Book Tour: Tampa/CTN

Last week I headed to Tampa, Florida for the first time. My purpose for Tampa was to appear on The Herman and Sharron Show, and The Good Life with CTN's founder and president, Bob D'Andrea.

I started my trip the night before around my appearances. I arrived at the airport for my 6:30pm only to find out that my American Airlines flights had been canceled because of the bad weather in Dallas (I was flying from Austin to Dallas to Tampa). So I hopped on a Continental airline that was flying through Houston to Tampa. When we boarded, they announced that the flight was delayed...this would be fine except that my connection was tight. When I got to Houston, I rushed off the plane hoping that my new flight to Tampa hadn't left without me. It turns out that the crew for that flight was stuck in JFK, so the flight was delayed. Thank the good Lord. We left at 9:40pm...I got to Tampa after 1:00am. After picking up my rental car and driving around lost, I arrived at the hotel and got to bed by 3:00am. Did I mention that it is humid in Tampa? Humid but beautiful. Even driving at night I could see how the water glistening.

My call at the CTN studio was 10:30am. Eek!

Fortunately I got up and to the studio in time plenty time. I started with The Herman & Sharron Show. Herman and Sharron have been on CTN for twenty-eight years and married for much longer. Herman, who reminds me of Regis in every way, was a riot...he wore a Donald Trump shirt to commemorate the interview. We talked about Footprints in the Boardroom and how my faith influenced my experience on "The Apprentice."

After we completed the show, I met Bob D'Andrea, CTN's founder and the host of The Good Life. As we sat down to do the interview, Bob mixed things up and asked me about my "boyfriends". Ha ha. I have been asked a lot of questions during interviews but I can tell you that the question I would never have expected from Bob D'Andrea was about my "boyfriends." Those of you who visit my blog know that the part of my life I have figured out the least is the "boyfriends." Ha ha...Bob didn't let up either. He wanted to know what I looked for in a boyfriend. You will have to watch to find out how I responded.

All kidding aside, I had the opportunity to share with The Good Life viewers about the importance of faith and prayer in their daily life.

After the tapings were over, I headed back to the airport and left fair Tampa without any flight delays, cancellations, or weather issues...

Happy Fourth of July!!

-RXW

What Rox: Watch The Herman and Sharron Show on 7/12/07 check your local listings (The Herman and Sharron Show airs on CTN, SkyAngel, and INSP digital). Check back for information on The Good Life's air date!

5 Tips To A Healthy Lifestyle

As you know last week I spoke at The 50 Million Pound Challenge kickoff in Austin. I had a great time meeting the State Farm employees and sharing with them in their commitment to Give up the pounds. Not the Fight!

I applauded the participants for their dedication to a healthy lifestyle and shared with them my tips to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Here they are:

1) Food is all about moderation! It is okay to eat the food you love but eat it in moderation.
When you go out to restaurants, split your meal in half. Ask the server for a to go box and immediately put half of your meal away for later.

2) Exercise is meant to be fun! Find something you love.
Don't put any extra obstacles in your way. If you don't enjoy it, if the location is too far way, intimidating, etc. don't do it. Keep it fresh. Mix it up from time to time.

3) Have an accountability partner!
If you don't feel like working out on a certain day your partner can be there to push you. It can be a local or cyber partner. Be creative.

4) Journal! How will you know how far you have gotten if you don't know where you started?
I blog (obviously) but you can journal or write about your struggles, accomplishments etc. Take pictures as you get smaller and smaller.

5) Reward yourself for the little things!
Don't wait until you meet the big goal, delight in the small moments i.e. fitting into your skinny jeans, walking up the stairs without getting exhausted.

Special thanks to Arcillia Smith and her committee for their dedication to The 50 Million Pound Challenge.

Click here to listen to the speech.
-RXW
What Rox: The 50 Million Pound Challenge has already reached 287,010 pounds and counting. To join The Challenge or to see when the kickoff is coming to your area, go to http://www.50millionpounds.com/
Keep those pounds coming!

Intimacy

I am a creature of habit...especially on Sundays.

A typical routine on Sunday includes going to Untitled at 9:45, service at 11:15, and lunch with friends right after. This Sunday my typical "routine" was modified. I was asked to speak to the Singles (over 40) ministry. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous. For some reason I can speak all over the country, but speaking to a group at my own church, Riverbend, can be a bit intimidating. Their topic for July is prayer and I was entrusted in kicking it off. Pressure! Additionally, my Sunday routine was officially out of whack...how could I possibly have a meaningful Sunday experience?

So rather than going to Untitled at 9:45, I went to service. I wanted a little inspiration before I spoke...the part of the message that hit me was intimacy...intimacy in your faith. After service was over, I rushed over to the Singles ministry.

As I was speaking to the Singles ministry about prayer and how prayer is simply a conversation with your maker, I realized that the topic of intimacy was in my message as well. I spoke on prayer and read some prayers I wrote in Footprints in the Boardroom and we talked in depth. And established that we all have certain routines when we pray. We pray at certain times of the day in certain ways.

But the one thing that I hope reached that group was this:

We spend so much time in life giving our relationships a shot of energy: married couples go to counseling or take vacations to rekindle the relationship; friends go out to the newest place or take dancing lessons.
We change up the way we communicate in relationships: phones, letters, texts...it keeps it interesting, current. And by changing up the routine those relationships become a bit more meaningful...intimate.

So why don't we do that in our faith relationship?
Why do we always go for the routine i.e. my Sunday routine?
And why do we always have the same conversation with God?

There is no reason to be afraid of changing our routine. We may find that praying at a different times of the day, in a different way leads us to a deeper understanding...intimacy.
Interestingly enough, my Sunday routine was totally our of whack this week, but the meaning was deeper...more intimate.

-RXW