“Think of what a precious thing your life is and how truly blessed you are to be experiencing it.  Right now.”  Ralph Marston

What are you doing…right now?

And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.  (Romans 3:26)

It’s Friday — the end of the work week — the end of the month — the official end of the summer of 2008.  Makes me feel a bit melancholy.  (Of course, with my natural temperament, that isn’t hard.)

Over this past month, I’ve had to do quite a bit of surfing on the Internet to assemble some information for a project I’ve been working on.  Surfing on the net is something I’ve never taken the time to do.  I’ve learned that there’s some pretty weird stuff out there.  Pornography was filtered out, so I was protected from that.  Porn aside, there’s some pretty incredibly weird stuff out there.

But…there’s some pretty awesome and wonderful stuff out there as well.  All that to say that it was while surfing last week that I ran across today’s link.  I promise that it will provide a very refreshing pause in your day.  Enjoy and especially enjoy the long holiday weekend.

God bless you!

Prayer Power
Lord, as our summer draws to a close, we have so much to be grateful for.  Thank You for an awesome summer and a glorious fall and winter that is upon us.  But most of all, thank You for being alive…right now!  We are so blessed.

Link of the Day
Right Now Presentation

Blessings on you as you enjoy today’s link and this long, holiday weekend.
 

“Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error”  Andrew Jackson

How aware are you of the amount of salt in your diet?

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other. (Mark 9:50; NIV)

For many, salt is looked upon as the consummate “white demon” bringing destruction to all who dare consume it.  Many have asked me about “salt.”  Is it good, is it bad, how much is too much?  As most of you know, I don’t flow in the stream of conventional medicine.  In the past several years both of my aging parents (who live over 400 miles from us) have struggled with various health issues.  They were told to eat a low-salt diet.  I made several calls to the doctor’s office to find out exactly what that meant.  No one could give me an adequate answer.   I was asking how many milligrams of sodium per day were they supposed to have.  After several days someone finally did get back to me with an answer. 

Since Jerry and I eat a diet of whole foods and very little processed foods, I’ve never had to concern myself with the amount of sodium in our diets.  The excess of sodium in people’s diets are from the processed, packaged foods.  If we’re eating a diet of mostly God-foods or superfoods, added sodium is a non-issue.

The body needs sodium to function.  It’s the main component of the body’s extra-cellular fluids, and it helps carry nutrients into the cells. Sodium also helps regulate other body functions, such as blood pressure and fluid volume, and works on the lining of blood vessels to keep the pressure balance normal.  But not all sources of sodium and salt are the same.

According to Natural News, “As far as the body is concerned, there is no connection between the chemically-cleansed sodium chloride table salt you buy in the supermarket, (which is added to virtually every processed food you buy), and the mineral rich organic sea salt available in health food stores. “One can kill you; the other heals you. In fact, it’s essential for life.”

Stay tuned for more on this misunderstood substance.

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for the nutrients and substances that You have provided for us in nature.  May we honor you with our choices daily.

Link of the Day
Table Salt vs. Himalayan Salt

Blessings on you as you become aware of how much salt is in your diet.
 

“When you change your thinking and your HABITS, you will change your life.”  Dr. Randy Peck

How do you hear from God?

Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!  (Psa. 126:3; NLT)

Monday morning I finished the series on the nine irrefutable  laws.  This isn’t intended to be a review, but Monday’s DG ended with the statement, “How about installing some habits that serve you and serve those around you?”  That thought came from the observation that in order to bring about life change, there must be a consistent and continuous application of those laws.  Toward that end, I proposed that they needed to become habits.

One of the earlier laws was the Law of Attractions which says, “We attract into our lives the people and situations that are in harmony with our own thoughts or feelings.”  About that particular law, I wrote, “Feeling down or discouraged?  Change your thinking.  Feeling some negative ‘vibes’ toward someone?  Change your thinking …Feeling some negative ‘vibes’ from someone?  Change your thinking…and watch how fast their thoughts toward you begin to change.”

I’d like to propose that the very best way to change your thinking toward a person, place, or thing is to adopt God’s point of view toward that person, place, or thing.  I can hear it now, “Yeah!  Sure!  How do I do that?”  And my response would simply be, “Ask Him!”  Oh boy!  this is really getting deep now.  Well, not really.  Hang with me for a couple more minutes.

This past summer, Dr. Randy Peck and I developed a 5-week, 35-day on-line course in journaling with a special emphasis on understanding your life purpose or destiny.  This course is an exciting combination of two of the most significant learning experiences I’ve been blessed with in my life, i.e., journaling as a means of engaging in a two-way dialog with God, and coaching with a specific emphasis on the “discovery” of one’s life purpose and destiny.  The course was a smashing success which exceeded our best hopes.

Here’s what two of the participants had to report:
(1) Dan Paulsen wrote, “What a blessing!  Journaling and using The Journal is revolutionizing my life.”  Dan is a certified human behavior consultant and a life and business coach.
(2) Matt Gregory said, “Probably the biggest benefit for me is just, I got focused again on what my unique life purpose is and mission is to be and started once again tying in my daily habits and responsibilities to those things.  It has given me more focus on my work.  It has given me more energy to be excited about those things.”  Matt is a church planter and Randy’s pastor.

The main purpose of this course is to change your life by help you break through in various areas of your life and function at a much higher level.  We have seen what we believed true all along…the combination of coaching and journaling will change your life and result in dramatic breakthroughs.

Today at noon (EDT), Randy and I are hosting an introductory webinar about the 5-week Journaling 201 course titled, “UNCOMMON Journaling for Destiny.  Both Pastor Matt and Dan Paulsen will be guests on the call to share their testimonies first hand.  Even if you are not available, you can receive a link to the recorded webinar if you register.  See today’s Link of the Day.

Hope to see you there.

Prayer Power
Lord, we thank you that You desire for us to hear Your voice–that You desire to guide our every step.  We thank You for Your infinite and unconditional love for us.

Link of the Day
“UNCOMMON Journaling for Destiny” webinar today

Blessings on you as you choose to register for today’s webinar to learn to hear God’s voice.
 

“Every sweet has its sour; every evil its good.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

How are you doing with eating more vegetables this summer?

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard to those who send him.  (Prov. 10:26; NIV)

A few readers have asked for various sauce recipes to use with vegetables, chicken, or beef.  Last week’s BBQ sauce is an easy to make, healthy recipe to use with chicken, beef, or beans.  I created a sweet and sour sauce for today’s recipe.  This is a versatile sauce that can be used with stir-fry vegetables, chicken, or beef.

According to Wikipedia, “sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It has long been popular in North America and Europe, where it is stereotypically considered a component of standard Chinese cuisine. It does in fact originate from China, and is now also used in some American and European cuisines.  In China traditionally the sauces are made from mixing sugar or honey with a sour liquid such as rice vinegar, soy sauce, and spices such as ginger and cloves.”

When I looked at ingredient labels for “store-bought” sweet and sour sauces, I was quite disappointed.  None of them had any real food value.  They consist mostly of some form of sugar, dextrose or high fructose corn syrup, modified food starch, distilled vinegar, some spices and lots of preservatives such as sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.   Jerry asked me why the sauces were red (mine isn’t.)  It looks like some pre-made sauces use some form of ketchup or a tomato base that makes it red.  I also saw artificial food dyes in some.

Most of the time when I make a sweet and sour dish, I add the sauce ingredients directly into the wok and allow it to thicken as it cooks.  However, with today’s recipe, this sauce can be made in a saucepan ahead of time and then added to the already prepared and cooked vegetables and meat.  Yesterday, I stir fried cut-up pieces of chicken breast (in coconut oil), then added pieces of onion, minced garlic, carrot, green and red pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash.  Next I added drained pineapple chunks.  Lastly I poured the already made sauce into the wok and allowed the mixture to heat until warm and bubbly.  And hooray!  We have leftovers for today!

Prayer Power
Father, You are such a wonderful and awesome God!  Thank You for Your mighty hand of abundance.

Link of the Day
Sweet and Sour Sauce

Blessings on you as you enjoy eating more vegetables.

“If you are changing your current situation or condition and moving toward a new one, unless there is a continuous and rapid movement in this new direction, there will be an automatic tendency for the former state or condition to be restored.”  Seni Hazzan

What would you consider to be your good habits?  That’s fantastic!  Now, how about a list of your bad habits?

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.  (Rom. 12:2; NLT)

As I said when I started this series (8/6), in my reading over the past several years, I’ve been exposed to many lists of so-called irrefutable laws.  Of all those lists, I have found the list of nine by Hazzan (from his book, Rebuilding from Ground Zero) to be the most useful and consistent with my Christian world view.  I have been sharing these laws through the last several DGs.  Today, we are bringing the series to a close with the last of the nine laws.  Don’t forget to leave comments as you feel led.

It’s fitting that this law, the law of harmony, is the last law as this one essentially states that “all the laws work in cooperation with one another; none violate the operation of the others.”  As we were working our way through the laws over the last couple of weeks, I’m sure you noticed the intricacy and apparent overlap of the nine laws.  In essence, they are a collection of separates which only function optimally when working together as a whole.  (Kind of like a marriage, a family, a community, a city, a state, a nation, etc.)  Put in another way, if you apply any one of the laws individually, you may notice a small difference in your life, but if you use them collectively, you will see an amazing change, what Hazzan describes as “a quantum leap in your outcomes.”

The other truth about these laws is captured in Hazzan’s quote above.  If you apply all or any of these laws for a short period of time, you will only see a result for a short period of time.  Like most things, for life change to occur, there must be a consistent and continuous application of these laws for them to truly change your life.  I love the motto, “gentle pressure relentlessly applied.”  Relentlessly is the key word.  Relentlessly means never ceasing, never letting up.

The application of these laws are like any other change you are trying to bring about to improve any area of your life–the change must become a habit.  And a habit is not something that you do only when you are thinking about it.  A habit must come from your subconscious mind for it to be truly effective.  These laws must move from a mental assent in your head to an automatic, instinctive response that arises out of your heart or unconscious mind.  Pretty tall order you say?  Yes, but observe that you have successfully installed several habits in your life.  It can be done.  How about installing some habits that serve you and serve those around you?

It’s the beginning of a brand new week.  Let it be the beginning of a brand new you.  Happy Monday!

Prayer Power
Lord, give us the grace to make the application of these nine laws a habit in our lives.  Help us move toward the point of applying them without even thinking about them anymore.

Link of the Day
Put Your Mind and Body on “Autopilot” and Reach Your Goals… Automatically!

Blessings on you as you start off this new week as a new person.

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“Everyone you meet is either better off than you are, or worse off, in any given variable.  Seni Hazzan

Describe the last time you got into an argument (or heated discussion) because the other person didn’t see things the same way you did.

Oh, don’t worry; I wouldn’t dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, and measuring themselves by themselves. What foolishness!  (2 Cor. 10:12; NLT)

As I said when I started this series (8/6), in my reading over the past several years, I’ve been exposed to many lists of so-called irrefutable laws.  Of all those lists, I have found the list of nine by Hazzan (from his book, Rebuilding from Ground Zero) to be the most useful and consistent with my Christian world view.  I thought I would share one or two of those fundamental laws through the next several DGs.  Don’t forget to leave comments as you feel led.

The end is in sight…just two more laws to go.  This one and one more.  Hope you’re still with me.  Our mentor in this study of irrefutable laws, Hazzan writes about the law of comparison, “This law states that nothing can be considered big or small, fast or slow, unless it can be compared with something else.  This law shows that all things are relative.”  I might add that without a comparison or reference point, nothing can be considered as good or bad either.

How about valuable or junk?  Too much or too little?  Liberal or conservative?  This law begins to challenge your concept of reality.  This helps explain how two people can view the same situation in entirely different ways.  Which one is right?  Both?  Neither? 

Hazzan goes on to say, “If you can be grateful for whatever situation you are in, and if you decide to improve your life based on your own desires and goals, rather than on pressures from others, you will be able to find motivation in the success of others, rather than compare yourself to them unfavorably, or engage in competition with them.”  As the Apostle Paul exclaimed, “What foolishness!”

As with all the laws we’ve been looking at, use it right and it is a very great ally…use it wrong and it is a formidable foe.  The choice is yours.  Maybe up until now you didn’t even realize that you had a choice.  Isn’t this liberating?

Prayer Power
Lord, give us the grace to overcome what seems like the human trait to compare ourselves with others.  Also help us learn to respect how others view situations and recognize that their reference point just may be different than ours.

Link of the Day
Homekeepers International

Blessings on you as you become more and more impervious to pressure from others advancing their agendas.

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“Americans have the highest per capita daily consumption [of food] in the world, eating 3,770 calories a day.”  Reuters July 29, 2008

How are you doing at controlling your portion sizes?

For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.  (Prov. 23:21 NKJ)

I know we’ve looked at “Portion Distortion” in a former Daily Gram (5/15/08).  However, since there is so much that can be said about this topic, let’s revisit it once again.  Rather than looking at portion sizes from a health perspective, a recent Reuters article was scrutinizing American portion size in light of the world food shortage and the ability to sustain the world’s food supply.  As I quoted in the above, Americans have the highest per capita daily consumption [of food] in the world, eating 3,770 calories a day. 

Although that article approaches this subject from a different perspective, I still believe that eating less food could greatly impact the health of the people of this nation.  Several years ago a documentary film was produced called “Super-Size Me.”  If you haven’t seen this film, by all means rent or buy it!  Trust me when I say that it will impact your next trip to “fast-food Mecca.”   A young, fit, athletic male did an experiment of eating fast food, three times a day for thirty days.  He developed so many health problems that the doctors monitoring him urged him to stop the experiment before the thirty days were over.  Watching this young man’s health deteriorate on the screen was frightening, to say the least.

So, rather than playing the “Super-Size Me” game, let’s look at how to “mini-size!”  Eating out is one of the predominant ways that people overeat due to the portion sizes being served.  So, an obvious solution is to eat more meals at home.  You can control the portion size (and the ingredients in the food) when you prepare meals at home.  In a society that is moving faster than a speeding bullet, making meals at home seems contrary to everyone’s lifestyle.  However, if we are to become a nation of health instead of dis-ease, it’s not an option.

Begin to picture your portion sizes.  I recently read a short piece in a fitness magazine (that we picked up from our gym) that gave some good parameters for healthy portion sizes.  You’ve probably heard that a healthy portion size for meat is 3 ounces or about the size of a deck of cards.  Fish is also about 3 ounces and the article compared it with the size of a checkbook.  One ounce of cheese looks like 4 dice.  A medium potato looks like your computer mouse and 1 cup of raw fruit looks like a baseball.   How do you “measure up” with your portion sizes?

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You that You have given us the ability to have self-control.  We ask for Your grace as we walk in what You reveal to us.

Link of the Day
U.S. Food Portions: Monuments to Decadence?

Blessings on you as you “contemplate” how much food you’re eating.
 

“When you are not feeling good, examine what you are thinking, then think of something pleasant.”  Seni Hazzan

What is one of the most pleasant memories you can recall?

…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  (2 Cor. 10:5b; NIV)

As I said when I started this series (8/6), in my reading over the past several years, I’ve been exposed to many lists of so-called irrefutable laws.  Of all those lists, I have found the list of nine by Hazzan (from his book, Rebuilding from Ground Zero) to be the most useful and consistent with my Christian world view.  I thought I would share one or two of those fundamental laws through the next several DGs.  Don’t forget to leave comments as you feel led.

I wrote a DG back on 1/7/08 entitled “Birds of a Feather.”  That old (460 BC) saying, “Birds of a feather flock together” summarizes the law of attraction, aka the law of feeling.  As Hazzan states it, “We attract into our lives the people and situations that are in harmony with our own thoughts or feelings.”  He goes on to say, “Human beings are thought-magnets.”

This is pretty closely related to the Law of Creation that we explored back on 8/6.  When you get hold of the truth that much of what is going on in our lives emerges from what we are thinking, it has a tendency to provide incredible motivation to make you want to change your thinking.  And one of my favorite verses in the Bible is the one quoted above.  It implies rather clearly that we have the power to do just that…to be in control of what we think.  This law suggests that we have more than the power…indeed, we have the obligation to watch what we think.

Feeling down or discouraged?  Change your thinking.  Feeling some negative “vibes” toward someone?  Change your thinking.  Even more amazing it that it works the other way as well.  Feeling some negative “vibes” from someone?  Change your thinking…and watch how fast their thoughts toward you begin to change.  I’ve used this principle in my coaching from time to time and seen incredible results.  How does it work?  I don’t have a clue.  But then again, I can’t explain how gravity works either…but I’m sure glad it does–every time, without fail.

This is powerful stuff.  I hope you’re getting it.

Prayer Power
Lord, once again we are reminded just how incredibly wondrous and intricate you have made us.  Forgive us for our pride in thinking that we have it all figured out.

Link of the Day
An African Wall St. Wizard

Blessings on you as you become more and more aware of the correlation between your circumstances and your recent thought patterns.

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“Grilling, broiling, barbecuing – whatever you want to call it – is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre and throwing on a piece of meat as a sacrifice to the gods of the stomach.”  James Beard

How aware are you of what is in your barbeque sauce?

Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. (Prov 24:13; NIV)

Building on our “Odds and Ends” theme for this month, today’s recipe is considered by many to be one of the all-time “comfort foods.”  Barbeque sauces are almost a form of “religion” in some parts of the country.  Some like them sweet, thick, and deep, dark brown.  Others swear that the sauce must be thin, hot, and red.

Wikipedia says, “Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated BBQ sauce) is a liquid flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to quite thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking. Traditionally it has been a favored sauce for pork or beef ribs and chicken.”

Depending on what part of the country you hail from, your BBQ sauce could be a thin vinegar and tomato based sauce, spiced with pepper and slightly sweetened by molasses or a tomato-based sauce with hot chilies, cumin, and less sweet.  As I was growing up and learning to cook, we made barbeque sauce using ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and minimal spices.  Having lived in various parts of the eastern United States as an adult, I’ve learned that there is more to BBQ sauce than just using ketchup as a base.

Most commercially made BBQ sauces contain high fructose corn syrup, various preservatives and MSG, none of which your body likes or appreciates.  Making homemade barbeque sauce is very simple.  It can be made in large quantities and frozen for later use, which is what I do.  I pour the sauce on chicken breasts and bake them in the oven.  I also brown ground beef, buffalo, or turkey with onions and then pour the sauce over top and allow this to simmer for about twenty minutes for Sloppy Joes.

If you’re not able to make your own BBQ sauce, then one brand that I’ve found acceptable is Annie’s.  It uses many organic ingredients and it doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup or MSG.  Annie’s also makes an organic Worcestershire sauce also without MSG and caramel coloring which is found in commercial brands.

Prayer Power
Father, may we seek You for the decisions and choices we need to make each day.

Link of the Day
Barbeque Sauce

Blessings on you as you experiment with making some homemade barbeque sauce.

“While things may not always go your way, it is your reaction to them that determines their impact on your life.”  Seni Hazzan

What season of life are you currently in?

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.  (Eccl. 3:1; NLT)

As I said when I started this series (8/6), in my reading over the past several years, I’ve been exposed to many lists of so-called irrefutable laws.  Of all those lists, I have found the list of nine by Hazzan (from his book, Rebuilding from Ground Zero) to be the most useful and consistent with my Christian world view.  I thought I would share one or two of those fundamental laws through the next several DGs.  Don’t forget to leave comments as you feel led.

About the law of seasons, aka the law of movement, Hazzan writes, “Nothing is static: rather everything is in a constant state of flux, moving to and fro, forward and backward, high tide and low tide, high feelings and low feelings, winter and summer, spring and fall.  This law is expressed in the saying ‘no condition is permanent.’”  Or…this too shall pass. 

More good news…this too shall pass.  No condition is permanent.  Just hang on for a little while longer.  This too shall pass.  When you know that things will change, it is a lot easier to hang on. 

As you reflect back on your life, indeed, even on your past week, how many times have you seen this law in action.  You go from feeling low to feeling high, or vice-versa.  You go from excited to bored.  You go from anticipation to “is this all there is?”  You go from hunger to stuffed.  You go from stuffed to hunger.  You go from wishing for cooler weather to wishing for warmer weather.  The list is endless.  The grass is always greener…or is it?

But the key here, at least for me, is that for every valley, there is a mountain-top coming.  For every dark night of the soul, there is a bright, sunny day coming.  I don’t know about you, but I find that especially encouraging.

Prayer Power
Lord, we thank You for the seasons…the seasons of the year, the seasons of our life, and the seasons of our emotions as well.  We don’t always understand why, but we can verify from experience that great things always emerge from those seasons that seem the least comfortable.  We are truly grateful for Your sustaining power.

Link of the Day
Seni Hazzan bio

Blessings on you as you keep on keepin’ on through whatever season you’re currently experiencing.

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