GOD WILL TURN THINGS AROUND

I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. Isaiah 41:18

To 'open' is to begin or initiate a process. God is able to initiate a new process of blessing in our lives even when our current situation looks dry and desolate.

He causes rivers to flow into our lives when we feel dry, alone and abandoned.

Rivers stand for:

• Life

• Refreshment

• Newness

The river in the desert is not the end product of what God wants to do but the beginning. God brings rivers into the desolate places as the first step in turning around the situation we are in.

When He initiates the process of blessing in our lives, He sustains it and completes it. The river of God in the wilderness will be sustained and will produce a pool in the wilderness.

Pools form in the wilderness after the dry ground has soaked up the initial water flow; the water continues to flow till the ground is so saturated with water, it creates a pool.

God will not start a process He cannot sustain; neither will He start a process and not end it. He also promises to release fountains in the valley.

Valleys represent those moments in our lives when we feel 'low' or 'down'. Valleys also represent seasons in our lives when we feel depressed and incapable of rising to do the things we want to do.

In such moments, we can trust the Lord to release fountains of life, newness and freshness into our hearts. Yes, even in the desert, God's love reaches out to us and renews us.

Prayer: Lord, let Your living waters flow into my heart to renew my strength.

Scriptural Reading: Isaiah 41:17-20

Health: 5 Natural Ways To Remove Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are visible streaks or lines on the skin caused by distension of the skin from obesity or during pregnancy. Stretch marks are usually evident around the abdomen, buttocks, thighs and shoulders sometimes stretching down the legs and arms.

While stretch marks may not really be classified as a skin disease, some are disgusting to even look at. When the body expands or shrinks in size quickly, fine lines may appear on the body and these lines are what we refer to as “Stretch Marks” throughout this article.

While this article may not concentrate much on the causes, sign and symptoms, and prevention of stretch marks, we will be discussing the natural ways to treat or remove stretch marks from the body.

There are few amazing ways that have worked for several years, which you can use to remove stretch marks from your skin. I hope you find these methods useful in removing or reducing the stretch marks on your skin.

1. Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is quite an important and effective method of removing stretch marks from the skin. There are several important nutrients and active compounds in Aloe Vera that can be quite useful in removing stretch marks.

The method simply involves rubbing Aloe Vera on the affected parts of your skin for few minutes, and then rinse it off with warm water.

You can as well mix ¼ cup of Aloe Vera gel with oil from 10 Vitamin E capsules and oil from 5 Vitamin A capsules. Apply this mixture on the affected part of your skin until it is fully absorbed. Repeat this process every day and after some time you will notice that the stretch marks on your skin has started to disappear. Keep apply this method till you get a satisfying result.

2. Water
You will be marveled at the healing powers of water. Keeping your body well hydrated can help keep if off from skin problems. When your skin is well hydrated, this results in regular detoxification of your skin pores which restores elasticity of your skin and help you get rid of stretch marks.

Practice drinking 10 glasses of water daily to keep your skin well hydrated. This will help soften your skin and help maintain its elasticity. Avoid coffee, tea or soda as these things can cause dehydration of the skin which in turn can cause stretch marks to appear on your skin.3. Sugar
Are you surprised to see sugar on the list of methods to remove stretch marks from your skin? Natural white sugar is one of the best methods to remove stretch marks from the skin. Sugar exfoliates the skin.

Sugar can be used to remove stretch marks from the skin and the method is an easy one. Simply mix a teaspoon of raw sugar with some almond oil and a few drops of lemon juice. Mix it well and apply it on the areas of your body with stretch marks, rub it gently for at least 10 minutes every day before taking a bath.

You will be amazed at the results you will get within a month. Keep practicing this until you obtain a satisfying result.

4. Olive Oil
There are important nutrients and antioxidants that can help improve various skin problems such as stretch marks in Olive Oil.

Massage the affected part of your skin with warm Olive oil to improve the blood circulation and reduce the stretch marks on this part of your skin. Leave it for an hour, so the Vitamin A, D and E present in it can be absorbed by the skin.

Keep your skin moisturized especially at nights with a mixture of Olive oil with vinegar and water. Apply is to your skin before going to bed at night. This will help keep your skin moisturized and also exfoliate your skin.

5. Potato Juice
There are vitamins and minerals present in Potato juice that can foster growth and restoration of the skin cells. Slice a medium-sized potato into thick slices and use the slices to rub on the stretch marks on your skin gently for few minutes.  Ensure the liquid from the potato covers the affected areas of your skin, leave it to dry off for some time before washing it off with warm water.

You can practice any combination of these methods to get that stretch marks off your skin in no time. Remember that gaining and losing of weight over a short period of time is what causes these marks at first, so try and maintain a good body size to prevent the marks reappearing afterwards.witnessing relatively quick results. source tipsdrop.com

Health: 5 Ways To Burn Tummy Fat

Fat in the abdomen or belly fat, is an issue that people need to take seriously. If you have excess fat around your belly, it has to be addressed. There are a number of strategies that have proven very effective in getting rid of that extra belly fat. The top 5 ways to burn tummy fat are mentioned below.

Keep away from sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages

Sugar as we know is half glucose and half fructose. Fructose can only be metabolized in small amounts in the liver. When we eat too much refined sugar, we flood the liver with it and the liver turns it into fat. Added sugar is also unhealthy. Sugar-sweetened beverages have a 60% risk of causing obesity in children.  Liquid calories are not registered by the brain so when we drink beverages, we end up consuming greater calories. Make a decision to minimize sugar in your diet and completely avoid sweetened drinks, including juices, tea and coffee having sugar in them. Excess sugar is the primary cause of belly fat; so start reducing your intake to lean and flat tummy.

Consume protein

Keeping track of what you eat is a good way of maintaining a healthy diet. Protein reduces a person’s cravings by 60%, boosts metabolism and helps reduce your calorie intake. If losing belly fat is your aim, then adding protein to your diet is the best way to achieve this. A study claimed that protein was inversely related to belly fat. Increase your consumption of seafood, fish, meats, poultry and other items that are rich in protein. You can also adopt protein supplements if your intake isn’t enough.

Cut carbohydrate completely
Restrict your carbohydrate intake. This will reduce your appetite and help you lose weight. Studies have proven that low-carbohydrate diets lead to triple the weight loss than low fat diets. In addition, low-carbohydrate diets reduce water weight and, therefore, a difference is seen within just a few days. These diets specifically target belly fat. Avoid refined carbohydrates like pasta and white bread. Apart from weight loss, low-carbohydrate diets have other health benefits as well.

Eat foods rich in fiber

Consuming fiber helps reduce weight, but not all fiber has the same effects. Viscous fibers have a greater impact on weight as they bind water and form a thick gel in the gut, slowing the movement of food to the stomach. This gives you a feeling of fullness and reduced appetite. Soluble fiber is effective in reducing belly fat, leading to metabolic improvements. So consume plant foods like vegetables and fruits. Legumes and some cereals like oats are also good sources.

Exercise and be physically active

Exercise helps lead a long, healthy life. Aerobic exercises like walking, swimming reduce belly fat to a great extent. It also prevents people from re-gaining lost weight, showing its importance in weight maintenance. Aerobic exercises reduce blood sugar and metabolic abnormalities related to obesity. Some of the most effective belly exercises include the bicycle exercise, the chair leg raise, exercise ball crunch, vertical leg crunch and long arm crunch. By doing some of these you are bound to see results. Read here

A combination of exercise coupled with the right diet is probably the most effective way of ridding yourself of belly fat. So try and follow these methods and start

PRAYER BRINGS RESULTS

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. - Acts 12:5

Acts 12 records the story of a crisis situation in the early church. James had been put to death by King Herod.

Peter had been arrested and was clearly next. So what did the church do? They prayed. But they didn't pray just any prayer. They prayed with passion. We read that "constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church."

The phrase "constant prayer" could be translated "earnest prayer" or "stretched outwardly." It is reaching for something.

Have you ever dropped an item that was just beyond your reach, and you were straining to get it? That is how the church was praying. Theirs was not a casual, yawning, Lord-help-Peter kind of prayer.

This was a storm-the-gates-of-heaven kind of prayer. They were not backing down. And guess what? Their prayers were heard.

When a Gentile woman begged Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter, He told her, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" (Matthew 15:26).

She could have stormed away, but instead she answered, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table" (verse 27).

Jesus was not pushing her away; He was drawing her in. He knew her faith was great. And because of her persistence, her daughter was healed the same day.

Sometimes when the answer to our prayer doesn't come right away, we assume that God is saying no. Maybe. But maybe He wants us to keep praying with persistence.

This is the kind of prayer that prevails with God, the prayer into which 'we put our whole soul, reaching out toward God in agonizing desire. Much of our prayer has no power in it because we put so little heart into it.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to pray with passion.

Scriptural Reading: Acts 12:5-19

Health: 5 reasons for you to stop disposing off used tea bags

You make tea, you dip tea-bags in – but don’t throw them away after you are done with them! Even after providing you with a rejuvenating drink, they have enough benefits left in them to help you out in five ways.

1. Tea is an excellent ingredient for reducing blemishes on the skin! It contains tannin which being anti-inflammatory and soothing removes redness and swelling. Hence it is effective against under-eye bags, herpes marks, bruises, scratches and pigmentations on the skin. Just wet the tea-bag under cold running water and apply to the affected areas for about 15 minutes.
2. No need to buy shoe deodorizers or fancy dehumidifiers for your expensive boots! Tea-bags will help you out even here! Simply dry tea-bags and slip them into each shoe, and the wonder-bags will soak up the dampness and bad odor.
3. Are you dreading washing up after dinner because you know you have about a dozen hard-crusted utensils in the kitchen sink? Yes, you’ve guessed it – tea-bags to the rescue again! Simply fill the sink with water and put in a tea-bag, and soak the cookware in it overnight, for easy scrubbing in the morning.
4. Tea is also an excellent natural anti-insect and anti-pest ingredient. If you know the zones in your house where the dreaded creatures lurk, place tea-bags there to shoo them away without spraying harsh chemicals inside your home. read here
5. Sometimes your fridge starts stinking, what with various kinds of food odors, spilled food and sometimes even spoiled food. There is a very easy way to get rid of this bad odor – just toss in a used bag of tea in one corner, and you are done. It will absorb the bad smell in the fridge.

THE VOICE OF GOD

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. Isaiah 55:8-9

One of God's desire is that we hear His voice. He speaks to us in many varied ways. God has said that His ways are not our ways. If left to our reasoning, we will constantly make wrong choices and decisions.

Without hearing His voice, we fail to fully walk in the full counsel of God and miss His best for our lives.

Thus, our goal is to avoid being deceived and to develop a listening ear that hears the voice of God with confidence.

Our goal is to have such intimacy with God that we can walk in the full blessing of our decisions and be assured they are not based on our own reasoning alone.

This does not mean that we do not use the intellectual and logical skills that He has equipped us with.

A.W. Tozer said that the man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can't make a wrong choice - any choice will be the right one.

J. Oswald Sanders explains his method of receiving guidance from God for decisions: "I try to gather all the information and all the facts that are involved in a decision, and then weigh them up and pray over them in the Lord's presence, and trust the Holy Spirit to sway my mind in the direction of God's will. And God generally guides by presenting reasons to my mind for acting in a certain way."

The apostle Paul said, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13).

God has equipped us with everything we need to make good decisions. Hearing His voice is the first step toward making right choices in life.

Prayer: Ask the Lord to give you His counsel and direction in all the decisions you make every day.

Scriptural Reading: Isaiah 55:6-11

Prayer for the New Week and Happy New Month

God will remember all your good works and reward you greatly. Your sins and curses shall no longer

stand as hindrances to your manifestations.The Almighty God will proof to the whole world that you are His favourite. Your own case and situation shall be exceptionally enviable. Do not despair because of what you are going through now, the journey is not far anymore. You will reach your goal very soon. It is your time to shine in Jesus Name.

Happy New Month of August Folks, From ASB'SWorld.

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