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1.
Choose lean protein choices, such as eggs, egg substitutes, lean beef, turkey, chicken, fish, “tofu for vegetarian." Only broil, bake, boil or poach. Only olive oil or PAM.

2.
Minimize consumption of high glycemic carbohydrates (carbs that make your blood sugar spike) such as white rice, sugar, certain pastas and potatoes. Certain cereals are ok. (Use a low glycemic list for good body choices).

3.
When eating carbs, eat them with proteins and keep portion size small.

4.
Eat high fiber foods or add fiber to your diet.

5.
Water, Water, WATER. Drink lots of water daily. Drink it before a meal to help get you fuller quicker.

6.
Try to keep your daily food intake at 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 20% fat which is normally found in the foods that you eat.

7.
Eat 4-6 small meals a day. Eat fewer meals if you use a high protein shake or bar for one of the meals.

8.
Portion sizes of everything should be the size of your fist. Protein can be more if you are exercising.

9.
When eating out remember to have your food cooked the right way. You are paying. Limit condiments on food and you will actually begin to notice the quality of food.

10.
Exercise: Cardio exercise at least 20-30 minutes 3 times a week and resistance exercise with weights or machines 2-3 times a week for 20-30 minutes using mostly large muscle groups to increase your metabolism.

There comes a time in life when it’s time to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it and surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard you forget about the bad and focus solely on the good. -Author Unknown

 

 

Do you often engage with people who take pleasure in espousing crazy talk, negativity or living in the past? Or do you share your time with people who are mostly positive, supportive and creative? If you are surrounded by the former, I recommend you start letting go of those people and look for those who will lift you up, inspire and motivate you. If today is the last day of your life who do you want to spend it with?

You have nothing to  gain by allowing people to hang around who are toxic, living in the past, disinterested in self growth … OR … whom have little interest in supporting you as you improve, grow and change?

It does not happen overnight, but start today by distancing yourself, making yourself a little less available, and work on making changes to your life. After all, you never know when your last day of life will be.

Jeremiah 17:5-9

5 Thus says the LORD: “ Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength,”

We cannot afford to put our trust in man this year. We must not put our trust in ourselves, or in other people. Make  a commitment to God and to each other that we are  not going to take a step without seeking God first.

7 “ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit”.

This will be a fruitful year for you. That is the promise in God’s Word. Set your face to seek Him and your heart will be established in the Word. Even if it is a year of drought, you will not fear, you will be fruitful.

Practical Tip

Be wise about your health. We do not compare ourselves to others, we seek God for ourselves. This is not about keeping rules it’s about being hungry for God. Fan the flame that has been lit within you this week. Worship the Lord and give Him time to speak to your heart.

 

The next time you feel a strong joy, happiness, or whatever the good feeling when you connect with someone, understand that feeling, that emotion of joy is just a glimpse of the extreme joy that is in store for us in heaven.

4. God is good and gracious. The most penetrating picture of God in the entire Bible is in Jonah 4:2-10. While the old testament has many examples of God’s wrath he is no vengeful deity in the book of Jonah.

5. Finally, this book shows clearly God is the God of gentiles as well as a great book on missions and world vision.

When Jonah failed Him the first time God did not give up on him. We can read the most encouraging words that a failing child of God can hear… “And the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time.” I have three thoughts about this.

1. This book of Jonah sets forth the resurrection as you can see if you study it. When the “wicked and adulterous generation where looking for a sign”, Jesus referred them here. “Jonah… so Jesus” is the fine comparison made by our Lord.

2. Salvation is not by works. Jonah 2:9 – “Salvation is of the Lord”

3. Gods purpose of Grace can not be frustrated. If Jonah had refused to go to Nineveh the second time, would God have destroyed the city? God would not have been limited by Jonah’s refusal. This book shows Gods determination to those who will hear and accept it.

God will not cast us aside for faithlessness. “And the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time.” Lets pray that the Word of the Lord comes to us a second time.

 

(what, you did not know there is more information about Nineveh?)

Luke 11:9-10 (New International Version)

⁹“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

It is possible to lose every desire except the desire to be with the Lord, as you read the Word, & pray. I am speaking of the pressing tasks, the calls, the work that needs to be done. You can realize the simple peach of the real priority. Here and now it is really short lived. A few hours if we want it.

I heard, or read, that we have as much of God as we want. When I understood that, I determined I would seek him with all my heart, soul & strength. Does that mean 24/7? Sorry, no. I’m not there yet. I still, daily have frequent moments when I realize I have not been praying, talking with my Father. More often though I realize a worship song has been playing in my mind. Our God is an awesome God, he reins.

You are who you are before God, nothing more and nothing less.

No matter what you think you are… when you come to the end of yourself, and you have nothing left to hide behind… That is all I’m saying.

The Power of Not Thinking

By Tzvi Freeman

Thinking has a profound effect. So does not thinking.

A mind obsessed with yesterday’s travesties, today’s aches and pains, and tomorrow’s dark clouds, creates problems where none exist. It transforms daydreams into realities, molehills into monstrosities, innocent creatures into venomous snakes. All the more so when such words pass the lips into the tangible world we all share.

That is why simply turning your back to those thoughts is such a powerful form of healing—for every sort of illness. Distract your mind to good thoughts, productive thoughts, thoughts of confidence in the One who made you, and especially thoughts of Torah.

Heal your mind and heal your soul. You will heal your body as well.

As Christians we know our final destiny, we are on our way to heaven if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So Satan has no hold over where we spend our eternity but he does want us to be ineffective here on earth. We are the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth and if he can make us ineffective in this role he is happy. Satan cannot read our minds but he knows our weaknesses and will subtly drop thoughts that are lies into our minds that we believe to be the truth. We would not believe blatant lies, but they are subtle and we believe them and act on them.

Ephesians 6:12 says “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”

There is a spiritual battle on the go. Acknowledge that Satan, who is the Father of all lies, wants you to believe that you are worthless. He drops in these thoughts of you being worthless etc. These thoughts do not come from our loving heavenly Father. Satan gains power when you believe the lie of being worthless, as you will act accordingly.

Peter 5:8 says “Be self-controlled, and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.”
A lion always targets the weak in a herd because the weak are easy prey. Likewise Satan knows our weaknesses and he is looking for easy prey. “Stand firm in the faith”  Keep connected to other Christians, studying the Word so that you learn the truth.

2 Corinthians 10:3 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Our weapons are the Word of God and this is why it is so important to know the Word of God and to know Scripture as this contains the Truth. Holding your own thoughts in higher regard to that of God is “a pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” and is a sin.

Romans 12:2 says “do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

In other words replace the thinking that the world has given you to what scripture says. You renew your mind with scripture, with what God says. If what you believe does not line up with the Word of God you are believing a lie and the only way of knowing what lines up with the Word is studying what it says in the Word. When you believe that you are unlovable just remember whose description of yourself you believe. It is a lie and does not come from our heavenly Father. You won’t find that kind of description of yourself in the Bible. When someone doesn’t like you brush it off with the knowledge of how important you are to God and how deeply he loves you.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to believe scripture and fill your mind with scripture as it is with the Word of God that you ward off the enemy’s darts. Write out scripture verses and stick them around your house until they become part of your thinking. If you are bombarded with negative thoughts, get yourself a Walkman and listen to upbeat choruses that contain the Word of God. It”s often better to hear these than some of your own thoughts!

God wants you to have the freedom that He can give and He can use all situations for our good. In Luke 22:31 Jesus said to Peter “Simon Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

This verse had personal significance for me because I knew that if my loving Heavenly Father was allowing me to go through this process of being sifted, it must be for the purpose of having something better in the end – He did. When I had “turned back” I did “strengthen my brothers” through “overcoming depression” groups that I ran. We are often able to help others through what we have learnt in our own difficult times.

Also, always remember how much God loves you. You are in the palm of His hand. Isaiah 43:1-3 reads “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. You are precious and honoured in my sight."
I find it quite awesome that the creator of the universe cares for each one of us, cares for all the details of our loves and that He knows you and me by name.