5 Ways to Embrace Your Season of Life with Beauty and Grace

Hey ladies! This blog post is dedicated to all of the mid-lifers out there who are wondering where our youthful, firm bodies went too --and doing endless online searches on how to get them back!

Have now fear --this blog post is here, and will help you put balance back into those wondering thoughts of yours.

Yup, it's a fact. All of us are aging at the same speed and there is nothing any of us can do about it. Or is there?

Read along and find out, how you can start aging gracefully in a "youth" super-charged world!

5 Ways to Gracefully Embrace the Years

1. Be Mindful of Your Physical Health: This of course is #1 on the list and it is no secret. We need to eat right, drink more water, exercise, and get plenty of rest. We have heard these phrases repeatedly and most of us could recite them in a split second. But, the truth is:

   • you are what you eat

   • rest to be your best

   • the greatest wealth is health

   • it never gets easier, you just get stronger

     • If you want to age gracefully there is never a better time to start than now. Get up, and go to the gym, or put on an aerobics video. Better yet, take advantage of technology—instead of sitting on your bum scrolling through YouTube or Instagram, why not, subscribe to one of the fitness apps or channels that are available now and get your body moving! Motivate yourself into looking and feeling good in every season of life!

2. Renew Your Mind and Spirit: Here is something you may not have thought of yet, and that is the need to nurture, feed, and cleanse our spirits in the same way we care for our physical appearance. We pick up all sorts of "icky" stuff during the day. Bad vibes from this person or nasty gossip from another person. Even our own thoughts can begin to brew a sense of discontentment with life. All of this negativity can age us prematurely, produce insomnia, even cause free radicals to ruin our precious antioxidants—let alone raise our cortisol levels—which prevents weight loss! That is why you must cleanse your mind and spirit with the Word of God on a daily basis. God's Word acts like water, washing away spiritual dirt, doubt, guilt, and bitterness, similar to how physical water cleanses the body. Renew your mind with these simple steps you can take now:

   • Read God's promises: allow the Word to become a pattern for your thoughts and actions.

   • Meditate on God's promises: allow the words of Scripture to saturate your thinking.

   • Speak God's promises: speak God's promises over your life, situations, and family, actively washing away doubt.

     • This spiritual washing of the Word of God will change your thoughts and attitudes, and will replace negativity with God's truth and promises. Apply these practices today to start aging gracefully!

3. Find Peaceful Silence: While you can be an incredibly active person, you can still value time alone. (prayer, meditation, walking, reading, hobbies, etc.) Allow yourself to sit still and free your mind of the "inner chatter," that causes you to be uptight and anxious. Free yourself of any deadlines and slow your life down for 15-20 minutes. Do whatever it takes to make this happen. There is a reason why Scripture says to, "Be still and know that I am God." You will not only be able to hear the voice of God better, but you will begin to understand yourself better, too! Tuning into God's spirit while remaining still will bring a sense of calmness and direction to your inner thoughts, desires, and intentions, which will reproduce an ageless beauty of confidence and composure.

4. Accept Your Age: Come to peace with your 40's, 50's and 60's, or whatever age you find yourself in. There is nothing more radiantly beautiful than a woman who has embraced her season of life with grace and dignity.

   1. Embrace your gray hair, by letting it grow out, or dyeing it, but don't complain about it.

   2. Embrace your empty nest, by redecorating, or hosting more parties, but don't be depressed about it.

   3. Embrace your perimenopause—at least you have reached this time in your life! For centuries, women and men have died before they were able to reach middle age. We are fortunate to live in a day and age where we can enjoy a long life. Perimenopause is wearisome, but it only lasts for a season.

   4. And one more rant: embrace your wrinkles. Apart from buying every anti-aging cream in the world, there is nothing we can do to stop the aging process. So, smile, love life, embrace your age, and do it gracefully.

5. Keep Your Spirit of Adventure Alive: Have you heard this quote before? "You are only as young as you feel." Renew a playful spirit within you and let your zest for life shine. You only live one time. Maintain an attitude that is optimistic, energetic, and adventuresome. When I was a young girl, I remember my 70 year old grandma joining me in doing cartwheels in our backyard—I was so impressed with her agility! Perhaps you can't perform a cartwheel but you can explore other ways to stay young:

   1. refresh your wardrobe

   2. plan a trip to a local town you haven't visited before

   3. visit a new coffee house

   4. when was the last time you visited your local library?

   5. try a new recipe

   6. go to a free concert in town

   7. go to a free lecture

   8. volunteer for something

   9. take a walk at a new park

   10. pack a picnic lunch

   11. go thrifting

   12. try a new haircut

   13. learn something new

Carry Your Years with Beauty and Grace

As we get older, our metabolisms change, and our bodies take on different shapes. We can prevent some of those changes through healthy eating, staying active, and watching our weight, but at some point we must accept the fact of life: we are getting old.

We can adapt to a new definition of what "beautiful" should look like in all the stages of our life. I look completely different than I did at 16 years of age, and I'm sure you do too! Thank the Lord I didn't stay the same. Life would be so boring if there weren't any changes! I love the way I look now—all my smiles lines tell a story of happiness and contentment 💛

Wear Time Well and Do What it Takes

Aging gracefully is definitely a challenge, especially with our youth-oriented social culture. Don't fall into this trap! Stay alert and on top of your game. Do what you can to stay healthy and happy. If your peace of mind comes by the name of an Oil of Olay product, then by all means, by a cart full, and embrace soft, silky skin.

I turned 50 years old in 2025, and I get a mixed response when I share this fact with anyone. Most people are in complete shock because they say I look 30 years old, while others nod and approve of me being fifty.

My feeble attempts at staying youthful started years ago. I've been an active person, and make a point to take walks when the weather is nice, but when the winter months hit, I go to the gym.

We have a Planet Fitness in our city and my husband I, not only use the facilities for working out, but we also utilize the tanning beds. The warm glow we gain adds a touch of sunshine to our skin. Couple that with the endorphins we get from our workout—and we feel on top of the world!

My Beauty Secret

Many people ask me what I put on my face to keep it looking so young. I laugh, because it isn't anything fancy, but I've been doing it since I was 19 years old.

I rinse my makeup off EVERY night and apply Oil of Olay Regenerist lotion to my face and neck. I don't use any potent makeup removers, just coconut oil. When I do apply my makeup, I am careful not to rub heavily around my eye area. That's it.

These are good practices for me to keep, however, I believe, the number one reason why my skin looks healthy and I appear young, is that I read and mediate on the Word of God daily. Through this activity, I cleanse myself of any bitter, unforgiving thoughts I might be harboring, and at the same time, I'm filled with God's light.

There is nothing special about my skin. The glow it reveals is the spirit of God.

Go back to the beginning of these steps to age gracefully, and begin afresh today. Get motivated to enter into every phase of life with grace, beauty, and dignity.

Gift yourself some time alone. Read, pray, and mediate on good things. Be thankful for your age, and for whatever situation you find yourself in today. Put your trust in the Lord. Then you will begin to find balance in your approach to aging gracefully.

A Prayer for You

Father in heaven,

We come before you today with grateful hearts. Thank you for this time on earth that you have given to us. Help us to be good stewards of our time by taking good care of our bodies and being mindful of what we need to do to maintain health.

Give us a sense of your holy purposes and divine revelation of what you deem as beautiful. Birth in us a desire to be healthy and fit for the work you have planned for us. Help us to be strong and capable to accomplish all of your will.

Scripture reveals to us that the condition of our heart is so important. Help us develop more awareness of this fact as we age.

May our lives be truly beautiful to you in every way, and may we glorify you in all we do.

In your precious name,

Amen.

Love, Angie

the Founder of

My Sun & Shade Ministries

inspiring women, children, marriages, and families to live a simple, beautiful life in Christ

My 1st book is published and will be available for purchase soon!! Yay! Stay tuned ☺