In the last three years, I have made some drastic changes. I have found that in order to live my life as if today were my last day, I need to be willing to choose to make changes that match up with that philosophy.

Today I simply want to encourage you and share with you just three of those changes that have made everything different – and honestly, changes that encourage me to continue to change.

Now – I have not done everything perfect. I will mess up. I am human. But I can promise you, if you make even one of these changes, you will see a significant difference in your health and your heart – physically, spiritually, and mentally.

FOOD:

Three years ago I threw out my entire pantry, all the contents of my freezer, and started completely over.

This has been huge. For the last three years (and it becomes easier and easier the longer you do it) my husband and I have eaten organic and natural food. No GMOs, no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup. We read labels and we carefully consider what we put into our bodies. Read the whole story here if you want to – but it has changed our lives.

I’m not saying my weight still hasn’t fluctuated – because you can overeat healthy foods as much as you can overeat unhealthy foods. This can still be a struggle. But being healthy is more important than being skinny. Don’t forget that. The goal is health.

BUSY:

So, after about three million conversations that went like this, I decided it was ENOUGH:

Me: Hey! How are you?

Person: Oh my goodness. I am so busy.

Me: I know, me too. I wasn’t home one night this week.

Person: I mean, I haven’t been on a date with my husband in a month!

…and the conversation goes on to include all the busy-ness and craziness in both our lives.

This is not okay. We are determining our worth by our “busy”. So, my new lifelong commitment (and I haven’t done this perfectly by ANY means) is not to use the word busy and to try not to discuss all of that.

I mean, how does it feel when someone tells you all those things? You feel small, worthless, and insignificant. Our worth is not attached to how many things we have on our plate. Our worth is through Jesus. Our worth is just being His creation.

I don’t want to compete for my worth by my list of busy. And I don’t want the people around me to feel like they need to compete for their worth with my list of busy. I want them to know their worth and feel loved around me.

Enough with the busy. It’s okay to rest. It’s good to rest. It’s beneficial to rest. And to be with family. And to do cool stuff.

DO ALL THE THINGS:

For years I kept saying I wanted to finish a book. I’m finishing the last chapter as we speak (I can’t wait to share it with you!). I’ve always wanted to be on a game show – so I made a video, auditioned, and was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire this March (story here). I decided that if you want to do something, stop saying and start doing – at least start trying.

The process is often more fun than the thing itself.

Stop wishing and take the steps to make a change. Part of living my mantra – today is the best day ever – is living each day like it is my last day on earth. So I’ve written blogs, posted updates, and just started doing the things I’ve always dreamed of doing (see my list of 40 things I’m doing in the year I turn 40).

I guess it started when I was on the Oprah Show (story here) and realized that you can take steps to achieve your dreams. I am a DO-ER – and I don’t want to wait…I want to live life, inhale it deeply, and all the marrow out of the bones of the journey I’m taking.

I don’t want to miss a thing (yes, I know, it’s a song). And neither should you.

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And while I’m at all this change stuff – if you just generally want more joy in your life, join us in the #100daysofJOY challenge (click here for more info) and start chronicling all the things that happen every day that you might not usually notice. It will change your mood with gratitude (hee hee).