Evelyn's Words of Wisdom

“Put your heart into every footstep ... and you will travel somewhere meaningful.”

When you live your life with passion, it feels “right” to put your heart into everything you do!

There should not ever be a time in life when you make a decision without consulting with God through prayer.

When we are young, we ask our parents for guidance, direction and permission to do something or go somewhere. When you become an adult, you are expected to make these decisions primarily on your own and without asking for your parent’s consent.

God, our Father in Heaven, wants us to remain His children eternally and become God dependent.

Whenever someone in my life offers me advice without praying about the situation and/or praying with me, I do not accept it. Advice from others must be blessed by God. This practice will help ensure that you remain in God’s will and not your own or someone else’s.

Each time you take a walk by the river, the beach, in the mountains or even outside in your yard; remember that each step you take was granted by God. Thank Him for giving you such a glorious day to enjoy!
Will you remember to put your heart into everything you do and every place you go?

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Evelyn Minton and her daughter, Dr. Billie J. Minton are the authors of the Blue Ridge Tenderpup children's series. These books may be found at the author's website BlueRidgeMoments.com and Amazon.com/Author/drbillieminton.

“In my mind ... I am jumping up and down all day long ... no matter what.”
A man and his daughter were riding in the car heading to another town for vacation.

The young daughter became restless riding in the car.

She would frequently ask her father how much longer they had until they arrived to their destination point while jumping and bouncing up and down on the seat of the car.

The father was getting upset that his daughter was jumping up and down on the car seat and repeatedly asked her to stop.

Each time he asked his daughter to stop jumping up and down, she did not reply back to her father.

After the father had asked his daughter several times to stop jumping up and down, the daughter finally spoke back to him.

The daughter said, “Yes, I will stop jumping up and down but I want you to know that I will be jumping up and down in my mind the rest of the way of our trip.”
This story has stayed strong in my heart and mind since the first day I heard it from my pastor.
This story says many things to me such as, do not ever give up, do not let others see you sweat and stay positive and strong willed.
Are you jumping up and down in your mind?
Psalm 46:10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”?
Evelyn Minton and her daughter, Dr. Billie J. Minton are the authors of the Blue Ridge Tenderpup children's series. These books may be found at the author's website BlueRidgeMoments.com and Amazon.com/Author/drbillieminton.

“Be strong ... do not cave into every unhealthy craving or habit whether it is food or something else.”

You have to behave your way into becoming healthier spiritually, physically and emotionally.

It takes time to change by breaking poor habits and choices. Billie and I have learned over the years by working with our patients, that most people have a better chance for long term success when they have consistently, changed their habit or poor choices for between fourteen to forty days.

There are so many habits that patients want to change such as their nutrition, medication, fitness, language, attitude, sleep, spending more time with Loved ones and many other things in their daily life. A large portion of our patients express that they wish that they would start studying the bible and attending church. The first thing to do when you want to be successful with a lifestyle change, is to pray and ask God for His blessing. Tell Him from your heart, what you desire to do. Ask God for guidance, strength and support in order to accomplish your goals and sustain them for a lifetime!

We have patients that tell us that they wish that they knew more about the bible. My reply is, “start reading and studying it.” You can buy versions of the bible such as the New International Version (NIV) which is easy to understand. Also, many bibles have footnotes which help explain verses. Electronic versions of the bible are also available. I have the Bible app on my phone and can read or listen to it as long as my phone is charged. This is one of my most favorite versions of the bible. I usually listen to the bible every night until I fall asleep. My favorite book in the bible is the book of “John.” That was the last book in the bible that Billie and her Dad chose to study together before he passed away. It helped us go through the transitions of his illness.
Have you made the commitment to become stronger spiritually, physically and emotionally by changing your lifestyle?

Exodus 15:2
The Lord is my strength and my defense, He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
Evelyn Minton and her daughter, Dr. Billie J. Minton are the authors of the Blue Ridge Tenderpup children's series. These books may be found at the author's website BlueRidgeMoments.com and Amazon.com/Author/drbillieminton.

“You are doing God's work when you help someone else shine.”
Are you living your life by example, helping other people shine?Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Evelyn Minton and her daughter, Dr. Billie J. Minton are the authors of the Blue Ridge Tenderpup children's series. These books may be found at the author's website BlueRidgeMoments.com and Amazon.com/Author/drbillieminton.

God puts people in our lives that help make us better! Chad, my grandson, is one of those people for me!

We all knew that Chad was a special gift from God, the moment he was born! The mere glimpse of the crown of his head as he was being born, made tears flow down our cheeks.

Chad was such a pleasure to help raise and watch grow up to become a man. He refers to my daughter, Billie, as “Bil Bil," and it warms her heart, still to this day, every time he says that to her. Billie and I made a commitment to help raise Chad.

“Us Is Ok,” is a little phrase of three words that means so much to Chad, Billie, and me.

Whenever there is doubt about anything in this world, Chad, Billie, and I tell each other “Us Is Ok!” What we are really telling each other is that God is with us, around us, inside us at all times and there is nothing to be afraid of.
Billie and I used to take Chad everywhere we went when he was growing up. We truly enjoyed spending time together! Chad liked being with Billie for business deals too.
One Saturday morning, Billie and I took Chad with us to buy a new truck. We decided to eat breakfast at the Waffle House on the way to the dealership. In the middle of our meal, Billie asked the waitress if they accepted debit cards. She smiled and said, “No, we only accept cash.” Billie looked at her and said, “Ok, great.” After she made that reply to the waitress, our hearts sunk! We looked in our billfolds and realized that we only had debit cards with us, and zero cash on hand. Immediately, Billie frantically started calling one of her friends to come and bring us some cash. She explained the situation to Chad, and he understood although he was only about ten years old.

Billie's friend was playing tennis and her phone was in the car. While Billie was trying to reach her, I was swirling around what was left of my waffle and syrup in the plate as if I was still eating my meal. Customers that were waiting for tables were starting to look very irritated that we were taking so long to finish eating because they wanted our table.

Finally, Billie's friend called me back with worry because she had called her phone so many times. Billie explained our situation to her, and she brought us some cash for our meals. When she pulled up outside of Waffle House, Chad went outside to her car to get the money she had brought. When Chad came back inside, he discreetly gave me the money to pay for our meals, and said “Us is Ok!” We knew exactly what he meant!

Next, we went to the dealership to look at vehicles. Chad helped pick out the vehicle that he wanted Billie to purchase. It was a black, Chevy truck with gray leather interior and was very nice. We took the truck for a test drive, then came back to the dealership to sign the sales contract.

As we were driving home in our new truck, Chad looked at Billie and said, “Bil Bil, I don’t understand how we just bought a new truck without any money but had to pay the Waffle House cash before we could leave.” That was probably the funniest statement and situation that I had ever encountered in my life!

Chad is grown, and has a family of his own now. He is married to Jessie, and they have a son named Benjamin, and a daughter, Kindle. Billie and I will always think of Chad as our little "handsome, brown eyed boy."

Do you believe in your heart that God is always with you?

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Evelyn Minton and her daughter, Dr. Billie J. Minton are the authors of the Blue Ridge Tenderpup children's series. These books may be found at the author's website BlueRidgeMoments.com and Amazon.com/Author/drbillieminton.