Nature Trail Contest Winners!

Congratulations to Rachel Macon in Takoma Admissions for winning our Creation Health Nature Trail walking contest! Rachel walked the trail 110 times in 3 months, winning a Fit Bit which she plans to give to her husband for his birthday! Way to go, Rachel!

Congratulations to Jennie Smith in the Takoma Lab & Takoma Chaplain Anna Vyhmeister for winning our Show Us Your Trail Selfie Contest! Jennie wins for Most Active Creation Health Coach, Anna wins Most Creative Selfie!

If you have not had a chance to hike the trail, now is one of the most beautiful times to be out on it with the cool weather and gorgeous fall colors. The trail head is next to the pavilion at Forest Park and the trail is a little over 1 mile long. See you there!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

On The Road Again!

It has been a fun few weeks getting to be out & about in the community, one of my favorite parts of the job!

First, I had the pleasure of promoting Creation Health at the Takoma Golf Classic this month & boy was it a beautiful day to be out of the office & out on the course. Here are a few of us sporting our Creation Health shirts at Andrew Johnson Golf Club.

I also got to hand out CH materials at the YMCA Health Fair sponsored by Takoma this month. I just had to snap this picture of one of our beautiful coaches Janie Strom showing off her CREATION crossword puzzle, one of her creative handouts from the fair.

Finally,  I had the chance to speak at the Roby Center again, this time discussing how important a social support system is to our health & well-being. At the end of our time together, we had fun making cards to send to loved ones as a way to build the relationships in our lives.

I hope you have had the opportunity to get outside & enjoy this gorgeous fall weather! It is one of the most beautiful times of year out on the CH Nature Trail if you get a chance to get away, I highly recommend it!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Show Us Your Trail Selfie!

We're having a contest to get people out onto the Creation Health Nature Trail! All you have to do is snap a picture of you by yourself, with a group, your dog, your family, friends, co-workers or anyone else on the Creation Health Nature Trail & send it to Erin Franklin at creationhealthgc@gmail.com by the end of September to get your picture on this bulletin board which hangs in the Takoma Regional Hospital cafeteria & for a chance to win a prize. There will be prizes for the best, most creative selfies as well as entries into a raffle drawing for anyone who participates. 

Taking a walk on the trail with a friend is a great way to combine A - Activity, E - Environment & I - Interpersonal Relationships. Plus, this time of the year is one of the most beautiful on the gorgeous, shaded trail. In fact, when you're out on the trail, you truly do not realize you are in the middle of  the city. I am planning to take my family on a little hike soon & I hope to see you there!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Summer is in Full Swing!

Lots of exciting things are happening around here & I am thankful to be apart of it all!

First of all, Takoma Leadership took time out of their busy schedules last month to participate in the Creation Health Nature Trail work day led by Takoma Wellness Director Bob Kamieneski. Because they trimmed trees, cleared paths, dumped brush piles & built a retaining wall, the trail is now in great shape for summer traffic & our upcoming trail walking program. If you have not had a chance to hike the CH Nature Trail, this time of year is one of the most beautiful!

I have had the privilege of being on the trail a few times myself recently. Our newest Creation Health Coach, Tracey Ayers and I walked it one afternoon while making plans to coordinate group walks for the Takoma employees housed in the VCC (Volunteer Career Center). Pictured above is the lunch walking group. 

Also, Bob Kamieneski and I gave county high school kids tours of it for 3 days straight during Career Week, while I taught them the 8 CH letter principles and Bob told them how to go about pursuing a career in wellness. 

My boys got to join me on the trail during the work day, helping me trim trees, clear paths & dump brush piles. It was fun little outing for us!

Also, my family and I got to attend the FBC Greeneville Senior Adult summer picnic last week @ Forest Park, where I showed them the Creation Health Nature Trail, giving them an overview of how it came about, as well as future plans.

Beyond the trail, other exciting summer happenings have been taking place including Zumba classes going strong every Monday/Wednesday evenings in the Takoma VCC at 5:15pm. This is a great opportunity for anyone needing to add exercise to your weekly routine, and for those who are simply looking for community & fellowship. It’s an easy way to build I – Interpersonal Relationships while staying A - Active! The fee is $2 per class for Takoma employees, $3 per class for non-employees. Bring a friend & join the fun!

This month I had the privilege of setting up a booth @ the 2nd Annual Kiwanis Kids Day @ Pioneer Park, where I handed out free Creation Health coloring books, crayons, books & bookmarks to those in attendance.

Finally, I enjoyed visiting the first ever Greene County Creation Health VBS held @ Gethsemane United Methodist Church last week.

As you can see, it's been a great summer so far! I will be back soon to share a few more happenings & to tell you about our summer trail walking program!

Make it a great day!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Summer is in Full Swing!

Lots of exciting things are happening around here & I am thankful to be apart of it all!

First of all, Takoma Leadership took time out of their busy schedules last month to participate in the Creation Health Nature Trail work day led by Takoma Wellness Director Bob Kamieneski. Because they trimmed trees, cleared paths, dumped brush piles & built a retaining wall, the trail is now in great shape for summer traffic & our upcoming trail walking program. If you have not had a chance to hike the CH Nature Trail, this time of year is one of the most beautiful!

I have had the privilege of being on the trail a few times myself recently. Our newest Creation Health Coach, Tracey Ayers and I walked it one afternoon while making plans to coordinate group walks for the Takoma employees housed in the VCC (Volunteer Career Center). Pictured above is the lunch walking group. 

Also, Bob Kamieneski and I gave county high school kids tours of it for 3 days straight during Career Week, while I taught them the 8 CH letter principles and Bob told them how to go about pursuing a career in wellness. 

My boys got to join me on the trail during the work day, helping me trim trees, clear paths & dump brush piles. It was fun little outing for us!

Also, my family and I got to attend the FBC Greeneville Senior Adult summer picnic last week @ Forest Park, where I showed them the Creation Health Nature Trail, giving them an overview of how it came about, as well as future plans.

Beyond the trail, other exciting summer happenings have been taking place including Zumba classes going strong every Monday/Wednesday evenings in the Takoma VCC at 5:15pm. This is a great opportunity for anyone needing to add exercise to your weekly routine, and for those who are simply looking for community & fellowship. It’s an easy way to build I – Interpersonal Relationships while staying A - Active! The fee is $2 per class for Takoma employees, $3 per class for non-employees. Bring a friend & join the fun!

This month I had the privilege of setting up a booth @ the 2nd Annual Kiwanis Kids Day @ Pioneer Park, where I handed out free Creation Health coloring books, crayons, books & bookmarks to those in attendance.

Finally, I enjoyed visiting the first every Greene County Creation Health VBS held @ Gethsemane United Methodist Church last week.

As you can see, it's been a great summer so far! I will be back soon to share a few more happenings & to tell you about our summer trail walking program!

Make it a great day!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

It's a Beautiful Day for the Nature Trail!

This time of year is one of the most beautiful on Takoma’s Creation Health Nature Trail! Be sure to take advantage of it by setting aside time in your schedule to hike it with family members, friends, co-workers or even pets. Tracey Ayers, one of our fabulous coaches, and I were out there last week and I was so pleased to see so many different ages and groups of people using it. Next month Bob Kamieneski, Takoma's Wellness Director, and I will be giving Greene County high school students tours of it, and I will definitely be taking my boys on it again as soon as school is out!

On that note, I cannot believe April is quickly coming to an end and school will be out next month! This week I completed my final visit to Tusculum View for the year.  I have enjoyed being there twice a month teaching the kiddos how to be healthy and happy using the CREATION acronym along with interactive games and videos. I will miss seeing those sweet faces this summer!

I hope everyone is having a great week and taking advantage of this beautiful weather!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Tip of the Month!

We have some exciting new things going on around here these days! One of those things is our Monthly Newsletter, which contains a wellness Tip of the Month!

Our newsletter entitled Creation Health News circulates the hospital each month and in it, I report what has been going on with Creation Health as well as feature one of our fabulous coaches who has done a great job promoting the monthly wellness tip in their department.

Last month our tip was as follows:

As Easter approaches, make prayer a priority. A study of 560 households has shown that people who pray are happier, more satisfied and enjoy a deeper sense of well-being about the directions their lives are headed. Talking things through with God can help make situations clear. Today, make prayer your first response to a difficult situation. Not sure how to start? Begin by praising God for who He is and by thanking Him for your many blessings.

The above picture shows how Laurann Pierce promoted T - Trust in her unit at Takoma, by making these colorful Easter crosses and encouraging her co-workers to write what they are thankful for on each one. They now hang in the front office of Urgent Care/Industricare as a beautiful reminder of God's daily blessings!

For the month of April, our wellness tip is as follows:

As the days get longer and summer approaches, make exercise a priority in your schedule. Physical activity (also known as “The Fountain of Youth”) has been proven to prevent disease and enhance your quality of life. Today, try to be more active by parking farther away, by taking a 10 minute walk with a friend on your lunch break, or by adding strength-training to your workout routine.

I look forward to seeing what our coaches come up with this month to promote A - Activity!

As always, I am having a great time working with the kiddos at Tusculum View twice a month, teaching them how to be healthy and happy using the CREATION acronym along with fun, interactive games and videos. We are thankful for the gorgeous weather that has been allowing us to go outside during our last few times together!

Happy Spring, friends! Let's all add more active minutes and outside time to our daily routine! Who's with me?

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Soda Sales Down, Water Sales Up!

The Takoma Regional Hospital Surrender Your Soda Challenge was a success! Reports from the Takoma Café reveal that since we began the No Soda Challenge, soda sales have taken a significant dive! In fact, soda sales have decreased 35% and even more exciting, water sales have gone up. 

We had 103 participants at Takoma who completed the No Soda Challenge for the month of February and we are very pleased with this turnout the first time around! In addition, one of our awesome Creation Health coaches' Jennie Smith (who happens to be the Assistant Girls Softball Coach at Greeneville High School) challenged her softball team to take the No Soda Challenge with us. She had 16 girls participate, along with head coach Bob Fortel. Everyone said that they enjoyed the challenge and that even though it is “over” they are going to continue to do it! Many of them said that they had lost anywhere from 2-6 pounds and they weren’t craving junk food anymore!

Also, congratulations to our fitness prize winners: Laura Crum, Kim Kishbaugh, Kassie Lawson, Bethany Martin, Laura Walther, Sharon Hensley & Christina Greene! Let’s keep the challenge going by continuing to decrease our soda intake while increasing our water intake. One of the simplest tricks for drinking more water is to keep a bottle of it on your desk. It’s easy to take a swig regularly if you’ve got water in arm’s reach – and if you keep the cap on the bottle, there’s no chance of a spillage!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Switching Gears: Back to Back Speaking Engagements!

As always, I had the privilege of working with these awesome kiddos after school, teaching them how to be healthy and happy using the CREATION acronym! This week we talked about the first 4 letters in the acronym C - Choice, R - Rest, E - Environment and A - Activity as they are related to our overall health and well-being. Next time we will discuss the last 4 letters T - Trust, I - Interpersonal Relationships, O - Outlook and N - Nutrition. It was so beautiful outside, we let them go out and play in the fresh air and sunshine for the final 10 minutes or so, to close out our fun time together!

The kids were probably wondering why I was so dressed up this time around, ha! But as soon as I left them, I headed to speak at the CHIP (Change is Possible) monthly dinner, held at the Greeneville SDA church. After enjoying a delicious healthy dinner, we discussed in depth R - Rest and how it directly impacts our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Honestly, the Rest chapter is my favorite of all the Creation Health materials, I just love it when I get the chance to talk about it. I think it is because most of the time you hear about diet and exercise related to health and wellness, not rest. But there is a wealth of information out there about how much sleep and rest affect our weight, immune system, prevention of disease and overall well-being. I was pleasantly overwhelmed and fascinated the first time I heard it and it is so fun to be able to give myself and others permission to take a break, say no and simply enjoy life! God created rest in the beginning. It was a forethought, not an afterthought. It is not for the weak or faint of heart, but for all. It is a gift given at creation, so that we can enjoy all that God has done and made, and all that we have accomplished, while simultaneously being restored for the next thing He has for us to do.

That said, are you getting enough rest? In our busy, 24/7 connected society it is not something that is just going to happen. You must plan for it. Schedule it. Make it a priority. Go ahead, I am giving you permission!

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.

Creation Health VBS!

This week I had the pleasure of passing along our Creation Health VBS materials to a church here in town who is interested in using them this summer! What about you? Are you looking for curriculum for a kids program/camp? 

This five-day program teaches children the eight universal principles of CREATION Health. We make healthy living interesting, a lot of fun, and something that children want to continue long after experiencing the Team CREATION program. This approach opens evangelistic doors to families that are otherwise very difficult to reach. People everywhere are looking for ways to live healthier lives. We give you the Biblical tools to help them. Team CREATION features six different stations children visit each day. They will learn Bible stories, play games, make crafts, eat snacks, and perform health experiments. The 2015 kit includes a Leader’s Guide, six unique Station Guides, multiple posters, a resource CD-ROM, our very popular CREATION Health Kids music CD and puppet DVD, as well as a set of promotional materials!  

Let us know if you are interested and I can bring the materials by for you to look over. I am planning to use them in some of my own programs this summer too!

As always, I had the opportunity to lead the Tiger Times kids from Tusculum View in some fun interactive games while teaching them how to be healthy & happy using the CREATION acronym. Working with the kiddos around town is one of my favorite things about my job and I look forward to being with the kids at Tusculum View twice a month!

Hope it's been a great week and that you are enjoying the sunshine! I must say it's been nice to see the sun out again!

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About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County, the Head Volleyball Coach at Greeneville High School and the Founder/Director at Worthy of the Prize Sports Ministries. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization, and her ebook find joy in the journey: how 12 women could face tomorrow just because He lives for inspiring stories of women who found overwhelming joy despite their circumstances. Erin is the wife of Aaron, the Minister of Music & Senior Adults at FBC Greeneville, and the momma of 2 sons, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.