Monthly Archives: April 2014

Sustainable Life Change

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CloudsFear is not a good motivator – but joy is.

Dr Dean Ornish

How can you find a way to get joy in who and what you are becoming in order to motivate you towards your next steps?
If you need some inspiration try this:
Ernestine Shepherd, a nearly 80-year-old body builder in the Guinness Book of Records who only started ANY PHYSICAL training when she was 57, and only started training as a body builder when she was 70!
If you are the kind of person who loves facts and understanding how our body works, listen to Dr Dean Ornish on the joy of getting healthy!
Never Give up.  If this guy can lose his crutches, loose excess weight, and spring – what can you do?
Any positive lifestyle change you make is going to make a corresponding positive difference in your health and your life. The more you change, the more you improve – regardless of your age. Lifestyle changes can help your telomeres to lengthen! Telomeres are a critical indicator of aging and illness.

Don’t let the idea of aging limit you.  Don’t think there are certain symptoms of aging you can’t avoid!  Keep your telomeres long and strong!

“A telomere is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end of a chromatid, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration.” Wikipedia

“Telomeres have been compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces, because they keep chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other.”  University of Utah

What lifestyle changes do you find easiest?  Hardest?  What is the next step you want to conquer?

What to do in the midst of trouble

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Stadium“BE CAREFUL.  It’s easy to be deceived.”

Your current trouble, whatever it is

whatever you endure

whatever you say

keep in mind … it is for

“the sake of My Name, Jesus.

…None of your adversaries will be able to answer or argue against you.

…You will be hated by everyone

for the sake of My Name.

…So, when troubles begin, don’t be afraid.

Look up – raise your head high,

because the truth is that your liberation is fast approaching.

But, be careful. Guard your hearts.

They can be made heavy with

moral laxity

drunkeness

hassles of daily life

…so you have to stay alert

praying that you’ll be able to escape the coming trials so you can stand tall in the presence of the Son of Man.”

Jesus, Luke 21

Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of trouble.  Sometimes we deserve it.  Often we don’t.  Jesus gives us a good plan on how to handle trouble.  LOOK UP!  Raise your head to Him – He is still there.  He is still in charge and He is waiting to make you strong in this trouble.  He hasn’t promised to take all the trouble away, but to be with you in the trouble.  To make your stronger. He can also use the trouble for His glory as you release it to Him

I’m praying you will have peace in the midst of your trouble and look up to find the strength you need today.

May the God of peace

make you His own completely and

set you apart from the rest.

May your spirit, soul, and body

be preserved

kept intact

and wholly free from any sort of blame

at the coming of our Lord Jesus the Annointed.

For God, who calls you,

is faithful,

and He can be trusted to make it so.

Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5

Waiting for Justice

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Sometimes I feel like the prophet Habakkuk. His words certainly resonated in my hear this morning:

I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he will answer my complaint.

2 Then the Lord said to me,

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.
3 This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.
4 “Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.
5 Wealth is treacherous,
and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,
and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
and swallowed many peoples.
6 “But soon their captives will taunt them.
They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
but how much longer can this go on?’
7 Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
They will turn on you and take all you have,
while you stand trembling and helpless.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.
9 “What sorrow awaits you who build big houses
with money gained dishonestly!
You believe your wealth will buy security,
putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.
10 But by the murders you committed,
you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.
11 The very stones in the walls cry out against you,
and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
12 “What sorrow awaits you who build cities
with money gained through murder and corruption!
13 Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised
that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?
They work so hard,
but all in vain!
14 For as the waters fill the sea,
the earth will be filled with an awareness
of the glory of the Lord.
15 “What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!
You force your cup on them
so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.
16 But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.
Come, drink and be exposed!
Drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment,
and all your glory will be turned to shame.
17 You cut down the forests of Lebanon.
Now you will be cut down.
You destroyed the wild animals,
so now their terror will be yours.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.
18 “What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
a god that can’t even talk!
19 What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
‘Rise up and teach us!’
Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
but they are lifeless inside.
20 But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.”

Wicked people seek to promote their own agendas for their own benefit. They have always existed.  Large corporations whose existence depends on a growing bottom line are filled with individual people who might be overlooking unethical practices perpetuated on innocent, trusting victims, in the interest of just keeping their jobs and not rocking any boats.  Others are simply promoting practices that cause harm without fully understanding how and why they are doing it.  They have gotten comfortable in the deception perpetuated on them.

God’s love reaches out and seek to call all those who repent and respond.  He is a defender of the innocent and a lover of justice.  “A day is coming when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.  He will judge everyone according to what they have done.” (Paul, Romans 2)

I don’t know what my role is, but I want to be part of the solution, bringing hope and healing through the power of Jesus.   I want to be led “by a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit, seeking praise only from God, not from people.” (Ibid)

There is no one else who can rescue us, and there is no other name under heaven given to any human by whom we may be rescued. (Peter, Acts 4)

 

What are we feeding our children?

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA As we face another in the seemingly endless stream of holidays that seem more like excuses for marketing exercises and enhancing bottom lines, I am struck by the fact that:

Even when we give our children poison without realizing it, the result is the same.

In Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children, Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff give a detailed analysis of several communities that experienced extreme toxic exposure due to negligence in environmental waste disposal.  Parents and children were drinking toxic water and breathing toxic air without knowing it – and the children suffered.  They recount high cases of birth defects and serious illness among children exposed to toxins whose parents had no idea that the location of the home they were providing for their children, was poisoning them.

As you face the onslaught of very creative marketing, ‘food’ industry giants and peer (and kid) pressure tempting you to buy delicious ‘treats’ for your kids, do you ask yourself any questions?

  • What is in this?
  • Is it good for my kids?
  • What is the long-term impact it could have on their health?

Dr Mark Hyman explains that excess consumption of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and/or sugar are causing an epidemic of illness and obesity – especially among children.

He sums up his concerns regarding the extraordinary amounts consumed in the USA.

  • We are consuming HFCS and sugar in pharmacologic quantities never before experienced in human history–140 pounds a year versus 20 teaspoons a year 10,000 years ago.

  • High fructose corn syrup is always found in very poor-quality foods that are nutritionally vacuous and filled with all sorts of other disease promoting compounds, fats, salt, chemicals, and even mercury.  5 Reasons…

As parents we face decisions about what is best for our children on a regular basis.  We are the guardians of their health.  The food industry is concerned about one thing – their bottom lines and their continued success.  They are not concerned about your child’s health and well-being.  Don’t let them call the shots in your home.  Protect your children and give them natural, safe foods.  You can make family memories without having to resort to purchasing processed food-like products loaded with sugar or HFCS.  You do not have to participate in organized events which promote highly processed treats for your children.

You are not being a ‘mean mom’ when you choose to limit your child’s exposure to poison.  You are being smart.  Find other moms who desire to protect their children and brainstorm together about how you can model safe food choices.

Healthy moms unite!  This is a war and the target is your children.  It is your job to protect them.  Don’t think that just because “everyone else is doing it” it is safe.  Don’t think that just because it is for sale in your local supermarket it is safe.

Protect your child from greed. You’ll be glad you did.

I’m just a mom, but I love to see healthy children and my heart aches with every account of illness, especially serious unnecessary illness caused by longterm toxic exposure, in children.  I just witnessed, with shock and horror, a group of moms setting up an Easter Egg hunt for a large group of pre-school children.  I watched as loving moms, dads and grandparents accompanied their children to experience the fun and excitement of filling their baskets with Easter Eggs – at a church.

What ways do you protect your family from the media onslaught?
What special things do you do at  holidays that give lasting healthy memories?

Hope in the midst of corruption

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Hope StreetIt is amazing how relevant the words of a man who lived 2000 years ago can seem for today!

Wake up! See what you have become! Woe to you; you’re like a field full of unmarked graves. People walk on the field and have no idea of the corruption that is a few inches beneath their feet. (Jesus, Luke 11, The Voice)

These words of Jesus were addressed to the religious leaders of His day, who also happened to have a great deal of political power.  They remind me a lot of the medical authorities and the power they have over ordinary people. People view medical ‘experts’ as priests and many strictly follow their advice.

Sometimes Christians are offended by criticisms against a medical system or political system they esteem to be the best in the world.  Like the scholar who was sitting with Jesus who made this remark,

Rabbi, if You insult the Pharisees, then You insult us too.

Jesus answered with a rather harsh and game-changing response.  In fact, that was the last invitation he received to a dinner party by a Pharisee or religious leader! This is just part of His response found in Luke 11:

So, religious scholars, judgement will come on you! You’re supposed to be teachers, unlocking the door of knowledge and guiding people through it. But the fact is, you’ve never even passed through the doorway yourselves. You’ve taken the key, left the door locked tight, and stood in the way of everyone who sought entry.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhen it comes to knowledge about health – true health – as in how to get healthy, stay healthy, feel good and live well until it is your time to die, the medical profession is not my first go-to source.  Their track record does not boast of the results I want for myself and my loved ones. I have learned a lot from many enlightened medical professionals and have received excellent care from many doctors over the years. However, I have the greatest respect for doctors who do not stay in the confines of their medical training, but through independent research, listening to their patients, and a pursuit of truth, have found keys to health they did not learn in their medical training.  However, there remain many strong voices in the medical and pharmaceutical professions who seem unconcerned about true health and, like the Pharisees Jesus harshly criticized, have not figured it out for themselves, and have wanted to take the key away from anyone else who wants to find the truth.

Be that as it may, I have hope.  Like Paul, and the early followers of Jesus, I have hope because that is exactly what Jesus came to give us.

The hope I have is rooted in the promises of God. It was predicted that Jesus would suffer, but He would rise from the dead, so that through Him everyone could have hope and light to live by.

So, in a crazy world that seems to keep going crazier, I continue to find my daily hope as I seek to grasp more of

God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ Himself. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Paul, Colossians 2)

The rules and medical recommendations pushed on us by the world system/culture/government

are merely human teaching.  They may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial [so-called ‘herd immunity’ proponents?] and severe bodily discipline [ask any parent with an autistic child what is required]

but [these rules] provide no help in conquering our basic problems. (Paul, Colossians 2)

The human condition is complex.  But one basic fact has been evident from the beginning of time – man’s desire for more (greed) and his desire for esteem (pride).  These desires are the root of much of the corruption in the current medical system and the ‘science’ that they like to say supports everything they do.  Of course, the patients have to share in the blame because we like quick easy fixes to solve our problems or alleviate our symptoms. The combination of our desire to avoid suffering, the machinery of greed, and a system of hierarchy and control by ‘experts’ has become the foundation of an enormous industry which brings extreme rewards to a few and great suffering to many.

Unfortunately the losers don’t really understand how many ways they are losing and how to get out of this win-lose situation.

sunriseI cling to Jesus and the hope He provides and seek to share truth and help the innocents who suffer.  Jesus said we need to petition God with brash persistence.  He loves us. He wants to open our eyes, reveal Himself to us and relieve us of our suffering so that we can help others.

What are you petitioning the God of the universe for?  Where is your hope? What do you know about Jesus?