5 Healthy Habits for a The Year

If you're like me, you ushered 2015 in with lots of sugar, a few extra pounds and promises to adopt some healthier habits. I'll admit, these healthy habits are dragging me kicking and screaming. I found it so much easier to pop tasty treats in my mouth without worrying about calories or exercise.

Unfortunately, God didn't make me with a metabolism that lets me snack my way through the day or avoid exercise, so here are 5 ways I am making 2015 a healthier year.

1. Devotion

Our biggest battle is often in our mind. Starting our the day in God's Word, prayer, worship and meditation on verses that address the areas we are seeking to adjust will help to reform faulty thought patterns. The truth of the matter is: We can live physically healthy lives, but if our mind and spirit are not healthy, our bodies will still suffer in the long-run. Proverbs talks about this when it says that bitterness dries up the bones (depletes them of calcium).

2. Water

Lets take a moment to reflect on the last time we drank a tall, cool glass of water. Some of us are really having to think. Water is essential to our health. It helps our kidneys function better to flush out toxins from our blood stream, and it helps keep us hydrated so our skin looks younger and healthier. One added side benefit is that it also helps to keep hunger signals at bay. Many times when we think we're hungry we're only really thirsty. You should drink 8-10 8-oz. glasses of water a day. However, if you consume caffeinated beverages, you'll need to drink an extra glass of water for each beverage you drink, because caffeine is a diuretic.

3. Vitamins

Sadly, we do not get the necessary vitamins and minerals our body needs from the foods we eat. Even produce that is picked early lacks the essential nutrients it would otherwise give. All of the processing our foods go through before they reach our digestive systems have depleted them of most nutrients, and the vitamins they enrich them with are not very useful.

Taking daily vitamins helps keep our bodies strong and energy levels high. When choosing a vitamin, the best ones are whole food vitamins, capsules, chewables or alka-seltzer tablets. These types do not have heavy binders that prevent them from being fully digested.

4. Exercise

In the spirit of full disclosure, this is by far the hardest discipline for me. I do not enjoy exercise—I never have. I lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle. But more and more studies are showing the elevated health risks of a sedentary lifestyle, so I am working hard to carve out time in my busy schedule for at least 15 minutes a day of exercise.

It will be easier in the spring because I like to walk in the mornings—the only form of exercise I actually enjoy. We have a nice, steep hill where I live and I enjoy walking and praying. I can't wait for the sun to rise earlier so I can get back to prayer-walking.

5. Fruits and Vegetables

I don't know why it is easier to make an unhealthy meal than it is to grab an apple. I can't explain it. I'd rather make my famous french bread, Gouda cheese and green olive grilled sandwich than just grab something from the fruit bowl (which, by the way, is a full 99% of the time). I'm working at making healthier habits, because the benefits of choosing a fruit or vegetable over a calorie-, carb- and fat-laden meal are obvious.

By the way, did you know that frozen vegetables are sometimes healthier than fresh? Its true. Frozen produce is picked ripe, blanched and flash-frozen to preserve the nutrients. So when you see produce in the produce section that is out of season, you may be better off running to the frozen food isle.

What healthy choices are you making in 2015?

Rosilind Jukic

20 scriptures that can be hard to do BUT by God's grace We can

Admit it, there are parts of the Bible that are difficult to digest. Certain words sting going down and sometimes cause us to question our faith. 

Let’s be honest, we are all sinners. We all fall short at times because we are all human and you and I both know there’s no such thing as a perfect human. Even if you feel like you are perfect at something, there’s something that you are struggling with. Whether it’s forgiving someone, Fornication, or telling little white lies every now and then.  Myself included.

We sometimes try to twist the words of the bible to read the way we want them to read, when in actuality God’s word is pretty straightforward and clear.

Here are 20 scriptures that can be hard to digest at times:

1. “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” -Luke 17:4

2. “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”- Matthew 5:39

3. “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” - Leviticus 20:13

 4.  “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” -Matthew 19:9

5. “And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” Mark 10:12

6. “And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” -Matthew 5:32

7. “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” -Mark 11:25

8. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” -1 Thessalonians 4:3-4

9. “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” -James 4:17

10. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command:Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” -1 John 4:20-21

11. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”- Ephesians 5:22-24

12. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” -2 Corinthians 6:14

13. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” - Matthew 5:44

14. “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” -Matthew 5:42

15. “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” -Proverbs 14:31

16. “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.  You’ll receive the same judgment you give. Whatever you deal out will be dealt out to you.”- Matthew 7:1-2

17. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.“- Luke 6:31

18. “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;”- Proverbs 3:9

19. “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” -Proverbs 11:24

20. “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”- 1 John 2:4

…but the good news is that it’s not too late to get it right. With God’s help, we can all strive to live righteous. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9. Source: theprayingwoman

Family: Why Setting Rules With Your Child Doesn't Work

Many parents use a simple behavior modification approach to raise their children. "If you get your homework done, then you can go out and play." "If you clean your room, then you can watch a video."

Unfortunately children trained this way often develop a "What's in it for me?" mentality. "If I don't get something out of it, why should I obey?"

God is concerned with more than behavior. He's interested in the heart. The heart contains motivations, emotions, convictions and values. A heart-based approach to parenting looks deeper. Parents still require children to finish their homework and clean up their rooms, but the way they give the instructions is different.

Instead of just getting things done, parents look for long-term change in their kids. Sometimes children aren't ready to change on a heart level and parents must work to address the heart. That may mean more relationship to open the heart or it may involve more boundaries to show kids that they way they're living just isn't going to work.

A heart-based approach shares values and reasons behind rules. It focuses on character development, not just correct behaviors. It requires more dialogue, helping children understand how their hearts are resistant and need to develop cooperation. A heart-based approach is firm but also relational. It's a mindset on the part of parents that looks to develop heart qualities that then bring about significant change. read more

As you consider your kids remember the words that God said to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7, "For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

Prayer for new week

The Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore" (Ps 121:5–8).  In whatever you do, situations will bow down before you; systems, ordinances, institutions, policies and legislature will adjust for you to have your desired breakthroughs. 

Go forth and possess your possessions in Jesus Name. God will make a way out of all the problems that are facing you. He will give you massive victories over all your obstacles! 

Happy New Week from us ASB-World. 

The Boy Who Claimed He Went to Heaven and Saw Jesus Recants, Publisher Pulls Book

The best-selling book that documents a 6-year-old’s journey to heaven and back during the two months he spent in a coma is being pulled from shelves after the boy, who is now 17, recanted his story. 

Alex Malarkey, the co-author of The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven with his father, Kevin Malarkey, was in a car crash in 2004 that left him paralyzed. The memoir, published in 2010 as part of the popular “heavenly tourism genre,” detailed his accounts of talking to Jesus Christ and meeting with the devil. Since its publication, the book has sold more than one million copies, according to the Washington Post. But on Tuesday, Pulpit and Pen published a letter from Alex Malarkey, entitled “An Open Letter to Lifeway and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven.” Lifeway is a chain of religious book retailers. 

“Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short. I did not die. I did not go to Heaven,” Malarkey writes, calling, well, malarkey on himself. “I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.”

Beth Malarkey, Alex’s mother, has been objecting to the book for a while. In an April, 2014, post on her blog, she wrote, “It is both puzzling and painful to watch the book The Boy who Came Back from Heaven to not only continue to sell, but to continue, for the most part, to not be questioned. … I could talk about how much it has hurt my son tremendously and even make financial statements public that would prove that he has not received monies from the book nor have a majority of his needs been funded by it. … When Alex first tried to tell a ‘pastor’ how wrong the book was and how it needed stopped, Alex was told that the book was blessing people. “

The post implies that Malarkey recanted his story long ago, though Tuesday’s was his first public statement. The post concludes, “Alex’s name and identity are being used against his wishes…. How can this be going on???” According to the Washington Post, the book contract was only with Kevin Malarkey, not with Alex or his mother.

Today, the Christian publisher Tyndale House released a statement confirming it will stop selling the book. “We are saddened to learn that Alex Malarkey, co-author of ‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven,’ is now saying that he made up the story of dying and going to heaven. Given this information, we are taking the book out of print.” Lifeway has announced that it will no longer sell the book in its stores.  

Family therapist Dr. Paul Hokemeyer says it’s not a surprise that Malarkey would make up a story in the wake of his experience. “When something happens that is so traumatic, regardless of our age, we work to make sense of it and put it in a way that will help us process and sort it out,” he tells Yahoo Parenting. “Particularly at 6 years old, his family’s beliefs would be very important. If his family is very religious — and clearly they are — they would talk about this kind of trauma in terms of Jesus and heaven. A 6-year-old trying to make sense of a trauma would use the framework that he perceived as being safe.” Read more

Malarkey’s decision to publicly recant his story, especially at 17, shows quite a bit of bravery, Hokemeyer says. “The trauma that he endured doesn’t seem to have impaired his judgment or intelligence,” he says. “That’s a hard thing for anyone to do.”

COUNT THE COST OF YOUR CHOICES

And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25:34

Every decision has its consequences; every cause has its effects and every action has its reaction.

For every choice you want to make, it is important to ask yourself whether you are ready to live with the impact of the decisions you make.

In order to walk in wisdom or godly counsel, you need to examine the long-term implications of every choice before you make it.

Some decisions look attractive in the short-term but turn out to have damaging consequences in the long-term.

When King David committed adultery and took Bathsheba into his bed, he was obviously looking at immediate pleasure rather than long-term consequences.

Even though God forgave him when he later repented, he still suffered the long-term effects of his action including the death of his child, problems in his family and, probably more significantly, the loss of God's promise of a perpetual kingdom for his descendants.

Life's decisions are not made in isolation. Every decision we make has several other linkages that ought to be considered.

Today someone may be happy with an ill-considered decision they may have made in solving a particular problem.

However, when the dust settles, their descendants may rise up to curse them for the wrong choices they made and their attendant implications.

Sometimes you may be tempted to go with a convenient option and think you have solved a current problem, but the impact of your decision may outlive you, for several years.

There is, therefore, the need for careful consideration at every stage in life in order to make the right choices and walk in godly counsel.

Prayer: Lord, give me the wisdom to always consider the long-term consequences of my choices.

Scriptural Reading: Genesis 25:29-34

Family: 7 things you should say to your kids every day

• There are an infinite number of ways that we can express love to our children. Here are a few phrases that I've found are the best ones to use in our homes to uplift our children and strengthen our family ties.

• 1. "I love you."

  Do not go a single day without letting your children hear these words come out of your mouth. Children feel safe knowing that you love them. Difficult days will come. There will be times when they make decisions that may not be the best. Make sure that they know, with certainty, that no matter what decisions they make, you will never stop loving them.

• 2. "You make me very happy."

  This could not be more true! (And every mom and dad knows that no truth is more important.) Children are an inexhaustible source of happiness and love. It is so important that they know this! Don't wait until they graduate or get married to tell them — just do it today.

• 3. "You are very special."

  It is extremely important that children understand from a young age that they are different, unique, and special. We all went to excel in some way. Set a goal to tell them every day that they are incomparable and the best thing that has ever happened to you.

• 4. "I like it when you..."

  Everyone enjoys knowing what they do that makes other people happy — especially your children. Take the time to point out any positive aspect about their behavior, character, kindness, talents, funny ideas or school performance.

• 5. "I am grateful for you every day."

  If you practice any faith, or if you pray on a regular basis, pray with your children and let them hear you thank God for having them in your life, and pray for their well-being. Also pray for their souls, especially when they are going through hard times.

• 6. "I believe in you/I trust you"

  Our children will grow up feeling secure if they know that we trust and believe in them. Tell them that you trust them and respect their decisions.

• 7. "Are you able to/I know you can."

  Children get easily discouraged when they are trying to do something and it doesn't work out after a couple of tries. As parents, we need to encourage them to keep trying, and let them know that we believe in them.
  When you're tired and had a long day, it's easy to be tempted to say something that may harm your children. Remember, kids are a blessing, a miracle, and a light that can illuminate your life every day. Make them feel it and know it well. Every day