Paula White Interview

The Gift of Sisterhood

This is one of my favorite times of year because it is the season of giving. Ladies Live and Learn is all about giving information to empower women to live healthy and happy. On a cold December night on a drive from New York to Philly a great member of the sisterhood of mothers called. She took some time to mentor to me and our community of moms. She starts off by telling me there was a purpose to my pain. Is it the magic of the season that makes her so full of hope? Well, it plays a large part. She’s Paula White known to millions as a Pastor, Motivational Speaker, Author, TV Personality, and Mother. Paula has gotten me excited about what 2010 has in store.

I am not unlike so many moms who have had challenging times in 2009, be it balancing family, finances, managing careers and even with their health. I am still recovering from the painful life and death fight I had delivering my daughter this year.

Pain, change and transformation is part of the life journey, says Paula. As many people reconnect with their faith at this time of year, she wants people to know that faith doesn’t prevent life it carries you through life.

This is something I connected with instantly. I was comforted by my faith as I sat in intensive care this year. You can take some of your greatest obstacles or losses and reposition yourself. The only time things are over is when you decide to quit.

But the question began to linger in my mind…why did this happen? She had a recommendation for me. Take the student mentality for not only this, but every aspect of my life. Not only in this situation but in every aspect of life such as, raising kids, managing finances and career it’s all a long term learning process. She encourages others to reflect on what they can learn from particular experiences. We sometimes sail through life with this familiarity that we forget to have a gratefulness and appreciation so when there is that time of life when we experience a set back we sometimes get thrown for a loop. She urges that we view it as a set up. What you see as failure or what you see as loss – failure is never final with God.

Paula herself was a self-proclaimed “messed-up Mississippi girl” who began her rise from tragedy to triumph when a friend gave her a Bible at the age of 18 and it radically changed her life. A mantra for moms that Paula has used in her life is “don’t waste your trial”. It has helped her transform from poverty to prosperity, to overcome a troubled past, grief, loss and health issues. She urges others to use their trials and triumphs as a springboard to life purpose; to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. She has used her own experiences to propel her into the international spotlight. Paula has graced the covers of major magazines, had dialogue with world leaders and policy makers—including General Colin Powell, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Former Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S.A. Presidents.

With all of this under her belt, I knew that Paula had lived and learned about multi-tasking. I wanted to know how she as a supermom gets replenished. Paula stated that her oxygen is giving to other people. She recalled how years ago one holiday season she had very little money and was living in a trailer when someone gave her a turkey. She was so excited about this holiday meal that she was going to cook. She prepared the turkey and ate half of it. But she was lead to take the rest down to a local shelter. She made turkey sandwiches and provided meals to some even less fortunate than her and it helped to begin her life of service and ignited purpose and passion.

She connects with how moms are constantly pouring into other people and how this can bring joy and fulfillment. But she urges moms to replenish by giving themselves the appropriate nurturing self care. She recognizes that we can become so engulfed in others it can be one of our weaknesses. If you don’t know how to give to yourself you can’t give to others. Here are some of her recommendations that we can use as we kick off the new year to replenish, recharge and reconnect:
• Know your thresholds
• Set limitations
• Pour back into yourself
• Eat well
• Exercise
• Put buffers in your journey
• Don’t live so close to the line
• Don’t just press through painful moments. Allow yourself to feel the pain. But don’t stay there.
• Make thankfulness a daily habit. Set aside a few minutes to meditate and reflect.

Just when our conversation was getting good, the phone went out. Come to find out she was going through the New York City tunnels. But she called right back

Another key area that moms tend to neglect is their own health. Paula herself was guilty of this for a time. I was amazed that Paula and I have had some of the same health experiences. It took a crisis for her to look at her own health as it did for me. Several years ago she landed up at the Mayo clinic after picking up a bacterial infection while on a mission’s trip. The doctors told her she was going to wind up 6 feet under if she didn’t slow down and reevaluate her health. As she was sitting in the hospital she said she actually felt life leaving her. When she said this I felt a tear come to my eye as I too have had this experience. She summed it up by saying when you know better, you do better. She simply did not have a lot of knowledge about taking care of herself. This is a woman who used to wake up in the morning and drink a soda. High fat, highly processed food was a part of her life and culture. At one time she swung the pendulum from being an emotional eater to depriving herself. You would never think this small dynamo gained 100 pounds with her son. (Something I can identify with!) But she did. Many of us feel as she did that we are anything but the total health package. While in Mayo Paula meet a wonderful Christian doctor who was 92 years old and did push-ups on his finger tips. He began to teach her about her body and how to properly care for herself. She says one of the greatest things that has happened to her is that she got educated about her health. Paula notes that is not about losing weight or gaining weight it is about learning that life is a gift and caring for our body is important. When she learned a little more about how her body worked she found that her body had a set point. She learned how to regulate herself and with better self care she had more energy, stamina and a fringe benefit was that she looked better. Paula teamed up with Dr. Ted Broer to empower others to maintain maximum health. She shares some tips from her series with us as we journey to good health and aim to “Eat, Drink and Be Healthy”.
• Drink plenty of water
• Rest
• Avoid processed food
• Eat good carbs, good fats and protein
• Eat small meals frequently throughout the day
• Get moving

During this gift giving season I am struck by the fact that Paula is a gift personified. She is a talent endowed with a unique ability to identify with and to encourage others. And just as a gift is something that is given she has given me and our community of moms some powerful tips for a healthy new year. Log on to www.ladiesliveandlearn.com for more tips on living healthy and happy.


By Angela Burgin Logan
Author of Blog Site www.ladiesliveandlearn.com