How to live to be one hundred

I saw these tips for living to be 100 in an issue of Parade and I found them interesting so I thought I would share.

• Get Married. Never married people tend to die at the earliest age (I wonder if this statistic is partly because children simply don't get married but unfortunately they do die.) Divorced or separated people also die earlier. So get married and stay married! (I am of course saying that tongue in cheek, marriage is obviously not the answer for everybody but I happen to like it pretty well.)
• Have Children. It helps you to live longer. For a woman especially if you have children after age 40 (I'm afraid that won't help me but it should help my mom), For men if you start your family at an early age (I think Ken should qualify for that one).
• Eat a Heart Healthy Diet. A Mediterranean diet is good for this. Colorful fruits and veggies (we do fairly well with that), Olive oil (okay we use this a little), Fish (uh-oh this isn't on our menu too often) and Whole grains (Yea! we do good on this) and few processed or refined foods are what make up this menu.
• Read the Newspaper. Keeping up to date with current events helps you to stay younger. We have been subscribing to the Newspaper for a while now.
• Drink Tea. Black, green or oolong tea are good for you cardiovascular health.
• Stay Slim. They say that keeping a trim waistline is a requirement if you plan on living to 100. Fat in the belly area is especially bad for longevity.
• Buy the Farm. This sounds fun! Country life helps you to live longer than if you live in the city.
• Have Faith. People that have their faith as a major part of their lives tend to live longer.

I don't know about you but I kind of think it is fun to think about the possibility of living to 100. Think of all the things you could see and do in that amount of time. But that really is not the most important thing in life. The most important thing is not how long you live but how you live and whether you are ready for life to come to an end. Hebrews 9:27 says "It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement." We need to be living your lives in a way that we are ready for that day. Thankfully we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1) An advocate is one that comes beside us to help us out. Jesus can help us out of any situation! If you have any questions about all of this feel free to e-mail me or comment and I would love to discuss it with you!

I included a picture at the top of my dear friend Ula. She is not quite to 100 but is getting close. She is one I very much look up to for having lived a full life of service to God. She continues to serve Him in every way that she can. We have another woman at church as well, Opal who is even closer to 100 and is also a great example but unfortunately I didn't have a picture of her.