5 Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family!

During the month of May, my coaches and I are promoting I - Interpersonal Relationships. Last month, we focused on A - Activity. A social support system is as vital to our overall health and well-being as staying active, implementing good nutrition and getting rest. With school letting out soon and the beautiful weather this time of year, I have come up with a few ways that you and your family can build relationships while staying active together this spring/summer!

1. Play a game of Backyard Football! 
-or another game (tag, Frisbee, baseball, etc)…the possibilities are endless, but the point is to get outside and have fun together!

 2. Go on a bike ride!
 -or take a nature hike…anything that allows you to enjoy God’s creation!

 3. Participate in a local 5K for Charity! 
-or any community race (walk, run, bike ride, etc) that gives you the opportunity to give back while you get fit!

 4. Clean the house! 
-or yard, garage, etc…turn the music on and burn some calories while you work!

 5. Take a camping trip! 
-or a trip to the lake…simply get away from the chaos of life for a day or two, enjoying each other’s company in a new setting!

What is your favorite thing to do together as a family? My family and I enjoy riding bikes together and playing 4 Square any chance we get!

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.

Bring On Spring!

I was thrilled last week while making rounds @ Laughlin, to see that one of the Creation Health displays had been given a makeover!

And I was even more thrilled about the reminder that spring is just around the corner, woohoo!

So creative!

As usual, I also led the City of Greeneville seminar this week @ Public Works and am happy to report that we are halfway through the 8-week seminar and are still going strong with 35-ish participants. This week we talked about how mental and physical activity directly impact our overall health and wellness, encouraging one another to make an effort to add more "active mintutes" to our daily routines.

Hope y'all had a great week too, sure was nice to see the sunshine again! :)

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.

GHS Video #4: Activity

Here is the 4th video in the Creation Health series, which was produced by students/faculty at Greeneville High School and shown on the GHS News. If you missed the previous videos, go here for Video #1, C - Choice, here for Video #2, R - Rest and here for Video #3, E - Environment.

Video #4 is A - Activity. It is short, sweet and to the point. Enjoy!

This completes the first half of the video series! I will let you know when the remaining 4 videos are produced!

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.

Running the Race

Hello again and Happy 2015!

I hope y'all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with loved ones. I had a great 2 weeks off spending time with family and friends, as well as doing a little traveling. I am, however, glad to be back into a routine and boy did we hit the ground running in the new year! I had 3 speaking engagements and a health council meeting this week alone, with 2 more speaking engagements already lined up for next week!

This past week I had the privilege of speaking at the Laughlin Volunteers luncheon and at the NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) support group meeting, where I gave an overview of Creation Health and the 8 guiding principles that affect our whole person health...physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. These 8 principles make up the acronym C-R-E-A-T-I-O-N and stand for Choice, Rest, Environment, Activity, Trust, Interpersonal Relationships, Outlook and Nutrition. At the NAMI meeting, I specifically related each principle area to mental health.

I was also honored to speak at the Roby Center (pictured above), where I talked about A - Activity, giving tips on how to ease into an exercise program for the new year, one that will last and have long term benefits.

I have made a commitment to make my own health and wellness a top priority again in 2015. No specific resolutions, just taking better care of myself, not just physically but mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Even though 2014 was filled with great things, it was a very stressful year for me, for several reasons, and I have never been one to handle stress effectively. I have decided to change that trend this year and I will admit that I am off to a great start balancing my busyness with healthy choices! Now, to press on!

What about you? Any goals for the new year?

Be sure to let us know if you need a speaker at your next meeting or event!

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 Nature Trail

On May 15th, I had the pleasure of attending the ribbon cutting ceremony for the brand new Creation Health Nature Trail!

It was a wonderful time of celebration as Takoma Regional Hospital, the Town of Greeneville and Greeneville Parks and Rec came together to provide a beautiful hiking trail for the community!

The trail is a little over a mile long and is made up of 8 stops along the way, each one representing the 8 principle areas that affect our overall health and well-being, and make up the acronym CREATION...choice, rest, environment, activity, trust, interpersonal relationships, outlook and nutrition.

The trail starts near the pavilion at Forest Park and it is my understanding that when it is completely finished (over the next few years), it will be a little over 4 miles long, connecting Hardin Park with downtown Greeneville.

My little family and I had a picnic at Forest Park this summer, followed by a hike of the trail ourselves, allowing us to check "picnic" and "hike" off of our summer bucket list. We had so much fun and plan to do it again soon!

I hope you and your loved ones get to enjoy this beautiful little outdoor sanctuary soon! Be sure to notice the pretty little birdhouses (built by the local boys scouts) along the way! :)

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.

Coaches Update

I am SO proud of my coaches at both Takoma and Laughlin!

As you know, the coaches are the ones on the front lines in their respective hospitals, promoting the CH program to both the employees and patients in their units. They are not only hanging up fliers, decorating bulletin boards as well passing out books and other promo materials, but they are coming up with fun, creative things that the people in their departments can do together, to live out a Creation Health-y lifestyle by making small changes in each of the 8 principle areas that affect our overall health and well-being.

For about 6-8 weeks at a time, we focus on one letter principle, with a few weeks break in between. We started with C - Choice in the fall, R - Rest through the holidays, A - Activity in the new year and are now heading into N - Nutrition as Takoma finishes up its "Biggest Loser" contest.

Here are some of the fabulous ideas that my coaches have done along the way!

Choice:

A fall tree, where employees write one healthy choice that they are going to make for 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks has passed, they report their experience.

A fall wreath, where employees do the same thing as they did for the fall tree (see above).

Encouraging thoughts and quotes, posted for employees to read.

A list of healthy choices that employees can apply to their lives, posted in the break room.

A "Take the Stairs" flier displayed, showing the benefits of taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

A choices Christmas board displaying healthy choices, with a place for employees to write out the healthy choices they are committing to implement.

A grab bag, where employees draw out a healthy choice that they must try out for 1 week and report their experience. The next week they draw a new one.

Healthy snack options for employees, in addition to what is available in the vending machine.

Rest: 

A daily joke sent through email, to give employees a laugh break each day.

Rest related tips, sent to employees in an email to kick off the 6 weeks of rest or posted around the unit.

A bag of herbs for employees to place inside their pillow, to help them sleep better.

A sleep contest, where employees track sleep time and there is a winner for most sleep overall as well as most consistent sleep hours each day.

1 minute massages and "fresh air" breaks for employees.

Activity:

Bulletin boards in highly visible/trafficked areas with reminders, tips for getting both physical and mental activity into your day.

*A Steps Contest (see example below)

Hello Everyone!

The next Creation Health principle that we will be focusing on is ACTIVITY.  The project that we will be doing for Activity will be a STEPS CONTEST!  The contest will run from February 14^th – February 28^th and will include everyone on 2^nd floor.  If you know of someone that is not included in this email on 2^nd floor, please share this with them and let me know. 

Here is what you will need to do…..

*Purchase a pedometer (see below on pricing and locations for pedometers).

*Each day log the number of steps that you’ve taken for that day (see attachment for a log sheet).

*Turn in your log sheets with your name on them-the steps that you turn in are only from 2/14-2/28.  All log sheets must be turned in by Tuesday, MARCH 4^th.   You can turn them in by email, inter-office mail, or slide under my office door (2^nd floor-Diabetes Education).   

ANYONE WHO COMPLETES AT LEAST 50,000 STEPS DURING THE CONTEST TIME FRAME WILL BE ENTERED TO WIN A BRAND NEW FITBIT FLEX!!!

FITBIT FLEX IS A $100 VALUE.  HERE SOME OF FEATURES….

• Tracks steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes
• Monitors how long and how well you sleep
• Wakes you (not your partner) with a silent wake alarm
• LED lights show how your day is stacking up against your goal
• Easy-to-wear, slim, comfortable wristband
• Wirelessly syncs to your Mac, iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad (3rd or 4th Gen.) and iPod touch (5th Gen.)
• Set goals, view progress, and earn badges
• Share and compete with friends throughout the day
• Free Fitbit iPhone app
• Waterproof so you can wear it in the shower

WE WILL DRAW FOR THE GRAND PRIZE ON THURSDAY, MARCH 6^TH  (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PRESENT TO WIN).  WE WILL BE SENDING OUT MORE INFORMATION ON LOCATION AND TIME OF THE DRAWING.

We want to see everyone from the 2^nd floor participate in this fun event!

Please see the attachment for some guidelines on goals for your steps each day and how to achieve them.  The 2^ndattachment is a sheet that you can print off and log your daily steps.

Locations and prices for pedometers:

Wal-Mart:  $4.97 (sporting goods dept.)

Walgreens:  $19.99

CVS:  $9.99 (thru Saturday), $19.99 after Saturday

Hibbett’s:  $15.00

Kmart:  $9.99

**I have listed the least expensive price for each store, prices go up from there depending on additional features.

Please remember this is a fun contest to encourage friendly competition and for everyone to ENJOY being active.  If you have any questions, please let me or Joanie know.

A few words of encouragement….

“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.” 

~Carol Welch

Dear friend, I pray that all goes well for you.  I hope you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit.”

~Apostle John

Congratulations to Brenda for winning the Takoma 2nd Floor Steps Contest!!

As we enter our next letter focus N - Nutrition, I have already heard several fantastic ideas floating around - can't wait to show you what they come up with! I will also be back soon, to tell you about the CH health fair that 10 of my awesome coaches helped me with! If you would like to implement the "coaches model" in your organization, I would love to help you get started!

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.

Let's Move!

In all the excitement of traveling to Orlando a few weeks ago, I realize that I never did tell you about the 1st annual Let's Move Greene County event!

It was held @ Tusculum College Pioneer Arena on Saturday, November 2nd and there were all kinds of health and wellness booths set-up, including ours!

There were also all sorts of fun activities going on, for families to get involved in...everything from bounce houses to zumba to dancing! The goal was to create awareness about and help prevent childhood obesity by encouraging children and families to be active and M-O-V-E...not just on that day, but everyday!

A fun time was had by all, both the city and county mayors officially pronounced Greene County a Let's Move community and it was a great turnout of people for a 1st annual event!

As soon as I know the details for next year, I will let you know...you won't want to miss it! Exercise can be F-U-N!!!

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.

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.

Leadership Training @ 4H Camp

Yesterday morning, leaders from both Takoma Regional and Laughlin Memorial Hospitals came together at the 4H Camp for Creation Health Leadership Training!

Approximately 63 people were in attendance, to hear an in-depth teaching of the first 4 guiding principles of the Creation Health program.

C- Choice
R - Rest
E- Environment
A - Activity

Attendants also learned how to select Creation Health Coaches, the hospital employees who will be responsible for finding practical ways to implement the 8 guiding principles in their department/floor/area, as well as motivating and encouraging their co-workers to lead a Creation Health-y lifestyle!

Over the next few months, coaches will be trained and hospital leaders will return for the second half of the leadership training, where they will learn the last 4 guiding principles along with integration strategies!

The 4H Camp was the perfect location for our purposes...absolutely gorgeous and very natural! Plus, the weather was beautiful!

We served a wonderful breakfast spread including fresh fruit, muffins, granola bars, a yogurt bar, an oatmeal bar and drink choices of water, coffee, juice and milk!

Each attendent received a Creation Health Study Guide, water bottle and one lucky winner from each table got to take home the lovely mum centerpieces!

All in all, it was a great day and a successful time of training! Let us know how we can help your company become a Creation Health-y company!

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.

Summer Bucket List

Yesterday, my family and I went hiking at Horse Creek, to check the final item off of our summer bucket list! While we were at it, we also had a picnic and went on a bike ride!

What is a summer bucket list, you ask?

Basically, a list of activities that we wanted to accomplish together before the summer ended. We sat down at the end of the school year and made our list together, then we hung it on the wall in our kitchen and checked off items as we completed them.

It is a great way to spend time together building relationships, while staying active! Did you know that the presence of loving relationships in your life can make the difference between sickness and health? Read more here.

Go here for 5 Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family and stay tuned for some fabulous ideas for a Fall Bucket List!

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.

Family Fun Day: 5 Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family!

My family and I had a blast at Family Fun Day this past Saturday at the Reformation Lutheran Church!

I set-up a table, where I handed out "5 Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family" flyers and other Creation Health materials, while my boys ran around playing games and eating all kinds of treats! It was a great turnout for this 1st annual event!

For those who were unable to attend, here are 5 fun/active ways to spend time together with your family...

1. Play a game of Backyard Football 
-or another game (tag, Frisbee, baseball, etc)---the possibilities are endless, but the point is to get outside and have fun together as a family!

2. Go on a bike ride! 
-or take a nature hike---anything that allows you to enjoy God's creation!

3. Participate in a local 5K for Charity! 
-or any community race (walk, run, bike ride, etc) that gives you the opportunity to give back while you get fit!

4. Clean the house! 
-or yard, garage, etc---turn the music on and burn some calories while you work!

5. Take a camping trip!
-or a trip to the lake---simply get away from the chaos of life for a day or two, enjoying each other's company in a new setting!

What about you? Do you have any ideas of ways that families can stay active together? Feel free to leave a comment!

And if you have an upcoming event, let us know how we can be apart of it!

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.