Last week my friend Kelley told me about a free women's conference in Irving. So she and I met up over there. After listening to Angela Thomas talk about joy, we attended the workshop on health. The speaker: Arlene Pellicane, author of 31 Days to a Younger You. 

She gave us three perspectives on health:

1. Put food in its proper place. The purpose of food is nourishment, not comfort. The speaker encouraged us to remember that our food choices affect more than ourselves--they affect the people who live with it.

2. Exercise. (Insert collective groan here.) She encouraged doing something you like, and preferably something you can do close to home. Doing your activity with someone also helps you enjoy it and stick with it. Start small. Walk or take a yoga class. Or spin. And know you don't have to do it at 5 a.m. Schedule exercise as you would an important appointment.

3. Think rightly. Instead of negative self-talk, remind yourself that God doesn't make junk. You are precious. So treat your body as a treasure.

She ended by asking what one thing we could do this week to move toward better health. I opted for promising to serve something green with every dinner this week--a commitment I kept. And no, I didn't make green Jell-o. But I did ask, "Does guacamole count?"