year and if you haven’t done so already, get your heart checked and “Follow Your Heart!”

Blessings.....

Dr. Toni

www.drtonialvarado.com

Seizing New Opportunities in This New Year!

I have been buzzing around with excitement and anticipation for 2013!  It could be because I will be turning 50 this year and I’m looking forward to what the second half of my life will be. 

As I’ve been talking with people, there seems to be a general sense that this year is going to be a year full new opportunities.  Yet, with each opportunity come new threats and obstacles that can diffuse our excitement and deflate our energy for seizing them. Every opportunity we are afforded will come with new responsibilities and will need to be met with adjustments to our attitudes, habits relationships, routines and schedule.

In order to make such adjustments we must first start with a new way thinking.  It has been said that one’s attitude will determine one’s altitude. However, attitudes are the sum total of the way in which one thinks.  If you enter a new opportunity thinking negatively then it is likely that you will only see the challenges and obstacles.  But if you enter into each new opportunity with the expectation that you were built for the challenges then you will create the environment for success and overcome each obstacle.

Seizing opportunities requires creativity and an attitude that can see possibilities with every challenge.  One accomplishes this by a having spirit that is determined to forge ahead amid uncertainties. People who succeed in this way are people who find solutions to every possible problem and enjoy the rewards that come with the newness of each opportunity.

Carpe Diem!

Dr. Toni

www.drtonialvarado.com

Finish Strong!

Finishing is apart of starting.  Many people start the year with great plans and goals for their lives, careers, education, finances and physical fitness.  We are often great starters but few are great finishers.  In order to finish something one must possess an inner resolve to see a goal or a project through till completion.  It takes fortitude, tenacity, persistence and a determination to avoid distractions along the way.

Spiritually speaking, finishing is apart of the Christian life.  The Bible has much to say about finishing what you start. Consider the following passages: 

• Matthew 24:13 “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
• John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
•  2 Corinthians 8:11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.
•  2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
• Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
•  Hebrews: 12: 1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

As we prepare to cross over into a New Year allow me to encourage you in these final hours of 2012 to “Finish Strong” this year!

Blessings….

Dr. Toni

www.drtonialvarado.com

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart!

Thanksgiving is one of most celebrated holidays among American families. The Thanksgiving Day tradition is so embedded in American culture that many travel agencies and departments of transportation report having more travelers in the air and on the roads during the Thanksgiving weekend than any other holiday in the calendar year.

In African American families Thanksgiving is often celebrated at the home of the patriarch or matriarch of the family be it grandmother, grandfather, mother and father, aunt, uncle or an older sibling or cousin.  Actually, Sunday afternoon dinner became a mini-Thanksgiving dinner in my family. I have fond memories of my grandmother’s kitchen as we sat around the table discussing the Sunday morning worship service and the pastor’s sermon while eating fried chicken, collard or mustard and turnip greens, cornbread and macaroni and cheese.

 

The only difference between Sunday afternoon and Thanksgiving dinner was the fact that it involved more foods such as turkey, dressing, mash potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, corn on the cob, pound cake and sweet potato pie as everybody in the family and the community were invited to eat.  While, my grandmother has passed on, this tradition is still observed in my family and is being passed down to my own children.

Thanksgiving was originally an observance for all Americans to give thanks to God for a common purpose. In similitude of the first Thanksgiving, Americans have celebrated this holiday with foods for the season signifying the faithfulness of God who yields harvest in our lives. The Thanksgiving tradition has become the theme of many fall festivals, parades, football games, schools, civic, religious and social organizations, and Christian worship services.

Today when you gather with friends and family to eat, laugh and reminisce, think about and share with one another the many reasons you have to give thanks.  We can be thankful for health, physical stamina and strength. For some it may financial resources, a job or just a place to live. 

Whatever difficulty you may be experiencing you can still offer a thankful response to God as the source and sustainer of life.  Like those who originally celebrated this holiday, we are grateful for the faithfulness of a God who has yielded fruit in our lives. 

Have a Grateful Heart of Thanksgiving this year!

Dr. Toni

www.drtonialvarado.com

Go The Distance!

Wow! I can’t believe we are nearing the end of another year.  We have entered into the 4^th quarter of the year and it seems like 2012 just began.  It’s usually about this time of the year that we begin shifting our minds toward a New Year making festive plans to fellowship with friends and family around holiday gatherings.  Yet, this can also be a season where we become weary of the year. Many people suffer with holiday blues, loneliness and fears about the future as they reflect over failed plans and dreams that appear to be on delay.

In talking to distance runners, I discovered that in order for one to complete the run, one must prepare, pace oneself and keep their eyes on the prize.  Additionally, distance runners must pace themselves and remain focused to avoid the distractions set by those who run alongside them.

In my race for life, I have learned to remember the reasons why I started out on this journey. I've made it by keeping my physical and spiritual stamina in tack.  I've employed the skills and expertise of mentors and coaches and kept healthy relationships with friends and family.  I've often made adjustments to the timelines of my personal and professional goals.  And while stoking the fire of my own dreams, passions and desires, serving as a mentor and coach to those God put in my path.

This is a time of year when we often need someone to encourage us to keep moving ahead amid life’s many challenges.  It’s also a time when we gain great joy as we look into the future and perceive that we only have a little ways to travel in accomplishing our goals and plans.

As you reflect back over 2012, with only 21/2 months remaining, allow me to inspire you to stay focused. Be encouraged and....

Go The Distance!

Dr. Toni

www.drtonialvarado.com

Seasons, Time & Purpose

September is one of those transitional months that bring about a change in the season.  This is the month that we transition from the Summer into the Fall Season and second to Spring it’s my favorite time of the year! As I think about the seasons changing I am excited about what this season will bring with it.

In my first book, Run & Not Be Weary: The Pursuit of Purpose & Destiny, I speak of seasons and how we must prepare for season changes in our life.  Consider this notion, “Within each season, our responsibility is to manage and complete our God-given purpose, regardless of its difficulty or duration. Then, in God’s appointed time, we must prepare ourselves to change along with the seasons of life” (pp. 23).

The changing of the seasons affords us the opportunity to reflect, retool and refocus. While you’re noticing the color of the leaves, trees and temperature of the breeze change with this fall season, take note of the seasons time and purpose of your life.  Take the time to reflect on lessons learned from previous seasons. Retool by taking an inventory of what you have lost and gained and what skills you will need to be successful in the new season.  Finally, refocus on the big picture and why your life has meaning and purpose. 

Make Ready & Enjoy This Season!

Dr. Toni
www.drtonialvarado.com

Take The Challenge!

Last week my trainer challenged the fitness camp to join her in doing 500 crunches a day for seven days.  At the moment I heard the challenge something went off in me that said, “Take the challenge!”   

I joined with my fellow campers in doing 200 crunches that day and later completed 300 crunches, totaling 500 crunches before going to bed.  When I woke the next morning, I was still hearing, “Take the Challenge”.  All that day I was hearing, “Take the challenge.” What is it about this phrase that is so intriguing to me? 

The word “challenge” is defined as a call or summons to engage in any contest as of skill or strength.  A challenge is something that by it’s nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest or special effort.   When something is being challenged it serves to prove the genuineness, strength or authenticity of the thing that is being challenged.

Spiritually when I think of taking a challenge I am reminded of Jesus and how he challenged people.  Jesus would often challenge people to go beyond the status quo, to do something that would go against the prevailing thought or custom of the day, or go beyond the limitations that have been set for them. 

The challenges Jesus gave were designed to increase the individual’s character, physical ability or spiritual integrity.  Jesus challenged the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give to the poor (Mark 10).  He challenged the man at the pool of Bethsaida to pick up his bed and walk (John 5).  When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well of Samaria he challenged her to life of authentic worship (John 4).  In each case, a challenge came to bring out the best life that these men and woman could live.

I’m on the 6^th day of doing 500 crunches a day and it’s not been easy.   But with a little special effort I believe I can make it one more day. Whether your challenge is work related, relational, spiritual, or physical it is designed to make you better. Remember a challenge is a battle, contest, summons an upward call that builds your skills, increases your strength and improves your ability.

Look whatever challenge you are facing this week head on and “Take the Challenge!”

Have a blessed week.....

Dr. Toni

www.drtonialvarado.com