Tuesday, 18 March 2014

3 Strategies For Losing Stubborn Fat

If you’ve ever had success losing weight, you’re probably acutely familiar with the other side of this coin: the fat that just holds on no matter what you do. Can’t seem to get rid of that paunch? Read on to learn how to lose stubborn belly fat with these three strategies.

1. Intermittent Fasting

This strategy for losing stubborn belly fat works by tricking the body into developing a more efficient metabolism. Essentially, going longer periods in between meals – roughly 12 to 18 hours – occasionally helps the body to burn more fat by inhibiting a-2 receptors and activating b-2 receptors.
B-2 receptors are the ones that signal to your body that it’s time to burn fat, as opposed to a-2 receptors, which are triggered in order to hold onto fat deposits. Some areas of the body have more of these types of receptors than others. Stubborn belly fat, unsurprisingly, tends to be home to far more a-2 receptors than b-2 receptors – hence the trouble with losing weight in that area.
As you fast, the insulin levels in your body drop, which ultimately activates the b-2 receptors to start burning fat. Thus, when you eat again, the body is prepared to burn the calories that you consume rather than hold onto them. Eating in cycles, in terms of calories and macronutrients, thus primes your body to process at its best when you do consume food.

2. High Intensity Interval Training

When it comes to busting fat with exercise, high intensity interval training is the best way to lose stubborn belly fat. This is because interval training actually burns more calories per unit of time than a steady pace workout. High intensity interval training, also known as HIIT, is also extremely beneficial for increasing insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.
These two factors are known to play a major role in the difficulty associated with losing weight, so managing them with high intensity interval training might just give your body the boost it needs to beat that stubborn belly fat.
Finally, although high intensity interval training involves extremely difficult pushes of 100% effort, these types of workouts tend to be perceived as easier since they’re shorter and come with built-in breaks. So if you find that long, steady time-sinks of workouts aren’t getting rid of the belly fat, try throwing in some high intensity interval training, such as sprints or supersets with weights.

3. Caffeine with Fasting and Exercise

Caffeine is a thermogenic, meaning that it speeds up your metabolism to help you use more calories as a part of both daily function and when you exercise. If fasting and exercise don’t bust through that stubborn belly fat on their own, try adding in 200mg caffeine per day with your workout, up to 600mg per day if you typically consume a lot of caffeine (via coffee, tea, or energy drinks) and already have a tolerance for it.

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Ways to Divorce-Proof Your Marriage

When church or ministry leaders call it quits on their marriages, the outcome "culturally sanctions" divorce and "cheapens grace," says marriage therapist and author Linda S. Mintle, Ph.D. Writing in Divorce-Proofing Your Marriage (Charisma House), Mintle says Christian couples often split over fixable problems while viewing their marriage as a contract instead of a covenant, or "unbreakable promise."
"What have we done with the transforming power of God?" asks Mintle, who's also a licensed clinical social worker. "We have it for healings and finances but not for marriage? God's power can change difficult situations."
Mintle offers the following advice as a way for Christian leaders to safeguard their marriages and ministries:
Be wise counselors. Clergy need to implement ministry boundaries. Men, in particular, need to be careful "when females, who are vulnerable, are coming in to speak with them," she says. "Be careful not to do counseling when you're not trained to, and make sure that your door is open or that another person is present. Avoid even the appearance of evil."
Resist the power trap. Ministers are not immune to the lure of power that comes with the limelight of ministry. "Everything in the Bible is about humbling yourself and not exalting yourself over God," Mintle says. "But people are seduced by power, control and sexuality—all of which can lead to marriage problems. It's wise to have people around who won't make you vulnerable to these things."
Break down the barriers. The road to divorce begins with emotional distance and leads to roadblocks of discord that get deeper and wider. "A lot of people tend to get critical of their partner and start thinking they can find a better mate. They become defensive and begin to harbor negative feelings." At those times, instead of focusing on what that other person isn't doing, call out to God.
Humbly seek help. When you're the shoulder others cry on, it's hard to look for one of your own. "You have to humble yourself," Mintle says. "People are broken, and it shouldn't matter who you are. There are lots of organizations that offer help." 
Rest to restore. Some leaders mistakenly believe they have special divine privileges. "It's as if they say, 'I can get a divorce, and come back with a new platform,'" she says. "They don't think that [the divorce] should have any ramifications on their ministries."
Ministers who divorce need a mandatory restoration period of at least two years "to figure out what made [the marriage] go south and then to get some help," Mintle says. Afterward, if they return to ministry, she says, it must be decided whether they should be "at the same level of leadership."

By Linda Mintle (http://www.charismamag.com/life/relationships/18439-how-to-divorce-proof-your-marriage)

Prayer For You,Happy New Week....

May God Bless you with Happiness! May God Bless you with Hope to live! May God Bless you with Joy to share! May God Bless you with a Life of peace! May God Bless you with Sweet dreams! May God Bless you with Kindness to care! May God Bless you with Beauty and long-life! May God Bless you with a Spouse to love you! May God Bless you with a cheerful heart to give! May God Bless you with a Shelter to protect you! May God Bless you with every Good things in life!

 May God Bless you with Food and Water to fill you! May God Bless you with a Family to be proud of you! May God Bless you with people to share love and charity! May God Bless you with Smiles to cheer you on days you feel alone! May God Bless you with Sunshine to warm your day when the world seems cold! And May God Bless you with Beautiful Bright Stars in the sky to show you the way when it is dark!  God Bless You!

Happy New Week from us ASB-World


Sow Kindness in Your Marriage

An offer to help, a smile and a kind word will reduce the heat of everyday responsibilities

The first command God gave mankind was to be fruitful and multiply (see Gen. 1:28). But fruitfulness involves more than merely growing physical fruit.
As a Christian, the Spirit of God has already been planted within you, now it's your job to cultivate the seed of His nature. And it is not going to be an easy thing to do all the time.
The farmer's seeds must push through a layer of dirt in order to reach the sunlight. That dirt outweighs that little seed, and it will have to struggle hard to break through. In the same manner, God's Spirit has to push through the dirt we call our flesh.
Our flesh may be innately selfish, rude and indulgent. The Spirit of God inside of us is none of those things. Thus, there is resistance; there is conflict. And in marriage, these can pose numerous problems in the way we communicate with our spouse.
Take the case of James, who comes home after a rough workday. The computer program he'd worked on around the clock for weeks wasn't running. After a tense meeting with his concerned boss, James headed home exhausted.
When he opened the door to greet his pregnant wife, he was confronted with the words, "I hope you won't work all hours of the day when the baby is born!" Without saying a word, James watched his wife set out the meal she had prepared hours earlier. He knew he was desperately in need of something, but couldn't put his finger on it.
Then there is Charlotte, a homeschooling mother of four, who also had a tough day. Shortly after her husband left for work, one child developed a fever combined with nausea.
After a stressful day of serving as both impromptu nurse and schoolteacher, Charlotte was preparing dinner when her husband entered and said with a smile, "This house looks like a disaster area. What did you do today?" Not returning the smile, Charlotte became defensive as she set the table. She also needed something, but felt too overwhelmed to express it.
What James and Charlotte needed was an act of kindness. James needed a hug and a "Boy, I'm glad to see you, you hard-working man." Charlotte needed her husband to notice her overwhelmed state and come to her aid.
Every spouse needs kindness daily. Many of us feel that life is like an overworked, fast-moving engine. In mechanical terms, an engine receives a constant supply of motor oil to prevent friction and overheating. Likewise, random and intentional acts of kindness lubricate marriage relationships, easing life's friction.
An offer to help, a smile and a kind word will reduce the heat of everyday responsibilities. Knowing that someone cares enough to notice and say thank you makes the day-to-day routine a little easier to handle.
Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and when it's displayed, it can make anyone feel special. Think about the last act of kindness your spouse did for you, and how it made you feel. The fruit of kindness is sweet to the soul.
You've Got It In You - Through the Spirit of God, the power of kindness dwells within you, ready to be released. Any act of kindness you show to your spouse plants a seed that will eventually grow into a fruit-bearing tree of kindness. Will you reap a plentiful harvest because of your continual planting and nurturing, or will your harvest be small?
In Colorado where I live, huge trees grow right through rocks and boulders. It's amazing that the power of a tiny seed is greater than the power of the large surrounding rocks. Similarly, your decision to exhibit the fruit of kindness is not hindered by the attitude of your spouse. Even the strongest will cannot weaken the power of the seed.
In marriage, you have been given the strength to be kind in order to fortify the spirit, soul and person of your husband. He, in turn, will grow because of your encouragement. King David, one of the greatest Bible characters and a friend of God, referred not to God's power or wisdom, but rather to His gentleness as the thing that made Him great (see 2 Sam. 22:36; Ps. 18:35).
In essence, kindness is shown when one person chooses to use his or her strength in a gentle manner toward another. Take note of the following ways in which kindness can be expressed in your interaction with your mate:
Spoken kindness. The first seeds of kindness we can sow in the heart of our spouse are in the thoughtful words we speak. Often, out of laziness or familiarity, we begin to be gruff, sarcastic, or demeaning in our responses to normal questions. Our answers seem sharp instead of seasoned with grace. We should respond as though every question our spouse asks is an intelligent one. We should take time to listen fully and give a sincere answer.
Spoken kindness is expressed also in the tone of speech we employ. It's possible to never say a wrong thing yet communicate an unkind attitude when we speak. Next to God, you are the loudest and most consistent voice your spouse hears. It's your choice to use a kind voice that supports and encourages your spouse, or a gruff voice that discourages, degrades and minimizes.

Speaking thoughtful, gentle words to your spouse in front of your friends and your children is yet another expression of spoken kindness. Always thank your spouse when he or she is serving you in some manner. But instead of just saying, "Thanks, Honey," be specific. Saying "Thank you, Honey, for getting the butter; that was kind of you," communicates that you actually notice your spouse's acts of kindness.
The words you speak and the kind way in which they are spoken will soon become the heart of your everyday lifestyle. As your heart becomes kind, so your words will also, and your spouse's heart will be motivated by your example to do the same.
A kind touch. Sometimes a touch can communicate kindness more loudly than words. Holding your spouse's hand, gently caressing his back or even giving him a private foot massage can express volumes of kindness.
There is a kind of touching that is expressly meant to communicate kindness without any hint of sexuality or need for reciprocation. This soothing, unselfish, gentle type of touch is a great way to plant kindness in your spouse's heart. Although verbal expressions may be deflected or discounted, a touch is rarely rejected.
The expression of "teamfulness." I use the word "teamfulness" as a means of defining the way a husband and wife operate in unity. They anticipate each other's actions and, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each other, capitalize on these strengths for the good of the team.
Here is how teamfulness works: When you see the laundry, you do the laundry because you're part of the team. If you see a situation that must be dealt with regarding one of your children, you handle it without passing it on to your spouse. You know your husband's schedule, and you cover for him without an attitude.
In the same way, your spouse-the other team member-is so in touch with your world that often he sees a need before you do. In this way your spouse throws you the ball, so to speak, and you both score.
Kindness is something you can offer your spouse freely every day. It should be both intentional and spontaneous.
Intentional kindness means purposefully releasing the kindness you possess on a regular basis. Along these lines, one piece of advice I offer husbands is to give their wives a night away from home once a week. This should be a time for her to spend as she chooses. I explain to them that their wives need time to relax or play, when she does not have to be a mom, a wife, a cook, the clean-up crew and the leader of bedtime rituals.
Similarly, a wife can plan intentional acts of kindness for her husband based on his interests. Some wives who are gifted cooks may want to select one day a week to prepare a gourmet meal for the family.
We also need to recognize the importance of spontaneous kindness. Don't become so mechanical in your plans that you fail to capitalize on those great daily opportunities that arise to be kind to your mate.
My wife, Lisa, is regularly kind to me. When I come home on a warm day, I first like to spend about 15 minutes on the hammock in our backyard. It's magical the way both my soul and body become relaxed and refreshed. Lisa usually protects this time, so I am not interrupted. This is a much appreciated, spontaneous act of kindness she gives to me.
Commit to Kindness - Just as a seed in the natural realm contains the nature of the fruit it will become, so, too, within that seed of the Spirit planted in you is the very DNA of God: His heart, His mind, His will and His nature. The seed in you desires to be respectful and kind.
The first step in making kindness a greater reality in your home is to break previous agreements you may have made with unkindness. Confess your sins against God and your spouse. Seek forgiveness for any actions, attitudes or beliefs that have fueled unkind habits in your marriage. And in the name of Jesus, break any spirit, soul or body agreements with meanness. Eliminate all traces of it from your behavior and speech.
Make an official declaration of your decision to uproot old habits and create new beliefs and attitudes. Prayer will help you establish a great foundation for your new resolve to be kind, and the Holy Spirit will strengthen you to carry out your commitment. Be intentional toward your mate, but also respond to those surprising opportunities to practice kindness that come along every single day.
You and I have a lot of farming to do. Oh, yes, it's work. And yes, it's daily. Some parts of the field will be easy to plow, and some will be harder.
But imagine the increased fruitfulness in your marriage, and in the lives of your children and grandchildren. Feel the hand of Jesus on your shoulder, and see the smile on His face when He will say to you, "Well done!"
So get ready to plow. There is plentiful harvest of eternal joy ahead of you.
 Source: Douglas Weiss

The Two-Fold Hope

TEXT: ISAIAH 9:1-7
Key verse: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
Someone said “Hope is good for breakfast, but bad for dinner”. This is as far as man, mortal man can perceive. But hope in God is not time-bound. It is a confident assurance in Him that He will fulfill what He has promised, even when all hope has been lost.
Previously, Isaiah had shown the adverse effects of false dependence: hardship, hunger, anguish and darkness (Isaiah 8:21-22). The prophet now pictures the darkness fading away as the light of the Lord dawns. This brings joy to the people. The oppressor shall be driven out of the land. All warlike apparatuses shall be destroyed. They shall no longer be required in the new era. A summary of the twofold hope was then given to Israel - redemption at the Messiah’s first coming and restoration of Davidic kingdom at His Second Advent (verses 6,7).

These two verses are pregnant with meaning. The whole destiny of man hangs on them viz: A child (Jesus) is born at Bethlehem. A son (the Saviour) is given at Calvary. These first two comprise the first hope. The right to be the Sovereign of all the earth shall be vested in the Saviour. He, the Saviour, will restore the Davidic kingdom and rule eternally. These last two points are “the second, hope”. Notice however, that the prophets could not see the intervening period that separates the word given in verse six and the rest of the prediction, that is, the Church Age in which we live (Ephesians 3:3-9).
The first hope has already been fulfilled, for the Child has been born and the Son given (crucified). Henceforth, God requires us to apply faith to appropriate the benefits of this fulfilled hope. This qualifies us to be part of the true Church. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you accepted Him as Saviour and Lord and fully repented of your sins? If you are a child of God, you can be rest assured that “the second hope” will be literally fulfilled for God remains the same. Be appropriately positioned though, to fully appropriate all that God has imbedded in Christ.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God means just what He says.


Saturday, 15 March 2014

Coconut Pineapple Cake

INGREDIENTS
·         Filling:
·         ½ cup sugar
·         3 tablespoons cornstarch
·         ¼ teaspoon salt
·         1, 20-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
·         2 tablespoon unsalted butter
·         Cake:
·         2¾ cups sifted cake flour
·         1 tablespoon plus ¼ teaspoon baking powder
·         ½ teaspoon salt
·         5 large egg whites, at room temperature
·         1¼ cups 100% unsweetened coconut milk (not sweetened cream of coconut)
·  

       13 tablespoons (1 stick plus 5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
·         1¼ cups sugar
·         1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
·         Italian meringue buttercream, vanilla variation
·         3 cups sweetened long-shred coconut
Instructions
1.      For the Filling: Place sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan and whisk to combine. Drizzle a little bit of the juice from the pineapple over the dry mixture and whisk until smooth. Add remaining pineapple and juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for a couple of minutes, whisking occasionally until thickened and translucent. Whisk in the butter and cool completely. Refrigerate until chilled and firmed or in an airtight container for up to 3 days, if desired.
2.      For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Coat the insides of two 8-inch by 2-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line bottoms with parchment rounds, then spray parchment.
3.      Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl to combine and aerate; set aside. Whisk together the egg whites and milk in a small bowl; set aside.
4.      In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar gradually and beat until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in vanilla.
5.      Add the flour mixture in four additions, alternating with the egg white/milk mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture and beat briefly until smooth. Divide batter evenly in pans and smooth tops with offset spatula.
6.      Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs. The cake will be tinged with light golden brown around the edges and the top and will have begun to come away from the sides of the pan.
7.      Cool pans on racks for about 10 minutes. Unmold, peel off parchment, and place directly on racks to cool completely. Layers are ready to fill and frost. Alternatively, place on layers on cardboards and double wrap in plastic wrap; store at room temperature if assembling within 24 hours.
8.      For the Assembly: Make sure buttercream is ready to go. It should be very soft – almost like mayonnaise. Place bottom layer on an 8-inch cardboard round (it will make covering it with coconut that much easier later on). Fill the cake with the pineapple filling (you might not need all of it, extra is great over ice cream). Frost the cake’s top and sides with the buttercream. Don’t worry if your application job isn’t perfect – you will be covering the whole cake with coconut! See how imperfect it looks when you are still in the midst of it all?
9.      Make sure you have a nice thick layer of buttercream all over (you might still have some leftover, which can be frozen).
10.  Place coconut in a large bowl. Pick up cake (this is where that cardboard round comes in) and hold over bowl. Scoop up coconut with other hand and press generously all over top and sides of cake. Cake is ready to serve. May be refrigerated up to 2 days covered with a cake dome. Make sure to serve at room temperature.
 

By Bakepedia 

When You're Overwhelmed by Your Kids

I know there are days when all of us feel as if we are in over our heads. But when those days arise and courage seems to wilt, remember that God's grace is on you for these moments. He will strengthen you against all odds.
Some of you have always had someone else to rely on. But now you are facing the challenge of raising your children alone.
Are you alone? Not really. You never were. God has been there all the time. And the same God who brought you through all of your earlier challenges is waiting for you to acknowledge Him in your current situation.
Do you know that many of the blessings that are on you will pass to your children? For example, it is a blessing to have wise parents. Wise parents pass their reasoning and mentality to their children. This creates a generational blessing.
We have heard about generational curses, but we ought to understand generational blessings, too. If a drug-filled mother gives birth to a drug-addicted child, then why can't a spiritually regenerated mother have a child who has been blessed by her regeneration?
The favor of God is with you as a parent. His hand is there to bless you if you will trust Him.
God's design is to bring strength out of weakness and power out of pain. I challenge you now to allow Christ to equip you with the tools you need to become what God would have you to be as a single parent.
God's blessings can break out in your life as never before, but it takes faith in God. Faith is having the grace to accept the challenges and the struggles of your course, but doggedly and tenaciously searching for the victory within the victimized.
You are the vessel God has chosen to labor with Him in forming the character of the next generation. You may not live long enough to see all of your fruit, but it will be your teachings, your standards that shape your family for years after you are gone. Do it with dignity and character. It is your contribution to the next age.
No wonder the enemy wants to overwhelm and discourage you. When he gets you, he gets two for the price of one. He affects you and the child in one blow.
Tell the devil no! Tell him he will not get a two-for-one sale here. You will guard with all diligence what God has entrusted to you.
Charge your children with faith and power. They are the future.
Consider this: "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate" (Ps. 127:4-5).
If my children are my arrows, they are my defense. They are my defense against emptiness. They are my defense against building a house that no one will inherit. They are my defense against having no hand to hold when death comes to carry me home. They are my defense against anonymity in the next generation.
You may never be famous, but your children might be. Few would recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s mother. Few would recognize the names of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' parents. Even fewer would know Colin Powell's parents. But somewhere behind the curtains, in the shadows of the stage, there is a face, a hand, an apron, a father or a mother who said, "I will raise my bow."

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