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One of my daughters really likes to bake. A few weeks ago she made a 2 layer gingerbread cake. I tried a piece and it was really good. The problem was that I couldn't stop eating it. Over the course of a few days I had several pieces of cake..
When it comes to nutrition I think it's important to have freedom, where no foods are off limits. But, I also think it's important to know yourself. When my daughter makes cupcakes I have no problem either resisting them or eating just a little bit. However, when she makes a big cake I have a hard time keeping my portions in control. It triggers me to overeat.
Is there a food that triggers you to get out of control? If so it is probably best to avoid these foods.
What's New
Today we are on Day 5 of the Proverbs 13:22 Book Writing Challenge and we will be discussing the importance of an encounter with the author.
What You May Have Missed
In January we completed the Isaiah 61:3 Fat Loss Challenge.
Recently someone asked me about digestive issues after breakfast. So, I asked about his normal breakfast routine. It was coffee, then a breakfast usually with eggs, avocado, and veggies. I suggested he switch the order and have water, then breakfast, then coffee. The next day he got back to me and said there were no more digestive issues and he has gone several weeks without any issues.
Coffee is high in acids and it is beneficial for your digestion after you have eaten because it helps to breakdown your food.
Coffee can be hard on an empty stomach. Coffee is different with food. Food with your coffee also slows down the absorption of the caffeine into your system making it last longer.
The first thing you eat or drink every day influences your brain chemistry for the rest of the day. Water should be the first thing you have every day. This is also a spiritual principle in that the first thing you eat spiritually impacts your brain chemistry. Try starting your day by reading a c...
The other day I was getting the kids ready for school and one of my daughters was playing with toys. I asked her to get her socks and shoes on but when I checked a few minutes later she was still playing with her toys. This happened a few times and when it was time to leave she didn't have her shoes on.
We had much different priorities. My priority was to get to school on time and her priority was to play with toys. I began to wonder if this is what we do to God at times. He is telling us to do things but we are off doing what we want to do. God is saying forgive that person, take this step, etc but we are busy doing what we think is more important.
I think one of the best questions you can ask is " Is there something I know I am supposed to be doing that I haven't done yet?' If you will ask this question God will give you an answer in about 30 seconds. Recently I asked this and immediately had the answer. I had written a book and received it back from the editor but I was procrast...
A few weeks ago I started having pain around my left shoulder blade. I was working on the area for a few days but not seeing results So, I prayed and asked God what was going on. The answer I received was to stretch the muscles around my neck, because my hips were now more flexible than my shoulders.
Your neck and lower back/hips are a balancing pair. Before the shoulder blade pain I had been working on my flexibility in my legs and hips, but my hips became more flexible than my shoulders. Anytime there is an imbalance in the body it will lead to pain.
There is a Biblical principle that everything connects to the head. Stretching your neck opens up the whole body.
Here is what I did. I stretched my neck in every angle that I could think of and added Touchpoints by giving a light touch to any areas that felt tight or restricted. I did this before bed and the next morning the pain was completely gone. It also had a tremendous impact on my shoulder flexibility and my strength and po...
The other day I had pain in my right hip. It felt unstable and at times like it was going to give out. I tried to stretch and work on the area but it wasn't helping.
Then I made a change. I started using a more gentle approach. I stretched, but very gently, and started to work on my mobility in the hip by only moving in ranges of motion that I could do without pain. I also added what I call touchpoints.
Touchpoints are done by giving a very light touch to areas that are tight, restricted, or painful during stretch/movement and then repeating the movement.
Touchpoints are one of the most effective ways I have found to remove joint pain, increase flexibility, and improve exercise/sport performance.
By the end of the day the pain was 90% gone and even better the next day. If you are experiencing pain try stretching gently (especially before bed) and using touchpoints. You will be amazed at the impact it has. This gentle approach requires humility, but God gives grace to the humble, ...
Many times people will complain that certain areas of body fat are stubborn and hard to lose. After training clients for almost 20 years I have seen that it can also be hard to gain muscle in some areas of the body. It is like some areas of the body don't respond like they should.
Stubborn body parts are like stubborn people. The more you try to change them the more they resist. Rules, laws, and trying to force them to change doesn't work. There is only one way to get stubborn people to change... grace and doing good for them even if they don't deserve it. The Bible tells us that God's gentleness makes us great. Whether you have stubborn people or a stubborn body part a gentle more graceful approach tends to work better. Be patient and give them time to change. This is what God does for us.
What's New
The Proverbs 13:22 Book Writing Challenge starts tomorrow.
What You May Have Missed
In January we finished the Isaiah 61:3 Fat Loss Challenge.
The other day after I got the kids home from school we started going through the usual evening stuff... doing homework, cooking dinner, packing lunches, and getting cleaned up. My wife was going to be getting home a little later so it was just me and the kids.
As I was cooking dinner one of my daughters needed help with her homework, then my other daughter was crying because she was struggling with her homework and needed help. Then the baby pooped and was asking to be changed. All of this was happening at the same time and when I went into the living room to get a diaper it looked like the room had exploded. There were puzzle pieces and wooden blocks from a Jenga game everywhere along with spilled food all over the floor. I began to feel overwhelmed. This wasn't looking too much like an Abundant Life.
But then I remembered that if I was being stretched it meant there was grace to handle the situation. I took the pressure off of myself and prayed and asked for help. Then all of the...
Last year at my daughters parent teacher conference her teacher mentioned that my daughter had skill in writing. When I picked up my daughter from school I mentioned what her teacher said and my daughter responded with " I have a book I want to write."
I said " Let's do it." So that weekend we wrote the book. She wrote it and I helped with edits. It is a short children's story and when the illustrations are done she will have a published book.
There are two reason why I encouraged her to write the book. The first is that everyone has good or God ideas but most people never take action on them. Sadly, most peoples good creative ideas are never birthed. Most people never take action because it is not the right time, they don't think they are capable, or they don't think they have the resources.
The second reason was that I wanted to teach her the process. In anything creative there will always be a process of doing the work, patience, persevering, working well with others, and learn...
People often use the phrase " my plate is full," when they full like they have more going on in their life than they can handle.
What do you do when your plate is full and it feels like your capacity is being stretched?
If we were to use a nutrition example then the first thing I would say is to make sure your plate isn't full of junk food. Often we can get entangled doing a bunch of stuff that doesn't really matter or help us reach our goals. Step 1 is to make sure that what is on your plate is what you are supposed to be doing. Pray and ask God for help in this area.
If your plate is full God may be stretching you to expand your capacity. How do you increase your capacity to do more and not get overwhelmed? The key is to pour out. There was a time when my plate was full and God gave me the example of a tea pot that was full. The only way to make more room was to put some cups out and start pouring the tea into them. Once you pour out you have more room. The answer is to increase...
Psalm 78:41 says that people limited God. This is an interesting thought that we could limit God. How did they limit him? They were in the wilderness on the way to the promised land and God had them send spies in to check out the land. When the spies returned they complained that there were giants in the land and that it was impossible for them to take the land.
What is the learning lesson here? We can limit God when we are not willing to step into what God has for us because of doubt and unbelief. It always takes a step of faith to move into what God has for you. The people thought they looked like grasshoppers compared to the giants in the land. The problem was they were looking at what they were capable of rather than what God is capable of.
On Monday Feb 10th we are starting the Proverbs 13:22 Book Writing Challenge. For many people writing books seems impossible. If you have stories and testimonies of what God has done these lessons need to be passed on, even if you don't thin...
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