Bethany Hamilton's Blog, page 60

Interview: Faith Fitness and Finding Love

Bethany Hamilton Interview: Faith Fitness and Finding Love

Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton talks about how her faith in God keeps her encouraged, how she stays fit and how other girls can win a prize by submitting a picture of themselves being “Awesomely Active.” She also tells us a little about her fiancé Adam.

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Video: The Soul Surfer & Unleashed Potential

The Soul Surfer & Unleashed Potential

Bethany Hamilton shares her inspiring story for Bayer Healthcare’s employees.

In January 2013, Bethany created this video with JuiceBox Creative Agency which was shared during the opening general session at the Bayer Healthcare Annual Sales POA Meeting. It’s not just for those in the healthcare industry though, Bethany shares her message that “one of the greatest gifts in life is to be able to help other people.” WATCH NOW

Bayer Healthcare – Annual POA Sales Meeting from JuiceBox Design Communications on Vimeo.

Running & Wall-Sits

Running and Wall-Sits!

My reason for choosing running this month is because after running the 5k in Florida I felt I could improve my running. I enjoy running on grass, trails, and sand. I try to avoid cement and pavement because of the impact it has on major joints such as your knees. Especially with consistent cement running, the impact will add up over time.

Wall-sits are my least favorite Egoscue move, but I love doing them because of the challenge and benefits they bring. Wall-sits help strengthen and align hips, knees, and ankles. Wall-sit tips: Back pressed flat against the wall. When sitting legs are at a 90 degree angle, like you’re sitting on an invisible bench (Make sure knees don’t go over your toes). Make sure most of your weight is on your heels and not your toes. If you find this challenging, slowly build your way up to 2 minutes.

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THIS HEALTH TIP WAS POSTED IN THE JULY 2013 ISSUE OF “THE COCONUT WIRE” E-NEWSLETTER

Feet Angels

FEET ANGELS is your opportunity to Give Back.

Partner with me and Cobian to bring hope through a pair of new sandals to those in need around the world.

BECOME A FEET ANGEL

Here’s how it works:

• Go to Cobian’s Facebook Page

• Leave your “Message of Hope” in the comments section of the FEET ANGEL post, hashtag #FeetAngels

• For every* “Message of Hope” received, Cobian will donate a pair of sandals to someone in need, up to 8,000 pairs!

• Your message* will actually be delivered with a new pair of Cobian sandals!

Just think of how STOKED a special person will be to receive a brand new pair of sandals, along with an encouraging message from YOU! Join us in this fun and unique way to give back!

*Cobian reserves discretionary privileges regarding the content and language in the “Messages of Hope.”

Recipe: Pickled Beets (Sweet)

Pickled Beets (Sweet)

This is fun to do with your friends, kids or loved ones. I made them with Adam, my fiancee. We had a great time and loved our pickled beets! We ate them in our wraps, salads or just a quick bite of yummy beet on the go! You can use any glass jar: recycle a sauce jar, jelly jar, or buy a special canning jar if you like. Make sure you have a good lid with your jar!

1 cup of honey

2 cups water

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp allspice

1 Tbls cinnamon

Dash of sea salt

Dash of peppercorns if you like

Select small, young beets. Wash. Leave 3 inches of tops on and roots. Cook until skins slip easily (about 15 mins). Put into cold water. Remove skins, top and roots. Mix together syrup ingredients and simmer. Pack beets into jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Pour boiling syrup over beets to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Process jars for 30 minutes in Boiling Water Bath. Best kept in the fridge. Beets grown to any size can be used for pickling. The larger ones, of course, just have to be cut into chunks, but smaller ones (no larger than a golf-ball) can be left whole.

When we made them we used BIG beets and sliced them to our preferred size. After making pickled beets, you can eat them immediately but they get better and better as weeks go by and the flavors have time to absorb. So good!

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THIS HEALTH TIP WAS POSTED IN THE JUNE 2013 ISSUE OF “THE COCONUT WIRE” E-NEWSLETTER

Never Quit Never 2013

In May 2013, I was brought out to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, for the Never Quit event. what a great event!

The mission of Never Quit Never is to educate the community on how to avoid Brain Bleeds, Stroke and Heart Disease through healthy life choices and encourage everyone to take on a Never Quit attitude and live life to its fullest. The Never Quit Event is based on these 5 principles:

Faith & Wellness: Encouraging people to live a purpose driven life.

Family: A day of great fun for everyone to come together.

Healthy lifestyle: Healthy foods, challenging physical activities, and preventative health check-ups.

Our Armed Services: Honoring the spirited people who both support and serve our country

Take on a NEVER QUIT approach to Life: No matter what life throws at you, a NEVER QUIT attitude will allow you to finish life’s race.

It was truly a fun event to participate in! I spoke two nights before showings of my film Soul Surfer, and my fiancee Adam came up to say a few words! My foundation, Friends of Bethany Hamilton, which reaches out to shark attack survivors and amputees, had a booth at the event and sold t-shirts that embodied the never quit attitude, saying “Can’t Keep Me Out Of The Water.” The main challenges at Never Quit were some fun active competitions! I was glad to race in the Trident: a 5k run + 500meter swim + 1 1/2 mile paddle. I did the Trident with Lt. Brad Snyder who lost his sight in Afghanistan. I was his eyes as we did the Trident; it was a lot of fun! Later that day Brad and Adam did a total MANly event called the Warrior Challenge!

Florida residents should attend this event next year, it’s quite special!

BeYourOwnYou.org Limited Edition Apparel

For 2 WEEKS ONLY you can purchase these cute, hats, tote bags, and t-shirts in Adult & Kids sizes!

$7 from the sale of every item goes to support Friends of Bethany Hamilton, which supports shark attack survivors and amputees worldwide.

Campaign ends on June 7, 2013.

4 Reasons Why I Love My Damon Smile

Aloha friends! This month has already been full of so many great things, but it’s quite not over. I’m thrilled to announce that my favorite smile-maker is changing its name to Damon Smile. The change is bold, exciting and a perfect representative of the brand and the great smiles bring out in patients! After my shark attack, rebuilding my strength and boosting my confidence was key in my healing. My friends at Damon Smile and my orthodontist Dr. Turley played a big part in this. To celebrate this change, I want to share with you four reasons why I love my Damon Smile.



1) I love making people happy! If I can make someone’s day simply by offering them a smile, I’ve done my job. For me, I’m the happiest when I’m laughing with my friends and family! I love to make people smile too!. I’m proud of my Damon Smile and am blessed to share it with the world.

2) Say cheese! If you haven’t noticed, I love taking pictures. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter—you name it, I’m on it. I’m blessed to live in such a beautiful place, travel all over the world and have amazing experiences. I also love sharing these experiences with my fans—which involves taking a lot of pictures. Being able to show off my Damon Smile definitely keeps me confident in front of the camera.



3) Food I love my fruits and veggies, but I don’t love them in my teeth. Luckily, having straight, properly aligned teeth means I don’t have to worry as much if the salad I had for lunch is still front and center. Before my Damon Smile, I was always getting stray pieces of food caught in my not-so-straight teeth. Now, my teeth are straight, easy to clean and SO much healthier! I love to be healthy and having aligned teeth helps with my oral hygiene!



4) Having a gorgeous smile on my BIG day! As my family, friends, and fans know, I’m now a bride-to-be and it seems like there are a million details to think about! These days photography is a big part of every engagement and wedding. With my Damon Smile, I’ll walk down the aisle with confidence, knowing that I’m marrying the love of my life and will smile with him for the rest of my life! I’ll also be able to look back on my pictures for years to come and be happy with my Damon Smile—I couldn’t be more grateful. God is amazing!

Congratulations again to my friends at Damon Smile for the new name refresh! A great smile is truly invaluable and I feel blessed to be part of the Damon family… Show them some love and tell them what you think of their change. Keep smiling and until next time friends, Aloha!

A Blessed Adventure (by my fiancee)

Aloha friends & fans of Bethany!

I am sure you’re as stoked as I am about the exciting event of Bethany and my engagement! Our relationship has been an amazing and blessed adventure. Most importantly my relationship with God has been the most incredible part of my life. If it wasn’t for God, Bethany and I would have never met.

Two years ago I was graduating from college with the calling on my heart to help my friend start Young Life, a youth ministry, on the island of Kauai. It was hard leaving family and friends behind, but I have found that as soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. As I was working with the youth, I was praying for a close friend, and I was in for an amazing surprise!

Bethany and I met through mutual friends. Right away I could tell she was pretty cool (I mean she jumped a 40 foot cliff into the ocean with me!), she’s down to earth, and I could tell she understood my heart for The Lord and others; and I saw her heart as well. After hanging out several more times, I felt in my heart that I would like to pursue a relationship with her. On the beautiful Na Pali coast I told Bethany what was on my heart and asked if it was ok to pursue a meaningful closer friendship with her. On accident she said “I do!” Haha with a quick, “I mean yes!”

We continued to have fun experiences together and every time we hung together with friends, every hike, every little adventure; I could tell we were being drawn closer together. I find so much joy in who Bethany is, a woman who genuinely seeks after God, kind, funny, adventurous, and joyful.

When we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful, occurrences.

Bethany and I were falling in love. Love is something I have learned to not take lightly. I have seen what true unconditional love is through God’s mercy and grace in my life. To tell someone that you love them is expressing something that only God can give. The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. His love is in us because it “has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . .” (Romans 5:5). God has been filling my life with His love and an abundant love for Bethany that will never go away.

Every time she says, “I love you,” I can’t help but smile and skip a few heart beats. To feel the love of someone who genuinely loves me for who I am and am becoming, is indescribable (maybe I could if I were a poet). I know her love for me comes from Christ, and I am very thankful.

I was stoked when I asked Bethany’s parents blessing to ask her hand in marriage. They were overjoyed and gave their permission! My parents and family were also in approval! Soon I had a wonderful caper planned to express my love; to ask Bethany’s hand in marriage. When she said, “yes!”, we entered into an even more beautiful continuation of our relationship. We have always sought to have God first and foremost in our relationship, to have Him at the center of it all. Now, we are seeking proper guidance from a Pastor and his wife to prepare us and guide us to continue to keep God in the middle of everything and to love each other the way God has intended us to. I am looking forward to keep getting to know Bethany more and more every day and grow in our love every day. It is exciting to know that we have differences and are not perfect, but that is where we get to show and give God’s unconditional love to one another. One of my favorite things we do, is pray together as much as we can. I want to support Bethany, encourage her, and lift her up as God continues to shape and mold her into the beautiful woman of God that she is.

Bethany, I am so excited for our adventure together for the rest of our lives. I promise to respect you, grow closer to Christ together, and to always love you through the hard times and to celebrate with you in all the awesome times. I love you!

Your,

Adam boy

In Love

IN LOVE

By Bethany (jump down below to read the story from Adam’s P.O.V.)

Spring of 2012 I met the most amazing person of my life.

I immediately was so intrigued by him.

Adam and I first met at the beach, kind of set up by friends.

Not how I would have planned to meet – on somewhat of a “blind date” (haha) – but nooo complaints.

The first thing we did was jump off a cliff together! And you could say it was love at first cliff jump. We started hanging out often. Just as friends – hiking, beach, tennis, hanging with friends – getting to know each other! The more time we spent together the more I liked Adam. He is genuine, kind, fun, adventurous, easy going, friendly to all, passionate for Christ and just a great guy over all! …and he liked me too!

Learning to love in a new way.

I’ve always loved my parents and my family immensely and found loving friends easy.

I have had a deep love for God since I was really young girl. Christ is the greatest definition of love and it’s been amazing to learn from the greatest! But to open up your heart to a complete stranger and learning to love a new person; it’s different; it’s beautiful. I believe it’s what God has created for us; but it can be intimidating. God knew my heart, my thoughts, concerns and desires; and He has heard my prayers. Ever since I was a young girl I wondered what my special person would be like; so I would pray for the right guy, and do my best to trust that God would give me what I desired one day. I never had the desire to meet a ton of guys, or to “experience” different people. I just wanted to be patient for that right one – the one God had in store for me – to share life with that special someone in a deep and beautiful friendship.

To be loved by another is beautiful. It took a bit of time for me to accept that. I’m not sure why. But I questioned: “Why would this man love me as much as he does?” “How can he accept me, flaws and all?” Not to mention, “Will he accept my unique life and come along side of me in support?” “How can he love me and all that my life is made of?” “Will he love me life-long?” But I know Adam’s love for me is unique – it comes from Christ, and that he will love me forever.

Learning to love. I guess it comes back to my first love besides my family – the unconditional love of Christ. Having that makes it easier to love all. And eventually when you meet that special one you get to take that love of Christ and smother that special one in the love that you know. My love for Adam… I really don’t think I could explain it out to you, it’s strong and it’s unique.

On April 9, 2012, Adam proposed to me and I said, “yes!” I know Adam and I are right for each other and that God has us together for Him. Neither of us is perfect, but in my eyes Adam is just right and I’m thankful to have someone so perfectly perfect to share life with as one.

Marriage – a life commitment to be brought together as one. So beautiful! Adam and I have been taking steps to prepare for a healthy beautiful marriage. It’s been fun! We are doing Bible-based pre-marital guidance with an older and wiser couple. We are going through some books. Often praying together and separately. And in all this, falling more in love and enjoying every bit of our engagement time! We take marriage seriously. Right now things are lovey-dovey and it’s fun and beautiful, but we want our love to remain through thick and thin. When we have hard times, we can rely on Christ and grow closer and stronger in our love and relationship. We know we can only prepare so much, but look forward to learning and growing together as we share life – to love beyond just a feeling. We will choose to love during thick and thin. (1 Corinthians 13)

I’m really glad too that my family loves Adam and approves. They see what a great guy he is. I feel spoiled (;

His family is awesome too. Our families have very different lives, so it’s cool to find beauty in our differences.

I’m really excited to keep getting to know Adam, to adventure with him and to smother him with love and respect!

I hope to grow more and more in love each day for you, Adam my love, and above all in my love for Christ!

I’m so thankful for you and look forward to living life together!

Adam, I love you and I’m here to stay!

~Bethany

Matthew 19:6 (ESV)

“So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

1 John 4:7

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Ephesians 5:33

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

Ephesians 5:25

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)

“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

Genesis 2: 18

“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’”