Minimize the Bleeding
May 6, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
In conversation with one of my business partners Luke Carlson I was sharing how my week had been pretty tough because of being in the hospital all week with my daughter Kali. I said that I found myself falling back into some old habits of turning to food instead of God for comfort.
His response was this:
Minimize our mistakes needs to be a tip of the day…….. We know mistakes are going to happen, but when they do we need to keep the bleeding to a minimal amount. This was one thing we always talked about in sports. When you are on top of the mountain things go well and the weight comes off or we play well, but it’s not the mountain top that keeps us on track it is how we do in the valley. This is where the adults are separated from the children physically, mentally and spiritually. The thing we need to remember is that the Holy Spirit will get us through when we turn to God instead of food for our comfort.
Then when he does help get us through or when we are on top of the mountain we must remember to praise God through our actions of being diligent and using self control.
Luke’s words reminded me that we all will have the good days and we all will have bad days….that is life. It’s how we react to those days both good and bad that truly matter! Remember to praise God today for mountains and the valleys!
Have a Blessed day,
Deb 
Easter Prayer
March 31, 2010 by Jenny Neighbour · Leave a Comment
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced by our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 52: 3-5This is holy week. The week where we are to remember how God gave his one and only son to die for our sins. I don’t know about you, but this concept really blows my mind. I just completed a wonderful study at my church that looks at the last 24 hours of Jesus life on earth. It details his suffering, mockery, and ultimate crucifixion.
I am now looking at Easter a little differently this year. I am reminded that Jesus knows all about suffering. He endured unimaginable pain, disgrace, and humiliation…for me. It somehow gives me comfort to know that when the storms of life come my way…Jesus is always going to be able to understand my pain…my suffering. I know that I truly can do ALL things with Him by my side.
I pray that you know how much you are loved by our Heavenly Father! He understands your pains and hurts better than anyone. He is waiting to hold you in His mighty arms and give you comfort, understanding, guidance, and ultimate healing. If you are hurting right now, or if you are seeking a renewed spirit this Easter, perhaps the scripture above and the prayer below will offer you a little peace this Easter season.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you Lord, for your Son Jesus, the Savior of my life. You loved this world so dearly, Father, that You sent Your Son to die so that we, Your children, might have eternal life. I am so grateful for that priceless gift, and want to let the love of Jesus be reflected in my words, my thoughts, and my deeds. Let me always count Jesus as my dearest friend, and let me share His transforming message with a world in desperate need of His peace.
Amen
Dealing with Stress
March 16, 2010 by Jenny Neighbour · Leave a Comment
We will experience STRESS in our lives…even good things in our lives can cause stress so we need to be able to handle STRESS when it hits!
Here are some “reminders” of how to handle STRESS:
Mental Stress:
Say NO more often – that’s right…”just say no”!
Eliminate Clutter – clean that house, clean that desk, clean that closet! Get rid of “messes” that cause you stress.
Regulate – Create some “routine” in your life…a little structure goes a long way!
Recover – REST…RESTORE…take some BREAKS in your day.
Physical Stress:
Eat Healthy – our body needs nutrition. When we are eating sugars and tons of preservatives…our body gets tired!
Exercise – regular exercise with VARIETY can help keep your body feeling good.
Sleep – our body requires approximately 7 hours of sleep a night…are you there?
Avoid self-medicating with FOOD – do you reach for sweets, coffee, pop or junk food to relieve stress?
Decrease those Toxins – maybe it is time for a cleanse???
Visit the Doctor on a regular basis – make sure you are seeing the Dr. for routine exams.
TURN TOWARD GOD to alleviate STRESS:
Believe in God – Don’t just believe that He exists; believe that He is in complete control! We want to be the center of our world and what we need to realize is that GOD is in charge and that He has a perfect plan for our lives. If we simply trust in Him…we will have a great life…after all…that is what He wants for us!
Be in God – Live in the present moment with God. Spending too much time on the past or the future can lead us in the wrong direction. God wants us NOW.
Talk to God – Pray often…there is no perfect way to pray…what is YOUR way? Is it listening to praise and worship music in the car or home? Is it writing out your prayers? Is it sitting in the quiet for a few minutes each day? Is it talking out-loud to God? Whatever way you talk to Him is OKAY WITH HIM.
Look for God – God is all around us…He is in our day to day routine and He wants you to seek Him. Look at your life for the blessings that God has given you and look around for the miracles that He is performing every day!
Act – Peace can only come when we actively seek a relationship with God. This makes us responsible for how we act in response to people and events around us. We cannot change others but we can sure control OUR actions. Seek God in those rough times when working with others is difficult.
Seek a church home – find a church if you don’t have one already. Church can offer fellowship and a bond with other Christians that can lead to a fuller life. There are many churches to choose from…visit them and soon you will find the one that God has picked out for you.
Again, stress WILL ENTER our lives so we simply need to learn and re-learn how to know when we are over-stressed and then remember how to deal with it when it occurs. Turning to GOD is always the right answer! Turning to false God’s such as food and other addictive things will never lead us to freedom. God Bless!
This information was taken directly from the CrossTrain Total Health Book. This book can be downloaded from our website for FREE if you are a CrossTrain Fitness member. If you liked the information on STRESS, I encourage you to read the entire e-book. There is a ton of great information about leading a balanced and Christ-centered life!
May I “ash” you a Question?
February 17, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Happy Ash Wednesday! Forty-six days of Lent. A time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. I want to encourage you to fast in a way that honors God.
I plan on giving up sleep (an extra 30 minutes daily) to spend more time in the word and in meditation. What will you do to show your dedication and faith?
Following are some tips that I hope will inspire you today. As you grow more in mind, body, and spirit, you will feel more content and full of joy!
Mind
”Mind your Ps and Qs!” It was something I heard a lot as a child. At the time that phrase meant “Please” and “Thank you” (not sure how they got Q from thank you). These days I believe in minding your Ps and Qs in a different way: Positively and Questions. What positive thoughts are you absorbing, and what questions do you challenge yourself with on a regular basis? The new Ps and Qs you mind could change your outlook on life. Learn to accept positive affirmations and to ask quality questions daily.
Body
It may be difficult to swallow, but the average person’s metabolism slows by 5% each decade, starting at age 35. To create an increase in a declining metabolic rate you should NOT crash diet any more than you should continue with the same ol’ exercise program. It’s best to eat 5-6 small healthy meals throughout the day and to change up your exercise program by increasing tension/weight, distance, speed, or even the type of workout altogether. Want to see results? Try something new that will challenge and speed up your metabolism.
Spirit
Sometimes the road less traveled may seem difficult, but the key is to go down the path that is paved for you. Some of the most rewarding moments happen along the bends of a winding path. You may not be able see what is ahead, but you have the faith to move forward anyway. This “blind faith” offers an opportunity to learn and grow beyond your comfort zone.
Deb
You must be willing to die to diet.
February 11, 2010 by Luke Carlson · Leave a Comment
The word diet creates a a negative image and some say dieting is like dying because die is the first part of diet. I say hallelujah! We have an opportunity to learn how to die while we diet. What a great training ground God has given us. Jesus teaches us that we are to die of this world so that we can be reborn. When we are reborn we learn to leave the world behind and allow the Holy Spirit to more freely work in us. Dying of this world is what it means to grow in our Christian faith and to live in Christ so that we can be free from the bondage of food.
Are you ready to die through diet? Knowing that this is your opportunity to be reborn you should feel a new joy about the word and ability to diet. Dieting is no longer a negative thing for Christians, but a chance to grow and give glory to God. We will have more dying to do than to just die from dieting, but a new beginning is awaiting us. It is never easy, but it will be worth every difficult step of the way. When times get tough know that you are not doing this to glorify your self, but to die of your old self so that the new self can be born and that God can be glorified.
Acts of Kindness
February 5, 2010 by Jenny Neighbour · 1 Comment
This morning, my 16 year old had an issue with her car. Now keep in mind that she is a NEW driver and a little nervous on the snowy roads. She ran over a plastic bag that got STUCK underneath her engine somehow. I guess it made a weird sound and gave off a “burning-type” odor as well. This scared my daughter and since her dad was at work…she came to me!
I couldn’t reach the bag so I told her to go to the local BP Amoco station owned by a great guy named Tim. Deb and I know him well and I just knew that they would take good care of her! My frightened and extremely SHY girl went to the gas station and do you know what they did for her?
They put that car up on blocks…got the bag out…torched the remainder of the bag off of the engine so it wouldn’t smell…and sent her on her way with a smile on their face. They treated her with the highest respect and didn’t even CHARGE her for the service. Can you believe this???!!!
I went over to the station after I got off of work to thank them and to see if I could pay them. They acted like it was no big deal and would not take any money! I am pretty much a SAP but sitting in Tim’s Amoco with tears in my eyes was pretty embarrassing! I was so proud to be a member of this community! I was so happy that my daughter was well taken care of and that she was able to SEE first hand, what it feels like to be on the receiving end of kindness.
Another act of kindness…JUST TODAY! After teaching my Drums Alive class this morning, I found out that one of our precious members named Wreta, actually SWEPT the exercise floor before our exercise class. She said the floor needed swept so she grabbed a broom to take care of it. She didn’t want anything in return…she just did it out of the kindness of her heart! (I did give her a HUG, however!) Also…before class…3-4 sweet ladies helped set up for the class for me! I didn’t even ask them to do so…they just DID IT on their own!
Look around you. What can you do to offer a little bit of kindness to someone else? Who knows…maybe if we all actually LOOK around for something nice to do…we can make this world a better place. The thing is…it doesn’t have to be big…even the smallest of things can make someones day a little brighter!
Let’s give this a try! Let’s join the ranks of Tim, Wreta, and the Drums Alive girls today…join the KINDNESS team and spread a little JOY!
God bless!
Christians can lose weight by surrendering.
February 4, 2010 by Luke Carlson · Leave a Comment
The Bible doesn’t tell us to have a strong willpower. That if we try hard enough we can keep from sinning. It tells us to surrender our will to God and follow the Holy Spirit. Even some research is pointing in that direction. Roy Baumeister did a study to see if resisting a chocolate chip cookie for five minutes made willpower stronger, weaker or unchanged. They found out that those that had to resist eating a chocolate chip cookie for even five minutes gave up on complex math problems more quickly than those that didn’t have to use their willpower. They concluded that our willpower fatigues us and eventually we not only quit trying to avoid what we are trying to avoid, but we give up on other things that challenge us as well.
Willpower sounds like a recipe for failure to me. Our addictions and bad habits with food can’t be willed away, but Jesus can steer us away from these bad habits if we let Him do the driving. It is time now to ask God to guide us in the path to health and wellness, and surrender our will to His. What does this mean? Reread the section of “who’s in charge?” in the e-book to get a more in depth explanation. This is a simple concept, but takes lots of practice and continued growth to achieve. Let weight loss be your training ground to surrendering to God, and as you become better at surrendering just imagine the blessed and glorious life that awaits for you.
Building Functional Abdominal Strength
January 28, 2010 by Luke Carlson · Leave a Comment
Those that have wash board abs did not get them by doing sit ups or crunches. They did not get them by doing any of the infomercial ab machines that are out there. They got them because functionally they use their abs all day long (and they have a low body fat so that they can be seen). If you do not use your abs when you walk, reach, push, pull or lift throughout the day then you will not have ripped abs. If you don’t use them functionally you will lose them.
Now, something that is even more important than having a wash board stomach is have a body that protects itself from injury. If your abs are not being used throughout the day with walking, pushing, pulling or lifting then you are at a high risk of injuring your back, shoulders, hips or knees. Our abs are a huge group of muscles that consistof four layers. They function in all three planes of motion. Because we are a society that does not highly move in all three planes of motion each and every day our abs have a tendency to get turned off (if you don’t use it you lose it). This is one reason why we are seeing a high rate of increased injuries to the back, hips, shoulders and knees. It is much more involved biomechanically involved then I want to discuss in this blog, but the basis is that the abs are the crossroads between the upper and lower trunk. It is the connection that creates stability when we reach, lift, push or pull between the upper body and the lower body. When we lose that connection the body is forced to compensate somewhere else and try to get it from another body part that is not designed to perform a specific activity without help from the abs. Hence, over time we break down.
How do we turn on our abs? One of the best ways is with walking or running. But it must be done correctly. We must get a good pelvic turn that is matched by a good upper trunk turn. We can accomplish this by taking a good long stride that is matched by our opposite side arm swinging forward. I can’t tell you how many people I see every day that walk incorrectly. I can tell you that I rarely see someone who walks correctly. For most of us it takes practice to get it right. Seek out a good personal trainer or friend that can help you if you think your gait is incorrect. If you still need help, try seeing a physical therapist. The one thing that you should notice if you pay attention is that you should feel your abs working when you are walking correctly.
There are many other ways of turning on our abs, but the best ways to help prevent injuries are the ab exercises in standing. When we strengthen our abs on our backs we over stabilize our pelvis which takes the functional components out creating a potential for injury to occur. Almost every exercise that uses arms and legs together will activate your abs. If you have more questions on other ab exercises talk to anyone of us at Crosstrain Fitness and we would be glad to help you out.
Don’t Conceal…REVEAL!
January 27, 2010 by Jenny Neighbour · 1 Comment
I went to the Winter Jam concert this past weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. This was a huge event that sponsored 6 Christian bands and featured some cool speakers! Not only did I find my new favorite Christian rock band… NEWSONG…but I also heard a great message by a Pastor named Tony Nolan.
Tony was cool! He was outgoing and very “on fire” for Christ. He is not your “typical” Pastor…that is for sure. He yelled…he jumped…and he even talked about his “shady” past. HOW REFRESHING…a Christian that isn’t afraid to be a little transparent and show his/her warts! I found him to be a true disciple and a man that truly wants to walk with the Lord…no matter the price.
The biggest thing that I took away from Tony’s message was the “little ditty” that he did about REVEALING to others that you are indeed a Christian. As he was jumping and yelling, he reminded me that I am called to share the love of Christ with others too. That I am called to tell people about the “good news” of Christ. That I am supposed to SHOW people that I am a believer by my ACTIONS. It was a huge reminder to me that I am called to be DIFFERENT…because I am a Christian.
“Don’t Conceal…REVEAL” was his message. Don’t walk around and keep this wonderful news to yourself. TELL others about Jesus Christ! It was that simple.
Are you keeping Jesus a secret?
Are you praying about HOW and WHEN to approach that one person in your life that needs to know God?
Do you shine the light of Jesus to the world around you…or are you “worried” about what others may think of your “beliefs”?
These are just a few of the questions that Tony put out there for his audience to ponder. I know that it really made me stop and think about my actions and how I am representing God.
So…my challenge to you is this…
Don’t CONCEAL…REVEAL! Pray about how you can be used to reach others in your life. Sure, we are not to come across too HARD or PUSHY or we may be likely to push people even further away from God but if we pray about HOW and WHEN to do it…God will show us the way and will be there every step of the way. Don’t Conceal…REVEAL!
If you have any stories to share about HOW you revealed your faith in the coming days…PLEASE write a comment so we can all learn and grow from each other.
Good luck and God bless!
Lessons Learned
January 14, 2010 by Jenny Neighbour · 1 Comment
I have always encouraged my two precious daughters to seek God when they are in times of turmoil in their lives. Often, as a parent, I wonder if my kids are hearing me…are they getting ANY of the advice that I am trying to give them. Afterall, I am simply trying to save them from some of the same mistakes that I made before I was a Christian! (if only I could really save them from the same, dumb mistakes I made!!!)
This past week, my 16-year old was cramming for final exams. School comes hard to my oldest child and she really has to TRY HARD to get her B’s and C’s. Rarely does she get discouraged but on Monday night…she hit a brick wall…in a big way!
“Why is school so easy for everyone else?”
“Why do I have to work so stinkin’ hard?”
“I have studied my brains out and I will STILL probably get a D on the stupid test!”
As a parent, my heart bled. This is my baby…my precious girl…no parent wants to see their child hurting!
God is so good! In all of my daughters’ fury and anxiety, God showed up…in a BIG WAY! God spoke to her and reminded her to “GO TO A QUIET PLACE AND REST IN ME”.After her little tantrum, Abbi went off into her bedroom and got quiet before her Heavenly Father. She came out about 30-minutes later holding her devotional. She had a wierd look on her little, tear-stained, face.
“Mom, you will not believe what my devotional says for TODAY!”
Basically, her devotional told her that God will SHOW UP in the tough times of your life. He will always take you THROUGH the valley and bring you out stronger, better, and much smarter too! It reminded her that God is in complete control and we just need to TRUST HIM at all times of our lives…even in the HARD TIMES when we are tempted to throw in the towel.
Praise the Lord! My daughter was reminded of all of God’s promises in one little passage in a little devotional book. She wiped her tears and sat back down at the table…ready to work hard again. God gave her STRENGTH to make it through…even for one more day!
Abbi got through her finals this week but it was GOD that brought her along every step of the way. My daughter reminded ME that I am to seek God when I am restless and that only HE can offer me peace! Thank you to my precious daughter for a valuable lesson learned!