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 
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.
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!
Count Your Blessings!
December 23, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Not only at Christmas but throughout the year we all need to stop and count our blessings. There are challenging times in our lives, there are dark times, there may be times when you feel hopeless, and there are always happy times. During all of those times we should stop and take a moment to count our blessings. If it is a difficult time you will find by reflecting on the blessings you do have will help your attitude in dealing with the situation you are in.
Many times our own attitude will determine how we see our world. When we are in a happy time we see the world very differently than if we are in a more challenging time. The secret is to always count your blessings; it truly does make life easier.
This past year has been a challenging one for our family – we have seen challenging times, we had some very dark times and hopeless times, and of course we have had happy times. But no matter what was happening I always counted my blessings and looked for the good in the situation. And as difficult as it was in some situations there was good. I can think of a couple of occasions where it was very difficult to even think that there was any good, but it was there.
Thanks to all of you who have helped support me and my family for the past several years….Many days you all were my Blessings!
My Christmas wish to you all is –
May you see and be thankful for all the blessings you have and may many more come your way. And may you experience the blessing that life has to offer when you find the good in every situation.
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
Elizabeth Bibesco
Deb
10 Healthy Holiday Traditions
December 7, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. For many of us, the sacred aspects of Advent are lost in the holiday shuffle and it becomes the unhealthiest time all year. Unhealthy food seems to be everywhere. Shopping, holiday baking, parties and traveling leaves us tired and stressed.
This season, use these traditions to change some of the unhealthy habits. Think of the holiday season as a time to spend more time with family and friends. Take time to build traditions that encourage healthy living during the most wondrous time of the year.
1) Do-It-Yourself Christmas. Get outside and gather twigs and your own materials from your neighborhood or yard. Create your own manger scene. Make ornaments. Start a tradition of making a branch tree with your own home-made ornaments. Gathering the branches can be part of your tradition.
2) Sunrise Walk. Take a sunrise walk as a family on Christmas morning. Make time for silence on the walk. Find a stopping point along the way and read the Christmas story.
3) Animal Christmas. Animals surrounded Jesus and his parents in the manger. Volunteer at your local animal shelter and take a dog for a walk – it’s good for both of you.
4) Praying through Advent. In this time of stress, take a small Sabbath every day. This relieves stress, giving you time for you and God.
5) Healthy baking tradition. Instead of more batches of sugar cookies and brownies, make granola or a healthier sweet together. Replace sugary holiday breakfast’s treats with a giant fruit salad.
6) Christmas dance. Have a Christmas dance party. Dance and sing with your children to your favorite holiday songs. Make an event of it and invite family and friends. Children love to see adults being silly!
7) Visit a tree farm. Pack up the family or a group of friends and visit a Christmas tree farm. Walk through the fields to find the “perfect” tree to cut down and drag back to the car. This is a great way to get active as a group.
8 ) Run/Walk race. Many cities have races on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. Gather together a team of family and friends to run or walk together as a team.
9) Healthy Advent calendar. Instead of a chocolate Advent calendar, have a crèche Advent calendar or let your children make their own from supplies you have around the home! Have a prayer each day on the journey that Mary and Joseph made before Jesus’ birth.
10) Vigorous caroling. Plan a caroling route that covers several miles. Combine singing and walking for some carols.
By doing some of these healthier traditions you and your family will be well on your way to starting the New Year out right! Blessings to all!
Deb
Why you need to put your oxygen mask on FIRST!
November 14, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Recently, I took a flight to Hollywood, Florida to get on the cruise ship Carnival Freedom. While we were preparing to depart from the gate, the flight attendants began their “In case of emergency” speech. There has been a certain part of the speech that has always bothered me. Not just the fact that you can tell by their mono-tone-versed voices that they have said this so many times that most people simply tone them out and don’t even listen. If that alone didn’t bug me, the rest of their instructions always got me upset! The flight attendants always say that if the cabin was to lose pressure that oxygen masks would fall from the overhead compartment. If you are sitting next to a small child that you need to put on your own oxygen mask before you help put on the small child’s oxygen mask. As a parent, that instruction did not sit well with me. My children would be my number one priority in a dangerous situation. My parental instinct and love would kick in to ensure their safety.
So I did a little research to understand why they give us this actual instruction. The information that I found out actually makes this bizarre command an important one to follow. If the cabin was to lose pressure, a person has about thirty seconds until they lose consciousness…more if one has good aerobic capacity, less if one’s out of shape. So, at least I had one advantage!! An adult actually uses more oxygen and uses it faster than a small child, especially in dangerous situations. By putting on your mask first, you actually buy more time to help the small child. By trying to help the small child first, you may end up jeopardizing the child as well as yourself. You could lose consciousness before you managed to put the oxygen mask on the small child. At that point, who will put the mask on your child?? Who will put your mask on?? By putting on your mask first, you increase your child’s survival rate and it saves your life in the process.
We need to make sure that we are putting on our oxygen mask first in our everyday lives. We can become so occupied with serving and meeting the needs of others that we leave little or no time to ensure that our needs are being met. Jesus tells us in John 15, how critical it is to stay connected to Him. If we are not residing in Him, we are not going to be able to bear fruit. If we don’t bear fruit, we pretty much become useless. It may seem like a noble and selfless act to put other people needs first, but you actually may cause more harm than good. We are not going to be of any use to the people in our important relationships if we are empty, drained and burnt out.
Think about how this relates to your health and your kids health. You need to take care of yourself and be as healthy as possible to be able to do the best job possible taking care of your kids.
Honestly, think about it for a second. Skipping breakfast, not having healthy snacks during the morning and afternoon, not staying hydrated, not working out, etc. do not put you in the best spot TO BE YOUR BEST YOU!
I know you do it because you are a good parent and you care so much about your kids that you put all your focus and energy into them. But you are at your best when you take care of yourself and when you are “on” is when you are able to be the best parent, spouse, friend, etc.
Also, your kids follow your lead when it comes to exercise and healthy habits.
When my girls were young they used to attend my classes and “helped” me teach….some of you may remember that! By the way, they are now 21, 20 and 17!!! It taught them that exercise was important and something that everyone needs to do….not just those who wish to lose weight. So please consider the importance of being a healthy role model for your kids and others. This is a priceless gift you are giving.
Invest some of your limited time and energy in yourself and it will pay off many times over for your kids and your whole family.
Here a few suggestions to help put your oxygen mask on first:
1) Make sure you are spending time abiding in Him. (John 15:5) – Focus on quality rather than quantity.
2) Take care of yourself physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. (1 Cor 3:16)
3) Learn to set healthy boundaries. – This means you can actually say no to people. It is not a sin to say no. Jesus, who was perfect, disappointed people. Here’s one way to put it: “Nice isn’t one of the fruits of the Spirit. Being kind doesn’t mean you always say “yes,” it means that you learn to say “no” kindly. (Mark 1:29 -38)
4) To get your whole family having some FUN, try playing the TV game. When a commercial comes on everyone has to do a certain exercise and do a different one every commercial. Take turns letting family members choose the exercise and you may just get fit watching TV. It will probably be the only time I tell you to watch TV so have some fun!
Good luck and have fun!
Deb
God never said it would be easy for Christians to loss weight.
August 14, 2009 by Luke Carlson · Leave a Comment
Being a Christian has several benefits, but if you are expecting an easy life because you are a Christian then you have the wrong impression. Don’t get me wrong here, it is a great life to be with God, but it will be challenging. The Bible teaches us in James 1:2-4 that we must endure tough times to become mature in our faith. God doesn’t allow our life to be tough because he wants to torment us, but because He wants us to mature and grow so that we can experience the full blessing He wants to give us. All of the Biblical greats endured tough times in their life, but also saw great blessings from God.
Weight loss is challenging for a reason. It is our opportunity to glorify God and to grow in our maturity. The world wants us to believe that we can be healthy with ease and that it will only take a few weeks to lose ten pounds. These are lies from the great deceiver. Your health goals and journey are a lifetime venture. When the world convinces us that it will only take a few weeks then it knows we will quit trying after a few weeks whether we lost the ten pounds or not. The deceiverdoesn’t want us to battle back, he wants us to look for the easy way out, and he is pretty good at it. If you have ever tried to lose weight before you know how hard it is. Most of us have learned to use food as our comforter and stress reliever. When we loss that we become overwhelmed and stressed. We may even endure physical withdrawals such as headaches. I become irritable and my thoughts are slower and I loss my focus at work. The list is long and varies, but it is exceedingly harder to lose our extra weight then it is to gain more. I sometimes think about why it is so much harder to live a healthy life than it is to live an unhealthy life. God knows, and we can only guess that He did it that way for our benefit in some way or another.
The best way is to accept the challenge and be prepared for battle. If we battle alone we will lose. If we follow the world’s ways we will lose, but if we turn to God we can follow Him and He will see us through to a life of health and well being. Crosstrain Fitness will help guide you on a health journey that puts the focus on living with God and turning away from the world.
Make an Appointment with God
August 10, 2009 by Jenny Neighbour · 1 Comment
We are so busy…running in many different directions all day long! We have jobs to do, houses to clean, and kids to take places…it can be a constant state of RUNNING if we aren’t careful.
God can be our RESTING place. He is waiting patiently for us to come to him for restoration. I KNOW that God will offer me JOY and PEACE in my “rat-race” day but often…I don’t make time for Him. I sometimes look at my time with God as just “one more thing that I have to do”…instead of looking at it as a rejuvinating time in my day. I know that I should honor Him by making time for Him and yet I often fail to do so.
Then, it occurred to me…why not make an appointment with God everyday? I make all kinds of other appointments in my life…why not make time for God too? I schedule my exercise sessions, I schedule my haircuts, I schedule activities for my family…why not schedule some valued time with my Heavenly Father?!
Since I have made appointments with God each day…my life just runs smoother! I can’t really explain it…it just does. He offers me a wonderful feeling of acceptance and love. Spending time with Him really does make a difference in my life AND I know that He loves it too. Sometimes, I am in prayer with Him, sometimes I read scriptures and other times I am simply silent and trying to listen to what He wants me to know. There is no right or wrong way to spend time with God…what I know for sure is that He simply wants me to make time for Him and I know that being in an active relationship with God helps me to have a happier and more peaceful life overall.
If you feel that you need some time with God…I recommend that you make an appointment with Him…you will NOT regret spending some wonderful time with our creator…I promise!
Can being a Christian really help me lose weight?
July 31, 2009 by Luke Carlson · 1 Comment
Calling ourselves Christians and being a Christian are two different things. Being a Christian means we seek to live with God at the center of our life. We actively try to move away from the false gods the world tries to pull us towards like food, sex, drugs or shopping, just to name a few. The world wants us to believe that these things will bring us happiness and peace so we turn to our false idols and soon find ourselves spinning out of control. When we learn to turn to God for comfort and not food, we will lose weight. It is a very simple concept, but don’t get simple confused with easy. It takes practice, patience, perseverance and a focus on the one true God that gives us the peace and happiness He so willingly sacrificed His only Son to accomplish.
Sin vs. Hurts
April 25, 2009 by Deb · 1 Comment
Today at Church we are having a weekend event called Discovery weekend. This is where our senior high kids lead and work with mid-high kids. I was asked to speak about sins and hurts and just what forgiveness was all about. This is from the talk I gave.
What is Sin?
A short answer can be found in Romans 8: 7. “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” Sin is a terrible thing…it hurts us and it hurts others. But the worst thing about sin is that it hurts God. Do you know why it hurts him? Because he loves us so much.
Even though God loves us, he cannot overlook our sins or pretend that he does not see them. He must punish sin. The Bible speaks of a definite punishment for sin, “The wages for sin is death” Romans 6:23. This means separation from God in Hell forever. How terrible!
God created us, God sustains us, and God sent his son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sin (Romans 8:3-4). In accepting Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, we have accepted a rebirth in him, submitting our will to his. We can never atone for our own sins, but through the blood of Jesus, we have a way to be cleansed of the stains sins put on our soul by confessing the sins to Jesus and those we have sinned against, and repenting.
So how can we experience God’s forgiveness?
Experiencing God’s forgiveness comes through confession and repentance. In (Psalms 51:3), David had written a confession to God after a particularly sinful episode in his life. David was truly sorry for his adultery and for murdering the husband to cover it up. He knew that his actions had hurt many people. But because David repented of those sins, God mercifully forgave him. No sin is too great to be forgiven! Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin.
KEY BIBLE VERSE: If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. (1 John 1:9)
God wants to forgive us. He allowed his beloved Son to die just so he could pardon us. When we come to Christ, he forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. We don’t need to confess the sins of the past all over again, and we don’t need to fear that God will reject us if we don’t keep our slate perfectly clean. Of course we should continue to confess our sins, but not because failure to do so will make us lose our salvation. Our relationship with Christ is secure. Instead, we should confess our sins so that we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with him.
Honest confession includes turning away from sin. True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn’t be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it.
Confession reestablishes relationship with God. If God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ’s death, why must we confess our sins? In admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are: (1) agreeing with God that our sin truly was sin and that we are willing to turn from it, (2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from him and consequently, from ourselves, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on his power to overcome it.
What is a hurt? Hurt is something that someone else has done to you…probably a sin that they have done to you, and that you need to forgive them for.
Why should we forgive one another and how can we do it?
Joseph is a model of genuine forgiveness. Joseph was rejected, kidnapped, enslaved, and imprisoned. Although his brothers had been unfaithful to him, he graciously forgave them and shared his prosperity. Joseph demonstrated how God forgives us and showers us with goodness even though we have sinned against him. The same forgiveness and blessings are ours if we ask for them.
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Rom 12:21)
Forgiveness is a mark of the Christian life. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on to others. And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds. We’re recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins — just as Christ did for us.
Forgiveness is contrary to the pattern of the world. In this day of constant lawsuits and demands for legal rights, Paul’s command sounds almost impossible. When someone hurts you deeply, instead of giving him what he deserves, Paul says to befriend him. Why does Paul tell us to forgive our enemies? (1) Forgiveness may break a cycle of retaliation and lead to mutual reconciliation. (2) It may make the enemy feel ashamed and change his or her ways. (3) By contrast, returning evil for evil hurts you just as much as it hurts your enemy. Even if your enemy never repents, forgiving him or her will free you of a heavy load of bitterness.
Forgiveness is an act of the will. Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. If you find it difficult to feel forgiving of those who have hurt you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell such people that you would like to heal your relationships. Give them a helping hand. Send them a gift. Smile at them. Many times you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings. At the very least tell God that you forgive them and then pray for them! Remember forgiving them isn’t saying that what they did was right and it doesn’t mean that you have to forget…..it is for YOU not for them.
KEY BIBLE VERSE: If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matt 6:14-15)
If we expect to be forgiven, we need to practice forgiveness. Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness: if we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don’t forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin, we should ask ourselves, have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?
Real forgiveness follows God’s pattern. Because God has forgiven all our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. Realizing how completely Christ has forgiven us should produce a free and generous attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don’t forgive others, we are setting ourselves outside and above Christ’s law of love.
Jesus told us there are two roads in this life…the broad road and the narrow road. He said, “Enter in at the straight gate; for wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many there will go in threat…straight is the gate…narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it”. Mathew 7: 13-14. He said there were many people on the broad road and few on the narrow road. He told us where each of these roads leads. He said the broad road leads to destruction (Hell) and the narrow one leads to Heaven. He urged us to choose the narrow road. Heaven is more beautiful than we can ever imagine. It is a place of perfect happiness and joy. In heaven there are no tears, no heartaches, no hurts, no sickness, no hunger, no loneliness, no hatred, no sin and no death. That’s where I want to go and I’m sure you do to. But there is something we must do if we want to go to heaven. We must choose the narrow way by choosing Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Why do we need to do this? The Bible says, “There is none righteous.” Romans 3: 10, 23. This tells us that we ALL have sinned and done wrong. In God’s words he tells us what is right and wrong, but we have NOT kept HIS commandments. We have been proud, we have been unthankful and we have selfish. We have chosen our way instead of God’s way and this is SIN.
God doesn’t want us to sin; he speaks in love and tells us to turn from our sins before it is too late. The Bible says, “God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Experiencing God’s forgiveness comes through confession and repentance.
What does it mean to REPENT? It means to “turn around”. The reason we need to turn around is that we have been going the wrong way…we have been doing things our way, not God’s way. We must turn around if we want to be saved. Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”. Luke 13:5. Repentance is not just feeling bad or shedding tears over your sins, it is turning to God and saying that you have been doing wrong and ask for his forgiveness and for his help to turn away from sins. Once you truly ask for forgiveness and repent God will forgive and he does forget.
So my final question for you is which road will you take?
