Layout 39

Events for April


Cancer Control Month


The American Cancer Society has designated April as Cancer Control Month. What does this mean to you? It means early detection is the keep to successful treatment. As women you should make sure to get your annual well check-ups which should Pap smear and mammogram, depending on your age and health history. Beware of other early warnings sign such as any unusual lumps, especially during monthly breast exams, or unexplained bleeding or unusual molds. You know your body better than anyone else and should be the strongest advocate. Check out National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP).

Prepare for your Herb Garden


April is an excellence time to get prepared to plant your herb garden and enjoy the spring weather and get in some exercise while doing so. You can either plant the garden indoors or outside. While outside preparing your perfect spot for this garden, you will be outside enjoying the fresh air, burning calories and getting ready to plant some fresh herbs to use for those healthy recipes. The recommendation is to plant herbs in early or mid-May. You can plan on planting Basil, Borage, Chervil, Sesame, and Savory. Herb gardens are fun and tasty. You can also plant your herb garden on your patio or porch. One suggestion is to use 5 gal plastic buckets. Go to Backyard Gardener.

Featured in This Issue

Sweet Potato Recipes
Embracing Change
Children Growing Up

Nutrition/Wellness Information

Sweet potatoes can be found year round. They are excellent baked with the skin on. Sweet potatoes provide vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B-6, potassium and iron. One potato is only 70 calories.

I have been dealing with gum problems. I found out that a healthy diet plays a key role in having healthy gums. Vitamin C helps to have healthy tissue which helps in keeping teeth in the socket. One way to identify Vitamin C deficiency is gingivitis. Folic acid, B Vitamin is also important because the tissue in the mouth use folic acid to stay healthy, especially soft tissue. A healthy diet focusing on the right nutrients benefits your body in many ways.

WFFN - Women Friendly Family News

Children Growing Up

Do we expect perfection from our children? We know that no one is perfect and as parents we don't really expect perfection, what we do want is for our children to fully develop or mature in a very healthy manner. We want our children to learn from their mistakes but also benefit from our wisdom and knowledge. However, we need to make sure not to stifle their maturity by not supporting their desire to go in new directions, move away from the familiar, and embrace new ideas and new friends. Change is not always bad neither is it a sign that something is going totally wrong. Sometimes it's a sign that they realize it's time to look outward instead of inward. Oh my, they're growing up, maturing into amazing young adults.

Spiritual Growth

Embracing Change
Sometimes we are afraid to move from the familiar and embrace change. When we start to look outward and look at the needs of others, we can start to grow and mature spiritual. We are told in Isaiah 58:10 (NIV) "Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon."

When you make the decision to follow Christ you move away from the worldly things and rejoice in new experiences, rejoice in new friends, rejoice in new directions, and rejoice in being a new bright light for others. You can be a light of encouragement, a light of hope, a light that will shine bright outward and illuminate in a new way for all to see.

You may start to move away from friends that are not willing to accept the change you are going through. However, you don't have to move away from those friends, you can be an encouragement and through your actions, you can show Christ's love. Once we become Christians we become spokesman for Christ. Change is not always easy and it's not easy to watch people drift away that have been a part of your life, a part of you. But we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Women Health and Family Tips