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.

Do You Trust Him?

This week in the City of Greeneville employee's seminar we talked about T - Trust, and how a trusting relationship with our Creator on this crazy journey we call life, is in fact vital to our health and well-being.

One way we can begin to know and understand who God is, so that we can put our trust in Him, is by reading His word. It is there in the pages of scripture that we discover a God who never gives up on us, despite our constant failings and attempts to go our own way. On the contrary, He offers love and forgiveness, to the point of sending His own Son to take our place on the cross, and all we have to do is "confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, and we will be saved." (Romans 10:9-10)

And though I must admit that the smooth journey of the top photo IS enticing, it is only in the midst of the obstacles of the second journey that we find God and are able to enjoy the blessings of an abundant, eternal life with Him, no matter our circumstances.

What about you? Have you put your trust in Him?

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.

God Can Take the Ordinary and Make it Extraordinary

In 1 Samuel 17: 33 & 37, Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine (Goliath) and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."

David replied, "The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." To which Saul replied, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

Now, I don't know about you but watching sheep all day does not seem like the most exciting or even the most important of activities, yet that's exactly what God had David doing most of his young life. While his brothers were going to battle for the king, David remained close to home and faithful to his work as a shepherd. It was through this every day, ordinary activity that God did something extraordinary.

All along, God had been preparing David for the greatest battle of his life. And He used David's experiences as a shepherd boy in the fields to shape him into a man after God's own heart - a man who would one day shepherd His people as their greatest king.

This is the devotional thought, taken from "Creation Health Bible Stories: Insights for an Abundant Life," that I shared Tuesday morning at the Leadership Training @ 4H Camp, to kick-off the meeting.

In the same way, I truly believe that God can use Creation Health to do a mighty work in Greene County. Even when our day-to-day job tasks seem monotonous, mundane, ordinary, even unimportant, He can bless our efforts just as He gave David success in his battle against the giant Goliath. It is my prayer that we would be diligent servants, knowing that God is faithful and that it is He who has the power to change lives.

"Lord, please use this program for Your glory in Greene County...to change lives, to bring people into a relationship with You, to improve the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of every resident who lives here. Take our everyday, ordinary activities and use them to do something extraordinary for Your kingdom. Amen"

What about you? Do you believe that God can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary? Will you allow Him to use you right where you are today?

About the Author: Erin Franklin is the Creation Health Coordinator for Greene County 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 Worship Pastor at FBC Greeneville, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, Anderson and EJ. Click here for full bio.