Nicknames--We Don't Get to Choose

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

My sister and I had a good conversation last night about nicknames. We shared a few laughs walking down memory lane. I don’t know how prevalent they are up north, but here in the south, I know a lot of people who are called by a nickname.

My name is Debra Ruth, but most people who’ve known me all my life call me Debbie. I’m not sure that’s as much a nickname as some, but I guess it still qualifies. One of my Florida friends always calls me Debra D. My husband calls me D. My grandchildren call me DD.

If I Had Hammer

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I have a lot of family and friends who have decided to jump on the let’s get healthy band wagon. I have to applaud their efforts. Some have done quite well with their lifestyle changes, but others are like me, they go up and they go down, and they go up again, and down again. You know, the proverbial, cliched yo-yo. You’ve probably seen the cartoon of the woman with a hammer or some such object in her hand, and the scale broken into a thousand little pieces. That’s so me. Some days, I just want to bash that scale.

This World is Not My Home

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I couldn’t imagine all those years ago, when I stood in a chair next to my sister in one of any number of churches in the Dothan, Alabama, area, that the lyrics of this Gospel hymn would find their way, flying around the world, in a quote by the beloved evangelist, Rev. Billy Graham. Nor could I have imagined as a child, gathered as a family around our old black and white television, that I would one day see the young man preaching with such love and passion, pass from this life into eternal life.

I don’t recall the first Billy Graham Crusade we watched. I do know it would have been in Dothan, Alabama. We never missed one of his televised events. I was only a child of about five or six the first time I remember seeing one of the crusades. The young minister delivered the Gospel message in words that even this child could understand. Hundreds, if not thousands of people left their seats to go down front and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The choir sang softly in the background, Just As I Am. Though I was very young, my heart was stirred and tears poured down my face as I watched. Every single time.

How About Your Heart?

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

This month I’ve been talking about heart health with a strong emphasis on heart disease in women. I hope that as you read through these posts, you found something that made you stop and think or ask questions about your own heart health. At the very least, I hope that you know that women’s symptoms are different from men’s and that you will seek immediate help if you should experience any of the symptoms I mentioned.

Today, I have one final question for you about the state of your heart. How is it spiritually? In other words, is it right with God? Now, I am no Bible scholar, nor am I a minister of the Gospel. I am just a simple woman─wife, mother, grandmother, writer, follower of Christ.

Heart Disease--Some Risk Factors for Women

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Since February is Heart Health Month, I've centered my blogs around that subject. Today I talk about some of the risk factors for heart disease.

None of us wants to think that we might have heart disease. Believe me, I know. I’ve walked in those shoes. It is a scary proposition. But ignoring symptoms can lead to an early death. Today’s medical interventions and lifestyle changes can reverse heart disease in many people. But why not stop it before it starts?

Heart Attacks--Women's Symptoms are Different

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Last week I told you the beginning episode of my heart issues. If you read that and you have any of the symptoms I shared with you, please see your physician. The photos I included were pretty dramatic. I must tell you, that looking at them used to scare me. This time when my husband pulled them out of my health-related files and handed them to me, I fell to my knees, tears pouring down my face, in praise to Almighty God for being The Great Physician.

February is American Heart Month-Is Yours Healthy?

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

February is American Heart Month. And it isn’t just about Valentine’s Day with all those roses, and boxes of candy, and hearts. But it is about your heart and the health of your heart.

I can speak to heart disease from first-hand experience. It’s one of those things that happens to other people, not to us. You know I’m right. We never think it is going to darken our door . . . until one day─it does.